Chasing Sin

14

"YOU BITCH!"

Emily stands in front of me, seething. Her eyes have a wild look in them, and a scowl is on her face, but other than that, she looks normal. Her hair is flattened to be slick and straight as a board, just as mine was when we pranked her. Her makeup looks flawless, with blue eyeshadow and long lashes framing her face.

If she wasn't screeching down the hallway, I might not think anything was out of the ordinary.

"Hey, Em!" I say, channeling my inner Brittney once again. "Wow, I've got to say. You look absolutely radiant today! Lighter, you know. Are you on some kind of... cleanse?"

"I know what you did!" she screams again, pointing a professionally manicured nail at me. Sin takes a step forward, trying to get in front of me, but I also move forward. I don't need to be protected, not from Emily. I've had more than enough practice defending myself against girls like her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything but give you free candy," I say with a smile. Sin lets me stand off with her, but I can tell he's poised for battle if necessary.

I wonder for a second if he'd go so far as hitting Emily, but I shake the thought away almost immediately. Sin seems like a tough guy, who would beat up a shady guy like Archer in the parking lot, but I can't imagine him hitting a girl. Not after seeing that sweet side of him—the one that spoke so softly with my siblings and took me to his place when I was plastered.

"THAT WAS NOT CANDY! THAT WAS AN ENEMA!" she says harshly, but then realizes her voice is drawing a crowd. She probably doesn't want anyone to know about the prank or its aftermath.

I stifle a laugh, which only makes her angrier. "I never lied to you. Well... about the candy," I tell her honestly. "They really are just sugar-free gummy bears. I did lie about my name. It's Haven, not Brittney. And I'm not a Pi Phi sister."

I'm a little surprised she recognized me so easily. I'm wearing all black today, with a pair of combat boots rather than high heels on my feet and my hair in its natural, curly waves rather than the shiny, slick locks Brittney rocked at the cafe. Maybe that's why she didn't confront me at school yesterday.

This also adds fuel to the fire, making her scoff loudly. "You can't do that to me and get away with it! Who do you think you are?!"

I look at her blankly then repeat myself slowly. "Ha-ven. Did I not just say that?" Sin chuckles lightly, seeming to relax ever so slightly.

I add, "You can't really be mad at me, Emily. You're the one who took candy from a stranger. Did your parents teach you nothing?"

"I was in the bathroom for hours!" Emily shouts, no longer caring who hears now. "I nearly went to the hospital. I thought I had food poisoning!"

I laugh a little now, not bothering to even hide my amusement. She adds, "But then Jordan said she saw you with Peyton and your-" She points a finger at Sin, "group of homeboys galloping away, completely content to leave me in pain! I knew it was your fault."

"I assure you, if you didn't fuck with my friends' lives, we wouldn't have a problem," I tell her. "You didn't think you could cheat on Peyton and go spreading lies about him—to his own mother—and no one would do anything, did you? You might be able to get away with a lot around Eve Hall, being 'Miss Popularity' or whatever, but that doesn't intimidate me. I won't let you screw with my friends. Not as long as I'm around."