“I um, I’m sorry?” Will sputtered, turning beet red.
“Was that a question?” Wylder scowled.
“Drink your coffee.” Killian scooted her travel mug closer. “Finish waking up before you ruin Will’s entire day.”
“Seriously, you guys should have told me about the breakfast bar.” She poured milk over her cereal.
“You’re supposed to pick one.” Diego scrunched up his nose at the collection of various cereals in her bowl.
“No, you’re not. You’re supposed to pick all your favorites. That’s why they have it buffet style.”
“I don’t think you’re doing cereal right, Wylder.” He shook his head, scooping up a mouthful of some sort of bran flake cereal.
“What are you, eighty? You’re supposed to go for the sugar-coated ones.” She fished out a collection of Fruity Pebbles and Lucky Charms from her bowl.
“That’s just… wrong.” Devyn wrinkled her nose. “You know they have an omelet station too? You should try their egg-white veggie omelet. And maybe skip the fifty deep-fried French toast sticks and butter next time.”
Wylder dipped a French toast stick into a mixture of melted butter and syrup. “This is not a pick on Wylder’s eating habits kind of morning. New subject. I suck as a friend.” She stuffed her mouth with gooey fried goodness.
“We’re aware of your less-than-desirable behaviors, habits, wardrobe, and diet choices.” Devyn frowned at her. “But one thing you are not, is a bad friend.”
“Cheers to that.” Killian lifted his decaf latte.
“Wylder, you’re the best meddler there is,” Diego said. “And we all know it comes from a good place. What have you done this time?”
“Aww, that was sort of sweet, you guys.” She sipped her fully caffeinated coffee. “I didn’t bring Logan back. I failed him.”
“I’m sure you did your very best meddling.” Devyn stood up, shoving her chair under the table. “He’ll come around once he realizes the people who matter don’t believe the rumors. Gotta run. See you in class.”
“Just maybe try to get your brother to pick a fight with someone else on Twitter,” Will said.
“No way.” Killian grinned. “That’s my favorite thing on Twitter right now. They should add a subscribe button to their tweet war. Did you really punch Luke?”
“I assure you, he deserved it.”
“Did you leave a bruise?”
“A big purple and yellow one.” She drained the rainbow-colored milk from her bowl.
“Hurt your hand?” Will asked.
“Nope.” Wylder knew how to throw a punch, mostly. Okay, it hurt a little.
“That’s my girl.” Killian clapped her on the back.
“We have class.” Diego gathered his minimal trash, separating the food scraps from the recyclables. “You shouldn’t waste food, Wylds.” He eyed the stack of uneaten French toast sticks.
“Who says I’m wasting it?” She pulled a zip-lock bag from her pocket and dumped the leftovers into the bag. “It might be worth coming to breakfast every once in a while, to stock up for the week.”
“You are a weirdo, aren’t you?” Will smiled, blushing and avoiding her gaze. He was the one acting weird lately. The Will she knew was all inappropriate jokes and attempts at charm. Who was this guy beside her now?
“Weirdo? Or genius who gets more sleep than anyone else?”
“We’re going to be late, and Mr. Carlisle yells at you when you’re late.” Diego ushered her out of the dining hall.
“When is Cook coming back? He’s a great teacher.” Will followed them out.
“Not sure he is.” Wylder sighed, following Diego across campus to their first class.
“That’s too bad.” Diego held the door open for her and Will. “He picked the best books.”
“See ya.” Will headed off to his math class, leaving Diego and Wylder to catch up with Devyn.
“That’s what you’re wearing to class?” Devyn rolled her eyes.
“You really expected me to go change after breakfast?”
“At least run a brush through your hair.” She fished a brush from her purse. “I swear you’d come to class barefoot if it wasn’t for me.”
“That’s my cue to leave you girls to your… stuff.” Diego pushed past them into their classroom.
“Good thing I have you to watch out for me, Dev.” Wylder brushed her hair and fished around her messenger bag for a bobby pin to hold her flyaways back.
