Page 15 of The Devils They Are

He stops in his tracks, looking around until he spots me. "Hey!" he greets. "What are you wearing?" he laughs, but it's not the same tone as Rylan. It's amusement, sure, but more like he understands the ridiculousness of this situation and the sacrifices we are making just to receive an education.

"Former cheerleader shorts that are burning my groin and a shirt that has a stain I'm trying to ignore," I reply, stopping in front of him. "Someone stole my bag."

"What?" he yells, startling a few students passing by. "When?"

I jerk my finger back toward the door I just came through. "Gym. Help me look for a bunch of vapid bitches? You can’t miss them–cheerleaders," I finish, giving my poor attempt at spirit fingers.

He nods, digging into his shorts for his cell. "I'll ask Abby as well. A few of our girls were going to try to meet up with them this week to ask about potential open spots, just to train and keep up their routines."

"Doubt this bunch will be welcoming to the idea," I reply as he clicks away on the screen.

"Agreed," he mutters. "But it doesn't hurt to ask, I guess."

I smile, knowing he's only saying that because of Abby. Deep down, he knows just as well as I do that the attempts will be futile, but it's cute that he wants to remain hopeful for his girl.

When his cell dings, we both glance down at the screen to find a message from Abby.

Abbs:I think they are in the courtyard. I heard there's a cheer performance today.

"Well, there's your answer," Arch murmurs, quickly typing back a reply before shoving the cell into his pocket. "I'll come with you."

The two of us head through the white maze of Willowbrook, navigating the crowd of students and long hallways until we reach a set of open doors. Through them, the courtyard is bustling with students, and when Archie and I step out, I take my first good look around since I didn't get to this section yesterday.

It's a perfect square in the middle of the main building, high glass windows lining the four sides. Students walk past on the other side of the glass, occasionally stealing glances to those outside as they head to their destinations.

Toward the other end of the large courtyard, there's a fountain—an actual working water fountain. Its tarnished bronze metal is shaped into a wolf, water spurting out of its mouth like sound waves as it stands frozen mid-growl.

Strategically placed benches are spaced out along the sides, people sitting and chatting casually, while others lounge on picnic blankets on the grass.

My eyes continue to scan until I find what I’m looking for. Under a large shady tree, the cheerleaders are laughing to themselves.

Arch follows me as I take off across the courtyard, but my gaze is locked and loaded on the laughing brunette as she flicks her hair dramatically, talking to her friends.

As I approach, I finally take a good look at their uniforms. The two-piece outfit perfectly matches the academy colors–a black dual-layered skirt with thick pleated white strips while their tops are white with a black waistband, the wordWolveswritten across the chest. Well, let’s see if wolves are afraid of wildcats.

The group falls quiet as we approach, drawing Liv's attention. Her laughing face turns into a look of disgust when she spots me.

"What do you want?"

"Where's my bag?"

"How would I know?" she shoots back, but the smug smile on her face tells me that she knowsexactlywhere it is.

I step forward, keeping my eyes trained on her. "I'm only going to ask youone… more… time," I warn. "Where is my backpack?"

Liv laughs, the shrill sound taking place with Rylan's voice on my list of most annoying noises. "Oh, yeah? What are you going to do?"

"Do you like your acrylics?" I ask sternly.

Her face darkens at the threat, hands dropping to her sides. "Fuck off.”

"Right," I mutter, lurching forward and placing her straight into a choke hold. Dragging her body back, I check Arch from the corner of my eye. He does exactly what I hope—placing himself between us and the group of cheerleaders. This isn't their fight.

"Get off me!" Liv shrieks, clawing at my skin.

Pain shoots through my arm but I tighten my grip, pushing my forearm harder into her throat. She starts coughing, and a sharp pain in my arm means that there's blood dripping down from scratch marks, but that just spurs me on.

People are watching us grapple now, the cheerleaders screaming while a few brave ones try to get past Arch who blocks them with his body. Well, shit—I hope this doesn't ruin Abby's chances of fraternizing with the enemy. Not that they deserve her. They would be lucky to have any of our girls on their team—even temporarily.

---