Fallen Crest Public

“Nothing.”

“What?” And she turned, twisting around to see further down the hallway. I knew when she spotted them. Her back straightened. Her shoulders flattened and she let her bag fall to the floor. “Oh.”

Oh, indeed. “I’m starting to get used to this school.”

“Uh oh.”

“What?”

“No one says they’re getting used to this school. Those are the people that get a smack-down.” She shook her head, trembling in an exaggerated manner. “I can’t let that happen to you.”

I laughed. “No, not like that. I meant that I’m starting to understand this school. Instead of the Elite, like at FCA, you guys have cheerleaders.”

“And the drill team.”

“Drill team?”

“Yeah,” Heather nodded towards a group of girls across from Logan’s locker. They were dressed in sweaters. Not one of them wore jeans. They all had on dress pants that could’ve been matched with a business suit. They looked professional, how I would’ve dressed for a job interview. I glanced over their different hairstyles, all swept down or over the shoulder to look like perfection. I understood what Heather was saying. The Tommy Princesses might’ve been the girls at the top because of how tough they were, but these girls would’ve usurped them if given half a chance. They reminded me of Miranda and Cass from the Elite.

“Do they think they’re in a walking beauty ad?”

Heather chuckled. As we headed towards them, she added, “Those girls try to get the boyfriends. There’s a few that are always trying to land any of the guys in the Kade group, but they’d love to get Mason or Logan the most. Kate and her bitch crew were the main go-to girls for the guys. They weren’t into having a boyfriend like the others and each guy kinda had their own. Mason had Kate. Nate had Parker. Ethan had Jasmine and sometimes Logan would hook-up with Natalie, though we both know he never had a certain go-to girl.”

“And speaking of …”

I stopped as Tate came around the corner. She didn’t give us a glance as she went straight to Logan and draped herself over him. One arm went around his neck and the other hand rested on his chest. He’d been listening to Ethan, but stopped. As she moved closer to him, his head lowered so it looked as if the two were whispering to each other. A small grin was teasing the corner of his mouth when she started talking.

“Okay.” Heather bobbed her head up and down. “I now see what you and Mason are worried about.”

My eyes grew wide when he lifted a hand to the side of her hip. That was how Mason touched me. It was intimate and it was his precursor move before he pulled me even closer. Logan didn’t pull her closer, but his hand lingered there before moving to the small in her back. Oh yes. He was enjoying every bit of her attention, but then he looked up and caught us staring. Correction. He caught me.

My face got hot. I knew I was probably red, but what was he doing? I narrowed my eyes and tried to ask him that question without saying it.

The other side of his lips curved up and the grin was no longer a tease. He was full-on smiling at me. Another correction. He was smirking at me.

“What?” I bristled next to Heather. Both knew who that question was for.

He lifted one shoulder. It dropped lightly. He said back, “What?”

Tate turned around, a Cheshire Cat grin on her lips as Logan’s hand didn’t fall away. Instead of being on her back, as she turned to us, it slid around her hip to her stomach and stayed there. She was now almost in his arms.

Heather was frowning at them, but I couldn’t hold it in. “Did I miss the announcement? Are you a happy couple now?” There was an edge in my voice, but I couldn’t hide it. Tate was bad news. She was slimy. She was sneaky. She hurt Logan. She’d do it again.

“You can’t be jealous, Samantha,” she taunted me. “You’re happy with Mason, aren’t you? You can’t have both Kades.”

I growled, “And you can’t hurt him again.”

“Uh, guys …” Heather started.

Logan shook his head. “Sam, relax.”

“No—” I stopped him.

Tate turned her gaze to Heather and a bitter look came over her. “What’s your problem, Heather? I didn’t know we were enemies. You don’t have to have her back all of the time.”

That had me seething, but I glanced around and saw the crowd that was forming. The drill team snobs were mingling with the cheerleaders. Ethan and Strauss had front row seats, leaning against Logan’s locker, were grinning from ear to ear. I skimmed the edge of the crowd and saw Kate. She was expressionless, but her eyes narrowed when they met mine. A slight chill went through me. Whatever she was thinking, it wasn’t good. I caught Logan’s eye and gestured to her. The amusement on his face faded then, and he stepped towards me.

Tate stopped in mid-sentence. “What are you doing?”

Ignoring her, he took Heather’s arm and mine, pulling us through the crowd.

“Logan!”

“Your girlfriend is calling,” Heather told him.

He grimaced. “Okay, that was a joke. I can’t believe you guys got so riled up.” He led us into the senior hallway and quieted his voice, leaning in closer to me, “I don’t have those feelings for Tate anymore. You don’t need to worry. I’d have to care about her to get hurt by her. Those feelings are long gone.”