So Many Boys (The Naughty List #2)(46)
Author: Suzanne Young

“Hey!” he yelled, but Jenn was already staring at the screen, her lip curling. It reminded me of how freaked out Megan was when I saw her in the hallway that day. Wait. Was that when this was shot?

“Is Megan here?” I whispered to Chris, tilting my head toward his.

He furrowed his brow as if thinking and then shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

“Good.”

The music had stopped and the party was quiet, other than a few expletives and snickers. My throat was dry with anxiety. This copy-Kitten had seriously crossed the line. This was a heinous violation of privacy! No one—not even a cheater—should be exposed like this.

“Nice, Riley!” someone called from across the room. “Megan’s hot.” Riley didn’t look up; he kept his eyes trained on the ground, his face colorless.

I blinked quickly, my heart thudding. On the screen Riley and Megan were whispering to each other, and then, they got closer.

“Make out! Make out!” a football player started yelling, soon getting the entire room to chant.

“Slippery eel,” I murmured, looking around the room. The copy-Kitten had no idea the damage she was inflicting, both for the victims and for SOS. Jenn lowered the phone, holding it away from her like it was poisonous.

“Megan!” she screamed loud enough to make me jump. “My best f**king friend?”

Riley didn’t look up at her. He was still, like a statue, taking slow breaths.

The screen on the phone went black, and I thought it was over when another video began. “Oh, no,” I whispered, wondering how much worse it would get.

At first, I couldn’t understand the picture. The camera was shaking, moving amid blue and red flashes. Then I saw some people gathered below. “Is that—”

“The mall fair,” Chris said, turning to me. “I was going to see if you wanted to go the other night.”

Sigh. It was nice of him to think of me. I was about to smile when it occurred to me. Would I be on the next tape? My word, I was about to get exposed to the entire school even though I hadn’t actually done anything wrong!

“We’ve got another one!” someone yelled.

My body immediately tensed, and I looked over at Chris’s phone. On the video the camera zoomed in, focusing on a steel cart of what looked like a Ferris wheel. Definitely the fair. Rock, paper, scissors! This was it.

But instead of me, I saw Jenn, her short dark hair blowing in the breeze. She was a cart ahead on the ride. She was talking with someone. Then she smiled and moved to press her mouth on a guy. I didn’t recognize him, but he certainly wasn’t Riley. My word. It was a double cheat!

The screen went blank, and then words appeared, scrolling across the screen.

You’ve just been busted by SOS.

I put my hand over my mouth, surprised. I felt horrified by the tactic, yet relieved that I wasn’t on the tape. Even though the copy-Kitten had definitely thought I’d done something wrong, she hadn’t outed me. I tilted my head, considering that.

“You pig!”

My eyes snapped up in time to see Jenn slap (really hard) Riley high up on his cheek. He stumbled back, holding his face, and narrowed his eyes at her.

“Me? And what the f**k were you doing, Jenn? Was he choking? Were you giving him CPR?”

Chris snorted from next to me but straightened up when I looked sideways at him. Watching this scene was way too intimate, yet I couldn’t turn away.

Jenn’s face twisted, and then she reached up to brush her hair away from her face. “She’s my best friend,” she whispered harshly. “You were screwing my best friend.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Riley shook his head. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Oh, shit. It’s Tate!” Jordan Prichard (captain of the football team) called, pointing toward the doorway of Chris’s house.

Tate’s eyes widened at the mention of his name, and he raised his chin in greeting. His face softened when he saw Jenn, and he opened his mouth to say something to her. But Riley was off.

In about one point three seconds, he had Tate on the floor, beating on him.

“Stop it!” Jenn screamed, running over to try to pry her boyfriend off of her…other boyfriend.

It was mayhem. People were cheering, both guys and girls, but no one was stopping the fight. Jenn’s mascara had begun running down her face, streaking her like a scorned prom queen, and Tate covered his head as Riley continued to hit him.

“Stop them!” I yelled at Chris, pushing his arm in that direction.

“Let them fight,” he said, sounding completely jock. “They need to get it out.”

My mouth opened in disgust. That was a horrible idea! And I should know. I got hit in the head with a clock last year during a fight!

Well, this just wouldn’t do. I stomped over, grabbing a beer out of Deon Mosely’s hand, and pushed my way toward the three cheaters struggling on the floor. When I got to the front of the wrestlers, I threw the cup of beer at them.

Everyone gasped at once, and from the corner of my eye, I saw the Smitten Kittens run in from the kitchen. Leona laughed, nodding proudly. Izzie covered her mouth, looking terrified, and Kira stood there, a blank expression on her face. She probably didn’t think it was very SK of me to toss alcoholic beverages on people, but I felt justified.

“What the frig?” Jenn yelled at me, her white blouse soaked, showing the lace of her pink bra underneath.

Riley was still sitting on Tate, but he was panting loudly as he stared at his girlfriend, beer dripping from his head. Tate’s eyes were closed, his face covered in microbrew, but his hands were pinned, making it impossible for him to wipe it away.

Then the strangest thing happened. Like—totally and freakishly unexpected. Riley reached out to grab Jenn and pull himself to her. He hugged her tight, tucking her head against his chest as he brushed at her wet hair.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

I dropped the plastic cup to the floor with a ping and watched them. Watched as Jenn drew back, touching Riley’s face, wiping off the liquid. Tate was still lying on the floor, stunned.

Jenn started to sob. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Riley buried his head against her shoulder as he began to cry, shaking from it. The crowd murmured, then began to dissipate as someone turned the music back on. But I stayed, unsure of what had just happened.

“What the hell?” I heard, and turned to see Kira standing next to me.