Confronting the enemy, p.4
Confronting the Enemy, page 4
“Thanks, Gid,” I deadpanned as we all fell in step with each other, heading to class.
“It’s true,” he argued.
“Then it has to be love,” Neo declared. “Emotions are such a tricky thing.”
“Well, we’re not going to figure it out before first period, so why don’t we concentrate on the things that we do know,” Gideon grumbled.
“What’s with you?” I asked. “Rough morning?”
“Nah, late night,” he clarified. “There was a back-to-school party last night, and I made the mistake of going.”
“What happened?” Mad asked.
“Nothing bad, just got in late,” he answered. “I could use a nap.”
Smirking, we finally reached the school’s entrance, and the hallways were crawling with students making their way to class. You’d think that they’d all be in a hurry with the second bell already rung, but Windsor students were assholes. Everyone knew that our parents made this school possible, so we rarely ever got in trouble. While the school cared about our education to an extent, they cared more about staying on our parents’ good side.
With Neo and Gid going their way, Maddox and I made our way towards the opposite side where most of the senior classes took place. Windsor was huge, but the eating pavilion was big enough for everyone, so Neo and Gideon would be sitting with me and Mad later today.
When I got to my locker, Mad clasped me on the shoulder. “I’ll go digging as soon as I get home from school today,” he said. “Don’t go doing anything stupid before then.”
“Hey, as long as that fucker keeps it friendly, then I’m good.”
Maddox shot me a look. As my best friend, he knew me best. While we were all close, and didn’t keep secrets, Mad was usually the one with me when I was getting into shit, so we were super close. Maddox Reed was my partner in crime, and everyone knew it.
“Just text me if anything changes,” he drawled out, clearly not believing me.
“Sure thing,” I replied.
Walking into first period, I saw Harper sitting at our table, refusing to look up as I made my way down the aisle. It wasn’t until I sat down next to her that she finally looked up and towards the front of the classroom.
“Hey, baby,” I greeted just to annoy the shit out of her.
“Fuck off, Chance,” she greeted back.
Little did she know that I loved nothing better than a challenge.
Chapter 6
Harper~
Olive hadn’t been lying.
Zachary Cable was hot as hell.
He was also funny, charismatic, easygoing, and…well, pretty perfect if you asked me.
When we’d met up this morning, it had all been introductions and outrageous announcements of us all becoming the best of friends. I had noticed right off the bat that he and Olive were like two peas in a pod, and a small part of me hoped for a love connection. While Olive had dated guys before, nothing had stuck. Though she was beautiful, the girl was quirky, and some guys didn’t know how to handle that.
So, after doing my best to ignore Chance McCellan all through first period, third period had sucked when he had walked in and sat his ass right down next to me. He’d said that we had four classes together, and I was willing to bet that there was going to be an empty seat next to me in our other two classes, also.
It was a nightmare.
The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that it could only be a bet or a dare of some kind. Chance’s claims made no sense otherwise. We hadn’t spoken since that horrible day, and if his reputation were to be believed-and I had no reason not to believe it-the guy had been sleeping his way through the female population at Windsor since our freshman year. There was nothing about me that would interest a guy like Chance McCellan.
Nothing.
Whatever he was doing, there had to be an ulterior motive, and I wasn’t interested in finding out what it was. Chance McCellan wasn’t a good guy, and I knew that firsthand. It was rumored that he wasn’t even nice to the girls that he slept with. They were a few lucky ones that he had in regular rotation, but that was about it. Chance didn’t do relationships, and since I didn’t do casual sex, I saw no point in his attentions.
“I heard a rumor today,” Zach announced. “I’m gay.”
Olive and I both turned to look at him. We all had fourth period together, so after class and putting all our stuff away, we had headed for lunch, and now we were sitting on one of the benches that was closest to the science wing. No one really sat over here, so it was peaceful. Everyone opted for the tables near ‘the forest’. That’s what everyone called the cluster of trees that took up the center of campus. It was akin to Central Park in New York. Years ago, some tree-loving parent had donated enough money to have trees transplanted onto the campus to make the effect. Little did she know that students used that cluster of trees to hide a lot of shit.
