Victory at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #5) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,119

moment to appreciate the view.

The Havoc Boys are gorgeous when they’re wearing skeleton masks, when they’re naked, when they’re all dressed in black and smoking out by the dumpsters. But this? All of them dressed in ties and jackets that are identical to every other student here yet somehow still expressive of their distinct personalities, that is truly a sight to behold.

My breath catches, and I have to put a hand back on the side of the brick building behind me to keep from swaying at the sight. It’s that intoxicating, to see my boys all gussied up and scowling as they plow through the crowd of obscenely wealthy students like one might saunter through a swarm of mosquitoes.

Hael’s tie is undone and hanging crooked and wrinkled around his neck while Oscar is so perfectly put together that the creases in his slacks look like they could cut. Aaron’s jacket is off, slung over one arm, the top few buttons of his shirt undone. Callum, on the other hand, has paired an Oak Valley Prep hoodie over the top of said jacket, the hood flipped up to hide his blond hair. And Vic? Well, it’s the way he carries that book bag, tossed casually over one shoulder, a pack of cigarettes making a rectangular indent in his pants pocket that really sets the mood.

“I take it you’re not unhappy with us in these uniforms?” Aaron asks, his green-gold eyes sweeping over me appreciatively. When I left the bathroom earlier, tampon in place, and waltzed into the living room, I thought I might melt under the intensity of their collective stares.

There isn’t a letter in that fucking acronym that doesn’t like me wearing a short, pleated skirt and waltzing around in knee-high socks and Mary Janes.

“The uniforms are hot, I won’t lie,” I tell him, enjoying the stares of the Oak Valley students as they meander past us. Pretty sure most of them are making adjustments to their daily routines just so they can sweep past and take a look at us for themselves. There are quite a few faces in the crowd that I recognize from Prescott parties, faces that probably wish I didn’t recognize them since most of my memories are of them fucking, smoking, or drinking. Maybe even worse things. I flip off a random cluster of students and they scurry away like frightened mice.

“The uniforms are fine,” Oscar hisses, his silver eyes sweeping the crowd in a cold, calculating sort of way. He doesn’t even need to flip anyone off to get them to start running. “It’s being stared at like a zoo specimen that I don’t like.”

“They’ll get over the novelty of it soon enough,” Hael adds as he steals that pack of cigarettes from Vic’s pocket and gestures toward an inviting swell of shadow between two buildings. Ah, and here we go, back to smoking in secret like the naughty little Prescott brats that we are. “Trust me. Once the thrill wears off, they’ll start with the mocking and the jeering and then we’ll get to kick some ass and show them what it truly means to be afraid.”

Hael takes off for the shadows and I follow along, Callum falling into place on my right side.

“I thought you should know,” he begins, tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks and giving a slight grimace at the very notion of having to wear a uniform. “I have gym with a couple of boys who’ve kept in touch with Donald Asher.”

I stop walking. So does Vic. Actually, when I glance around, I see that all five of the Havoc Boys are staring at me, waiting to see my reaction to the news. It didn’t really occur to me until just now that I’d be attending school where my would-be rapist used to go. I mean, just one look at the boys’ dorm and it’s impossible to forget that horrible sluggish feeling of the roofies or the surprise of seeing that awful text message on his phone. But truthfully, I’d almost forgotten about that douche.

“Yeah?” I query back, feeling briefly lightheaded as I look into Callum’s ineffably calm and undeniably soothing stare. His eyes really are the color of the sky, but not just any sky, the sky on the best day of your life, when you look up and all you see is blue for miles and miles.

“Well, they showed me some pics of him on their phones. You can still vaguely see …” Cal