“Dear Lord, is that a bag of French toast in there?” Devyn groaned. “I can’t take you anywhere.”
“You’ll thank me later when we have superior snacks in our fridge. These will go great with some ice cream and hot fudge.”
“That sounds revolting.” Devyn shook her head and followed Wylder into the classroom.
Like the first day, Wylder stopped in her tracks, but this time she managed to hold on to her things.
“Put on your brake lights when you do that.” Devyn bumped into her, sidestepping to get to her seat.
“Seb—Mr. Cook, you’re back,” she blurted. How did that happen?
“Yeah, change of plans.” He winked, pointing to her seat. “We have a lot to catch up on.” He turned to the whiteboard, erasing a bunch of Mr. Carlisle’s notes. “You’ll all be happy to know we’re having a redo on the Beowulf test. Your grades were awful, so it’s clear we should spend a little more time on the subject since it’ll show up on your standardized tests.”
Wylder shuffled to her desk, dying to ask Sebastian what made him return. It couldn’t have been her trip to Nashville.
“Will we be getting back to the list of A Thousand Books to Read Before You Die?” Diego asked. “That was a cool project.”
“Yes, we will, Diego, but we’ll also catch up on some topics you’ll be tested on. Before Mr. Carlisle took over for a bit, I had planned to host a series of lectures to cover the testing materials in more depth.”
“Will we finish discussing A Clockwork Orange?” Devyn asked. “I have issues with that ending.”
“What kind of issues?” Sebastian leaned against his desk, crossing his ankles.
“Understanding it?” Devyn sighed. “It was confusing and kind of defeated the purpose of the whole story.”
“It’s supposed to be confusing and a bit maddening for the reader. The controversial ending was meant to show Alex coming full circle.” Mr. Cook took up the thread of conversation, and in a single moment, class was back to normal. Including the teacher’s brother sitting at the back of the room with his head down.
Their classmates stared. Everyone knew why Logan and Sebastian left. It was like the first week of school all over again, except this time people weren’t staring because Logan Cook looked just like his famous twin brother. This time they were staring because they all suspected he was the voice they’d all been listening to for the last several years. This time they were staring at Logan because he was Logan.
And Wylder was now one of them, unable to take her eyes off the less famous Cook. Logan didn’t meet her gaze as she sat. Why… how was he back? She hadn’t even gotten the chance to see him in Nashville.
“Stop staring at me,” Logan hissed, finally meeting her gaze. “It’s weird.”
“But… you’re here.”
“I’m aware.”
“How? Why?”
Logan lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Long story, but before you get a big head, it wasn’t because you came to Nashville to stalk me.”
Translation—It was totally because of her. Wylder grinned.
“Stop grinning like you’re proud of yourself. I said it wasn’t you.”
She leaned toward him, dropping her voice. “Liar.”
“Stop.”
“No.”
“Please.” That time he couldn’t help smiling.
“Why?”
He didn’t get a chance to answer before someone else broke their bubble. “Did you really punch Luke Cook?”
She d
idn’t give them an answer as she turned from Logan and hung her head over her notes. She should have known better than to tease Luke about his shiner on Twitter. Leave it to Becks to run with her little dig and tell the Twittersphere all about how she’d punched his rival.
Wylder tried several times to get Logan’s attention again, but he refused to look up from his desk, not that she could blame him with all the staring and whispers.
Halfway through class, someone knocked on the door, and their headmistress escorted a team of lawyers into the room. “Sorry to interrupt your class, Mr. Cook. This won’t take long.”
“Not a problem.” Sebastian took his seat behind his desk. “Take as long as you need.”
“Unfortunately, every now and then, our administration has to remind our students about our privacy policies.” Ms. Jones addressed the classroom as one of the lawyer types passed around thick black folders to each student.