“You are, huh?” Olive asked.
Zach nodded as his eyes looked up, looking like he was searching his brain. “A…Naomi Potter, I think,” he muttered. “I must be gay because she hit on me yesterday in sixth period and I didn’t bite.”
“Ah, well…of course, you’re gay then,” I teased. “We’re talking about Naomi Potter here.”
Zach winked at me. “Of course,” he quickly agreed. “What other explanation could there be?”
I started laughing as Olive rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad that I’m realistic about my looks,” she huffed. “It’s gotta suck to be delusional and not even realize it.”
Olive’s mention of people and their delusions must have summoned Chance McCellan because he was sitting down next to me before I could even fully register that he’d been near. Since Olive and Zach were sitting together on the opposite side, that left my side of the bench wide open for anyone-or any asshole-to sit right on down next to me.
“Hey, baby,” he greeted, and I winced with irritation. This was the first time that he’s approached me in front of Olive, never mind Zach.
“What do you want, Chance?” I bit out between clenched teeth. However, any hope that he was going to go away vanished as soon as Maddox Reed, Neo McCellan, and Gideon McCellan joined the table.
“I missed you,” he lied, not skipping a beat.
“Stop it, Chance,” I hissed, still avoiding looking at him. “Go away.”
“No, I don’t think that I will,” he replied, and I hated that a part of me was scared of him. Even though Chance’s family was powerful in their own right, Chance had something that no one else had; he had Maddox Reed as his best friend. The Reeds were not ones to be fucked with, and even though Maddox seemed personable enough, he was still a Reed.
“What am I missing here?” Zach asked, and my entire body locked up. Even Olive looked wary.
Maddox was sitting on the table next to Chance and Gideon was sitting next to Olive, Neo sitting on the table behind him just like Maddox. They had taken over our table, and they weren’t being shy about it. If it felt like a strategic war maneuver that’s because it was.
Chance looked over at Zach and introduced himself. “Chance McCellan.”
Zach glanced over at the rest of the guys. “And they would be?”
“Gideon McCellan,” Gideon supplied for him, and even though Gideon was only a freshman, the guy carried himself just like a McCellan.
“Neo McCellan,” Neo answered, a smirk on his face, making him look just as sexy as his brothers.
“Maddox Reed,” Maddox added, and the way he said it felt like he’d just pulled out a weapon.
Zach’s back straightened, but he didn’t appear worried and that worried me. “And to what do we owe the pleasure?” The was no way that Zach hadn’t gotten a rundown on who was who at Windsor, either by Olive or another student, so I knew that he had to have already heard the rumors about the Reeds and McCellans.
If Chance had stood up, whipped his dick out, then pissed all around me, I wouldn’t have been surprised with the tone of his voice. “Thought I’d come over and check out who my girl’s been hanging out with all day.”
“I’m not your girl,” I hissed, my teeth on the verge of cracking, I was so irritated.
“We’re agreeing to disagree on that, baby,” he replied flippantly while still looking at Zach.
Finally, turning to face him, I said, “Leave me alone, Chance. Whatever…dare this is, whatever bet you’re trying to win, whatever you think that you’re doing, just stop it already.”
Turning his blue gaze from staring Zach down, Chance looked over at me, and we were too close to each other for my peace of mind. “This is not a bet, or a dare, or whatever you want to tell yourself,” he practically growled. “We have a lot of shit that we need to work out, but this is happening, Harper.” He leaned in closer, and our lips were in serious danger of touching. “So, get fucking used to it.”
“I think the lady asked you to leave her alone,” Zach said, and my stomach tightened with dread.
Chance stood up, and panic gripped me. “Feel like being a hero?”
