the few fights I’d ever gotten in with another girl.
The worst part was I smashed my fountain soda against her head in retaliation, and I hadn’t even gotten to have a drink of it.
Oh well, not that it was important right now.
Pack Mule cut a look up and met my gaze. “They’re my friends.”
“No they’re not. Friends don’t torture each other or treat them like a servant. If they are telling you they’ll be your friend when you’ve earned it, they don’t want a friend, they want a pack mule.”
“Hey,” Mint Green complained.
“If the truth fits, you need to lace that shit up and wear it,” I told the other three, and cut a look at them. “I had so-called friends like you. You fucking suck.” With that, I glanced at the girl who still hadn’t given me her name. “You deserve better, and you can definitely do better.”
I’d gotten lucky. Rachel just walked in and decided to be my friend for real. If this chick needed a friend, I’d do my best.
With that, I sailed out of the bathroom. Maybe I just needed to stop using them at the school. Sharon was in the hallway, but as soon as she saw me, she cut and changed directions. I didn’t laugh because it wasn’t funny.
But it sure was satisfying.
After school, we were converging in the parking lot because the guys were going with me to the lawyer’s office. All four of them, though I wondered if it was a good idea to have Coop anywhere near the office. Especially after the revelations from the night before.
“Hang out and wait for me a sec?” Jake said as he headed to the bathroom. I nodded and texted Archie. He was adamant about going. Like Jake, he was also spoiling for a fight. Ian promised he’d try to keep them out of trouble, but he didn’t disagree with why they were pissed.
Eddie talking to me had come up at lunch, and there’d been no denying how angry all of them had been. Especially Coop, who would normally help me defuse the situation. What a clusterfuck.
I turned and bounced off someone and grunted. “Sorry,” I said automatically and glanced up at a tall boy who looked vaguely familiar. Dark brown hair, dark eyes, square jaw—football player. Had to be. I suppressed a shudder and took a step back. I didn’t know if he was one of the guys from Halloween, and I really didn’t want to know. Not all of them had been expelled, but following their suspensions, none of them had come anywhere near me.
And I preferred it that way.
“Hey,” he said, closing the distance I put between us. “Just the girl I’ve been looking for. Finding you alone is a challenge.”
I frowned. “Way to sound creepy.”
He almost smiled, then rubbed a hand against the back of his neck as though sheepish. “But true,” he continued, and swung a glance around before looking at me again. “Word has it you like variety—”
“You finish that sentence, Reed, and they won’t find enough of your teeth to reconstruct your jaw.” Jake’s flat voice bounced off the lockers around us, and I didn’t sag physically, but relief still pumped through me. I could punch the guy, but he was huge and had a very square jaw. I’d probably have broken my hand.
I dropped back another couple of steps, and Jake was already sliding between me and this dude. Hands up, Reed shot me another grin before he looked at Jake. “Man, I was just gonna ask her out. Nothing kinky.”
“Yeah, you’re not asking her shit. You’re turning your ass around and walking the fuck away while I’m still willing to let you do it.”
Leaning my head out from behind Jake, I added, “But let me also save you the trouble of trying to find me alone again. The answer is no, I don’t want to go out.”
“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“I can,” Jake informed him. “You leave her the fuck alone and you can tell anyone who asks, they don’t go near her either. Got it?”
“Sure thing…though if any spots open—”
Dammit.
I winced as Jake’s fist plowed into the guy’s mouth. Reed deserved it, but I lunged forward and caught Jake’s arm before he could keep swinging. He glared at me, but I dug my heels in and held on. He wouldn’t hurt me to yank free. “Don’t,” I said quietly. “You can’t afford to be suspended.”
“It’d be worth it,” he muttered.
“Frankie. Jake.”
Shit.
I glanced over my