by Molly E. Lee
He nodded, smacking his hands on his jeans. “Like I could’ve stopped it.”
“Of course you couldn’t,” I said, and he arched a brow at me.
“You’re not going to ask if I did it?”
“No.” I shook my head. “One, if you wanted to pull something on Tanner, it would’ve been a hell of a lot more stealth than whatever that was this morning.” My heart stuttered when he smiled. “And two,” I pushed on. “There would be no trace of you there. No reason for you to get punished.”
He inched closer to me, studying. The breath in my lungs stalled, heat raking across my skin like flames.
“You’re one to watch, PixieBurn.” He leaned back again.
I jolted at the use of my alias but quickly adjusted. “Whatever you say, NightLocker.”
He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.
I sucked my teeth. “Now, what are we supposed to do in this club?”
“I’m supposed to tutor all our interested classmates.” He dramatically looked around the empty room. “That and maintain the school’s website. Which will take me all of two seconds each club. So…whatever we want, I guess,” he said, shrugging. “I mean, as long as Tanner forces me to hold it. I’ll be here. Three times a week…”
“For the rest of your life,” I joked.
“Tanner would like it that way.”
I groaned. “I wasn’t totally unhappy to see him humiliated today.” The man cared about two things: his awards from the district and state boards and the grants/bonuses he received because of his outstanding student performances. And after what Hannah said about his job…God, he’d likely get worse.
“Whoever did it sure fucked me over,” he said, and I softened my features.
“Totally. Sucks.” The conversation with Hannah this morning, the presentation, and the crazy prank all swirled in my head, an idea taking shape in my mind. “You know,” I said, “someone should really put him in his place. Someone with more tact.”
Dean arched a brow at me. “Careful,” he warned. “You sound dangerously close to posing a challenge.”
I hadn’t been…but the boy was always one step ahead of me.
“Maybe I am.”
“Terms?”
Heat flooded my cheeks at the spark in his eyes, the excitement mirrored in my own. He loved the rush of a challenge as much as I did. I had never felt that kind of camaraderie before.
“Rile up Principal Tanner, of course. Call it our epic senior year hack.”
“And the winner gets?”
“Besides bragging rights?” I bit my bottom lip. Most challenges between hackers were kept low-key, the bragging rights being the sole focus of the challenge—in the end, topping another skilled hacker was the ultimate prize. But a little added incentive never hurt. “A deadmau5 T-shirt.”
Dean smiled, tipping his chin up. “Rules?”
I sighed, nodding.
Rules. There always had to be rules.
While we liked to work beyond normal limits, it was unwise to work without a net.
“It has to be white hat,” I said. “No one can get hurt, livelihood or otherwise.”
“Naturally.”
“And it has to be a secret between us. No one can know. Siblings included.” I eyed him, knowing how close he was with his sister.
“Then friends can’t, either,” he countered.
“Of course.” Hannah wouldn’t want to know anyway. Not about a stunt this big. Not that I had a clue what I’d do yet.
“Timeframe?”
“Spring break? So, that gives us a little over six months?” I smirked. “Maybe I’ll win and it’ll soften the blow of not competing against you at the TOC.”
Dean continued to look down at me with those blue-gray eyes. I tried not to budge. Tried to present a strong, independent front. Inside I was trembling. The rush of a bet, of a challenge with a more than formidable opponent, it was a high I didn’t want to end.
“Deal,” he said, sticking out his hand.
I took it, chills ghosting my skin as he wrapped his fingers over mine. We shook hands, and his was so warm. Electric shocks buzzed were we connected, and I kept shaking his hand until he finally arched a brow at me.
Quickly I dropped it, brushing back some hair that had fallen over my eyes.
“Did we just turn a principal-appointed club into command central for the ultimate prank against him?” Dean asked.
I stood, gathering my gear. “Too much for day one?”
“Nah,” he said, grabbing his stuff and walking me toward the door. “Just the right amount.”
We walked silently to the parking lot, our cars not far from each other in the near-vacant lot.
“You have an idea what you’ll do?” he called to me from his car.
“No.” I tilted my head. “Do you?”
He smirked. “Oh yeah.”
I narrowed my eyes. He might be totally gorgeous and smell like a dream, but I was never one to back down from a competition. “Mine will be better.”
“We’ll see, Pixie.”
“Whatever, Locker.” I glared at him, but there was a full-on smile over my lips.
“I’m really glad you showed up,” he said. “This is going to be fun.” He winked at me before getting in his car and driving away.
I sat behind the wheel of my car, cranking my music as I tried to get my heart to stop racing.
Dean was right.
Code Club just got a whole lot more interesting.
Chapter Four
Dean
“Whoa,” Sean said the instant I rounded the corner into the kitchen. “What did you do?”
I furrowed my brow, sneaking a taste of the sauce Mom had simmering on the stove. “What are you talking about? And what are you doing home?”
Sean was a sophomore at MIT and the current cyber security lead at Inkheart Corporations. We rarely saw him unless it was a holiday or he was overdue on his laundry. It was a hole that had stopped being so hollow over the years, but I still missed him. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud.
