I arch a brow. “The school has an official outcast, huh? Wow, that’s pretty impressive.”

“Oh, it totally is,” she quips. “I had to fill out a lot of paperwork to earn the title, along with having to endure a series of torture tests, which included but was not limited to mockery over my looks, who my family is and, most importantly, the fact that I don’t have any friends.”

“Sounds like you and I have a lot in common,” I joke. “In fact, you might have yourself a little bit of a challenge for keeping your outcast title.”

She grins. “Perhaps. I don’t know, though … You don’t seem like you have your weirdo image down as well as I do.” She gestures at my outfit.

I crack a small smile. “Dude, we’re dressed very similar.”

She taps her bottom lip. “Really? I don’t see it.”

I grin. So does she. And I realize that I think I might actually have a connection with this girl. Maybe we can even be friends?

Of course, that moment is completely shattered as some guy wearing a baseball cap strolls by, grinning at Harlow.

“Hey, Easy, how about coming to lunch with me and giving me a quick blowjob?” he remarks. “I’ll even buy you lunch.”

Her smile fades and anger burns in her eyes. I feel it, the words he spat at her that probably burn and scar her skin.

“Fuck off,” we both say at the same time, throwing the douchebag off balance.

He skids to a halt, glancing between the two of us. For a moment, he looks unsure of what to do. But then a shit-eating grin consumes his face.

“Who’s your friend?” he asks Harlow while looking at me. “You can bring her, too, and take turns.”

Her eyes darken as she turns toward him. “Yeah, there’s just one problem with that. In order for either of us to suck you off, we’d have to be able to actually find your tiny penis and, from what I’ve heard, that could take us all of lunchtime, and I need to eat.”

He glares at her. “Screw you, Easy. You think you’re so damn special because your daddy’s got all this money”—he steps toward her—“but you’re nothing but an easy lay who hides behind her big brother.”

She curls her fingers into fists. “Maybe I should text my big brother and let him know what’s up? I’m sure he’s with Zay and Jax, too.” She inches toward him. “What do you say? You want me to tattletale on you?”

His glare deepens. “Always taking the easy way out and living up to your name.” His glare shifts to a smirk as he steps back and saunters off, but not before grinning at me. “I’ll see you around, new girl.”

Harlow flips him the middle finger as he walks off and rounds the corner.

“God, I freakin’ hate people at this school,” she mutters. “But Carter is one of the worst. He’s so damn arrogant and his ego is so overinflated.”