by Mae Doyle
And straight into Quinn’s eyes.
“Oh, hi, Abigail.” He has a slight drawl and the way that he says my name is so knee-shaking that I don’t even bother to correct him. He heard me correct Professor Thiel enough that I’m sure he knows my name. If he doesn’t want to use my real name then I’m sure there’s a reason for it.
“Quinn, right?” I’m trying to pretend like I don’t really know who he is, which is ridiculous. From the moment I locked eyes on him in first period this morning, I haven’t stopped seeing his face. It’s stupid and makes me sound clichéd, but I don’t really care.
His eyes are a piercing blue that looks like the ocean on a sunny day. Dark tousled hair and chiseled cheekbones draw me in. Besides that, he’s the only student in school I’ve seen wearing a leather jacket. He looks like a guy trying to look like a bad boy, but I don’t even care. It works for him.
“You can call me Mr. Masters.” He tilts his head a little to look at me when he answers me, his eyes boring into mine. I feel myself start to flush again, but there’s nowhere for me to hide.
“I think that I prefer Quinn.” At my old school, I was known for being witty. Here, I’m just known for being new, which is much less preferable.
He doesn’t answer but instead reaches out and snatches my schedule out of my hands. “Let’s see what class you have next, Abigail. Since you astonished Professor Thiel with your infinite wisdom this morning, I bet that all of the other teachers can’t wait to have you in class.” He scans my schedule before raising his eyebrow and looking at me.
I can’t help it. My stomach flips when he stares at me. There’s just something about his strong jaw and the way his eyes cut into me that make me want to reach out and pull him towards me. He’s strong and tough, but more fluid than I would have thought from someone that big.
“What? What’s that look for?” I try to keep my voice calm, but the way he looks at me almost makes me shake.
“You’re an artist.” It’s a statement, not a question, but I grab my schedule back from him and then nod.
“Yep. I’m here for painting. Definitely not on the fashion track.” I gesture at my outfit, but he barely registers what I’m wearing with a flick of his eyes. When they land back on my face, I feel like I’m falling.
There’s no reason for this guy to have such an effect on me, but for some reason, he does. I don’t know what it is about him. I mean, I’ve seen hot guys before.
But not like this.
Not ones that seem to stare into my freaking soul each time they look at me.
“Yeah, definitely not fashion.” Before I can register what he’s doing, he reaches out and lifts one of my long blonde curls before giving it a little tug. “You could definitely get some advice from other students around here. They love a charity project.”
“Charity project?” Stepping back, I put a little distance between the two of us. I’m too close to him and I should be walking away to get to class, but there’s something about Quinn that pulls me in. “What the hell does that mean? Besides, if the other fashion students dress like you, then I don’t want any part in how they would style me.”
It’s bullshit. He looks great, and he knows it.
“I’m not in fashion, Abigail. But I will walk you to history, if you want.”
Crap. Do I have another class with this guy? “Is that your next class?”
He shakes his head and scoffs. “No, but I’d walk you there if you want. Consider it my good deed for the day.”
“You’re all heart, but I’ll find it myself.” I try to sound braver and more confident than I really am. In truth, I’m not sure which direction I need to go in to get to class, but there’s no way that I’m going to tell him that. Not when he thinks that he’s such hot shit.
“Good luck, then Abigail. I’ll see you later. We have a few other classes together.” He grins at me and then walks away, disappearing easily into the crowded hall.
I know that I should get to class as quickly as possible, but I take a few deep breaths to try to steady myself. Quinn is completely distracting and way too hot for his own good, but that doesn’t mean that he’s a nice guy. I’ve got to remember to ask Madeline about him. It seems like there’s more to Quinn than meets the eye, and she’s the one to give me the info I need to make it through the year.
My hands are trembling, but I look at my schedule again. After history I have lunch and then a block of art classes, all related to painting. My heart slows down when I think about being in class, first mixing some colors, and then splashing them across a giant canvas. I imagine that at Trinity Prep they actually have real stretched canvases for students to work on, unlike my old school.
