Page 47 of Wicked Dreams

I walk away, and a little voice in my head chants,Liar, liar, liar.

Riley follows me into the hallway, her eyes wide. She loops her arm through mine, and we leave without a word. It isn’t until we reach the locked doors that will admit us into the academic wings that we both blow out slow breaths.

We’re the first ones here, although some students loiter farther down the hall.

“Thatis why we avoid the cafeteria,” she says. “Agreed?”

I bump my fist against hers. “Agreed. Yikes.”

She barks out a laugh. “Yikesis right. I don’t think that could’ve got more awkward.”

Slowly, the hallway fills. And by the time the bell rings and the doors open, we barely have room to move.

Riley keeps ahold of my hand and elbows someone out of her space, and we make it to the hallway that has both of our lockers in it. Someone slams their shoulder into mine, knocking me into the lockers. I yelp, but the cheerleader—clearly the culprit—doesn’t even glance at me as she passes.

A second later, another one snags my fallen bookbag with her foot, kicking it across the floor. Papers and books go flying.

Riley gasps. “What the hell? Are you okay?”

I force myself to laugh, even when a lump forms in my throat. I should’ve automatically expected retaliation. I wasn’t born yesterday.

We dart between students to grab my scattered things. By the time Riley and I have gathered everything, the hallway is deserted.

“Shit. We’re going to be late.” She glances at her watch.

“Go,” I tell her. “I… Honestly, I’d rather just—I should’ve expected her to do something. Didn’t think it would happen this quick, though.”

She squints at me. “What happened?”

“I didn’t do anything.” I sigh. “I’ve told you everything I know. I would’ve mentioned if I had a vendetta against Savannah or… Ah, fuck.”

Caleb and his crew saunter down the hall in our direction. Theo and Liam are in front, arguing about something. Their heads are turned in, toward each other, and they pass us without pausing.

I blow out the slightest breath.

Eli catches Riley’s arm mid-step, pulling her along with him. She lets out a squeak, but he doesn’t relent. She throws me an apologetic look, right before they round a corner and disappear from sight.

And Caleb has stopped beside me.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” He raises one eyebrow. “The showdown?”

“No.”

He leans in like a co-conspirator. “You’re not going to thank me?”

“We both know all you did was open a can of worms for me.” I stuff the last of my papers in my bag. “Before, it was just you. Now it’s you andthem, and then it’ll be everyone else, too. People love to gang up on the weak one.”

He straightens, his eyes wide. “Excuse me?”

“You didn’twantthe cheerleaders to hate me?”

“I wanted you to stand up to Sav. And prove that you’re not the fucking weak one.”

Once I start laughing, it’s hard to stop.Oh, the nerve of this boy. “That’s not how this works. What do you mean I’m not the weak one? You’ve spent the last few weeks proving?—”

“If you were weak, you’d be bowing at my feet every time I passed you.” He touches my cheek, once, fleeting. “But you don’t. Which makes it all the more interesting. I don’t really give a fuck. Not about your social standing, and not about her. You’re interesting. She was… but now she isn’t.” He lifts one shoulder. “This isn’t personal.”

Oh, how I hate him.

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