《The Rise》The Edge
Advertisement
It was the start of lunchtime and Leon and Jessica were meeting on the roof. Jessica was going through her social media feed reading the student body's reaction to George's disqualification.
"People aren't happy." she said summing up the reactions and looking up at Leon
"He had extremely loyal voters." said Leon
Even though Jessica didn't know the true polls, Leon was well aware that the exact same amount of students voted for George after two separate polls. These were students that seemed to vote for George no matter what. They weren't going to take George's disqualification easily.
"We'll have to wait until tomorrow's presidential debate to get a new set of polls. Then we'll get a feel for how the student body will direct their votes." said Jessica
"They may choose to mass abstain as a form of protest." postulated Leon rubbing his chin
"That will only happen effectively if George himself demands it." said Jessica
"Perhaps, but they may also abstain because they're no longer interested. Like when your favorite character is a television show dies, you just stop watching." said Leon
"What are the countermeasures?" asked Jessica
"I don't know, but if the non-George votes stay the same, it means I'll win. And that doesn't seem to faze you at all, knowing that you have to win for my grandmother." said Leon
"Didn't you say that all she wanted was for Sinclair to lose?" said Jessica
"Yeah, but, I didn't expect you'd take it this easily. The girl who puts up a fight for everything." said Leon probing.
"There's three-hundred plus votes in circulation now that George is out, there are three more days and a debate. Don't get cocky Leon, this is far from over." said Jessica turning away and making her way towards the roof exit.
"Wait, Jess." said Leon stopping Jessica. "I told Veronica. About us." he continued
Jessica turns her head around and doesn't reply.
"What you said earlier, I never noticed. I promise, I never meant it to be like that." said Leon apologetically
"That's the whole point, you don't know what you really are. Raised by a family of wolves who only care about winning, I wonder if you've ever really cared about someone."
Advertisement
"I care about Veronica, I'm risking everything just to-"
"You still don't get it! You get off that kind of stuff, where everything is at stake. You don't love Veronica, you just love the thrill that comes with being with her. If you play too close to the edge, sooner or later, you'll fall off." she said ending the conversation and storming out.
Leon stared at the roof door motionless. Jessica had always told Leon what was on her mind, she never filtered, she never held back. Which is why her words affected him even more.
He rubbed his face and then left the roof making his way downstairs towards Justin and Taylor. They meet in the school hallways, and decide for the first time in the election week, to go to the cafeteria. The three mostly spent their lunches eating on the roof, but Leon finally wants to make an appearance. Upon reaching the cafeteria, there was a table saved for them by the seven boys who were helping Leon.
The three walked into the cafeteria purposefully slow, attracting all eyes to them. They looked straight ahead at their table without paying any attention to anyone around them. Leon had a strong posture with determined eyes - the eyes of someone who has everything under control. There were strong whispers as the students murmured at Leon's presence. They reached their table and sat with the boys.
"You've got this in the bag Leon" said one of the boys with brown hair smiling mischievously.
"We've made progress, and I thank you all for your help, but this isn't over yet. I may still need to call on you if you're still willing to help." said Leon
"Of course! But when you become a big shot Prime Minister one day, don't forget about us" said another boy smiling confidently
"May I ask something?" asked Leon suddenly
They all nodded.
"How did you guys know I was in my mother's house the first time we met." said Leon
"We just got lucky I guess, one of us knew where your mom's house was cause of the news, so we checked there first." said the brown haired boy.
"I see." said Leon leaving it at that
Advertisement
Justin suddenly grabs Leon's shirt and pulls him closer, then whispers into his ears.
"I forgot to tell you, but you should know, you messed up with the polls. Apparently Layla's vote was changed to you and Tasha saw it." said Justin
Leon quickly snaps his head towards Justin with his eyes wide open.
"Crap." he said distraught
He quickly remembers Justin telling him about his luck with girls and worries that there may be a link. He quickly looks around the cafeteria trying to find Layla but is unable to find her.
"What is it?" asked Taylor
"You guys stay here, I need to find Layla" he said getting up and leaving the cafeteria.
Meanwhile Layla was in the auditorium, sitting on the stage's edge with her legs hanging down. She started to reminisce last year's election during this same time of the year. She had shorter hair back then and was sitting next to George in this exact same place looking at the buzzing of students as they lined up to vote in the auditorium. There were six different stations with members of the student council at each station facilitating the voting process. Students separated at each station and lined up. They would pick a voting paper from a stash of papers and walk into a curtained booth to vote. They fold up their paper, walk out, place it in a box at the station and leave.
"I thought there would be more people here, we have more students than this." said Layla to George who's hairline was slightly more forward.
"Well since voting is after school, students who don't want to vote or abstain, just don't show up. The school will know the names of the students who didn't vote since their papers aren't in the boxes and so will count them as abstained. There's no reason for them to show up." said George
"Well it's been a long ride, but it was one the most thrilling weeks of my life. Thanks for letting me be a part of it George." said Layla
"I wouldn't be here without your help." said George smiling, but his smile seemed reserved.
Layla punches him on his shoulder as soon as she notices his reserved smile.
"Stop being so stressed out, you're gonna win this for sure." she said in a commanding tone.
"Ow..." said George as he rubs his shoulder in pain.
The two kept looking ahead at the students voting, maintaining a calming silence between them.
"This is your legacy story, George. In ten, fifteen years time, they'll talk about where it all started. This is just the beginning." she said looking at George
George smiled back and held her hand.
"No, it's our legacy story." he said
"Layla?" said Leon suddenly, breaking Layla out of her daydream.
Layla quickly turns away and rubs her tears and sniffs heavily.
"Leon? What are you doing here?" she said hiding her face.
