12. Mallory
MALLORY
The chatter in the lunchroom went up substantially, so much so that I turned in my seat to see what the fuss was about. My fork paused halfway to my mouth. I assumed a fight had broken out or someone had dumped a tray of food across the floor. But no.
Mason and Maddox walked in, the cause of all the chaos.
The twins were flanked by two other guys, and all four of them moved in a loose formation.
I blinked, unable to believe what I was seeing.
How could two people create so many waves with just their presence?
Was I reading the room wrong? I knew I was out of the high-school loop, but this…
this was absurd. It was one thing to read about their popularity or hear about it from Paisley and Atlas, and quite another thing to see it in motion.
“Torin and Levi,” Atlas informed, leaning over the table.
I snuck a glance at him to see he was just as transfixed as everyone else in the room, including me. Fine, so maybe I understood a little why everyone was enamored. Atlas’s eyes tracked their movement with a gleam of appreciation.
Mason and Maddox sauntered through the lunchroom, making their way toward the back, near the wall of windows, just two tables away from ours.
“The football gods, or so they think,” Paisley muttered beside me, her voice dry as she stabbed a carrot with enough force to make her fork scrape against the tray.
“Is this normal?” I asked, my gaze still fixed on the group as they cut through the center of the room.
“Every goddamn day.” She rolled her eyes, chewing slowly. “It was worse when Kreed was here.”
I raised a brow, finally tearing my attention away to look at her. “Kreed?”
“Kreed Corvo is their older brother by a year. He was the star quarterback all four years at Public when he attended, but that fine-ass specimen sadly graduated last spring.” Atlas sighed dramatically, pressing a hand to his chest like the loss physically pained him.
“If you think Maddox is frightening, Kreed embodied fear…but in a sexy way. He’s the silent, brooding type. ”
“Who is at the table with them?” I asked, watching as a fifth body joined the group, tall and lean with brown hair swept back from his face.
“Hudson,” Paisley said, following my line of sight. “And all five of them are Ravens. They tend to stick together, as you’ll soon learn.”
As if on cue, the table they approached cleared. Not abruptly. No words were exchanged. People just got up and moved.
Once the table was empty, Mason dropped into a seat, his body loose and relaxed as he sprawled back in the chair.
He flashed a grin at a group of girls nearby.
The three of them were huddled together at the next table over, and they immediately went pink, giggling as they stole glances at him.
One of them tucked her hair behind her ear, biting her lip.
I swore Maddox and I rolled our eyes in unison, and as if he sensed my annoyance at his brother, his gaze locked on mine.
The air in my lungs stuttered. It was absurd, and yet I couldn’t look away even though every rational part of my brain told me I should. Besides, I didn’t want him to think I found him intimidating, so I raised my brows, issuing a…challenge? I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.
“What did you do to Maddox Corvo?” Paisley whispered, her elbow digging into my side. “He literally devoured you with his eyes like he wanted to have you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“Nothing,” I said quickly, tearing my gaze away and focusing on my food with sudden interest. “I don’t think. We’re lab partners.”
Atlas’s lips curved. “Well done, matcha.”
“I’m not sure he likes me,” I admitted, pushing a piece of lettuce around on my plate.
Paisley snorted. “He doesn’t like anyone. Not like Mason, who likes everyone a little too much.”
“Knocking him on his ass didn’t win me any favors,” I muttered, not thinking about what I was saying until the words were already out.
Both of them froze.
Atlas’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. Paisley’s head snapped toward me so fast I heard her neck crack.
“You did what?” Atlas’s voice rose just enough to make a few people at the neighboring table glance over.
I gave them a quick rundown of what happened in the woods during my impromptu yoga session yesterday. Paisley immediately grinned while Atlas threw his head back and laughed, drawing more than a few eyes in our direction, including Maddox’s.
My cheeks grew warm, but I didn’t mind his eyes on me. Everyone else’s, however, was not my favorite thing.
Paisley shook her head, but her brown eyes were shining. “You might be the coolest person I’ve met.”
“Hey,” Atlas protested, pointing at himself with his fork. A piece of chicken nearly slid off. “I’m sitting right here.”
“You were dethroned,” she said sweetly, not even looking at him.
Across the room, a younger classman was cutting through the lunchroom. He brushed past Maddox’s chair. It was nothing, an accident, barely a bump, the kid’s hip catching the back of Maddox’s chair as he tried to squeeze through the narrow space, but the reaction from the table was immediate.
