Sullivan Siblings

XXIII

"Yo! Girl Sullivan!" An annoying voice whisper-hollers behind me. I dig my backpack strap tighter into my shoulder and duck my head, hoping to vanish from the movement. Since that prick, Austin, posted who I was on his snap, with his thousands of friends, random students have been coming up to me and asking if it's true. Yes, it is, and it is also very annoying. "Girl Sullivan!"

"She's not here!" I call back and speed up my walk to, hopefully, avert this conversation. There is no such luck. A somewhat heavy arm loops itself around my shoulders and tugs me close to their body. I finally look up to see who was calling me.

"Hey, Princess." Austin smirks at me. He is model gorgeous, with high cheekbones and a square jaw. That tanned skin is a beautiful shade, but it also looks a little fake with his beach blond hair. And those blue eyes, my oh my, they are just about prettier than Zayn's.

"Let me go." I demand, scowling at the boy. My voice is flat and void of emotion, and my eyes flash angrily.

"Awe," he coos, flicking my bottom lip with his thumb. "Ain't you a cutie when you're mad."

"Let – me – go!" I duck and twist to get out of his hold, which actually works, but he follows me.

There goes my plan for skipping school to look for Izak Sullivan.

"C'mon, Princess." Austin shoots me a charming, but so very fake, smile. His teeth are abnormally white. They look like a brand new set of dentures. "There's a coffee shop just around the corner. It's on me."

"No, thank you." I say firmly. My eyes glance around the hallway, reading the classroom door numbers. I'm in the seniors section of the school, in the science wing.

For once, I'm grateful for Ivan and Odin's overprotective, ridiculous antics. When we all got our school schedules for this quad, they made us study each siblings schedule until we had it memorized. It was something about knowing where to go, or who is closest, in case of an emergency. To my delight, Austin has found me near Lukas and Emmett's biology class.

"It looks like you could use a pumpkin spice latte." Austin smirks at me. His eyebrows wiggle before he grabs my hand. I jerk it away and step back. My heart rate picks up at the rage that sparkles in his eyes.

Of course, of course, Emmett just had to go and piss off a boy that is too cowardly to fight him head on. Austin looks left and right to make sure our surroundings are clear before he encroaches into my space. The saliva in my mouth dries up. His shoulders are higher than my head and his chest blocks my view.

"It's just a little coffee date, Princess." He smirks down at me. I can't help the flinch when he lifts his right hand to fold my hair behind my ear.

"I – said – no." I state firmly, ducking under his left arm. He had it placed against the wall to block me, and when I duck and pivot, he catches my body and tugs me close to him. My breath hitches in my throat.

"You know what Emmett did?" Austin asks. It's a question, but I don't think he expects me to answer, not with his hand over my mouth. I shake my head instead, hoping to make him believe that I am turning docile. It's a trick I learned to use long ago against my rowdy brothers. "He convinced my girlfriend to leave me for him. And then, he turned her down, in front of everybody."

I spot my chance, so I take it. My elbow smacks his gut and my heel stomps on his toes, then I squirm to get out of his grasp. Unfortunately, while he did loosen his hold on me, he didn't let me go. My shoulder just about dislocates from the force as I tug against him, trying to escape.

The only reason I'm not hollering to Emmett for help is Odin's vindictive promise of a beat down if the boys are caught fighting in school. I don't want Emmett taking hits in that ring because he was defending me.