Then it hits me.
Quinn said that he’d see me later because we have more classes together.
No.
I would have sworn that he was here to study fashion, even though he said that he wasn’t.
But if we have classes together then that means that he’s a painter. Quinn definitely looks more like someone who would pose for an artist, not an artist himself.
Crap. I’m gunning for an internship straight out of Trinity Prep, and I have a feeling that Quinn is, too. If we’re both trying for the same internship then not only are we going to see a lot of each other, but I’m going to be in direct competition with him.
It’s one thing to have nameless competition. I came here knowing that I was going to have to compete with someone, but it’s a completely different thing to know who your competition is.
And for him to be so damn hot.
Chapter Three
“So, are you absolutely loving Trinity Prep?” Madeline sounds so much like the recruitment video that I’d seen that I can’t help but start laughing.
“You know that you sound just like – ”
“The recruitment video? Yeah, that’s me. I’m the voice of Trinity Prep. What do you think? Pretty sultry, huh?” She tosses her hair and slides into the seat next to me while I laugh.
“Well, you got my attention and got me here, so I guess that it worked.” Lunch looks delicious but I forgo my quiche to take a huge bite of the cookie I’d grabbed. “God, I’m going to gain so much weight if this is how they feed us all the time.”
Madeline has a huge salad on her plate and stabs it with her fork. “You get a little tired of it, to be honest. It can be a little much. I’d kill for a hot fudge sundae, though.”
We eat in silence for a few moments before I work up the nerve to ask her about Quinn. I don’t know why I’m nervous, but it feels like there’s something sneaky going on with him. Like maybe he really is the bad boy of Trinity Prep and I just haven’t figured it out yet.
“So. What’s Quinn’s deal?” Even though I’m trying to act as nonchalant and calm as possible, I can tell that Madeline sees right through it by the way she rolls her eyes at me.
“Abby. Please. Please, please, please, don’t get involved with Quinn. He is such an unbelievable ass, trust me. I mean, I get why everyone walks around drooling after him, but it has gotten to his head a little. Anyway, he’s totally focused on getting an internship right after graduation, so even though he’s hotter than hell, he doesn’t date.”
“At all?” I’d never heard of a guy who just didn’t date. The thought was more than a little intriguing I had to admit. “He really doesn’t date anyone?”
Madeline glances around the cafeteria before leaning in closer to me. We’re at a table in the corner of the big room, but more than one student has looked over at us, probably trying to figure out who I am and why I’m here. “Listen, Abby. He did have a girlfriend.” She gestures with her straw and I follow where she’s pointing with my gaze.
Damn. It makes sense that the hottest guy in school would date the hottest girl, but I really didn’t know that girls could be so pretty. She’s clearly a fashion student, with a short black pixie and long lashes. Her skintight black dress clings to her curves and she’s paired it with a pair of hot pink
sneakers.
“Her name’s Alice. And, before you get any dumb ideas, yes, she will kill you if she thinks that you’re even looking at Quinn. It’s safe to say that the breakup was not amicable. I think that it’s still on YouTube, if you want to watch it, actually.”
I rip my eyes away from Alice to look back at my friend. “They filmed their breakup?”
She laughs, drawing attention from the tables around us. “Well, they didn’t. But someone else did. That student is no longer at Trinity Prep, but the video lives on in infamy.”
“What video?” A dark voice to my side makes me gasp and look up. Quinn is standing over us, holding his tray casually in one hand. He tilts his head to the side a little while he waits for us to answer. When we don’t, he asks again. “What video are you talking about, Madeline?”
Madeline swallows hard but doesn’t answer. They lock eyes, and I swear that I see something flash between the two of them. She’d just told me that Alice was Quinn’s ex, but there’s something about the way she interacts with Quinn that makes me think that they have history, too.
