Page 24 of Ruthless Rose

Chapter 16

Monday morning, I pull up at the back end of the parking lot, as is my habit. Heaven help me if I were to accidentally ding one of the uber-expensive cars some of my classmates drive. There is a disgusting amount of money tied up in the vehicles parked in this lot—there are luxury SUVs as far as the eye can see,

Speaking of fancy cars, a black Cadillac Escalade honks lightly as it passes me, and through the tinted window, I can see Xander and Scarlett waving at me. I hop out of my banged-up sedan, throw my book bag over my head so that it rests on my hip, and cross the lot to greet them.

Xander is out first. He gives me a hesitant smile, before his silky-smooth low voice rumbles out. “Hey, Daphne. We missed you at the party Friday night.”

I glance at his SUV, where Scarlett is still fumbling with something in her backpack. I’m not really used to talking to Xander one-on-one—in fact, I used to think he was a complete heathen until Scarlett got ahold of him. Now he’s kind of like … Xander Lite. I stifle a giggle, smiling up at him. He’s still hotter than sin and intimidating to most people, but he’s proven himself to me by how much he cares for Scarlett. He’s a good guy. “Oh yeah? I just had some stuff I needed to get done.”

He cocks his head to the side, studying me. “You haven’t ever been one to show up at parties, so I don’t know why Scarlett was up your butt about it, but … I wanted to say that you’re welcome to come any time. You know that, right?”

A red flush creeps up my face. “Um, sure. Thanks.” I shrug. “I’m more comfortable in smaller crowds.”

He bobs his head. “I get that.” He pauses, glancing at Scarlett, still in his SUV.

“Micah wouldn’t want me there anyway.”

His gaze connects with mine, and he doesn’t respond for several seconds. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily true.” He shrugs it off. “And listen, if any of Aria’s cheer squad is giving you trouble, you say the word, and I’ll say something to her.”

I blow out a breath before I wrinkle my nose. “You and Scarlett have been talking, huh?”

“Maybe a little.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I know you’re important to her and a nice girl. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”

I nod, but can’t stop myself from chewing on the inside of my cheek. What if it’s his buddy who is doing the majority of the hurting?

“Alora has a nasty streak—especially when it comes to Micah.” He coughs behind his hand to hide a laugh. “I’m sure you’ve noticed. She’s not my favorite of Aria’s friends.” Funny, not one of my favorites either. I’d filled Scarlett and Max in on our verbal altercation when I got home on Saturday. I’m sure that’s partly where this is coming from.

I eye him cautiously. “Aria herself wasn’t very nice to Scarlett either until recently.”

He slides his thumb over his lower lip. “Yeah. She kinda did some of that as a favor to me, though. And all of that is over now.”

“But Aria enjoyed doing it.” Just like Alora is now. What is wrong with these cheer bitches?

He chuckles. “You might be right. They’re good now, though.” He clears his throat, all of a sudden more serious. “But I’d keep both eyes on Alora, if I were you.”

I roll my eyes, nod, and look back through the windshield. I swear Scarlett’s doing this on purpose.

My relief is tangible when she finally pops the door open and slides out. “Hey, Daphne.” She joins us, giving me a hug before she takes Xander’s hand, and we make our way up the sidewalk to the front doors of the academy.

Once inside, I walk with Scarlett and Xander toward the hallway where the senior lockers are located. Normally, I’d go directly to the library for my study hall, where I act as an aide, to get a head start on any tasks the librarians assign to me. I’m also the one primarily responsible for reshelving books as they get checked back in.

Today though, for some reason, I’m drawn down the wide hall with my friends. If I’m honest with myself, somewhere in the back of my head, I know why—I can’t help myself. I really want to know what Micah thought about his new spirit girl, and I hadn’t heard anything on Friday, but he also hadn’t yet seen the elaborate sign at his gym locker, complete with Hershey’s Kisses taped all over it. It had read Kisses for the Best Tight End Ever! Totally unlike me, but I figure maybe he won’t guess it’s me if I play it up like that.

When we pass Micah and Alora at his locker, I hear something that has a little thrill coursing through me: they’re discussing his new spirit girl. Me—and they have no idea. Take that, you rotten, evil skank.

Scarlett and I exchange a look and stop at her locker only a few feet away. She quickly spins the dial and opens hers so we can huddle behind it and listen to what else is said.

“I don’t get it. I thought Jana caught mono and is stuck at home for like, six weeks. Who would have decorated your lockers?” I peek around the locker to see Alora huff before a pout graces her lips. “Whoever it was spent an awful lot of time drawing. Must be someone with a lot of time on her hands.”

Micah shrugs. “I don’t know. I like it. And whoever took over makes fucking stellar chocolate chip cookies.” He pats his stomach with a grin. “I ate all but the three that Beau stole.”

I duck back behind the locker just as Scarlett pokes me, eyes widening as we stare at each other. A smile spreads across her face, and she tugs me closer so she can whisper without being overheard. “He liked your cookies!”

I roll my eyes, but can’t keep the grin off of my face. “Actually, those were your cookies, but thank you for helping me.”

She eases back but bounces around a little bit on her feet, excited. “Xander mentioned how surprised he was by the sign on his gym locker, too.”

Stealthily, Xander sneaks up behind Scarlett, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing us both with a raised brow. His voice is low when he leans down close. “Wait a sec.” He nods in Micah’s direction. “That was you? You’re his new spirit girl?”

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