“That you declared war with Slade Cruz.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
“Really? So, you didn’t stand in front of hundreds of students and tell him ‘if it’s a war you want, then it’s a war you’ll get’ then finish it off by declaring there was ‘a new boss in town.’”
A grin rips across my face. I really have the flair for the dramatics at times. “Yeah, okay. I might have said that, but technically, it was a warning, not a declaration of war and if the guy is smart, he’ll see it for what it is.”
“You don’t seriously think the guy is smart, do you?”
“Nope. I know he’s not.”
Blake runs a hand through his hair. “Skylah,” he groans, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Can’t you just play nice this one time? Just enjoy school. You know you could be the most popular chick around here if you were just nice to people.”
“I don’t want to be nice to people. It’s fake and you know more than most that I’m not fake. Not anymore.”
“I know,” he sighs. “I just want things to be easier for you.”
“Trust me, things are easier this way. People learn not to fuck with me from day one and it pays off. I won’t be a doormat like I used to be. I’m not weak, Blake.”
“Believe me, after what happened this morning, no one thinks you’re weak.”
I beam up at him. “Good, then my plan is working.”
Blake rolls his eyes and wisely shuts up but I don’t get peace and quiet for long when a long “Dammmmmnn,” sounds beside me. Maze steps in front of me, not giving a shit about the students who curse her out for cutting the line. “Who’s this?”
Maze looks up at my brother with a hungry expression and I turn her to face the front of the line. “No one that you’ll be sinking your claws into.”
Blake doesn’t seem to realize what I’m doing and throws his arm over my shoulder while offering Maze his other hand. “I’m Blake Daniels, Trouble’s little brother.”
She grins wide. “Well, well, well. You look like a scrumptious treat.”
“Maze,” I demand. “I’m serious. You can forget about being my little protegee if you plan on getting into bed with my brother. That’s not what I’m about.”
“Chill out, girl. I can look but not touch, right? Besides, what’s wrong with a little shameful flirting?”
“Umm, besides the fact that you’re going to inflate his ego until he can’t be saved, absolutely everything.”
“Oh good, so you approve then,” she smiles before stepping around me until she’s by Blake’s side. She slips her arm through his and beams up at the jock star. “So, tell me about your dysfunctional self. Surely having a sister like Skylah, you must have some pretty dark secrets.”
Fuck me. She couldn’t be more right but I don’t need to worry about my secrets, Blake is more loyal than he is protective. All my secrets, the good and the bad, are safe with him.
Quickly realizing that Blake isn’t going to spill the goods, Maze moves on to giving us the rundown of the school and I listen intently to every last detail, knowing I may need it later.
We step forward in the line as Maze gets lost in her explanations. “So, you met Slade, and as far as Aston Creek High goes, he’s the top dog, the absolute hero that everyone throws their panties at and worships,” she begins, glancing over her shoulder at the guy only to find his eyes already on us, more specifically on me. “He’s an asshole and watching him being knocked down is going to be the highlight of my whole high school years. Though, you better not let me down. If you can’t pull through with this, I’m going to be extremely pissed off.”
“Trust me,” Blake scoffs as though her lack of faith in me is outrageous. “If my sister says she’s going to take his ass out, then that’s exactly what she intends to do, and believe me, she ain’t no quitter.”
I beam proudly as Maze meets my eyes with an excited grin of her own. “Good. Now, after Slade, there’s a mix of Vanessa, his on-again/off-again cock tease and Damian. It’s like a constant war between them, always fighting to be Slade’s number one. But let’s face it, Damian has always had his back whereas Ness only seems to rise up whenever Slade needs his dick sucked.”
“Which I’m assuming is more often than not.”
“You got that right.”
I glance across the cafeteria, scanning my eyes over Damian. “What’s Damian like? Is he going to be a problem?”
“You bet that tight ass of yours, he is. He’s all about being the funny guy, until he’s not. He’s dangerous. You need to be careful with him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s not scared to get his hands dirty. Don’t get me wrong, Slade isn’t either, but Slade has a real shot at going pro, where Damian just seems to play for the fun of it. He’s not scared to do the things others won’t and where those two are concerned, those things could be pretty fucking bad.”