Torin straightened in his seat, his shoulders pulling back. Levi’s jaw muscle jumped visibly. Hudson looked up from his phone, his expression darkening as if the kid had committed a crime. Mason’s eyes were on his brother, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.
Maddox didn’t move. He just glared at the kid.
The boy paled, his face draining of color so fast, his eyes widening as he took a stumbling step backward. “Sorry,” he rushed out before fleeing through the double doors into the hallway.
Paisley followed my gaze and snorted quietly. “That’s them being nice.”
“That’s power,” Atlas corrected, not laughing now. “They don’t have to do anything. Everyone already knows better.”
Maddox’s eyes flicked back to me once more, like he was checking whether I’d seen it too. I had.
Paisley nudged my foot under the table. “Just ignore them. They get off on being assholes. Welcome to fucking Elmwood Public.”
I hesitated, then asked the question that had been circling my brain all day. “What do you know about their father? I got the impression Maddox has a rocky relationship with him.”
Paisley’s smile faded a notch. “Careful. Digging into Donovan Corvo is dangerous. He has eyes everywhere. No place is safe. Especially not Public.”
“I was just curious,” I assured, nonchalantly.
“That’s how it starts,” Paisley said lightly, but her eyes weren’t joking. “The next thing you know, no one’s heard from you in weeks.”
Dramatic? Perhaps, but I also believed they had reason to be cautious.
Paisley’s expression grew serious. “His wife died when Mason and Maddox were young. It changed him.”
How would she know that unless… “It sounds like you know him personally.”
Paisley and Atlas shared a glance before she gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I did. But that was a long time ago.”
“Before Mason and Maddox became the twin jackasses,” Atlas added.
“Be careful with Maddox, but avoid Mason at all costs,” she warned.
I didn’t want to be intrigued by Maddox or the Corvo family, and yet…I couldn’t help the interest not just rooting within me but sprouting.
Drawn by an invisible string, I glanced at their table, my eyes colliding with Maddox’s. I held his gaze for a beat longer than I should have, my heart hammering in my chest. What did he see when he looked at me? Why were his eyes on me? Why couldn’t I look away?
As I slipped into the hallway, a breath eased out as I prepared for my next class. I made it around the corner when someone caught my wrists from behind and hauled me sideways.
I stumbled, sneakers skidding as I tried to find my footing on the slick floor, my bag sliding off my shoulder and nearly hitting the ground.
By the time my brain caught up with what was happening, I was inside an empty classroom, the familiar scent of dry-erase markers and old textbooks filling my nose.
Click. The door shut behind me.
“What the—” I spun, heart slamming into my ribs hard enough to bruise, my wrists tingling where fingers had just been wrapped around them.
Mason Corvo stood between me and the exit, blocking any hope of a quick escape.
Sunlight cut across his face through the narrow window, catching in his dark hair and illuminating his grin in unfair charm and making him look entirely predatory.
“Hey, Freckles,” he said, his eyes flitting over me with lazy approval, taking their time roaming from my face down to my scuffed sneakers and back up again. “You’re looking kind of hot today.”
“Only kind of?” I crossed my arms over my chest, annoyance dulling my expression. “It makes me wonder how any girl falls for your shit.”
“It’s the dimples.” He flashed them at me, his grin widening until they appeared in full force—deep, symmetrical, disgustingly effective. “They’re a gift.”
“Or a curse.” I shifted, trying to look more confident than I felt. “But fine, they’re effective. What do you want? You’re going to make me late.”
He didn’t move from the door. “I’ll write you a pass, and what I want is simple. Sleep with my brother.”
I choked on absolutely nothing, air catching in my throat hard enough to make me cough. “You want me to do what?”
“Maddox,” he repeated slowly, like I didn’t have a brain cell to my name. “Have sex with him. The sooner, the better.”
I scrunched my nose, making a face. “I’m not a hooker.”
He came forward at me, and I automatically backed up. Yet somehow, he maneuvered me into a wall. My back hit the solid brick as I kept my eyes on his, not trusting to lose sight of him. His hands came up on either side of my head, boxing me in. “I never said I’d pay you.”
“Why the fuck would I sleep with him?” I demanded, heat crawling up my neck, contemplating whether I should get myself out of this situation, which would end with Mason bent over, clutching his crown jewels, or let this play out. I opted for the latter…for now.