“No shit?”
“Nope. We’re labeling it asfiguring it out.” I shrugged, trying to sound confident but failing badly. One of the girls across the room made a gagging noise, and anxiety rushed through me. I knew this was going to go through the school like wildfire now that I’d confirmed the gossip.
I shouldn’t have been embarrassed, but I couldn’t help it. I was about to be the talk of Ashburn Valley.
“So you guys are taking it slow?” Landon continued, ignoring my freak-out. I went to speak, but Riley’s amused voice cut me off.
“Fast, slow, it depends on our mood at the time and how tired my wrist gets.”
I snapped my gaze to her, finding her smirking under her hood, still in the same position. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I knew they’d be sparkling with humor. She’d definitely been holding that comment in until I outed myself.
“I’ll add that mental image to the spank bank for later, thank you,” Landon deadpanned, dropping his arm around my shoulders supportively. “I’m happy for you guys, but uh, aren’t you dating Stanley?”
Riley pushed her hood from her head and narrowed her eyes at the mention of his name, so I quickly shook my head. “I broke up with him. He was being a dick. I know it’s fast, but…”
“Nonsense.” He scoffed, smacking a kiss on the top of my head. “If it’s the right person, then don’t waste time. You two have known each other forever, so it’s not like a random hook up.”
I squealed as I was hauled onto Riley’s lap to face her, her arms banding around me as her lips skimmed across my neck. Landon gave us an amused grin, and I struggled to keep the discomfort off my face when the other students finally left, gossiping as they went.
“What happened to keeping the PDA to a minimum?” I scolded, making her pause. She loosened her grip slightly, her voice low.
“Fuck. Sorry. I’m not used to giving a shit about people’s opinions, and since you practically shouted your love for me across the room, I assumed you wouldn’t mind.”
“It’s okay,” I said weakly as a wave of anxiety washed through me, getting to my feet. “I’m taking a study session this afternoon. I’ll see you later?”
She frowned, knowing my reason to escape was more about our PDA, but nodded shortly after. I felt like an asshole when I grabbed my things and hightailed it out of there, but I was getting overwhelmed.
It got worse as I wandered through the halls, noticing people glancing at me and snickering. I avoided eye contact, keeping my head down as I made my way to the library, but jerked back as I ran into someone, my eyes going wide as I realized it was Penny.
She glared at me, clenching her fists. “You.”
“Me, what?” I asked slowly, taking a step back. She followed, fury in her eyes.
“You took Riley from me.”
“You two weren’t together,” I squeaked out, swallowing nervously. “I didn’t do anything.”
She shoved me back against the wall, knocking the wind from me as she got in my face. “You probably don’t even know how to get someone off. You’re a meek little girl with no tits, and you can’t possibly keep her attention for long. Do you think she’ll keep you around when she has someone like me? Look at me, Luna. I’m a woman, while you’ve got the body of a ten-year-old boy.”
Tears pricked my eyes, and I flinched when she raised her arm to slap me. When her hand didn’t connect with my face, I opened my eyes to find Beckett’s fist in Penny’s hair, holding her tightly in her grip. The nausea that had started pooling in my stomach ebbed away knowing Beckett wouldn’t let anyone put their hands on me.
“What’s going on?” Beckett hissed, her attention on Penny. “What makes you think you’re allowed to bully Luna?”
“Get off me,” Penny threw back as she struggled, but Beckett just tightened her hold on her, shoving her chest against the wall beside me.
“If my sister decided she doesn’t want to fuck you anymore, that’s hardly Luna’s fault,” she spat, violence in her tone. “Leave her the fuck alone.”
She gave her a shove away from us, glaring at her until Penny gave me a scathing glance and took off in a huff. Beckett turned to me, her face softening a fraction. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said quietly, trying to keep the shake from my voice but failing. I jumped as an arm dropped around my shoulders, but relaxed when I realized it was Ryder.
“What’s going on?” he grunted, glancing at Beckett for an answer. “I saw you chase Penny away.”
“She was bullying Luna. She’s been doing the whole stage five clinger thing with Riley,” Beckett replied, rolling her eyes. “Where the fuck have you been? You weren’t in class this morning.”
“I was busy.” He shrugged, giving my shoulders a squeeze as a smile spread across his lips. “C’mon, Luney. I’ll walk you to wherever you’re going.”
“I’m just going to study group,” I replied softly, and he started walking along the hallway with me still in his hold. I blurted out a thank you to Beckett before we turned the corner, and she gave me a mock salute before she vanished from sight.