Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High 2)

His face scrunches up in distaste. “What are you doing with a guy like him? He’s going to drop you when he’s done with you.”

“And you wouldn’t do exactly the same thing?” I ask as I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow.

“No,” he scoffs. “I wouldn’t need to drop you because I wouldn’t be promising you anything. Girls who are with me know what’s up from the start.”

“And what’s that?”

“That I’ll show them a good time. That’s all they want and they know they’ll get it,” he explains.

“Look,” I say, stepping back as he’s somehow gotten closer again. “I’m sorry, you’ve gotten the wrong idea along the way. I’m with Nate because I’m in love with him not because I’m one of those skank ass girls looking for a good screw. When I say I’m not interested in you, I’m not playing games. I’m actually not interested.”

He looks down at me with curiosity. “Uh huh,” he grins before stepping closer and leaning in. “I get it. These are your people and you don’t want to be seen fraternizing with the enemy. It’s alright, babe. I won’t be the enemy for long.”

At that, he winks and walks away. I stare after him completely speechless. I mean, is he serious right now? I might have been interested that very first night I saw him, but that was before I realized he was a dirty cock sucking swamp turd.

I turn to face out the back door to find Nate’s curious eyes on mine and realize he’s just watched it all. I walk out towards him and he pulls me down in his lap. “Are you ok?” he questions.

“Yeah,” I say slowly. “That was the weirdest thing.”

“What did he want?”

“He thinks I’m into him,” I explain.

Nate barks out a sharp laugh. “What a fucking joke,” he says, shaking his head. “He knows you’re not interested. It was all a show for me. Why do you think he cornered you right in front of the door? He was trying to get a reaction out of me.”

I think it over and realize he’s right. It was all a show. He touched my back, he leaned in to whisper in my ear, he acted as though something was going on. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

“Because that’s what he wanted,” Nate explains. “He wants me to lose my shit and ruin Jesse’s party, and besides, it looked like you had it sorted.”

“I did,” I grin before I study him a little closer. “You never told me what you and Puck did last night?”

A guilty smirk crosses his face but it doesn’t last long as it’s replaced with pride and mischief. “Well, with the whole football team pre-occupied, we sort of broke into their school and stashed a few things in their lockers.”

“Nate,” I scold with wide eyes. “What did you do?”

“Relax,” he groans. “It’s fine.”

“Nate,” I say again, demanding answers.

He’s quiet for a short moment before he quickly glances around at who’s currently standing nearby us. “Their school has issues with drug use and possession and they’ve just started to crack down on it. Anyone caught with drugs will be getting an immediate suspension, so, we kind of planted a little evidence.”

“Nate,” I gasp. “You didn’t?”

A wicked grin spreads over his face. “Yeah,” he laughs. “We got a few of the football players, but don’t worry. They’ll probably just get detention. A suspension puts them out of the game for next week and the school can’t afford that right now, especially after losing to us last night.”

A thought occurs to me and I narrow my eyes in curiosity. “Where did you get drugs from?” I ask him. A wall comes down behind his eyes and I let out a sigh, realizing his lips are sealed on this one. “At least you didn’t try to smoke out another party.”

His eyes widen as he looks at me. “How’d you know about that?”

“How do you think?” I grin.

Realization hits him like a smack in the face. “Shit. That kid has such a big fucking mouth,” he says. “But trust me. If Jackson doesn’t stop fucking with you, he’ll be paying the ultimate price.”

I look down at him, realizing just how serious he is. I let out a heavy breath as he notices me watching him. “Jackson said you were going to drop me the second you’re done with me.”

Nate’s face hardens. “Do you think I’m about to do something stupid like drop the girl I’ve been in love with since I was a kid?”

A smile lifts the corner of my lips. “No, I guess not.”

“Good, because you’re fucking stuck with me.”

“Does that mean you’ll come and dance with me?”

“Not on your life,” he grins.

Chapter 7

I stand in the kitchen with Trish on Sunday night helping her with dinner. It’s been a massive weekend and I’m actually pleased that it’s nearly over. Jesse’s party didn’t finish until the early hours of Saturday morning and I was thankful that the boys hired a cleaning service to put the place back together rather than us having to do it. I mean, I’ve cleaned this place after a party once before and it’s not something I want to do again.