My Know-It-All Nemesis: Sweet Mountain High

by Dallen, Maggie

  “That wasn’t funny either,” I said, knowing full well what he was about to say. I’d made a similar joke last spring—not quite as lewd, maybe, and definitely with more ingenuity, but that didn’t make me feel any better right about now.

  “What’s going on with you and Kate?” Tim’s expression was rapidly going from confused to curious—so not what I needed. Everyone thought the girls in our school were gossips, but they had nothing on the football team.

  “Nothing,” I said. “But I’m being watched by Mr. Gentry, and if anyone messes with her, it’ll come back and bite me in the butt.”

  Tim’s suspicious look eased, and I felt another stab of guilt. That wasn’t the whole reason, but it was definitely a part of it. Besides, it made more sense than trying to explain that I didn’t want to see Kate’s feelings get hurt.

  Again.

  Especially not by me or any of the stupid comments I’d made to get under her skin. The fact that Tim was rehashing one of my jokes was hard to swallow, but this moron didn’t need to know any of that.

  He wouldn’t understand.

  Heck, I didn’t understand.

  “No more pranks, no jokes at her expense,” I said, my tone growing weary now that Tim wasn’t fighting back. “Got it?”

  He held his hands up as he eased away from the wall. “Yeah, man, just chill. I won’t mess with Kate if that’s what you want.”

  “That’s what I want.” I turned away from him, looking for a way to ease the weirdness between us. He might not have been a friend, but Tim was a teammate and a staple at my parties. I didn’t want tension. “She’s too easy of a target, anyway, am I right?”

  He grinned, relief all over his face as he realized he was out of trouble, and we were once more on the same page. “Yeah, man, that girl is a freak. I mean…” He started backing away with his hands up again like he was afraid he’d get in trouble. “Don’t get me wrong. I like the girl. She’s a sweetheart, you know? And always there when you need her.” He shook his head with a laugh like we were sharing a joke. “But you were right, man, the way she dresses…the fact that she never hangs out like the rest of us… definitely a freak.” He turned around and headed back inside, and I dropped my head back against the wall.

  Freak or not, the girl was in my head. She was officially under my skin. I had a mental flash of those big blue eyes flashing with anger, the way her lips twitched when she was trying not to be amused by me, the way she met my gaze head-on, and never failed to call me out like a freakin’ mini warrior.

  The girl was always on my mind, and when she was close, she affected my entire body. But what was worse…?

  I sighed as I pushed away from the wall and headed toward the lockers.

  I was starting to worry she was making her way into my heart.

  7

  Kate

  Freak.

  That word echoed in my skull the whole way home. I supposed that was what I got for eavesdropping, right? The truth. Or at least, a glimpse of it. A taste of how Miller and his buddies saw me.

  Freak.

  The word kept me company all night and into the next day.

  Freak.

  I walked through the halls with my usual friendly smile, saying hello to the same students, the same teachers, the same administrative staff.

  Except that today it all felt different because…freak.

  Was that how they saw me? I knew that Tim did, at least.

  If I were being honest, I didn’t care one fig what Tim Pfeiffer thought. I didn’t care if he thought of me as his friend or not.

  But Miller…

  Did Miller think I was a freak? He hadn’t denied it. The fact that he hadn’t protested shouldn’t have stung so badly. I shouldn’t have expected anything else.

  I didn’t expect anything from Miller Hardwell.

  I certainly didn’t expect him to stick up for me.

  I shut my eyes as I stood in front of my locker, the memory of Miller’s confrontation with Tim crashing into me. The mere thought of him standing up to his teammate over that stupid poster…I shook my head to rid myself of the thought.

  I didn’t know what to make of that interaction, so I wouldn’t stew over it. Had he done that for me? Maybe he just didn’t like Tim. Maybe he was afraid Tim’s prank would get him in trouble with Mr. Gentry.

  But then again…he’d sounded genuinely, honestly, pissed on my behalf.

  Had that been real?

