Page 26 of Under the Influence

I wrap my arms around Cori's shoulder, mocking Jovie, "Things would be a lot easier if you weren't such an evil hag."

Madden walks up, hitting the button on the key fob to lock his doors, watching Jovie stomp away. "Dang, what did I miss?"

Cori sighs, "Just the devil in a cheer uniform."

They both laugh, and I release Cori, "See you guys at lunch."

We all head separate ways, and as I turn the corner into the English wing, I'm yanked roughly by my wrist around the corner.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nash demands, glancing around to make sure no one is watching us.

"Looks like I'm going to English," I sass, pulling my hand away. "Get your hands off me."

He shoves his phone in my face, a snap of me kissing Drayton on the screen, "What's the problem with this, Alaina?"

I refuse to let him see me scared, even if his voice still haunts me, taunting me from outside the closet three years ago.

"Not really sure? What I do is none of your business."

He pockets his phone, cornering me against the lockers, "If you bring him around Legacy, I'll make sure you never set foot back in this school."

I don't respond because I won't give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to me. Instead, I push past him into my English class. I dig through my bag for my phone, opening Snapchat and finding Drayton.

I take a quick picture, typing out a message before hitting send:

Just cornered in the hallway by a Shark. Furious about me crossing enemy lines.

He immediately sends back a picture, flipping off the screen.

F the Sharks.

I smile, dropping the phone back into my bag. Drayton is hot but as sick as it is, I think the thrill of making Nash mad is more attractive to me. Either way, a little fun with Drayton Lewis isn't going to hurt anything. There's nothing left to lose, plus Nash needs to realize I'm not afraid of him.

Lunch rolls around, and we meet out on the senior patio as usual. Cori and Madden are laughing about something on his phone, and I can't help but notice the stares inside the building. Both guys are trying so hard not to look. Carson is fighting the urge to look more than Nash. Carson at least tries to hide his curiosity, while Nash just glares at her.

It's not the looks of hatred he usually gives me. It's more like a burning desire. The real question is, why are all of the other Sharks oblivious to it? I watch as one of the sophomore cheerleaders, flips her hair, leaning in closer to him. He jerks his eyes off Cori, aware that people realize he's staring. He rubs his hand down the girl’s arm, causing a disgusted groan to escape my lips.

"What is it?" Cori asks, handing Madden his other AirPod back.

"Just amazed at how clueless some people can be," I turn away from the windows.

"You mean Nash?" she asks, letting his name slide off her tongue like she doesn't care.

"No, I mean the young girls who think that they can wrangle him in."

She just laughs, turning her eyes away from him.

Madden rolls his eyes, "You act like those girls care that he's insane."

I bark, "You're right. They don't care that he's a sociopath."

"I'm not making excuses for him, but he did lose everything,” Madden shrugs. “It's gotta fuck you up."

I give Mad a look of hatred and steal one of Cori's chips. Instinctively though, he laces his fingers through mine and reminds me that he hasn't forgotten what Nash did to me.

"So I wrote a new song," he tells us, changing the subject, "You guys wanna come over after baseball practice and listen?"

I smile, "Hell yes!"