Cole smiled down at her, a little bewildered, but happy. Something caught his attention behind her and his face darkened. Bri turned to see what he was looking at, though she was pretty sure she already knew.
Serena stood a little way down the hall, flanked by her lackeys, glaring daggers at Bri’s back. She lifted her chin contemptuously, turned on her heel, and stormed away.
“What happened?” Cole asked quietly.
“I’ll tell you on the way home. Right now I just want to get out of here.”
He nodded and they headed out to his truck. He was not happy when Bri told him about Serena’s little stunt. She didn’t tell him what Serena had said exactly, just the main idea. She did tell him how she’d stood up to Serena and basically threatened to kick her butt.
“That’s my girl,” he smiled at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Bri shrugged. “She just really pisses me off.”
“She’ll get over it eventually. When her schemes and tricks don’t work, she’ll move on.”
Cole sounded so sure, but Bri wasn’t convinced.
“I hope you’re right.”
The next day, Bri immediately felt the ramifications of her showdown with Serena. None of the girls on the dance team, except Layla, would even look at her, let alone talk to her. The rest of her day at school was even worse. No longer content to whisper behind her back, girls, and some guys, were slinging random vicious insults at her as she moved through the halls. Those who couldn’t think of anything nasty to say just glared at her. It didn’t bother Bri too badly, she had endured this kind of behavior before. What did make her angry was that it had trickled down to Cole now, too.
Cole had always been surrounded by people. He was constantly nodded greetings everywhere he went. But today was different. Not even the girls, who were usually fawning all over him, said anything or approached him. Even the guys he considered friends, barely glanced at him. Though he tried to brush it off, Bri could tell it bothered him.
By Friday, Cole had had enough. He plopped down next to her at lunch and scowled around at the cafeteria. She wished she could do something to make things better for him. Well, there was one thing she could do.
“You know,” she said quietly to him, “if we broke up, I’m sure things would go back to normal for you.”
He looked at her, but didn’t say anything.
“Serena doesn’t hate you. It’s me she’s trying to punish. If we aren’t together any more, she’ll call off the hounds. You can go back to having friends and being popular.”
Cole stared hard at her. “And you think that’s what I care about? Being popular?” he asked, incredulous.
“No! But I can tell this is hard on you, that it upsets you. I just feel bad I brought Serena’s wrath down on you,” she finished glumly.
“Bri,” he sighed, exasperated. “We knew she would do this. We knew it was coming. Why do you want to give her exactly what she wants? Why are you willing to let her win?”
“I’m not! I just... I wasn’t sure if you’d changed your mind, decided this wasn’t worth it anymore. I just wanted to give you an out if you wanted one.”
“Ambria, look at me,” Cole demanded. When she refused to meet his eyes, he cupped her cheeks, forcing her gaze up. “Good. Now, I want you to listen very carefully to what I’m about to say, because I refuse to have this conversation again. I do not want an out. Nothing Serena could ever do would make me not want to be with you. I don’t care about being popular, or how many “fake” friends I have. I care about you. I’m not upset for me. I’m upset because they all are treating you this way. I’m angry that everyone follows Serena so easily, without stopping to think for themselves. But never, ever, have I wanted an out. I want you. You are the most important thing to me. Nothing else matters, as long as we have each other. Okay?”
Bri nodded, tears flooding her eyes. She refused to cry at school, but Cole’s words had touched her. She leaned in and kissed him gently.
Pulling back, he smiled at her. “Good. Now are we still on for tonight?”
“The party?” Bri was a little apprehensive. “You still want to go?”
“Hell yeah, I want to go!” he smiled. “I want to show all these suckers that they can’t scare us away. Plus, I want to show off my girl, so wear something super-hot!”
Bri laughed, feeling much better. Cole was right. It didn’t matter what happened, as long as they were together. She was determined not to let anyone spoil her new found good mood.
It worked until she got to Cole’s game. Layla, Jess, and Maddie had come with her, and even though it was an away game, Bri was shocked by the lack of Tigers fans in the stands. The games, both home and away, had been packed for the past few weeks, and now the visitor’s section was almost empty. Anger surged through Bri at Serena and her vindictiveness, ruining this night for Cole and the team. Luckily, there weren’t any college scouts here tonight, but still, she knew it had to hurt Cole. She scanned the cheerleaders, unsurprised to find Serena and her most loyal followers absent. What she wouldn’t give to be able to take a swing at that girl right now.