Johnny’s face contorts like I asked him to eat asparagus, and his eyes darken with a wickedness that snatches my breath away. He snorts and takes a step to walk past, but before I can breathe again, he stops and turns to me.
“Why would we want to sit with you?” The derision in his voice is sharp, like shards of glass that slide under my skin.
“I…uh…” I risk a glance at Justin, maybe he’ll pat his friend on the chest and encourage him to move on and leave me the hell alone. Justin’s face is flushed as though he’s embarrassed by his boy’s behavior. But he stays quiet. Is he afraid of Johnny? Or is he simply every bit as intimidating and mean as his friend?
Johnny sets his tray on the table and my heart constricts. I feel like a deer caught in the crosshairs, Johnny’s crosshairs, and from the tilted smirk on his face, he’s going for my jugular. He braces both hands on the edge and leans over me, sneering. “I said,” —his voice is low and threatening—“Why would we want to sit with you?”
All of the air has rushed from my lungs. My throat refuses to let me speak. My ears ring with the pounding of my heartbeat. My tongue is thick and heavy, and my skin crawls with what feels like thousands of eyes around the cafeteria, all trained on me.
All I did was offer the boys a seat.
Johnny arches a single eyebrow, and somewhere deep inside me, my inner self lets out a hysterical hiccup. I’ve always envied people who can raise one eyebrow. No matter how long I practice, I can’t get my eyebrows to work independently. Couldn’t play the piano either, for a similar reason. My hands can’t operate separately.
Your inability to learn piano while Johnny’s hot breath coats your skin is not the point, Savannah. But he’s still waiting for an answer, and the longer I take to give it, the more he seems intent on making me uncomfortable.
I cover my exposed midriff with my arms, a deep vulnerability pulsing through my body, all the way to my toes, making my leg jitter under the table.
“I…” I huff out a breath of air, but it stutters. Over Johnny’s shoulder, Justin’s face has turned a darker shade of red and a frown pinches between his perfect eyebrows. But still he stays quiet. What can I say to make this imposing figure in front of me leave my airspace?
A chair squeaks against the linoleum floor to my left, and a warm arm curls around my shoulders. I flick my stare from Justin back to Johnny. Whoever is by my side has drawn his attention and part of me wants to protect them from him, but the rest? The rest of me is bolted in place by fear. I’ve never had the displeasure of being face-to-face with a bully before, but that’s what this guy is.
Johnny White is a bully. And from the hushed whispers rippling around the cafeteria around me, I’m the last to know. It’s terrifying.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” my dark-haired heroine snaps at him.
He slips onto the chair in front of me, leaning back, and tucks his hands behind his head. “She asked if we wanted to sit with her.” A confident shrug. “Maybe we do.” He jerks his chin at the last remaining empty seat at the table, but Justin doesn’t move.
The girl swipes Johnny’s tray off the table, leans forward, and angles it as though she’s going to dump his lunch on his lap. “Keep moving, Johnny.”
He glowers at her, but she only tilts the food closer to his crotch. Neither of them blink for a long moment before Johnny jumps to his feet, grabs his tray, and strides away to somewhere behind me. Justin gives a sympathetic last glance before he follows close on Johnny’s heels, and I’m finally able to let out a full breath.
“Say it with me: Johnny White is not our people.”
I turn to face the girl who is now crunching on a carrot.
“Sure, he’s pretty, but he is not someone we want anything to do with.” She cups my face, giving my cheeks a squeeze. “You are not the bad-boy kinda girl, mmkaay?”
She’s right. I’m not. But I also have no interest in being Johnny White’s…well, anything now. When the stranger touching my face moves her hands, I try to nod, but I’m not sure my head moves. “Th-thank you.”
She flaps her hand like she’s swatting a mosquito. “Screw that asshole. Don’t let him bother you.” She taps the half-eaten carrot on her lips. “I have no idea what Justin sees in that jerk.”
I clear my throat, take another sip of juice, and urge my racing heart to slow. “Y-you know Justin?” I’m sure my face is as red as Justin’s was only moments ago. Way to play it cool, Vannah-Jane.
The superhero who rescued me from the bad guys nods and leans closer, dropping her voice. “I’ve had a crush on him since I was five. I’m going to marry him someday.”
My heart sinks as the level of noise around me returns to the usual level. Chit-chat, clinking silverware on dishes, people playing games and videos from social media on their phones. It doesn’t drown out my pain, though.
Of course the only person in school to talk to me is also madly in love with Justin Ashe. And why wouldn’t she be? He’s delicious. And she looks like the kind of girl he’d go for. Confident, beautiful, strong.
It takes less than a second to make my decision—though there wasn’t really a decision to be made. Mom always says, “Friends before men.” If this girl is going to be my new friend, I’m not going to compete with her for the love of Justin Ashe. I’m nothing if not loyal. Not just because I need a friend, any friend… Something about her makes me want to be her friend, her very bestest friend. From the grin on her face, she seems like she knows how to have a good time, and she’s already earned kudos for being able to handle bullies.
I suck in a steadier breath and nod before sticking out my hand at her. “I’m Savannah. Savannah Jane Bowen. Thanks for stepping in and saving me from Johnny. My brain stopped working, and I guess I forgot how to speak.”
“And I bet you’re now thinking of all the smartass comebacks you could have spat at him in the moment. I used to be like that. But now I just say whatever the fuck I want, and if people don’t like it…” She shrugs and offers a sympathetic smile as she slips her hand into mine. “I’m Molly. Molly Morrison. And I’m your new best friend.”
CHAPTER3
Justin
