Crave (Harlequin Teen)

her cheeks round and rosy as she smiled at Anne. Then her gaze darted over to lock onto me, and I jerked upright again. The woman had eyes like a hawk. I’d be willing to bet Savannah got away with nothing at home. That woman wouldn’t miss a thing, old or not.
    “Here’s her stuff,” I told Anne, holding out Savannah’s backpack and books.
    Anne’s eyes narrowed as she snatched them from me then set them in Savannah’s lap.
    Savannah’s head never lifted from the seat’s headrest.
    I waited until the car exited the parking lot. Then I turned and started for the field house.
    “Hey!” Anne’s voice stopped me, but I didn’t face her as she caught up with me. “Why’d you do that?”
    Unsure what to say, I settled for a shrug.
    “You know, if you’re trying to make people think you’re nice, it usually works better to have an audience to see it.”
    “Whatever.”
    She muttered something that sounded like “egomaniac.”
    Man, Savannah had the worst taste in friends lately. I rolled my eyes and walked away.

CHAPTER 2
    Tristan
    I looked for Savannah at lunch the next day, even trading seats with Dylan so I could have a better view of her friends’ table. But she never showed up. Wednesday, I traded seats with Dylan again, thinking she’d have to be back by then. But she was nowhere in sight, and her seat stayed empty. She didn’t show up for algebra that afternoon, either.
    Algebra had never been so boring or lasted so long.
    By Friday’s lunch period, Savannah was still missing. Which didn’t exactly put me in the mood to deal with Dylan’s latest show of attitude.
    “Hey, man, trade seats with me again,” I told him, keeping one eye on the cafeteria doors in case Savannah walked through.
    Dylan didn’t move, staying slouched in his seat. “Why should I?”
    “Because your spot’s got the better view, and I need to watch out for…something.”
    Dylan smirked. “Trying to check out the chicks, huh?”
    It was as good an excuse as any, and basically true. “Yeah. Now are you gonna trade or what?” I tried not to show my impatience. Otherwise he’d take twice as long to move just to mess with me.
    “And what if I don’t? You gonna call Daddy and have him and the other elders spank me at the next Clann meeting?”
    I glared at him. Man, he could be such a pain sometimes. It was just a chair!
    He snickered. “Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m moving.” Slower than a resident at the local elderly home, he peeled himself out of the chair, then made a big show of bowing over it. “Your throne, Prince Tristan.”
    Letting out a long, slow breath, I sat down.
    He took his time making the four short steps around the table to my old seat. Once in it, he proceeded to sit and stare at me for the rest of the lunch break, sorely tempting me to punch him.
    What was with him lately? We’d been best friends growing up. But something about starting high school this year seemed to have set him off. All year long, I’d been getting more and more attitude from him. Like he resented me because my father led the Clann or something. Or maybe it was because my family wanted me to be the next Clann leader? Except that didn’t make sense, either. Dylan knew better than anyone how much I just wanted to be normal and live my own life, not the one my parents wanted for me.
    So why the sudden attitude from him all the time?
    Whatever. Dylan’s issues with the Clann and its leadership weren’t my problem. Right now, my problem was figuring out what was wrong with Savannah.
    No way was it normal for her to miss a whole week of school. I couldn’t remember a single day when I hadn’t been able to catch at least one glimpse of her in the halls between classes. She’d always been around somewhere, just waiting to suck the air out of my lungs and hit me with that ache in my chest and gut every time I saw her.
    I needed information. Fast.
    I waited till algebra ended, then followed Anne to the outer walkway. “Hey, Anne. Wait a minute.”
    She looked over her shoulder at me, huffed, then walked away faster.
    Fighting back a snarl, I jogged to close the distance. She never stopped walking even after I caught up with her. Not that it was hard to keep up with her short legs.
    “Listen, I….” Okay, how should I ask for updates about someone without giving the wrong impression?
    With a sigh, Anne jerked to a halt. “You know, your sense of self-entitlement really knows no end, does