Page 36 of Caged in Flames

Not giving a shit at this school feels good. I wonder if this is how people with money normally feel. Do they just ride the high of stepping on others? Fuck me, that is not a life I want to live, but nudging a bitch like Molly with my shoe is basically a civil service.

I'm still laughing over the clap incident at lunch when Jane bounces over to our table. "Niiiiiixxxxxx!"

I put my hands over my ears to avoid hearing damage. "Why are you shouting? You're sitting right in front of me, Jane."

The look in her eyes is completely wild. Her hair is naturally curly and right now it's pulled into a top knot, but there's pieces loose all around her face.

She sits across from me and boops me on the nose before reaching for my dessert. I smack her hand.

She pouts. "When I tell you, you're going to flip your fucking shit, so fuck off."

I do not understand why she's constantly touching my nose, but I kind of love it. Not that I'll tell her that.

"Spill it, you." I point a finger at her.

"There's going to be a music festival here this weekend." Her hands slap at the table like she's hitting bongos. I reach out and settle them, but it doesn't dull her excitement.

"You have my attention." It would be hard to ignore her anyways.

"Nix, think of the glitter and the tunes. Think of the vibes." She’s back to shouting again this time with a drawn-out dramatic flair.

Rolling my eyes, I give up trying to calm her down. "I'm picturing it. You almost lost me at glitter though."

I'm teasing her. I fucking love glitter.

"Well, I'm about to blow your fucking mind. Which I could do daily if you'd let me into your bed for ten minutes." She gives me an exaggerated wink.

"I hope that comment was a joke, since we just talked about this." Gunner takes his seat right by my side.

Jane smiles deviously, clearly that comment was intentional to try and rile him up. I almost tell her to leave him alone, but I like the way he gets all possessive.

A shadow appears over our group. I look up and I almost choke on the drink I just took.

"Any chance I could join my cousin and her friends for lunch?" Jude sits before we can answer him. Jane looks at me, concern clear in her eyes.

Gunner grumbles something unintelligible at him.

I stare him down. "I have a granola bar with peanuts in my backpack and if you piss me off, I will open it and throw it at you. Only because I know you carry an Epi-Pen in your bag, and Jane won't let you die. But for a glorious few seconds we can all see how far I might be willing to go."

All three of them stare at me like I'm insane. I don't care. Sometimes you must put on the crazy pants so people will fuck off. Plus, I'd never actually put someone through anaphylactic shock. Well, I don't think I would.

Jude just chuckles. "I'll be on my best behavior. Though I do prefer it when you use art supplies for vengeance."

"Duly noted." I’m sure he meant it as a joke, but if I get the chance, he’s absolutely getting paint down his back.

The grimace he gives me leads me to believe he knows exactly what I was thinking, but it’s quickly replaced with a grin. "Besides, I wanted to see your reaction when Jane tells you exactly who is playing at the festival. Seeing as how I was the one who told her not ten minutes ago."

Jane slugs him on the arm. "Don't fuck with my bestie moment." She's sitting next to him and pushes his shoulder.

"Anyways, Vixen Rios is playing at a local festival this weekend." The screeching noise she makes when giving me this news doesn’t even phase me.

Dropping my fork and my jaw, I’m frozen in shock. No fucking way. I love Vixen so much. She has the type of stage presence I could only dream of achieving. My three lunchmates are all smiling at the dazed expression on my face.

"It's settled, we are going to the festival this weekend. Just got our tickets." Gunner looks proud of himself as he holds up his phone. It takes an extreme amount of self-control to not hop into his lap, and instead kiss his cheek as a thank you.

I'm so happy that even Jude announcing he and the boys will meet us there can’t ruin my mood.

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