System Revenge: From Trash Boy to Top Boss

Chapter 6

The club was full of people as they danced to the beat. Jane's birthday party was almost over, and the atmosphere was clearly awesome. There were a lot of students in their class who attended the birthday celebration, plus a bunch of their department and faculty students in there as well.

Jane was glowing in a shiny sequin dress, taking in the compliments. “This party is wonderful, Jane,” said a girl in front of the DJ booth. “Best birthday ever!”

Xavier smiled as he swooped in to take full credit for this party. “Well, it's all thanks to me, you know.”

Jane just smiled a little too widely and then nodded to Xavier, who was standing behind her, the hand at her lower back smacking furtively. “He’s the best?” she whispered and her eyes flicked towards Xavier. “He is truly the one who made it all happen.”

Xavier felt himself with a gruff smile and nodded to her with pleasure. “Only the best for my queen,” he said, and even more so because of that little pause in the music, a cheer went up from their immediate circle, hailing the couple. Everyone knew Jane, despite her beauty, didn’t have the cash to throw a bash like this.

“Well, really,” Jane repeated with just a little bit of an echo against the walls, “in the few hours we’ve been together, Xavier has done more for me than... well, than anyone else ever has.” 

She glared directly at the crowd of friends, who immediately recognized the sweet nudge at Damon. She’d spent the morning denying any real relationship with him, and she wasn’t about to let anyone forget it.

“Can you believe that pauper, Damon, actually thought he was dating Jane?” one guy scoffed, shaking his head. “The audacity!”

A wave of laughter rippled through the group.

“It’s utterly ridiculous,” Xavier declared, walking up hurriedly. “We saw him earlier today, at the Universal Shopping Center, still in that ridiculous clown costume. And he was actually bragging about coming here tonight with some ‘beautiful new girlfriend.’ Like any sane, self-respecting, classy lady in this entire school would ever, ever date someone like Damon.”

Another eruption of laughter. “A clown and his imaginary girlfriend!” someone yelled. “Classic Damon!”

The mockery was in full swing, a symphony of laughter across the room. But then, the heavy doors of Club Moon swung open.

The music somehow seemed to go down. The laughter seemed to cease, and then it stopped. Heads began to move, slowly. As everyone turned their attention to the open door, Damon stood there.

He was not the clown wearing the silly costume. He was in an absolutely perfect-fitting black suit that looked to melt into his frame. His white shirt was clean, and his silk tie was a deep, rich burgundy. 

His hair, an otherwise messy mop, was perfectly styled. His shoes gleamed under the club lights. A little fancy watch, the Rolex he had bought earlier, hangs down from his cuff. Everything was money in his dress.

The guests, who had just laughed at him, stared blankly with their mouths open slightly and murmurs began, soft but increasing in pitch.

“Is that… Damon?”

“No way. It can’t be.”

“How did he… clean up like that?”

“He looks… good. Really good.”

Some of the ladies who hadn’t known Damon personally, who had only heard the whispers of his poverty, began to eye him with newfound interest. A few even offered tentative, flirtatious smiles. He returned one, a slow, charming smile that made a group of girls giggle.

Jane, who had been basking in Xavier’s attention, felt her jaw drop. She stared at Damon, her eyes wide with disbelief. If he had looked like this when they were dating… maybe she wouldn’t have been so ashamed. 

How had he done this? She remembered seeing him at the shopping center, still in that absurd clown suit, the salesgirl practically ready to throw him out. He couldn’t have bought those clothes. Could he?

Xavier, sensing his spotlight being stolen, stepped forward, a forced smile plastered on his face. He clapped his hands together, a loud, artificial sound.

“Well, well, well!” Xavier boomed, his voice cutting through the murmurs. “Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence, Damon Newton, ladies and gentlemen! And what a transformation! Congratulations, Damon, on your successful… clothing store heist.”

A few confused chuckles rippled through the crowd. Most looked puzzled.

“A heist?” someone asked.

“What’s he talking about?”

Xavier’s smile widened, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Oh, you didn’t hear? Jane and I ran into our dear Damon earlier today at the Universal Shopping Center. He was still in his… signature clown attire. And he was clearly plotting something. A money heist, perhaps, but in his case, it seems it was a clothing heist.” 

He paused for dramatic effect. “And given how impeccably dressed he is now, for which we all know he couldn’t possibly afford, it’s clear his little ‘heist’ was a success. At least for now, until, of course, the security tracks him down to this party and publicly humiliates him.”

This time, the laughter was immediate, a wave of understanding washing over the crowd.

“Oh, right!”

“He must have stolen them!”

“That makes so much more sense!”

The ladies who had been flirting with Damon moments before recoiled, their faces twisting into expressions of disgust. “A criminal? Ugh!” one whispered, turning away. “I knew he seemed too good to be true.”

Damon stood still, a faint, unreadable smile on his lips. He didn’t say a word to Xavier. He knew they could wait until forever for security to come and arrest him, and they would be sorely disappointed. He scanned the crowd, looking for Aria; she wasn’t here yet. He figured she was taking her time, preparing for her own grand entrance, befitting her status.

He turned his gaze back to Jane and Xavier. “Happy birthday, Jane,” he said, his voice calm, almost detached.

Jane, however, wasn’t interested in pleasantries. Her eyes, narrowed and sharp, fixed on him. “Never mind that, Damon, the bet. Now that you’ve… acquired these clothes, where is she? Your ‘beautiful new girlfriend’? The sheepish lady you managed to sway into falling for your dirty tricks?” Her tone was laced with venom, a desperate attempt to regain control of the narrative.

Damon’s smile didn’t waver. “Oh, don’t you worry, Jane. My girlfriend and her friends are on their way.” He paused, letting his words hang in the air. “And unlike you, Jane, she is highly respected. And highly regarded.”

Jane’s face flushed crimson. Her eyes blazed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Damon? ‘Unlike me’? What gives you the right, you dirty self-proclaimed ex-boyfriend, to say something like that? I’m the beauty queen of this class, and now I’m dating the richest guy in this class. Our power couple status gives me all the respect I need.” She gestured wildly between herself and Xavier.

Damon scoffed, a short, dismissive sound. “Respect, Jane? What level does all of that bring to you outside of this class? Outside of these four walls? You are nothing once you step out of this bubble. But my girlfriend…” he paused, letting his gaze sweep over the faces of their classmates, “my girlfriend is the most respected and adored lady in the entire school.”

The back-and-forth between Damon and Jane had captivated the entire party. Guests leaned in, enjoying the unexpected drama. They wondered what deep-seated history existed between the two, what fueled Jane’s almost obsessive need to tear down Damon’s claims about his new girlfriend. But then Damon’s last statement hit them.

“The most respected and adored lady in the entire school.”

A hush fell over the crowd again, different from the earlier shock. This was a silence of dawning realization. Murmurs began, not of ridicule, but of recognition. Everyone knew who that title belonged to, as there was only one person on campus who commanded that kind of universal respect and adoration.

It was none other than Aria Golden.