Page 99 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
I slid into the chair between Rachel and Mathieu, and for a second, it was… good. Easy.
Mathieu leaned in. “I saved your spot.”
That did things to my heart I wasn’t proud of.
Coop dropped into the seat across from me and gave me a look—part protective big brother, part dude-still-holding-emotional-glue. “You good?”
“For now,” I said. “Maybe until last period.”
Bubba added without looking up, “Try to avoid punching anyone before noon. That’s all I ask.”
I would’ve laughed, except that’s when it happened.
From the table just behind us, I heard it—half-sneeze, half-sneer.
“Achoo… slut.”
I went still.
No one laughed. Not really. Just the kind of breathy, gross chuckles that always follow guys who peak at seventeen and don’t know it yet.
Then came the second hit—louder, this time. Clearer.
“Careful, Frankie. Start charging for it and you could afford better shoes.”
That voice.
Derek. Again.
Same Derek who tried it at the party. Same Derek who apparently hadn’t learned what happened when you mouth off.
I didn’t move yet.
Didn’t have to.
Because out of nowhere—literally nowhere—Jake appeared.
I don’t know where he’d been. Didn’t even know he could move that fast.
All I saw was the moment he launched forward like something inside him had finally snapped.
A chair flew. Someone screamed. Derek barely had time to open his mouth before Jakeplowedinto him, shoulder-first, knocking both of them into the next table. Trays crashed to the floor. Juice cartons exploded.
Gasps rippled through the room.
And then chaos.
“Jake!” Bubba was already up, trying to drag him back by the collar. “Jesus, man—stop!”
Jake didn’t answer. He wasn’t even swinging anymore—just had Derek pinned, teeth gritted, face twisted into something raw and cracked open.
“I told you to shut yourmouthabout her.”
Archie was on his feet. Coop, too. Rachel was already in front of me, shielding like a reflex.
But all I could do was stare.
Jake.
