Page 12 of The Hallows Boys

She shrugs a shoulder, leaning down to dig around in her bag, and when she sits back up, she puts a flask to her lips and takes a sip. I can’t help snorting under my breath at how brazen and obvious she’s being. Her eyes flick to mine at the noise, and she grins as she offers it to me.

I shake my head. “I’m good, thanks.”

“More for me.” She grins, taking another swig. She slips it back into her bag just as the teacher is walking in the door to start class.

The teacher begins a lecture about the Civil War. Two minutes in, the classroom door bangs open, and Beckham appears with a smirk pulling at his rosy lips.

“Late,Mr. Bentley,” the teacher snips, but Beckham just leisurely finds a seat across the room. As the teacher falls back into the lecture, my palms go clammy. I try my hardest not to let the magnetic pull between me and Beckham take over, but I desperately want to look at him.

Juliet groans next to me, so I decide to look at her instead. I give her a questioning look, but instead of answering me, she just nods her head at Beckham and rolls her eyes.

My eyebrows pull down in confusion, and I follow her gaze, finding Beckham’s blue eyes zeroed in on me. I snap my head back toward the front of the classroom, trying to focus on the lecture instead of the curiosity that’s burning through my veins.

* * *

Juliet leads me to the cafeteria for lunch, and helps me maneuver the lunch line, pointing out all the foods to avoid. I appreciate the insider tips and decide to copy her lunch choice of a slice of pizza and a can of Coke.

We find an empty table at the edge of the large room and silently start to eat our food. By the time I’m halfway through my pizza, I break our silence.

“Thanks for taking pity and sitting with me.”

She swallows her food. “Normally I sit alone, so this is an upgrade.”

“Why do you sit alone?” I question, curiosity getting the best of me. Besides the fact she’s a day drinker, I haven’t found any reason she would be an outcast.

She snorts, taking another bite of her pizza as she points across the room. I follow her finger, finding Kaiden and his friends sat around a table with a handful of other students.

I look back at Juliet. “What’s their deal?”

I’m desperate for morsels of information about the three boys I’ve thought about since this morning. She puts her pizza down, brushing off her hands before she takes a drink of her soda. When she’s swallowed, she rolls her eyes a little. “They’re Blackmoresmost wanted.” She chuckles. “Guys want to be them, girls want their attention.”

She doesn’t look like she shares the same opinion of them, based on her unappreciative look and the tone of her voice. “Why, though?”

“They’re part of this decades-old tradition, passed down for generations in Blackmore. They were popular growing up, always together, so the three of them got passed the torch freshman year.”

I pick at my food, my eyes flaring. “What’s the tradition?”

“It’s called the Hallows Games.” Taking a sip of my soda, I listen intently.

Juliet continues. “No one really knows what it is. They’ve never confirmed or denied any of the rumors. All I know is that every year they choose one girl to play the games with them.”

I shake my head a little. “I don’t understand.”

She snorts. “Me neither.”

“But whatisit?” I push, sliding forward on my seat a little, eager to get more information.

“I don’t know, really. All I know is that every October, all the girls in school turn into annoying, thirsty little chihuahuas whenever they walk in a room, hoping for the chance to be chosen as that year’s Hallows Girl.”

Juliet’s eyes find mine, her gaze sparkling with amusement. “Every girl exceptme.I don’t buy into their bullshit, so everyone steers clear of me. If you don’t worship the Hallows Boys at this school, you might as well not be here at all.”

She shrugs. “Not that I care, I prefer solitary.”

Confusion simmers in my gut though, making her fade into the background of my mind as I wonder what the hell they’re all about. My body hums with the need to learn more about the Hallows Boys and their games. Who are they? What are the games? Why does everyone want to be the Hallows Girl? Why them?

But mostly, why can’t I stop thinking about them and why is part of me wondering how to get chosen?

ChapterSeven

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