His Heartthrob

Chapter three

A few weeks later#.

Mrs Vesper, River's mom, had learnt that she was bullied again; she refused to talk to anyone for days and even asked her mom if she ever cared for her.

Mrs Vesper promised to talk to her college VC. But as a busy woman she was, she had left home early that day for work.

River had stayed back from school for days. Emily got angry, went to school and poured creamy milk on Christie, Riley and Agatha. It was a huge fight luckily Diva wasn't around that day, people had video and to summarise it

Emily got a suspension.

But today Emily had to drag River out of the house to the Axel Bronte party.

There was a poster that had been going around school about the upcoming audition for the lead role in a new drama, with Axel Bronte as the male lead.

The whole building was full of students; the music was loud, a pulsating mix of hip-hop and an electronic beat.

As the River got into the crowded hall everyone stared at her.

“It's the poop girl!” Someone yelled excitedly as others laughed.

“Emy, I told you this was a bad idea!” River muttered.

“My gosh! River just ignore them!” Emily said, passing a glass of lime champagne to her.

“I will be right back !” She winked as she disappeared into the crowd.

River stood there lost as she watched others dance, scream, and even plop down into the swimming pool, splashing water around.

Diva stood at a high platform twerking to “Water” by Tyla while others cheered, “Go, Diva! We love you, Diva!”

Christie sat at the corner kissing some kinda weird guy.

In a corner, others were playing a game of taking shots.

River stood there, confused about what to do.

Minutes later, Diva, in a short denim gown and heavy makeup sashayed, stood confidently in front of her minions.

“You guys know about the upcoming audition for the drama Axel is featuring, well I'm not just going to audition but I will mail it”

“Axel, the bad boy himself, And let's be frank! I'm the only one who deserves to be paired with him. His father's the founder of this college and my dad has a share here!”

“ You shouldn't even be auditioning; I mean, you can get the role without it!” Agatha said as she picked up her manicured nails.

Diva's guess landed on River, sitting nearby, lost in thought.

“ Hey, Miss Chubby-fat, I heard you wrote in your diary last year that you wanted to be an actress, how cute”

River swallowed.

“I don't need competition, but I will give you a chance to compete with a queen like me; why don't you sign up for the audition?? I'm sure it will be amusing!”

“Right,” she turned to her minions. Agatha and Christie nodded

“ But I like my interesting things, if you lose, you'll kiss my feet!”

“What's so special about her feet that she asks everyone to kiss it?” River mumbled.

“And what if she wins?” someone asked. Diva glared at Emily, who came just in time to support her friend, with a disgusted expression.

“What kind of question is that? How can she possibly win? The probability is 0/100” she stated.

“Diva will kiss my feets!” River said.

They erupted into chaos, everyone stared at the River in shock.

Diva's face burned in rage “ Are you sick?” She yelled.

“You think you can beat me! Heaven knows I haven't competed with someone this fat as an elephant!”

“ But you'll know, darling!” Emily said.

“Crazy bitches! I promise you will regret this!” Diva yelled as she stomped off.

“Yeah, at least you have realized; you're not the only one who is a crazy b***h!” Emily yelled back.

“f**k you, Diva!” She said,

Axel, who stood watching, smirked before leaving.

Noah stood there staring down at Emily, with a slow smile forming on his lips.

****

Diva stormed into the dimly lit room, her eyes scanning the space until they landed on Axel. He was sitting on a couch surrounded by his friends, including Mason. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and stale beer.

As she approached, Mason looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, well. Look what we've got here."

Diva tried to ignore the sarcasm and forced a smile. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

The room fell silent, with Axel's friends ignoring her or turning away. Mason leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face. "Don't bother trying to be friendly, Diva. It doesn't suit you."

Diva's smile faltered, and she felt a surge of anger. "Thanks for the advice, Mason. I'm happy you know I'm trying. You guys should stop acting like morons and try being civil for once."

The room remained silent, with Axel's friends exchanging uneasy glances. Axel himself remained quiet, his gaze fixed on something across the room. Diva followed his line of sight and felt her anger boil over.

He was staring at River, who was standing in the far corner of the room, nursing a drink. Diva's eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer to Axel. "What's going on here?" she demanded, her voice low and even.

Axel slowly turned his head, his eyes locking onto Diva's. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then, without saying a word, Axel turned his attention back to River, his gaze burning with an intensity that made Diva fold her fist in rage.

# # #

The next day Emily rushed up to to River,

“Did you see the news?”

River took out her phone and checked the school platform. She read the harsh comments about what happened yesterday, and it was directed towards her.

“That's not even all. Diva plans on humiliating you on the audition day, And she's giving out free popcorn to her fans for Watching the show! She's such a bitch.” Emily said.

River bit her lips. “Emily, don't you think I should quit?”

Emily stared at her like she was insane “After making that bet? People would think you are a coward and you'll be bullied more! You make such a bet and run at the last hour?”

“But Emy, you know I can't face the crowd!”

“We can work on that! I was always your audience at home when you always do your acting. Forget about Diva!’

“Let me think!” River said walking out.

“River! Can't you just listen to me?”

Emily yelled.

* * * *

River sat in the empty classroom, lost in thought until Diva walked in with her minions.

“ I don't know what gave you the guts to make a stupid bet with me, but you trying to steal my boyfriend is the headlight of it!” Diva sneered.

River gasped, confused. “Steal your boyfriend?”

“Stop acting all innocent chubby b***h, he was staring at you!”

River lost it “Staring at me? So what should I do? Do I control his eyes? Why don't you go to him instead of coming to me or you are looking for an excuse to bully me today?” she yelled

“Do you lack family love that's why you take it out on others because I don't see any other reason you hate seeing people happy_”

“How dare you!” Diva screamed, kicking Diva with her designer heels on her tummy, sending River to the floor; her lip split and she tasted metallic blood.

She yanked herself free from Diva's friends who held her down.

“Holy Mary!” Agatha shrieked at River's sudden outburst and moved away from her in fear.

“Anticipate me at the audition! Set of useless fools. f**k you all”

Diva got mad and grabbed her hair tightly while she screamed.

Riley stared at her shocked.

Christie became scared Diva would rip off her hair.

“Diva it's okay_”

“Get… lost!” Diva yelled at them

Meanwhile, Agatha stood gazing into thin air.

“Did Chubby-fat just use the F-word as in ‘f**k you'?” She blurted out.

And the rest turned to her.

“I thought I was the only one who heard that!” Riley said.

“Riley! stop being an annoying b***h and keep shut!” Diva yelled.

Riley bit her lips sadly “Sorry muttered!” and walked out

“Why is she always abusing us when she's mad, but we are her friends,” Riley mumbled sadly.