2. Quinn

2

QUINN

" A nd finally…our captains. The blue team captain…Quinn Farrow! The red team captain…Penelope Byron-Chopard! Alright, ladies, take your places!" Mrs. Cox, the netball coach, blew her whistle, and we lined up on the court. Penelope stood opposite me, shooting me a quick smile, her high ponytail bouncing as she shook out her arms and legs. Just behind her and to her right, Freya stared at me, unsmiling. My attention was only partly on them, though. Because there was someone else looking at me. A boy with deep blue eyes and raven hair.

Roman stood in the shadow of a tree, leaning back against the trunk with his hands in the pockets of his school trousers. His tie was loosened, and his blazer was crumpled in a heap at his feet, on top of his school bag. From here, I couldn't make out his expression, and I couldn't afford to take a closer look in case anyone saw. Still, my entire body grew warm, and I couldn't keep the smile from my face.

That warm, bubbly feeling lasted throughout the netball match. Maybe Roman watching us was my lucky charm because my team won, the final score 38–31. After the customary team captain handshake, I made the most of the teams being distracted—the blues by their celebrations and the reds already making their way back to the changing rooms. I jogged off the court in the opposite direction to everyone else.

Roman was no longer in sight, but I headed towards the tree anyway. As I rounded the corner of the large trunk, I saw a shoulder, and then a second later, I was standing in front of him, watching as a gorgeous smile spread across his face.

"Hi. You played well today."

I bit down on my lip, feeling my cheeks heating. "Thanks. You played well, too."

His brows rose. "When?"

"Um. Yesterday. I watched your lacrosse practice."

"I didn't see you."

Scuffing at the leaves under my feet with the toe of my trainer, I nodded. "I know. I stayed out of the way. Didn't want to distract you, you know."

He shot me a look that was far too knowing. "Or you didn't want anyone to notice you looking at me." Stepping closer, he lowered his voice. "No one knows about this side of you apart from me, do they?" A grin curved over his lips. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Just as mine is with you."

I knew exactly what he was referring to. My need to escape…with him, and for him—his softer side that he only ever showed to me. We were only fifteen years old, and yet it sometimes felt as if I'd found my soulmate.

"Always." We smiled at each other, and I felt that bubbly warmth again, that heady feeling I only ever got around him.

Tears filled my eyes as I stumbled blindly away from the boat sheds, barely even seeing Tristan as I passed him. It had taken everything in me to hold my composure while I'd thrown those horrible words at Roman, and seeing the look on his face…

A sob tore from my throat. I'd thought it would be easy enough to follow the rules my parents had set out for me, but I'd just been fooling myself. The second Roman's eyes had met mine, everything I felt for him came rushing back.

But he'd believed me. I'd seen the way he'd shut down and hardened, his hurt and confusion replaced by hatred.

I couldn't help feeling like I'd just made an enemy out of the boy that I'd once been close to falling in love with.

When I arrived at my dorm room, I threw the door open and flung myself onto the nearest bed, letting the tears free.

"Quinn?"

I raised my head at the soft voice that came from my left, swiping at my eyes. Pulling myself into a seated position, I met the concerned gaze of Penelope Byron-Chopard, current head girl and my friend. We'd been best friends, once. Our families were close, and we'd grown up together. It was completely my fault that we'd grown apart during my rebellious phase and my parents' fault that we hadn't spoken while I'd been away, but she was far too nice to hold a grudge. I hoped we could grow close again now I was back. I could really, really use a friend.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered myself. "Hi, Pen. It's…it's so good to see you. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

She smiled, although the concern was still clear in her eyes. "Quinn, it's good to see you again, too. It wasn't the same here without you." She paused, her gaze searching. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, thank you. Just first-day nerves, I think." Thankful that my voice came out steady, I shrugged. "I know I'm not exactly new here, but you know…I've been away for a while."

"Of course. I get that." Crossing the room to sit next to me, she sank onto the bed to give me a hug. "I wanted to be here when you arrived so you'd see a familiar face. I missed you, you know."

I glanced around the room, taking in the four beds in each corner, each with a desk, wardrobe, and shelves. Taking a deep breath, I gave her a shaky smile, so relieved that she seemed to be happy to have me back. "Me too. I missed you. I missed…everything. More than I thought I would." My gaze went to the neatly made bed across from the one I was sitting on. "Who are my dormmates?"

"Well, they didn't have much space. Most of the beds were taken." Her mouth twisted. "You've been put in with three of the other girls from Epi. They're not… None of them are girls you were friends with before. I'm sorry. The bed under the window is free."

My first day back, and I was having to share a room with three other girls that I didn't know? I tried not to let my disappointment show because I shouldn't have expected anything, rejoining the school after the term had already begun.

"Sorry, I didn't realise." As I glanced around me, I noticed my suitcases were placed next to the bed and the empty desk that sat underneath the large, leaded window.

"No need to be sorry." She reclined back on her elbows, flipping her blonde ponytail over her shoulder as she did so. "I would have roomed with you if I could, but you know the head girl gets a separate room with a private bathroom, and since you weren't here at the beginning of term…I had to choose a roommate. My room isn't big enough for more than two beds, unlike the head boy's, so I had no choice."

"You don't need to explain," I assured her. "Who are you sharing with?"

She hesitated before lowering her gaze. "Freya."

