High School Treachery | ✓

BONUS 2 | The Dancer

B O N U S 2
The Dancer

Cortney Rousso didn't compete.

After spending years watching her parents place her older brother on a pedestal, it became clear that no matter what she or their younger sister did, they'd never compare.

Second best was still losing, so it never mattered to her which daughter their parents preferred. As long as Anthony was number one in their eyes, any other spot didn't matter.

Cortney kept competition strictly in ballet, and even then, if she wasn't winning first place, she was a loser. Second place prizes meant nothing.

Being second meant you were nothing.

For most of her life, she had been nothing in her parents eyes. Better than Emily, but never better than Anthony.

That was until Anthony turned away from the family, went against their wishes and refused to go along with their plans.

The first time he did so was when Cortney was a freshman in high school. Anthony was Arlin's new King at the time, the one everyone looked too in admiration and awe. He and his small group headed the games, and Cortney listened as everyone praised them for turning the infamously known antics into something almost unrecognizable.

Before Anthony Rousso took over, the games had been more vicious, sometimes even lethal—at least that was what Cortney heard. All she'd ever witnessed was the changed version her brother brought forward, the rumors of what others did before dwindling as every month passed, until the years went by and those previous students who'd seen that version were all gone.

After a while, the only rumor that floated around about that version of the games was that they truly ended with the previous King before Anthony's reign. Whatever significance they held before—good or bad—was gone, as those traditional games died along with Matthew Carrington, adding to the long list of tragedies that occurred that night.

All Cortney knew was that Anthony turned the games playful, harmless even. Her older brother was loved more at school for doing so, and once again, she was in second place—she was nothing.

Anthony was told around that time that he was set to marry a younger girl from the Agramonte family. Understandably, he was against the idea. What rational seventeen year old would be okay with the idea of being set up with a fourteen year old?

Cortney could clearly remember the dinner when the two met. Her brother was visibly disgusted and appalled, and in case anyone couldn't tell by the look on his face, he made it perfectly clear when he confidently announced the engagement would not be happening. If their parents were cartoons, smoke would have come out of their ears, but rather than being greeted by that entertaining sight, Cortney watched as they shook with rage and excused themselves and their son from the Agramontes presence.

Cortney had wandered over to the girl who was a year younger than her, and before she could either choose to offer some comfort or just hear her thoughts on the whole thing, the younger girl said something that stuck with her all these years later.

"This idea of marriage isn't for my benefit," she'd said snidely. "It's all for my parents. It's what they want."

There was no missing the malice in her tone or the look in her eyes practically screaming that this young girl was going to do everything in her power to stop herself from being married off. But despite the pure rage Cortney had witnessed from both her brother and the girl, she thought of what she'd said.