“What?” he smirked. “Why you looking at me like that? I just wanna say hello and find out what your name is.”

The guy had that same sleepy, somewhat glossy-eyed look her father got when he smoked the stuff. She forced a faint smile. “It’s Charlee.”

Scrunching up his nose, he turned to his friends then laughed a little too loudly as he turned back to face her. “Charlie? Ain’t that a guy’s name?”

“Apparently not,” she said as she began to gather her things.

His friends began laughing now too as if she’d just said something hilarious. “Okay, okay,” he said a little too amused. “Don’t go. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Ross and this must be your first year here, right? Because I know I would’ve noticed a beautiful thing like you before.”

“Yep,” she said, feeling her face warm from the compliment, “first year.” She flung her bag over her shoulder just as he lifted his hand toward her.

“That hair, wow, it’s . . . so bright.”

Charlee cursed her bright head. Her entire life, all she wanted was to go unnoticed—blend in with everything, but this hair had and would always be the bane of her existence. Even after Drew’s plan to make it less noticeable, she still may as well sit there screaming, “Look at me! My head’s on fire!”

She smiled faintly and tried making her way around Ross.

“Wait, wait.” He stepped in front of her and stared at her hair with an almost perverted expression. “Are you red everywhere, Charlee?” he whispered but loud enough for his friends to hear because they burst out laughing and were already falling all over each other.

Her face was instantly ablaze and she looked away.

“Can I touch it?” he asked.

With a jerk of her neck, she was facing him again. “What?” She stepped back away from him.

He took a step forward with a sardonic smile that made the hair on the back of her neck stand. “I meant the hair on your head, not on your . . .”

“No, you can’t,” she gasped, glancing around wishing to God she’d spot Drew’s car in the parking lot somewhere. “I gotta go.”

His friends laughed even more now. “Burn!” One of them said, covering his mouth, because her having to go was apparently side-splitting.

Ross didn’t seem quite as amused as they were now, but he still managed to smirk. “C’mon, Red,” he lifted his hand toward her again. “I just wanna see if it feels as soft as it looks.”

“Sorry, I gotta go,” she repeated.

She started to walk around him, beginning to feel a little nervous about how deserted the campus suddenly felt. This wasn’t unusual for a late Friday afternoon, and normally she wouldn’t care, but being alone here with these three obviously high guys was really starting to unnerve her.

His hand touching her made her gasp again. Ross held her arm as she tried going around him. “I’m asking nicely.” His voice was low and deliberate now.

Charlee tried to shake his arm off her, but he held it firmly.

“Let her go.”

They all looked up at once, and Ross immediately laughed. A heavyset boy she recognized quickly as Walter, a guy on both her chess teams, stood there looking a bit unsure of himself, but he cleared his throat and spoke even louder the second time. “I said let her go.”

Ross dropped her arm and took a few steps toward Walter. “You’re gonna tell me what to do, fat boy?”

The voice in Charlee’s head screamed for her to get out of there. She was free to run now, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t just leave Walter there with these three pothead ass**les.

“J-just let her be is all I’m saying.” Walter looked about as scared as Charlee felt.

“Yeah? Or what?” Ross asked, taking a few more steps toward Walter. “What are you gonna do, fat ass?”

“Let’s go, Walter.” Charlee said, walking toward him, but Ross stopped her, grabbing her arm again.

“I said let her go!” Walter pushed Ross, making him tumble back off balance for a second, but he recovered quickly and swung, landing his fist solidly on Walter’s nose.

In the next few seconds, while Walter brought his hands to his bloodied nose, Ross swung at him again. Charlee screamed at him to stop when she saw Walter lose his footing and tumble to the ground in pain. Ross began kicking him in the stomach and chest, and his friends joined him, kicking Walter mercilessly. Completely panic-stricken now and terrified that they were going to kill him, especially when she saw one of Ross’s kicks go for Walter’s head, Charlee begged them to stop. She thought for sure security or someone would’ve come by now, but unbelievably, there was no one around. That’s when she saw him.

Out of nowhere, a guy ran up to Ross, and with one swift powerful punch to the face, he knocked Ross out cold. Charlee was too stunned to move, even when Ross’s body flopped lifelessly at her feet. He never even knew what hit him.

“You okay, Walter?” The deep resonate sound of his voice barely registered as she finally pulled her eyes away from the body lying at her feet. Looking up, she watched the mystery guy bend over at Walter’s side. Ross’s friends were long gone, running the moment they saw Ross drop like a sack of rocks. The guy hadn’t bothered going after them, too concerned about Walter instead.

Mesmerized, she now couldn’t take her eyes off him as he lifted Walter’s big body effortlessly, helping him to his feet.