Page 4 of Uppercut Princess

My voice makes Oscar tilt his head. “Hello what?” His eyes almost twinkle. I swear he’s getting off on this.

The richness in his voice makes me squeeze my legs together. For fuck’s sake. I need to get a hold of myself.I’mgetting off on this shit. “Um, excuse me?”

Oscar snickers and kicks off the locker before stepping forward. Whoever has my neck in a vice loosens his hold and backs away until it’s just Oscar and I face-to-face.

I smile tentatively. “I’m Kyla.”

His lips turn up. “You think I give a fuck?” He moves around me, staring me up and down while walking around me in a wide circle. We’ve attracted a crowd now. As much as I’d love to demolish these guys, I keep my mouth shut and my arms pinned to my sides. When he moves around to face me again, he shakes his head. “You’re not giving us anything, are you?” His stare drags down my oversized t-shirt, which is cleverly hiding my body away from everyone. I’m pretty much dressed the exact opposite of every other female in this school. On purpose.

I pretend I don’t know what he’s talking about. The truth is, if I came in here dressed like everyone else, I’d be on their radar for the wrong reasons. I’m going to be on their radar, sure, but by my doing.

I try to walk away, but the same guy from before grips my neck again, forcing me to stay in place. My face reddens, and I let the heat crawl all over me until my skin is hot and itchy.

A throaty laugh rips from Oscar. “I give her two days.”

The guy behind me, most likely someone trying to get into the Heights Crew since he’s acting like Oscar’s little bitch instead of standing next to him, roars. Somehow, the sound is more infuriating than Oscar’s guess at how long I’ll last here in the Heights.

“We’ll let the girls deal with her,” Oscar says, nodding at me. “She’s not worth our time.”

The grip on my neck loosens for a fraction of a second before I’m pushed to the side. I stumble, catching myself on the intersecting hallway wall. I look over my shoulder at the douche who keeps manhandling me, solidifying his face in my memory, so I can kick his ass when I get the chance. Hmm. He has a lip ring. That could be fun.

And no, not to kiss. To tear it the fuck out. Men don’t need to be handling women that way, especially to pretend like they’re fucking cool.

Afterward, I focus on Oscar. He’s eyeing me still, but nothing in his face gives away what he’s thinking. I guess we’re both good like that. From what I’ve already gathered about Oscar, he’ll pretty much do whatever it takes to make his life better. Including succumbing to the whims of the Heights Crew for protection.

Throughout the day, the insults get worse. It hasn’t taken long for word to spread that it’s open season on me. Guys sit back, watching the girls try to tear me to shreds on my very first day. Some get physical. Some just use their words. The only respite I get is while I’m in class, but even then, it depends on the teacher. Some teachers don’t have control of their classrooms at all. It’s anarchy in English. People come and go as they want, and not one time in any of my classes do any of the teachers ask who I am.

I’m getting the impression no one gives a shit about these guys, not even themselves.

At the end of the day, I try my locker again. I haven’t been able to get the fucking thing open all day, which isn’t going to work for me. I need some place to store my shit, maybe hide something contraband in case I need it. After the fifth time trying to open it, I groan.Fuck me.I look around, only to find Oscar walking down the intersecting hallway. He’s got one of the other Crew members next to him: Brawler.

I blink at him. He’s bigger up close. With a name like Brawler, he had to be chiseled and muscled in all the right places, but within twenty yards, he’s a sight to behold. I won’t ever deny what fighter’s physiques do to me. I’ve spent my fair time in gyms across this state, and I’ve seen some banging bodies. This guy? He’s right up there at the top.

A split second of warning is all I get before my head slams into my broken locker. I grunt, bringing my hands up to prevent another go. When I realize it isn’t coming, I turn to find one of the crew cunts smiling at me. Girls aren’t usually let into gangs like the Heights Crew, but I know this type of chick. She hangs on the guys, mostly for protection. She throws her weight around like she means something to them, but she doesn’t, only a lukewarm hole to stick their dick into when they want it. The only chicks who make it into the Crew are either as badass as the guys, legacy, or girls who are going to end up tied to a member for life. Traditionally, we’d call that husband and wife, but for the Crew? It’s more than that. You can’t just divorce the Crew if you want out.

This girl wants in. Bad. She smirks down the hallway at Oscar and Brawler when they stop to look back at us. The flow of the other students moves around them. Now that she has their attention, she returns her stare to me. “I guess you are a princess, huh?”

My jaw locks. I now have a raging fucking headache. I knew I wasn’t going to get out of today unscathed, but fuck. I have to remind myself that it’s all part of my plan. I reach up, feeling the bruised skin that’s already forming a welt above my eyebrow. “What was that for?”

The girl laughs, cocking her head back. She has huge hoop earrings in, which is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. She has to know the second she gets into a fight, someone’s going to rip those out of her fucking ear. She must be under more protection than I thought. “Bat says you won’t last two days.” She steps in closer. “I’m making sure that happens.”

I sneak a peek behind her to find Oscar, a.k.a. Bat, and Brawler openly watching us still. They don’t move to the side of the hallway or try to hide what they’re doing, they just stare. Because they’re looking our way, everyone else does too.

Moving to look back at the desperate girl, I raise my eyebrows at her. I take a quick look, scanning down her body, trying to figure out how much of a problem she’s going to be. With the way she keeps checking over her shoulder, it’s apparent she’s all bark and no bite. She just wants to put on a show.

Well, so do I. I step back against my locker, holding my book bag to myself again. I keep my hand on the lump forming on my forehead. I’ve had far worse injuries, but they don’t need to know that. “This has been the shittiest day,” I groan.

The girl in front of me looks over, eyes gleaming. “It’s only going to get worse from here.”

“Why?” I ask, pretending like I can barely even meet her eyes.

“Because you’re in Rawley Heights now, Princess.” She gives me a dismissive look. “We don’t fuck around.”

2

The first thing I need to do when I sneak my way into the Heights Crew is get rid of the fucking name Princess.

The asshole who thought that up deserves a fucking nut kick.

---