CHAPTER THREE

XAVIER

"Is this a safe space?" Eric asks and everybody groans.

He's the quarterback and the captain of the football team. Eric is a cool guy, he just loves to say the most unhinged things unprovoked and they always start with him asking if it's a safe space. We've never made him feel safe saying the things he says, I don't know why he keeps asking.

"No guys. I'm not about to say anything wild, just an observation."

No one replies him. Camden and I keep playing our game while Derrick, Winston and Seb watch in silence. The silence gets heavier the more time passes but no one says anything.

Two minutes go by before Winston opens his big mouth.

"Alright, I'll bite. What is it?"

Camden throws a pillow at Winston and Derrick groans in pain. Eric smiles at Winston and mouths 'thank you'.

"Why would you do that?" Seb asks Winston.

"Okay, as I was trying to say, I think Rain is the hottest girl in school."

I freeze at his words and grit my teeth. My grip on the game controller tightens. Camden pauses the game and turns to look at Eric. I put the controller on the table so I don't break it.

"Have you been hanging out with the stoner kids?" Derrick asks.

"Hear me out. She has great hair, great lips and an even greater pair of tits. God, when Derrick smashed that plate of mashed potatoes on her chest and she took off her blazer, I almost lost it."

I almost put Derrick in the ground for touching her like that but I held myself. It's not a smart thing to do.

"Don't you have a girlfriend man?" Seb asks.

Yeah, that's what I want to know too. Eric has a girlfriend he actually loves and he would never cheat on. Eric rolls his eyes and groans in frustration.

"Do none of you have eyes? Am I the only one seeing it? No wonder she doesn't have a boyfriend, high school boys are blind."

He didn't say anything about the girlfriend bit. I think they're having issues and looking at Rain is a distraction. He should stop immediately.

"Woah man, you're really passionate about this. Calm down bro." Winston says.

This conversation is not good for me. Listening to them talk about a girl I was fantasizing about the whole summer is making me angrier than I have the right to be. I take deep breaths to calm myself.

"I actually agree with Eric. She is very hot. I like her eyes." Camden says and shrugs likes it's nothing.

It's not nothing.

"See! He gets it." Eric says.

"Man, you both are dumb. Are we forgetting about Xavier's girlfriend who is literally the hottest girl on earth?" Derrick says.

First of all, Lacey is not my girlfriend but I don't say anything and secondly, what type of comment was that?

"Yeah, but we all know she got work done last year." Seb says.

"Okay, what about Elaine, she's very hot too." Derrick counters.

I don't know what it is about Rain but something about her sets Derrick off. The rest of us have a little fun from time to time but Derrick? He actually hates her. If not for me, he'd be doing evil things to her.

"What do you think Xavier?" Camden asks.

What do I think? Rain has a body made for sin. She has a mind that's exciting and fun. But I can't say that so I just shrug.

"I guess I've never really thought about it."

Camden raises his brows at me slightly. He might have caught me staring once or twice.

"Okay, so think about it, do you think Rain is the hottest girl in school? Imagine she's wearing clothes that look nice and she's wearing makeup." Derrick says.

I pretend to think about it. "Nah, I don't see it."

Derrick smiles and nods and Eric looks at me like he doesn't know who I am anymore.

"So how do you think she can afford to go to our school? I heard she lives in the trailer park with the stoner kids." Winston says.

"The bigger question is how she manages to keep her head clean with the type of people she hangs out with." Seb says.

"She's on scholarship obviously." Derrick says.

"No, she not. I checked." Winston adds.

He checked? Why was he thinking about her long enough to check how she's paying for tuition?

"So it's obviously a sugar daddy who hates junkies and that's why she's not doing drugs." Derrick says.

"Damn, you really hate this girl.” Camden says.

Derrick doesn't say anything to that. It's another thing that's suspicious about the whole thing. Derrick will never admit that he hates Rain. It's weird.

"Maybe she knows someone on the school board. Her dad does do a lot of work for a lot of people." Eric says.

I've never really thought about how Rain can afford our school. I always assumed she was a scholarship student. I've always stopped myself from knowing more about her.

Camden resumes the game and we continue playing. Winston and Eric quietly exchange theories and Derrick stews in silence. That boy scares me. We all have a little darkness in us, being born into generational wealth messes with you but Derrick has the type of darkness that could have someone dead one day. It's tightly reigned in, his self-control is impeccable, but it's there.