“What the fuck?” His voice was loud enough to carry above the other conversations and silence them. People stared between him and us; some with confusion, some with expectant looks that something was about to go down. Alex’s shirt was off, showing off his sweaty muscles, and he was wearing a red baseball cap backward on his head. His eyes locked onto Manson and he snapped, “Who the hell invited you?”

“Um, helloooo?” I twiddled my fingers at him. “I did. He’s here with me.”

Alex worked his jaw, clenching so hard I was surprised I didn’t hear his teeth crack. “Right. And why are you here, Jessica?”

“Why wouldn’t I be here?” I said, as if the answer was painfully obvious. “Where else would I be on a Saturday night?”

“Probably fucking the losers,” Danielle said. She and Candace had walked into the kitchen behind us, with Nate and Matthew in tow this time. It was clear they’d brought the men along to try to intimidate us. But no matter how much they postured and puffed out their chests, Manson remained entirely unbothered. His serene demeanor soothed me, keeping me calm despite how nerve-wracking this was.

“It’s a little weird how concerned you are with my sex life,” I said. Usually, their insults would have had me on the defensive. The urge to raise my voice was strong, but I wasn’t going to let them see me lose my cool.

Danielle clicked her tongue, casually examining her nails. “You know, Jessica, it’s sad that you think everyone cares so much about you. You’re like a little kid who put on a great big performance and didn’t realize that everyone was clapping out of pity. Like right now. Look at you! Did you come here just to parade your freak around? Do you need attention that badly?”

My veins felt like they were on fire. I wanted to fly at her, to claw her face and rip out her ugly extensions. But instead, I looked down at my phone and sent off a quick text to the group chat, Found Alex. The gang’s all accounted for. Move in.

I tucked my phone away, and lifted my head to find all of them — Alex, Danielle, Candace, and the guys gathered around — staring at me as they waited for a response.

With a laugh, I said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you all waiting for me to say something? I thought you’d have better things to do.”

Danielle looked absolutely livid.