The Key to my HeART

03 Invasion

H A R P E R

"No frickin' way!" Lexi screamed as we walked from her house to school.

Tyler and Lexi sandwiched me. I needed them now more than ever. Now that the Max Invasion had officially touched down and allied himself with Josh no less.

"Yes. Max Draven will be living with us for the foreseeable future." I rubbed my temples. I had barely slept. Around three in the morning I had gone back for more Fortress Siege, sad, but not surprised, that Grelvene was not online. I could have used the distraction of one of our raids.

"This is just so...so...PERFECT!" Lexi's sudden enthusiasm was too much this morning. And it was confusing.

"Perfect? Weren't you plotting his untimely demise yesterday?" Tyler said over my head.

"Yeah, this situation is far from perfect. I have to share a wall with Max Draven. You don't think he'll sneak girls home do you?"

"Let him!" Lexi waved her arms over her head. "If he does, your parents are sure to kick him out. But this whole thing is perfect because you can find out his weaknesses and exploit them. All those times he made fun of us. All those times he walked around like he owned the school? We can bring him down."

"His weakness is college girls," Tyler said. I looked over to see him rolling his eyes. "Let's not exploit some poor girl in an attempt to destroy him."

"He's a jerk and this is war. There will be some causalities." Lexi pounded her fist into her palm.

"We're not bringing anyone else into this," I said. "Not Josh. Not any girl Max may or may not try to sneak into my house."

Max had a reputation. He drove up to Albany to pick up girls at the universities there. Apparently he'd exhausted his supply from the community colleges around us. Tyler had heard plenty of stories in the locker room, some directly from Max, about his weekend conquests. Some second or third hand from others who had listened to Max. Max looked down on half the student population because no one lived up to his standards of what cool should be, or some ridiculous thing like that.

Lexi's unbridled confidence and big mouth often caused her to butt heads with Max. It caused me to as well, but I wouldn't call it war. Whenever Max made snide remarks about us, I brushed it off. We'd be gone soon and even though our moms were friends, I wouldn't have to see Max every day once we graduated. What did I care if he thought I was a loser? I wasn't the one who would peak in high school.

I just wish Lexi saw things the same way.

"I don't want to destroy Max," I said. "I want to ignore him and be ignored."

"You always think so small," Lexi said.

We walked into the student parking lot. Max's silver Jetta was already parked. His little "fan club" talked with him. Max was hot, I would give him that. Krystal Bennett, Jessica Miller, and Bethany Summers liked to flirt and chat him up. I couldn't figure out why. They knew he only went for older girls but to each their own. If they wanted to follow him around like an entourage, that was their business. Unfortunately, I had to walk by this little flirty gathering to get into the school.

"And here's Her Highness now," Max drawled. He leaned against the trunk of his car. "Do you just like the fresh air?" He looked at Lexi. "Or should I say, the hot air?"

"You're a real poet." I rolled my eyes and kept walking.

Krystal separated herself from the group and came to walk with me. Lexi gave her a stink face.

"Don't look at me like that, Bronson," Krystal said. "You can keep your little feud with Max to yourself. I came to ask Harper some questions."

Internally I groaned. I knew eventually some girl with a crush on Max would come to me. I just didn't think it would be this soon.