He grinned down to see Madeline watching him coyly, a smile teasing at those pouty, plush lips. Logan lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders, careful not to spill his still-full drink as he transferred it to his other hand. He had to hold it up a bit to keep it from getting knocked into by the other partiers, but —
At the very same moment, the old cry went up from somewhere in the crowd that sent Logan's heart plummeting right into his sneakers.
"WET WALLY!" someone shouted from near the front door, and instantly, Logan's awareness jumped to the corner where he'd last seen Wally standing. He caught sight of Wally's face just in time to see it pale, to catch an expression Logan had never really paid enough attention to witness before:
Fear
As one, at least half a dozen of the frat guys all swarmed towards their prey. More appeared at the doorways, trying to shoulder their way through. Wally turned, fleeing, looking for an exit.
Oh no
Logan saw the exact moment Wally spotted the back door near where Logan stood; nearly falling over the couch as he wove and dodged through the crowded room to escape his pursuers.
"Get him!" one of the frat brothers yelled, laughing; Trevor's face contorted into a rictus of spiteful glee.
Is that what I used to look like?was all Logan had time to spare before Wally was barreling right into him. His lighter, untrained frame bounced off the football player's chest as if Logan were a brick wall. Wally twisted, still aiming for the safety that lay beyond the door, but —
But not in time to dodge the contents of the very full cup Logan clutched in his outstretched hand.
Logan watched in horror as the neon-colored drink spilled all over Wally's head and down his shirt. The look of fury and hatred that erupted on Wally's face stabbed into Logan's chest in a way it'd never done before, but he was turning, already out the door and gone before Logan recovered enough to actuallydoanything.
"Logan!" Madeline said sharply from his other side. "What thehell?"
"Niiiice! You got him," Ashton crowed, sliding up just as the back door slammed behind the retreating Wally.
"Wait, youplannedthis?" Madeline demanded as she stepped out from under Logan's arm, her fist thumping against his shoulder. "Don't pick on him. Oz is in my chemistry lab. He's a sweet guy!"
"Oh, he'ssweet, alright." Ashton snickered. "A regular little creampuff."
"Ugh. I don't have time for assholes," Madeline spat, her tone disgusted. "Grow up, Logan. We arethrough."
Logan didn't bother arguing he hadn't been aware there was anything to be throughwith;too focused on grabbing the smirking Ashton by the collar of his shirt and yanking him close.
"This game endsnow," Logan growled. "Or I'm dragging Wally in front of the Panhellenic Council to register a complaint about how you're treating him."
But Ashton only laughed. "Dude. You mean, howwe'retreating him. What makes you think they wouldn't find you guilty, too?"
Oh God.Ice water slid down Logan's spine.They would, wouldn't they?
"Not like we can just come out and tell him he's not Minotaur House material, y'know? Gotta make him leave on his own."
"Whatever you're doing? Keep it up. Oh, and that 'Wet Wally' game of yours has been a huge help, too, by the way. Couple more rounds and I think he's a gonner…"
One more incident, Coach had warned. One more missed paper, one more slipped grade, one more screwup, one more prank. One final chance to 'clean up his mess' as Coach Rankin had put it, or Logan was O-U-Tout.
"Your entire future depends on it," Coach Rankin had said
Logan had to fix this.
Fast.
Chapter 6
Lessons in Humility
Logan's stomach twisted as he stood outside the door to his own room, still struggling to work out what to say to his roommate inside. He'd spent the entire drive here trying to come up with something, but nothing sounded right.
Those after-school specials didn't exactly cover this scenario
