ZOEY’S POV

Boredom had clawed its way into my chest like an infection. It has been two days since I spoke to my parents, yet I haven’t made a move to pack my stuff and move in with Adam.

Mom must have probably told Adam about it so I made sure I ignored him like my life depended on it. And to subside the boredom I felt, I scrolled through my phone endlessly.

Adam would have pushed with it but at the moment, he was busy with classes and gym commitments.

Theo on the other hand existed like a shadow. He was always irritating because that was how he always made me feel.

The worst part? He acted like nothing had happened. Like that kiss and my slap had been some mild afternoon drama.

So when Farrah texted me about the frat party, I didn’t even hesitate.

Frat party tonight, so come get wasted with me before we both die of boredom. Also: slut fits required. No negotiations. This was the text she sent to me that afternoon.

Since it was the weekend and I was left with zero better options, I agreed.

When it was time, I threw on a tight black crop top and a skirt that barely covered anything. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want Theo to see me and regret ever messing with my head.

But I was sure as hell he wouldn’t be at the party. Adam definitely wasn’t coming, and Theo usually stuck close to him as they were like two peas in a pod.

When we arrived, the frat house was already packed full. Music thudded through the walls, the smell of beer and sweat was thick in the air.

Farrah squealed as she dragged me inside and I followed without hesitation.

Neon lights flickered across the living room where bodies writhed like snakes on a dance floor too small for this many people.

We found a spot near the drinks table and Farrah immediately poured something cheap and fruity into two red cups and handed me one.

“To make more bad choices,” she cheered, lifting her cup above her head.

Mimicking her, I said, “And to pretend we have our lives together.” We clinked and drank.

Everything was fine at first. It was loud, chaotic, and mind numbingly until I saw him.

Theo.

He stepped into the room like he owned it, dressed in black jeans and a fitted gray tee shirt that clung to him like it wanted to live on his skin.

At that instant, my chest went cold as I cursed under my breath. “Of all nights…”

Farrah raised a brow, “Isn’t that—?”

“Don’t,” I snapped.

He walked past the crowd and locked eyes with me immediately but I looked away, sipping my drink and pretending not to care.

But my throat was suddenly dry, and my stomach started doing that flip thing again. It was the only thing my stomach ever did around him.

As if I haven't had enough, one of the girls standing near us jumped to her feet and yelled Theo’s name.

She threw her arms around him and pulled him close and he didn’t resist.

The girl sat right on his thigh like he was her personal throne and started grinding on him like they were behind closed doors.

I tried not to look, I tried to act like it didn’t matter but I failed miserably. My gaze flicked back to him, just once and that was enough as our eyes met.

The girl on his thigh turned her face toward his, leaning in to kiss him but still, his eyes didn’t leave mine. I felt like someone had shoved a brick into my throat.

Why did it hurt? He wasn’t mine so I had no right feeling this way.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I pushed my chair back, “I need air,” I muttered, grabbing Farrah’s arm.

“You okay?”

“I just need to step out.” She didn’t need to respond as I slipped through the crowd and then out of the door.

Outside, the night was cold. With my hands wrapped around myself, I leaned against the porch rail.

Why the hell did I feel like this?

Jealousy? Heartache? What right did I even have to be upset? I was the one who slapped him, I was the one who said he should stay away.

“Hey,” a low voice called out from the shadows and I turned to face the owner of the voice.

A guy stood by the edge of the house, smoking like he was trying to set the building ablaze. Thick smoke billowed from his lips, and his eyes glittered under the porch light.

“You’re Zoey, right?” he said, flicking ash onto the gravel.

I didn’t answer, I kept staring instead.

“You’re hot,” he added, stepping closer. “Gimme your number.”

“Not interested.” I rolled my eyes and then turned to leave but he moved fast.

One second I was heading back inside, the next, his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t be rude, baby,” he said, pulling me toward himself, his body pressed against mine.

Disgust rose in my throat, “Let go.” I hissed, trying to wriggle from him but he didn’t instead his grip tightened.

“You think you’re too good to talk to me?”

I shoved at his chest but he didn’t budge and that’s when I felt fear. Real, creeping fear that was about to knock me out but then I heard his voice

“Back off.” Theo hissed.

Relief poured into me like warm water. The grip on my wrist loosening immediately but not because the guy suddenly respected boundaries.

But because Theo was already grabbing him by the neck.

Theo slammed him against the wall of the porch with enough force to rattle him. His face twisted with rage as he drew back and punched him hard across his face.

