But when I thought about that moment in the cafeteria—the confidence, languid power, and sheer, twisted charisma that’d radiated from each of them—I could begin to understand. There was something about those four boys. Something that drew me in even as it repulsed me, made me want to exist in their orbit even though I hated everything they stood for.
Evil shouldn’t be allowed to exist in such pretty packages. It made it hard to see the devils underneath.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
Leah’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I realized I’d stopped walking. I blew out a deep breath, puffing my cheeks.
“Yeah. I’m fine. They kicked me out of the dining hall, and I never got lunch. I think I’m just hungry.”
Sympathy twisted her delicate features. “Yeah, I heard about that. I think everyone’s heard about it by now. Oh, here!” She swung her backpack around to her front and dug around inside it before coming up with a wrapped granola bar. “My mom’s such a worrier, she demands I keep something to eat with me at all times. I’d give her shit for it… but it actually comes in handy pretty often.”
She handed it to me, and I took it gratefully. I was assuming all three meals of the day were served in the dining hall, which meant I’d probably be skipping dinner too. I couldn’t avoid it forever, but I didn’t have another fight in me today.
We veered around the side of Hammond hall, heading toward the Wastelands—or the haven, as I’d begun thinking of it. It might’ve felt unfortunate at first to be stuck in a dorm so far away from everyone else, but considering I was now a social pariah, maybe it was for the best. There’d be less chance of running into any of the Princes over here.
“What’s the blond one’s name?” I asked, hating myself for even being curious. But it’s better to know your enemies, right?
Leah’s gaze shot to me before she answered. “That’s Finn. He’s captain of the football team. He’s a major player. I’d warn you to stay away from him if he comes flirting, but…” Her freckled nose scrunched up. “I guess that won’t really be a problem.”
A weird feeling of regret settled in my stomach at her words, and I did my best to shove it down. Would I really have been interested in Finn if he hadn’t joined in with his friends in tormenting me? If he hadn’t shown his true colors to be a bright shade of “rich prick”?
Yes.
…Fuck.
Well, that would be a secret I’d take to the damn grave. If I let him know I’d been interested in any way, I was sure he’d find a way to use that to torture me too.
Better to just keep a distance from all of them.
“Mason’s sort of the leader of the Princes, although it’s not like the other three do what he says or anything. None of them take orders from anybody. Elijah’s family is the richest—I swear to God, they own half of Roseland. And Cole is…” Leah paused, blushing. “Well, I mean, he’s obviously hot as hell, but he’s kind of fucking scary too. I think he fights guys for fun. He shows up to class with bruises on his face and knuckles a lot. And he’s got a shitload of tattoos. Pretty much everywhere on his upper body that’s covered up by the uniform has ink on it.”
Damn. That is fucking hot.
I’d always had a thing for inked bad boys, but as I was quickly discovering, the reality of them was a little different from the fantasy. Cole was insanely gorgeous, his allure somehow enhanced by the blankness behind his eyes rather than diminished by it. But a thrill of fear shivered through me at the thought of him. He wasn’t just playing at being a psychopath—there was a very good chance he was one.
“Great.” I chucked the granola bar wrapper in a trashcan outside my building, feeling a little better physically at least. “And these are the guys who’ve decided to make my life miserable.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” She genuinely did look apologetic. “Seriously, Talia. If you can think of anything you might’ve done to piss them off, try to fix it. It may be too late, but you really don’t want to stay on their bad side if you can help it.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
I already knew there wasn’t, though. I could count on three fingers the number of encounters I’d had with any of them before the dining hall incident, and none of them had included anything bad enough to make them come after me like this. Unless they counted accidentally interrupting a conversation, or having a hard time not staring.
But neither of those things were really that bad, were they?
Tugging the key card from my bag, I turned toward the dorm’s entrance before Leah stopped me.
“Hey! Why don’t we go shopping next weekend? It’ll help take your mind off things.” Then she slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes opening wide. “Err… sorry. I didn’t ask if you had any money to go. That’s rude.”
Idaho trash.
Poor.
Doesn’t belong here.
The names the Princes has called me, the words I’d heard whispered in the hallways all day, bounced around in my head. Even Leah believed them, even if she was being nice about it, rather than cruel.
And weren’t they right, in a way?