Chapter twenty: Wonder girl

"And here comes our wonder girl!" Lucy yelped, spreading ketchup on her bread. She beamed up at me. "Look at you, huh? First week in school and you're already half making out with Alexander."

I froze, setting my tray on the table. "What? No."

"We saw you," Katya said, nudging me. "Don't deny it. You have the hots for Alexander!" She squealed. I laughed and dug into my mac and cheese.

"That's quite the contrary, actually. He was just getting on my nerves, that's all." Lucy's eyes twinkled as she leaned back, slapping my hand.

"Alexander's getting on your nerves?" She turned to smile at Katya. "I mean, look at you, babe. You've got Alexander in your pants already…"

"Okay, Lucy, I don't have him under my pants, and I never will. He's just too… annoying." I glanced over at his table—the loud madhouse jock table filled with the school's hottest guys. They were huge, way too huge to be true, and downright handsome to the core. Three of them were twice Alex's size—tall, hunky, with large, crushable arms like soccer balls. All in all, they were a brimming seven, with Alex on the edge, laughing over something crazy. He looked up and caught me staring. He winked at me, and I glared, making a face. He made a face back and licked his lips at me.

Ugh. I looked away, disgusted.

"Seems like you two have something going on," Lucy said, watching us. "I've never seen Cage act this way before. Ever. He's always so badass and serious, with all the girls licking his feet. What the fuck did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything. He's just annoying, okay? I could NEVER like him. Never."

"Oh, really?" Katya said, smiling. "You know, most of the relationships I know stem from hate. K-dramas are literally based on that storyline, so you never know…"

"Yeah, and I don't want to. He's an asshole. A total asshole."

"Whoa. Take it easy, newbie," Lucy said. "He hasn't done anything to you," she frowned, leaning close. "Has he?"

"N… no. Look, can we just not talk about this? Please?"

"Yeah, sure," Katya did a little twirl with her shoulders, winking at me. "For now."

"That's all I need, thanks. Now, tell me something, will you?"

"What?"

"Who are they?" I asked, nodding at Alex's table. "I mean, should they even be allowed to go to school here? They're huge." Lucy laughed.

"And hot. I know, I know. They're misfits, like some kind of wolf gang. They hang out, beat up guys, date the hottest girls, throw the hottest parties, and generally go around looking for trouble, even in hidden places."

"So, Alex is part of the gang?"

"Part of the gang? Bro, he's the leader of the gang. People are scared shitless of him," she made a face, "which is why I wonder how long you'll last taunting him like this."

"Don't tell me you're scared shitless of him too," I said, nudging her. "I thought you were a total badass."

"Well, I've been in this dipshit town long enough to know that you don't just go around messing with anybody, especially guys like Alex," she said, and I scoffed, slinging my bag over one shoulder.

"Well, I couldn't care less," I said, glancing around the half-empty table for the first time. "Where's everyone, by the way?"

Katya shrugged. "Who knows? Hey, where are you going?"

"To the library. I have notes to copy."

"Good luck with that, nerd." She leaned close. "Hey, did Stacey tell you about that party Kimberly's throwing at her place Saturday night? You should totally come."

"She told me you guys wanted to hang out in a cafe," I said.

"Sure, yeah," Katya piped up. "That's today, and the party's on Saturday. So, are you coming?"

Not on my life! "I'll move things around and we'll see. See you later." I waved and walked away, heading into the only sanctuary I could really call home. I snuck one quick look at Alex. He had Kimberly hanging onto his arm like a doll, but that wasn't what left me speechless.

He was staring at me, his eyes hard and bloodshot red.