“Nothing,” he said tightly and settled back in his seat.

I watched him, concerned.

“Bryce,” I said softly. No more games.

He glanced away, but I heard his breath of surrender.

A moment later, he relented, “I don’t need to be at practice anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m off the team.”

“What?!”

“It’s not like that,” he said hastily. “I already got the scholarship. They don’t want me to play high school anymore.”

Oh.

I sat back stunned. And then I cried out, “That’s not fair. They can’t do that.”

He’d miss everything. His senior games, play-offs, even state—and that’s if they got there without him.

“They already did. Dad met with them last night and finalized everything.”

“You’re really not playing for the rest of the year.”

He nodded.

“How’s your coach feel about that?”

Bryce’s jaw clenched and he replied tightly, “He’s not happy.”

“Did you go to practice last night?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t need to.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to be having this conversation,” he pointed out.

“Bryce, you’re such a shit.”

He chuckled.

“Does Corrigan know?”

“Yeah.”

“Corrigan knows and I didn’t?”

“Because of this. You’re acting like a girl.”

“I’m acting like your best friend, idiot,” I retorted and slammed the door as I got outside. As I stalked away, Bryce called my name. I ignored him and kept going.

I had moved almost all the way to the door before Chad caught my elbow.

“Back off,” I snapped as I wrenched my arm free.

In a flash, Bryce was at my side. He maneuvered to stand between me and Chad.

“Hey, hey.” Chad had a feral smile on his face. He raised his hands and backed up. “I’m not going to hurt her. Oh, that’s right. I never hurt her in the first place.”

“You’re a wounded animal.” I grinned at him, back on familiar ground. “You’ve been put down, but you just keep coming back for more.”

Bryce moved so his back was to me. He had effectively cut me off from Chad’s glare.

“What’s wrong, Scout?” Chad taunted. “You don’t even want your girlfriend talking to me?”

“Back off, Yerling.”

A sophomore had come to the door, but turned back when he noticed what was going on.

“Or you’re going to mess up my face again? I heard Raimler got arrested for my car. Thanks, by the way. Now I know where to send my insurance information. Are you going to pay for my medical bills?”

Bryce remained silent. Again, he didn’t have to say anything.

It seemed to infuriate Chad even more because he shook his head and spat, “You know what pisses me off about you, Scout? You, Raimler, and your little girlfriend walk around this school like you own it. The only reason you get away with everything is because you do to everyone else what you did to me and to that kid from the office.

Someone goes against your unspoken rules and you knock him down.”

The door shoved open behind me and Corrigan pushed his way to Bryce’s side.

Chad glared at him now.

“What do you want, Raimler? You weren’t a part of this conversation.”

Corrigan grinned, self-assured, and shot back, “Maybe I should’ve been. You mess with my friends and you mess with me.”

Bryce shifted on his feet. Corrigan moved forward, just a slight inch of a step, but everyone knew that Corrigan was the threat now. Bryce had moved to the background.

I had become nonexistent to the guys. It wasn’t even about me, not anymore. I wondered if it had ever been about me. I remembered Chet’s words and Bryce’s. They had both said that Chad had been off lately. He’d pulled some stunts that weren’t okay with the guys.

There was a code among the guys. They could do a lot, say a lot, but nothing would be done as a reprimand. It makes a person wonder what was so bad for Chad to be taken down. And to have all the guys be okay with it.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw a bunch more had followed Corrigan. Chet, Holster, and some others must’ve left through a side door. They came from behind us and had formed a circle around Chad and his group. Some of those guys started to look nervous.

Corrigan was saying, “You know what you did, Yerling. You better watch it.”

“Or what?” Chad sneered. He took a step closer. “You’re going to hurt me, Raimler? You and Scout. You can’t hurt me by yourself. We both know that.”

Corrigan bit back his words, but Bryce shifted again. That same inch and suddenly he was back in charge. He murmured, seemingly relaxed, “I can hurt you.”

Chad’s glare seemed to darken and his eyes skimmed over me. Whatever he thought, he didn’t share. A second later, one of the guys murmured, “Teacher.”

Immediately the group dispersed. Chad and his friends took off into the parking lot while everyone else either took a lounging stance or walked back inside the school.

And me? I headed inside and actually went to the rest of my classes. I even disappeared to my art room during lunch. I wasn’t eager for a replay with Chad Yerling and the rest. I didn’t even want to banter with Corrigan.

Mr. Sayword glanced at me questioningly, but he didn’t say anything. When I was in the developing room later, a brisk knock sounded and I called out, “Yeah?”

Mr. Sayword called through, “Can I come in?”

I flipped the switch and the door opened. He closed it behind him and flipped the switch back.

I waited. He’d never come in before.

“Uh huh.” Mr. Sayword cleared his throat and shuffled on his feet. My art teacher was nervous. He tucked his longish sandy-colored hair behind his ears and straightened the wire-rim glasses over his nose bridge. His buttoned-down shirt was a little rumpled, but his pants were still nicely pleated.

“Yes?”

I asked.

“Uh…Miss Connors called me into her office for a consultation.”

“What?” I asked sharply.

“She has heard about our unique teacher-student bond.”