Page 22 of Wylder and the Secret Rockstar
"I had a pass." She brushed grass from her thighs, not looking at him.
"Is that why you decided to scale a wall in the dark?"
"Fine, I overstayed my pass and didn't feel like dealing with Saturday detention our first day back."
"Why'd you overstay the pass?"
She pushed to her feet. "Is that really any of your business?" He wouldn't understand how she hadn't wanted to leave her house, how sitting in that basement was the only thing that had felt right all day. Between finding out Sebastian was her teacher and this stupid music class, she hadn't wanted to be here.
"I should still turn you in."
Wylder rounded on him to find him sitting in the grass. "Here's what will happen if you turn me in. I'll sweet talk the security guard." That was a lie. The night guard at the gate hated her, but Logan didn't need to know that. "Then I'll convince Ms. Jones that it was all your idea. That my brother was in town and you begged to meet him because you're such a fan."
The smirk fell from Logan's face. "I'd never beg to meet Beckett Anderson."
"Ms. Jones doesn't know that. And the kicker... My brother will corroborate my story. If you even consider saying you were in your room, remember your roommate ismyfriend. Are you so sure he'd back you?" Killian wouldn't lie to the principal, but Logan didn't know that.
"You think everyone bows to your whims, don't you?" He stood and brushed off his pants.
"Of course. I know every part of this school, Logan. You're new so I'll explain. They never know what I'm doing. And even if they did, I don't need this place." She didn't need school, not when she didn't plan on even applying to colleges.
When Logan met her gaze, there was no more annoyance or anger in their depths. Instead, a sort of awe. "Who are you?"
She flipped her dreads over one should and turned toward the dorms, her back facing him. As she started to walk away, she left him with three final words. "I'm Wylder Anderson."
By the time she reached her dorm, all the confidence she'd had climbing that wall was gone, leaving only exhaustion in its wake.
Devyn waited in their shared living room, a math book in her lap. When she looked up, Wylder saw the lecture in her eyes.
"Not tonight, Dev. You can tell me what a failure I am for breaking the rules tomorrow." She left her roommate gaping at her as she slipped into the bathroom and dropped her bag on the tile floor.
Glancing in the mirror, she plucked leaves out of her hair and wondered what Logan had seen when he looked at her with such awe. The words she'd said to him rang hollow in her mind.
She didn't have this place as wired as she'd claimed. Instead, Defiance Academy suffocated her.
Now, she had many more English classes with Sebastian on the horizon and music classes with her former flame—music itself. It felt as much like an ex as Sebastian, but hurt so much more.
What she'd had with Sebastian was fun, but what she'd had with music was everything. Once upon a time, it had been the air she breathed, the life-giving sustenance she needed to survive.
Until it became the weight holding her underwater.
And now, it had to be something different, something between love and hate.
Something she wasn't sure she was capable of feeling.
Indifference.
7
"Good morning, everyone." Sebastian charged through the classroom door like a man on a mission. Wylder recognized the glint in his eye. He was excited about something.
"Take your seats." He dropped a heavy stack of papers on Diego's desk. "Pass those around, will you, Diego?" He took his seat and propped his feet up on his desk.
Gone was the epically boring Mr. Cook of the last week. The young, uncertain teacher spouting textbook lectures on classic literature Wylder had never even heard of. In his place was the guy she knew, and he had Wylder leaning forward in her seat, eager for a glimpse of the man she fell in love with over the summer, because the drone that had replaced him bored her to tears.
"My brother informed me the other day that my class is as dry as sawdust, and I have to say I agree with him." Bash gave Logan a familiar grin. "You'll have to forgive me for switching things up on you in the first week, but we're throwing out the old syllabus."
"Excuse me?" Devyn raised her hand.
