I quirk an eyebrow and smirk. “You mean that you're all mine.”
He grins, and murmurs against my lips, “That too,” before stealing my breath with a dirty kiss.
Half an hour later, and we’re making our way to the dining hall. My palms are slick with sweat, my body tense as my eyes dart around our surroundings. I’m not even sure why I’m nervous. My uniform covers all of my healing cuts and new scars, and other than being the only girl wearing tights in May, I look like everyone else. Yet, my pulse is pounding so hard, I can barely hear over the rushing of blood in my ears, and I feel like I can hardly breathe.
We pause outside the door to the dining hall, and I squeeze my eyes shut and take a few deep breaths to try and shake off the clawing anxiety threatening to overcome me.
The guys decided to send out a mass text telling everyone about the end of the tradition, so of course, since today is the first day they’ve all faced the school since then, it’s guaranteed to be an epic shitshow. I can just imagine the carnage waiting to erupt behind these doors.
“Hey guys, Sunshine,” Wilder greets far too enthusiastically as he shoves his way between Mason and I, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “What are we all waiting for?”
“Get off her, asshole,” Mason snarks, jamming his elbow into Wilder’s ribs and shoving him backward before reclaiming his position beside me.
“Alright, man,” Wilder wheezes from where he’s hunched over, struggling to take in a breath. “No need to get violent.”
He takes a minute to recover before standing upright, an obnoxiously bright smile lighting up his face as he looks at me. “Sunshine, good to see you back in your uniform again. Shame about the fake dating, though. I thought I made an excellent faux boyfriend.”
“Dude, what the fuck is your problem?” Mason snaps. “You’re just asking to get the shit beat out of you.”
Wilder rolls his eyes, unbothered by Mason's growly tone or furious expression. “Calm your tits, big guy.”
I fail miserably at holding back my laugh, as Mason’s eyes narrow to slits.
“Hadley knows it’s all in good fun.”
I’m not sure that I do. I have no idea what Wilder really wants, but I find his honesty and the way he just blurts out whatever he’s thinking, without giving a shit what people have to say, refreshing.
“Come on, let’s get on with this. It’s been too long since I had pancakes, and I’m going to be a bitch all day if I don’t get some before class starts.”
“Sure you don’t want a grapefruit instead? Much healthier start to your day.” Hawk laughs at his own joke as I scowl at him.
“If you ever force a slice of grapefruit on me again, I’m going to ram it down your throat.”
My threat only makes him laugh harder as he opens the door, and surrounded by my guys, the five of us walk into the dining hall. The whole room goes silent as everyone’s eyes land on us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Wilder slip in behind us and head over to Emilia, before I turn to focus on the top table. I nearly stumble over my own feet when I find the most recent girls of the month sitting there, waiting.
“What the fuck?” I hiss under my breath to Mason. He doesn’t say anything and when I look up at him, his face is set in its usual stony expression, but I don’t miss the tight set to his jaw or the anger burning in his eyes. He’s just as pissed off about this as I am.
“What the fuck are you four doing here?” Hawk barks, not even trying to lower his voice. He doesn’t give a shit if the whole school bears witness to him humiliating these pathetic girls.
“What are you talking about?” the one he’s been “dating” asks, batting her eyelashes as him. “This is where we always sit for breakfast.”
“Didn’t you get our text?” Cam snaps irritably.
“Oh, that?” One of the other idiots giggles. “Wasn’t that just some silly hoax?”
“No,” Mason growls. “It wasn’t.”
The smile falters on the girls’ faces for a second before they fix it back in place, but this time there’s a sharp edge to them.
“You’re joking, right?” Hawk’s girl snaps. “There’s no way you’re doing this to us—again.”
Hawk’s jaw ticks, the only warning sign before he stomps the last few feet to the table. He grabs the back of the chair the girl closest to us is sitting in and drags it back, away from the table.
She screeches, but we all ignore her.
“Get. The. Fuck. Off. Our. Table,” Hawk shouts, stomping to the next girl and doing the same thing. The last two catch on, and scramble out of their seats before Hawk can reach them, the four of them scurrying off to sit elsewhere. His nostrils flare as he looks out over the rest of the hall, his turbulent gray eyes searing each and every person. “At the risk of repeating myself, this stupid, fucking tradition is over. For good. None of us are interested in dating you, or fucking you, or doing anything else with you.”
All three of my guys move to surround me—West on one side, Cam on the other, and Mason behind me, with his hand resting possessively on my hip. I feel his chest vibrating against my back as he speaks, his voice booming around the room in a declaration for all to hear, “We’re dating Hadley. She’s ours and we’re hers.” Whispering immediately breaks out around the room. “Anyone who gives her any flack, will answer to us.”
I grumble under my breath about being able to take care of myself, and Cam nudges me in the ribs, smirking when I catch his eye.
“Ewww, like all of yours?” Bianca speaks up, scrunching her nose in disgust as she glances toward Hawk, making her insinuation crystal fucking clear.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Bianca?” Hawk snarls.
“Wait, hold on,” Deke calls out, getting to his feet. “Her name’s Hadley again? I thought it was Elizabeth.”
“It’s Hadley,” I confirm forcefully, running my eyes over everyone else in the hall to make sure they’re understanding me. I won’t answer to Elizabeth, or any other name. If we’re done with the pretense, then I want to be done with it all. Fuck following the rules and doing what our parents want. I’m done hiding; done giving a shit.
Quirking a brow, Deke just looks baffled as he shakes his head, as if that will help him make sense of it all. “Jesus, your drama belongs on a shitty daytime TV show. I can’t keep up with it all. One minute you're doing this, or called that, and the next it’s something else. Who gives a fuck?”
I think that’s the most insightful thing he’s said all year.
“We give a fuck,” Bianca snaps, the girls around her murmuring their agreements. “You’ve been messing us around all year. One scholarship girl can’t just come in here and upend the whole system.”
“Watch it, B,” Cam growls in warning. “Hadley’s a Davenport.”