you know that?” She glares, but it quickly turns into a grin.
“So I’m told.” I laugh lightly. “And I’m guilty of it too most of the time.”
“We all are,” she responds, and I nod.
“I saw you talking to that guy in the house.”
When I turn to look at her, she squints.
“You know the Brayshaws hate them, right?”
“No, but he acted weird, like he knew I was from the other side of town, and Victoria had a fit telling me not to talk about going to school there, so I figured there was bad blood there or something.”
“Oh there is. The Brayshaws would flip if they knew we were here, but these guys never seem to care when people like us, the ones on the outside of the inner circle, hang around as long as we lay low. Honestly, I think the one you were talking to likes when we come to these things, even though he ignores us completely.”
“Why do you say that?”
She shrugs. “You know how people work. Gives him a bigger sense of power to know Brays are “defying” their masters.” She mocks with a laugh. “Anyway, yeah. They’re rivals, have been for years I guess, schools and families. I heard every year the Brayshaws beat them out by a mile in basketball, but for some reason they never bring home the championship title.”
“They choke in the finals?” I draw out unbelieving.
There’s no fucking way, not these boys.
“I don’t know. There’s rumors Graven sabotaged them each year but the Brays don’t speak about it. If something was done to ruin things, they handle that shit quietly. I heard after losing Sophomore season finals, they even disappeared for a few weeks. Nobody knows why, and nobody dared to ask.”
My eyes drop to the grass in thought. Graven. That was what Royce called the cop who searched Maddoc on the courts.
“So wait ... this is a Graven party?”
“Yep, Graven Prep.”
Huh.
I decide to keep the questions running through my mind to myself because what business is it of mine? And who the hell knows if what she’s saying holds any truth.
“What’s your name again?”
She opens her mouth to tell me, but we’re cut off.
“Vienna, Raven!” We both jerk our heads toward Nira when she whisper-yells from the side fence, her eyes wide. “Hurry! We gotta go!”
“Shit,” the girl beside me, Vienna I guess it is, hisses in a panic and hops up, jogging Nira’s way. “Come on!”
I’m slower to stand, and right as I do, shouting begins, crowds of people forming a thick cluster beside the pool.
I walk toward the fence, my eyes flicking between the girls waiting at the back gate for me and the partiers who have turned to stone where they stand.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing in my house?” someone barks, but I’m not close enough to see who he’s talking to.
“Caught one of your girls at our spot tonight, Collins. The second she realized we knew who she was, she booked it but not before admitting you sent her there.”
I freeze.
I recognize that voice.
I move toward the chaos.
“Raven!” Nira hisses and Victoria growls. “What are you doing?!”
Still, I step farther into the darkness of the yard, but closer to the scene, seeing perfectly where the line is drawn.
The partygoers have all moved to stand behind the guy that lives here, Collins as they called him - the one I was talking to in the house - and directly in front of them, maybe two steps away... the kings of Brayshaw.
Maddoc, Captain, and Royce stand tall and wide, blank expressions worn by each as they face the thirty or so of the others.
I’m guessing the five who inch closer to Collins are his main men.
A red-headed girl catches my attention when she slinks toward the front, positioning herself at the edge of the group. She’s trying to appear strong, attempting to show she’s standing in a united line, but from where I am her fear is clear. She has one shoulder tucked behind the guy at her side, too afraid to fully stand against them.
Royce laughs, but it’s a menacing sound that sends a chill running up my spine. “What’s the matter, baby? Why’d you have to come out and play tonight?” He tilts his head mockingly, eyes traveling over her tiny skirt and jean jacket. “Bet your job was only to get inside ... not let me inside you.” He smirks and she shrinks into her shoulders, her gaze falling to the grass a