I take a deep breath. I’m new here, so surely he’ll forgive me for not knowing all of the rules. “I was just asking about who’s the most important students here, and Madeline was filling me in on the fact that it’s you.” Lifting my chin, I stare in his eyes, trying not to lose myself in them.
“It is me.” I’m surprised when he puts his tray down next to mine and sits. He’s so close to me that I can practically feel the heat radiating off of his body. I shift to move away from him, but he looks at me, pinning me in place with his gaze.
“Something wrong? You need to move away from me for some reason?”
“No. Nothing’s wrong.” Looking up, I lock eyes with Madeline. She’s doing her best to watch the two of us without it being really obvious. “I just want to give you your space, that’s all.”
“Maybe I don’t want space from you.” Before I know what’s happening, he reaches up and loops his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in to him. My body is stiff and I try to hold myself away, but I feel myself start to melt into him. “Maybe I want to keep you as close as I can, Abigail. What do you think about that?”
I feel a little dizzy, and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath in my nose before I open them again. We’re still in the same position. He’s got me pulled so close to him that I could easily rest my head on his chest. Before I can think anything else, though, I look up and lock eyes with Alice.
She no longer looks like the prettiest girl at school. Her nostrils are flaring and her eyes are dark. Even though she’s all the way across the cafeteria from me, I can practically feel the rage radiating out from her.
Sitting up, I scoot my chair as far away from Quinn as possible, but this time he doesn’t stop me. He smiles at me, a slow smile that splits his face in two and makes him look darker and scarier than I’ve seen before.
“You’re going to be just fine, Abigail. I think that you and I are going to get alone just fine.” Quinn’s voice sounds friendly, but the look on his face gives me chills.
“Yeah, sounds good.” As hungry as I was just a few minutes ago, I don’t think that I can possibly eat anything now. I push my food away and flash Madeline a smile. “I’ll see you after class, right?” We’d made plans to get dinner together, and I was hoping that she wasn’t going to back out now that Quinn had decided to put me in Alice’s crosshairs. She nods and I get up, grabbing my tray.
Quinn follows me, dumping his food at the same time I do, then slips his arm around my waist. “What do you say that you and I head down to the art wing? I’ll give you a little private tour if you’d like.”
Normally I would like that, but Alice’s gaze is still locked on me. Thinking fast, I duck out from under his arm. “I have to pee. Like, bad.” He frowns like he doesn’t believe me, but I dart away from him across the cafeteria to the bathrooms. If I can just get away from him and clear my head then maybe I figure out how to navigate this school.
Looks like there’s more to Trinity Prep than meets the eye.
Of course, like everything else at Trinity Prep, the bathrooms are amazing. There’s a huge chandelier in the girl’s bathroom, which would be over-the-top enough, but it really tied the space together with the pink fluffy chaise lounge and the silver and white tile. I’m washing my hands, enjoying the high-quality lavender soap when the door slammed shut behind me.
Glancing up in the mirror, I feel my heart sink low in my chest. Alice is leaning against the closed door, her arms crossed across her chest, staring at me.
“So, you’re the new whore.” Her voice is softer than I would have expected. Locking eyes with her in the mirror, I turn off the water and wipe my hands on a paper towel before turning around.
“Not a whore but yeah, I’m new. I’m Abby.” The paper towel sinks into the trash can on my first throw and I grin to myself, but my smile falls off of my face when I see the way she’s looking at me.
“Not a whore.” She scoffs, then crosses the bathroom to me. I want to hold my ground, but I instinctively step back. The counter presses into my lower back, and I suck in a breath of air. I don’t want her to know that I’m a little scared of her, but the look on her face tells me that she’s pissed and that she means business.
“What’s the problem? I just popped in here before going to class.” Taking a breath, I step to the side, getting ready to walk past her, but she leans in front of me.
“Oh, no, not so fast. Abby, is it? Well, listen, Abby, you need to understand something. That guy that you were snuggled up next to at lunch? Quinn? He’s mine, so keep your dirty whore hands off of him.”
