Kiss and Make Up

by Madeleine Labitan

  But you never know these days. One moment you’re happy with him, then the next, you’re being dumped in front of everyone…

  God, when did I get so bitter?

  I exhale a breath and force a happy smile for my best friend’s sake. I’m being selfish here. We’re talking about the state of her relationship, not mine. And just because my relationship went up in flames doesn’t mean hers will do the same.

  Besides, I can’t be cynical about love at eighteen. I’m too young to be jaded. I’ll doom every future romantic relationship if I keep this on. I’ll see Adam in those guys, expecting them to break my heart the same way he did. And what will happen eventually? I’ll end up as a bitter old maid?

  I shudder. A seriously, seriously depressing thought.

  “What are we talking about here, ladies?” Sloan Collins pushes his face between me and Lexi, intruding into our conversation.

  Lexi makes a face at him. “Get lost, Sloan.”

  “No, seriously, what are you two beautiful babes talking about? Tell Daddy Sloan all about it.” He waggles his brows at us.

  “Ew. Don’t be gross.” Lexi shudders, shoving him away.

  I laugh just as a loud farting sound pierces the air, causing the whole room to fall into silence.

  We all turn to the source of the sound and see Kenzie looking beet red.

  “It’s not me!” she squeaks out as our classmates burst out laughing.

  In the seat right next to her, Sean doubles over with laughter.

  I watch as realization hits her, the look of embarrassment on her face morphing into rage. “You asshole! I’m going to kill you!”

  “Oh, shit.” Sean scrambles from his seat as Kenzie runs after him, holding something in her hand.

  “Holy shit! Is that a whoopie cushion?” Sloan howls.

  So Sean pranked Kenzie. Again. We all thought that the two of them would stop pranking each other when they started dating, but obviously we were wrong. If anything, they become more creative with their pranks. It looks totally crazy to me, but it’s working for them. So who am I to judge?

  “Truce, baby?” Sean is in front of the class now, his hands raised in surrender.

  “Sure.” Kenzie smiles sweetly, then pauses dramatically before chucking the fart bag at him.

  Only it doesn’t hit Sean. He manages to duck at the last second.

  The victim? Our teacher, Mr. Fletcher, who chooses the moment to walk into the room. And, worse, he has a coffee cup in his hand.

  We all watch in horror as the bag hits him square in the face, the impact making him spill his coffee on his shirt.

  “Oh my God,” I gasp.

  Mr. Fletcher blinks in shock.

  Sean stares at him wide-eyed while Kenzie pales.

  The rest of the class wait with bated breath. Then wait some more as our teacher slowly turns red in the face.

  Wiping coffee spill from his face, he bends down to pick the whoopie cushion, then addresses the class in a dangerously calm voice. “Who threw this?”

  Fingers quickly point to Kenzie who stays rooted at the spot, looking like she’s going to pass out.

  But Sean is quick to come to his girlfriend’s defense. “No, it’s not her fault. It was me.”

  Silence. Then, “Very well. The both of you can go to detention later.”

  Sean and Kenzie groan while a few of our classmates snicker, enjoying hearing their punishment.

  But Mr. Fletcher isn’t done yet. He addresses all of us again. “Now, get ready for a pop quiz.”

  This time a collective groan is heard as we scramble to take out our pens and papers.

  “Thanks a lot, man,” Nick Wilson glares at Sean.

  I exchange a look with Lexi. “Did you even study?” Because I did not.

  She shakes her head, pouting. “No. I’m so going to fail this.”

  You and me both, Lex. You and me both.

  I was right. The quiz was a bust.

  I got a pitiful D plus and Lexi got a D minus. So when I got home after school, I dove in to study before going over to Adam’s house. I’m already doing bad these days as it is. I can’t afford to fail another pop quiz. Especially if Sean and Kenzie’s pranks take out another teacher and said teacher also decides to “get even.”

  Mr. Fletcher wasn’t the first one to do that. I remember back in sophomore year, Kenzie waited for Sean by the classroom door to attack him with a party popper. But instead of Sean, it was Ms. Dickens—the English teacher—who walked in and got showered with the confetti. She gave us a pop quiz for laughing at her. And, of course, Kenzie landed in detention.

