Page 2 of Lords of the Campus

Levi plays with my fingers while Archer strokes my hair. Zane lies between my legs, letting me massage his head as we listen to Archer’s eclectic music playlist. I wish I could live in this moment with them forever.

But all good things must come to an end because Archer sits up after a while, stretching out. “Okay, let’s go do this thing,” hesays, rubbing his hands together in glee. “Levi, Zane, you guys ready?”

His cocky grin is disarming and I have to swallow hard to resist the urge to push his blond hair out of his eyes and grab him for a kiss.

“Ready, Bro,” Zane says, grinning. Levi and Archer high-five and then the four of us pile out of the house and into Zane’s truck for the pep rally.

We arrive a few minutes early so the three of them can make sure things are set up properly. They promise to meet me in the bleachers, so I head upand wait for the start of the pep rally so I can see this “epic prank” they promised.

The boys rejoin me just as the cheerleaders start dancing to kick off the event and they nudge my side, snorting about how their prank is going to go off with a bang.

“Everybody, give it up for your Crestwood Wildcats!” Brianna says as she announces the football team. As the football players emerge from the locker room, several drones fly out above them, circling the crowd. Everyone is mesmerized by the light show.

Suddenly, a loud bang goes off and fire shoots out of the drones in every direction, lighting up the gym. My body freezes as I realize what’s happening, the sound of screams echoing through the gym.

Pandemonium breaks out, students and teachers running in every direction as everyone tries to escape at once. I turn to look for the boys, but they’re nowhere in sight and when I look back among the crowd, I spot Archer’s blond hair disappearing through the locker room door.

What’s happening? Is this their idea of a prank? How could they do this? My body feels numb and I’m frozen to the spot, my brain moving too slowly to catch up.

“Lyric!”

I look down and spot my friend Madison climbing up the steps of the bleachers. Her mascara is smudged and her perfectly curled hair is disheveled, I noticed as she grabs my arm and starts dragging me away.

“We have to get out of here!” she yells, trying to speak above the noise. “Come on!”

Once we’re outside, Madison wraps her arms around me. “God, Lyric. You scared the shit out of me. Why did you freeze like that?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, watching the flames climb higher and higher as the fire alarm rings and sirens blare in the distance. “I… froze. I was looking for Zane, Archer, and Levi. They were with me, but then when I looked away for a moment, they were gone…”

“What?” Madison’s eyes widen. “They left you there? What the hell, Lyric! Those boys are nothing but trouble.”

“They must have had a good reason,” I insist, wrapping my arms around myself. It’s getting dark out and the temperature is dropping. I’m cold, I shiver and can feel goosebumps breaking out along my skin.

“Lyric, did… did you see anything?” she asks, voice dropping to a whisper. “Because Taylor Kimball overheard Zane talking about a prank at the pep rally. Did they have anything to do with this?”

I blow out a breath. “I don’t know! I don’t think they did. I mean, even if they did, it was an accident, right?”

“You have to tell someone. What if itwasn’tan accident?” Madison presses. “Lyric, they might have gone too far this time. The Hudson boys always get away with so much, but if they caused this… they shouldn’t get away with it this time.”

“I don’t want to say anything until I talk to them,” I insist, wrapping my arms around myself. “I’m not a snitch.”

Madison grabbed my arm. “I see an officer over there,” she says, dragging me along. I try to pull out of her grip, but it’s too tight.

“Madi, stop!” I tell her. She pulls me over to the police officer who’s arrived on the scene to corral the crowd.

“Sir!” she calls out. “My friend here thinks she knows what happened!”

She pushes me in front of the officer, nudging me. “Tell him,” she insists.

“I don’t want to tell him,” I protest. “I don’t even know what happened.”

“Miss, if you know something about how this fire got started, you need to tell us,” the man says, his deep voice sending a chill down my spine.

“Tell them about the Hudson’s,” Madison urges.

“Archer Hudson?” the officer asks, raising a brow. It’s no secret that they’re known around the community for the mischief they cause, but it’s never anything that hurts anybody.

“They were planning a prank,” I say, my voice weak. “I don’t know what it was. But they told me they were going to pull a prank tonight. That’s all I know.”

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