Blair

During my first class, I keep my wits about me, only looking up as the teacher goes through the slides. Lucky for me, being the first day of school, no one notices that I’m the new new girl. It’s a big enough student population that I don’t think any of them really pay much attention to me, anyway. There are a few snickers when I wander around the hallway trying to find my second class, but it doesn’t bother me. It’s going to take a lot more than that to break me. If the students here think I’m an easy kill, I prove them wrong with every glare I send back in their direction.

I didn’t endure the worst nine months of my life for nothing—I was hardened now, safe from ridicule. These were kids, and I knew now that high school drama was nothing compared to the monstrous things adults were capable of.

Even though it’s early September, the weather has turned cool, with mist and fog clinging to the brick buildings even though it’s after ten in the morning. In a way, the fog is comforting, since my hometown is known for the beautiful fog. I stumble into one of the other buildings, tripping over the ledge of the door and catching myself before I fall face first onto the floor.

“Woah, there,” Scarlett chirps, and I breathe a sigh of relief. She helps steady me. “Sorry, we tried texting you,” she says quickly, and Jack comes up behind her. “We were going to show you to your second class.”

“Thank you,” I say, smiling as I pull my phone out of my backpack. “It’s nice to know someone has my back. Literally.”

“A lot of the kids here can be dicks. We’re just trying to do our part,” she replies.

Before I can respond, Jack grabs both of our hands. “Fuck. Here they come.”

I look up, and it’s as if the cluster of students normally crowding the halls has parted like the Red Sea. Four guys walk slowly down the hall, and everyone goes quiet. 

Of fucking course Hunter is one of them. 

“The Kings,” Jack whispers into my ear.

I shift my weight to my other hip. “Kings?”

Scarlett sighs, whispering. “The Kings of Ravenwood. The headmaster’s son and his three cronies.” I glance over at the four guys. The hallway is silent now, and I have to try not to roll my eyes. “There are four names you need to remember: Hunter Ravenwood, Ash Greythorn, Ledger Huxley, and Samson Hall. The four Kings,” she adds.

I chortle. “What’s wrong with them?” I hitch my backpack and take a step to walk away.

“Everything,” Jack whispers frantically. 

I freeze. When I look around, everyone is looking down or away, averting their gaze like this is some animal kingdom bullshit.

I hold my place at the other end of the hallway, but Scarlett pulls me closer to her to make room for them to pass. The other students don’t seem scared, per se—just aware of them. I study them, my eyes landing on Hunter first.

He’s wearing the requisite uniform. Navy slacks, white collared shirt... except instead of a green blazer, he’s wearing a fitted leather jacket with ribbed arms. It accentuates the muscles that somehow still poke through the thick material. His dark eyes find mine immediately, and something passes over his face—something dark and amused—as he, too, recognizes me. 

I swallow and flit my eyes to the next guy. He’s just as tall as Hunter, but leaner somehow, with short black hair and ice blue eyes. Stunning yet cunning. The uniform is perfectly fitted to his toned body, blazer and all. He’s glaring at everyone he passes, throwing intimidating glances like he owns the place. A girl accidentally brushes against his arm, and he turns to face her while everyone quiets further, waiting for him to speak.

“Sorry,” she squeaks out, backing up until she’s against the metal lockers.

He just watches her and gives her a lecherous smile before slipping his tongue between his two fingers in a vulgar gesture.

Prick.

As they keep walking, I study the third guy. Long-ish blonde hair, edgier than the others, with tattoos peeking through the collar of his slightly unbuttoned shirt. He glares at everyone, an athletic jacket in his arms. As he walks, I see a flash of metal in his mouth. He’s the only one not smiling and seems genuinely dissatisfied to be here. Interesting.

The fourth guy is different. Dark hair, fair skin, with glasses that perfectly frame his beautiful face. He doesn’t seem as brutal as the others—like he’s softer, somehow—or maybe it’s because he’s the only one not brooding. He’s carrying a stack of books. When his eyes find mine, he stares at me for a beat and nudges the blonde guy. Fuck. They’re both staring at me now, and Scarlett tugs me closer to her protectively—which causes my phone to clatter to the ground.

Before I have a chance to grab it and slide back into anonymity, Hunter squats down and hands it to me, the other three guys behind him. I take it from him, but I don’t back up. They may have a bad rap, but I’m not afraid of them. The four of them falter slightly when they see me staring them down, and a few people whisper excitedly.

“Briar,” he says, his voice like velvet.

“Hunter,” I answer, tucking my phone in my backpack.

I’m just about to let him by when he takes a step forward, reaches out, and plucks a stray hair from my sweater—studying it for a moment before discarding it. Cocking his head, he doesn’t move away—giving my body a slow sweep with his brown eyes. When they reach mine again, there’s nothing nice in his expression. I swallow, and my heart races in my chest. He takes another intimidating step forward, and Jack gasps from behind me. I’m about to back up, but he grabs my shirt and tugs me impossibly close. Being this close to a guy, him touching me without my consent—

My head roars as I reach up and shove him backward. Just enough to show him that he can’t touch me, can’t do shit like that to me. He doesn’t expect that because he stumbles backward ever so slightly. He narrows his eyes at the same time his lips quirk upwards, like this is a game.

“Don’t touch me,” I hiss.

He smiles and tilts his head, a piece of dark, curly hair falling in front of his face.

“What’s wrong, sister?” The way he enunciates sister, the way it cuts through me like ice, taunting me… he’s not going to make this easy, is he?

Scarlett audibly gasps. “Sister?!”

Rage fills me then, and I ignore the shocked squeaks from the other students. Heat flares across my skin, and my cheeks tingle.

“Screw you,” I hiss, pushing past him. Scarlett and Jack follow me, and with flaming cheeks, I walk to my next class with them at my heels, ignoring the stares of every single student who witnessed our new sibling dynamic.

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