Chapter 50
New Information
Harper
Ms. Sullivan explains the project, taking her time to give detailed information about what she’s looking for and how she wants us to proceed. It’s a series of drawings of something in nature, like flowers or trees or animals, but each one should have a piece of both artists in it.
Basically she should be able to tell I added this element and my partner added that one. We have all month to work on it in class, but the art studio will be open after school to work on it as well.
“Get to know your partner. They’re going to be your new best friend for the next month.” Ms. Sullivan claps her hands like everyone should be happy. Pretty sure no one is happy about this deal.
I release a breath. The guys won’t be okay with this. Especially if I have to work alone with Tanner after school while they have football practice.
Glancing over at Nico and Angela, I see him introducing himself. It’s hard to remember he’s new to a lot of our classmates. How weird is it being back here and having to get reacquainted with everyone?
“Wishing you got to work with a horseman?” Tanner bites out.
My blood boils. I didn’t see the asshole before this weekend, but now that he’s shown his colors, I won’t forget.
“Anyone would be better than you.” I turn to Tanner and don’t drop my gaze from his. I’m not about to dismiss what he said about me. He only wanted to use me to get to the horsemen. Message received. Just like Caden’s sister, I’m a means to an end and I’m not about to be used that way.
“I didn’t mean to come off as a dick on Sunday.” He thrusts his hand through his blond hair. His blue eyes are soft when he looks at me. “Those guys just rile me up. After what they did to my sister—”
“What about what you did to Caden’s sister?” I press my lips together and cross my arms over my chest. “At least your sister wanted it, and they protected her.”
The softness bleeds from his eyes. Tanner’s smile grows. He runs his fingers over his lips, giving me an assessing look. “They gave you the story, huh? Impressive. I figured they’d tell you to stop hanging out with me and that would be the end of it.”
Fuck him. I don’t say a word.
“I was sure I could charm you back into hating them with me. Maybe even convince you to give your virginity to me to thwart them. But if that didn’t work out, it won’t be long before one of them slips up and you’ll be looking for a revenge fuck.
” Tanner winks, making my stomach churn.
“I’m more than willing to gloat over fucking their favorite toy. ”
My mouth opens and closes. Ms. Sullivan is too far away to have heard him. I’ll make sure Kenz knows about his threats and if I have to work late with him, hopefully she’ll be here to help me.
“We should focus on our work.” I take out my sketchpad. It’s open to my sketch of Luke sleeping. I flip the page to a blank one.
“Nice, but he could use some devil horns. Maybe a forked tongue.” Tanner leans back in his chair. His gaze flows over my body like he wants me. “Gotta get the details right.”
“He didn’t even do anything to you.” I can’t help but defend Luke this one time. He definitely didn’t fuck Tanner’s sister.
“Ah, but they all got me kicked off the football team and pushed me down to being a nobody.” He leans forward on his desk, and his finger traces mine where it rests on the table. I jerk it away. “You know all about that though, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turn the page again and make a list of the things Ms. Sullivan mentioned as ideas. Anything to stop this conversation.
“If anyone understands what they can do to a person, it’s you, Harper.” He leans in almost too close. His cologne isn’t heavy, but it’s nauseating because it’s on him. “You hid from them for good reason. What they’ve done to you so far this year…”
Shaking his head, he brushes his arm against mine. “How many people would put up with being spanked in the cafeteria and paraded around as their conquest? Don’t you want to get back at them? Make them pay for what they’ve done to you?”
A week ago? Yeah.
Right now? No.
They wanted my body, and I’ve given it to them. They still want me. And I want them. It’s temporary. An experience I’ll never forget. Just this year. Then all of this will go away, and we’ll start our lives far from each other.
“Or did they finally make you their whore?” Tanner’s disdain comes through in his voice. “Did they fuck your brains and willpower out of you?”
I glare at him. I have no power though. Not really. I could tell the horsemen what he said, but then who would be the one in trouble?
Me? I’m sure Luke would find a way to punish me for being Tanner’s partner in art.
Caden would rip through Tanner for what he did to his sister. If I told him what Tanner said, would it set him off?
If Caden attacked him, would Tanner press charges? Tanner has his own rich parents to help bail him out, and may not be willing to drop charges for the right price. I can’t let that happen to Caden.
I need to tell Nico not to tell the others. Stop him from fueling this war. I’ll do what it takes to get along with Tanner and finish the project within the classroom time.
“We need to focus on our project, and that doesn’t require talking about other people. If you have a problem with that, we can go to Ms. Sullivan, and I can explain why you’re the lowest piece of crap in this class.”
He chuckles. His thigh brushes mine under the table. “You got a little bite now, don’t you?”
Jerking my leg away from his, I shake my head and continue to write ideas down.
“I do like a girl who fights back.” His words make me lift my gaze to his.
