“What are you looking at? Huh?” I spit, my fists clenching at my side. “Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?”
The two girls edge away, clearly startled by my outburst. The three guys, on the other hand, stand up, immediately going to the defense of the ladies in their circle.
“Haven’t you done enough, necro? You all should be behind bars,” a large redhead says, squaring his shoulders. His dark-brown eyes flash as he shoots sideways glances at the two guys by his side.
The brunette to his left crosses his arms over his broad chest and tips his chin in approval while the sandy blond adjusts his glasses, clearly not looking for a fight but not willing to back down, either.
“Done enough?” I sputter, narrowing my gaze and taking a step toward them.
Suddenly, both Wade and Cat are on their feet, standing just steps behind me.
“And how the hell would you know what she’s done?” Wade growls.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” Colton says, taking a step out in front of the rest of us. His fist are clenched at his sides, and the chairs around us begin to rattle.
The guys across the room take a small step back, startled.
“What the hell, man? We’ve got no beef with you,” the sandy blond says.
“Colton,” I warn, stepping forward and placing a hand on his arm. Suddenly, I feel the strange, warming sensation again as the iridescent blue and orange flames start to engulf my hand. Startled, I pull it back.
Immediately, the rattling ceases.
I twist around, hoping Wade didn’t catch it. Luckily, his attention is centered solely on the group ahead of us. My shoulders relax slightly as I turn back to the threat across the room.
“If she hasn’t done anything wrong, why does she need everyone else to stand up for her? Huh? We heard about you, Blackwood. All last semester you pretended you had no idea you were a necromancer. What bullshit. Your family practically coined the term and you didn’t know. Then you go and bring this one back,” the burly redhead says, jabbing a finger toward Cat. “So, what…is this some sort of publicity stunt? Or are you really just one of those kinds of people who need to have all the attention all the time?”
I roll my eyes.
“You don’t even know her,” Colton says, taking another step forward.
“Neither do you,” Wade says, a hint of rage boiling beneath his tone.
Looking over my shoulder, I shoot him a look and mouth, “What the hell?”
Wade ignores my question, instead taking a step around me so he can put himself between me and the other group.
The testosterone rolling through the entire commons is so thick I want to barf. I shake my head, unable to deal with any more of it. It’s as if their egos are what matters in all of this and it’s sickening.
Without another word to any of them, I spin around, pick up my backpack, and walk out.
There’s literally nothing I can say or do to change anyone’s minds, and sitting in the middle of a boy battle is only going to make things worse. Besides, I have more important things to worry about right now. Like what the hell am I going to do about Wade’s dead grandpa?
Cat chases after me, rushing to catch up. “Autumn, wait. Just ignore those guys. They’re—“
“Not now, Cat. I really can’t deal with any more of this shit,” I say, swiping my hand through the air and cutting her off.
“I know you, though. I know the good you strive for. People will believe whatever they want to. Especially if it means getting attention for themselves. But they’re not who matters here,” she says, her eyebrows tipping in the middle as she tries to reach out for me.
I shake my head, refusing to stop. Instead, I push open the door to the building and keep walking. When I reach the bottom of the large stone staircase leading to the parking lot, both Wade and Colton burst through the doors behind us.
“Autumn,” Wade calls out, rushing to make his way to me. “Dru, stop. Please.”
Despite myself, I pull up short. My anger boils over and I spit, “What, Wade? What do you want? Do you want to beat your chest some more? Knock me over the head with your caveman club and drag me back home?”
Wade takes a step back, clearly wounded.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I just can’t handle all of this right now. Not on top of everything else.”
God, I wish I was anywhere but here. Anywhere but under the scrutiny of everyone.
Other students filter out of the school, some of them eyeing us suspiciously as they walk by. I do my best to ignore them, but I know if I stand here too much longer, I’m going to flip my shit. Big time.
Colton bounds down the remaining couple of steps, reaching out for my arm the way Cat had. “Autumn, don’t be mad. We were all just trying to—”
I try to pull my arm out of the way, but it’s too late. His hand comes into contact with my elbow and almost immediately the familiar iridescent flames erupt across my arm and over his hand.
“Get off of me,” I blurt out, pulling my arm back from him.
But it’s too late. I look over to Wade’s wide eyes and white face. He scoffs, taking another step back.
Walking away from Colton, I take a step toward Wade, my hands out in front of me. “Wade…”
He shakes his head, and his lips tug downward. “So, guess that’s still a thing.”
“It’s not a thing,” I say, trying to ignore the tremors rolling through my limbs. “You already know it’s just—”
“What’s not a thing? What are you talking about?” Colton says behind me.
“Guys,” Cat warns. “You heard the woman. Honestly, the two of you are ridiculous. She doesn’t need any peacocking right now. Both of you need to back the eff up.”
