Page 17

Ashton took the open seat next to me, greeting everyone with his usual easygoing smile.

Cade acknowledged him with a lazy chin lift, mid-bite of what appeared to be his fourth slice of pizza.

Rook gave a nod all the same. Roxxi and Ari replied politely, while Layla looked up from her phone to offer a quick hello.

Brooke returned Ashton’s smile warmly. Ryder remained silent, watching me as I sat in the empty chair directly across from him, trying to ignore the inconvenient flutter in my stomach when our eyes met.

I quickly averted my gaze, focusing intently on my wrap. My face felt warm, another level of absurdity. I wasn’t the type to blush over boys, except apparently when it came to this one, whom I had known my entire life. I took a bite of my wrap, pretending not to notice he hadn’t looked away.

I found a legitimate distraction when I glanced over and saw that Arianna’s whole face was flushed even worse than mine. I leaned around Ashton, keeping my voice low.

"Ari? Are you okay?"

Roxxi burst into laughter. "She's fine now. But earlier? Oh, she was absolutely mortified."

"She wouldn't spill the details. Something about a laptop and her cursed lineage?" Xander added with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's really not a big deal. I had to use the computer instead of my tablet for something in class."

I nodded slowly, “And then?”

Roxxi grinned like she was holding a winning hand. “Wicked Whims.”

My mouth dropped open. “No way.”

“All she could do was slam the laptop shut,” Roxxi continued. “And you know she sits right in the front row. So just imagine it, she opens her laptop, enters her password, and you know what pops up? The mod download page. Full titles. Full thumbnails.”

I choked on my wrap, coughing as Ari collapsed face-first onto the table like she wanted to be absorbed by it. Ashton reached over to pat my back while trying not to laugh.

“Mods for a game? Why is that embarrassing?" Cade asked, finally looking away from his food.

Ari refused to meet his eye. "I'm never telling you."

"Wait," he grinned. “Is Whicked Whims some weird code-name for porn?"

Ari looked horrified as several people turned their attention in our direction in response to his comment. “No, you idiot.”

The guys, except for Rook and Ashton, now wore puzzled expressions.

"Then why is it embarrassing?" Nick questioned.

“It's a Mod, like Roxxi said,” Ryder announced, looking at his phone, having quickly consulted Google. He scrolled and started to laugh.

Brooke took a sudden interest in her fruit, biting her lip to contain her own amusement.

“It's a power-up for the Sims," Cloe explained, her tone completely serious.

Cade glanced around the table. "Sims has mods?"

Xander tilted his head. "Sounds kinky to me."

“You all need to get with the times.” Rook chuckled quietly but kept the knowledge he knew to himself.

Roxxi shook her head. "It's nothing rated R or anything. It’s basically a bunch of love spells.”

"Yeah," I added with a straight face. "Your Sims gain extra romantic abilities."

"Think of it as emotional storytelling,” Cloe explained, sounding the most convincing among us.

Xander took in our explanations. “That actually sounds kinda deep.”

I took a drink to stop myself from laughing again as Nick studied each of our faces. "You're fucking with us."

“We would never,” Cloe denied innocently.

Ryder leaned back in his chair with a grin and nudged his phone across the table toward his brother. “Here.”

Cade snatched it up with eager fingers, his curiosity piqued. Nick craned his neck so that he could see too.

“You had this open in class?” Nick asked with a mix of disbelief and amusement.

“Not on purpose!” Ari protested, her cheeks flushing deeper crimson as she stabbed at her salad with her fork.

Cade let out a sound of approval. “Damn, Ari. You’re braver than the Marines,” he teased, shaking his head. “The Sims didn’t look like this the last time I saw it.”

Roxxi, now feeling sympathy for our dear friend, decided to change the topic. “Hey, on a more serious note, did you all check out what was posted on the school forum?”

“Do people actually use that?” Ari asked, jumping on the subject change.

Roxxi took a bite of her brownie and nodded. “Apparently. Someone shared a message about the annual party and this year’s Hunt.”

