Stepping back, I moved closer to Jason, cutting us off from prying eyes since we had the attention of the entire cafeteria now. “You think you’re so fucking slick,” I said through gritted teeth, still smiling. “You’ll have to try a damn sight harder than that to embarrass me.”
The second I said the words, I saw his eyes light up. Crap. I usually didn't bite, but he got under my skin so much. Too late now though, I’d openly challenged him. And Jason never backed down from a challenge.
One of the few things we had in common.
“Jase.” The sound of Cameron’s gruff voice startled me. I hadn’t even realized he had approached us. My eyes lifted to where he stood to the side of Asher. “Come on, she isn’t even worth it,” he said coolly, not even flinching as the words left his lips, his eyes refusing to meet mine.
But I did flinch.
Even now, after all these years, it was hard to forget Cameron wasn’t a good guy. He was a jerk, just like my step-brother and Asher and the rest of the football team. But until this week, he’d never been so obvious about his dislike for me. Not that it really mattered because the feeling was entirely mutual.
Flick had it wrong.
So wrong.
Cameron didn’t want me, he wanted to ruin me. And aside from being my step-brother’s little bitch, I had no idea why.
“You should listen to him, Jase,” I mocked. “Wouldn’t want people to think you were—”
“Okay, Hails.” Flick’s arms came around my waist and she started yanking me away. “I think your work here is done.”
The three of them stared after me, a mix of confusion, contempt, and challenge glittering in their eyes. Most girls would have been afraid. Most girls would have run off to the bathrooms and cried over the possibility of the most popular guys in school coming after them.
But I wasn’t most girls.
“What the hell was that?” Flick hissed the second we spilled out of the cafeteria. She shoved my messenger bag at me.
“What? I wasn’t going to stand by and let Asher do that.”
“But calling Jase out like that?”
With a small shrug I took off toward the art studio. I had a free period next and Mr. Jalin was more than happy for me to use one of the rooms, as long as I cleaned up after myself. And I needed to paint away my frustrations.
Flick caught up to me. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”
I ground to a halt and met her apologetic gaze. “I know. I just… ugh! He’s so infuriating. Do you think I want to spend senior year going back and forth with him? Trust me, I don’t. But I can’t do nothing either.”
I’d tried that before and it didn’t work. In ninth grade I’d decided to ignore them. If I didn’t react, they’d get bored, right?
Wrong.
The final straw had been when Jason paid Macaulay Denver to ask me out to the spring dance. He was so sweet and insistent, and we shared a common aversion to the football team. It had been impossible to say no to him, but I should have known it was all a ruse. I should have known my twisted step-brother had something to do with it. But I was fourteen and I wanted one night of teenage normalcy.
Macauley’s mom had driven us to school and like a true gentleman, he’d opened the door for me and held my hand as we walked into the gymnasium. After finding us a table, Macauley had made sure I was comfortable before going to get us a drink. I’d watched the other kids dancing, laughing, and smiling, and for those few precious minutes, I’d felt like one of them. Until ten minutes later when I saw Macaulay making out with his real date, Sarah McKrinsky. Jason had taken great pleasure in telling me the truth, smirking down at me with Cameron and Asher flanking his side like evil lieutenants. I could have run out of there with tears in my eyes and my heart in tatters, but I didn’t. Because Jason underestimated me. He failed to realize that every time he toyed with me, every time he tried to beat me down, it only made me stronger. And my walls were so impenetrable now, I wasn’t sure there was anything more he could do to hurt me.
Much to my step-brother’s annoyance, I’d stayed at the dance that night. Flick and her date were more than happy to let me play third wheel and we’d danced and laughed until the music died and the lights came up. Macaulay had even apologized; saying he felt bullied into going along with it. After all, you didn’t tell Jason Ford no. Even then, at the tender age of fourteen, people treated him differently because of his talent on the field. Because of his father’s legacy. Ninth-graders rarely had college scouts come out to see them, let alone ask for a verbal commitment to their school, but Jason did. I soon realized it was only going to get worse as he got older. Ignoring him wasn’t going to work, so I had no choice but to step up and play his games.
It was hardly any surprise when I never got asked out again.
“I know, I know.” Flick sighed. “I just worry about you. I know he’s never taken it too far, but something feels different this year.”
She wasn’t wrong. I felt it too. The change. The shift in the air.
But what choice did I have?
This was my school, my life, and I’d be damned if Jason Ford stole that from me too.
Cameron
I left Asher and Jase in the gym with the excuse I had to meet with the guidance counsellor. I didn’t, but they didn’t need to know that. The halls were empty as I made my way to the art studio. Hailee had a free period which meant there was only one place she would be. So it was hardly a surprise when I found her in one of the smaller rooms. The door was ajar and I slipped inside, closing it behind me. It was a risk coming here, but no one would dare question me. And if anyone did run their mouths, I’d spin it to my advantage. Say I was doing Jase a favor, warning her to back off.
Hailee was straddling a chair, her back to me. Her dark blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun, strands falling around her face as she swiped the paintbrush against the canvas in long angry strokes. Every now and again, she paused, inclining her head, revealing the delicate slope of her neck. The oversized shirt she wore—no doubt to protect her clothes underneath—combined with her black framed glasses, shouldn’t have looked so appealing on her. But it did. It looked as sexy as fuck.
She chose that exact moment to pull out the ear buds I hadn’t noticed she was wearing. Hailee’s shoulders stiffened as if she sensed me, and she glanced over her shoulder. “Get out.” Her voice was cold, her eyes not much warmer as they locked on mine.
Throwing up my hands in surrender, I said, “I come in peace.”
“Do you take me for a complete fool?”
The verdict was out on that. The way she’d flipped Jason and Asher’s little prank earlier was reckless. Amusing as shit, but reckless all the same.
“I’m here to run damage control.”
“Damage control?” Her brow shot up, and Hailee swung her leg off the chair to stand up and face me. “We’re not friends,” she said lifting her chin in defiance, and my dick twitched.
Jesus, this girl made me crazy.
“No, we’re not.” But there had been a time when I’d wanted that—to be her friend.
Fuck, I shouldn’t have come here. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I released a frustrated breath.