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“My god,” Riley bellows, “would you two just fuck already and get it over with?” She storms out of the bathroom and I quickly jerk my arm from Neo’s clutch.
Grazing the sore spot with my other hand, I shoot him a look of pure hate. “I’d die first.” Then I leave to catch up with Riley.
As soon as I’m out of the bathroom, I hear Neo holler, “That can be arranged.”
Anger ripples through me. It’s moments like this that I want to slap the shit out of myself for ever entertaining thoughts of Neo being anything but my enemy.
I cup my hands around my mouth and shout to Riley, who’s walking steadfastly down the hall in front of me. “Ry! Wait up.”
Her head shakes rapidly, and it’s my first cue that Neo pissed her off, and she's annoyed with me. As she should be. Minutes ago, we found out her boyfriend is potentially the BCA Stalker and all I did was fight with Neo when I should have been consoling her.
I pick up my pace, until I’m sprinting down the hall in my black high-top Chucks. The music blaring from the gym is so loud that I don’t hear when someone jumps through the doorway, stopping me in my tracks. My body crashes into his and I steady myself by grabbing his shoulders. It takes a second for the mask to register, but once it does, I curse him. “Jesus, Crew!”
He laughs while I pull myself together. I take a deep breath in, then slap his shoulder on the exhale. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I can see that.” He grabs my hand and quickly leads me down the hall. “But pull yourself together. We’ve got shit to do.”
I follow his lead, barely able to keep up, considering my legs are on the verge of giving out. I have no idea when I became such a pussy, but I don’t like this version of myself. Not even a little bit. “Where are we going?” I manage to choke out while still catching my breath.
“We have to catch Riley before she does something to raise suspicion with Elias. Jagger and I just sent Elias on a wild-goose chase until we can get Riley’s emotions under control. We can’t let him know we’re on to him.”
“What kind of wild-goose chase?”
His lips twitch with humor as we continue walking hastily down the hall. “Let’s just say, Melody and her friend, the stalker, are about to be reunited.”
“Whatdid you do, Crew?”
“Told Melody to go fetch a keg from the Falcons’ Nest and bring it to The Gathering room, and made Elias go help her.”
“Wait a damn minute.” I pull on his hand, halting him. We both stop walking momentarily, and I ask in a serious tone, “You still plan on having the party tonight?”
“Fuck yeah, we’re having the party. It’s All Hallows’ Eve, and the night of the dance.”
“Crew!” I say his name with emphasis. “We just found out that a student here is pretending to be a former student who’s dead! Are you insane?”
“Probably. But the party’s still a go. Come on.” He tugs my hand and we’re walking again. “There’s something we have to do first.”
A heavy breath escapes me. “Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.” He picks up his pace, so I do the same. A couple of girls come out of the other doors to the gym, one dressed as a pink Power Ranger and the other as a slutty nurse. Their giggles overpower the sound of the music, and when they see us, they immediately go quiet. It’s Crew’s presence that silences them, not mine.
“Riley,” Crew shouts, but she’s still walking briskly in front of us. “Stop walking now or I’ll tackle your ass!”
Finally, she slows her steps. When we catch up to her, I can see that she’s on the verge of a complete meltdown. I put an arm around her, pulling her close. “I’m sorry if I was insensitive.”
“Apology not accepted.” She pouts with a scowl on her face. “What the hell am I supposed to do, Scar? I have no one to help me. You’re too busy fighting with Neo, while Crew and Jagger are crawling up your ass. Who do I have?”
“You have me.” I pull her closer, hoping she believes it. Riley is the closest thing to a best friend I’ve got here.
“Do I, though? Do I really?”
“Of course you do. Look,” I spin her around until she’s standing directly in front of me, “we’re going to figure this out. I promise.”
Crew taps my shoulder, cutting in. “I hate to break up this moment, but we need to go. Now.”
“Go where?” Riley asks.
He nods toward the exit at the end of the hall. “Just come with us.”
