Jaded (Jaded #1)(9)

Mena waved them off and added, “I know who my brother is. I can be popular off his name. I can be popular on my own too. I was Homecoming Queen at my last school for the junior class. I went to the largest high school in Manhattan. I’d like to think that says something.”

“Becky Lew likes friends,” I mentioned. Becky Lew liked followers.

Mena parroted my thoughts as she snorted, “Becky Lew likes to be followed around and fanned. She wants errand girls, not friends. I was lucky to get a few good friends at my old school. I like you. I heard all about you from Denton and this morning around school. You don’t give a crap what people think of you. It works for you.” She stepped closer and said, “And you don’t play those childish games that all girls inevitably do. I’m tired of that life.”

I frowned and moved away from her. To be truthful, I didn’t know what to think of this girl. Luckily, Corrigan interrupted us as he stopped and asked, his back turned to Mena, “Do I need to know what happened between you two?”

Corrigan did that so efficiently. It was a perfected technique that effectively cut out anyone else.

For a moment, I thought he meant me and Mena, but then comprehension dawned and I whispered, “No. You don’t need to know because I don’t even know.”

He meant Bryce and myself.

“Bryce is furious. I’m asking.” He shifted closer to me. “Should I know what happened?”

“You want to know all the dirty secrets?” I teased. “You want the play by play?”

Corrigan took the hint and returned smoothly, “You taped it. Right? Tell me you taped it.”

Mena shifted farther to the side as Corrigan dropped to lean against the locker that she had been standing against.

She frowned at his back, but all of our attention was thwarted when Bryce stopped beside us.

He ran his eyes over Corrigan and myself before he drawled, “Principal wants to see us.”

I groaned and buried my head in my locker.

“Hope your nooner was worth it. I heard you guys were supposed to be at the library instead.” Corrigan leered knowingly.

“We skipped because you were hungry,” Bryce pointed out.

The leer disappeared.

Becky Lew chose that moment to stop with her usual crowd of minions behind her. She smiled seductively at Bryce and ran a hand down his chest while she purred, “Hey, guys.”

No one knew what to do.

It was common knowledge that Bryce was off-limits when I was around. There

was a reason why Stephanie Hills scampered off his table when I arrived. It wasn’t because I turned sudden bitch, it was just because Bryce really did choose me first. Girls just got humiliated when I showed up.

I frowned and watched Corrigan instead.

He tensed and looked at me.

I burst out laughing, which earned a few puzzled looks.

“I’m sorry.” I tried to hide my smile behind a hand. “It’s just…you were all after Corrigan this morning and now you’re into Bryce?”

The seductive gleam vanished from Becky’s eyes. They narrowed in anger at me instead.

I caught a relenting glint of amusement in Bryce’s eyes so I moved forward and leaned my back against him.

Bryce tensed a moment and then slid his arms around my waist to dip his hands inside. I felt his thumbs caress against my thong, but that’s all they did.

Becky frowned and stepped back.

“What are you doing here, Lew?” Corrigan leaned against my locker now.

She paused and studied him a moment. Then she glanced at Bryce and myself.

She’d tried the girlfriend bit with Corrigan, which hadn’t worked and now…I couldn’t understand her thought process. She probably wanted to make Corrigan jealous.

And I had ruined it because I had laughed at her and then stole the show as Bryce had his arms around me, not her.

I looked up and caught an appreciate gleam in Mena’s startling green eyes before she turned and sauntered away.

Becky was flushed, but she retorted, “I thought I’d say hello to Bryce since you’ve ignored me all day.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Corrigan said swiftly and bounced on his heels. He was ready for a fight. The malice was mixed with enjoyment.

Bryce chuckled in my ear and I leaned fully against him. The two continued when I let my head fall backwards to his shoulder and I asked, my mouth beside his ear, “Truce?”

Bryce pulled away slightly to look at me. His eyes searched my face before he sighed and murmured, “I was just touchy before.”

“Yeah, but…,” I pulled away and turned so my stomach rested against him.

“I don’t get what you were mad at before,” I reasoned, ignoring the warmth that spread over my body.

This was just how it was between us.

“I wasn’t. Can we drop it?” Bryce straightened and I pulled away.

“I’m the one who avoids. Why are you avoiding this? I don’t even get what you’re avoiding.”

Neither of us were aware that Corrigan and Becky had stopped to watch us. The entire hallway watched us too.

“I’m not avoiding anything. I just don’t…”

“What?” I cried out, more annoyed that I didn’t understand. If I understood what I’d said to piss him off, then I could understand what he was avoiding. I just didn’t understand and…we were nearing one of those ‘near emotion’ events.