He didn't stop there, he pushed him again, and then again but before he could repeat his action, I yelled, “Theo stop!” I shouted, grabbing his arm but he wasn’t listening.

When he finally stopped, the guy slumped to the ground, groaning as blood trickled from his nose. Theo stood over him, his chest heaving with his fists still clenched.

“She is not like those other girls so don't touch her,” he growled and then turned to me.

“Why are you doing this?” I huffed. “Why do you even care?”

“You know why.”

“No, I don’t! You let that girl grind on you like I wasn’t even in the room!” I said even before I could realize.

“You think I wanted that?”

“You didn’t stop her!”

“Because I was trying not to do this!” he shouted. “Not to fall into this mess with you again!”

“I don’t mean anything to you. You made that clear.” I snapped.

“And who told you that?” he shot back at me.

“I didn’t need anyone to, I can see it.”

He stared at me for a long time and with a quiet and rough voice, he said, “Move in with us. This happened because you’re alone. I can't allow it to happen again.”

“Why would I live with my enemy?” I scoffed, crossing my hands on my chest.

“I’ll leave instead,” he said. “Just… stay close to your brother, Leika.”

The way he said my name made my whole body stutter. The anger, the chaos, the fear, it all melted into something else, something dangerous.

I could’ve kissed him right then as I wanted to but I didn’t. I turned away, my heart pounding like a war drum.

“You don’t have to leave,” I whispered. “I’ll move in tomorrow.”

ZOEY'S POV

I was fucked.

That was the only thought running through my head as I sat in the cafeteria, absentmindedly listening as Farrah chattered on and on about something her mom had bought on Amazon.

“You know, she literally got what I ordered and what I got as a package.” She giggled, flipping her shiny brown locks over her shoulder. “I felt so bad for her, but I told her not to order from them since they had multiple bad reviews.”

“Uh. Un.” I answered distractedly, barely making out what she had said.

All I could think of was what happened this morning and yesterday.

After finally putting the right things into place, and making my room look like what I had wanted, I got out last night for dinner only to discover my room was right next to Lanvin ‘s.

That's not the worst part.

The mortifying part was coming out to walk smack into his naked chest.

Like what the fuck?

Guys, get a shirt!

The annoying part however was that the bastard saw nothing wrong with it. Even Zane. The mother fucking betrayer of a brother only shrugged when I practically screamed my lungs off with a red face.

I am a virgin. Did I need to spell it to their faces before they stop harassing my poor virgin cunt?

I was supposed to be innocent, but can I stay innocent when a body from one of my many fantasies suddenly pops out of nowhere in the house with a villain ‘s face?

I gripped the plastic fork in my hand tightly, stabbing it into the salad on my plate as I imagined his smug face.

“Woah, woah woah there tiger. Easy to do now.” Farrah laughed, her hands reaching to save the plate of salad in front of me. “What's got into you today?”

“Who else?” I snarked airily, rolling my eyes.

“Lanvin?” My best friend guessed, tilting her head and letting out another laugh when she knew she had it right. “What did he do this time?”

“What didn't he do is what you should be asking.” I rolled my eyes again. It seemed I was doing it ever so often at the mention of that jerk.

Ever since my brother decided to take in a best friend from god knows where, my life's been in constant danger. A Lanvin danger.

“So I told you I moved in with them right?” I started, my ever gossip lover Farrah moving in closer to me. “Just barely two days and I am already regretting my decision. I tell you Farrah, this bastard does this on purpose.”

“What did he actually do?”

“He was playing fucking jazz at three in the morning knowing quiet well I need my beauty sleep.” I huffed.

Farrah stifled a giggle, and I swear to god, I was close to losing it.

“Alright, but did you confront him? Tell him to turn the volume down or anything?”

“I did!”

“So?” She asked, shaking her head as she waited for my response, her bright green eyes twinkling with new found gossip. “What did he say?”

I sighed dramatically , “Quote and unquote, the bastard said, it's to clear your mind from masturbating.”

“I can't believe he said that.” She bursted into a goggling fit.

I rolled my eyes at her laughing form. “And I can't believe you are laughing.”

We are literally in the same category of virgins, but looking at her now, I couldn't tell anymore.

There was this glow about her, that I couldn't pinpoint.

“Speak of the devil.” Farrah said in-between giggles, jutting her chin towards the cafeteria’s door.

Striding into the messy cafeteria were the hockey team and the football teams, their tall and bulky frames intimidating and drawing everyone in an instant, but among them two stood out.