“I think I heard a few people mention that,” Ashton commented. “There are theories about who’s going to be Marked and what surprises are planned.”

"Surprises?"

“Yeah,” Roxxi responded. “Let’s just say if even one of them is true, it’s going to be crazier than ever. Oh, and it looks like Crowsnest Confessions is coming back too.”

“That’s sure to stir up drama,” I mused with a frown.

People were always bolder online. Combine anonymity with a message board dedicated to spilling secrets, and things were bound to get messy.

Cloe sighed. “As if the Soirée isn’t already going to be a disaster with Nick hosting.”

Ashton chuckled. “What do you have planned, Nick?”

He smirked. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you. Let’s just say I’m glad people are talking.”

“You sure you’re not ‘people,’ Blackwell?” Roxxi questioned, her eyes narrowed on him.

Nick met her stare without flinching, his grin widening. “I’m whoever you need me to be, Vixen.”

She smiled sweetly in return. “Perfect. Then you can send along a message to number 18 for me. You’re close to him, right? He sticks to the left side of the rink, looks like he belongs on the cover of a hockey calendar.”

Nick tapped his fingers on the table like he was actually considering the request. We all knew fully well this wasn’t going to happen, and if it did, it would not be a friendly exchange, but he played along to humor her.

“Kapri Graves,” he confirmed. “I’ll deliver a message.”

She nodded, mock serious. “Your services are appreciated.”

“Such a stellar wingman,” I joked.

“I aim to please.”

I swore I caught a glint in his eye. It passed too quickly for me to be certain I wasn’t imagining things. “What about the other masked person?” I asked Roxxi. “The one from this morning—or the second one? Have you heard anything?”

Across the table, Ryder’s head jerked up from the questionable lasagna he’d been poking at, his eyes suddenly sharp. “What other person?”

Rook was watching me now, too.

Brooke frowned. “I heard about what happened to you guys earlier. You’re saying there was another?”

Technically, there were three or four at this point, but with tension now wrapped around the table, I decided to focus on the most pressing. “No one is talking about it? They were standing by the tree in the east courtyard during my first class. I’m surprised you guys haven’t heard about it yet.”

Cloe wiped her mouth and then tossed her napkin onto her tray. "Honestly, it’s creepy as hell. Even if it is Hunt-related. You said they weren’t wearing the same thing as the person from this morning?"

"No," I confirmed. "Not even close."

“You didn’t see it?” Brooke asked Cloe. “You two share that class, don’t you?”

Cloe shook her head. “They were gone by the time I looked for them, but the people present were definitely running scared.”

Roxxi's lips pursed in disapproval. "I don’t like that. Whoever’s behind this is either trying way too hard to grab attention or they’ve completely skipped all the other steps that come before this part.”

"This could all be the early stuff. It will be officially announced soon, and the start date won’t be too far behind that. People should find out if they’re a target or not before then, right?" Ari asked.

"That’s usually how it works," Xander replied, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Things could be different this year."

Roxxi didn’t look convinced. "Would Crowsfell change a tradition that’s been done the same way for decades?"

Rook opened his mouth to contribute to the conversation, pausing when a girl walking by with her friends slowed her pace.

She flashed a bright smile and gave him a flirty wave, her fingers fluttering in the air.

Layla noticed the exchange immediately. “Was that Sophie Wolfe?”

I took another look at the girl as she continued walking.

She was cute. Light-skinned with a head of blonde curls and a gym-fit, lithe figure, poured into an outfit that left little to the imagination, paired with fluffy Crocs.

My attention wasn’t solely on Sophie, though, but on the girl walking beside her.

Ellie Newton.

Ryder’s first girlfriend. First, in other ways, too.

Seeing her felt like pressing on an old bruise, one I thought had stopped aching years ago.

I turned away and grabbed my bottle of water, trying to maintain a neutral expression.

As I twisted the cap, my eyes drifted across the table, naturally, without thinking.

Ryder wasn’t watching them. He was watching me.

His gaze was steady and unreadable, neither curious nor distracted. I was the first to look away. Whatever he was trying to convey, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to figure it out.

