Chapter 4 - Waylon

I knew this year was going to be stressful, but I knew that I could do it. The key was that I needed to be highly organized. Sure, that wasn’t my strong suit, but I was going to try. No, I wasn’t going to try, I was going to succeed.

“Hey, you ready for dinner?” Whittaker asked as he pulled Scarlett to his front, and she smiled up at him.

“Yeah.” I nodded as I gave one last look at the schedule that was probably going to kill me this semester.

I followed my brothers out of Williams Hall, through the quad, and into the dining hall. Everyone took a minute to stare as we walked past, then they whispered to the person next to them.

We had that effect on people. And I wasn’t sure where that came from. Last year, I spent time analyzing what changed. And the only thing that I could come up with was that we were all swim champions. We've won the school the regionals the last two years running. And we were on par to get it again this year.

We stood in line to grab food, and as soon as people saw us, they let us cut in front of them. It felt weird to do that, but I followed along with my brothers.

“Waylon, why haven’t you found yourself a honey yet?” Zoey asked as she clung to my brother.

That question was weighted. Before she started dating Wynn, she tried to flirt with me and demanded that I take her out. I refused. There was not a single redeeming quality about her that would make me want to date her.

She was loose; she opened her legs for anyone who was willing, and that wasn’t what I wanted in a girlfriend.

“I haven’t seen anyone worth my time,” I grumbled.

“Damn, bro,” Wynn said as he punched my arm. “It’s not like you have to get married to them. Date and have some fun now, and then you can break up with them later.”

“It doesn’t hurt to sow your wild oats now,” Whittaker added as he towed Scarlett down the line.

The girls nodded along. Didn't they realize my brothers were behaving exactly the way they expected me to? They were just dating them because they were easy; if they found someone better, they would be kicked to the curb.

I just shook my head as I grabbed a tray, and the dining hall workers scooped food onto my plate. I smiled at them as we moved down the line. I wasn’t paying attention to what they were serving me, I would only pick at it anyway.

Zoey complained about the food. That had Scarlett complaining about the food. Scarlett pretty much did whatever Zoey did. Half the time I wondered if she realized what was happening. Hell, I didn’t even think that Scarlett was enrolled in school anymore, she just hung around because of Whittaker.

The girls abandoned their trays at the end of the line and walked away from it. My brothers grabbed their own trays and followed after them. Their entitlement was ridiculous.

I moved to grab the girls’ trays as one of the servers came to grab them. “It’s okay, I got it.” The older woman said.

“Are you sure?”

“All in an honest day’s work.” She smiled at me as she grabbed the tray and emptied it into the trash can. It was such a waste. My brothers’ girlfriends saw them spoon food on their plates, they could have said no. But no, they wanted to make a show of it, to make someone clean up after them.

“Sorry.” I shook my head at my brothers and their girlfriends as they made their way through the cafeteria. “Thank you.” I nodded at her as I left the line, unsure of what else I could do.

They made their way to our usual table, and Zoey bumped into a girl with orange hair and snapped at her for being in the way. I clenched my teeth together. The girl was sitting down, minding her own business, and Zoey dared to get angry at her for just existing.

“Excuse you!” Another girl with long, ombre hair that was pulled into a ponytail stood with her fists on the table. “Decent human behavior dictates that you apologize for bumping into my friend.” She growled at Zoey.

I watched the interaction as the girl stared Zoey down. She wasn’t intimidated by my brother’s girlfriend. She obviously didn’t know who they were. Or who we were and that was a breath of fresh air.

“What are you going to do about it if I don’t?” Zoey snapped as she flicked her hair over her shoulder.

“Hey, Wake, it’s okay.” The girl with orange hair said as she patted her arm to have her sit down. She glanced nervously at Zoey and then back at her friend.

“It’s not okay.” She held out her hand to Zoey. “She ran into you and then bitched at you for just being there. How is that okay?”

The girl with orange hair looked up at Zoey and gave her a nervous smile. “It’s okay.” She nodded at them and then back at the girl who had ombre hair, called Wake. “Sorry.” She said again and then stared at the girl.

“Damn right, you’re sorry,” Zoey said as she flicked her hair again and then made her way toward our table. My brothers laughed and shook their heads at the two girls.

My teeth clenched as I stood just out of view. I couldn’t believe that they did that. But what was even more interesting, the girl wasn’t going to be walked all over by my brothers and their girlfriends. She glared at them as they sat down laughing.

I wanted to sit with them and apologize for my siblings' shitty behavior. But as soon as I walked into view, the girl was staring daggers at me. Maybe I would see her again, and I could apologize to her when she calmed down.

There was no way in hell I was going to approach her; it looked like she was ready to rip my head off. And that thought had me liking her more.

I nodded at them. The girl with the orange hair gave me a dreamy smile, and her cheeks flared to a bright red. But the girl with ombre hair just stared as I walked past them toward my brothers.

I glanced one more time over my shoulder at the girl who was still glaring at me. For the last two years, I wasn’t interested in anyone. I wasn’t interested in anyone…until now.