Fallen Crest Alternative Version (Fallen Crest High #2.1)(72)

He caught one of my hands and pulled me close. Then he murmured against my ear, “You’re safe. I promise.” Then he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, though it did nothing to calm my insides. When he started around the car, he pulled me behind him.

I dug my feet in and shook my head. Uh huh. No way. I did not want to get into a fight and I knew that was the only ending for this night.

“What?”

I shook my head again. “I’m not going in there. Bad things happen when I come to your games.”

He grinned, but skimmed a hand down the side of my face. I melted a bit but hardened myself again. His seductive ways wouldn’t work this way.

“Nope. I love you, Mason. I know we don’t say it that often, but I do. However, I’m not going in there. No way, Jose.”

He smirked. “Come on, Sam.” He tugged me again and this time I was jerked after him. An arm was wrapped around my waist and he urged me forward. With him behind me, his hands on my waist now, he pushed me ahead and bent down to my ear. He murmured, “I want to introduce you to some people. That’s all. After you meet them, you don’t have to stay unless you want to. I promise.”

My feet slid over small rocks as he pressed me forward. He was practically carrying me the whole way.

“Mason!”

“Hey, buddy!”

“Mase!”

“Yo, dude!”

He ignored all the calls until we went around a small Green Fiat. Two girls were laughing together but straightened at the sight of us. The enjoyment faded from their faces and each looked scared for a second. One cleared her throat. She brushed back a lock of her long black hair. Her brown eyes flashed in anger then and she pinched her lips together. She was tall and willowy. Her other friend had long brown hair with a curvier body and an inch shorter. Both were dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and both narrowed their eyes.

The black haired girl lifted her chin. “What are you doing here?”

Mason held his hands in the air. “Relax, Laura. I’m here on friendly grounds.”

Her friend, the brown haired girl, came to her side. She had a heart-shaped face with the same hostility as her friend. “Go away, Mason.”

He sighed and backed two steps from me. When he stood behind their car a few feet, he gestured to me. “This is my girlfriend, Samantha. I wanted to introduce her to you guys.”

They both regarded me with questions in their eyes.

I twisted around. “What are you doing?”

His mouth twisted into a frown and he took a deep breath. “They were friends with Marissa.”

“We still are.” The black-haired girl came forward. Her hands found her hips and she struck an intimidating pose. “I talk to her every day, unlike you. You’re supposed to still be a good friend to her.”

“I was.” He snarled at her. “I still am. I try.”

The girl snorted.

“Laura, give me a break.” He rolled his eyes. “Sam, Marissa became a friend to me. You know this. I told you, but I’m the reason she left this school. She was bullied by so many girls she couldn’t handle it. I don’t blame her.”

Laura opened her mouth. He lifted his hand and continued, “These two stayed at her side the whole time. They got bullied too.”

The brown haired girl piped in, “We still are.”

The two of them shared a look and Mason’s mouth flattened. He stepped forward and gentled his voice. “I know. I know you are, but you’re good friends. I saw it then and I respect you. I’ve always respected the two of you.”

Laura opened her mouth, but the other hushed her. “Stop it. He’s been nice to us and you know it.”

She closed her mouth with a snap and glared at her friend.

Mason cleared his throat. He was now beside me again, and his hand was at my waist. He turned me to face them. “This is Laura and Kelly. I wanted you to meet them because your friends suck, Sam.”

One of them snorted in laughter.

“My friends don’t suck—” Then the words died in my throat. My friends did suck. I rolled my eyes. “What do you want me to do?”

He gestured to the girls. “Meet them, get to know them. I want you to come to my games, but I know you won’t because of Kate and the girls.”

Laura growled from deep in her throat. “They don’t like her? Why am I not surprised?”

Kelly gave me a sympathetic look. Her shoulder lifted up. “Sorry to hear that, but I’m not surprised. They massacred Marissa when she was friends with Mason. They hate anybody he likes.”

His hand curled on my waist and he pulled me against him. His arms came around me and he now hugged me from behind. His lips rested near my ear and as he spoke, they brushed against it. A tingle rushed through me from the caress. “I’m sorry to do this. I know you like your friend Becky, but I can’t stand back anymore. These girls don’t like me, but they were loyal to Marissa. I really do think they’re good friends to have. Talk to them for a bit. If you don’t like them, you can leave.” I felt his keys as he pushed them into my hand. Then he pressed another kiss to my forehead. “And I love you too.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

The two girls dropped their attitudes as soon as Mason left. They had reason not to like him, if he was the reason their friend left the school and as they started to detail the different groups at Fallen Crest Public, it seemed Mason wasn’t the only one they didn’t like. They hated Kate and the Fab Four, as they called the rest of the girls. Kate was the leader, which I had discerned already. Natalie was the second leader and Logan’s hook-up in the group. It seemed there were some rules that I hadn’t figured out, but Jasmine and Ethan would hook up. Parker was Nate’s hook up whenever he was in town. None of the couples, and they used that term loosely with a giggle, were together. They only got together if both of the partners wanted it. The only rule the applied to the hook-ups is that those three guys and those three girls couldn’t get together with one another. So that meant Logan had never been with Parker or Jasmine. Ethan had never been with Parker or Natalie and so forth.