Page 56 of Raise Hell

Felicia looks around at the other students, many of whom were at the same party as us. None of them seem to be working particularly hard to recover from the weekend.

“How do people do this all the time without literally dying?”

“That part will get easier. You just need to whip that lazy liver of yours into shape.”

She laughs. “Not sure that’s how it works, but okay.”

“Trust me on this. If anybody knows how to bounce back, it’s me…”

I trail off when a shadow falls over the table. Awareness of him sends prickles of sensation along my skin.

I already know who it is before I look up.

Drake stands over the table, as if waiting for me to finally look up and notice him there. Cole and Nolan are behind him, but they seem just as confused as I am about why they’re here.

When Drake opens his mouth, I brace myself for something cutting.

But that isn’t even close to what comes out.

“These seats taken?”

He doesn’t wait for a response and takes a seat in between me and Felicia. Cole and Nolan take the other empty seats, setting down trays laden with enough food to feed a football team.

Or a rugby team, since that’s the sport most of the Havoc boys play. Apparently, pads and helmets are for pussies who actually care about the potential brain damage.

Felicia looks at me with widened eyes. Great, she doesn’t know what her brother is up to, either.

“What brings you guys over here?” I ask. “Did somebody barf on your normal table?”

“Nope, just wanted a change of scenery.” Drake gestures at Felicia with the water bottle in his hand. “You gonna introduce us to your friend?”

“This is Felicia. She’s new to St. Bart’s this year,” I say, voice so saccharine it makes my teeth hurt.

I’m not sure what compels me to play along with their secret, though I tell myself it’s more for Felicia’s sake than it is for Drake’s. I’ll fully admit that I’m using her, but it’s not like I want her to get hurt in the process.

Even though that might be unavoidable.

Nolan murmurs a greeting without changing the frown on his face.

“You might remember her from when you were dicks at the Havoc party,” I add. “Though judging from how you act, I understand that might not be specific enough.”

Nolan’s mouth settles into an unhappy line, but he keeps it shut when he catches sight of the look on Drake’s face.

If him so obviously trying to get into my pants means I get free rein to be a bitch, then this might work out better than I thought.

“You going to eat that?” Cole gestures at Felicia’s untouched plate of pasta. When she shakes her head in negation, he grins. “Awesome. Pass me that salt.”

“Nice to meet you,” Drake says in a way that almost sounds convincing. “Welcome to St. Bart’s.”

“Thank you.” Felicia ducks her head and stares at the hands she has clenched in her lap.

This situation is so bizarre that I’m not sure she knows how to handle it.

Drake turns back to me with his eyebrow raised. “We never figured out a time to get together to work on that project for Econ.”

I pick up a French fry and make a point of eating it one tiny bite at a time before I answer. “That project isn’t due for weeks. I think you might be taking this teacher’s pet thing a little too far.”

Nolan snorts. “There’s a mouth on this one.”

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