Kill of the Night [BXB]

Chapter 5

 I see Rion in the hallway just after the lunch bell. He comes out of nowhere, shadowed by a dozen varsity jacketed-jocks as usual, and the crowd parts like he's Moses. I, being an idiot, have my eyes locked to my phone, so when our shoulders collide, I fall straight to my ass.

My phone goes flying. My heart leaps into my throat. I snatch it out of the air, but it slips out of my hand and falls to the floor. I pick it up and examine the screen. Thankfully, it appears perfectly functional, albeit one corner seems slightly messed up.

Someone coughs in the distance. I look up, short-circuiting at the sight of Rion standing above me. I realize that the hall is dead silent, looking between me and Rion.

"Uh... sorry?"

His eyes narrow. I wonder what he wants me to say to appease him, and then I realize that I probably broke some cardinal rule and it won't matter what I say. My jaw is wired shut anyway, and I'm way too embarrassed at all the attention around me to do anything but stare up like the stupid fucking idiot I am.

Rion rolls his eyes and trudges off. The football team follows him like ducklings, filling up the entire hallway with the stench of unwashed socks and bad deodorant. A few manage to bodycheck the flimsiest-looking kids they can find into the lockers and call out sarcastic apologies. Thankfully, I see my own terrorizers nowhere in sight, so I wait for the crowd to get going before following them into the cafeteria. I scuttle to the art table, head down, and sit in my usual spot beside Tao.

"Hi, Dare," he greets. "Green or blue?"

"Blue."

"Light or dark?"
"Light. Pastel."

He nods enthusiastically and digs around in his overstuffed pencil case. "That's different, I like it."

Across my table, Dominic slides into the seat with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?" he asks me.

"Huh? I mean, I'm fine."

"You sure? You drew a lot of attention back there."

"I'll live."

"Okay. If one of them ever messes with you, I'll get them off your back. Seriously."

I nod, grateful. Beside him, Yara taps his arm, bringing him into a conversation.

"What's he talking about?" Tao asks, his head inches away from his drawing.

"Just something that happened in the hall."

He perks up and looks at me. "Spill?"

"I accidentally walked into Rion. He already hates me, but I think he hates me more."

Tao winces. "I'm surprised you made it without one of his cronies hooking you in the face when his back is turned."

I sigh. "Yeah."

"By the way, do—"

A tremendous bang ricochets through the large room. I spot movement by the doors and, lo and behold, Rion's girlfriend stands with her arms wide open. I wonder if she's unintentionally really strong or just attention seeking. She strides across the cafeteria, heading straight past me with a gust of glittery eyeshadow and strong perfume, heading straight for the football table. I crane my head to watch her, too interested to care if I get spot ogling. Everyone else is doing it too, so I'm just another face in the crowd. Jessie stomps right up to Rion, who's sitting at the end of the table facing me, and slaps him in the face. He doesn't move an inch, looking up at her with a dark look in his eyes. His table silences.

"Holy shit," Tao whispers.

Jessie turns and storms off in the direction she came from. I spot Rion stand so abruptly that the table rattles. He takes large strides to catch up with her. She tries to slam the door in his face, but it's too slow, and he slips out just in time. I see his head in the narrow pane of glass. They must be talking.