Page 13 of Chaos at Westbrook High

“Keep your mouth shut,” he says simply. “Don’t be too nice, but don’t be a bitch either. Keep your head down—metaphorically, not literally. Don’t look at the floor. Be confident, not cocky. And whatever you do, do not let them back you into a corner.”

I take a deep breath and nod even though he can’t see me. “Okay.”

“And Hailey?”

“Yeah?”

“Stay the fuck away from Kai.”

He hangs up before I can respond to that. I shove the phone into my back pocket.

Just as I start walking, the crowd in the parking lot splits in half, and I look over at the iron gates I walked through not long ago, watching from a distance as the Kingston brothers drive in and pull up into the three empty spaces at the front of the lot. Of course they have their own designated parking spots.

By the time they’ve all climbed out of their cars, a decent sized group of people has them surrounded on all sides, excited over their return as if they’ve been gone for years, not days. This must be their first day back since the wedding.

Damon’s the first to get bored of the attention, leaning back against his black Lamborghini with Callie between his legs, his hands in the back pockets of her jeans while he makes out with her neck. He’s the biggest and tallest out of all of them. The protector, from what I’ve heard. He’s the one who’ll put you in the hospital if you touch what’s his—literally, the psycho—and his wife is no better. Callie’s a crazy bitch with a temper that rivals his, and I’m pretty sure she gets off on making him lose his shit. Like it’s a fucking game to her.

Wren’s the one with the orange Lamborghini. He’s the quiet brother. The broken bad boy who likes weed and other bad boys, it seems. Almost everyone is staring at him and Levi right now, probably because they came out as a couple in front of the entire school and eloped to Vegas within the space of two weeks. I wasn’t here then, obviously, but I heard all about it. Word travels fast in this town, especially when it comes to the Kingstons. I don’t know much about Levi, just that he’s another trust fund baby who worships the ground Wren walks on.

And then there’s Kai. He’s the one with the bright yellow Lamborghini and a rare frown on his face, a body covered in tattoos, his hands in his pockets as he leans back between the two happy couples on either side of him. He’s the player of the group. He fucks anything that walks on two legs and talks about sex every time his mouth is open. He treats girls like toys and they still kneel at his feet, and honestly, it’s not hard to figure out why. I’m not blind. He’s nice to look at, but that’s pretty much all that’s nice about him. He’s vile on the inside, wrapped up in a pretty package with a grin that screams, I’ll ruin you and you’ll like it.

There’s no grin on his face right now though. He’s in a mood, his messy dark hair falling over his baby blue eyes, his gaze cast downward. I’m not sure why I care. Or why I’m still staring at him.

I look away and pull my hat down a little further. I take the long way around the parking lot and slip in through the double doors behind them. Once I’m safely inside, walking down the hall with my head up, I begin to relax a little when no one looks at me, tries to talk to me, or makes fun of me because I’m new. Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.

It’s worse than I thought.

After I collected my schedule from the principal’s office, I made my way to the senior hallway in search of my locker. They’re numbered, but I’m five foot nothing, and I can’t see the numbers with all these bodies in the way. There are so many people here. I’ve been bumped into more times than I can count, heard the words Bridgeport trash at least once, and I’m pretty sure everyone’s laughing at me. I’m not worried that they might know who I am. They’re probably just guessing that I’m a transfer from Bridgeport, but still. I hate it here.

When I pass the girls’ bathroom on my left, I catch eyes with a blonde girl standing a few feet away from me. She’s laughing with another girl while she sips on a smoothie, but she keeps her eyes on me. I’m just about to cave and ask her to point me in the right direction, but when she notes my intention to come near her, she sneers and faces me fully. “What the fuck are you looking at?” she snaps, trying to bump my shoulder as she passes me. I pull out of the way just in time, and she stumbles forward, catching herself before she falls. When she turns around, her face is red, her teeth are bared, and I’m just about ready to get my ass kicked by an angry cheerleader.

Her eyes snap to something behind me just as some guy says, “Rach, don’t?—”

“Hey, coffee girl,” someone else calls, and I look over my shoulder, my hackles rising at the nickname Kai gave me the first time he saw me.

The girl grins when she looks at my face. She’s got long, dark red hair curled into tight ringlets, her lips painted a deep red to match, wearing all black and six-inch heels I’d break my neck in. She’s stunning. I’ve seen her before, not just at the coffee shop, but at parties too. Rachel Rossi, Callie’s best friend and Ryan Crawford’s girlfriend. He’s standing behind her, his eyes flicking up to mine as he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

When I start to walk away from them, Rachel grabs my wrist, looking amused as she tugs me in closer. “What’s the number?”

I frown. She waits. I hesitate because she’s one of them and I don’t trust her, but then I swallow my pride and mutter, “Four eighty-one.”

She hides a smile for some reason. Pulling me through the crowd, she boldly waves people out of the way and finds my locker for me. “There.” She taps the door.

“Thank you,” I say gratefully.

She winks at me, moving to leave before turning on her heel and coming back again. “By the way, the cheerleader who tried to bump you just now? That’s Madison. She’s all bark and no bite, so don’t be afraid to call her out on her shit, okay? She won’t hurt you.”

“You sure about that?”

“I’m sure,” she tells me, smirking as she looks at something at the end of the hall. “No one’s gonna fuck with you once they find out who you are.”

I frown again, my heart tripping. “And who might that be?”

“Rachel,” Ryan grits out.

“All right, I’m coming.” She chuckles as she goes back to her boyfriend.

I scan the growing crowd beside me, confused when I realize they’re all drifting to the sides. I watch them curiously while I open my locker with the combination. And then I see him, walking this way with his eyes on his phone, seemingly unaware of the fact that these people just cleared a path for him to walk through. Or maybe he’s just used to it.

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