Page 3

3

VAUGHN

A h, school. I do love school. I love this town . I’m going to miss it like crazy when I graduate next month and then leave for college after summer. But at least I’ll have my best friend with me.

“Get off me.” Austin shoves me away when I wrap my arm around his shoulder.

My very grumpy best friend. I laugh, “Aw, don’t be like that.”

Austin’s light-blue eyes narrow in my direction as he fills his backpack with the books he needs from his locker. “We’re way later than I wanted to be.”

“And yet, the bell hasn’t even rung yet,” I point out unhelpfully, but I’m still grinning because it’s cute he thinks he can be mad at me. It wasn’t my fault my bed was all nice and warm, even after he left it this morning. Anyone would have fallen back asleep.

He closes his locker door, and I’m sure he’s about to rip into me again for making him late, but he tenses briefly when we both hear a familiar voice coming from behind us. “Uh-oh. Did he make you late again, Austin?”

Van.

I grin as I turn around to greet her. She’s dressed for spring in a pair of short jean shorts that could probably get her in trouble and a Big Bend Bears jersey I gave her from my freshmen year.

“You know it,” Austin says. “He’s your problem now.”

Van laughs at that, amused, I guess. “Yeah right. We both know we share custody.”

I roll my eyes. “You both know I’m right here, right?”

They just share an amused grin with each other. I’m a lucky guy, if I’m honest. My best friend and my girlfriend get along really well. Usually, their time together is spent making fun of me, but I’m a big boy. I can take it.

It’s clear too that Vanessa is still pretty annoyed with me for not wanting to move in together our first year of college. But I mean... come on. That’s crazy. Yeah, we’ve been dating for a while, but we’re still really young. I’m not ready for that kind of commitment, and I really think she’ll understand when she’s done being pissed.

We all start walking down the hallway toward our first classes of the day. I don’t have any classes with Austin until the afternoon—the fucker is usually in the advanced courses—but I do have one with Vanessa first thing.

“I can’t wait for college. No more waking up early.”

“Who’s going to tell him?” Vanessa asks Austin, nudging him in the arm with her elbow.

He just shakes his head and sighs. “He can probably schedule most of his classes for the afternoon.”

“I’m pretty sure college football practice starts at the ass crack of dawn a lot,” Van says, and I frown.

“Well, fuck.”

They both laugh at my annoyance. I see a couple of people I know and nod to them as we pass, making our way down the hall. Yeah, I’m really going to miss this.

“You going to go to some of the football games with me?” Van asks, and I realize she’s talking to Austin. We’ve stopped walking because we’re right outside his first class. “We can make fun of the jocks together.” She waggles her eyebrows at him, and he smiles.

God, I love that smile.

It’s one of those things that’s hard-won, but so damn beautiful when you get to see it. “Yeah, I don’t know about that.”

“You know Austin and the sports,” I say, grabbing him around the neck and ruffling his hair. He laughs but pushes me away.

“They are pretty damn boring.”

I scoff, placing a hand over my heart in mock horror. The funny thing about Vanessa is she’s a cheerleader, but she does it in an ironic way, I guess. She wears dark eyeliner and even had pink hair our sophomore year. She’s edgy and cool but really talented when she’s cheering for her favorite player, if I do say so myself.

Before any of us can say another thing though, Austin is shoved into my side when bigass Calvin comes barreling down the hall. I know instantly that he did it on purpose, and being twice the size as my best friend, he could have really hurt him.

I reach out and grab the collar of his shirt and slam him against the locker. “Watch where you’re going, asshole.”

“Vaughn.” I hear Austin, but I just see red. It’s bullshit how the guys at this school treat him. They always have. He’s on the smaller side, and he doesn’t like sports. At. All. He doesn’t quite fit in here, but that doesn’t mean they get to bully him.

Calvin may be as big as his brother, Curtis, maybe even bigger, but I’m meaner when it comes to my best friend. How do they not know that already?

“Vaughn. Don’t.” I hear Vanessa, and Austin has made it to my side.

I don’t look at either of them though, my attention is still focused on Calvin. “Apologize.”

“Fuck you, Montgomery. I’m not saying anything to your boyfriend,” he sneers, looking at Austin with pure hatred and disgust. I want to strangle this fucker.

Austin doesn’t shrink like a wilting flower, but he doesn’t taunt Calvin like my friend Benny would have. Curtis was always all over Benny, thought it was hilarious to tease him and pretty much everyone else about being gay. Even though Benny isn’t—or wasn’t—I’m not really sure how that works because he’s in love with a dude now.

Doesn’t matter to me.

But it does matter how they treat Austin. Curtis finally graduated, and now I have to deal with his younger, dickhead brother. “Say. It.”

“Vaughn, we’re going to be late for class. Let him go.” Austin’s cool tone soothes me mildly, but I’m still hot all over and full of rage. I saw the big fucker coming, but it was too late. Why do they have to single Austin out? Especially this one? He seems to really have a hardon for my best friend.

“Say. It.”

Calvin is turning red with exertion, struggling to get out of my hold, but it’s not happening. “Whatever.” He looks over at Austin, a look I can’t quite place but I know I don’t like on his face. “I’m sorry I barely touched you and you flew into your boyfriend here.”

I tighten my grip on his collar. “That wasn’t good enough.”

“Let him go, Montgomery.” Fuck. It’s Coach. I look over to see Coach Zimmerman with his big arms crossed over his chest. He has a whistle around his neck because even though he’s the football coach, he’s also the gym teacher here at school.

“Fine.” I release him, and he clutches at his neck dramatically.

“Get to class,” Zimmerman says to Calvin, who doesn’t waste any time doing so. I look at Coach, who doesn’t look pleased but doesn’t send me to the office either. Just gives a quick nod and heads down the hall.

“Are you trying to get expelled right before graduation?” Austin asks, and it’s clear he’s pissed.

“He hit you on purpose.”

His lips purse, and yeah, he’s definitely mad at me. He looks like he wants to say something else, but he just huffs and heads into his classroom.

Well, fuck.

I turn to look at Vanessa, who looks even less amused than Austin did, her arms folded and her eyes narrowed as she shakes her head. “You have to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” I start to walk toward our classroom. “Calvin rammed into him as hard as he could. He does that shit all the time.”

“And Austin can handle himself. He doesn’t need you making a scene. It makes it worse.”

I disagree but am smart enough not to do it out loud. “He’s my best friend.”

“Yeah. I know,” she says, and is that sadness I hear in her voice? That can’t be right. She loves Austin almost as much as I do.

I don’t ask her to explain. We just go in and find our seats, but I can’t help thinking about Austin while I’m in class. I hope he’s okay. I don’t know why Calvin singles him out so much.

And he’s told me before he doesn’t want me to stand up for him. Which, to me, is totally crazy.

There’s no way in hell I’ll ever stop doing that.