  So in case another teacher gets caught in the crossfire, I need to be prepared.

  Once I’m done with studying and homework, I change into a sleeveless denim dress and put my long hair up in a ponytail. Grabbing my purse, I swipe lip gloss over my lips and step into my comfy flip flops.

  I run into Mom just before I made it outside the house. She’s heading to the laundry room, carrying a basket full of clothes.

  “Going to the Hayes’ again?”

  “I’m babysitting Peach, remember? See you later.” I kiss her cheek and turn to leave.

  “Honey, are you really sure it’s a good idea to spend a lot of time there?”

  That stops me on my tracks and makes me turn around.

  “I’m worried about you.” Concern flashes in her emerald eyes, which are identical to mine.

  Just like everyone else, Mom is aware of what happened between me and Adam. I didn’t keep it from her. She knows everything.

  So even though she’s always adored Adam and approved of him as my boyfriend, she stopped being a fan the day he dumped me.

  “I’m Team Maddy. Always,” she told me then as I cried on her shoulder.

  Yet another reason why I love her. Mom has been nothing but supportive while I was drowning in misery. Despite the fact that she’s already had a lot on her plate, courtesy of Dad ditching us for his secretary a year ago. She had to transition from being a stay at home mom to a working one in a matter of days to keep the two of us afloat. Good thing her online graphic design business is doing pretty well now.

  I give her a reassuring smile. “There’s nothing to be worried about, Mom. I promise.”

  “Are you sure? You know I can always talk to Linda,” she says with a frown, referring to Mrs. Hayes. “She shouldn’t have asked you in the first place.”

  “Really, Mom, there’s no need for that. I’ve got it under control.”

  She studies me for a moment before letting out a sigh. “If you say so. Be careful when you get home, okay?”

  I nod, biting my lip to keep from blurting out that I already got it covered. Adam will probably walk me home again. I’m not sure Mom will be too thrilled to hear that.

  Although something tells me she’ll be secretly relieved to know that someone is accompanying me home. Even if that someone is Adam.

  Five

  “Hey, how’s the win-back-Maddy op coming along?”

  “What do you think?”

  I freeze at the mention of my name. The voices are coming from the family room, where I know Adam, Sean and Brandt are currently holed up in.

  I stare at Peach’s dirty shirt on my hand. The little one spilled her chocolate drink on it, so I was on my way to the laundry room when the boys’ conversation caught my attention.

  I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop. I should turn around and go back to where I came from. I can just go to the laundry room later, anyway. But they’re talking about me. I so need to hear this.

  Why am I even the topic of their conversation in the first place? Whoever said that women are the only ones who gossip is a big fat liar.

  “Just grovel, man. Chicks dig it.”

  I raise a brow at that. What did Sean Murphy know about groveling? He spent several years getting into his girlfriend’s last nerve. Heck, he still does.

  “Is that what you did to get Kenzie to finally date you?”

 
“Nah. It was all because of my charming personality.”

  “Did she still think you’re charming after you landed her in detention?”

  I have to cover my mouth to muffle my laughter. Brandt has the best comebacks.

  “Dude, I was right there with her. And she didn’t seem to mind much. She didn’t even put the blame on me. She was so calm when we got there.” There’s a short pause, then I hear a groan. “She was plotting her revenge, wasn’t she?”

  “That’s Kenzie we’re talking about. Since when did she ever not get back at you?”

  There’s amusement in Adam’s voice when he finally chimes in. “Looks like you’re the one who needs to grovel, man.”

  Brandt lets out a chuckle. “If you’re lucky, she’ll feel sorry for you. Just show her you’ve got it bad for her. It should be easy, considering you’re a hundred percent Kenzie-whipped.”

  “And I’m not ashamed to admit it. Kenzie’s it for me, man.”

  I can’t help but smile at Sean’s declaration. Who would’ve thought the boy who once dated someone like Erin Taylor had it in him to be a romantic boyfriend?