  It had felt real.

  Confusion made my belly twist and my heart pound. What did it mean that he was sticking up for me? Me, the girl who’d been nothing but competitive and snide every time we interacted.

  I shook my head. Nope, it was easier to focus on the insult. Freak. That I could handle. It was annoying, yes, and hurtful, for sure…but it didn’t rattle me to my core.

  “Hey, Kate, glad I caught you.”

  I looked over to see Mia Jackson standing beside my locker. Her features crinkled up in concern when I turned to face her. “You okay, Kate?”

  I swallowed and forced my smile back in place. Always cheerful, that was me. “Of course. What can I do for you, Mia?”

  But I already knew. Mia had been trying to get a spot on the newspaper for ages now, and while I was friendly with the newspaper crowd, I had zero pull when it came to who they allowed in.

  “I was thinking…” she said. “If you could give me an exclusive on what’s really going on between you and Miller Hardwell—”

  No way. I slammed my locker shut. “Sorry, Mia. I’d love to help, but—”

  “Oh, come on,” she continued. “There’s got to be a story here. I mean, last year you two were at each other’s throats, and now you’re all buddy-buddy and hosting a party together?”

  Her expression was filled with disbelief, and I couldn’t blame her. I was still in disbelief myself. I shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint, but there’s no big conspiracy theory here. Mr. Gentry ordered us to play nice, so that’s what we’re doing.”

  I started to walk away, but I should have known she wouldn’t give up so easily. “But this party—”

  “Didn’t they already assign someone to cover the special election?” I interrupted.

  Her pursed lips were all the answer I needed. They had, and it wasn’t her…and she wasn’t pleased.

  She recovered quickly. “I’d like to take a different angle. More of a behind-the-scenes exposé.” Her words were coming out rushed as she hurried along beside me, trying to keep pace at my side despite the crowds we were squeezing past. “This party, for example—”

  “You should come,” I interrupted, tossing a smile over my shoulder and ignoring her scowl as I slipped around the corner and into my next class.

  I wished my thoughts were as easy to shake off as Mia had been. She’d be back, I knew she would, but I’d worry about her when I had to. Right now, I was too busy thinking over everything I’d overheard. Everything Miller had said, and all he hadn’t said…

  I had questions.

  So. Many. Questions.

  Unfortunately, so did everyone else in this school. And they were all aimed at me. The biggest one was about my costume, which should have been an easy answer, right? I’d picked out my costume, so I had nothing left to worry about.

  Right?

  Wrong. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Daphne had said, and by the time I rushed through my front door after school, I already had her on speakerphone.

  “This is an emergency,” I said as I sprinted up the stairs. My mom would still be at work, so she was no help, and Daphne was better at this kind of stuff anyway.

  “What can I do?” she said, all serious and intense, just the way I needed her.

  “Help me look fierce.”

  I heard a little cough-laugh escape on the other end before she smothered it. “Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. Head into my bedroom…”

  A little while later, we were back in the same position we’d been the night before. Daphne was
watching me from my computer, and I was eyeing myself in front of the mirror.

  The scene was exactly the same except totally different. I barely recognized the girl who looked back at me.

  No, not girl. The woman. I blinked as if that might help me reconcile the image in the mirror with the eyes that peered back at me.

  I looked…good.

  “You look hot,” Daphne said.

  I bit my lip and turned my head left and right. Hot? Really? I so rarely let my hair down, and I hadn’t realized how long it had gotten. Daphne had talked me through how to use her hair contraptions so it fell over my shoulders and down my back in big, loose waves. The bangs that were forever escaping my ponytail were off to the side, framing my eyes and highlighting my cheekbones. The makeup I’d put on didn’t hurt in that regard, either, and my eyes looked bigger than ever with lashes that I could actually see.

  “Are you sure it’s not too much?” I asked worriedly.

  Daphne scoffed. “Are you kidding? I can barely tell you’re wearing makeup.”

  I glanced down. “I meant the dress.”