Oh . Freya Thorpe. Blonde, beautiful Freya. We'd never seen eye to eye, but she was a close friend of Penelope. They were third or fourth cousins, or something like that, and Freya was popular despite her spoilt, arrogant attitude. Thanks to her popularity and relationship with Penelope, she wasn't someone I wanted to get on the wrong side of. There wasn't any particular issue I had with her; it was just that she was one of those people who had to be the best in everything. We'd fallen out when we were younger, after I'd beaten her to the team captain position in netball. Her entitled attitude grated on me, not that it was anything unusual in this school with so many rich kids' egos crammed into one space twenty-four seven. But I could deal with it, and who knew, maybe Freya and I could put the past behind us and start over again now that I was back.

Before I could think of anything to say in reply, a bell rang loudly, making us both jump. Penelope sighed, sliding off the bed. "Come on. House assembly. We'd better not be late."

"Yeah. I don't want to draw any more attention to myself." Mainly because Roman would be there. And despite Pen's calming presence, I knew that it was going to take everything in me to stick to the agreement I'd made with my mother to stay away from him.

I quickly flipped on the selfie camera on my phone, making sure that my face showed no traces of my tears, and pulled my hair into a ponytail. That done, I ran my fingers through the length, smoothing it out. I took one last glance at the screen before putting my phone away, then Penelope and I made our way down to the hall where the house assemblies took place.

As soon as I stepped inside, my shoes hitting the worn flagstones, it was like no time had passed. The hall was exactly as I remembered—cavernous, vaulted ceilings and pillars, all stone and huge windows, with rows of wooden pews facing a small stage with a lectern and microphone. The whole thing gave off a cathedral-type vibe, although, to my knowledge, the building had never been used for any kind of religious ceremony. The carved stone statues that flanked the corners of the room were depictions of the Greek philosophers rather than saints, for a start. Although it did have something in common with the cathedrals I'd visited as a child—the hall was always cold, even in the summer with the sun streaming through the windows.

There were other students filing into the room, so I slipped in between them, losing Penelope in the crowd. As the head girl, she had to sit up at the front, and I wasn't about to draw any more attention to myself than I absolutely had to. Having said that, I wasn't going to hide in a corner either.

Before I could decide on a seat, a hand curled around my wrist. "Come and sit with me."

I spun around to see Aria grinning at me. Petite, with long, jet-black, wavy hair, huge golden-brown eyes, and a rosebud mouth, I'd heard her described as both "cute" and "fragile." Looks were deceiving, though. Aria was fierce. Her small stature belied her sometimes fiery nature, mostly if she was provoked, and she swore like a sailor, as my mother would say. We had different friend groups, so we'd never interacted much in public. Aria wasn't someone who cared about status or anything like that. She was just one of those people that most people genuinely liked, so she'd more or less been part of the elite without even trying or even wanting to be, yet status didn't concern her. We'd become friends of a sort around the same time I'd started getting to know Roman. We'd met on the night I'd sneaked out of my dorm room to the old bell tower that was off limits to students and found her in there smoking a joint, casually draped across the crumbling remains of a window ledge like there wasn't a sheer drop that could kill her if she moved an inch in the wrong direction.

Our friendship had never really had a chance to see the light of day, though, with us moving in different circles and my parents' tight control over me regarding the people they deemed appropriate for me to be around. But maybe now I was back, things would be different. It wasn't that they disapproved of Aria as such; it was more that they encouraged friendships with what they classed as "influential people." People who, in their opinion, could further my future career and my adult life. Unfortunately for them, I couldn't ever view people as commodities.

"Aria. Hi." My lips curved into a genuine smile, and I followed her without hesitation.

"We're roommates," she announced as we took seats about halfway down the rows of pews, sliding along the row until we reached the end closest to the window.

"We are?" My smile widened. This was great news.

"Your parents probably won't be happy."

"I don't think they have a problem with you specifically, but…" My voice trailed off, and I couldn't help my grimace.

Aria studied me intently, her head cocked. "Let me guess. They wanted you to be rooming with Penelope or Freya or someone else they explicitly approve of? The people who were your friends before. The elite."

We both pulled a face. She was right. It wasn't like I hadn't known the terms of my return to Hatherley Hall, but after I'd faced Roman earlier…the reality had been far more difficult than I'd anticipated. I couldn't tell her the details yet, though. Not until we could be alone, with no chance of being overheard.

The tower , I mouthed, and she nodded before turning to face the front of the room, where Professor Donnelly, our head of house, was shuffling papers at the lectern. Most of the teachers preferred to use laptops and projectors, but he was one of those old-school teachers who had a deep distrust of modern technology.

He cleared his throat loudly, the microphone amplifying the sound, sending it bouncing around the hall with the help of the speakers placed on the pillars that ran down the sides of the room. Just that small action had the hall falling into silence, students straightening up and fixing their gazes on him.

A sudden chill went down my spine as Prof. Donnelly began to speak, and it had nothing to do with what was happening at the front of the room.

It was the awareness of the gaze I felt boring into the back of my head. Without even having to turn around, I knew it was him.

Roman.

My heart stuttered, and I squeezed my hands together in my lap, my knuckles turning white with the pressure. After all this time, the way this boy held so much power over me, the way he could affect me like no one else ever could…

I could never allow him to see it. I had to perfect my mask of disinterest, even if it made me feel like a hollow shell of myself.

The consequences weren't worth risking. Not for me, and not for him.