Nico Vaughan, the junior class "Nice Girl" wants to be free from her abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend.
Valen Henford, the school's resident "Rich Guy meets Bad Boy" wants to spend his senior year with the girl he's been in love with for years.
W...
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"You're a defiant act of creation. You're a whole solar system pretending to be a person." (Elisabeth Hewer).
|◁ II ▷|
I look past Nico when I see another figure coming around the corner behind her.
Hunter.
I make my disdain clear, and I see his eyes widen. He bumps into her, not focused on where he's going anymore. She bumps into me again, and I steady her.
I look back down at Nico and see her wide eyes, some tint of worry behind them. I look back at Hunter and pull her closer to me. She lets me, and my heart patters so hard that I'm afraid she'll hear it.
I hate Hunter. He's spread rumors me and my friends, but he's spread them about Nico and her friend, and that matters more. Hurtful rumors about her. And he dated her for two years, and I hate that, too.
"Uh, hey, man," Hunter smiles, nodding his head back in a relaxed manner. If I didn't see the way he looked at me when he saw me first, I'd think he liked me. "How's it going?" he continues.
I stare at him. I feel Nico move closer, her head so close to my chest. She tilts her head up to look at me, but I keep my glare on Hunter.
Hunter laughs under his breath, shaking his head. "Hey, man, I'm sorry about Nicolina. We were, uh, we were having a small conversation. Got a little heated, you know?"
Hunter reaches for Nico and takes her arm. She revolts back from it like it's molton lava and inadvertently shoves herself into me. My arms act before my brain, responding to her body pressed against mine, and I pull them around her shoulders and back, keeping her in the hug against me.
She doesn't pull away, and I know she can hear how fast my heart is beating in my chest. I glance down at her to see her eyes squeezed shut, a look of tired pain drifting across her features.
She's actually gotten to know me for a day and feels safer in my arms than near him. Anger boils in my blood.
Hunter glares at my arms for a second before his expression morphs back into his usual lazy confidence. "Uh, couples' stuff, man. We've gotta talk."
I scoff loudly, and Hunter's eyes shift infinitesimally angrier. The crease between his eyebrows grows as I retort lowly, "You aren't a couple anymore."
Hunter shakes his head and takes a small step back. "Sorry, dude. I'll, uh, I'll give her some time to cool off."
Hunter sighs dramatically like the child he is and addresses Nico. "Nico, we need to talk at some point. You can't keep avoiding this, and this is a conversation we need to have. I love you, Nicolina, no matter what. I know you still love me. We can figure this out, I promise."