“You are receiving a copy of our privacy policies, which you will all read, sign, and return before the end of class. Defiance Academy prides itself on its ability to provide a safe haven for our students. A retreat from the limelight so you may focus your attention on your studies. Sons, daughters, and siblings of celebrities, politicians and the like attend the academy, and we will provide that safe haven. The media is not allowed behind our walls, nor are our students allowed to submit videos or photographs to media outlets, including YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram. Need I remind you it is grounds for immediate dismissal and potential lawsuits for you and your families.” Ms. Jones took a step back, allowing one of the suits to address the class.
“I am Anthony Willis, lead attorney for Defiance Academy. I am working with a team of lawyers to handle the recent leak of a video of two of our students whose privacy was violated by the leak. We will not allow such activity, and the culprit will be found, I assure you. If anyone has a question about what is and is not allowed, please come to us now or call, text, or email us anonymously at the contact information provided in the folios you’ve just received.”
Several hands shot up in the air, and the lawyers spent most of the remainder of class answering silly questions about what kinds of social media posts were acceptable and what were considered a privacy violation.
The looks thrown Wylder and Logan’s ways increased. Most probably blamed them for the crackdown when neither of them had anything to do with the leaked YouTube video that had over a million hits by now.
“We’d like a moment with Ms. Anderson and both Mr. Cooks if we may?” Mr. Willis asked as the bell rang, and his team collected the student’s completed NDA forms.
Wylder and Logan reluctantly kept their seats as the room emptied.
Ms. Jones waved them forward to sit in the front row. “You both have my apologies. Your school failed you, and for that, I am deeply sorry. We should have contained the situation long before any real damage was done.”
“We know it wasn’t the school’s fault,” Sebastian said, sounding weary.
“You have our word, we will do everything we can to keep this from happening again,” Mr. Willis said in a tone that sounded like he was begging Sebastian not to sue the school. “Logan, Wylder.” He turned his attention on them. “You will be happy to know, we’ve finally gotten the video removed from YouTube, and we are diligently working to remove every trace of it from the internet.”
Logan only nodded, keeping his head down.
“Thanks,” Wylder murmured, but she was afraid the damage was already done, and they were too late to change anything now.
8
“The boy still won’t talk to me.” Wylder tossed her messenger bag onto the sofa beside Devyn, who leapt to cover her lap with a history textbook. After their brief classroom conversation, Logan had completely ignored her. Ms. Jones and the lawyers’ stark reminder of what happened probably weighed heavily on his mind.
“What are you hiding?” Wylder stood with her hands on her hips.
“Nothing.” Devyn tried to pretend she wasn’t talking with her mouth full. “So Logan’s still not talking to you, huh?”
“What are you eating?”
“Nothing.” She swallowed.
Wylder smirked. “Do you have French toast breath?”
Devyn shook her head.
“What’s in your lap, Dev?”
“The most disgusting thing I’ve ever eaten. It’s got to have like eight thousand calories.” She moved her book to reveal a giant bowl of ice cream, French toast sticks, and hot fudge.
“And it’s delicious, isn’t it?” Wylder gloated.
“So good.” Devyn took another bite. “I hate you for bringing this stuff into our room.”
“Who has the best snacks on the floor?”
“Wylder does.” Devyn sighed. “I’m going to need to run a marathon to work this off.”
“No, you don’t, you’re beautiful and perfect just how you are. Don’t let any of your horse-girls tell you any different.” Wylder plopped down beside her, helping herself to a few bites of the bizarre sundae.
“Try telling my stepmother that. And we’re called Equestrians, not horse-girls.”
“You know I can’t remember the big words.” Wylder leaned back with a groan.
“What’s the deal with Logan not talking to you?”
“I don’t know. He’s upset about the video, and I think I’ve just messed up everything for him here.”
“Go talk to him. He can’t blame you for what happened. It’s not like you shared that video.”
“Right?” She’d done everything she could to set him at ease for their performance despite his intense stage fright. But she couldn’t have anticipated that a video of their song would be leaked, much less go viral.
