“She didn’t get my panties in a bunch,” Zay grumbles, blasting me with a hard look. “She just pissed me off, and for a good reason.”

“Sitting in your seat isn’t a good reason to get pissed off at someone,” I say. “And besides, she’s new.”

“I don’t give a shit if she’s new.” Zay stuffs another piece of pie into his mouth. “She should’ve moved when I told her to.”

“Or you could’ve just asked,” Jax tells him quietly.

Zay glares at him, and Jax sighs and mutters, “Or not.”

I press my lips together, deciding how much I want to tell them. “I ate lunch with her today. Well, her and Harlow.”

Zay drops his fork. “What?”

I shrug then give them a quick recap of how I ended up in my car with Raven and Harlow.

“So you spent like half an hour with Harlow and this new girl,” Zay says after I finish, sarcasm oozing from his tone. “I bet that was fun.”

“It actually wasn’t that bad. I mean, Harlow was kind of a pain in the ass, but not completely. And as for Raven …” I sink back against the seat, wavering. “Zay, I think you should give her another chance. After talking with her, I think she was just nervous during class. And from what I gathered, I don’t think she has a lot of friends.”

“So?” Zay mumbles. “How the fuck is that my problem?”

“It’s not. But we all know what it’s like to be bullied. Not by people at school, but by our families. Plus …” I pause, treading with caution, “her parents were murdered, Zay. And you of all people should know how badly having to deal with something like that can mess with someone’s mind.”

Not that Zay’s parents were murdered. His older brother was a handful of years ago. The case was never solved, but I think, deep down, all of us know our fathers had something to do with it, since Zay’s brother was working for them at the time. Sometimes, when we have free time, we try to look into it ourselves, but we haven’t really gotten anywhere so far.

Zay grows quiet then and begins picking at the pie.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” I tell him apologetically. “I just … I feel bad for her, and I kind of want to try to be her friend, which means you guys have to, too, since we’re sort of a package deal.” When he says nothing, I add, “If it helps, she felt bad for riling you up during class.”

“Did she?” he mumbles, continuing to pick the pie apart.

Sighing, I glance at Jax, hoping he’ll help me out.

But all he does is frown. “I don’t mean to be an asshole, but do you think you can be just friends with a girl? Especially one who …” He wavers. “Well, one who looks like her.”

“What do you mean by ‘looks like her’?” I play dumb, knowing exactly what he’s referring to.