And through everything, I want to tell them that Jace is acting like a total asshole right now. That I have somehow foolishly, recklessly fallen in love with him. That he is actually really incredibly great at … sex. Like unbelievably great. The kind ofgreat that makes you forget your own name and question every life choice that didn’t lead you to his bed sooner.
I want to tell them that he held me every night while I waited for a stupid phone call to tell me my fate, and that he looks at me sometimes like I am the only thing that matters in his world.
But I know I can’t. Not when they hate him so much. Not when Aubrey still looks at him like he’s something she scraped off the bottom of her shoe. Not when telling them would require choosing between the boy I love and my friends I need. So I smile, nod, and act like everything’s okay. Just as Jace taught me.
As we walk down the hallway together, something else becomes clear.
People are watching Aubrey. People step out of our way as if we are royalty passing through. A group of juniors walks by, all eyes on her, and one of them almost stumbles over her own feet to say, “Hi, Aubrey.”
Aubrey offers a tight smile and a small wave.
Students move aside when she walks past. Conversations stop mid-sentence. A few people even lower their voices as we approach, like they are afraid she might hear whatever gossip they are spreading.
“What is going on?” I ask, glancing between my friends.
Sam grins. “Oh, you missed the coronation.”
“The what?”
“Since Aubrey took down Tia,” Sam says, gesturing dramatically at Aubrey, “she’s basically the new queen bee. Except, you know, without the actual bees. Or the crown. Or any desire whatsoever to be queen of anything.”
Noah chuckles under his breath.
I turn my head to Aubrey and smirk.
Her mouth tightens slightly.
“Don’t say anything. I fucking hate this,” she mutters under her breath.
“What?” I ask, still grinning.
She gestures vaguely at the hallway, the stares and the way people part around us like the Red Sea. “This.”
Reece snorts from behind us. “What? Being feared?”
“I don’t want people afraid of me,” Aubrey says. “Or thinking I’m some kind of... I don’t know, untouchable ice queen or whatever.”
Sam rolls her eyes. “Too late for that, babe. You’re the one who publicly dethroned the tyrant. You can’t just slay the dragon and expect people not to treat you like a hero.”
“Or the new dragon,” Noah adds helpfully.
Aubrey groans softly, rubbing her temple. “I wanted her to stop being a bitch and stop treating everyone like shit. I didn’t sign up for... this.”
For a moment, everything is almost normal again between us. Well, almost. But beneath it all, something keeps tugging at the edge of my thoughts.
Jace.
I glance down the hallway without meaning to. He is nowhere to be seen, which somehow irritates me even more.
“Come on,” Aubrey says, linking her arm through mine. “Let’s get you caught up before first period.”
We stop at my locker, and I spin the combination as Sam rattles off everything I missed. Apparently, there was a pop quiz that everyone failed. Mr. Henderson assigned a group project in chemistry that no one wants to do. And someone started a rumor that Principal Dawson is having an affair with the gym teacher, which is both ridiculous and strangely believable.
I grab my books, shove them into my tote bag, and we head to first period together.
The rest of the morning drags by with lectures and notes. Teachers give me sympathetic looks when I walk into class. I try to focus. Try to care about the symbolism in The Great Gatsby or the quadratic formula or whatever else is being discussed. But my mind keeps drifting back to Jace and how he walked away from me this morning without even looking back.
By the time third period ends, I am wound tight with frustration.
