Campus Queen? She's Beyond Saving!

Trent Mercer, my rich-kid roommate, stumbled through the door late at night. He was half-dragging Raven Cross, the campus queen, who had passed out cold. "Hey, Skye," Trent sneered, reeking of cheap tequila, "This one's a real catch. I'm feeling generous, so you get first dibs." I turned down my three roommates’ “generous offer.” Instead, I quietly set up a hidden camera, angling it directly toward the bed. This was my third life, after all. In my first life, I played the hero. I stepped in and saved Raven, only for her to turn around and accuse me of sexual assault. I died in prison long before I ever saw my release date. In my second life, I turned a blind eye. I ignored them and went straight to sleep. The next morning, Raven pinned the crime on me anyway. Right before I died, she finally told me the truth. Of the three guys involved, one had a family too powerful to touch, while another was her secret crush. Trent used me as the scapegoat, clearing his name and securing an Ivy League spot. This was my third time around. It was time to settle the score. Chapter 1 At eight o'clock in the evening, Julius Knox, the campus heartthrob, and Brock Wilder, the dorm bully, were playing video games in our room. Staring at the two of them, the sudden realization hit me like a physical blow. I was back at the beginning. Right at this exact moment, I was supposed to be wiping the server files. The server housed years of encrypted group chats between my three roommates, filled with dark, twisted secrets that could destroy them if exposed to the light of day. Glancing at the clock, I knew Trent Mercer would be back any second. I quickly aborted the deletion process and changed the command to migrate all the data to my private drive instead. Next, I pulled out the video camera I had borrowed from the AV club. While Julius and Brock were glued to the screen, I set it up on a shelf, angled it toward my bed, and disguised it behind a stack of textbooks. Ten minutes later, the dorm door kicked open, letting in a reek of cheap booze. Trent shuffled into the room, half-carrying a girl before shoving her onto my bed near the entrance. I looked over, and my chest tightened. Raven Cross, the campus queen. The girl who ruined my life twice over. She was completely wasted, unable to even hold herself upright, though a faint flicker of consciousness remained. Her hands twitched in weak resistance, a muted murmur slipping past her lips. "No... Let me go..." Trent had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Ignoring her entirely, he snapped his fingers at the other two. "Listen up, boys. Come check this out. I brought you guys a present." Brock sprinted over to Raven, roughly tossing a thick strand of hair out of her face. He let out a loud, breathless laugh, looking up at Trent. "Bro, you’re insane! She’s gorgeous. Look at those curves!" Julius walked over next, letting out a sharp gasp. "Wait, Raven? As in the queen bee of campus? Man, the girl you were bragging about yesterday was her?" Trent smirked, and tapped Raven across the cheek twice. "What do you think? I keep my promises, don't I? Tonight, we have some real fun." Right as Trent tapped Raven’s face, her head slumped toward my direction. She forced her eyelids open, squinting at me as if I were her absolute last lifeline. "Help me..." she whispered. My heart dropped into my stomach. In my first life, those exact two words signed my death warrant. I had saved Raven, paid for her hotel room out of my own pocket, and she rewarded my kindness by testifying to the police that I assaulted her in that room. In my second life, I didn't lift a single finger, yet she pinned the crime on me anyway. This third time around, I honestly wouldn't care if they tore her apart right in front of me. I turned back to my monitor. The progress bar hit a hundred percent; the data migration was complete. Relief washed over me. This data was my ultimate bargaining chip. My three roommates were ruthless, predatory scumbags who used encrypted channels to say things too toxic for normal apps. Trent knew I was the top coder in our department, so he paid me two thousand dollars to build a custom private server for their chat logs. Yesterday, he handed me another grand, saying, "Graduation is around the corner. Go ahead and wipe the old records. I set up a new server address, so you won't need to do maintenance for us anymore. Appreciate the hard work." At the time, I was relieved to wash my hands of their filth, but now, paranoia gnawed at my brain. "Yo, Skye Sinclair, what are you obsessing over?" Trent called out, staring me down, "We've been bros for four years. I'm not gonna leave you out. We’re letting you go first, man. What do you say?" All three of them locked their eyes on me, waiting for my answer. Chapter 2 Catching the look in their eyes, a cold realization clicked into place. This whole thing was a setup targeting me from the start. I kept my composure, not letting a shred of suspicion show. "I’m wiping the server data. Just finished it." Hearing that, the three of them immediately whipped out their phones to check. Julius frowned, tapping his screen. "Wait, why did it update?" I nodded casually. "Patched a few security vulnerabilities. Better safe than sorry." Julius let out a forced laugh. "Right, right. Safety first." I scoffed internally. Yeah, no kidding. Out of everyone here, you were the one with the most to lose. On the surface, Julius was the bright, charming star athlete, but underneath, he was a total creep. Every time he hooked up with a fan, he recorded hidden videos. If those ever leaked, his life would be completely ruined. How did I know? Even though they never added me to their group chat, I