"Hey Coop, can I bum a cigarette?"

Coop looked up from his own freshly lit one to see Spence watching him expectantly. With a shrug, Coop fished the pack he kept in his pocket out and held it out to the other boy who mumbled his thanks and the two fell back into their usual morning silence. A few minutes passed and Matt Hanson, one of the school's Golden Boys, turned the corner coming from the student parking lot, a girl tucked under his arm. She wore an Adam's High football hoodie that was at least three times too big and her hair clung to her face. Coop thought he caught a glimpse of glasses on her, and it was hard to miss the way she was shivering.

The two soon disappeared into the building and Coop lost interest as quickly as he'd gained it. The comings and goings of others had nothing to do with him. He hadn't been able to catch much of a glimpse of the girl's face anyway as she'd practically burrowed it into Matt's chest. He wasn't a fan of clingy chicks, they were too much of a nuisance.

"That wasn't Sera," Spence said after a few minutes had gone by since the couple had disappeared. As usual, Spence took Coop's silence as agreement and continued his one-man conversation. "That chick must have a death wish."

Oh yeah, Sera would eat that mousy little girl alive, but again, that was hardly his problem. Coop took another drag of his cigarette and half listened as Spence continued speculating about the other girl and what would happen. For someone who considered himself a rebel, Spence had an unquenchable thirst for gossip.

***

Coop didn't protest when perfectly manicured hands grabbed him by the arm and yanked him into an empty classroom during what would've been first period if he had bothered to even go to class. He found himself looking into the confident and predatory eyes of Sera. "I need you," was all she said before yanking him towards her.

He let it happen, just like he'd let it happen before. He didn't care that she was dating another guy; of course, he wouldn't have cared if it had been a different girl to pull him into the classroom either. Coop smirked as her fingers found their way under his shirt and up his back. He leaned her back against the wall and prepared to enjoy himself for the next half hour or so, but before more than a few minutes had passed, the door knob was turning and Mrs. Franklin stepped through.

The two of them broke apart at the sound of her surprised gasp followed by a sharp cough of disapproval. "Mr. Daniels, Ms. Patrick, I have no doubt that you're well aware of just how inappropriate this type of behavior is anywhere, much less on school grounds in my classroom."

When neither student seemed inclined to either respond or look remorseful, the older woman's lips tightened in disapproval and her eyes narrowed. "Perhaps three days of detention will give you both an idea."

That seemed to help Sera find her voice because the girl's face immediately twisted with disdain and her mouth set into a thin, icy line. "I don't have time for detention. I have cheer practice."

"I daresay your education is more important than dancing around on a football field Ms. Patrick," Mrs. Franklin snapped back without sympathy. "I expect both of you to find your way to class right now."

Sera's face turned mutinous, but she only hmphed as she stomped past Mrs. Franklin back out into the hallway. Coop didn't bother saying a word. He'd been given enough detentions by now to know that arguing rarely solved the problem, and besides, what did he care? It wasn't like he'd be going anyway. As he stepped through the doorway, out into the hall to follow Sera, Mrs. Franklin cleared her throat and he turned to look at her expectantly. "I will be checking in on both of you before first period has ended."

Coop made his way to class, figuring it would be a nice change of pace to show up for once, and listened to the distinctive slap of Sera's sandals on the hallway floor. He wondered, with a passing curiosity, if Matt would even care that she was cheating seeing as he had his own thing going on.

Spence was sitting in the back of the room when he walked through the classroom door. Mr. Dawson shot him a quick look and raised a brow, as if to ask him what had caused him to grace them all with his presence, but didn't say a word as Coop slid into the desk beside Spence. There were a number of people who were convinced that Coop or his parents paid off the teachers at the school. It was impossible for him to still be passing classes when he never bothered showing up.

He liked his reputation just the way it was; the rebellious guy who would sleep with your girlfriend without batting an eye, and who didn't care what you thought. He also liked skipping class. He didn't need to sit through some lecture to learn, he'd much rather teach himself.

"Word is that chick's been walking around in an Adam's High football t-shirt sporting Hanson's name and jersey number on the back," Spence whispered to him, apparently eager to share the gossip. "Sera's on the prowl. Poor girl's dead meat."

Coop shrugged, turning his gaze towards the window. He didn't care about the girl, or about what Sera was about to do to her. That drama had nothing to do with him. With any luck, class would be over quickly.

***

Matt would've liked to thank his lightning-quick reflexes for not falling head-first into a bucket full of dirty mop water when he found himself yanked unceremoniously into one of the school's many janitor's closets. The lights flickered on just as the door clicked shut with just a bit more force than was probably necessary. Matt blinked his eyes rapidly at the sudden light and murderous hazel eyes came into focus just inches from his face. He bit back an irritated sigh, "Fay."

"Do you have any idea what your psycho girlfriend just did to Candy?" Faith, never one to waste time with pleasantries, spat the words at him. Her overall look of disdain wasn't anything new to him seeing as she'd been giving him that same look for as long as he could remember. Still, it would be nice to occasionally see what her face looked like without her nose crinkled up as if she smelled something offensive and her eyes narrowed at him as if she were waiting for him to steal the fine china.

"What are you talking about? No offense to Candice, but I doubt Sera even knows her name," Matt replied. Faith seemed more than happy to extend her overall dislike of him towards whoever he happened to be dating, which, in Matt's opinion, caused her to be a bit over-dramatic when it came to anything they did.

Faith's lips curled into a snarl and she shoved him into the shelves behind him. "She attacked her in the middle of lunch."

Surprise had Matt stumbling over the same mop bucket he'd nearly dived into just minutes before. "She what?"

"Seraphina and her backup Barbies doused Candy and her lunch in milk in the middle of the courtyard. They made her the laughingstock of school. And when she tripped attempting to run away from laughter, she tripped and covered herself and Seraphina in her lunch. And got detention."

A sudden wave of guilt and nausea washed over him and Matt blew out a breath, pushing a hand through his hair. "Jesus Fay, you can't think I knew that was going to happen. Candice is just...I was just trying to help."

"By focusing everyone's attention on her?" Faith asked with crossed arms. "She has spent her entire life hiding from the spotlight, and in one fell swoop you not only shoved her into it, but you put a target on her back. Detention, Matt." Faith laughed in a disgusted way and turned away from him to stare at the closet door. "Candy's never served detention in her life."

"I'll go talk to her. I'll−"

"No," Faith said sharply, turning back to glare at him. "No, you just stay away from her. Just keep your crazy girlfriend on a tighter leash. I mean it."

And she did. Even if he didn't know it from the ten-odd years, they'd known each other, the fiery gleam in her eyes spoke volumes of Faith's not-so-peaceful intentions. Because he knew her well enough to know she was beyond listening to anything else he had to say, Matt only nodded. "I'll take care of her."

***

Completely oblivious to her boyfriend's recent revelations, and eager to pick up where she'd left off earlier, Sera had tracked down Coop right after class and was currently in the process of completely disregarding cheer practice. Coop was a hell of a kisser, and it never mattered to him if she was dating someone else or not. Sera enjoyed the thrill of it almost as much as she enjoyed the boy. The thrill of getting caught, of trying to hide it. It made it more exciting, and more enjoyable. Maybe she should feel bad for cheating on a guy like Matt. A guy who, until just this morning, she'd been confident would never cheat on her. She was Seraphina Patrick after all. There was no one better, so why would anyone cheat on her? Much less with some two-bit bookworm who couldn't hold her own against a couple of teddy bears.

She shivered in excited anticipation as Coop's hands gripped her hips and pulled her close. A girl could do a lot worse than this.