  It was a dress, yes, but it was so not like the dresses I typically wore. This one was black and form-fitting, and it had a v-neck that made me blush just looking at it. An orange-ish belt at my waist helped it look a little more festive, and in my hands, I held what Daphne informed me was the coup d’etat. I looked down at the black headband with the cat ears. “I don’t know, Daph, if I’m supposed to be a black cat shouldn’t I at least have whiskers?”

  She sighed, and for the first time in my entire life, I felt like a bad student.

  “You’re not going to this party to win a costume contest,” she said slowly. “You’re going to make a statement. You are strong and fierce, and everyone should take you seriously.” She jabbed a finger in the air to make her point. “Especially Miller Hardwell,” she added, her voice tight with anger. “And Tim Pfeiffer.”

  I nodded sharply. I’d told her about what I’d overheard, and she might have been even more annoyed than I was.

  “Besides,” she said. “You’ve got the ears. That’s good enough.”

  “So,” I said slowly, turning to face her. “Think I’m ready?”

  “As you’ll ever be,” she said with a grin. “Go on and show them.”

  “Show them what?”

  She winked. “What a freak you really are.”

  I let out a laugh and that helped my nerves to calm. She was right, though. I’d always known I was different. I’d never quite fit in, no matter how friendly I was or how much people liked my organizational skills.

  I was fine with not fitting in, I really was—but I wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines and let idiots like Tim Pfeiffer and Miller Hardwell shape this conversation. I’d go back to normal on Monday morning, but this was Halloween, and maybe Daphne had been right.

  Maybe it was about time I showed them another side of me. The side my peers rarely, if ever, got to see.

  The side that was serious. The side that meant business.

  I eyed myself in the mirror one last time.

  The side that knew how to fight back.

  8

  Miller

  My backyard was swarming with Sweet Mountain High students before the sun even set. Now, as the sun sank below the horizon, and a cacophony of music, laughter and loud talking surrounded me, I eyed the back door to my house where kids kept streaming in.

  Still no sight of her.

  “You look hilarious, man,” one of the guys from my team called out as I leaned back against the gazebo railing. My mom had taken my little sister out for dinner and a movie so she wouldn’t ruin the vibe.

  My buddies always said I had a cool mom—she was the mom that never cared when people crashed or how many parties we held at the pool house and in her backyard. Just as long as my plans didn’t interfere with her active social life at the country club, she didn’t care what I did…at all.

  So yeah, I guessed that made me lucky?

  Maybe.

  Maybe not.

  “Where’d you even get that suit?” Claire asked when she headed past me to grab a drink from the outdoor fridge.

  I looked down with a smirk. “Ordered it online, obviously.”

  “Looks like it could’ve been your grandpa’s,” she laughed.

  Maybe my great-grandpa’s, even. Baby blue and totally ridiculous, my suit was straight out of the fifties. I adjusted my thick black frames with no lenses and ran a hand over my slicked-back hair.

  I had to say, as far as costumes went, mine was rather inspired. Kate and I were hosting this together, right? I figured if I’d started those jokes at her expense, I might as well take back ownership. Kate would show up looking like…well, looking like Kate. And she and I would turn the joke around, make it our own.

  At least, that was the plan.

  I heard a guy behind me let out a whistle. “Whoa, who’s that?”

  It took me too long to figure out who he was referring to, but the moment I spotted the girl in black, I knew it was her. The hottie with the long blonde hair was heading straight for me and—

  Oh my…

  No way.

  “Is that—” someone started to say beside me.

  “Kate Andrews,” I finished.

  But this was Kate Andrews as we’d never seen her before. Gone was the bubbly smile—that was oddly the first thing I registered. I mean, sure, her looks were…crazy.

  Crazy hot.

  She looked incredible. But it was the lack of that perma-smile that had me blinking to make sure this was Kate.

  “Who are you supposed to be?” she asked when she reached me.

  “I—uh—I—” I couldn’t speak. I’d officially lost the ability to put two words together, let alone form a sentence.

