Sang
When Victor eventually caught up with us at the food court he didn't have any bags with him. "You didn't find anything you liked?" I asked, nibbling on a french fry. Gabe and I had decided on burgers since they were easy — even though he refused to let me pay for my own. I don't know how I was ever going to repay any of the guys for these small kindnesses.
Victor shook his head, taking the seat beside me. I offered him my fries and he reached for one with a small smile. "I realized I forgot the cardinal rule of shopping," he explained.
"What?"
"Don't try it without Gabe," he replied, winking at our fashion guru.
"Yeah well, you're as stubborn as North sometimes so I thought I'd let you try it out," Gabe said wryly.
"We're also gonna have to cut this short," Vic continued. "I know, we're not through the stages," he added, anticipating Gabe's rebuttal. They shared one of those looks again and Gabe just sighed loudly.
"Is everything ok?" I asked, glancing between the two of them. Was it another Academy thing? And then I couldn't help but think about the emergency line, wondering if Jess and Erica really were ok. It'd seemed like forever since I'd had a heart to heart with Erica especially, and I wasn't sure how much truth I'd be able to divulge when we did get a chance to check in now that I thought about it. I mean, how could I tell her that time seemed to work differently when I was with the guys? That there were more butterflies than I'd ever felt before?
It wasn't normal, I knew that much. These were feelings I'd have to sort through on my own.
"Everything's fine, Princess," Victor murmured, covering my hand with his own before meeting Gabe's gaze again. "It's just an Academy thing."
Gabe was clearly annoyed, but he huffed his agreement as he downed his soda. "But we're going to finish this," he said, eyeing me seriously. "I've barely started with you, Trouble," he added, causing that weird anticipatory feeling to slide through me again.
A few minutes later we'd finished eating. I'd let Victor have the rest of my fries since we hadn't gotten him anything, thinking he wouldn't want a cold hamburger. "If you guys need to drop me off, I have a key now," I reminded. I double checked then that the key was still secure in my jean shorts pocket. I really needed to get a key ring or something.
Victor smiled and shook his head. "I've been informed your presence is requested at Bob's," he replied.
I grinned. Bob's was the diner that North and Luke's uncle owned and its grand opening was this upcoming weekend. I'd been inside a few times over the past couple weeks, but yesterday Luke had said its metamorphosis was complete. He wanted me to check it out so he could give me the grand tour, and I'd bet anything him and North were there today. Even though I'd just seen them yesterday, I was excited at the thought of seeing them again so soon.
"Ok. And maybe Uncle can make you a sandwich or something before you have to go?" I asked, feeling guilty. "Or I can make you—"
"Trouble, don't worry about feeding Victor," Gabe interrupted, rolling his eyes playfully. "I'll be back," he said, glancing at Victor.
Vic met my gaze and smiled before tilting his head, considering. "Princess, do you um... need to..."
I wasn't sure what he was trying to ask until I realized Gabe was headed to the restroom. I smiled. "Good idea," I said, feigning nonchalance that for once seemed to be working. We agreed to meet back by the fountain at the front of the food court before I headed toward the women's restroom, finding it mostly empty.
I finished quickly, rinsing my hands as I glanced at my reflection, checking out my now Gabe-approved hairstyle. Gabe had insisted on messing with my lop-sided bun after stage one, absently adding that sometimes fingers were the only tools you needed. The seductive lilt to his voice hadn't gotten past me, and my cheeks warmed as I remembered it. I don't know how he does it though, I thought with a smile, turning slightly so I could see the gentle curls he must've made with his fingers and the connecting twists that left most of my hair down, but kept the front section back and away from my face.
After making sure I wasn't leaving anything behind I left, glancing around to gather my bearings. I didn't see Victor or Gabe, but I knew the fountain was right behind the large planter near the tables, so I started that way.
I was focused on meeting up with the guys, which was the only reason I didn't see him until he was standing in front of me. "Don't I know you?" the deep voice asked. He did look familiar, with blue-gray eyes and a cocky smirk that he seemed to wear like a mask. He had on a varsity jacket with a royal blue A outlined in gold, and in my hesitation to answer he took another step toward me. "You go to Ashley Waters?"
"She's that chick Taylor was with a couple weeks ago," another voice called, and I glanced to my right to see a pair of guys sitting near us wearing similar jackets, trays of food on their table.