“I have the next two days off,” he said, closing his laptop he’d had open on the kitchen table. “And don’t dodge the question.”
I sucked the marinara off my finger, my eyes rolling back in my head. One perk of Sean showing up was that Mom made his favorite dish, which happened to be mine, too. “What was it again?”
Sean rose from the table, dipping a clean spoon into the pot and taking a lick. We were the same height despite our age difference, though he was more jacked than I was. I was fit, but he loved the gym on campus. Most of my spare time was spent locked in and prepping for the Tournament of Champions, but I made a point to do a quick workout before school almost every morning. Helped me focus my mind for the day.
“You’re grinning like the Cheshire Cat,” he said, taking another lick. “Which either means you cracked something huge, or—” His eyes lit up. “You met a chick hot enough to take your mind off your computer for once.”
Was I grinning?
My lips dropped the second I felt it and I waved him off.
“Holy hell,” Sean said. “You have met a chick.”
Amber’s pink-streaked hair and perfect lips popped into my head. The way she’d looked, locked onto her screen, her villain headphones blaring my favorite artist to tune out the world.
Good God, she was gorgeous and tempting and all things I didn’t need to think about. We were friends. Cordial friends at that. She’d just broken up with that d-bag Brandon. I couldn’t begin to think of her as anything more than a fellow hacker.
Sure, we had fun trying to top one another in class, and yes, maybe sometimes I bought her favorite drink just to see that over-the-top smile of hers, but there was nothing beyond that. She’d always been with golden-boy Brando
n—someone who talked shit when no one was looking and thought he ruled over everyone else. I never understood why they’d been together—she was a fierce girl with a rebellious streak when she locked in. Maybe that’s why the relationship had ended. The two didn’t compute.
“I had a good day.” I walked away from the sauce before I put it in a bowl and drank it Beast style.
“Wait, what?” Tessa’s voice snapped as she rounded the corner, plucking the spoon out of Sean’s hand and taking a taste for herself. Mom was going to kill us. “You were hauled into the principal’s office and forced to run some stupid club, eating hours of your personal time. How is that a good day?”
I groaned, taking a seat at the table. “Thanks, Tessa.”
Sean smirked as he sat across from me. “So, not only were you deflecting, you were lying, too. I’m your brother!”
“Like I could forget.” I glared at him, but I was only half serious. He knew I loved him, just like Tessa knew, but that didn’t mean I wanted to divulge every single detail of my life to them.
“Why did Tanner haul you in?” Sean asked, more serious.
Tessa snorted. “Someone pulled a brilliant prank on Tanner during his abstinence only presentation.”
“No shit?” Sean gaped at her.
“Dead serious,” she said. “Awesome clips of sexy make-out sessions and all.”
“It wasn’t that awesome,” I said. “Or brilliant.”
“Just because you’re immune to romance doesn’t mean the rest of us are,” Tessa quipped.
“That’s not it,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Whoever did it will get caught. Tanner is too smart and paranoid to let it slide. He knew it wasn’t me. Which means he has at least an idea of who it might be, and that person and all their friends will suffer when he nails them.”
“He was always strict, but is he getting worse?” Sean ran his fingers through his hair, and I nodded in answer. “If he knew it wasn’t you then why did he bother bringing you in?”
“Because I was behind the computer when it happened. I’d only pushed play on the vid, someone else had tampered with it before I got there.”
Sean hissed.
“Tessa!” Mom chided as she came into the kitchen and snatched the spoon out of her hand. Tessa blinked, then glared at the two of us at the table.
“They did it first!”
Sean and I gave Mom our most innocent faces possible. One I mastered by watching him. Tessa growled and rolled her eyes.
“You’re all in trouble,” Mom teased. “Do it again and I’ll burn the bread.”
A collective gasp damn near shook the room. Mom’s homemade garlic bread was just about as close to heaven as one could get.
“Never again,” I said.
“Promise,” Tessa added.
Sean laughed, and the rest of us followed. When Dad came in and instantly stuck his finger in the pot, it only made us laugh harder. The sounds filled the kitchen, and the ache in my chest that always missed my brother soothed a fraction. Normally I’d already be up in my room, headphones on, sneaking in two hours of coding before dinner, but not tonight. Family nights like this were rare, and after the day I’d had, it was beyond welcome.
The thought made me return to Sean’s first words to me, and I sat there wondering why I’d been a grinning fool when I’d walked in. It wasn’t Code Club, because kill me now. No, it had to be the rush of the challenge Amber had set up. This ultimate bet with someone who would put up a proper fight. The idea of crushing her in this competition had fueled that ridiculous smile on my face earlier, that’s all.
I set the table and then Mom dished the plates. Sean launched into stories from MIT and Inkheart, and I soaked it in. His tales were enough to make me drool—his future so solid and close to the dreams of my own. Sean was eons ahead of me, but I’d catch up to him one day. As long as I earned my acceptance letter from MIT, but that wouldn’t happen until March. Months away. Then the battlefield would be even and never ending.
“Anyone want to shed light on what went down today?” Mom asked, glancing at Dad.
