“Time to go,” Ollie yells as he bangs on the door.
“Damn this stupid idea,” I mutter, and with my head held high I step into the bedroom, finding all four of them waiting on me.
My brow furrows, is there something going on? Usually Ares is running interference with Mia while Dante or Ollie start the car. That leaves me with one or two, tops, to get out to the car and then to school. Why are they all here? I forget about my shirt altogether.
Dante slaps his hand over his eyes. “Bad idea.”
“What is?” My eyes skip from one to the other, while I wait for an answer.
“Nothing, Laura. Everything is perfect.” Ollie is trying to suppress a grin but failing. He wraps his arm over my shoulder and leads me from the room. I hear Dante groan out a long sigh as we leave.
“Where’s Mia?” I whisper, looking around like she might pop out from behind a corner.
“Ares said she wouldn’t be up for a few hours. She was up pretty late.”
My lips tighten in a thin line, and my muscles go rigid. “And what did Ares say they were doing up so late?” My voice is low, coming out pinched between clenched teeth.
Ollie stops and looks down at me. “Don’t spark up on me now,” he warns, his face serious. I pull away from him.
So far, I’ve only sparked up, as Ollie calls it, one other time on accident. It seems to be heavily tied to my emotions. That’s another reason we keep everything friendly at school.
Touching Ollie always makes the connection flare. Lately I’ve been feeling a different pull when Ares touches me, but now that I know I might light up like a firework, it’s easier to push the feeling away.
“Give me a little credit, I’ve been practicing,” I mutter, sulking down the hall. I make it to the car before the others. Ares didn’t even say goodbye to me when I left. I’m not holding out hope that I’ll be able to ask him in person what he was doing with Mia.
Chapter 2
Dante gets in the driver’s seat, leaving Milo and Ollie to sort out which one of them will take the front seat. I’ve already claimed one in the back.
I’ve gotten used to arriving at school with the guys. The first few times I actually walked in with them, I acted like I didn’t catch how many people stopped and watched. Now I don’t have to pretend so much.
Delany hasn’t even looked in my direction since that night at the diner last week. I’ve seen her around Dante a few times, but she acts like I don’t even exist, which is strange, considering that’s all I wanted in the beginning.
I walk into my homeroom with my backpack still over my shoulder. A lot of the bigger schools I’ve been to don’t allow you to bring bags into class, but the teachers don’t bat a lash at all the kids skipping their locker and toting their books around with them. I get a few head nods, and even a couple hellos as I pass by, making my way toward my seat. Mostly I still keep my head low. I don’t like all the attention that comes with hanging out with the guys, but I’ll deal with it because the rewards are worth it.
After a quick round of attendance, the teacher ignores us. I, like many others in the class, use the time to make sure I have everything I’ll need for all my other classes. There’s some talking, but it’s still early; half the kids are sipping from insulated cups, getting in a dose of caffeine.
The hallways are loud as we change classes, and I’m trying to make my way to third hour when someone taps my shoulder. Looking back, I find Charlie. I haven’t seen too much of him since he came into the diner. We’ve passed each other in the halls, but he hasn’t attempted to talk to me. “Hey, how are you?” I ask, the question just rolling off my tongue. I’m not really sure what he thinks after the encounter with Ares, but he has a small, sheepish grin on his face.
“I’m good. Been kind of busy.” He looks away. “How about you?” he asks.
Slowing my steps but still walking in the direction I need to go, I nod. “Yeah, I’ve been kind of busy too. So, what’s up?”
Charlie keeps pace with me, he’s jostled a few times from oncoming students rushing to class. “Nothing really. I was just wondering how you’re holding up. It’s tough being the new kid and all.”
Reaching up for my backpack straps, I run my hands across them few times. I don’t really know him well. I realize he’s making small talk, but I’m not great at it. “It’s okay. I’ve been working a lot, and school isn’t so bad.”
“And hanging out with Dante and his friends?” Charlie adds.
“Yeah, I guess.” I’m not sure what else to say about that so I just keep walking.
“So, are you dating one of them?” My steps falter. Am I? I don’t really know what we are other than I think of them as mine, but if I told that to Charlie, he would assume I was crazy, because I wouldn’t be talking about only one of them.
I shrug. “I have to go. I’m going to be late for class.” I rush away before he can ask me any more questions.
I’m only a few steps from my classroom when Ollie pokes his head out looking left, then right, in my direction. His brow furrows, and he steps fully into the hall.
“Something wrong?” Ollie’s eyes scan the hall behind me. “I was worried you might be late.”
I don’t want to tell him Charlie asked me a question that has me all flustered, so I just grab the sleeve of his hoodie and tow him with me to our seats. “No, nothing’s wrong.” Ollie eyes me with a tilted head. “Did you get your test results back in Bio?” Dropping into my seat with my bag on the desk, I try for a change of subject. Ollie is typically easy to distract.
He doesn’t take the bait this time, though. “Was that Charlie I saw behind you? What did he want?”
I busy myself by taking my book and notebook out. “Nothing, he was just saying hi.” I don’t know what Ollie would think if I told him what Charlie asked me. I was afraid he or the other guys would assume I was the one asking about our relationship status. I’d rather ignore the topic altogether for right now.
Ollie stays quiet. I look over my shoulder, but his head is down. When he looks up, I watch as his shoulder lifts, and he shoves his phone into his front pocket. He meets my eyes and opens his mouth, but the tardy bell rings, cutting him off.
We don’t have a chance to talk much in class, which I’m grateful for. I don’t like not being honest with him, and by the way he keeps looking at me, I expect he knows I’m acting a little off. Giving him a wave and a smile over my shoulder as I walk out of class, I find Milo already waiting for me in the hall.
“Oh, are you meeting Ollie? He’s coming.”
“No, I’m here for you,” Milo says and looking over my shoulder, he tilts his chin up, acknowledging someone behind me—Ollie, I’m sure.
“Why?” I can’t keep the surprise from my tone.
Milo wraps his hand around the backpack strap high on my chest. I know immediately he’s going to take it, so I shift my shoulder and turn so it slides off easily. “I’m walking you to class.”
“Okay…” I let the word hang between us, he’s never walked me to class before. I barely see Milo throughout the day other than lunch. We don’t share any classes. Once he has my bag, he lifts his hand in a go-ahead gesture. Shaking my head, I lead the way to my next class. Milo doesn’t even speak to me on the way. He’s stalking behind with his head on a swivel as he watches the surrounding kids. I slow down and he barely notices, bumping into me when I turn to face him.