The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,10
was wrong. It’s only been a curse for me. I wish I could get rid of it, but sometimes it creeps up on me without warning. Like when brooding guys get up in my face and threaten me.
Lifting a brow, I recline in the seat.
Surprise blazes in his eyes. It’s like no one has ever defied him before. It makes me feel both proud of myself and a bit nervous. But I conceal the latter. I’m good at that—concealing my emotions. At least I have been for the last almost six years.
His jaw ticks as he straightens. “Fine, you wanna play this way, then let’s play.”
I hold my breath, waiting for him to jerk me out of the seat or something. Instead, he turns around and drops into the seat in front of me.
“You just destroyed your chances of making it here, new girl,” he warns, throwing me a dirty look from over his shoulder.
“Awesome. I didn’t have a chance anyway.” I move to put my earbud back in.
“Hey, Mr. M.” The blond guy from the office this morning strolls into the classroom, smiling at the teacher.
The teacher glances up from the papers. “Hey, Hunter. That was a good game Friday. You played well.”
So his name is Hunter, and I’m guessing he plays some sort of sport.
I crinkle my nose. Jocks are usually the worst. At least, they were at my old school. But Hunter doesn’t look like the jocks at my last school.
Maybe he plays chess or is in the math league.
A smile tugs at my lips at the amusing thought. At that exact moment, Hunter glances in my direction. I’m sure I look like a freak with a stupid grin on my face.
A smile appears on his lips. “Hey—”
I stuff my earbud into my ear.
Shaking his head and grinning, he starts down the aisle, his grin quickly dissipating as his gaze settles on the guy in front of me. His gaze dances from me to the guy, then his lips move.
I’m curious what they’re talking about, but I refuse to let the curiosity win. But then the song ends, and it’s the last song on my playlist, leaving the noise in the classroom to creep into my ears.
I move to turn on another song.
“So, she stole your seat?” Hunter says to the guy, his voice a mixture of confusion and amusement.
“For today. But she’ll learn her place soon enough,” the guy warns, fishing a pen out of his pocket.
I pause from selecting a song, deciding to eavesdrop.
Hunter casts a glance in my direction then looks back at the guy. “Did you at least tell her that she was sitting in your seat?”
“Yep.” He restlessly taps the pen against the desk. “Apparently, the girl has no self-preservation.”
“Aw, come on, Zay, give her a break. She’s new.” Hunter plops down in the desk across from the guy. “Remember how scary it was on your first day?”
The guy—Zay—lets out a hollow laugh. “I wasn’t scared.”
“Bullshit,” Hunter teases. “You were six. All six-year-olds get scared about their first day of school. Even you.” When Zay doesn’t respond, worry flickers across Hunter’s face, his lips parting. “I’m sorry, Zay. I wasn’t thinking when I said that.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Zay mumbles. “None of this does.”
They grow quiet, and Hunter continues to frown as he sneaks glances at Zay. I can’t tell if he’s afraid of him or worried. Maybe a little of both. I find myself fascinated by it. How can he make people so afraid of him, even his own… friend? If that’s what Hunter is. What I wouldn’t give to have that talent. Then maybe people would stop tormenting me.
Eventually, people begin pouring into the classroom. No one says anything to Hunter or Zay, but a lot of them do double-takes in their direction then gawk at me. I’m not positive, but I have a suspicion that it has to do with the new seating arrangement. Why the hell is it such a big deal? Just what kind of guy is Zay?
The frown remains on Hunter’s face until a tall guy with dark, chin-length hair enters the room. Like Hunter, he’s dressed all in black and has a pretty face, although his seems to have a more beautifully haunted way about him, all serious, as if he hasn’t laughed in a very long time. He also has a lip and brow piercing and tattoos cover his lean arms.
“Dude,” Hunter says as he approaches. “I thought you weren’t gonna show today.”