Swallowing hard, I give her a tight nod, pivot, and walk to Knox’s desk.

Someone lets out a gasp—Jolena.

Good. Take that. I am stronger than BTN.

Knox’s eyes are narrowed as he sits back in his chair, never shifting his gaze as I slide into the seat next to his. He takes me in, cocking an eyebrow as if he’s surprised.

He’s a foot away from me, but I swear I can feel the heat from his body looming close. I scoot my chair a few inches farther from his, making a horrid scraping noise on the tile. He huffs out a laugh and slides his away from me until his chair is next to the wall, putting even more distance between us.

Good, it’s like that then.

Never liked you from the get-go, even before that party, my face says as I shoot him a glare.

Same, his eyes say.

“Ava,” he says in acknowledgment, his voice husky, laced with dark undertones. His tone reminds me of the night, steel wrapped in black velvet, hinting at secrets and barely leashed power. Since freshman year, I’ve avoided him, but it’s not the scar, because things like that don’t bother me. I’ve lived with kids with scars and burns on their faces, sometimes on their entire body. Luka had cigarette burns up and down both forearms.

“Mr. Cold and Evil. We meet again.”

The last time I was this close to him was in Greek Myths junior year when he sat behind me, feet propped up on the bottom rail of my desk. It was the most tense I’d ever been in a class. He’d breathe and I’d hear him, the sound grating on my nerves. He’d lean forward and my hair would move as it he touched it. I’d pass papers back to him and our fingers would brush. When our eyes would meet, I’d drop mine, and he’d laugh. Once…

“Hey, charity case, turn around.”

Ugh! I turn in my seat. “What?” My hands clench as I hold myself tight under his scrutiny. My heart thumps so loud I wonder if he can hear it. Ever since seeing him almost naked in the locker room, something is definitely weird between us.

“Why did Hades fall for Persephone?”

“Read your textbook, Shark.”

His voice is low, his eyes liquid metal. “I did. Seriously, I don’t get it.” His gaze lingers on my neck, staring at my locket. “Come on, answer me.”

Oh, what the heck. If it will make him stop bothering me… “Hades was lonely in hell. It’s a dark, isolated place. She symbolizes light and good. Opposites attract. Why can’t a devil want an angel? They were in love. Happy.”

“Opposites, huh?” He taps his pen on his desk, thinking, and glances at Chance a few rows over. “You and Chance—serious?”

Ah, so that’s what this is. “Does it bother you that he’s with me? You think I’m not good enough for your best friend. Chance is perfect. He isn’t a devil.”

His lids go to half-mast. “Like me.”

I look at his scarred lip.

“Ah, low blow. You know just how to cut me, charity case.”

“Ava is my fucking name,” I hiss then flip back around. Asshole!

Knox laughs under his breath, and I come back to the present.

“Didn’t know you’d given me a nickname. Guess this means you’ve been thinking about me.” He pauses. “I kind of like Cold and Evil. Fits me. Truthfully, I’d prefer Hot as Fuck, but you do you.”

I glance at his face, taking in the long patrician nose, the sculpted cheekbones, the way his dark hair lays around his face. He’s rolled up the sleeves of his button-down, the muscles of his forearms tightly roped and defined. His upper arms are bulky, his shirt tight against them.

I tear my eyes off him and stare down at my laptop, shuffling around to get my things arranged. I slam down my notebook and pen.

For some weird reason, I have perfect clarity on seeing him with Tawny, his hand tucked into the back pocket of her jeans as they walked away from the bonfire and got into his car.

Yet…

It feels as if something big happened before they left, an elusive memory that dances just out of reach and is up in smoke before I can grab hold and pin it down. It’s been like that for months, bits and pieces all jumbled together.

“We’re going to be working on a movie project for the next few weeks, so where you’re sitting today is your permanent seat for a while,” says Mrs. White as she begins her lecture.

“Great,” I mutter.

Knox gives me a dark look. “My sentiments exactly.”

She continues. “We’re going to focus on movies at least twenty years old. Some perhaps you’ve heard of. Some are iconic, some suck, and I can’t wait to get your thoughts on the issues they cover, which you’ll put in a five-thousand-word essay.”

Groans come from the students.

“What kind of movies, Mrs. White? My dad doesn’t let me watch sexy films, so I hope they’re all G-rated.” It’s Dane, his voice lazy as he sits next to Piper.

A few people snigger until Mrs. White gives them a pointed glare. “I’ll make sure you get Charlotte’s Web, Dane. Too bad, really, especially with so many good movies on the list, like The Godfather, for one. Guess I’ll assign that one to someone else.”

He deflates. “Please don’t give me Charlotte’s Web. The spider dies and all that crap. I hate it when people die in movies.”

“Too late,” she says, already writing his and Piper’s names on the board.

I chance another glance over at their table, and Piper does a gagging motion at me as she points to him. I grin. Dang, I’ve missed her.

The teacher goes down the list of pairs, assigning movie titles. Field of Dreams goes to Chance and his partner, Brooklyn, and from the way she’s tracing her fingers over his hand on the desk, she’s evidently happy to be next to him.

I flip back around and face the front, my hands clenched in my lap.

“Not over him?” Knox drawls. “He’s dating her, you know. Might be serious. He claims it is. Never seen him be so nice to a girl. Do you still love him?”

I slide my eyes to him.

His facial expression never changes. Cold. “Not that he’s a bad guy, but you and him don’t go together.” He pauses as if a light bulb just clicked on. “Huh. Maybe it was all about security when it came to him. Nice, clean-cut, boy next door. Is that what you saw in him?”

The. Nerve.

He doesn’t know me.

I cared about Chance.

I study my nails.

“I do that too—look at my nails. It says I know what I know and you don’t know shit.”

I blow out a breath.

“Nothing to say? I guess that means you’re still carrying the torch. Silly girl. How can you want him when he left you high and dry?”

Anger flares to the surface at the memories he brings up. “Zip your lips, Cold and Evil, or I’ll punch you in the face.”

His head leans in close, too close. “I believe you, which is funny, because I took you for the quiet type, but I think I always knew you were something else underneath…” He laughs and leans away from me, but not before the air around him shifts and I catch his cologne. He smells like the ocean, salt and sunshine and coconuts, and my chest swells.

I turn my head and stare at him, facing off with those gray eyes. “What kind of cologne is that? Eau de fish?”