“Yo, Chase, look who I found sneaking around.”
I ground to a halt, dread flooding my chest as I watched Micah steer Miley toward me. He had his arm roped around her neck like she was one of the guys.
“Snitch wants to party with us.”
“I never said that,” she snapped, elbowing him in the ribs. Micah yelped as she ducked out from under his arm.
“No, but you were hovering around waiting for us to leave…” He rubbed his jaw, assessing her with his dark eyes. “So I got to wonder if you were hoping for an invitation or whether you planned to follow us like the creep you are.”
“Go to hell,” she sneered.
“What, scared, snitch?”
“I’ve been to your parties before and they suck.”
Surprise registered on Micah’s face. “Well you weren’t doing it right.” He stepped up to her, and my spine went rigid. “Because my parties are fucking epic.”
Micah wasn’t a bad guy; he just didn’t know when to quit. He loved the fan worship, the way girls went ga-ga over football players. He lapped up the attention and power. A lot of the guys did, and I didn’t blame them. It was something to be so young and be so revered and adored. In the eyes of Rixon, we could do no wrong.
Like tonight. No one would bat an eyelid at the party out at the Delfine’s house. So long as we kept it under control, parents, the adults, even the local police were happy to let us do our thing because we were Raiders. And wearing that jersey meant something.
“Look at her, man. She doesn’t want to come to the party. She looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights,” I said, refusing to look at her.
“I think she does,” he countered.
“Micah,” an exasperated breath left my lips, “just leave—”
“I’ll come.”
My head whipped around to meet Miley’s narrowed gaze. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Fuck, yes. You and me, snitch. It’s going down. I hope you can hold your liquor.”
“One, there is no ‘you and me,’ and two, I said I’ll come to the party, not that I’ll get drunk.”
Micah slung his arm around her shoulder again and smirked. “We’ll see. Let’s go.”
My brows bunched together as I watched him guide her toward his car wondering what the fuck was happening right now.
I didn’t want her at the party. I didn’t want her anywhere near me. But Miley climbed into his car, glancing over at me at the last second. She didn’t look confused or even scared… she looked determined.
She looked like she was a girl on a mission. But she’d been that girl before, and it hadn’t ended well for anyone.
Especially me.
By the time I arrived at the party, Micah already had Miley drinking one of his concoctions.
“What’s going on?” I hissed, while she chatted to Ben and Petey.
“What? Just giving her a little behind the scenes access.” He grinned, letting his eyes flick back over to her. “She’s pretty hot for a nerd.”
“This is a bad idea,” I said.
“Because you’re pissed at her still, or because you have a thing for the snitch?”
“What the fuck, man?” I balked.
“Oh, come on. You think I haven’t noticed the giant stick up your ass ever since last spring? Did something happen between the two of you?”
“Nothing happened. And don’t go spreading that shit around. She screwed me over just as much as the rest of you, that’s all. I don’t want her here because she doesn’t fucking belong here.”
A trickle of awareness ran up my spine and Micah’s gaze went over my shoulder.
Shit.
She was behind me, listening to every word. When I turned slightly to meet her dejected expression, my blood turned to ice. How was it possible I felt so much for a girl I hardly knew? But I’d been getting to know her.
It was months ago. The article hadn’t run until right before school broke for the summer, but Miley had quit the cheer team long before that.
“I think I’ll have another.” Miley waved her empty cup at Micah and he whooped.
“My kind of girl.”
Grabbing her wrist, I yanked her out of the kitchen and down the quiet, darkened hall. The majority of kids were outside, enjoying the lingering warmth of summer.
“What the hell, Avery?” Miley hissed, snatching her hand back.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“I was enjoying myself until you rudely interrupted me.”
“What game are you playing?” I studied her face. Heart-shaped pouty lips, a button nose littered with freckles, and tawny eyes that looked right through me. She was pretty, gorgeous even, but I knew it was a smokescreen for the treacherous snake she really was.
“I was invited.”
“But why? Why the hell would you want to come here and be at a party no one wants you at?”
“Micah wants me—”
“Micah wants to get you drunk and then embarrass you.” Anger rolled through me, but it wasn’t only at her, it was at what she’d said.
Micah wants me.
He didn’t, I knew that. But I wouldn’t put it past him to try something with her just to spread a vicious rumor Monday at school.
I released a frustrated breath. “You should go before you make things any worse for yourself.”
There was that dejected look again. What right did she have feeling hurt, when she’d completely betrayed me and the team?
“You hate me, I get it. I do.” She took a shuddering breath. “But I still need to write this article, and I don’t quit. Ever.”
“Well, maybe you should.” I glowered at her, the air crackling between us.
Just then, a couple of guys stumbled down the hall, knocking me straight into Miley. My hands automatically went to her shoulders, steadying her as we careened into the wall.
“Thanks,” she croaked, her eyes darting to my mouth. My
