Page 12 of Revenge of a Queen

He gleams with mock innocence, “It’s an iced white mocha with toffee nut and almond milk.”

“In what world did you think I would want this and not my Americano?'' I fume at him but take a sip anyway and groan. Fuck that’s good.

“Good right?” he preens at me with glee and I curse in my head.

“Fine yes, it’s fucking delicious,” I say in exasperation, “But I am holding you responsible when I fall asleep during Mr. Keating’s class later.”

He just laughs and thrusts a little bag at me and when I look inside, I find muffins and cookies which I immediately reach for.

“Forgiven?” he says, wiggling his brows.

“Always, pretty boy,” I say, around a mouthful of a blueberry muffin.

“I knew you couldn’t stay mad at this face,” he says, picking up his own cup housing lord knows what.

“Do I even wanna know what yours is?” I ask him.

“Mines a double chocolaty chip Frappuccino, you know for my sweet tooth.” He flashes a flirty smile at me, and I reach out and turn his cup towards him, showcasing the phone number of the side.

“Is that the smile you gave to get this?” I roll my eyes.

He looks down noticing what I am referring to and smiles. “What can I say, the ladies go wild for me,” he replies, and I scoff in fake disgust.

We continue back and forth, laughing and joking, and it feels good to have this sort of friendship again. The kind I had with Asher and Marcus before that fateful night. It feels nice, normal, and completely comforting. We pull into the parking lot at the school and Lincoln finds his usual space. I’m still teasing Jace about his coffee girl, when we hit the parking spot and out of nowhere. He chokes on his drink, spits some out, and some lands on my pants.

“Jesus, pretty boy,” I hiss, “These are my favorite jeans.” I scold him, until I see he is paying me zero attention. I follow his gaze to see what's distracted him, only to be met with the last sight I expected.

There, in all his South Side glory, is Marcus Riviera waiting on the front steps. The King overlooking his court, awaiting his knights. Except the spot usually saved for a Queen is currently occupied. WHAT THE FUCK?

I can feel Lincoln's eyes on me, but I ignore him in favor of Marcus who is looking right at me, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. That insufferable tug of a smirk pulling at his stupid kissable lips.

“Has he lost his fucking mind?” Jace voices my thoughts. “What the fuck is he doing?” He adds.

I unclick my seatbelt and reach to open the door, “Let's go find out,” I say through gritted teeth, trying hard to keep my smile in place.

I climb out of the car without waiting for their response, slamming my door and theirs soon follow suit. I have no idea where Marcus has been or what he is playing at, coming back unannounced, and not alone but I’m about to find out.

With Jace and Linc flanking me on either side, we walk over to him together.

“River,” I nod at him, as the guys reach out their fists and Marcus hits them both, like he hasn’t been AWOL for two fucking weeks, and this is just a normal Monday. There may be cracks in their relationship right now, but they are smart enough to know to leave that behind closed doors. When they are in the public eye, they show a united front, it’s admirable.

I ignore the girl pawing at his chest and keep my stare on his eyes, trying to decipher the look I see there. I look for any indication to how he might be feeling towards me, but it’s like I am no one to him.

“Ells,” he nods back casually, like this is our normal everyday greeting.

“Where have you been, brother?” Lincoln questions, but Marcus doesn’t break my stare, when he responds, “Just around.”

“But you’re back now?” Jace asks looking between the two of us, all of us actively ignoring the girl he's got his arm slung around.

“Obviously,” Marcus drawls out.

I need to cut the shit, “Marcus can we talk a sec?” I ask, then look pointedly at his guest before adding, “Alone.”

“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Cherry,” he says with a preening grin like he is enjoying having the upper hand.

Cherry. Did he just say fucking Cherry? Is he shitting me right now? He really wants to play these games with a girl who has a fucking pornstar name.

I scoff in a way which I am sure highlights my distaste perfectly, “I highly doubt she could keep up,” I say, putting emphasis on the word highly and both Lincoln and Jace grunt a laugh.

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