Deviant Academy

Forget the Stupid Squad

Dash’s POV

Unlike most Magics, I was never particularly interested in Harley Harris.

My parents are—that much, I know. My dad, the proud leader of the Deviant Society, and my mom, his doting and equally powerful wife, have pursued Harley for years now, trying to convince her to join their cause—which, basically, is the eradication of all Normals and the complete supremacy of Magics.

Sorry—Deviants. They actually prefer that stupid, f*****g term.

They’ve brought her up constantly over the last few years—always marveling at her latest crime sprees and reveling in every new ability she displayed. When they saw her use her fifth and final ability—Shifting—on the news, they actually cheered. 

“The first true OP!” my dad exclaimed, kissing my mom in the usual, R-rated fashion that no kid wants to see from his parents. “She’ll change the world!”

By the first true OP,  they mean the first Magic who has all five abilities combined—Physical, Elemental, Psychic, Telekinetic, and Shifting.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s definitely cool. But having been in an environment that values power over everything else for my entire life, I’ve grown pretty numb to it—even annoyed by it, dare I say.

I keep these feelings to myself, of course. I keep just about everything to myself.

She’s not what I expected, though. I knew what she looked like, of course—she’s been all over the news for years, and is the heartthrob of the entire Magic race. And, believe me, I'm not blind to how attractive she is. But I expected her to be… cockier, I guess. More like us—at least, more like Rachel, Nate, and Stella.

And that thing she said about the MRB—Not without killing them—really stuck with me.

She’s a criminal, isn’t she? I assumed she had no morals, like my parents and the rest of them. So why is she hesitant to kill the very people who are out to imprison her?

On top of all that, there’s… this quality about her. Maybe it was just the split lip; maybe it was just how quiet she was. But it’s something in her eyes, I swear—something fragile. Something vulnerable. Something you wouldn’t expect to see in someone as powerful as she is.

“Hey, man. You okay?”

I blink my way out of my stupor to find that I’ve stopped in the middle of the hallway, and Will Tinsdale is looking at me like I’ve fully lost my marbles.

“Yeah,” I say, attempting to laugh it off. “Spaced out for a minute there. You on your way to dinner?”

He looks surprised by my question—one that obviously leads to an invitation. “Uh… yeah.”

“Come on, then,” I say, and we walk together.

I’ve always liked Will Tinsdale, and not just because he’s the headmaster’s son whose good side I’d like to be on, like everyone else. He’s so much more genuine than everyone else in this damn school—so much more down to earth. 

Which is surprising, considering he’s the best Shifter in the school besides Stella.

“You talk to her yet?” he asks me as we walk. “Harley Harris?”

My instinct is to be annoyed by this question, but he doesn’t seem as douchey about it as Nate has been; he just seems to be looking for topics of conversation. “A little. We had breakfast with her today. You?”

“Nah. Figure she’s probably getting stampeded with questions and admirers. Don’t need to add to her stress.”

This is exactly why I like this guy.

“Was her roommate there?” he asks me. “At your breakfast with her, I mean. Payton?”

Is that her name? I vaguely remember the redhead who was with Harley this morning. She was pretty, and seemed nice enough, if a little uninteresting. “Yeah. Why?”

He blushes, which answers my question. “No reason.”

I grin, nudging him teasingly with my shoulder. “You like her.”

“What? No way. She doesn’t even know I exist.”

Poor guy. My heart goes out to him, which is really saying something, since lately I’ve been questioning whether I have a heart at all. “Maybe, but clearly you know she exists.”

He groans. We’ve entered the cafeteria now, and his eyes immediately scan the room—whether to see if she’s here or if the rest of the Deviant Squad is, I’m not sure.

They are here—the Squad, that is, not Harley and Payton—but frankly, I’d rather eat with Will.

“I don’t stand a chance with her,” Will says as we make our way down the buffet line. “At best, she’ll flirt with me long enough to get an A on a test.”

I can’t help but laugh at that, but I still feel bad for him. “She’s pretty quiet, isn’t she? I don’t see her at most of the parties. Maybe she’s, you know… your kind of person.”

I don’t know exactly what I mean by that—your kind of person. Will fits in well enough with the Deviant Squad and the party crowd, though of course he’s not nearly as much of an asshole as most of us. I guess that’s what I mean—not an asshole.

“Maybe,” he says. We’ve reached the end of the line now. “Well, have a good dinner.”

I blink, confused. “You don’t want to eat together?”

He looks more confused than me. “I don’t think the Squad wants me intruding at their table.”

I roll my eyes. “Forget the stupid Squad. Come on.”

I lead him to an empty table, ignoring the glare that Rachel sends me. Rachel and me—well, that’s a whole story for another time. The short version? She's vapid, manipulative, and petty, and I can’t stand her.

“Tomorrow,” I say, setting my tray down and taking a seat. “Seth’s tourney class. We know he’s lazy with who he partners up—whatever two people are standing next to each other on the day. Just make sure you’re standing near Payton.”

He considers this, then frowns. “I don’t know if that’ll work. Don’t you think she’ll be standing near Harley?”

Right—Harley. For some reason, the mention of her perks me up—so much that I consider volunteering myself to stand near her to help the cause. 

But then I spot Nate glaring at me from across the cafeteria and remember his stupid “dibs” on her. Not worth the argument.

“I’m sure Nate will strategically position himself inches away from Harley when the pairing off starts,” I assure him. “Just give it a try, okay?”

He nods, offering me a friendly, shy smile. “I’ll give it a try.”