  Crazy pranks aside, Kenzie is lucky to have found someone so devoted to her. If only I had the same luck. A pang of envy hits me with that sentiment.

  “Maybe I should pull off a grand gesture like in those cheesy teen movies. You know, make an ass out of myself in front of the whole school? That’s what I deserve anyway, after what I put her through. Maybe then she’ll forgive me and take me back.”

  He’s really serious about winning me back? My heart picks up pace and I take a step back. I don’t want to listen anymore. I’m done eavesdropping.

  I walk backwards some more, careful not to alert them of my presence. But then my foot connects with something. And it makes a loud squeaking sound.

  “Oh, crap,” I whisper.

  “What was that?”

  Panicking, I kick the toy away. Should I make a run for it? But before I can do just that, Adam sticks his head out the door, his eyes finding mine.

  “Maddy?”

  “Hey.” I give him a lame wave, forcing my feet to move forward. Pretend you didn’t hear anything!

  He fully steps out of the room, frowning. “What are you doing there?”

  “I’m just, um, going to drop this off to the laundry room.” I motion to the shirt in my hand. “Peach made a little mess.”

  He eyes the stain. “It doesn’t look little to me.”

  I shrug. “Nothing the washer wouldn’t fix.”

  “Want me to go with you?”

  “No, it’s okay. I already know the way. I’ve been there several times, remember? Unless the room has been moved elsewhere.”

  Wait. Did I just make a joke?

  Adam chuckles. “Last I checked, it’s still there. But I haven’t been there in days, so don’t take me at my word.”

  Before I can stop it, a smile is already making its way across my face.

  Catching myself, I clear my throat and gesture to the direction of the laundry room. “So yeah, um, I’ll be on my way.”

  “Right.” He gives me a small wave. Then realizing what he just did, his cheeks heats up.

  I can’t help but giggle at that. Then stop, my eyes widening.

  Ugh. What am I doing?

  Before I can bury myself even deeper, I walk away, trying hard not to do a facepalm.

  I can’t believe I just had a friendly conversation with Adam. No, it wasn’t just a friendly conversation. It was borderline flirty!

  God, what was I thinking? It’s only been my second night and I’m already letting my guard down around him. Just because I overheard his intent on winning me back. Haven’t I learned my lesson? What will become of me when this is all over?

  I’m so screwed.

  A couple hours later and I’m still berating myself, even as I help Peach get comfortable in her bed.

  “Maddy?” she asks softly.

  “Yes, sweetie?” I respond absentmindedly, tucking her favorite teddy next to her.

  “Don’t you love Adam anymore?”

  I freeze, my eyes snapping back to her cute, chubby face. “Why did you say that, Peach?”

  “Because you don’t come here anymore.”

  “Well, I’m here now.”

  “Only because Mom asked you to.” The sadness in her big blue eyes breaks my heart. “You don’t visit anymore. Bianca said you and Adam broke up. But why? Don’t you love my brother anymore?”

  “Umm.” How am I going to answer the question of an innocent four year old? Why is she even asking me this?

  “I hope Ben won’t break up with me.”

  “Who’s Ben?”

  “My boyfwend,” she declares happily.

  Her enunciation of “boyfriend” makes me smile.

  Wait. Break up? Boyfriend?

  “Uh, sweetie, you mean you have a friend who happens to be a boy, right?”

  “No. A real boyfwend, silly. And soon he’s going to be my husband. Like Daddy to Mommy!”

  “Oh,” is all I can say. Really, she just rendered me speechless.

  Thankfully, Peach managed to fall asleep without asking any more questions about me and Adam. But she kept gushing about Ben, her “one two wove.” Apparently, he’s a sweet “boyfwend.” One time, he gave her his extra lollipop and even let her drink on his sippy cup.

  Aaaww. So adorable.

  But also unsanitary.

  So trying not to smile, I told Peach not to borrow his sippy cup again.

  When I finally head downstairs, I’m not even surprised to see Adam waiting for me in their porch.

  “You really don’t have to do this,” I tell him as I step out of the front door.

