Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest High #3)(20)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Walking away from Sam cost me. I was lying to her. She asked me a question, point-blank, and I dodged it, point-blank. She wasn’t an idiot, but I couldn’t tell her the real reason. Logan said he wanted to play with Tate, fool around with her, use her. So whatever. I wouldn’t run interference anymore. It wasn’t the best idea. I knew that much, but this was what Logan wanted and a part of me couldn’t fault my little brother. She dated him for two years. She’d been the only girl he had fallen in love with, and she hit his older brother up. The need for revenge was too sweet for Logan to walk away from, but Sam wouldn’t agree. She wouldn’t understand. Sam protected. She loved. She wasn’t a vengeance girl.

She was good. Logan and I were not.

Dodging around a group of girls, I headed down the hallway and ignored the two that stuck their hands out. One got a good grope of my stomach and the other tried to hold me back. Her fingers curled into my arm, but I twisted it free, knocking her back into her friends at the same time. As I kept going, one cried out from annoyance and I turned around.

They thought they could grab me, there were things called boundaries. “Try it again and I’ll make your life hell.”

Their eyes got wide and their heads shot straight up, but the one who tried to hold me back only rolled her eyes. I could tell she was the leader. Skimming over them, I figured they were freshmen—they would be the next Kate and crew—they were tough, popular, and already oozing sex.

“Mase!” Nate called, waving me down.

He was standing at Strauss’ locker. The two were lounging back and watching the girls. A group of cheerleaders were next to them. I wasn’t surprised. The exile had been broadcasted loud and clear. Kate and her friends weren’t on friendly terms with us anymore so there was a vacancy at the top. There was always attention from girls, but it was different since the exile. The girls had become more aggressive with the guys, and more competitive with each other. My eyes fell to the left of Strauss and saw some of the drill team. Two had seductive grins on their faces while their friends were glaring at the cheerleaders.

That was one benefit when Kate reigned. She kept the hierarchy in order.

“Hey.” I nodded to Nate and punched Strauss in the shoulder. I pulled it back at the last second so it turned into a friendly nudge.

Strauss gave me a halfhearted grin, his gaze lingering on an ass that walked past us.

“How’d that family pow-wow go? Did you guys get everything straightened out?”

Shit.

Strauss glanced at Nate as well. His hostility hadn’t been kept in check, but Strauss didn’t comment on it.

“It wasn’t like that, Nate.”

“Figured I should jet, just in case it was. I wouldn’t want it to be awkward.” He fixed me with a pointed look.

I lifted a hand and raked it through my hair. This wasn’t a scene I wanted to happen here.

“Logan!”

Turning, I saw Logan had a girl pinned up against a locker. He was grinning right in her face, and her cheeks were flushed. She lit up, smiling widely, and took a deep breath. It lifted her br**sts, and Logan fixed his gaze on those. He didn’t look away, and the girl squirmed again. “Logan, stop.”

Strauss grunted.

The girl didn’t want him to stop. She was giggling, pressing against him, and pushing her br**sts out even further.

“Mr. Kade,” a loud voice boomed from the end of the hallway.

Logan stepped back, dropping the girl at the same time. She squealed again, this time not from enjoyment.

“Both Mr. Kades are here. Two for one deal. Lucky me,” the voice said again with the same gusto. A hand came down hard on my shoulder at the same time.

Logan glanced up, meeting my gaze with a dark look before we moved as one. I turned around, dislodging the hand as Logan took a few steps to stand beside me.

I spoke first, “Principal Green.”

Dressed in a grey suit, green tie, and standing over six feet, he was at eye-level with me. The older man, in his early forties with graying hair, lifted his lip. It was an imitation of a smile, but it didn’t match the resignation in his eyes.

Logan snorted.

The principal inclined his head. “Something funny, Mr. Kade?”

He rolled his shoulders back, a cocky smirk coming over him. “Nah, Principal Green, except you look ready to drop on your feet. Busy night with the missus?”

Disapproval replaced the resignation. “I am here to give you both a warning.”

“A warning?” Logan locked gazes with me again. “We haven’t done anything.”

“Yet,” someone coughed from behind them.

Nate, Strauss, and some of the others laughed at the comment. A girl added in a groan, “They can do anything to me that they want.” Her friends giggled and began whispering together. Someone snapped at them, “Shut it. Stop being so annoying.”

Kate.

The girls fell silent.

Principal Green surveyed the crowd in the hallway, shaking his head at the same time. “How is it that you two command so much attention in this school? I’ve never met another person, much less a pair of brothers that can compete with the level of power you hold over my student population.”

Logan shrugged. “We’re cool, an inspiration to others.”

A smattering of laughter started again.