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Chapter Eleven
Phoenix
The first few weeks at St. James were nothing I couldn’t handle. I was thankful to Jonah for introducing me to the rest of the dance crew. It’s like I’ve instantly got this loyal group of people at my back, ready for whatever, no questions asked.
Cami and Luca are fast becoming my best friends. Cami is a lot like Angel, vibrant, outgoing, never backing down from a challenge. She’s always quick with the witty banter when the crew of toxic bimbos throws shade at me.
Luca is the quiet one of our trio. She’s soft-spoken, but when she does speak, you stand up and listen. Both girls are dancers at Breakout, and both have a past that we never discussed. I understand their reasoning. I hate the thought of people knowing what I went through. I don’t want the looks of pity or sadness from people to follow me around the beachside town of Southport. I hate pity. It makes me feel like less of a person, ashamed even.
The guys that round out the group are protective of the three of us girls. Ethan is a gentle soul; he and Luca seem perfectly matched. They’ve been dance partners for the last five years—which is an accomplishment in itself. Most male dancers tend to stop dancing during their teens. However, this group of guys took it to the next level.
Nate is your broody James Dean type, he screams bad boy, but under that hard-outer shell is a big teddy bear. He and Cami are dating, he’s the yin to her yang.
Aside from the usual ignoring or shoulder bumping in the hallway, it appeared I might just get through this year without having to worry too much. Well, that was until the Thursday of the first week. I had just walked into the cafeteria and was getting my lunch when Taylah and her bimbo squad decided it would be a fun idea to come at me.
I had just placed my tray at the table I shared with the rest of the Breakout crew when she came up behind me, grabbing me by the hair and throwing me on the floor. As she went to swing a kick into my stomach, Jonah and Nate stepped in, pulling me up from the floor and ushering me to the other side of the table. Cami went into action then, hurtling over the table and smacking Taylah across the face with her lunch tray.
If I wasn’t in shock at the time, I would have found it hilarious. After that incident, I was never on my own. It was clear that there had been a social hit put out for me, and the crew didn’t think it was safe for me to be alone in the halls.
To say I was a little rattled was an understatement. I mean, yeah, it was minor, but these girls didn’t know me from a bar of soap, and I had no doubt it was Logan that had put them up to it.
There was a hierarchy at the school, much like every school. The popular kids stuck together and were at the top of the food chain, sitting at their table and looking out over the rest of us with varying looks of disdain.
They didn’t need a reason to dislike someone to target them. If they saw you as a threat, you made their hit list. Obviously, I was seen as a threat, and I was their shiny new target. It didn’t help one bit that Logan was their ringleader, and it was glaringly obvious that he was going to make use of his influence. I know he is behind all this.
It wasn’t until this week that things started to take a weird turn. Monday started with a few rumors. People had found out that I was living with Logan, and apparently, I’m trying to sleep with him now. I’d be okay if it were just left at that. I can handle a little bit of slut-shaming, but of course, it didn’t stop at that, did it? No. Taylah and her little posse have made it their mission to try and catch me alone.
“Slut!” one of her friends coughed as Cami, Nate, and I were heading toward Biology.
“Excuse you! I’m sorry, but if you have something to say to me, then have the guts to say it to my face. Your veiled insults and snickering isn’t very becoming.” I stop in front of them, my deadpan glare raking over each one of them. There was no way in hell I was going to let these bitches get away with this shit.
“Did we ask you for an opinion, Ice Princess?” Taylah laughs as she motions to her friends in agreement.
“Do you even hear yourself right now? Which is it? Am I a slut, or am I an Ice Princess? I mean, I can’t see where you would confuse the two? Slut implies I sleep around, but an ice princess implies that I’m frigid and don’t like people making unwanted advances. So, which is it? Am I a slut, or an ice princess?”
I know challenging her by pointing out her stupidity was probably the wrong move. I escalated the situation, but I wasn’t going to roll over and let them attack me like that.
Laughing sounded out behind me as few students had stopped to watch the scene before them unfold. If looks could kill, then Taylah would have definitely thrown daggers at me. The look on her face was comical. Satisfied with the reaction, I turned and headed toward my classroom.
“Keep walking, Skank. I’ll see you later,” she yelled to my back. She was probably right. I may regret taking a stand, but hey, who was I kidding? It felt great to fight back just a little bit. I wasn’t about to let some entitled, pampered princess get away with trying to bully me.
The rest of the day has been seemingly uneventful. When the last bell rings, I stop in at my locker to get a few things. I can feel the eyes on me before I turn around, the little hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
Leaning back, I spot Luca and Cami with their heads in their own lockers, and as I turn, a pair of sparkling granite eyes startle me. Stryker was only a few lockers over, studying my every move. He shoots me a smirk that probably works on all the girls, but mostly, he’s just creeping me the fuck out. He kicks off his locker with one last glance and heads toward the exit.
Why did he have to be friends with Logan? If it were anyone else, I may have welcomed the butterflies in my stomach, but it’s Logan’s best friend. When the year started, I promised myself that I was going to give my heart the chance to love and be loved. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I couldn’t let the past continue to dictate my future.
I was starting to think that maybe I needed to talk to someone about how to start dating. The only issue I had at this moment was the fact I wanted to date Stryker, and he was friends with the enemy.
He wasn’t the only one I wanted to date. I was starting to feel like after four years in a self-imposed dating purgatory, the sudden attention I was receiving all around was starting to mess with me a little.
