Red Thorns (Thorns Duet 1)

The rest of the week goes suspiciously well.

Aside from the usual bitchy remarks and some catfights. Okay, the catfights were my imagination. Reina will have my metaphorical balls if I fight with other cheerleaders.

I tend to punch and that’s apparently a lower blow than clawing and pulling hair.

The only problem is Lucy.

I was right to worry. I think they converted her to the dark side and I have to perform some sort of voodoo ritual to get her back. It’s not that she’s been ignoring me, but she’s been keeping her distance more than usual. She doesn’t give me run-on sentences just to convey the simplest things.

I kill my engine in the school’s parking lot. We have to cheer for the stupid Devils in their important game tonight and Reina will probably grill our asses and throw them to Brianna and Prescott to chew on if we’re late. However, we need to have this conversation.

“Hey, Luce?”

“Yeah?” She stares at the rearview mirror as she fixes her bright pink lipstick.

Her ginger hair is pulled up in a ribbon that matches the black and silver pom-poms we will be forced to use later. She also put on a ton of makeup to hide her beautiful freckles, which is a crime. But if I tell her that, she’ll say I’m the only one who thinks they’re beautiful, so I bite my tongue.

As for myself, I’m wearing my tight cheer uniform and left my hair loose. I put on black lipstick because, hey, it goes with the Black Devils’ theme. Or at least, they’ll think that.

I face my friend. “Talk to me.”

“About what?” She’s still too busy with the lipstick.

“About why you’ve changed.”

“I haven’t changed.”

“Yes, you have. You’re not yourself since you became a member of Reina’s secret society club that’s rumored to be best buddies with Satan.”

The lipstick remains suspended in midair as she stares at me. “Just because you hate Reina and the squad doesn’t mean I do, too. I thought we agreed on that, Nao.”

“We did. You can worship at her fake altar with blinding glitter all you want, but I just feel like you’re…not the same.”

“I am. Are you sure you’re not jealous?”

“Of Queen Bee and her satanic glitter altar? No way.”

She laughs, hitting my shoulder with hers. “You’re so funny.”

“Objection. Sarcastic.”

“Funny,” she repeats. “I wish the others knew about your sense of humor.”

“So they’d choke on it?” I gasp in mock reaction. “I didn’t know you had such a strong grudge against them, Luce.”

“Yeah, well, Bree still says hurtful things with no filter.”

“Then she’ll be the first basic bitch to choke on my sense of humor. Got it. I’m going to need to up the dosage with that one.” I raise a brow. “What about Prescott?”

She tightens her hold on her lipstick, even though she’s already done with it. “W-what about him?”

“You just stuttered, Luce.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did. If his name alone makes you nervous, how about all those rendezvous at The Grill?”

“Those weren’t rendezvous. We went with the squad and the football team.”