I follow Honey’s lead and sink into a worn leather armchair across from her.
She exhales. “Sorry about that.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. It was all them. They’re just like the ghouls on Vampire Varsity.”
Honey still looks stressed, but her mouth twitches like she’s close to a smile. “I love that show.”
“Me too.”
She sobers. “I should explain.”
“You don’t have to.” I pause a moment, though, in case she wants to.
“No, it’s fine. I went to a party at the sports dorm last night. I thought the air conditioning would make it chilly, so I wore a light sweater.” She’s rubbing her arms now, an almost unconsciously soothing motion. “I must have drunk too much, or the punch was stronger than I thought, because I ended up in a room with a bunch of those guys and… I got really overheated. One of them suggested I take off my sweater, and I forgot I was only wearing a bra underneath.” Her brows knot again, and she looks at the floor, sad and ashamed.
My body grows cold. My friend was taken advantage of. That’s what this story is going to be about. And it’s not like the storyline from Vampire Varsity season two with the succubus demon. This really happened.
“Somehow, I ended up on Radley’s lap. Sailor came in and got pissed that I was ‘taking her man’ and kicked me out. Probably for the best. I don’t know what those guys would’ve done. And I was too out of it to say no.”
I don’t know what to say. I wrack my brain and finally figure out what I want to know first. “Are you okay?”
She sighs before answering. “I’m okay.”
She’s not okay. Fuck. The back of my throat gets tight. I want to do more than throw cronuts. “Do you think they drugged the punch?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. It was my first college party. That’ll teach me.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” I briefly rest my fingers on her arm. It might be overreaching, but I’ve noticed that touch comforts some people.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for telling me,” I say solemnly. She trusts me. She really is my friend. A real-life human friend, not a carnivorous plant.
She opened up and told me a painful thing. Like a real friend would. I feel a connection with her, and that means a lot. It also means I’ve got her back.
Anyone who hurts my friend is my enemy.
And they will pay.
“Someone should teach them a lesson,” I say, testing the waters. Honey doesn’t know about my supervillain tendencies yet. She seems like a kind, sensitive person, but I’m sure I can convince her to join me on the dark side.
We have cronuts.
“I just want them to leave me alone.”
“They scared you.”
“They’re scary. I can’t believe you stood up to Penn like that.” I shrug. I don’t get scared. I get angry.
Honey blows out a breath. “Karma will get them. It’s summer, so they can pretend they’re kings of the campus. They’re just drunk with power right now. But their reign will end soon.”
“It will?”
“Yes,” Her face grows shadowed with a mixture of the worry and wonder I saw on her face earlier. But then she tilts her head, and the lost expression takes on a touch of malice. “When the fall semester starts and the mafia kids get here, they won’t be the biggest bullies on campus. Not even close.”
2
Bella
