I tore my eyes from the fallen angel to stare at little Miss Rambler. The rapid thumping of her heartbeat came back. Her eyes opened wide; her mouth took on a semi-oval shape.
Ugh, what now?
"What?" I snapped.
She pointed behind me with shaken fingers. "Th-the…lo-locker, it—"
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" a raspy voice interrupted her.
She stiffened at the sound. A low whimper escaped her mouth.
The three remaining angels from the small group of footballers were now standing before us.
"If it isn't the famous princess," the blonde to Kyle's left sneered. "Are you lost?"
I raised a brow. Miss Rambler swiveled around to face them. An audible swallow engulfed us.
If these goons thought it was funny to bully others, they were barking up the wrong casket.
Blondie's head turned from left to right as if crossing a busy street. "Where is your little pet?" he teased.
Pet? This school was rising on the list of my most hated institutions. Not to mention the students.
I folded my arms across my chest. "Look, I don't have all day. So what'd you want?"
Two out of three boys broke out into a fit of laughter. I backtracked what I said, scanning for the joke. "Would you mind sharing what's so funny? I can't seem to find the joke." I snapped my fingers. "Oh, I get it, why don't you lend me a flashlight?"
The laughter ceased as sudden as how it began.
Darn, I thought my joke was funnier.
"It is true. Sweet lips with a sharp tongue," the brunette on Kyle's right chirped. His brown eyes twinkled with approval.
If I was not already annoyed, I might have accepted his weird compliment.
My gaze slid to their leader. There was no longer a smile on his face. It was replaced with a disdained smirk.
Right, no peace for the wicked.
"Ah, priceless." Blondie wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye. "Could you move your rotten corpse to the left side of the hall where you belong? You're blocking our locker."
Oh, this boy needed to be taught a lesson. Was this amusing to him? Someone forgot to mention we weren't in high school.
"Leave the poor princess alone, Colin. She doesn't know the rules," the brunette chimed in. "Guess who does?"
Three pairs of eyes zeroed in on their prey: Miss Rambler. She took a shaken step back; her heart beating faster. At this rate, the poor girl would have a heart attack if she didn't calm down.
Before the thought sank in, I stepped in front of her. "Hey, leave my friend alone."
Everyone froze, including me. It was after I said the word, I realized I did.
Silence echoed around us.
What the heck? I'm sure it was not bad to call a human friend. I did it before.
Ugh, screw it.
Right now the little thing needed my help. I was not going to allow her to get bullied, not on my watch.
Kyle broke the vow of silence. "Friend?"
Jesus!
His voice caressed my eardrums, and washed over my body, leaving goosebumps in its wake. My fingers folded in fists at my sides to suppress a shiver.
Gosh, was he trying to kill me? Ah, I won't even answer that. Of course, he was.
'Focus, Brianna.'
I swallowed, brushing off the alienated feeling, and took another step forward, landing a few inches in front of the devil.
The aroma of fresh forest air — the type which could be smelt early in the mornings — bombarded my nostrils. The need to bury my face in his shirt slapped me across the temple. For a second, I felt disoriented.
I wiggled my nose, tightened my lips, and tilted my head to look at him. Our eyes met and I got tongue-tied. The frontotemporal network of my brain forgot to retrieve the relevant words needed.
Oh, my.
A chorus of whispers surrounded us and I came back to reality.
Brianna, what's wrong with you?
I sent up a prayer, hoping I looked as angry as I should be.
"Yes, friend," I drawled, grateful my voice sounded stronger than how I felt. "Why don't you put a leash on your mutts before they get impounded? Or worst."
The muscles in his jaws ticked as grey eyes grew darker. A sparkle blinded me.
Was this even possible?
A small army of growls rumbled around us.
He opened his mouth but closed it when a familiar voice called out, "Anderson? Brianna?"
Kyle's glare never faltered and neither did mine. "White, why don't you keep a nozzle on your leach? One of these days she might get stomped. Or worse."
My words were thrown back in my face.
"I'll try," the voice started. "But, we both know she doesn't know the rules, Anderson. What if one of your people made the same mistake? How would you want me to have it handled?"
The question got Kyle's gaze torn from mine. I looked in the same direction.
Brian stood in the center of what seemed to be the second half of the football players, while the remaining student body circled us.
"And what would you do if a similar incident happened to you?"
Brian held his ground. "I would give her a verbal warning and let her off the hook. After all, it is her first day."
Wow, were they talking about my faith right in front of me?
Kyle cocked his head to the side, studying Brian. It did not last for more than a minute before, "Okay." His interest returned to me. "The right side of the hall belongs to me. Keep off my side and everyone stays happy. Am I clear?"
Was this real? Was he talking to me?
I glanced behind me at Miss Rambler. Nah, it must be her.
"Who me? For a second there, I thought you both were referring to someone else."
I did not go through a whole shit of a year to hide under the rules of a measly dog. Hell, no.
I plugged both my index fingers in my ear canals, and shook them. When I unplugged them, I addressed him, "Awe, it's cute how you both want me to be happy. I appreciate it. However, I only follow my own rules." I placed a light tap on Kyle's nose bridge.
Another harmony of growls sounded throughout the room. Miss Rambler snuck further behind me. Their leader looked anything but unsettled. His shoulders bounced. "Well, at least I tried."
"Wait!" Brian bellowed, interrupting what Kyle was about to do. "Brianna, now!" His tone was heavy with authority. So different from the casual calm and fun going pitch I loved.
"Brianna, now," he repeated, his voice grew louder, more demanding. The hidden message hanging in the air.
A groan left my lips. My head whipped around to glare at my dad. My ponytail smacked Mr. Bad Guy in the face. A growl was his response while a smile threatened to overthrow my anger.
"Now," Brain ordered.
I arched a brow. He reciprocated the action. "I mean it."
Darn him.
I shouldn't, but I had to. I could not allow my parents to receive any more bad news.
"Ugh, fine." I raised my index finger. "But, I don't care about both your rules. I do whatever I feel is right." With that note, I pushed past Kyle and stormed off.
A small distance away, I noticed my human was not by my side. I glanced behind me to find her shrinking at the glare of the others.
Oh, I hated this school, and I hated these brats.
"Come!" I yelled, louder than expected.
A startled yelp escaped her lips before she hurried after me.
Darn men and their stupid feud!
Darn humans!
Darn rules!
Darn it all!