Taylor? Did he mean Luke? North, I decided, studying what I could now tell were varsity jackets for football, which North and Silas had both joined. Fragments of that day at Ashley Waters filtered back, and I looked up at him with wide eyes. This was Rocky, I suddenly remembered. And his eyes were just as calculating as they'd been that day.
Rocky snapped his fingers, his grin devilish. "That's it," he said, pointing toward his friend. "Rock solid memory Ace." The guy named Ace just shrugged, while the other guy, with buzzed hair and a moody gaze, continued to regard the pair of us. "Where're you headed, Pretty? You alone?"
I looked past him, hoping Victor or Gabe might be visible from here, but Rocky moved to block my gaze, looking behind him curiously. "So you are here with someone," he mused. "Is it Taylor?"
His tone was playful, but his eyes were still hard and I was certain his questions in themselves were part of some elaborate game I didn't know the rules of.
"Are you usually this quiet?" he asked, and now he was right in front of me, his cloying cologne unmistakable. "Hm?"
"Just leave her alone Rocky," his other friend muttered. "Your shit's getting cold."
"Is that what you want, Pretty?" he whispered, leaning in. "For Rocky to leave you alone?"
I steeled my nerves and took a steadying breath. "Yes," I said quietly.
He scowled as Ace let out a hoot of laughter. "Oh, she got you," he said, chuckling into his hand.
Rocky whirled on me. "What, you think Taylor's better?" he asked. "Pretty, you're barking up the wrong tree there. Rocky runs that school, not that asshole."
"He's not an asshole," I managed, anger coursing through me.
"Ah," he replied, leaning in closer, his lips too close to my ear, his breath hot on my neck. "Did I hit a nerve?" I swallowed thickly, refusing to meet his gaze. I felt his hand circle low around my waist, pulling me tight against his chest. I pushed at him as hard as I could, my own chest tightening at the contact, fear pulsing through me as his arm kept me pressed against him, his eyes boring into mine.
He just laughed at my efforts to escape, flashing a grin at his friends before glancing back at me and finally dropping his arm. "Yeah, you'll do," he said matter-of-factly, smirking as he stroked his chin. "You'll be mine before homecoming." His gaze never strayed from my own as he pointed toward his table. "Mark my words, guys," he declared before leaning in to whisper, "Rocky always gets what he wants."
A shiver ran through me at his words, and I looked past him in time to see Victor looking between the two of us. "Sang?"
Rocky turned to glance at him before looking back at me. "So this is your guy then? Taylor know you're with him?" he asked, his tone mocking. "Really Pretty, the choice is obvious."
Victor ignored him and stared at me, his gaze clearly trying to tell me something I couldn't understand, but I felt safer just knowing he was there. I started to walk toward him when Rocky stopped me, grabbing my forearm before I'd gotten far. His grip was tight, and I winced as he continued, "Oh whoa, now hold on. You're just gonna leave?"
"Yes. She is." I turned to find Gabe, whose icy gaze was trained on Rocky before moving toward the grip he had on my arm.
"Well this is just fucking priceless," Rocky murmured. "Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum are here to protect you." Victor took a step forward, his hands forming into fists, and Rocky just chuckled. "Ok, you know what? Fine. Go on, Pretty." He let me go roughly, looking between Victor and Gabe before adding, "But I'll see you soon."
The warning tone to his voice sent goosebumps down my arms, and I was afraid to move, afraid of what might happen. "Come on Princess," Victor was whispering, and I was vaguely aware of his hand taking mine, lacing our fingers as he led me toward Gabe.
"Fucking prick," Gabe said hotly, staring down Rocky as Vic led us away from the food court. Gabe looked me over quickly and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Fuck it all. Are you ok, Trouble?" he asked as we made our way toward the exit. His voice had an edge to it that I'd never heard before, and I hung my head, hoping they weren't too angry.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled.
"What? What the fuck are you sorry for?" Gabe asked.
I looked up at him from beneath my eyelashes, certain I was cursed or something. "For causing trouble."
Gabe stopped suddenly, causing Victor and I to as well. His hands grasped my shoulders, and I looked up at him. "You are not responsible for what happened in there," he said seriously. "And don't apologize for that asshole, ok?" I nodded slightly as Victor squeezed my hand, telling me he agreed with Gabe. "Plus, you're the good kind of trouble," Gabe reasoned, winking at me before taking my other hand. I furrowed my brows, unsure what he could possibly mean. "You're my Trouble."