Dark Hearts (Light in the Dark 3)

“Equally as boring as staying home—only staying home is better because I can wear my pajamas.”

“Nova,” she whines. Yes, whines. “You never want to do anything. You hang out with Jace and go to school, what kind of life is that?” Her brow furrows and she stops in her tracks, grabbing my arm so I’m forced to stop with her. “What exactly did you do all summer? Cade and I were busy most of the time, and Thea was all wrapped up in Xander, and we barely saw you.”

“Um … I worked and …” I rack my brain for something I did that didn’t involve Jace, but seeing as how I moved in with him after classes ended, pretty much everything I did this summer involved him in some way. “Took pictures and stuff.”

“And stuff?” She latches onto the word. “Did this stuff involve Jace?”

“Well, sometimes.”

“I knew you guys were having sex.” I half-expect her to break out in a victory dance.

“Wrong,” I inform her. “He’s my friend. That’s all.”

She stares me down—looking for any sign that I’m lying. “Whatever you say,” she replies after a moment. She starts walking again, and I assume that means the conversation is over.

It feels good to be back in class.

Unlike most people, I’ve always loved school and learning. It was my home away from home growing up. My safe place.

Rae and I grab seats side by side, and I drop my backpack between my feet.

Rae’s phone vibrates on her desk and she gets a goofy smile on her face—a text from Cade, I figure it’s safe to assume.

More students trickle in, and I recognize most people from last year. My photography and graphic design classes are all relatively small. Huntley is better known for its athletics than its arts—but I didn’t choose to go here because of what it had to offer but because it was the farthest school away from my family. I wanted the excuse of distance for not going back.

A guy drops into the seat beside me, his bag bumping mine.

“Sorry,” he mutters.

“It’s okay,” I say, not even bothering to look at him.

I bend down and pull my laptop from my backpack so I’ll be ready to take notes when the professor gets here. If today’s class is anything like the ones I experienced last week, they’ll jump right into the lesson and that’s that. We’re sophomores now so the way the professors see it, we’re adults and shouldn’t need to be coddled, and that’s just the way I like it.

“I’m Joel.”

I bend back down, looking for a pencil and my notebook just in case my laptop dies or something else happens. I like to be prepared for all things.

“What’s your name?”

My head snaps up, and I look at the guy sitting beside me. “Are you talking to me?”

He laughs. “Yeah.”

“Why?” I snap.

Beside me, Rae snickers. I resist the urge to elbow her in the gut.

“I don’t know, because you’re sitting beside me and we’re going to be in classes together for the whole year. I recognize you from my web design class too.”

“I’m here to learn. Not make friends.”

“She’s your friend,” he points out, leaning forward to look at Rae.

“He’s good,” she whispers under her breath.

“I’m new here,” Joel continues. “I could use some friends.”

“You could also apparently use my foot up your ass,” I mutter and Rae snorts.