Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
ARCHIE
M atthew. Mathieu. Matty. Disdain curled through every syllable as I repeated them in my head.
Mah- tew .
Matt- pew .
All the way through our first class of the day and the year, Frankie had ignored me. No, not ignored. No, she pretended this was all fine. That her dating some stranger was fine.
Since when did she date?
That was the stinger.
She ripped into me about her right to date. I never said she didn’t have a damn right to date. I’d been asking her out for years. I’d taken her on dates.
But for some reason, she never noticed. Whether it was me or Jake or Bubba or even Coop. She hung out with us, cuddled, leaned on, but ultimately, we weren’t—fuck it, I wasn’t her boyfriend.
I should have been.
We should be one of those couples that made it from freshman to senior year as unbeatable. It had taken a long time to admit, that maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t her type. None of us were. Maybe she liked girls too? Like us?
That would suck—even if it was kind of hot to imagine—but like, I’d learn to live with it. But nope. Rachel Manning had been hitting on her for two years and it went right over her head. I’d seen other guys try, and she just didn’t respond to the flirting.
So maybe she was asexual?
That was a thing. I didn’t totally get it, but I’d done some research. Talked to Coop about it. Based on the way my phone was blowing up, I wasn’t the only one at a loss.
Jake was stalking the guy. Bubba was trying to talk us all down, but he couldn’t fool me. I’d seen him at lunch. For just a little while, we got Frankie to ourselves.
Then she reminded me I had to get used to fucking Frenchy.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
Coop had sweet talked a girl in the counselor’s office into giving him Frenchy’s schedule. He’d sent us all photos of it.
We had no classes in common. None.
He was in Frankie’s French class. Bastard.
Foreign exchange student. There had to be rules, right? Conditions they had to obey? Chasing American tail had to be against the rule? She was under eighteen. At least for a few more months.
The more I thought about it. The more all of it annoyed me. She went to San Antonio and just happened to meet him there? Why the fuck did she go to San Antonio?
Her diatribe from the hall echoed in my ears and the gleam of tears that had sheened over her green eyes waited like an assassin to stab me.
That was what had shut me up before she stalked off. The glimmer of hurt .
“Mr. Standish,” came the officious voice of Mr. Belden, “are we boring you?”
“Yes,” I answered bluntly. “But don’t let that stop you.”
Snorts of laughter rippled across the room. The class was AP Physics focusing on electricity and magnetism. Jake was supposed to take it with me, but he had an independent study class with Frankie instead.
Lucky bastard. Maybe I should have done that.
Mr. Belden eyed me over the top of his glasses. The man was a mad scientist stereotype down to the wispy whites of his hair, and the plaid of his jacket. I swore he smelled like the peppermints he was always fishing out of his pockets.
Shaking his head, Mr. Belden motioned to the board. “Do try to pay attention, Mr. Standish. Missing a question on the test about any of this material would be particularly embarrassing if you think you know it all.”
A snort escaped me at the scolding note in his voice and I saluted him. The man wasn’t wrong. Even if I could answer all the formulas on the board as he discussed them.
I liked taking things apart. I liked knowing things. I liked putting them back together again, making them better. If only people were as easy to deconstruct.
No, a snide little voice in the back of my mind corrected me, if only Frankie were as easy to deconstruct. You have been trying to solve her for years and you’re no closer now than you were then.
That thought was going to linger like a bad bruise.
As it was, I managed to focus on the class all the way to the end and took notes.
Then it was time to go. The original plan had been to meet at the diner, get food, shakes, and talk homework plans.
We always divided up the week between the four of us on who got Frankie when.
I left the class on a quest for the parking lot. I wasn’t even sure she would show up this week. If Coop had anything to say on it, she would. But how cooperative would she be with the new guy in the mix?
He had to go. There was just no two ways about it. I had to share her with our best friends, I was not sharing her with some French lothario with delusions of romance on his mind.
“Archie,” a shrill voice penetrated my focus and I cut a look at Patty who dug her nails into my arm.
“What? And why are you shouting?” God the girl was decent enough at sucking dick, but I really didn’t want to listen to her voice.
Color bloomed in her cheeks and her eyes narrowed as she glared at me. “Because I called your name three times and you were ignoring me.”
I hadn’t heard her, but that could be self-defense. I shrugged off her grip. “Then take a hint.”
With that I started walking again, but the click of her heels against the tiles of the hall floor promised she was following me. “Archie.”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“Don’t care,” I told her without looking back or slowing my step. If she wanted to chase me to the parking lot, that was on her. “The answer isn’t changing.”
“You are such an asshole.”
Yes, I was. I almost chuckled.
“Too bad you already missed out with the new guy in town.”
That ground me to a halt and I pivoted to face her. The smirk on her face was positively triumphant.
“What?”
“French guy, very sexy, about this tall…” She mimed that he was a little taller than me. He wasn’t, but whatever. “Very hot for a certain blonde that you adore. Apparently, she’s hot for him.”
Students streaming out of their classes and down the hall split as they reached us and went around. I closed the gap between us and Patty’s eyes widened. She backed up and then stopped when she hit the lockers.
“ Don’t talk about her like you know her. Don’t start spreading shit about her either. I don’t need to remind you what I can and will do if you go after her.” I didn’t give a flying fuck about me. Patty could spread all the gossip she wanted.
She didn’t get to pick on Frankie.
“You have it for her so bad and you can’t even see it. She doesn’t want you and that has to sting. Instead, she’s putting out for someone else.” Her victorious smile vanished at my smirk.
“Green isn’t your color. It looks more like puke.” Cruelty edged the words and I didn’t care. She should know better than to provoke me. “Keep her name out of your mouth. Shut the fuck up about her.”
“Or what?” She dared me.
“Or photographs from this summer can get leaked. Accidents do happen.”
She paled even as the hostility in her eyes increased. I raised my eyebrows, daring her to say another word. To try me… I knew how to destroy people. You didn’t grow up where I had or gone to the schools I had without swiftly learning how to protect yourself by taking out the competition.
Patty was less than nothing to me. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect Frankie.
“We understand each other.” It wasn’t a question. Despite the fury radiating off of her, she nodded jerkily. A little fear would go a long way.
Done with her, I pivoted and stalked down the hallway. Frenchy had to go. We had to know someone that could get his visa revoked.
He’d need one to study here, right?
If he was back in France, he would be away from Frankie. I also packed away the idea of Frankie “putting out” for anyone. If he’d laid a finger on her, I’d let Jake kill him.
After I got my pound of flesh.