My mind flashes over everything they’ve already done. I’m not really sure that it can get worse than it has.
“I don’t know, you have some pretty banging hair, and I’ve seen the Saint Squad do some pretty shitty things.”
I shrug as I pull into a space in the student lot. “It’s just hair, it’ll grow back. But trust me, they won’t go after my hair. I swear, Blair’s hair is her greatest treasure, so she wouldn’t want me to retaliate that way. She might seem like a dumb bitch, but she’s calculating as hell.”
“Okay,” she starts but cuts off with a squeak as Raleigh jumps in front of the hood.
He lets out a whistle before walking around and opening my door for me as I grab my bag from behind Indi’s seat. I look up and see Jackson at her door, and she’s blushing like crazy. I wink at her, which just makes the red on her cheeks deepen closer to maroon as he opens her door.
“Good weekend?” I ask Raleigh as I lock the car.
“Yeah, not so bad, just chilled and slayed Jackson on Apex and all that. It was a pretty chill weekend. You?” We circle toward the back of the car, reaching the other two as he asks, and Indi’s eyes widen comically, looking like a deer in headlights. I give her a small shake of my head.
“It was fine,” I tell him, the lies like ash in my mouth. No need to dump my baggage everywhere since it won’t help me anyway. “We went car shopping, obviously, and I moved back into my old house. It was a pretty chill one too.”
“That is one sweet-ass ride,” Jackson says with a whistle as he slings an arm over Indi’s shoulder. “I mean, compared to the others in the lot, she stands out. She’s got that old school beauty.”
“Yes, yes she does.” I beam, glancing back at my car before climbing the steps to the school. “I need to hit the library quickly before I head to class, so I’ll see you guys later.”
“Oh, I’ll come with you, I need to ask Mrs. Smith to source a book for me,” Indi exclaims, ducking out of Jackson’s hold. He protests, and her blush goes damn near as purple as her hair as we walk away with a wave.
“Well, that looked cozy,” I tease, bumping her shoulder with mine.
She grips her books against her chest and glances at me from the side of her eyes. “I have no idea what that was.”
“That was the start ofsomething.” I grin and then hum the High School Musical song at her until she pushes me away laughing.
“You are such a dork.”
“I know, but I totally rock the dork thing.” I grin as we reach our lockers. My smile drops when I notice the new ‘art’ engraved into my locker door.
Slut.
How original.
“People are such assholes,” Indi hisses, her anger worse than mine.
I shrug and open my locker. “Fuck them and their opinions. Words can’t hurt me if I don’t let them.” I smile over my shoulder at her, but she doesn’t look like she agrees. “Let me just throw my stuff in my locker, then we can hit the library on the way to English.”
“Sounds good to me, I’ll do the same.” She huffs, and I hope she’ll just ignore the latest attempt at tearing me down. I need her to treat it the same way I am. As nothing but pathetic. She ditches her stuff while I unload mine and is back before I’m even done.
“Octavia, we should talk.” I groan at the sound of Lincoln’s voice.
“Will you run to the library for me, get your thing, and then check outJane Eyrefor me? There’s something about the feel of a real book when you’re reading the classics, you know?”
“Are you sure?” Indi asks quietly, her gaze bouncing over my shoulder to Lincoln. I don’t need to actually see his face to know how annoyed he is that I haven’t actually addressed him. I can already picture his face, which is exactly why I’m still facing her instead of him.
“I’m sure. I won’t be long.” I smile at her, trying to reassure her, and she nods before scurrying away. I love that she’s willing to go against Lincoln, Maverick, and Finley on my behalf, but I also totally understand her fear of them after surviving a year at this school alone.
I take a deep breath and shut my locker before turning to face the guy in question, with a saccharine smile on my face. “Lincoln, what can I do for you?”
“You can take back the things I bought for you. I told you, you have no control until you leave. Don’t make me force the matter again.” He leans against the locker, like he’s as casual as casual gets, but the tightness of his shoulders and the tic in his jaw tells me just how tense he is, really. I can feel the eyes of people in the halls on us, but I’m determined not to make a scene. I’ve had enough of that already.
Then it hits me what he means, and I feel a blush creep up my chest. I know he notices because his jaw relaxes, and he has that smug-ass smile of his back for a moment. He’s too close right now, but I don’t want to take a step back. I don’t want him to know that he’s getting to me as much as he is, so I take a deep breath and tough it out.
“I don’t want the things you bought, Lincoln, so no, I will not take them back. I already went shopping for myself. Return them, burn them, donate them—I don’t care… That's a lie, I’d totally rather you donated them, but still. I won’t take them. What was taken from me was irreplaceable—control or not.”
“Why do you always have to be so obstinate?” he growls through clenched teeth.