Page 18 of Wicked Nasty

Cat.

Her once vibrant face is now pale as she locks eyes with me. Penny whispers something in her ear before they quickly retreat into the girls' locker room.

I take a step forward, trying to break the tension and mend our broken friendship. "Hey, Cat." But my feeble attempt falls short as she rushes away from me, Penny following close behind.

Kaiden looks at me with sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry. She's just..." His voice trails off and I know that he understands how torn apart Cat is over what happened between us.

"Going through some shit," I finish for him with a heavy sigh. "I get it, man. I mean, it was my sister... But really, tell Cat that I'm working on some shit."

He nods slowly, but I can see the doubt in his eyes as he speaks for both of us. "She thinks you hate her."

"God no," I exclaim, shaking my head vehemently. "Sure, I was upset at first. She... ya know," I trail off, not wanting to go into detail about my sister's death. "But I've been doing a lot of thinking."

Iz interjects with his usual humor. "You try shrooms yet? That fucking shit is insane."

Ryan shakes his head in disapproval. "No, you fuckin' hippie."

A genuine smile breaks out on my face at their banter, something that has been rare for me lately. This is what life used to be like - carefree laughter, and my best friends by my side.

Xander playfully bumps into me. "You good, man?"

"Actually, I am," I reply honestly. "I missed this."

"Same," Kaiden agrees with a nod. "Life has gotten real fucking serious lately."

I glance up and catch Becca heading into her next class, not really paying attention to my friends' conversation anymore. Xander smirks and nudges my shoulder. "Looks like somebody's serious about Becca."

With a shake of my head, I turn back to my friends. "Nah, not really. But she's hiding some shit and I plan to find out."

Ryan lets out an exasperated sigh as I sling my backpack over my shoulder. "Trust me, just leave it."

Kaiden chuckles. "Yeah, listen to your boy here. His girl has way more going on than any of us could have imagined."

"Ain't that the fuckin' truth," Xander adds with a wry grin.

As the last bell rings, students scurry off to their respective classes. I make my way to the back of the classroom and take a seat, waiting for Becca to arrive. We have an important project to work on together, and our grade depends on it. Ashley saunters over and plops down next to me, practically smothering me with her body.

"Hi," she purrs in a flirty tone.

Becca finally walks in, flipping her long hair and rolling her eyes as she takes a seat in front of me. I can't help but get distracted by how beautiful she is, despite her icy demeanor towards me. It's like she's emotionally unavailable, and for some reason, that just makes me want her evenfuckingmore.

Ashley continues to flirt with me, asking about my plans for the weekend. But before I can answer, Becca interjects with a fake gagging noise. "Come on Danny boo," Ashley persists. "I promise it'll be worth it."

"I can't," I reply firmly.

“What's your problem?" Ashley huffs.

"Ever since we started this project, you've been all over me," I snap back. "So, what's your issue?"

Ashley tosses her hair over her shoulder and replies with a smirk, "Nothing. Just letting others know they can't have what's mine."

"I'm not yours," I remind her.

"Don't be silly," Ashley coos.

Frustrated, I push away from her and distance myself from my chair. "You're nothing to me," I tell her flatly. "Just because you gave me a blowjob at a party doesn't mean anything."

Ashley's eyes begin to fill with tears, but I feel nothing. No sympathy, no remorse. She's just a leech, a user, trying to ride my coattails.

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