One, I identified as my brother, due to sharing the same mass of sleek shiny black hair as him, and the other, well, let's say his blonde hair and brown eyes were what caught me.

I dropped my gaze to the table trying to ignore them, or avoid their sights if that was possible.

As much as I liked having a popular brother, there was the downside of it as well, and I wasn't going to mention them. Nope.

“Hey, can I sit here?” A voice suddenly sounded from behind me, startling me and Farrah.

“Sweet baby Jesus! What the hell?” Farrah and I chorused in fright.

We both looked over, taking sight of a boy in a football jersey, his brown hair tousled by the wind, his baby blue eyes growing smaller as his face burned with embarrassment.

“I am sorry, I didn't mean to scare you two, I just wanted a place to sit.” He quickly apologized, squeezing the good tray in his hands.

I have him once over, my face skeptical, “it's alright, you can sit.”

“Thank you!” He beamed at us, plopping onto the bench like he had been waiting to do so all his life. “My name's Ben.” He introduced himself, Farrah barely paying any attention to him.

Saving the poor boy from embarrassment, I replied, “nice to meet you. My name's Zoey.”

“I know.” Ben said, a blush clouding his face as he looked over at me then at his plate. “Your brother Zane talks about you all the time.”

Okay now, I had no idea what face I was making, because this guy screamed weird from miles away.

I took a quick look at Farrah noticing she had the same comical look on her face as mine.

“Okay…” I drawled out, hoping the awkward atmosphere could go, but the guy only made it worse.

“It's not that he mentions you in a bad way, it's just that he talks about you, like bragging, and I see it now, you are pretty, and so is your brother.” He stammered, scratching the back of his head, anxiously looking at me in horror. “No. I meant your brother was handsome cause guys aren't pretty you know?”

No, and dude, can you just stop? You are making it worse.

“Okay, yeah so I can't do this.” Farrah said, making a face at me as she made to leave. “Bye, Zoey!”

“Don't you dare!” I hissed, quickly latching onto her skirt and pulling it. One wrong move and she's fucked.

She whined crazily like a bitch, but I didn't give a damn what she thought. I had been in more embarrassing situations when it was her turn, and I had sat through it with her.

Ben looked nervously between us, tension rising in his face as he took in my annoyed form. “I am so sorry, I only wanted to ask if you could go out with me tonight.”

Gosh fucking no??

I opened my mouth to answer, but just then a voice cut me off from behind.

“I thought you asked me out already.”

Zoey's POV

Theo stood behind Ben as if he owned the entire cafeteria. One hand was resting casually on the back of my seat, the other holding an unopened bottle of Gatorade. His face was expressionless, but his eyes… yeah, those were all kinds of smug.

Ben looked up at him in confusion. “Huh?”

“She asked me to dinner last night,” Theo continued, keeping a straight face. “I told her I'll bring flowers and everything." Then he turned to me. "Don’t tell me you’re playing hard to get now.”

Farrah choked on her juice.

Ben blinked fast, glancing between us like he was trying to do the math.

“That’s not... uh... I didn’t know...”

Theo bent over my chair, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. He was so close I could smell his shampoo. “Look, man. I get it. She’s hot, but I don’t like sharing.”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse you?”

“Oh, you’re talking now?” he asked without even looking at me.

Ben’s ears were bright red now. The poor boy stood up so fast his tray almost flipped.

“I think I’ll just.. uh... go sit over there. Sorry.”

He was gone before I could stop him. I turned to Theo slowly, feeling anger burn in my chest. “What the hell was that?”

“I saved you.”

“You ruined it!”

He twisted the bottle of his Gatorade open again. “You’re welcome, Princess.”

I shoved my chair back and stood to my feet. “You’re such a jackass.”

Theo smiled and walked off to join his group at the back. I sank back into my chair.

“Breathe,” Farrah murmured carefully, rubbing my back. “In through your nose, out through your rage.”

I glared at her. “Why are you laughing?”

“I’m not! I just... Ben wasn’t your type anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged. “You need someone who can actually look you in the eye without stuttering.”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted Theo jumping in like some jealous husband.”

“You two have issues.”

“We do not.”

Farrah raised both brows. “Sure.”

I was done. I grabbed my laptop and shoved it into my bag with probably too much force. My salad went untouched and forgotten as I slung the strap over my shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Farrah asked.

