Page 45 of King

My cheeks burn. “Fuck you, Damien!” That’s another phrase I’m saying all too often. “Is that why you didn’t stop them from posting pictures of me all over the fucking school? Or why you left me to walk home alone in the rain? Or why you’re always scheming with Lea to make my life fucking miserable?”

“Lower your voice, Medusa.” He sounds stern, unwavering but mine is shaking and yeah, I’m getting loud.

“No!” My finger lands on his chest, bouncing back against his muscles with every poke. “You don’t get to tell me what to do! You don’t get to play calm, cool and collected when you’re not stopping any of this!”

He doesn’t push me back, doesn’t lift a finger. But his breath is on my face when he asks, “Like you couldn’t stop your parents from burning?”

And I see red, tears coming to my ducts. I push his chest and he grabs my arm. “Don’t act like you know me or my family, Damien!”

“Then stop acting like you know mine.” He pulls me close with his grip. Any closer and our lips will touch. “I do know one thing though. As long as you’re here, in this school, in this city— I own you.”

“No.” I pull against his hold but he doesn’t let go. “I don’t belong to anyone!”

“Oh yeah?” I don’t realize he’s walking me against a wall until my back hits the cold stone. “Didn’t seem that way when I had your perky little nipple in my hand.” That same cold hand is on my thigh before he pushes it between my legs, his lips by my ear. “I bet you were so wet for me. Are you wet for me now, Medusa?”

His tongue grazes the soft skin of my lobe and I crumble. He’s stroking my nub over the fabric, right here in the hallway for everyone to see and…it feels incredible.

“Damien,” I say his name to make him stop but it comes out like a moan and my cheeks flush.

“If you’re going to beg for it, say my name.” His voice is husky and I can feel the hardness of his length against my leg. “It’s King.”

“Damien?”

Lea’s voice comes from around the corner. He loosens his grip and backs away from me, licking his finger with a smirk. My heart pounds and I hate how smug he looks. Like he knows he has me.

“Damien?” Lea’s call is more affirmative when she appears in the hallway. Her eyes dart from me to him, and her nostrils flare. “Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

“Putting someone in their place,” Damien smirks.

Lea looks like a blowfish ready to burst before she looks at me. “Well, your place is not at homecoming tonight! I'm sure you have a John back in The Grove anyway. Speaking of which,” her grin grows. “I put up free advertising in the foyer.”

Damien walks away with Lea and I’m just as confused as I was yesterday. There’s a trail of tingles where his fingers were, my heart pumping fast. He didn’t deny whether he did this and yet I let him touch me again.

Lea’s cackle rings through the halls and now I have to find out what she meant.

Taking the opposite way to the foyer, there’s already a crowd when I arrive. Some students giggle, others take photos with their phones, chatter in the air. I follow their gaze and look up to see what Lea meant.

A giant copy of the flyer hung all over the school now hangs from the second-floor balcony, my body on large display. My chest tightens, clenched teeth threaten to break my jaw, but I won’t let them see that. Not wanting to hear anyone’s remarks I turn around to leave but bump into a rigid chest.

Looking up I see Damien and he smirks, shaking his head. He has that coin, threading it between his fingers. “It’s a shame that underwear doesn’t look any better blown up.”

Is he behind this? “Get the fuck out of my way!” I'm trying to push him away but he’s like a tree. He doesn’t move.

"Tried to tell you to leave," he lowers his voice.

"When your hands were up my skirt?” The words shoot from my lips. I want him to see the hurt, the humiliation on my face. "How could you?"

Without giving him time to answer I turn around to head out the other exit. Mr. Trout is amongst the students, staring up at the photo with the rest of them. He’s not doing a thing.

“Looking good Rowland!” Isaac appears beside me and I scoff. “Classic Mr. Trout. It’s not the first time he’s gawked at a student. Ask Lea if you don't believe me.” My head whips to look at him to see if he’s joking and while he’s got this high as fuck look on his face, it doesn’t look like it. “Ah shit,” the sarcasm is heavy in his tone. “I think I've broken a pact.”

There's no time to hang around. Not with this crowd growing. I keep heading towards the door, leaving Isaac behind. I’m almost out of the foyer when a hockey jersey stops me in my path. “Take it off for us Medusa." The red-haired boy winks, a huge grin on his face. “Nothing we haven’t already seen.”

“Keep dreaming.”

He doesn’t let me move around him. Instead, he hoists his fist in the air and starts chanting, “Take it off! Take it off!”

A fellow player standing next to him picks it up, “Take it off! Take it off!”

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