Cade whistled under his breath. “You lucky fuck.”

Rook barely reacted. He gave the barest hint of a smile and went back to eating like he hadn’t been blessed by one of the most gorgeous girls on campus. His silence wasn’t anything new.

Aiden ‘Rook’ Carson didn’t need to say much to command attention. He had the kind of face that stuck with you. Cut jawline, full lips, and warm brown eyes, the color of honey that always seemed to hold more than they let on, with a faint scar beneath one.

Intricate tattoos covered him and wrapped around his throat.

His hair was dark brown and slightly tousled, always effortlessly in place without looking like he tried.

He was savagely loyal, a true ride-or-die since we were kids.

I thought of him as a quiet protector. He was the one who noticed when you needed a second longer to breathe or when your hands trembled too long on a bad day.

He never asked questions you weren’t ready to answer, and he always showed up.

Nick eyed him with a grin. “When did that happen?”

“After she got down and begged for it.”

Roxxi laughed and shook her head. “You are such a menace.”

Arianna and Brooke both shook their heads slowly.

“I hope you’re all aware that casual sex isn’t the same as emotional development,” Cloe commented.

Ashton made a face. “You could’ve worded that way differently.”

I silently agreed, reaching for a soggy fry.

Rook glanced at Cloe with a quiet calculation, like he was registering something and filing it away. Then he went right back to eating.

Xander chuckled. “Why would he? It’s Rook.” He caught my eye, and his grin faded. “Don’t worry too much about this mask stuff, Sanj. We’ll figure it out.”

“You should’ve told me,” Ryder stated, his tone composed yet assertive.

“I tried. You said I looked weird.”

“And what else did I say?”

I hadn't anticipated that question. My heart skipped, my mind racing for the right response. There was no way I was about to repeat our text exchange in front of everyone, especially not with his girlfriend sitting next to him, and Ashton at my side. Brooke’s blue eyes bounced between Ryder and me like she was trying to decipher what was happening.

“She told me, ” Ashton revealed as a way to smooth things over.

Ryder didn’t acknowledge him directly. “That’s new,” he said softly. “Guess I’m not the first to know things anymore.”

He didn’t sound angry. He sounded let down, and that somehow cut deeper.

Roxxi angled her spork like a blade, aiming it directly at his chest. “None of that. Knock it off.”

Ryder looked at her with a practiced half-smile. “You know I’m joking.” His blue-grey eyes drifted back to me. “I know you’d tell me first if something was really wrong, wouldn’t you?”

The tone he used was warm enough, but I knew him too well to buy it. I played along all the same, giving him a manufactured smile to rival the one he was giving me. “Of course, I would.”

Brooke reached over then, fingers trailing along the back of his neck, doing her part to ground him.

I ducked my head and dug into my bag. My fingers closed around my phone just as it buzzed, like it knew I needed an escape.

I was a bit confused to see Layla’s name pop up when we were a chair apart.

I kept my phone close so no one could see what she was saying and opened the text.

Layla

Can you meet me at the library after your last class? Please. I need to talk to you.

My brows pinched together. I was supposed to study with Ryder and Cade later.

Our usual Tuesday session for Quantitative Reasoning, the math course currently stomping me into the ground in Air Force 1s.

Statistics the year prior had nearly ruined me, and this class was its sadistic twin with a cleaner aesthetic and a superiority complex.

Cade had a gift for translating formulas into something I could actually understand, and Ryder had the kind of patience that could’ve healed nations. At least with me.

Usually.

Now, I wasn’t so sure, but I meant every word I’d told him the night before. I missed him. I missed him even right then, while he sat across from me, letting his girlfriend drag her fingers through his hair.

I kept the screen angled away from the table as I typed out a reply.

I’ll meet you as soon as I’m done.

Across the table, Cade was watching me now too, calm but attentive.

He never stepped in unless it was absolutely necessary.

When it came to Ryder and me, he played the role of mediator.

Close enough to supervise, willing to let his brother push me, but never too far.

With the way I was feeling right then, a break would be for the best. Besides, Layla mattered more than formulas ever would.