I bet he does. I see it in his eyes. The monster lurking in the deep, hiding.
He might come off as a good guy in the beginning, but I’ve been with monsters long enough to notice his darkness. The darkness in the horsemen doesn’t scare me like the darkness in Tanner though.
He won’t take no for an answer. He wouldn’t let me choose. Not like they did.
“Anything to get back at the horsemen?” I scoot away from him. His entire demeanor gives me the chills. Every instinct in my body screams to get away from him.
Stay focused on the art project.
He smirks. “You have no idea.”
Nico
“So you transferred back?” Angela bats her eyelashes as I try to figure out what Tanner says to Harper.
She’s stiff and uncomfortable. I wish Ms. Sullivan hadn’t disappeared into the back. I need to tell the guys about this turn of events. Given their reaction to Tanner on Sunday, they won’t like it.
Angela’s hand lands on my thigh. “I didn’t know there was a fifth horseman.”
“Take your hand off me.” I speak in a low tone, but make it clear I’m not playing with her. The rule is we can’t touch another girl. I’d prefer not to be manhandled by my art partner.
She giggles and tosses her hair over her shoulder. “I’m just trying to get to know you. You should ask Caden and Jack about me. Oh, Eli and I get along too.”
“Not Luke?” I arch an eyebrow. She didn’t get a chance to collect them all? Poor girl.
“Sadly, no. Sidney told me to back off.” Angela shrugs. “She threatened to make me a social outcast, so I didn’t pursue him. That bitch doesn’t play.”
I figured that out without Sidney saying a word. Those cheerleaders have a superiority complex. I noticed Hannah wore my jersey today. She didn’t look happy about it. She glared at Harper in the hallway.
Guess Hannah got over whatever little crush she had on me when she couldn’t get me to rise to her attention.
“So have you guys fucked Harper yet?” Angela leans into me conspiratorially. “I mean, she’s a virgin, not a saint.”
I lean back in my chair and study the overdone doll next to me. Her hair is curled, and she wears more makeup than Harper. Her outfit is almost a size too small for her, emphasizing her breasts and hips.
I can see why the guys would have used her to scratch an itch. She’s got a nice body and if she’s this forward, she’d make for an easy lay. She smiles when she notices me checking her out.
“You aren’t part of the whole deal with her anyway, right?” Angela bites on the end of her pen. “After all, you weren’t there the day they claimed her in the cafeteria.”
“The whole deal?” I want to know what the rumor mill knows. Or what it thinks it knows.
“She’s the last virgin in our class, so of course they had to make her think she’s special. But obviously once the deed is done, they’ll be back on the market and screwing all of us again.” She pauses and gives me a pouty smile. “But not me. I’m ready for fresh blood.”
Her breast brushes against my arm. I ignore it.
“Where did you get your information?” That’s not the deal as I know it or as Harper knows it. Who’s giving this girl those ideas?
“Hannah and Ashley were talking in gym class last week.” Angela twirls her hair. “Besides, even if she puts out, she can't be as good as those of us with experience.”
Yeah, I'm not going to even justify that with an answer. She doesn’t seem to mind and continues on.
“Look, the girls in this school understand the pecking order. We’re lucky the top bitches let us play with their men to keep them satisfied.” Angela gives me a flirty look. “One girl couldn’t handle the full brunt of the horsemen.”
I make a noncommittal noise, neither confirming nor denying. My gaze drifts to Harper. Her head is down as she works.
Yesterday was ridiculous. Eight times. I’m not sure what the others expect from her, but if yesterday is any indication, we’ll wear the poor girl out.
Angela smiles slyly when she catches me looking at Harper.
“You know there’s a betting pool.” She leans in close. “I’d love the inside scoop. Some girls say she gave it up last week. There was a closet incident Friday…”
I pull out a sketch pad, wanting more info, and she’ll just spill it all if I let her talk.
“All four of them had her in there.” Angela’s cheeks flush and her eyes darken. “Could you imagine being surrounded by them?”
I furrow my brow. “Not my kind of fantasy.”
Though I’ve been in a similar situation with everyone in the shower on Sunday morning. Everyone naked and wet, with Harper in the middle. I can’t wait to have her to myself.
Angela giggles. “I wager she lost it then. A quickie in the closet to do the deed. Then they could have fucked her all weekend. The real question is which horseman did it first. There’s a bonus for the person who finds out the details.”
“What’s the bonus?” I ask like I’m genuinely interested.
She perks up like I’m going to spill everything. She practically wiggles in her seat. “A hundred dollars. The pot is almost a thousand dollars for whoever guesses everything.”
“Who’s in charge of this betting pool?” I glance over at Harper working on her drawings while Tanner does the same.
“It’s schoolwide, but the guy banking the money is Grant Perkins.”
I have no idea who that is, but I’m sure the guys do.