Mason (Fallen Crest High 0.5)(10)

Nate barked out another laugh and shook his head. “No, you play football with him. You’re both on varsity. Us, minions, aren’t deemed good enough. We’re on the normal teams for our grade.”

“Shut up.”

“Kade.” Jared Smythe came over and held out his fist.

I met it with mine and he nodded, stepping back. He nodded to Nate and shoved his hands in his pockets. Then he glanced around. “I saw your little brother’s here.”

I narrowed my eyes. He slighted Nate just now and if he was going to start on Logan, we’d have problems. I raised my head in a challenge. “Yeah?”

He grinned, shaking his head. “Relax. I’m not going to start with you. I’m just saying because he’s friends with my brother.”

“Yeah.” Since he was in front of me, I asked, “Do I need to worry about your brother?”

“What’s that mean?” His tone cooled and he frowned.

“Does he do drugs?”

He laughed. “That’s rich. You brought your own brother to a party. You know he’s going to drink here and you’re questioning my kid brother?”

“Does he?”

“No.” He raked a hand through his hair and rolled his eyes. “Shit. This is hilarious. You and your friends were invited—”

“Fischer’s my friend.”

“Yeah and his brother is throwing the party. This is an older party. You little shits were invited because of Ethan and because you’re on varsity with us. Come at me with this attitude and I’ll get you banned from every single party for the rest of the year.”

I laughed. “You’re forgetting one goddamn thing, Smythe.”

“What?”

“You f**k with me off the field, and I will f**k with you on the field.” My threat held weight and he knew it. I was better than him. That meant I held more power than him and there was nothing he could do about it.

A harsh-sounding laugh came from him and he began backing up. “This year’s going to be fun. Let’s see who wins, Kade.”

Nate burst out, “Come on, Jared. He’s just looking out for his kid brother. That’s all. He doesn’t know your brother.”

Jared wasn’t listening. He came back, his eyes flashing with anger. “For the record, it’s your brother that I’m worried about. I love my kid brother too, but yours got him grounded the other night. Derek’s been sneaking out past curfew, taking off to who knows where, and he came home stoned. Sorry, Kade, but your little brother is the reason for all that. He’s the leader in his grade. Mine’s not. You do the f**king math.”

I scowled. “I will. If your brother’s getting stoned, it’s not Logan’s fault. If mine is doing drugs, he’ll have me to answer to. No way is my brother getting into drugs.”

Jared still frowned, but it lessened. He sighed. “Fine. Fine. Okay. Whatever. Truce?”

I didn’t say anything.

He laughed. “You’re a trip, Kade. A part of me is glad you’re on the team and the other part of me hates it.” He took off, still shaking his head.

Nate cursed when he was out of earshot. He shot me a look. “What are you doing? Smythe is one of the top guys in his grade. He’s a senior. I’d like to keep partying and getting laid this year.”

“Whatever. I’m better than him on the field. We’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” Then he nudged me with his elbow. “Kate’s been looking your way a lot lately.”

I glanced over. She was standing with her group of friends, and she grinned when she saw me looking. I told Nate, “It’s because we started hooking up this summer.”

“You did? You never told me.”

I turned to him, hearing the surprise. “Are you hooking up with her too?”

He flushed, but shook his head. “No, but I am with her friend. Parker.”

“I think Ethan hooks up with the other one.”

Nate nodded. “Yeah, I saw them leave the group the other night.”

I was getting restless. Smythe’s accusations were in my head, and they were pissing me off. If Logan was into drugs, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but I would have to do something. “Come on. I want to talk to Logan real quick.”

When we headed to where I knew Logan usually slept, Kate stepped in front of me. “Hey, Mason.” She turned to the side, but she lost some of the seductive tone. “Nate.”

He jerked his head in a nod and said to me, “I’ll go get Logan.”

I nodded. As soon as he walked away, Kate stepped closer to me. Her friends were right next to us, watching and whispering to each other. Kate didn’t seem to care. She trailed a hand down my chest and lingered when she got to my jeans. She moved a step closer, and murmured softly, “You and me tonight?”

I took her hand and lifted it from my jeans, but I didn’t let it go. “I don’t like girlfriends.” A quick frown appeared on her face, and she tried to pull her hand away. I didn’t let it go and I tugged her close again. “If you’re okay with those terms, then yes.”

“You’re such an ass**le.”

I moved her away from her friends, but kept her close to me. I moved so we were touching, lowering my own voice so no one close by could hear. “I have too much shit going on in my life. I won’t be a whore with other girls, but I don’t want to be tied down. I told you this last time and you were fine with it.” I shot her friends a look. “Did they change your mind?”