He nodded. “We received an interesting email from Principal Tanner earlier.”
“What did it say?” Tessa blurted, her mouth half full.
I tilted my head, slowly finishing the last bites on my plate.
“Something about someone…” He cleared his throat. “Porn-bombing his presentation?”
Mom choked on her bite, she laughed so hard.
Sean snorted.
“It wasn’t porn.” I rolled my eyes. God, if Tanner thought a few CW make-outs were porn… “Someone just put a few kissing clips over his sex is the road to death video.”
Dad arched a brow at me.
“I’m not that stupid,” I said.
“Oh, honey, we know that,” Mom said, reaching over the table to touch my wrist. “And I said as much when Principal Tanner called to confirm you were home last night.”
Dad grumbled as he stabbed a meatball on his plate. “Sometimes I wonder if Wilmont’s stellar academics are worth the ancient approach they have to certain forms of education.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
“But Tessa mentioned he got on to you about the video?” Mom asked, eyeing us both.
I glared at Tessa across the table. Not that I was trying to hide anything from my parents, but because it wasn’t even relevant. I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. He’s pissed I didn’t see it coming and stop it.” I set my fork down. “I have to host an after-school thing now, three days a week. And maintain Wilmont’s website. So, I’ll be late on those days.”
“That’s an odd form of punishment,” Dad said.
I glanced at Sean, knowing the hell I was about to catch.
“It’s called Code Club.” Tessa took my silence and filled it with the cringeworthy words.
Sean burst out laughing. “Oh, damn, brother. That is horrible.”
“What?” Mom’s eyes darted between the two of us. “You love hacking.”
I clenched my eyes shut. “Mom,” I groaned. “Yeah. It’s just that it’s an underground thing. Private, for the most part.”
“What about all those boot camps and competitions you enter?” she countered.
A small smile softened my embarrassment. Had to give it to Mom, and Dad, too—they were fully committed to our choices in life in terms of what we were passionate about. “Those are the exceptions. And tournaments are about challenges and topping other hackers and earning bragging rights. This club isn’t like that. Tan—Principal Tanner wants to cut into my personal time by forcing me to host it and do whatever he requires for his site.”
Mom glanced at Dad and shrugged, the point clearly lost on her.
“Did anyone show up?” Sean asked, the pity clear in his tone.
My heart did a hiccup. “Yeah,” I said.
He raised his brows, waiting for me to elaborate.
“Just one person,” I said.
“Who?”
“It’s not like you’d know her.”
Sean clanked his fork down. “Why are you dead set on hiding things from me?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’re constantly cracking my stuff and messing with me.” Last month he’d replaced my entire music collection with Taylor Swift songs. I mean, “Blank Space” was catchy but damn. Those lyrics got in your head and never let you go.
“Sean!” Mom chided while Dad chuckled. She cut a glare to him.
“What?” Dad asked innocently. “It keeps him sharp.”
Tessa rolled her eyes, content to finish her food out of the spotlight.
“Exactly,” Sean said, motioning his full fork to Dad. “What he said. I make you a better hacker.”
“Spare me,” I said, trying not to laugh.
“Stop dodging,” he said. “Wh
o showed up?”
A pixie-hacker who was suddenly single. I wetted my lips, unable to shake the sweet scent of whatever concoction she’d had on her skin earlier—something like vanilla and mint and lavender all in one.
I forced out a laugh. “No one,” I said, pushing from the table and carrying my empty plate to the sink. I returned only to kiss Mom on the top of her head. “Great dinner, as always, Mom.” I bounded up the stairs and to the seclusion of my room.
I needed away from the conversation—hell, I needed away from my own thoughts. Now that this club was forced onto my plate, I had to focus up. All extra time had to be spent hacking. Practicing. Prepping. Winning the TOC was my sole goal—it would go a hell of a long way in an MIT interview as well as almost guarantee me a job at a major corporation. That’s where true improvement would happen, in the field, and I was beyond ready to start that chapter in my life.
One more school year.
My headphones were halfway to my ears when a knock sounded on my door. I sighed, not bothering to spin my computer chair around. “It’s open, Sean.”
“Hey,” he said, closing the door behind him. He sank onto my unmade bed across from my desk. “Did I do something?”
“You mean besides rearrange all the letters on my keyboard?” I smirked.
He gaped at me. “That was two years ago, bro.”
“I don’t forget.”
“Yeah, but you do forgive. And get even. You totally crashed my server with the spam-bomb you sent in retaliation. It took me a day to get it back to normal speed again.”
“Learned from the best.” I smiled at him. “It gets boring here without you, man.”
“I bet,” he said, leaning his elbows on his knees. “But it sounds like you’ve got plenty to keep you occupied.” He glanced at my computer, then back to me. “Nice job on scoring that entry to the TOC.”
My chest puffed out a bit. “It wasn’t easy.”
“No doubt,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve never made it in.”
“You’ve only tried once. And you were a baby.”
“Sixteen is hardly a baby.” He laughed. “And once was by far enough. Too much pressure. No thanks.”
“I like it.”