Everything was more than fine between Axel and Chloe. It scared her, nothing ever goes this good for her. Life tended to throw the worst things at her at the worst timing, so, she was always prepared but nothing prepared her for what was about to hit her.

She got off the bus as usual. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. It was a typical Wednesday. But as she walked in, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She frowned, she checked her outfit to see if she was wearing anything funny but there was nothing wrong with her outfit. Heaving a sigh, she kept walking looking down, paying no attention to the whispers around her.

"How much did Axel pay you?" A guy asked her

She stopped in her tracks as he appeared before her, blocking her way. He looked her up and down and bit his lower lip. "Excuse me?" Chloe said, clearly offended. She could sense something was wrong but she wasn't prepared for what he said next.

"How much did Axel pay you to dry-hump him in the library?" He laughed. "I'll double it"

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" She gritted out. No one talked about her like that. She had too much self-respect to ignore an insult like that.

"Come on, guttersnipe. Name your price?" He said, stepped forward.

Chloe pushed him on his chest aggressively and he staggered back. "Don't you dare talk to me this way!" She almost yelled. She hurriedly shuffled away from him. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw her friends, Theo, Fawn, and Diana.

"Here comes the I'm-so-pious and I'm-better-than-everyone Chloe" Fawn sneered

"W-what?" Chloe mumbled

"I thought you wanted to focus on your studies, Chloe?" Theo snarled

"What are you guys talking about?" Chloe asked

Diana looked down at the ground. "Why didn't you tell us, Chloe?" She mumbled

"About what?"

"About you and Axel! You were the reason that they cornered me in the classroom and beat me up!" Theo almost shouted

Chloe flinched as she dug her nails into her palms. "No... Theo, please--"

"What? Axel King beat you?" Diana asked

Theo scoffed. "Not just Axel King, his best friend Ace too. They threw me in an empty classroom, harassed me, and beat me up because his girlfriend Chloe put him up to it"

"Now I get why you always had that I'm-better-than-all-of-you attitude." Fawn crossed her arms over her chest.

"You rejected me to focus on your studies and but immediately spread your legs wide apart for a rich boy!" Theo shamed her.

"I did not!" Chloe snapped

"I hope he dumps your ass" Fawn snickered

"I actually dodged a bullet when you rejected me. Do you have any idea what everyone is saying about you? They are saying that Axel King pays you for sex!" Theo said to her.

"Why am I not surprised? It makes so much sense now, how she is always "too busy" to hang out because she had go to "work". I'm working two jobs guys it's not easy" Fawn mimicked Chloe. "Must be tiring get fucked by rich boys for money!"

"That's how you feed your father and yourself. I'm truly disgusted by you, Chloe" Theo clenched his jaw.

"I won't answer any of your questions. I have too much self-respect to even acknowledge what you just said about me. I don't care what you think or what you accuse me of. I know what I am and I don't need to prove it to all of you!" Chloe snapped back.

She walked away from them. She knew that by now everyone knew about her and Axel but what she didn't understand was why would everyone shame her like that. Was someone like her not allowed to fall in love with someone like Axel?

Axel...

He was the only one who could tell her what was going on. She pulled out her cellphone and called him.

"Hey, where are you?" Came his nervous voice.

"In school---"

"Meet me at the back of the school," he said

"Okay..." She almost ran out and saw him.

When his eyes fell on her, he ran to her and engulfed her in a hug. He caressed the back of her head.

"It's gonna be okay... It's gonna be fine. I'm here for you, Chloe. No one is going to hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you" he sweetly whispered in her ear.

She pulled away. "What happened?" She asked

Axel clenched his jaw and fisted his hands. "Nothing you should worry about"

Tears welled up in Chloe's eyes. "A guy asked me---" she paused and looked at him.

"What?" He asked

"In the hallway, a guy asked me how much you paid me to dry hump you in the library." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Why would he say that, Axel?"

"Ella..." Axel whispered

"Ella? What does she have to do with it?" Chloe asked as Axel wiped her tear.

"She did all this!" He pulled out his cellphone from his pocket. He opened her texts and showed Chloe the video.

She gasped as her eyes teared up again. "It was Ella... She recorded us that day?" She wiped her tears. "That's why he called me that" she mumbled to herself.

"What?" Axel asked

"Guttersnipe," she said in a broken voice.

Axel cupped her face. "Chloe, look at me. Don't let them get to you like that. My Chloe is stronger than that. You're stronger than all of the students here combined."

Chloe cried a little more and nuzzled her face into his neck as he caressed her back gently and soothingly.

He pulled away. "I'm gonna make this right, okay. I don't give a fuck about my dad, or the fucking world. I love you, Chloe, and now everyone has to accept it and if they can't accept it, they won't be a part of our life"

"I'm scared" she whispered

"You shouldn't be. You have me" he said

Chloe nodded. "Thank you"

"For what?" He asked

"For staying by my side... Always"

"Axel" Chris called him. "Ella just came to school"

Axel clenched his jaw. "Wait for me here" he kissed Chloe's forehead.

Axel walked back into the school building and saw Ella in the hallway. Watching her face, infuriated him. He loved her like a sister. How could she do that to him? Out of everyone, she was the one he trusted the most.

"How could you?!" He shouted, watching her with bloodshot eyes.

She got startled. "What?"

"How could you do that?! I told you those things in confidence!" He shouted, his eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched together.

"Axel, what are you talking about?" She asked.

It infuriated him more that after what she has done, she was still acting like she knew nothing. Rage took over every cell of his body and he slammed his fist into her locker. She screamed, jumping away from him. She put both of her hands on her mouth to muffle her cries. He pulled his hand out as the cracked metal locker scratched him more. With tear-filled eyes, she tried to hold his hand. He held her and slammed her into the same lockers.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" He shouted at her face and she turned her face to the side, scared. "You have ruined me, you ruined us..." he brokenly whispered the last part.

Someone yanked him away from Ella and he turned to see Hunter Grey. "Let go off her, man!" He shouted

Ella sobbed miserably. "Stay out of this, Hunter, please..." She said and turned towards Axel. "What did I do, Axel? Tell me, please"

"Fuck you, Ella Carter," he seethed and walked away.

"AXEL, STOP!" She shouted behind him.

He saw Chloe walking towards him with tear stricken face. The pain in his heart intensified. He engulfed her in a hug. "They could cancel my scholarship, Axel. I could lose my life" she whispered

He sighed. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise"

Axel's phone rang and he saw his father's name flash on his screen. Chloe pulled away and looked at him in apprehension. "It's gonna be okay" he whispered to her before answering the call.

"Axel King, I warned you!" This was the first thing his father said on the phone.

"I don't care anymore" Axel snapped back.

"What do you mean by that?" Dominic roared, his voice aggressive.

"I love her, dad. You were bound to find out about us one day... I don't care if it's today" he said

"By showing me your porn? That's how you want to introduce your girlfriend to me!" He seethed. "That girl is using her body to trap you--"

Axel cut him off. "Don't, dad. Please, do not complete that sentence, or else I'll forget that you are my father"

"You have never talked back to me, Axel. I can already see what that girl is doing to you" Dominic grumbled.

"You brought this upon yourself, dad. She didn't do anything. You made me this way" Axel said and hung up.

Chloe gulped. "What did he say?"

"Nothing that I didn't expect" Axel answered

The principal's assistant approached them. "Axel King and Chloe Jones, the principal would like to see you in his office."

A lump formed in Chloe's throat. Axel intertwined their hands and walked with her to the principal's office.