  Holy crap, Kate Andrews was hot. I always knew she was pretty, cute, adorable…take your pick. But hot?

  I’d had no idea.

  Those big blue eyes blinked up at me, and her pink lips curved up in a smirk. “You like the new look?”

  Yes. Holy cow, yes! Too much yes.

  I cleared my throat. “You look incredible.”

  Something flickered in her eyes, and I was horrified to think it might be…disappointment. I hurried to add, “You’re always beautiful, Kate, but this…”

  She heaved a deep breath. “This isn’t me.”

  I glanced down at my suit. “And this isn’t me. Doesn’t mean it’s not fun to be somebody else for a night, now does it?”

  Something sparkled in her eyes. Laughter, maybe. “You sound like my sister.”

  “Your sister sounds very wise,” I deadpanned.

  She smiled, and my heart slammed against my ribcage. That was a first. The first time I’d ever gotten an honest-to-goodness smile from her.

  It was even better than I’d imagined.

  “So?” she said, gesturing toward my outfit.

  “Buddy Holly,” I said.

  Her smile slipped a bit, and she met my gaze. “Is this you making fun of me again, Miller?”

  The question was straightforward and genuine and…so very Kate. “No,” I said. “This is me making the joke our own.” I nudged her elbow with mine. “Solidarity, sister,” I teased.

  Only a hint of wariness entered her eyes, and I could have sworn I saw the moment she decided to believe me.

  “And this?” I nodded toward her tight dress and the heels that made her legs a traffic hazard. Literally, pedestrian traffic was grinding to a halt around us as the males of our class stopped to ogle the hottie in their midst.

  She bit her lip for a second. “This is me being somebody different for the night. Somebody who’s…” She shrugged. “Somebody who’s not a freak.”

  The word hit me like a punch in the gut. Or maybe that was the look in her eyes.

  She knew.

  “You heard that, huh?”

  I tried to play it cool, but it was hard. I had this sudden and ridiculous urge to pull her in
for a hug. To tell her that no one ever should be knocking her because she was the coolest, strongest, most kick-butt girl I’d ever met.

  But if I did that…well, then I’d be the freak, and she’d be shoving me away from her so she could smack me silly.

  “I heard,” she confirmed.

  “Tim’s an idiot.”

  Her lips twitched upward. “And I’m a freak.”

  “You’re not a freak,” I said.

  “Aren’t I?” She sounded more amused than hurt, thank goodness.

  “You’re unique,” I said.

  She arched a brow. “Same difference.”

  “Yeah, but one sounds way better.” I leaned forward, lowering my head so I could meet her gaze head on. “Raise your freak flag, baby.”

  She let out a choked laugh and then looked down at herself. “I don’t mind being a freak, I guess. I mean, I like myself the way I am and all that stuff, but…maybe I wanted to see what it felt like to be—”

  “Sexy?” I interrupted. “Because you are. You definitely are.”

  Her cheeks turned pink, and it was adorable. She recovered quickly, though, her head tilting to the side as she peered up at me. “Are you flirting with me, Miller? That would be a first.”

  I teasingly peered right back with narrowed eyes. “Are you talking to me without glaring, Kate? Because that would also be a first.”

  She laughed. “Touché.”

  The silence that fell between us was heavy. Tense in a weird, new way I wasn’t used to. It wasn’t bad, necessarily, just weird. Bella and her friend Gigi passed by and called out a hello to Kate. She flashed them a smile, and I had this fear that she’d leave me to go talk to them. I didn’t want her to walk away.

  I didn’t want to share.

  I shifted, glancing over her shoulder at a party full of people I had no interest in talking to. “You want to see the pool house?”

  She blinked. “You have a pool house?”

  I laughed at her disbelief. “Yeah. Come on.” Without waiting for her to agree or argue, I snatched up her hand and half-dragged her away from the gawking eyes and the drooling mouths. “We’ll have a little privacy there.”