built the app myself. There was no way I couldn't see what they were posting. I just preferred to keep my eyes off it. I stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "Pass. I'm not interested in this crap. I'm staying somewhere else tonight, so have fun." They barely flinched at my refusal. I had never joined in on their trashy antics anyway. However, instead of letting me walk away like usual, all three of them stepped forward, forming a solid wall in front of the door. Trent spoke first, blocking my path, "Come on, Skye. Every time we invite you out, you flake on us. So, I brought the party straight to you this time. Pretty generous, right? “Look at her. It's Raven. She's the school icon, right up there with Molly Foster. Don't sweat it. Nothing's gonna happen. Take the first crack at her, I've got your back." Julius threw an arm around my shoulder, a sleazy grin plastered across his face. "Yeah, Skye. I know you're still a virgin, but don't be shy. We're all bros here." "Appreciate the thought, but no thanks," I said, my voice deadpan, "She's disgusting." Their smiles instantly evaporated. They expected me to say no, but they didn't expect me to be this blunt. Trent flashed a quick glance at Brock. Brock immediately stepped into my personal space and shoved my shoulder hard. "Watch your mouth, Skye. Trent brought her here for us, and you call her disgusting? Trying to leave now? What, are you gonna call the cops on us or something?" Facing Brock's aggressive, thug-like posture, I didn't feel a single pulse of fear. What a joke. I'd already served time in prison. I'd been locked up with real monsters. Compared to them, Brock was just a pathetic, low-level punk playing tough. I casually patted his shoulder, brushing him off. "Chill out. We're graduating soon, and we've been roommates for four years. If I turned on you guys, what kind of person would that make me?" Their faces went pale, looking as though they had just swallowed dirt. I pushed past them toward the exit, but suddenly a hand clamped around my right wrist. It was Raven. She sat up on the mattress, her eyes hazy, her skin flushed red. "Don't go... Please..." The three of them erupted into laughter. "See, Skye? You're playing hard to get, but she's throwing herself at you. Don’t turn down an easy hookup. What’s wrong with you?" I cast a quick, subtle glance toward the hidden camera before looking down, my voice ice-cold. "She’s all yours." I yanked my arm back, but her grip was tight. I couldn't shake her off. So, Raven wasn't as wasted as she pretended to be. Raising my left hand, I delivered a slap across her face. “Slap!” The slap echoed through the room. The three guys froze in shock. Raven's eyes instantly snapped clear, wide with disbelief. "You hit me?" I let out a cold smirk. "Oh, I thought you’d passed out cold. You woke up pretty fast, didn't you?" Cornered by my words, Raven bit her lower lip hard, forced her eyes shut, and went back to playing dead. If she was so eager to play the victim in their sick game, fine. I was done caring. Chapter 3 The next morning, the entire department gathered in the lecture hall for an assembly. Scanning the hall, I noticed my three roommates were missing, and Raven wasn't there either. Just like in my previous life. A sick, heavy knot twisted in my stomach. Sure enough, right while the department dean was droning on from the podium, Raven walked through the doors. Two police officers followed close behind her, with my three roommates trailing at the back of the group. They marched straight down the aisle toward me. Raven stopped right in front of my seat, her eyes swollen and bloodshot. Pointing a trembling finger at me, she screamed for the whole hall to hear, "It was Skye! He assaulted me last night!" The entire auditorium instantly exploded into chaos. "Wait, isn't that Raven? Why is she saying Skye assaulted her?" "Who's Raven?" "You don't know her? She's a music major, basically the It Girl on campus!" "Why would she accuse Skye, though?" "Did you guys see last night? I saw Trent carrying a girl back to their dorm, and I'm pretty sure it was Raven." "So what? Skye is so quiet. Would he really do something like that?" "Maybe Trent just passed her off to Skye as some kind of perk or something." The students around us buzzed with speculations, theories flying everywhere. I stayed rooted in my chair, completely steady. In my first life, fake evidence left me trapped with no way to clear my name. In my second life, I panicked, desperately trying to prove my innocence. This time, there wasn't a single trace of panic in me. "Raven, drink all you want but watch your mouth," I said coldly, "Making false accusations can land you in prison." Seeing how calm and composed I was, the four of them visibly flinched, hesitation flickering across their faces. One of the two officers stepped forward. "Excuse me, are you Skye Sinclair?" I looked him dead in the eye. "That's me." He kept his tone neutral. "We received an anonymous call this morning. When we arrived on scene, Raven was lying in your dorm bed. Her statement matches the statements given by your three roommates, all claiming that you took advantage of her while she was intoxicated last night. “That constitutes sexual assault. Can you tell us where you were last night?” Chapter 4 The moment the officer finished speaking, the crowd's energy shifted instantly. "Wait, did Skye actually do it?" "Looks like it. But honestly, can you blame him? Have you seen Raven’s curves?" "Man, I never would've guessed. The guy gets straight As, but he's just another scumbag. Throw him straight in prison." Listening to the chatter surrounding us, color returned to the faces of Raven and my three roommates. Raven immediately