Chapter 3: The Paint Kiss

Tara’s POV 

I stood straight, the black paint dripping from my head and face, feeling the weight of everyone’s stares. Xavier and Jasper look pleased with themselves, clearly thinking they would win this round. The satisfaction in their eyes was unmistakable. They had successfully humiliated me in front of everyone.

But as I stood, something in me snapped. I was not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me run away, defeated. Not when everyone was staring at me, probably waiting for what I was going to do next after the humiliation.

So instead of storming off the stage like they expected, I took a deliberate step towards Xavier. His smirk flirted lightly as I counted my steps closer, confusion flickered across his face. 

"What are you…” He started to say.

I did not let him finish. Before he could even react, before anyone could process what was going to happen, I grabbed the front of his T-shirt and pulled him toward me, crushing my lips against his. 

The crowd gasped collectively, a wave of shocked silence ripping through the room, but this was not a romantic case. It was strategic warfare. As our lips met, I made sure to smear as much of the black, thick paint from my face onto his as possible, coating his cheek, his nose, his mouth in the same humiliating mess they could cover me with.  

Xavier tried to pull back, but I held on for another second, making sure the paint transfer was complete. When I finally released him, he staggered backward, his face now streaked with black paint, his eyes wide with shock. Exactly what I want. 

I leaned in close enough that only he could hear my voice, slow and dangerous, "If you think you can humiliate me without consequences, you're even dumber than you look. This is just the beginning."

Then I straightened up, wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and walked off the stage with my head held high. The crowd was silent.  Everyone was too stunned to react, even Jasper stood frozen, his mouth hanging open as he stared at his twin brother's paint-covered face.

I could feel every pair of eyes in the room following me as I made my way to the exit, but I didn’t care; let them see. Let them whisper anything they want to. I had just turned the twin's humiliation attempt into my own victory.

As I reached the door where Zoey and Jane were waiting with expressions of awe and disbelief, I heard the room finally explode back into noise, chatter laughter, and I heard someone shouting.  “Did she just kiss Xavier?!” 

"Holy shit, Tara," Zoey breathed as we stepped outside. "That was..."

"Insane," Jane finished. "Completely insane and absolutely brilliant."

I glanced back through the window one last time to see Xavier still standing on the stage, touching his paint-covered face in bewilderment while Jasper shook his head in apparent disbelief. They had definitely not seen that coming.

---

The next morning, I woke up feeling surprisingly good about myself. Yes, I was still feeling a bit of black paint in my hair despite shampoo season, but the memory of Xavier's shocked expression made it worth it.  

That feeling lasted exactly until I walked into school and saw a group of students huddled around copies of the school newspaper, giggling and pointing fingers at me. 

I wondered what was happening. 

I walked toward them and snatched a copy from the nearest person, and felt my blood run as I read the headline.  "LOVE TRIANGLE DRAMA: Student Confesses Feelings for Both Hockey Captains at a Party."

The article, written by Melissa from the school paper, was a complete fabrication. According to her "sources," I had supposedly confessed my undying love for both twins at the party, begging them to choose me, and declaring that I could not live without their attention. The kiss was described as a desperate attempt to win Xavier's affection after being rejected. 

"This is bullshit," I said loudly, causing several nearby students to look up from their papers.

I marched straight to the journalism classroom, clutching the newspaper so tightly my knuckles were white. Melissa was sitting at her usual desk, typing away on her laptop with a satisfied smirk.

"We need to talk," I said, slamming the paper down in front of her.

She looked up innocently. "Oh, hi, Tara. Did you see the article? I think it came out really well."

"It's completely made up! I never said any of those things!"

Melissa's expression shifted, looking almost apologetic. "Look, Tara, I'm sorry, but..." She glanced around nervously, then leaned closer. "Xavier and Jasper paid me to write it. They gave me five hundred dollars and told me exactly what to say."

My mouth fell open. "They what?"

"I needed the money for tuition fees," she said defensively. "And they said it was just a harmless prank. I didn't think there was a big deal in…”

"Where are they?" I interrupted, my voice dangerously quiet.

"Probably in the gym. But Tara, there's something else." She turned her laptop screen toward me, showing a social media post that had already gotten dozens of likes and shares.

The post featured several photos from the party, the one covered in paint, the moment I kissed Xavier, when Jasper handed me a drink, and a particularly unflattering shot of me walking away. The caption read: "The dirty queen surrenders to twins' hotness. Tara can’t handle the twins' magic. #PartyFail #TwinTrouble #Desperate"

"They posted this, too?" I asked, scrolling through the cruel comments.

Melissa nodded miserably. "They have accounts on every platform. It's already been shared hundreds of times."

I stared at the screen, watching as more comments poured in, each one more humiliating than the last.