I swat his hands away, irritation spiking as I continue staring at the space where Jean-Louis just disappeared. “Looks like I’m on Death’s Teeth’s radar after all.”
36
ELLE
Unsurprisingly,I don’t sleep much that night. When I slog my way to class at eight the next morning, I feel hungover, even though I barely drank at the party itself and definitely didn’t have anything in the caves.
Aurora spent the whole morning giving me major side-eye between the thirteen steps of her skincare routine, but she at least had the sense not to pry too much.
My stomach rolls as I take my usual spot in the front next to Meg, whose dark brows arch as she takes me in. “Jesus. How much did you guys drink last night?”
I lay my head on the small desk connected to the chair. “Let’s not talk about it.”
“Fine, fine.” She sits back in her chair. “Prepare yourself though. Essays are being returned.”
Groaning, I peek at mine as Sabrina sets it face down on my desk, expertly avoiding eye contact. I wonder how she’s feeling and what she’s thinking, but I don’t ask. Not here, not yet.
“A C’s not the end of the world,” Percy says, leaning over to look at the big letter circled on the page.
“Hey, quit being nosy.” I shove him back, flipping the paper over.
“That’d be like asking me to stop breathing,” he says, shaking his head. “But you don’t have anything to be ashamed of. Dupont’s a tough grader, and it’s not a failing grade. Ace the two big assignments we have left, and you’ll be fine.”
It’s a little unnerving how easily Percy’s managed to file last night away as if everything that happened was totally normal. I wonder how much he had to drink and if maybe the hangover is diluting the gravity of the situation.
Not that he reallysawanything, but still.
“And one of those is the play,” Meg adds, stuffing her A-plus into her bag. “Which you’ll obviously nail.”
If I’d thought my relationship with Sutton was going to have any bearing over my class performance, clearly I was wrong. Not that I’d want him to be unfair,I guess, but still.
Is he still angry about last night?Surely, this isn’t a form of punishment.
“What’d you get, Lex?” I ask, leaning my head on the back of my seat.
“B-minus.” He twirls a pencil between two fingers, not looking up. His attitude, dark and gloomy in contrast to Percy, feels more appropriate. “Seems like your boyfriend doesn’t care for perfect prose or solid arguments that much.”
Everyone looks at me, and I blanch.
“My…” I trail off, alarm swarming my insides. Sutton’s all the way across the aisle, talking to a student who requested additional feedback on their essay, but his warmth is like a beacon to me—I can sense him wherever he’s at in the room as if he’s standing at my side.
I wonder if Lexington senses that too.
Or if he knows more about what happened last night than he’s letting on. Hedidknow that was Jean-Louis after all.
“Relax,” he says, rolling his blue eyes so they’re finally meeting mine. “It was a joke, Anderson. You’ve got to lighten up.”
“Yeah,” Percy chimes in, slinging his arm around Lexington’s shoulders and giving him a shake. “You really do.”
Tension threads through the air anyway, weaving between us as if we’re back in those caves again.
“Come to think of it,” Meg says, tapping her chin with a purple fingernail, “you’re all acting kind of cagey. Did something happen you’re not telling me about?”
The three of us exchange a look.
“No one’s wound up dead this semester that we know of,” Lexington answers. “So you can’t accuse us of anything.”
Meg’s brows lift, and she glances between us slowly, narrowing her gaze. “I was thinking more along the lines of you three hooking up and then realizing it was a terrible decision. Or maybe that you and Percy were bad at it.”
