Demons of the Sun Read Free Page B

of both worlds. Danielle was funny, full of energy, and great with the girly stuff; Dean was mellow, easy to talk to, and he’d gotten Persephone into soccer. The downside was they sometimes fought and drove each other crazy, which drove her crazy. Especially when she got dragged into the middle of their arguments.
    Dean turned as she neared. Two creases formed between his eyebrows. “Did someone get a hit on you during soccer yesterday?”
    Compared to how bad the side of her face had looked last night—all swollen and red and purple—the faint red mark that remained was nothing. Not nothing enough to go unnoticed, apparently. “Um, I got up in the middle of the night, thought my door was closed, but it wasn’t, and I ran right into it.”
    “You’ll still be good to play after school, though, right?”
    “I’d play with a broken leg.”
    Danielle groaned. “Not lame soccer again. Can’t we do something else that’s actually fun?”
    Persephone couldn’t help but smile at Danielle’s exasperation. “You could play, you know.”
    Danielle’s eyebrows inched up, and she tilted her head, a never-going-to-happen expression on her face.
    “We’ll go do something girly afterwards, okay? I just need to beat up on the guys a little first.” Especially on a day like today, when I feel so frustrated.
    “Fine. I’ll deal with soccer, but then we need to have an Upper East Siders marathon. Just wait until you see Michael, Chloe’s new love interest. He’s so yummy I want to lick him.” Danielle tucked a strand of her golden brown hair behind her ear, then leaned against her locker, a dreamy look on her face. “Why can’t we get any boys like that at our school?”
    Dean rolled his eyes. “That show is fake, that’s why. All those guys do is go around whining about their feelings. They’re more obsessed with their looks than you are, and that’s saying a lot.”
    Danielle smacked his arm. “Geez! Rude much? Did you ever think if you weren’t such a jerk, Abbey Stevens would be cuddled up to you instead of Joshua Bryant?”
    Before a fight broke out, Persephone stepped in. “Have you guys picked which author you’re going to do your paper on for Miss Nelson’s class yet? I have no idea who to do mine on.”
    Dean put his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help you pick one during the Upper East Siders marathon if you don’t think you’ll miss the non-existent plot.”
    Persephone waited for Danielle’s retort, but her attention was on something further down the hall. “Holy eye candy! Just when I said we needed hot guys here, one magically appears.” Her eyes widened. “And he’s heading right for us.”
    Dean sighed and shook his head. “I’ve really got to start hanging out with the guys in the morning.”
    Persephone glanced back to check out the new guy.
    And saw he wasn’t new to her.
    “I was hoping I’d run into you,” Jax said, stepping up to her. “I need someone to show me around my new school.”
    Danielle looked at Persephone, hazel eyes wide and questioning. “You know this guy?”
    “Our families go way back,” Jax answered before Persephone could, draping his arm over her shoulders. “So I guess you could say we’re friends who are getting re-acquainted.”
    Persephone glared at him and he dropped his arm.
    Mega-watt smile on her face, Danielle threw her hand over her heart. “I’m Danielle.”
    Jax returned her smile with one of his own. “Jax Nikas. Nice to meet you.” He turned to Dean. “You’re not Persephone’s boyfriend, are you?”
    “That’s it!” Persephone grabbed Jax’s arm and yanked him away from her friends. She led him to a relatively quiet corner and whipped around to face him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    “I thought about it, and I kind of rushed through my last year of school, so I decided to enroll here.”
    His calm manner only caused her anger toward him to grow. “So you can keep an eye on me?”
    He put his hand on the wall