“So, go do what you do.” Devyn waved her spoon at the door. “And leave me in peace to study.”
“Go do what?” Wylder frowned.
“Go corner him and talk at him until he has no choice but to strangle you or talk to you.”
“That is not what I do.”
“It’s so what you do.” Devyn laughed. “Now go.”
“You’re just trying to get me out of your hair.” Wylder stood.
“You’re on to me.”
“See you later. I suppose I do have a boy to corner.” Wylder went to her room to change from her school clothes into comfortable plaid flannel pants and her favorite hoody and unicorn slippers.
“You look ridiculous for four in the afternoon,” Devyn called from her perch on the couch.
“You’re just jealous I can pull this off.” Wylder shot her a grin and left her roomie to study.
Wylder was the only one dressed for bed as she made her way to the boy’s wing. Her slippers got some strange looks, but she was used to it. Wylder did, said, and wore whatever Wylder wanted. She’d decided a long time ago she was just different, and there was nothing wrong with that. At one time, she’d thought she was just a loner. That was before she found her tribe. They loved her, and that was all that mattered. And like it or not, Logan Cook was now part of her tribe.
She let herself into the senior suite Logan shared with Killian.
“Get out,” Wylder barked at Killian.
“Um, this is my room, Wylds.” Killian didn’t miss a beat. “Why don’t you go pester Devyn for the afternoon? We can hang at dinner.” He didn’t even look up from his biology textbook.
“Pestering Dev has already been checked off my to-do list for the day, so I guess you’re next. Besides, I need to have a chat with your roomie.” Wylder glared at Logan, visible behind his computer screen. He sat at his desk in the corner of their shared space, refusing to acknowledge her presence. “A private chat.”
“I don’t think he’s in the mood to talk, Wylds.” Killian leaned back to stretch his arms over his head.
“What, are you both working on homework? It’s barely four. Who does homework right after school?”
“Some of us like to get it done early so we can do other things with our
evenings.”
“I never let homework cramp my schedule.” Wylder crossed the room to Killian’s bedroom door. “How about you study in there for a bit? I won’t keep your roomie long. I just have a few things to say.”
“Fine.” Killian snapped his book shut. “I know when you’re on a mission. Sorry, Logan. She’s not going to leave until you talk to her… or till you totally crack and hang her from the rafters, whichever comes first.” Killian grabbed his things and left them alone.
“It says a lot that my friends totally have me pegged, and they’re still my friends.” Wylder stood with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot on the floor. “I’m sorry, okay?” She flopped onto the sofa across from Logan’s desk. “I’m sorry about the video. Sorry the holograms were a bust, and you got dragged into the limelight. This whole thing is my fault, and I don’t blame you if you never want to talk to me again, except you have to. You’re roommates with Killer, and that makes us friends-in-law. But I still think we’re more than just in-laws. Which makes you morally obligated to answer my texts.”
Logan pushed away from his desk and swiveled his chair to face her. “Christopher.” He leaned forward with a serious look on his face.
“What” She scowled at him.
“It’s Christopher.”
“What’s Christopher?” She was glad he was talking to her now, but she preferred it when he said things that made sense.
“My middle name. You know, for the next time you need to full name me, and you can’t come up with anything better than Samwise.”
“Samwise Gamgee was a really great hobbit. You should be so lucky to have a friend like him.” Wylder pointed her finger at him for emphasis.
“I am that lucky.” Logan finally cracked a smile. “You’re a good friend, Wylder. I’m sorry I left you hanging.” He scooted his chair closer to her. “But let’s be clear, this happened to you as much as it did to me. It’s not your fault.”
Wylder’s face fell. “But I promised you the holograms would be the focus of our performance. They were supposed to dance across the stage and wow everyone so much that they’d never really notice us.”
Wylder and the Almost Rockstar (Reluctant Rockstars Book 2) Page 6
