Page 27 of Defiant
Hah. As if I’d ever let that happen, but the insult hit the bullseye; I could tell by the way her jaw clenched and a vein popped out in her forehead. Brittany wasn’t so pretty when she looked like she wanted to scream.
“I am going to drag your ass through the mud and back,” she growled out.
I probably should’ve taken her threat seriously, but all I could do was smile and say, “I’m looking forward to seeing you try.”
Brittany let me get the last word, but before storming off with her two-friend posse, she shot me a smile that caused ice to grow in my veins. A smile like that was devious and sly, evil to the core. How could a senior in high school have mastered that look?
Honestly, I didn’t care what Brittany would try to do. I’d handle it.
When I was alone in the hall, when Brittany and her crew disappeared from my sight, I sighed and turned the corner, heading into the cafeteria. Vaughn was already at our table, staring down at his tray like the food the kitchen staff served him today had suddenly sprouted legs and started crawling away.
I didn’t know why he even bothered buying food every day. It wasn’t like I ever saw him eat it. He mostly just played with it, moving it around the plastic tray with his spork.
Sitting down across from him, I gave him a smile. “Well, I just had a run-in with my favorite blonde.”
That got Vaughn’s attention immediately, and he dropped his spork, the knuckle labeled with the word pain flexing into a fist, as if he was going to find her and beat her up for me. A bit of an overreaction, considering I hadn’t even told him what was said, yet.
Still, it was weird, because ever since I’d accepted his help, it was like Vaughn viewed everything that happened to me as a personal affront, like he’d adopted my bullies as his own. For someone who seemed so emotionless most of the time, it was kind of nice to know he actually had a personality in there.
Plus, he wasn’t too bad to look at, especially when he was a little upset on my behalf.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” he said.
Right. I’d gotten sidetracked by his looks—not the first time that had happened, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, either. Even though his family was involved in some shady shit, even though Jacob pretty much told me I should stay away from anyone with the last name of Scott, I couldn’t help but swoon at the dark-haired, tattooed boy across from me.
I might like him. A little.
Just a bit, but no more than that. We all knew what happened the last time I’d started to like a guy a lot.
My shoulders went up and down once as I shrugged. “I mean, nothing huge. She just threatened me. I might’ve egged her on some, but—” I paused when I heard Vaughn groan, as if he couldn’t believe my audacity. “What? I couldn’t just stand there and listen to whatever bullshit she was going to say.”
Vaughn stared at me with eyes black as night. His normally expressionless face morphed into a frown, but the dour look didn’t give me pause. If anything, it only caused an intense warming in my lower regions. Those lips had felt amazingly good on mine. I could go for some tension relief soon…
No. That would only make things more complicated.
“I’m not surprised,” he said.
I dug into my lunch, pulling out my cheesy crackers. “So, find out anything yet?” To say I was eager would be the year’s biggest understatement. To say I was a hypocrite for using his family’s connections while also having Jacob investigate them was one hundred percent true.
Hey, I wasn’t perfect. I never claimed to be.
“Not yet. These things take time.”
I sighed. Yeah, I kind of figured that, but I was hoping, by some miracle of miracles, he would’ve had something concrete already. I was okay with waiting, but at the same time, I felt antsy about it, like the more time that passed was more time wasted.
“You have enough on your plate today, anyway,” Vaughn said.
I’d told him about my hatred for choir, how I couldn’t seem to learn any of the songs, regardless of how much time I spent staring at the sheet music. I wasn’t proud of how illiterate I was when it came to music, nor was I exactly thrilled to share with the world my awful, unharmonious voice.
“I really do wish I would’ve dropped choir when I could,” I muttered. “The concert is in less than two weeks now, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so behind on something.” It wasn’t like I got stellar grades in all my other classes, but choir…that one I’d be lucky to pass with a C, I think. Ms. Haber did individual tests, alone in her office, along with group tests on songs we were currently learning. Hadn’t been subjected to one of those tests yet, but it would happen eventually.
Needless to say, I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“If you don’t want to take choir, don’t.”
My eyes met with his dark stare. “It’s too late to drop the class, and then I wouldn’t have any excuse to give my mom when I’m late coming home.”
Vaughn picked up his spork again, no longer looking like he wanted to strangle Brittany. He began to toy with his food, as usual, though he kept shooting quick glances at me. After our encounter in the bathroom, it was like he’d taken a step back—probably a good thing, because at the rate I was going here, I’d sleep with him and make him an enemy, somehow. “You mean you don’t head straight home after school? What are you doing instead—meeting with that private investigator?”