“I wasn’t the one touching him. In case you didn’t notice, he pulled me over to sit with him, not the other way around.” Normally I think that that would work, if the person were sane, but Alice is clearly off her rocker.
Before I can even move, she reaches up and grabs the side of my face, spinning around and slamming me into the wall. My vision immediately goes black and I gasp, sucking in a breath at the pain. Leaning back, I try to move my head from the wall, but her hand is on my face, pressing me to it so that I can’t move.
I feel her fingernails digging into my skin, and tears spring to my eyes, but I do everything I can to blink them back and keep from crying.
I won’t cry in front of her.
She hisses at me. “I told you to stay away, Abby. What the fuck did you not understand? You come near him again and I swear that I will make your life a living hell, do you get it?”
I’m sure that she wants me to nod or something, but she has my face pressed so hard up against the wall that I can’t move. Instead, I hold up a hand.
She probably expected a thumbs up.
But I flick her off.
“Fucking bitch.” She leans closer, her breath hot on my cheek. “You can’t pretend like you don’t know the rules when I’ve made them really fucking clear for you. Back off of him, you got it?”
This time she releases me and steps back, once again crossing her arms over her chest. I lean on the wall for a moment, still blinking, enjoying the way the darkness at the edges of my vision slowly recedes.
“According to what I heard, Alice, you don’t have a whole lot of say in who he spends time with. Sounds to me like he dumped your skinny ass.” It’s the wrong thing to say, and I know it, but the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Her face grows red and she balls her hands into fists. I prepare myself for her to attack, fully expecting her to land at least one punch before I can make it to the door.
Normally, I’m not one to condone running away from shitty situations, but this girl looks ready to kick my ass, so I’m cool with making an exception this one time.
A soft bell chimes and Alice’s eyes unfocus from me. She looks up at the speaker on the wall and exhales. I watch, amazed, as she slowly relaxes her fists and then looks back at me.
“You know that this isn’t ove
r, right?” The implication that she’s still planning on kicking my ass is there, and I nod. “Good.” She turns away, back to the door. I don’t know what class she has right now, but whatever it is, she’s obviously afraid of missing it.
“Alice?” I’m sure that me calling her name surprises her as much as it does me, but when she turns to look at me, she still looks cool and collected. “The next time that you want to fight, let’s do it outside somewhere so everyone can see me kick your ass, okay?”
“Right. I’ll remember that the next time I see you snuggling up to my boyfriend, you whore.”
She slams the door behind her and I immediately exhale, bending over to grab my thighs. I’m shaking. There’s no way that I actually want to fight her, but I had to make her think that I was at least a little scary. I don’t know if it worked or if it would come back to bite me in the ass, but right now I don’t have time to worry about that.
I have to get to my next class.
With Quinn, apparently.
I also need to keep my hands off of him. That shouldn’t be too hard, since he’s a bit of a cocky jerk, but that doesn’t mean that a girl can’t look, right?
Chapter Four
“You’re late.” Quinn grins at me from the chair next to the only open seat in the class. Rolling my eyes, I slip into it, making sure to lean away from him so that it doesn’t look like I want to sit next to him. Even though he’s hot, his attitude and his ex are great deterrents for wanting to get close to him.
Keeping my eyes locked on the front of the room, I whisper out of the corner of my mouth. “I had a run-in with your ex. She’s super pleasant. I can see why you two would work so well together.”
He laughs, a loud sound that makes everyone in the room turn to look at us, but he doesn’t seem embarrassed by the attention. “Alice is passionate, that’s for sure. Did she not like you cuddling up to me in the cafeteria?”
My face burns and I feel my heart start to race. This is exactly what happened whenever I knew that I was in the right but someone was acting like I was the person who messed up. “I wasn’t snuggling up to you. It was the opposite, but yeah, she was pretty pissed.”
