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“Don’t thank me yet because I gave York and Zayn your number. I figured you might answer their text messages given you were ignoring mine.”
“Messages, what messages?” I ask, pulling out my mobile phone. “Battery’s dead. I’m so sorry. I need to charge it up.”
“You need tofess up, you mean,” Clancy retorts, folding her arms across her chest and acting all indignant. “I know how much being here means to you, Pen, but skipping class is a sure-fire way to get thrown out on your arse. I figured that whatever you needed to do was important, and was happy to cover for you, only then I see you having flirty banter with that hot-as-fuck dude and I’m like,so she’s bunked class to shag that delectable man-mountain. I mean, I don’t blame you, but couldn’t it have waited until after the class was finished?”
“It’s not like that…”
“It better not be,” a familiar voice states from behind me.
Zayn.Shit.
Clancy’s eyes widen as her gaze flicks to Zayn over my shoulder. “Should I give you two… ah, no,three,a minute? Hey, York,” she smiles sweetly, lifting her hand in the air and wiggling her fingers. She’s loving this a little too much. I guess karma’s a bitch. Clancy covered for me and I left her hanging. Not cool. I need to explain, to make it up to her. Only now I’ve got to deal with York and Zayn first.
Fuck, this is all I need.
“No, it’s fine, Clancy, you don’t need—”
“Actually, we’d appreciate that. Catch you at rehearsals later, yeah?” York offers, effectively dismissing her.
“Sure thing, partner.” Clancy gives him a cheeky salute, then leans in to hug me, whispering in my ear. “You best give me the lowdown later, or I’m gonna break into your flat and open up a tin of tuna chunks and leave it in your knicker drawer.” Then she kisses me on the cheek and saunters off, cackling. If she wasn’t my friend, I’d worry she was being serious about her threat to make my underwear smell like dead fish.
“Tuna chunks? Fucking gross,” I mutter.
Clancy hears and throws me a wink over her shoulder. “Better than prawnsandtuna!” she says, disappearing through a door leading to the canteen, leaving me to face Zayn and York on my own.Perfect.
“You’ve been avoiding us, Pen,” Zayn remarks when I finally turn around to face him.
“I have.” There’s no point denying it when it’s true.
“Care to elaborate?”
Zayn’s pissed off but trying to downplay it by appearing calm. York, however, isn’t doing so well at hiding his anger. He looks dangerously close to combusting.
“Have you forgotten my new job? I was rehearsing with the girls for my first performance.”
“What, and suddenly Beast is your fucking chauffeur?” York snaps, his voice getting louder. Jealousy crackles within his glacier eyes and it surprises me. I’ve never seen York like this.
I look about the atrium that’s milling with students, some of whom are now watching us. The rumour mill has been doing overtime and lately we’ve been the centre of attention. I don’t want to add any more fuel to the already burning fire. I’ve quickly come to realise that the students who go here are nothing but a bunch of gossips with nothing better to do than talk about other people’s lives because theirs are clearly fucking boring.
“Not here.”
“Myplace then,” York states, before spinning on his feet and heading towards the staircase that leads up to our flats.
We ascend in silence, York leading the way and Zayn bringing up the rear like he’s worried I’m going to run if he doesn’t keep his eyes on me. Truth be known, I feel like a piece of shit keeping away from them both, especially since we’ve reconnected, but with Xeno’s warning and David’s threat what else should I have done? At least now that I know Lena’s going to be safe, I can relax a little bit. Maybe even explore what’s happening between us. It feels real, and yet I have so many insecurities that are fucking with my head that it makes me question everything.
“So, you’ve been at Grim’s club?” Zayn asks, the second we step into York’s flat.
“That’s right. I really don’t know what the big fucking deal is,” I reply, feeling defensive. I sit down on York’s bed whilst the two of them glare at me like I’ve actually spent the time fucking Beast rather than rehearsing. “It’s my job now, remember?”
Zayn takes the bottle of beer York offers him and swigs back a mouthful. “I’m well aware, Pen.”
“So why the anger? I had a routine to go through with Grim’s dancers. I can’t do that here at the Academy.”
“Because, Titch, you were dropped off byBeast,” York says, opening his own bottle of beer and taking a glug. He eyes me down the long neck of the bottle, fuming.
“And?” I cross my arms over my chest and raise a brow. Yes, we might’ve reconnected, but at no point did I agree to them being overbearing bastards. I’m not down with that. They don’t get to come back in my life after three years and dictate who I do and who I do not get into fucking cars with.
“AndBeast doesn’t do that shit. Ever,” York grits out between his teeth.