“Class!” I snapped. “I’ve got Directing and Stage Performance in twenty minutes and I need to keep myself from committing murder.”

"Wait!" Farrah scrambled to get her things and run after me. We were almost at the door of the cafeteria when I stopped walking for a second, feeling something behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know he was watching. Still, I did.

Slowly, I looked over my shoulder and there he was, sitting with his hockey friends. They were laughing and joking as if they didn’t just tag-team the most irritating moment of my day.

But Theo was watching me, sitting reclined and with his legs spread. His face was blank, but his eyes were all over me. So I raised my hand and gave him the finger.

His entire table erupted. I heard loud whoops and catcalls and a few exaggerated gasps. I didn’t stay to hear the rest.

I turned around and walked away with my chin up. Because if Theo Denning wanted to play games, he had no idea who he was messing with.

********

Farrah was practically bouncing beside me as we headed toward class.

“I still can’t believe he said you were already his date!” she said, bursting into another laugh. “God, Theo’s got you bad.”

I glared at her. “He doesn’t have me anything. He’s an ass.”

“Uh-huh. That’s why your face went tomato red when he showed up, right?”

“I was embarrassed, not turned on. Get the difference!”

Farrah cackled like I just told the funniest joke of the year. “Sure, sure. Just admit you like him a little.”

“I don’t like him,” I snapped. “In fact, I’m going to prove it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you planning?”

“I’m going to date Ben.”

Farrah stopped walking. “Ben?”

“Yes, Ben!” I grumbled, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. “He’s cute, he’s sweet and he doesn’t make me want to set things on fire.”

Farrah tilted her head. “You’re gonna date Ben to prove you don’t want Theo?”

“Exactly.”

She let out a slow whistle. “This I have to see. Good luck, drama queen. I’ve got math.”

“Enjoy your numbers,” I muttered, peeling off toward the theater hall while she walked off giggling.

Inside the hall, a few students were already warming up. I spotted Ben immediately from his brown tousled hair, soft eyes and tall build. He had this slightly awkward, almost golden retriever energy. He was clean-cut and definitely gym-fit, but without the testosterone cloud of Theo and his boys.

He was stretching by the edge of the stage, humming to himself.

I stared at him for a second. He was handsome. Maybe not the type that set your bones on fire, but cute in a safe and warm way.

Attraction could be built, right?

I walked over to him. “Hey,” I greeted, biting the inside of my cheek. “About yesterday…”

Ben looked up, frowning in surprise. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for how that went down. Theo is unpredictable.”

“It’s okay,” he said quickly, waving it off. “It wasn’t your fault. I know how he can be; I'm on his hockey team, remember?”

I nodded, shifting my weight. “Still, I wanted to say… if the offer still stands, I’d like to go out with you.”

Ben’s face lit up like I’d handed him a trophy. “Yeah! Totally. I’ll text you?”

I smiled back. “Cool.”

Ben was adorable. He didn’t even carry himself like a hockey guy. I couldn’t believe he was on the team at all.

Just then, our teacher walked in.

“Good afternoon, my babies!” he sang, strutting across the room in a pair of plaid pants that were definitely not dress code. “Gather ‘round, gather ‘round.”

Mr. Tevin Langston was very loud and dressed like fashion threw up on him in a fit of joy. His rings clinked as he waved us closer.

“Now, our fall showcase,” he said, placing one hand dramatically on his chest. “We’ll be performing Romeo Rewired at the College's Harvest Arts Gala in October, so y’all better start channeling your inner heartbreak.”

Groans all around. Tevin ignored them.

“Zoey, Ben, you two are our leads, per last week’s read-through. Offstage, please. You’ve got sparks to prep.”

Ben and I nodded and slipped off toward the wing. When we were alone again, Ben turned to me. “So, I guess we’re gonna be kissing a lot.”

I froze. “What?”

“In the play,” he rushed. “In the script. I mean. We should probably practice, right? So it’s not awkward onstage.”

His voice trailed off. “Sorry. That sounded pushy.”

It was indeed forward, and I should’ve said no to him. But then I remembered Farrah and her smug little face telling me that I was doomed to orbit around Theo forever.

So I stepped forward, just a little. “Okay. Let’s try.”

I leaned up and pressed a soft, quick peck to Ben’s lips. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t… anything, really. In fact, I was just starting to lean into the kiss when someone roared behind us.

“BASTARD!”

Before I could turn around, a loud thud echoed through the backstage. Ben jerked backward as Theo tackled him from behind, fist crashing into his jaw.