Leon walked up towards her realizing that she was crying.
"Layla, have you heard from George? Did he talk to you? Is everything okay?" said Leon bombarding her with questions.
"George? No I haven't heard from him. He hasn't been answering my calls or replying to my messages." she said holding her frown back "And I'm sure it's because he's blaming me for what happened..." she continued.
"Why would he do that?" said Leon digging deeper
"How would I know!?" she lashed out
Leon paused giving her time to cool down.
"Layla, everything's going to be okay. I'll talk to George and see what I can do." said Leon
Layla squints her eyes and shakes her head
"And who are you to George to suddenly talk to him, trying to 'sort things out'?" she said harshly
Leon knew she was right. He and George aren't even remotely friends, why does he think he can just talk to George - especially when it comes to his relationships.
"Because... I may be the reason why he's blaming you." he said hesitantly
"What? What does that even mean? What did you do?" she said hectically.
"It doesn't matter right now, but I need you to trust me, I'll do everything I can to sort things out." said Leon ending the conversation.
"Wait!" she shouted at Leon as he left the auditorium without turning back.
Advertisement
- In Serial7 Chapters
Goddess
A Goddess awakens to find out she's in the human realm. Now, without memories on how to return to the Palaces, she encounters Mercy--a Sister who is on her pilgrimage to become a Saint. Knowing that at the end of the pilgrimage is the Temple of Abe, she accompanies the Sister in order to find a way to return and who cast her down.
8 109 - In Serial118 Chapters
His Solace (Book 3) On Hold
"I love you, Lee, but I can't keep doing this."- - - Lee was a famous rockstar from the passengers and Simone, well she was just a regular girl trying to find a man who would love her more than she ever thought possible. Who would've thought that the quiet, down to earth Lee would've been the best candidate.
8 153 - In Serial36 Chapters
Love & Murder: An Eliza Winter Mystery
Lady Eliza Winter has one friend in the world and she happens to go missing. And when Eliza goes to report the disappearance to the police they won't hear a word from Crazy Eliza Winters. Determined to find her friend Penelope, Eliza reaches out to the new detective in town, Lord Colin Bradshaw, but in order to find Penelope, he needs to know everything that led up to her going missing. Unfortunately, there are some things Eliza isn't willing to tell. Will Eliza be able to find Penelope without giving away all her secrets? Or will Lord Bradshaw be a match Eliza wasn't ready for.HIGHEST-RANKED:#1 HISTORICAL FICTION#1 EDWARDIAN#1 MURDER MYSTERY#1 MYSTERY THRILLER#1 VICTORIANAN EDITED AND UP TO DATE VERSION OF THIS BOOK CAN NOW BE FOUND ON AMAZON. $.99 FOR KINDLE, FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED AND $6.99 FOR PAPERBACK.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SWJ9RH8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Love+%26+Murder+Kindle+erin+st+james&qid=1610517381&sr=8-1
8 114 - In Serial45 Chapters
Unbroken C.B
Being pregnant, scared and alone sounds like the worst case scenario right? Wrong. Worst case scenario is being pregnant, scared, alone AND homeless. Which is exactly what Leighton was. Having no idea what to do next, she sat against the wall, head in her hands as she cried. She could hear his voice in her head, playing over and over again like a broken record. She knew one thing, and she clung to that one thing till the end. We were unbroken. We would be okay. We just needed to trust that everything was meant to be, and I hoped that everything would work out the way it was supposed to. Barley believing herself, she stood up and typed in roommate applications, and after hours of finding nothing, her friend came to the rescue and sent her one that seemed ALMOST perfect. Except for one thing. It was a household FULL of boys, YOUNG ADULT BOYS, who she was sure loved to party, and would be a horrible place for a pregnant person to live, let alone a baby... but sadly, it was her only affordable option so she hesitantly submitted her application to someone named Samuel Golbach and Cole Brock and hoped for the best. *Book One*Thought of on: November 15th 2021Started on: November 19th 2021First Part Published: November 28th 2021Republished: March 11th 2022 - went under editingFinished editing: April 4th 2022 - up to 28 was edited to change storyline and names and suchEnded on: June 13th 2022
8 136 - In Serial7 Chapters
Venduto al Capo Della Mafia
Translation: Sold to the Mafia BossSeventeen year old Savannah Dawson got kicked out her own home, and was wondering the streets when she was picked up by human traffickers. This innocent beauty's life changes from the second she bumped into a black chest.Twenty-eight year old Dante De Luca is the Italian Mafia boss. He's the King of all mafias. Earning the title of Don and Capo at the slim age of twenty-two, he's ruthless. Heartless. And notorious. He's respected and is so powerful his enemies can't do a thing to him.But when Dante sees the broken girl hidden behind thick brown curls, his heart beats for the first time in years. And forever will it beat for Savannah.~~~"Do you want me to make you feel good kitten?"*I'm well aware 'Venduto' is supposed to be 'Venduta' I kept it with an 'o' because that's what it was known for originally and I'd hope it would make it easier to be found again.**Also, the first five chapters are from the original book, which I wrote when I was fourteen, please bear with me.*
8 111 - In Serial37 Chapters
Drawing The Line
Quinn's estranged aunt, Rachel, returns to Lima after being away for several years. The two spend more time together and become much closer with every day that passes. It's not long before Quinn starts developing feelings that she should not be feeling. Complications soon arise.Warnings: Obviously there is eventual Faberry. There is also some minor Quinntana. And yes, this is a G!P Quinn fic. And also, this is semi-incestuous. Rachel is Quinn's aunt, but they are not blood related as Rachel was adopted which will all be explained in the story. If any of this bothers you, please avoid reading at all costs.
8 166

