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Three

Corbin

Thankfully, the rest of the school day passed by quickly and I only had to take some Ibuprofen once, when the Toradol shot didn’t seem to be doing much any longer. Before I know it, I’m standing in my apartment staring at a reflection of a girl with short hair, styled as best as she can manage while wishing for her old looks, her old life. The girl before me is decked out in a pair of distressed skin-tight black jeans, a tight black crop top that leaves little to the imagination, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors, but my face is clear of makeup.

A knock at the door alerts me that Gentry and the guys are ready to go. I grab a loose hoodie that’s hanging off the end of my bed and throw it on, next I quickly pull on a pair of boy’s jeans.

“Coming!” I holler as I make my way across the apartment.

As I walk to the door, I make sure that my lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara are tucked into my back pocket, so that I can apply them once we get there, and I’m no longer in disguise. As well, I grab my contact case so I can take these wretched things out of my eyes and that I have a few more Ibuprofen in case I need it again before the night is over.

Opening the door, I come to a sudden stop when I almost run into none other than Knox. Butterflies take flight in my stomach as I take the hottest guy at Endover, standing in my doorway with his hands braced on either side of the doorframe, staring at me.

For a moment, I’m caught in the abyss of his almost black eyes. The butterflies immediately take a nosedive as I take in the tension and anger simmering just beneath his surface, the amount of loathing in his eyes staring back at me.

“Are you coming or just going to stand there checking me out, Corbin?” Knox grates out, the ferocity of his anger and the tone in which he says them, causes me to immediately take a step back in my apartment and away from him, confused at the animosity radiating off of him in waves.

Lines form between his thick eyebrows, causing them to meet almost in the middle of his face, a sneer forming and directed at me, causing me to recoil from him as though I’d been hit.

Whipping around as fast as lightning, Knox’s strides taking him further and further away from me, I stare at him. Confusion and hurt well up in me, making me question what I’d done to make him so hostile towards me.

“What’s his deal?” I ask Gentry when he takes Knox’s place.

“No clue. He’s been like that since he came out of his apartment just before stopping here.” Looking from me to the other guys, watching Knox’s retreating form and then back to me, Gentry asks, confusion swirling in the depths of his eyes, “You ready man?”

Nodding, I say under my breath, “More than you could possibly imagine,” and turn back, locking the door behind me.

With my head held high, I try giving off what I hope is an air of Idontgiveashit, instead of the air of a nervous girl who has dread forming in the pit of her stomach at the idiotic idea that she’s fixing to execute. Because, that’s exactly how I really feel.

I follow the rest of the guys down the corridor of the dorms and out to the parking lot, ready to party. As we step outside, we’re assaulted by a bitterly cold wind, blowing snow hitting us in the face.

“Holy fucking hell! It’s cold as balls out here!” Gentry curses as he begins to run towards the truck that we’re taking.

The rest of us take off too.

I wasn’t even remotely prepared for it being this cold, seeing as up to this point, I have had no reason to leave the confines of the building.

“Bloody hell, who the fuck pissed off Elsa?” Knox grunts in his British accent as he starts the truck and then begins rubbing his hands together for warmth.

It’s such an unexpected remark coming from him that I snort out a laugh, garnering his attention as he glares at me through the rearview mirror and pulls out onto the road.

“Mate, feel how hard me nipples are!” Wesley says, drawing my attention from the burning intensity of Knox’s never ending glare through the rearview. He pushes his chest out in my direction, rubbing his nipples and trying to grab a hold of my hand so that I can feel them too.

I jerk away laughing as I lean into Colt on my other side, as Wesley busts up laughing.

“Yeah, I’m good. I don’t really need to feel yours, since I’m pretty sure all of our nipples could cut diamonds at the moment,” I tell him with a smirk, at the same time praying to all things holy that my own nipples aren’t showing beneath the fabric of the hoodie.

The truck finally warms, and we all settle in for the ride, losing ourselves in the angry music blasting from the speakers.

The half hour drive seems to take forever with Knox’s constant glare focusing on me through the rearview mirror as he drives down the darkened road.

What the hell?

The few times that his eyes have been on the road, instead of trained on me, I couldn’t help but admire his features; silky, short black hair, smooth skin darkened by the sun, sharp cheekbones that look like they were chiseled from stone. His full lips look so pillow soft, that I may or may not have thought about kissing them much more than I should have since my arrival. He has a strong jaw that’s currently sporting a dusting of dark hair. And then there’s his accent—damn… He’s the whole package with a build similar to Gentry’s, his frame tall and muscular. Even the leering looks he keeps throwing my way don’t detract from his above normal good looks.

His eyes flash to the rearview once more as the music cuts and I hurriedly glance away, a lead weight taking up residence in my stomach at being caught staring. I soon become distracted though from the confusion of how Knox is acting towards me as I realize that we’ve stopped, nerves from what I’m about to do flowing through my veins.

My heart starts beating so hard that I’m afraid that everyone within the confines of the truck can hear it as I peer through the windshield at what looks like an old, abandoned mansion.

The place at one time was absolutely stunning I have no doubt. Now, although it still appears to have great bones, it just looks drab from age, and not being maintained.

The guys all pile out of the truck, Colt leaving the door open for me to exit but I don’t budge from my spot.

Gentry must notice because he ducks his head back in the cab of the truck. “You comin’, man?” he asks as the others holler at him to hurry the hell up.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there. You guys go on without me,” I tell him, giving him what I hope is an encouraging smile as my teeth begin to chatter.

“Don’t take too long, you’ll freeze your balls off,” he jokes as he shuts the door, then jogs to catch up with the rest of the guys.

Maybe if I had some, I mutter to myself just as Knox shoots a look over his shoulder, his eyes locking with mine once more before he disappears into the crowd of partiers.

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