Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,124

are happy together, then that's all that matters to me,” I say, and I swear, Raz, Sonja, Luke, and Barron all turn to look at me like I've grown a second head. Calix is long-gone, spiriting himself away into the relatively small prison we call a school. In the craziness my life has become, I almost forgot that I go to school with a bunch of rich delinquents, outcasts that nobody else wants.

The only place for monsters like Sonja and Raz, Calix and Barron, is right here in the backwoods of Arkansas.

Raz looks down at me with a perplexed expression, narrowing his eyes like he still suspects I'm up to some sort of trick. Too bad none of them realize that life is much less complicated when you start practicing the mantra of live and let live.

I mean, I'm in desperate need of a new one. My old mantra—this too shall pass—doesn't exactly hold up anymore, now does it? It's nice to know that the universe can throw a wrench in things if she so chooses.

“Wait, what?” Luke asks, dropping her hands and blinking at me like I'm a crazy person. April climbs out of the backseat of the convertible, pushing her glasses up her nose and looking between Sonja, Luke, Raz, and me like we've all lost our damn minds. “You're not mad?”

“Starting the drinking early on Devils' Day, huh?” Sonja quips, but I'm not looking at her. I'm staring at my best friend, at the fear in her face. Fear of rejection from me, the one person in the world who she should be able to talk to.

“If Sonja makes you happy—and treats you well,” I add, exhaling sharply, “then I'm happy, too. I wish you didn't feel like you had to lie to me though, about anything.”

“Whoa, this shit is getting deep,” Raz purrs, quirking his lips up in a sharp smile that can only be a defense mechanism. Speaking of sharp … Barron removes a hunting knife from a leather sheath and makes his way over to a vehicle with a car cover on it. I remember seeing it there on the first day, but now that I put two and two together, I'm guessing it must be Raz's new Shelby Cobra.

Without hesitation, Barron lifts up the cover and tosses it aside, revealing the black convertible with the white stripes on the front. The red bow shimmers in the morning sunlight as Barron takes the knife and slits the tires, one by one.

“What the actual fuck?!” Raz shouts, moving across the parking lot as Sonja and April try to make sense of what's going on. Luke just stares at me like I'm the second coming, her eyes filling with unshed tears. This is what my friend needed, somebody who would stand by her side without judgment. After being rejected by her parents and sent to Crescent Prep, of course that's what Luke needed. How did I miss that before? “Lay off the fucking car, man.”

“Guess it does matter when somebody you care about screws with your car, doesn't it?” Barron asks, slipping the knife back into the sheath. Raz looks like he's about to hit his friend, but then Barron steps close to him, and their height difference—plus the fact that Barron's carrying a knife—seems to set in. Raz clenches his jaw as Barron turns and heads for the front of the school.

I can't let this moment escape, diving back into my car and grabbing the sketchbook. Just inside the front cover, I scribble the words you’re the Rose to my Jack and then leap out, racing to catch up with Barron before he can head up the front steps.

“Here,” I say, breathless, not caring if Raz sees me. There's nothing I can do for Calix now, but I can at least make sure that Barron doesn't end up with a negative memory in his collective consciousness. He looks down at the sketchbook and then back up at me, nostrils flaring. “I left you a note inside.”

I leave him with the sketchbook, moving back over to Raz and his new car. He's positively fuming, eyes closed, hands on his hips. I'm not even sure he saw me give Barron the notebook.

“Hey.” I put my hand on his shoulder and his eyes open, red irises sliding over to look at me. “Is this the present your dad sent?”

“He doesn't even love me,” Raz says simply. “So, he sends me nice things because he feels guilty.” He turns