So Many Boys (The Naughty List #2)(53)
Author: Suzanne Young

“What is going on, Tess?” she asked, hitching up her eyebrow. “I’m totally freaking.”

I straightened my posture, preparing to face what was behind door number one. Then I leaned forward to open the door that would reveal our imposter.

It was dark at first, and the room was silent, other than the sound of our ragged breathing. Then from the closet, there was a low laugh.

She stepped out, camera in hand. Her dimples set deep with a smile. I shook my head, barely able to believe it. I think part of me had hoped I was wrong.

“Kira?” Leona choked out, standing next to me. “What the hell?” Leona reached over to hook her arm in mine, pulling me backward as Kira glared at me from the shadows of the doorway.

She ran her hands down her curves, smoothing out her suit before stepping out into the gym. The buzzing lights above illuminated her just enough to make her look sinister.

“Don’t look so stunned, Tess,” Kira called, before her black high-heeled boots made clacking noises on the wood floor. She slowly began to cross the empty room toward us, wrapping one sleek boot in front of the other, almost like a zigzag.

The pulled muscle in my back was screaming at me, but I didn’t react to it. I was too shocked. I was too betrayed. “But… why?” I asked her, my throat suddenly dry. “You were my best friend.” The thought nearly made me cry.

Kira scoffed and shook her head. “Exactly. Were.” Then, as if seriously irritated, she quickened her pace in my direction. Her blonde curls were pulled tight in a bun, her makeup flawless, her lips ruby red. She was completely done up for homecoming—minus the dress and smile.

Leona tried to pull me away, but not before Kira was in front of me.

Slap! My face turned with the force of her hand across my cheek. I stepped back, shocked and stinging like all heck. I reached up to touch my face, my eyes wide and watering.

Leona stepped forward and shoved Kira hard enough to make her stumble back. “Have you lost your mind?” she screamed at her, but I was still standing there. Furious.

My best friend had just hit me. She hit me! I shook my head, clearing it. “K, th-that was completely uncalled for,” I stammered, still feeling the burn on my cheek. “What have you done?”

“What you couldn’t,” she shot back, walking forward and knocking into Leona’s shoulder with the side of her body on the way.

“Don’t even think—” Leona started, holding up her finger in warning.

“Get the rest of the squad,” I said to her. “We need backup. Tell them it’s a severe case of post-traumatic SOS disorder.” It was the only explanation.

“Oh, shut up, Tessa,” Kira said, stopping to stand boot to heel with me in center court and snaking her neck. “Ever think that my problem is you? Ever think that maybe you were the one causing my stress?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Me?” I touched the front of my homecoming dress, completely offended. “You’ve been lying for weeks, Kira. Maybe longer!”

“I’ll be right back,” Leona said quickly, and then turned back to look at Kira. “With a straitjacket, you crazy bitch.”

“Language,” I mumbled, never taking my eyes off of Kira. Her hands were balled up into fists at her sides.

“Whatever I’ve done, K, it shouldn’t have come to this. I just wanted us to move on with our lives—minus SOS.”

“And my boyfriend? Were you planning on moving on with him?” Her blue eyes were wide with rage. I hardly recognized her.

“What? No?” But my voice squeaked, making my denial sound more like an admission of guilt. It was true: I hadn’t planned on stealing Kira’s boyfriend. I mean, yes, I had feelings for him, but I’d never planned that!

“You’re no better than any of the cheaters we’ve ever followed,” she hissed, holding my stare. She exhaled, blinking quickly. “When you ended SOS, I supported you. I trusted you, but then I saw that you were doing it for Aiden, not for us. Not for the girls of the school. And after I met Joel, I thought I could handle it all.” She laughed self-consciously. “But I couldn’t. And then every day I had to listen to people tell me, ‘Why isn’t Tessa leading the squad?’ How do you think that felt? Then I thought, well, maybe if I let her on the squad, everyone will see how much better I am.” She leaned in toward me. “I even tried to set you up with Chris to keep you out of trouble, and instead what do you do? You try to steal my boyfriend. Stabbed in the back by my best friend.”

“Me? Kira, you were sneaking around spying on me! You broke into my house, and that was long before me and Joel—”

“He’s mine!” she shouted.

“You can’t own someone, Kira! And besides, you’re not even going out anymore. He told me.”

With an audible growl, she tackled me, her petite body crashing into mine and knocking us back and onto the floor. We landed with a thud onto the hardwood, sending a vibration up my arm as my elbow made contact.

For a second, we both just lay there. Neither of us was really a fighter. It was way too violent. “Ow,” Kira said, rubbing at her forehead, which had smacked the ground next to me. She collapsed on the floor with a sigh, both of us breathing heavy. I turned to look sideways at her.

“I was captain,” she groaned, sounding exhausted. “SOS was mine to fix. I was making it better.”

“No,” I said, wincing as I sat up. I looked at my elbow to see it was skinned, little scratches of blood beginning to show. “You were making it about vengeance. It was supposed to help people, not hurt them. And it’s not your fault you were failing. SOS was a team sport, K. No one Kitten could have pulled it off alone.”

She dropped her arms to her sides, staring up at the beams of the ceiling. “I wanted to stop cheaters. I wanted to make them pay.”

“You were wrong,” I said. “It was never the intent of SOS to exact revenge.” But sitting here now, bruised and bloodied on the gym floor, I realized my part in this mess. I thrust the captainship on her, then abandoned her to figure it out on her own. I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, K. I was wrong.”

I rested my chin on my bare shoulder as I looked back at her. Her eyes snapped to mine, studying me, maybe checking to see if I was sorry. She sat up with a few pained grunts.

“You know, we still have some things to decide,” she murmured. “SOS can’t stop now. And even if you get back on the squad, they’ll never trust you like they used to.”