  He adjusts his glasses and smiles, his annoyingly cute dimples showing. “I really do.”

  Sigh.

  Stop! You’re not allowed to do swoony sighs in front of him anymore.

  “Did you know Peach has a boyfriend?” I blurt out without thinking.

  His eyes widen. “What?”

  Crap. Why did I say that? I just tattled on Peach.

  I bite my lip. “Don’t be mad at her, okay? It’s not like it’s serious or anything.”

  “Please. I will never be angry at my baby sister.” He folds his arms. “Now tell me who the little punk is.”

  I give him a get real look. “Adam, they’re practically babies. I doubt Peach even understands what boyfriend means.”

  “Exactly. He shouldn’t make a move on Peach.”

  “Hmm. Didn’t you use to steal kisses from girls in the playground when you were a kid?”

  “What? I think you mistook me for Sean.” But the light pink blush on his cheeks betrays him.

  “No. I’m pretty sure it was you. Your Mom even showed me a picture of you trying to kiss a girl. She even looked like she was about to cry,” I chuckle.

  I can’t remember the number of times Mrs. Hayes whipped up albums containing the childhood pictures of her kids whenever I was at their house. For some reason, she always liked showing them to me, especially Adam’s. And the one that particularly stuck with me was a shot of Adam kissing a girl who had a horrified look on her face. I definitely got a good laugh out of it.

  “I don’t remember that.” He’s still denying it.

  “Yeah, ri—”

  The sound of a car door being slammed interrupts our conversation. “You know what, Dylan? Get lost!”

  We both turn to see Bianca angrily storming away from Dylan McCafferty’s truck.

  He sticks out his head and yells, “Bianca, wait, dammit!”

  But Bianca simply ignores him and makes her way inside the house without a backward glance, not even bothering to greet us.

  Adam and I look at each other as Dylan pulls away from the driveway with a loud curse.

  “What was that?” I ask, my eyes wide like saucers.

  Adam shrugs. “I don’t know, but Bianca’s been acting weird lately. I’m sure they’ll sort it out tomorro
w. She never gets angry at him for long.”

  Probably because she’s secretly in love with Dylan. It’s plain as day. But I don’t tell Adam that. He can figure it out on his own.

  “I should get going. It’s getting late,” I say instead.

  “Yeah, of course, let’s head out.”

  I sigh. “You’re going to do this until my last night here, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. And nothing’s going to change my mind.”

  “Fine. Let’s go.” I turn my back and start to walk, rolling my eyes, but also fighting back the smile threatening to overcome my face.

  Yep. So screwed.

  Six

  “Damn it,” I mutter as my books clatter to the floor in a heap, missing my feet by only a few inches.

  Sighing, I crouch down to pick them up. This is turning out to be one of those days. And it just barely started.

  First, I woke up fifteen minutes late. I’d spent the last night tossing and turning in my bed, replaying what happened. And by what happened I mean the conversations I’d had with Adam. The easy, teasing conversations we had. They kept playing in my head over and over. I was practically obsessing about them, analyzing every word. As a result, I only managed a few hours of sleep.

  Secondly, because I woke up late, I didn’t have the time to blow-dry my hair. I had to pull it into a messy knot on top of my head just so it wouldn’t go every which way. Talk about bad hair day. I’m pretty sure my eyes are bloodshot, too.

  And now this. Is the world out to get me today or what?

  Huffing out a breath, I move to grab the last book when a hand beats me to it.

  It’s official. The universe really hates me. Because I know without looking up who it belongs to.

  I still do, anyway. “Adam.”

  He straightens up and gives me a dimpled smile. “Did you have a good night sleep?”

  Seriously? He had to ask that question today of all days?

  “Yes,” I snap, taking the book out of his hand with added force.

  “So, that’s a no then?” The slight hurt in his voice makes me feel guilty.

  To be honest, I don’t want to be angry at Adam anymore. Harboring resentment toward him didn’t make me feel better in the first place. It didn’t do me any good. The past month has been a glaring testament to that. I’m just so damn tired of being bitter.