Page 50 of Seven is Swell

“I was just, uh, helping her with an assignment.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“Right. Well...can I walk you somewhere?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Spencer! Get your ass back here right now or we’re done!” He looks back at Shelly, who is fuming and standing in her doorway once again, robe still heaving open. “Don’t make a mistake, Spencer.”

“Can you hang on a sec while I deal with that?”

“I’m definitely not waiting for you to go talk to your…whatever she is to you. I’m good, I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Good luck.”

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“It doesn’t matter if it is, we’re not in any way involved.”

“Because he wanted to be,” Jackson guesses, taking measure of Spencer. “You hooked him with that kiss of yours, baby.”

“I do have that effect on people.”

“I, uh, saw you at my last home game. Is it cheesy if I say you looked really cute?”

I eye the enraged woman in the doorway and decide to fuck with her a little. I step closer to Spencer and wipe off a bit of sparkly lip gloss from his neck. “New skin treatment you’re trying out?”

He smiles shyly before bringing a hand up to wipe at his neck. “This isn’t helping my case, is it?”

But something seems off between them, he looks wary of her. That’s when I catch a weird, raised rash on the back of his hand, and I instantly grab it to look closer. “Ouch, what happened?”

Spencer immediately pulls his hand back and tucks it into his pocket. “I’m taking a potions class, it didn’t go so well yesterday.”

“Let me know if you need my…help,” I say with a wink.

By this point, Shelly is a terrifying shade of ice bitch as she walks toward us, eyes flicking to the ring I haven’t felt like removing. “Leave some for the rest of us, will you?” She asks before sneering and towing Spencer back to her room.

He does look a bit dejected, but he’s still moving his feet instead of telling her off, so I’m not going to interfere. I wave at least, waiting for him to return it and telling me he’ll see me later, disappearing from sight behind her door.

I listen to them shouting for a minute before erupting in giggles and pulling Jackson back in the other direction, ready to be out of here fast now.

“Huh,” Jackson drawls, stroking his chin. “That was all very strange. How we feeling about that one?” He turns to me, flashing those irresistible gray eyes at me and I have to blink my way out of a minor stupor.

“We’re feeling like he’s a friend, possibly, and that we don’t want to get involved in whatever messy situationship they’ve got going on.” I shiver, retinas slightly burning now because I had to see most of Shelly’s boobs.

“Cool, cool. You want to get out of here then?”

“Please.”

We take a few steps in silence until Jackson says in a repulsed voice, “That was gross,” and shakes his hands out. “I don’t understand how anyone would willingly touch someone that’s so ugly inside.”

“I’m sure it’s her insides they’re benefitting from,” I say and then wince. “Right. Let’s just get to Violet’s and pretend we don’t know what Shelly’s breasts look like.”

“Good plan.”

???

Violet answers almost immediately after I knock, which tells me maybe she’s been anxiously waiting for me to swing by. But then it’s awkward because clearly, we’re both excited at the possibility of a new friend, but neither of us know how to travel that road.

“Sorry. Come in! We were just snacking and hanging out.”

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