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“How did you know I have English 101 next?” I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“Busted!” Landon laughs and Milo shakes his head.
Jared looks at his feet guiltily. “Roxanne, Dom’s… assistant, is my auntie. She told us your schedule so you wouldn’t be alone on your first day.”
“Oh, I see.” My warm fuzzy feelings at their attention dissipate immediately. So they were just instructed to keep me company? Annoyance floods my system to replace the disappointment. “Well, in that case, thanks, but no thanks. I’m not a charity case. I don’t need a hired escort.” I stomp through the doors and leave them scrambling in my wake.
I swipe my student ID card and gain access to the overwhelming food options before the three of them catch up to me.
“Layla, look-” Landon joins me in the salad line.
“No thanks, Landon. It’s hard enough to be the new kid without the added embarrassment of having someoneassignedto keep you company. I’d rather be on my own.”
“No, really, it’s not-”
“Just leave me alone,” I swipe a packaged salad and march off, finding a slice of pepperoni pizza and a drink before I claim a seat at an empty table.
My stomach is roiling with humiliation. Of course, it wasn’t so simple as a trio of hot guys just wanted to be my friends, or more. Leave it to Roxanne to force them to escort me around. I pick morosely at my salad with my head down.
Of course, that isn’t the end. I hear all three of them slide into seats around me, and a heavy sigh escapes my lips.
“Guys, I’ll tell Roxanne we’re all besties, okay? Whatever she promised you, you’ll get it. I just don’t want to be anyone’s pity case.”
“Well, maybe if you’d let us get a word in edge-wise before dismissing us again, you might find out that’s not the case,” Milo says from my right with a wry smile.
“Go on,” my brows lower and I glare at him, daring him to change my mind.
“What Jaredmeantto say is thatweasked Roxanne for your schedule after we ran into you on Saturday. We didn’t want to sound like stalkers, which is why Jared left that bit out. But I promise, no one forced us to hang out with you. We want to be here, if that’s okay with you.”
I held his gaze for a long moment, but his eyes betray nothing besides sincerity and my intuition doesn’t flicker. This isn’t a lie.
“Fine,” I sniff, straightening, and picking up my slice. “But don’t try to pull one over on me, ever. I can tell when people are lying.”
The three guys exchange a long look, then drop their focus to their food without a word. Before I question it, a girl with long, wavy brown hair slides into the empty seat beside me.
“Hi! You’re new, right? I’m Savannah. Welcome to Smoky Falls!” Her eyes are startlingly blue and excitement pours off her in waves.
I swallow my food. “Hi, Savannah, I’m Layla.” For some reason, I’ve fallen out of the habit of using my street name when I meet new people, and sort of regret telling Milo to call me Lex. I wonder if I could get him to change it? It doesn’t seem to fit in my new environment.
“Layla Harridan, right?” Savannah’s wide grin is infectious.
“Yeah, that’s right. How did you know?”
“Oh,” she laughs lightly, “Small town. Word gets around. But it’s so nice to meet you!”
“Thanks, you too. You’re the first girl I’ve met outside of Harridan House. Well, aside from Amber,” I spit her name with distaste. “But you’re definitely more friendly than she was.”
Savannah’s cheerful grin falls slightly. “Oh, don’t worry about her. She’s not very nice in general. Some people think the world owes them something, and they hand their grudges down to their kids. It has nothing to do with you.”
“What grudge does Amber’s family have against me?”
“Nothing serious, I’m sure,” Milo interrupts smoothly with a pointed look at Savannah. “It’s pretty well known that her family has always been jealous of the Harridan’s wealth. Why, I have no idea, they have plenty of money. But some people always want more.”
My intuition pinged once more. This was partially the truth, but also not all of it.True enough.
“Okay,” I eye him suspiciously. I like Milo, but he is very careful with his choice of words, almost as if he knows to avoid telling me a lie.
Which, to be fair, I did just warn him against. But most people don’t take that warning seriously.