Zach stood up, too, and soon, we were all standing, Chance and Zach facing off against one another. “I’ll have to be if you insist on harassing her,” Zach replied calmly. “Even though I’ve only been here for a day, I’ve heard enough about you to know that you’re probably expecting me to be scared of you, but I’m not.” My heart felt like it was going to beat clean out of my chest. “Not when it comes to protecting my friends.” Zach’s lip twitched in challenge. “Harper’s worth a beating, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely,” Chance agreed. “We can head over to the trees right now.”
“Stop it,” I finally cried out, stepping in front of Chance. “Stop it, Chance.”
He looked down at me, and he looked like he was spoiling for a fight. “Not a fucking chance,” he bit out as Maddox cleared his throat behind him, a signal of some sort.
“Chance-”
“What do I get if I leave this fucker alone, Harper,” he challenged, seeing an opening and taking it.
“Don’t-”
“Harper, it’s fine-”
My head turned towards Zach. “It’s not,” I argued. “Just…leave it alone.” He looked like he was going to argue, so I added, “Please, Zach. Just…please do this for me.”
Zach looked pissed, but there was no way he could win against Chance. Even if he won a physical fight against him, Chance would destroy his life, and that was not something that I wanted on my conscience.
Turning back to Chance, I said, “Go.”
His hand reached up, and running his thumb softly over my bottom lip, he said, “Don’t think that I’m not going to collect on this, Harper.” I closed my eyes because I knew that he was telling the truth. “And don’t kid yourself into thinking that the price isn’t going to be a steep one for saving your little friend.”
When I opened my eyes, his blue gaze was alive with enough fire to make me feel more uncomfortable. “Chance, I am not doing this with you.”
Leaning down, he whispered in my ear, “But I’m doing this with you, Harper. And by the time I’m done with you, you’re going to forget what it felt like to hate me, baby.”
I didn’t breathe again until Chance and his band of lunatics were out of sight.
Chapter 7
Chance~
If Mad hadn’t cleared his throat, my anger would have costed me a golden opportunity. I’d been ready to tear Zachary Cable into fucking pieces, even though a part of me could appreciate how he had stood up for Harper. After all, it was no less than what we all did for Maggie, D.J., and Lennon.
However, his chivalrous nature seemed out of place for only knowing Harper for a day. Unless he really was one of those knights in shining armor-which I doubted-Zach Cable shouldn’t care so much. It had me wondering because no one my age gave a shit about that kind of stuff anymore. The only reason that we cared was because that’s how we’d been raised. Had it not been for our fathers showing us that love and insanity went hand-in-hand, who knows what kind of assholes we’d be towards the fairer sex.
So, after leaving Harper to finish her lunch with her friends, the rest of us had taken off and headed back to the bench that we normally sat at, so that Harper didn’t hate me more than she already did. I had wanted to kick Zachary Cable’s ass enough to let her be mad at me, but Mad’s quick interference had been a swift reminder that I was in the wrong. When it was all said and done, I had wronged Harper, not the other way around.
Still, because I wasn’t going to lose her, Mad had done me a solid, and I was letting myself into her house, via the backdoor to the servants’ quarters. Like every home in Sands Cove, Harper’s house was just as ostentatious as the rest of them. Even our house was too much, though there were five of us, and we had spare rooms for damn near everyone. However, we didn’t have servants’ quarters at our house. Mom’s logic was that she didn’t need household help when she had three sons with working arms and legs. Mom had escaped the entitlement of her childhood, so she had expected more from her children. We had a cleaning service that came in once a month to detail-clean the house, but that was about it. As for the rest of it, we were expected to pick up after ourselves and wash our own damn laundry.
At any rate, as a reward for managing not to beat Zachary Cable to a bloody pulp, Maddox had hacked into Harper’s home security system, and I’d been able to drive right through the opened gate. He’d also done a sweep of the house, and it’d been a nice surprise to know that Harper was home alone. Well, actually, it hadn’t been that much of a surprise. Sands Cove kids were latchkey kids, and it was rare that any parents were around. Mine and Maddox’s parents were one of the few exceptions, but even then, they still divided their time between here and Port Lucia.
