Jackson (Broken Hill Boys 2)

Phoenix’s eyes narrow on me as she shoots a sharp glare right into my soul, but she can’t hurt me, not anymore. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” she warns. “You better watch your mouth.”

I grin. “Tell me, Phoenix, why is it the girls are still using my choreography? What happened to yours? Oh, that’s right. It was shit, just like you were as a captain. Geez, you certainly lost that crown quickly. I’ve never seen someone tumble down from the top quite so fast. Are you okay? That fall would have hurt.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she repeats through a clenched jaw.

“Oh, come on, Phoenix,” I laugh. “You and I both know that no matter what you do, you’ll never be able to take me down. I may not be on the team anymore, but I’m still a fucking boss bitch. Come at me all you want, but just know that I will be there to take you down every single time.”

“Watch yourself,” she murmurs low as the bell sounds, signaling the beginning of the school day. “You don’t want to start a war with me.”

“You’re the one who followed me in here and started this, and don’t act as though I don’t see right through you. You cornered me in here so you wouldn’t have an audience because you’re scared of me. You always have been because if anyone was going to steal your crown, it’d be me, but you know what? I don’t want it. It’s worthless and a joke, just like you are. So, no, Phoenix, I don’t start wars. You know me better than that. I finish them.”

With that, I turn my back and stride out of the bathroom, leaving her behind, hopefully, to never have to deal with again.

As I break out into the corridor of busy students rushing by, a grin splits across my face. Fuck it felt good to flex my metaphorical muscles and finally put that bitch in her place.

I hurry down to my locker and quickly grab what I need for my morning classes and find Brylee and Courtney. “What are you so happy about?” Brylee questions as Puck steps in beside Courtney and drops his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his side.

“Oh, nothing,” I beam. “Just shut a bitch down.”

Brylee laughs as Courtney zones out and gets distracted by Puck’s loving attention. “Tell me it was Phoenix,” Brylee begs. “And why the hell didn’t I know anything about this?”

“Because she cornered me in the bathroom which now means I haven’t had a chance to go and get my morning coffee.”

“What did she say this time?”

“You know, just the usual.”

“And…?” Bry prompts.

“And this time I didn’t let her get away with it. You should have seen her face, Bry. It was freaking awesome. I don’t doubt that the second I walked out of there, a tiny little tear of shame slid down her twenty thousand dollar cheekbones.”

“Wait?” Courtney gasps, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me to a stop. “What do you mean twenty thousand dollar cheekbones? Did Phoenix get her face fixed?”

I grin, not even feeling bad for letting Phoenix’s summer activities out of the bag. “She had her nose fixed too.”

“You’re shitting me,” Courtney laughs. “What a waste of money. She looks no different.”

“I know,” I say, “She’s convinced that she looks fiercer, but if you look really close, her nose is crooked. She spent two weeks over the summer hiding out in her bedroom because she had two black eyes.”

Brylee shakes her head as she comes to a stop outside her homeroom. “I seriously don’t understand girls sometimes.”

“You and me both,” I tell her. “As much of a bitch that Phoenix is, she has a really pretty face and she’s going to end up ruining a good thing. She used to tell me that she wanted to get her boobs done, a softer jaw, and lip fillers. She already has fake nails, platinum blonde hair which is always breaking, and eyelash extensions. She’s going to look ridiculous by the time she’s thirty.”

“Well, let’s just hope she finds herself a husband who’ll put up with her shit and pay for all this to get done,” Courtney grumbles under her breath making Puck scoff in distaste.

Brylee shakes her head. “I’m sure we’ll see her on ‘Real Housewives of Broken Hill’ one day.”

Somehow, I don’t doubt that.

I leave the girls and Puck to get to homeroom and make it just moments before the warning bell, saving myself from yet another lunchtime detention. I take my seat and get comfortable before launching into a conversation with the few girls I’ve befriended in here. Only today, they don’t hold my attention long before a familiar body cuts through my vision and captures my curious gaze.