Love knows no boundaries

Chapter 3

Kierra's POV

Neither Emily nor I had been expecting to walk into our ex-best friend, Celine on our way to our third class for the day but here we were, standing face to face with the girl who had betrayed us or specifically Emily.

The tension was thick in the air as both Emily and Celine glared daggers at each other. I could see Emily slowly clenching her fists by her side, her knuckles growing whiter as the look in her eyes grew darker.

Celine seemed annoyed just staring at us and it showed. Being the "Queen B", as one would say, of Everglade High, she was flanked on both sides by four girls, her lackeys. Emily and I were outnumbered.

Before things could escalate, I quickly stepped between both of them, holding Emily back before she did something. I observed Celine coolly and thought back to a time when the three of us weren't mortal enemies before she slept with and stole Emily's boyfriend, Rory.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my two former besties..." Celine spoke first, a sarcastic sweetness in her voice. My need to keep Emily calm and not cause a scene was the only thing keeping me from lunging at her.

Instead, I forced myself to smile at her. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Eli."

She frowned before narrowing her eyes at me and taking a step forward.

"Stop calling me that!"

I smirked. She'd always hated being called Eli. It got under her skin which was why I loved it.

"And what if she doesn't stop?" Emily moved towards Celine. "What are you going to do about it?"

Celine smirked and motioned to the girls beside her with a smug smile on her face.

"So what? I'm not afraid of your lackeys!" Emily spat, advancing towards Celine again. I was the only one standing between them in an attempt to prevent World War 3.

"Okay, okay. Let's just take a few steps back and take deep breaths, okay? Deep breaths, Emily!" I pulled Emily back and tried to calm her down.

"Yeah. Listen to your best friend, Emily, or is "lackey" a more suitable term?" Celine remarked behind me. Upon hearing what she said, I slowly turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on, Kierra. Don't play dumb. Emily over there is a controlling bitch and you, my dear are nothing more than the charity case she's keeping around because you do everything for her. You are just her little sidekick," she enunciated, letting her words hang in the air.

All was silent for a moment with Celine savoring her comeback and just when I was on the verge of slapping her hard, someone stepped in.

"Okay girls, I think that's enough. Let's just step away slowly. Celine, leave!"

Celine turned red, ready to refute but one look was all it took to shut her up. She snapped her fingers and walked away with her underlings trailing after her. After she was gone, Emily and I were left alone with Liliana, the peacemaker and Ethan's girlfriend.

"Are you girls okay? Did she do anything?" Liliana asked, looking sorry as she glanced at us.

"No, nothing happened this time. Luckily you stepped in just in time or else..." I trailed off, glancing at the direction Celine had gone.

"Well, I'm thankful for that. What about you, Emily? Are you okay?" Liliana glanced over my shoulder at Emily who merely shrugged and muttered, "I'll see you guys later."

I noticed Liliana staring sadly at Emily as she walked away and couldn't resist the urge to pat her shoulder which she smiled at. Emily had always been a little aloof with Liliana since she was her brother's girlfriend and all. She didn't exactly hate her but she never really tried to like her which was surprising because Liliana was a very likable person.

I know, I know. As cheer captain and girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, you probably expect her to be this entitled person but much unlike the she-devil that was Celine (and vice cheer captain), Liliana was not like that. She was pretty, nice, helpful, charming, and to top it off, actually smart. She was a literal beauty with brains.

It'd be easier to pine after Ethan if his girlfriend was a witch. Then I could say she didn't deserve him but she did. Liliana and Ethan were a match made in heaven and that was the sad truth.

"Anyway, it was nice seeing you again, Kierra. Later." She waved goodbye before heading to the senior section, leaving me standing alone. The bell rang just then and I hurried over to my locker to grab my stuff before heading to class.

Time passed by quickly and since it was the first day of school, we finished early much to Emily's relief.

"Thank goodness we're good. I think I might've lost it if I had to sit through one more class and learn boring stuff that I will never use in life. Gosh, school sucks!" Emily groaned as we both ended outside with the crowd of students leaving the school premises.

"You said that already," I reminded her and she shrugged. "Well, I mean it."

As we made our way out of school, I sighted Ethan and Liliana getting into Ethan's car. I felt my heart flutter at the mere sight of Ethan. I hadn't seen him since first period and he still didn't look any less gorgeous. But he was with Liliana, his girlfriend. That single fact was enough to jolt me back to reality.

"Hey, should we go join your brother?" I asked Emily, gesturing towards Ethan's car to which Emily snorted, "Yeah right. Like I'm interested in third-wheeling with those two. Let's just take the bus." And just like that, she was pulling me in the opposite direction, away from Ethan.

I opened my mouth to say something but clamped it shut almost immediately. It was no use arguing with Emily whenever she made up her mind. Besides, it was probably for the best. The farther I stayed away from Ethan, the lesser my chances of breaking the pact.

But as we took our seats on the school bus, I couldn't help but think back to Celine's statement in the morning. I glanced over at Emily but shook my head almost immediately.

Nah, I wasn't Emily's lackey. We were best friends and Celine was just being Celine. That's all...

I pushed the whole encounter out of my head and settled in for the ride to Emily's home. About half an hour later, we were climbing up the stairs to her house. I was the first to walk in and I instantly froze in my steps.

I had not been expecting this...