So, with the security system turned off, I made my way through the back rooms, through the kitchen, then into the living room. I glanced up and could see the second-floor railing that lined the entire length of the living room. It was kind of eerie to know that she was here when it was so damn quiet in the place. Even though our house was huge, there was always some activity of sorts. Whether it be conversation, music, gaming, the television, or whatever, there was life at my house. The stillness in Harper’s house was just creepy as fuck.
Making my way up the stairs, I wasn’t overly concerned if she could hear me coming. Maddox had done enough recognizance for me that I knew that Olive had a key to Harper’s house and often let herself in. Harper would assume it was Olive, and it’d be too late once she saw that it was me.
It wasn’t until I got to the fourth door on the east side of her house that I saw Harper sitting on her bed, her fingers typing away on her laptop. Knowing firsthand how much her grades mattered to her, I wasn’t surprised to find her doing homework. Harper wasn’t a big social media person, and I’ve often wondered if that was because of what a jackass I’d been to her. When you had most of the world’s teenage girls constantly posting pictures of themselves on their social media, Harper only had a couple of selfies with Olive posted, and you could tell that they’d been taken by Olive.
I knocked on the door frame, and she was so focused on whatever she was doing that she said, “Just let me finish this paragraph, Olive. Something about it is just not vibing right.”
“Maybe I can help.”
Harper let out a scream to rival any horror movie darling, and it was a good thing that she’d been sitting in the middle of her bed. When she had jumped, her laptop had flown off her lap, but had landed safely in front of her on the bed.
Her brown eyes were almost as big as her glasses. “What in the hell?”
“Hey, baby,” I smirked as I let myself into her room. It was a dick move, but it wasn’t like there was a fear of her thinking the best of me right now. Granted, this was her sanctuary, and that should matter more to me, but I had only a few months to turn the tables around, and with the way that this girl hated me, I couldn’t afford to play by the rules.
“Chance, what in the hell are you doing in my house?” she asked again as she stood from the bed.
I glanced around the room, though I already knew Harper pretty well. Again, I’d been covertly stalking the girl since that fateful day, so I knew every-fucking-thing about her. “I’m here because I think you and I need to have ourselves a little chat.” When I looked back at her, she looked stunned.
Shaking off her stupor, she said, “The hell we do.”
“You owe me,” I told her.
“I owe you?” she choked out, disbelief at my audacity practically strangling the girl.
“Your newest BFF got to go home with all his teeth today, didn’t he?” I reminded her.
“Are you serious?” she squawked. “Zach was just trying to do the right thing.”
I straightened to my full height as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Getting in between you and me isn’t doing the right thing for anyone, Harper. If I were you, that’s something that I’d work really hard on making him understand.”
The girl straightened to her full five-foot-two-inches and stared me down. “There is no you and me, and thanks to that display of nonsense at lunch, you left me with a lot of explaining to do.”
“Or you could have told him that it was none of his business,” I pointed out. “You’ve only known him for two days, Harper. You don’t owe him shit.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she spat. “I owe him way more than whatever it is that you think I owe you. In those two days, he’s shown me more character than you will ever be able to.”
I dropped my hands to my sides, my fists sliding into my pockets. “Careful, Harper,” I warned her. “The leeway you have is only because I know that I was wrong. Don’t fucking test me.”
She stepped back, her arms flying out to her sides. “Or else what, Chance?” she challenged. “What more can you do to me? Are you going to call me ugly again?” It took everything in me not to flinch at that. “Call me fat? Tell me that no guy is ever going to want me?” Each sentence felt like the lash of a whip, but I deserved it. “Are you going to make fun of my dedication to school? Taunt me with having only one friend?” Her face was turning red. “What, Chance? What more are you threatening me with?”