went on the offensive. "I drank way too much at dinner with Trent last night," she sobbed, her voice trembling, "My dorm was locked early, so he brought me back to their room. But you took advantage of me while I was helpless! How am I supposed to face anyone ever again? I begged you to stop last night, but you... I'll kill you!" Her performance was flawless. Raven lunged forward at me, but the police officer caught her shoulders and yanked her back. I glanced over at my three roommates. Their faces practically glowed with the sick satisfaction of men getting away with a crime. Unbothered, I stood up slowly and held out my phone. "This is a user account login timestamp from the gaming lounge right down the street," I said, "I spent the entire night there. You can pull the security footage from the dorm entrance and the gaming lounge. The second Raven walked into our dorm room last night, I walked out." I locked eyes with Raven. "Raven, if you're so sure you were assaulted last night, the culprit isn't me. It's someone else in that room. I'll say it one more time: filing a false police report is a felony. Are you sure you don't want to rethink who actually did this to you?" Panic flickered in her eyes, and she reflexively glanced back at Trent. Trent knitted his brows into a dark glare, and Raven recoiled in fear. Then Trent turned to me, a sickening, knowing smirk spreading across his face. He stepped forward. "What are you trying to say, Skye? You're accusing us now? We've been rooming together for four years, man. I didn't want to turn you in. But if you're gonna throw us under the bus to save yourself, I'm not keeping quiet anymore." He turned toward the officer and projected his voice across the hall. "Officer, all three of us watched Skye assault Raven with our own eyes last night. We tried to pull him off her, but he wouldn't stop. And he was in our room the entire night. If you don't believe me, call the dorm security guard and the owner of the gaming lounge." The two officers exchanged a quick look, and one immediately pulled out his radio to check with dispatch. Half an hour later, another officer walked into the lecture hall with the preliminary report. "The camera at the dorm entrance is out of order," he announced, "The guard on duty said he never saw Skye leave the building. Over at the gaming lounge, the staff said they’d never seen him, and there was no record of him logging into their system. “As for their security footage, the owner claimed the hard drive was full, so he deleted the footage first thing this morning." The hall fell dead silent for a fraction of a second before breaking out into absolute chaos. My chest seized up, panic finally creeping into my veins. Chapter 5 This couldn't be happening. In my previous life, I got trapped because I stayed in the dorm and had zero alibi. This time, I deliberately left to stay clean. How the hell was this crime getting pinned on me again? My head snapped toward Trent. "It was you. You bought them off!" Trent just stood there with a lazy, satisfied grin plastered across his face, looking insufferably arrogant. "I have no idea what you're talking about, man." I turned to the officer, enunciating every word, "I didn't go to the gaming lounge alone last night. I can bring in witnesses. Plus, our dorm guard and that gaming lounge owner were definitely paid off by Trent. Otherwise, how could both security cameras conveniently fail at the exact same time? Someone is clearly pulling the strings here." A few students in the crowd nodded along in silent agreement. The newly arrived officer pulled out a printed report, keeping his eyes on me. "Skye, you need to calm down. We’re going to investigate, but we also have physical evidence right here. “We ran a DNA test comparing the samples recovered from Raven with DNA from the hair found on your pillow. The preliminary match links directly to you." "That’s impossible!" I snapped back instantly. Raven screamed at me, her voice cutting through the hall, "What do you mean, impossible? You're brave enough to commit the crime, but too much of a coward to own it? We have witnesses and physical evidence now, so what else do you have to say? You attacked me last night, and I remember every single detail!" The auditorium erupted once more. "Holy crap, you really can't judge a book by its cover. It actually was Skye." "Right? There's a DNA match! Man, I almost thought he was being framed since the broken cameras sounded so sketchy." "Poor Raven, getting ruined right before graduation." Listening to the endless barrage of accusations, I was surprised to feel my pulse settle into a strange, deadly calm. I stared at Raven, who was glaring back at me through fake tears, and everything clicked. Money really could make people do anything. The officer stepped toward me, gesturing to his side. "Skye, please come with us." Trent and the other two guys were practically glowing with triumph. I nodded, raising my voice so it rang across the entire hall, "Sure, I'll go with you. But before I do, I'd like to invite everyone to take a look at this first." I held up a flash drive and started walking straight toward the AV podium at the front of the hall. "Raven, how are you gonna explain this one?" Realizing something was wrong, Raven rushed over, cutting me off at the steps. She lowered her voice to a furious whisper, "What are you trying to do, Skye? Look, I didn't want to hurt you. Just confess and take the plea deal. You'll be out in a couple of years. If you behave, I might even take pity on you and marry you when you get out." I let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "The video of you guys running a gangbang last night was pretty wild. Let's share it with everyone here."