Blair snorts. “Men.”
“Ugh.”
“Mood.” She tears into a second protein bar. She nudges a few packets my way. “Eat. You can’t plan retaliation and world domination on an empty stomach.”
“I’m more of a pacifist.” I release a heavy sigh. “Are all the students here always so rabid for the drama? The mob mentality is fucking eerie.”
Blair hitches a bony shoulder. Part of me feels bad for making her skip lunch with me. I’ve guessed it’s one of the few solid meals she gets from her threadbare appearance and secondhand uniform. I have another box of protein bars in my bag I’m giving her.
“There’s never been something this big.” She studies me. “I think you’re the first person to really stand up to those jerks that run this place. The rest of us nobodies have kept our heads down.”
“What the hell,” I mutter.
Slipping my phone from my pocket, I flick my nail against the edges. I’ve mostly had it off. Whenever I turn it on, there’s a bombardment of new messages from random numbers. I stopped reading them when the dick pics started coming.
“This is harassment. This isn’t a prank. He started all this shit.”
I turn the phone on anyway and block out the incessant buzzing of new notifications.
“Have you told your parents?”
“No. I…” I push out a sigh and clench my phone in a white-knuckled grip. “I’ve had to change schools twice. When I was sixteen, a friend that I thought liked me, he…”
Blair puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“I just don’t want them to worry anymore. I can handle this.”
My eyes close as the memories of my nightmare flood my mind. His hands holding me down, touching me while I beg him to stop. I feel silly for not explaining the rest of the story to Blair. I wasn’t raped, but I’m still haunted by dreams of his hands all over me, pressing my face into the mattress as he ground himself against my backside and tried to pull my pants down.
A shudder rolls through me and I swallow the surge of bile.
“What about the cops or something?” Blair nods to the cell phone in my hands. “At least to stop the shit on your phone.” She claps her hands together and intones in a mystical voice, “Dick pics be gone.”
“I can’t believe people are gullible enough for this amateur shit. Don’t they notice it’s the same angle as the other video?”
“People are fucking stupid. And teenagers are gremlins. They’ll believe any rumor and bad photo edits for a juicy scrap of entertainment.”
“That’s a bleak outlook.”
The laugh that escapes Blair is grim and bitter.
I’m stronger than people think. I can endure this.
Despite my resolution, I’m feeling the pressure of being hunted by the whole student body. They follow Lucas Saint’s word like mindless lemmings and every one of them decided they hate me.
All because I stood up for myself against Lucas.
* * *
I purposefully started parking in random spots at the edges of the student parking lot, much to Alec’s annoyance. There’s a familiar shout as I’m walking to the car.
“Goddamn it,” I hiss.
A grip on my messenger bag strap halts me and a strong body collides against my back, sending me stumbling forward. Lucas steps around and blocks me from going anywhere by stalking into my space, caging me between him and the muscled meathead behind me.
I lock my jaw and glare at him. “What do you want?”
Lucas has a smug aura. Hands snake around my stomach, roaming wherever they please. I tense and turn my head to see who it is. Carter Burns winks back at me.