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I rolled my eyes as he squeezed in, placing one arm over my shoulders and pulling me tight, without even acknowledging Gabby, which gave me the tiniest bit of satisfaction. Unable to hide my grin, I listened as Mrs. Brian clapped her hands and shouted, “Okay, let’s get this show on the road, shall we? Today’s dodgeball, and the first order of the day is to pick teams. Let’s have Brandon Cunningham and Thorne Roberts as captains.”
“Me?” Thorne asked, stepping forward, a cocky grin spreading over his gloriously handsome face.
“Yeah, I said your name, didn’t I?” Mrs. Brian snapped. “I figure if you’re going to be a distraction, I may as well put you to good use.”
When the boys didn’t budge, she nodded toward the rest of us. “Go ahead, check out your classmates, and take a minute to chat and scope out your teammates for the draft. You have a couple minutes.”
No sooner than Mrs. Brian waved them off did Gabby place herself directly in front of Thorne, where she proceeded to try to woo him into choosing her and the other Royals to be on his team.
“I mean, I’m sure you know,” she continued, “but JT, Luca, and Mikey, here, are all on the water polo team. In fact, Lakeview went to nationals three years in a row.”
I yawned loudly beside her, and Thorne’s lips quirked.
“Well, I don’t need to tell you who to choose.” Gabby giggled as she reached out and touched his arm. “I mean, look at you. Clearly, you’re a man that knows all about competition and winning. I mean, you are the best in Hollywood, am I right?”
I cleared my throat. “You have a little brown on your nose,” I said, motioning toward her schnoz.
Gabby gasped and slapped her hand to her nose. Red-cheeked, she furiously rubbed at her skin while I died a little inside from sheer happiness.
“Is it gone?” she asked looking a lot like Rudolph.
I narrowed my eyes as if inspecting it a little closer. “Yep, I think you got it.”
Thorne laughed under his breath while Gabby pushed her shoulders back with renewed determination and plastered on a coy smile. “The best wants the best, right? We’d make an amazing team.” She turned to JT and Mikey for confirmation.
“Bro, we’ll wipe the floor with them,” JT said.
“Yeah, man.” Mikey chimed in. “A royal always wins.”
I shook my head. “You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered.
“I mean, look at your options. Talk about losers.” Gabby motioned toward our classmates. Half of which, I had to admit, were fairly sad-looking and awkwardly standing around, staring at each other. It was like Revenge of the Nerds come to life.
“I bet he still plays with action figures.” She sneered at Barry Glick, who sported a Batman t-shirt, hair so blonde it was nearly white, and skin so pale I could practically see his entire cardiovascular system. And poor Barry, when he saw us staring, offered us a sheepish wave.
Gabby snorted, and I wanted to punch her. “So gross. Could he get any nerdier? He’s probably never seen a ball in his life.”
“Except the one in his pants.” JT snickered.
“And her?” Gabby motioned to a girl from my math class. The thick-framed glasses she wore slid down her nose, so she pushed them up with one finger, then proceeded to do some weird throat-clearing thing. “Completely hopeless,” Gabby finished.
“Well, everyone knows I don’t play withlosers,” Thorne said, a cocky lilt to his voice.
My attention shot to him, and my smile faded. Panic zipped through my veins at the notion he might actually agree with her.
“Yeah, man!” Mikey slapped him on the back with a laugh. “That’s what I’m talking about. We don’t play with losers either.”
“Welcome to royalty.” Gabby’s grin turned serpentine. “Not that you weren’t King already.” She winked.
Bile rose to the back of my throat, and my hands clenched into fists. After everything I told Thorne about the Royals—how they tortured P all those years, how cruel and self-absorbed—he wanted to make himself an ally?
No. No way.
I’d rather step on a nail barefoot, walk over hot coals, or stand in front of a firing squad. I’d rather lose his world-class attorneys and take our chances with the lawsuit on our own.
I stepped forward, ready to set him straight, when Mrs. Brian blew her whistle, and I lost the opportunity.
“Boys, out front and center!” She pointed beside her to the half-line. “Thorne goes first, then Brandon, until everyone is chosen.”
