One of the guys sees Jackson and starts walking toward him.
“Wait here,” Jackson says, taking off to meet up with the guy.
“We know you did it,” the guy says, his hand clenched like he’s about to throw a punch.
“Like I give a shit about your stupid field,” Jackson says.
“I’m not talking about the field,” the guy says.
“I don’t have fucking time for this.” Jackson goes around him.
The guy grabs his shirt. Jackson whips around, and just as the guy goes to punch him, Jackson grabs the guy’s arm and twists it back.
“Fuck!” the guy yells, cringing in pain. “Let go or I swear I’ll—”
“What?” Jackson leans down to his face. “What are you gonna do? Cry to your dad? Run to the principal? You don’t have power over me, asshole. You never did, and you never will.”
“Korben!” the other guy yells at his friend. “Get the fuck over here.” The guy walks up to him. “We’re not doing this shit again.”
Jackson laughs. “Hear that, Korben? Listen to your friend. Don’t make the same mistake twice.”
The guy grits his teeth, anger practically seething from his pores.
Jackson slowly lets him go and stands up straight, towering over the guy. He smirks at him before going past him out the door.
“Asshole,” the guy mutters, rubbing his arm.
The two guys go back to shopping for phones while I hurry out the door to Jackson’s Range Rover. He’s already in there with the engine running.
“What just happened?” I ask as he drives off.
“Your classmates like accusing people of shit they didn’t do.”
“Classmates? Those guys go to my school?”
“Friends of your cousins.” He turns down a street. “You’re new so they’ll ask you out. Buy you flowers. Expensive gifts. Whatever it takes for you to say yes.” He glances at me. “It’s a competition to see who gets you first.”
“I’m not going out with them. I have a boyfriend. Even if I didn’t, I don’t go out with guys like that.”
“You say that now but just wait.”
“For what?”
“Guys like that have a way of convincing you to do stuff you said you’d never do.”
“Because they have money? My boyfriend doesn’t have money. You really think I’d go out with a guy for his money?”
“It’s not just that. At Twisted Pine, you are who you date. Go out with the right person and life is easy. You’re at the top. You own the school and everyone in it. Or at least that’s what they believe.”
“Is this one of those rules Trystan was talking about?”
Jackson glances at me. “Did he tell you the others?”
“No. What are they?”
“You’ll find out when you get there.”
“I want to know now.”
