“So who’s that clown?” I ask pointing to the boy she almost fainted over.
Juliet scrunches up her nose. “Um, I don’t remember. Might be a football player.”
“Who might be a football player?” Jared asks as he sets my Pepsi down and takes his seat next to Juliet.
She smiles. “That boy over there,” she says to him.
“Tall guy with blond curls?” Jared asks.
“Yeah,” I answer.
He smirks. “You interested, Addy? I can introduce you. His name is Maddock Fitch. Sophomore. He’s going to be a kick-ass tight end next year. Well, I mean he’s already a kick-ass tight end, but he’ll be starting next year for sure.”
I scowl. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend. One of the Junior Elites was checking him out.”
Jared nods. “Cool. So did you ask Addy about the weekend after her birthday bash?”
“Ask me what about a week after?” I cock a brow in my friend’s direction.
She blushes. “Not exactly,” she says to him. She looks over at me. “Okay, so, there was this bowling thing happening, and since you like to bowl, I um, well, I kind of said you’d go with us.”
I frown. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I have this project to do. I also have to plan prom.”
“You’ve been so depressed lately. And you said it yourself that this next project is making you lack inspiration. Come bowl. Get inspired. I promise it will help you work through your mojo.”
“You mean to be the fifth wheel again. I’m good,” I stand up, taking my things with me. “Count me out.”
“It won’t be like that, there is going to be about ten of us,” she says.
I continue to walk away. There is nothing worse than your friend taking pity on your non-existent love life.
I’m almost out of the commons area when I run right into Chase. The look on his face sets my thoughts in overdrive. Yeah, I take back the pity. This is way worse.
Chapter Twenty
Adaline
Chase glares at me. “Adaline.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
He rolls his eyes. “So, I hear. Thank goodness you didn’t take it out on my backside; I’m still recovering from the knife in my heart.”
“Chase! Seriously, stop it.” The look he gives practically kills me. “I can’t keep doing this with you. I’m sorry you feel like this. I honestly am. I never meant for you to ever feel like that toward me.”
“Well, I did. Now, I need to go to the drafting room.” He starts to leave.
I grab his arm. “No. We need to talk about this.”
He glares at my hand locked onto his arm then at me. He sighs. “Just let me go, Addy. I don’t want to talk. There’s nothing to say.”
“There’s plenty to say, Chase! You’re just being a jackass.” I let him go and storm away from him. I never asked my best friend to fall in love with me. I never gave him false hope to think we could be married and have kids. He did. Now, he looks at me like I crushed our entire imaginary future with one phrase.
I can’t take it back. I won’t. That would be cruel and undeserved. No matter how much I love and cherish our friendship. I will never let him think I love him more than I would a brother. I would never let him think there could be some future of us holding hands and kissing. There won’t be.
So why do I feel like I’m the asshole here?
Chapter Twenty-One
Austin
Detention is like hell. Because I have to remain seated, quiet, and have absolutely no food in here. My stomach is growling like a mother-effer. The one person I’m happy to sit close to is also not looking at me at all. Yes, I’m in complete hell.
I can smell hints of Adaline’s scent, and wow does she smell amazing. I clear my throat to get her attention, but she refuses to lift her gaze from her paper or acknowledge me in any way. It’s like I’m dead to her.
I’m tempted to toss a ball of paper at her, but that’s what got us into this silent treatment in the first place.
Mrs. Dinger opens a book and begins reading. It looks like some crap my mom reads. A guy with some long hair, some puffy pirate shirt all open in the middle with a little bit of his chest showing. Some chick in a dress with wind blowing in her hair standing next to him.
I want to tease Adaline and ask if she thinks it’s a good book because she’s always reading something. Nothing with those kinds of covers, hers are more like balls of fire, or drops of water, or something like that.
Mrs. Dinger giggles at something then she looks up. “Don’t you have homework to do, Mr. Reed?”
“I finished it at lunch. But I do have an end of the year project with Adaline. Do you mind if we discuss it?”
Adaline shoots a look at me. Her eyes aren’t easy to read, so I’m not sure what she’s thinking. Most of the time I can tell simple things like: this isn’t a great idea, this is awesome, or she wants something.
“If you want to?” I add to Adaline.
She looks away from me and then back to Mrs. Dinger. “I don’t care.”
Mrs. Dinger nods. “Don’t be loud or disruptive.”
“Hey, does that mean I can talk?” Trent asks.
“No. You can sit there and do your homework,” Mrs. Dinger says.
Trent throws his arms up and glares over at Adaline and me. “Great. It’s like class all over again. The favorites and their privileges.”
“Ignore him,” I whisper to Ads.
She shifts in her seat and hands me over a notebook. “It’s all there. I don’t really need to talk to you either.”
Well, shit.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Adaline
Why can’t I stop thinking about him? I’m safely inside my house, away from his charming smile and sexy stares. He’s a nuisance.
I pull out my cell and skim through my texts. I hit the call sign on one of the names, and it rings. Two to be exact before I hear the infamous, “Yo, it’s Chase. Say it or text it.”
I am about to hang up but the beep comes, and all of the sudden I’m charged. “You know what, I’m mad at you! You can be ticked off, but so can I. We were friends, and you just drop this huge bomb on me, expect me to deal, then you just quit being my friend. That’s a douche move, Chase!”
My line beeps. “I hope you’re happy!” I hang up on him and answer the other.
“Don’t call me anymore, Adaline,” Chase says.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snap at Chase.
He sighs. “You left a voicemail this time?”
“You don’t respond.”
“What do you want from me?”
I take a seat on my bed. “I want you to talk to me. I need my friend. I need you.”
“I don’t know if I can be that guy anymore.”
I want to scream “Why?” But I know why. This hurts him. Maybe he did fall in love with me. Maybe I’m selfish because all I want is for him to have never asked me to the dance. I want us to go back to how things were. That’s not being fair to him, though. Not really.
“Addy, my dad needs me. I gotta go.” He hangs up without saying goodbye.
I remain there with the phone still pressed to my cheek and whisper, “Bye.”
“Well, look who decided to grace us with her all-mightiness. Not all of us have no lives before or after school,” Rachel snaps as I rush over to the lunch table where we all agreed to meet before the first bell.
I want to roll my eyes. I want to snap at Rachel. She’s right, though. I’m fifteen minutes late. Juliet had soccer conditioning super early this morning, so getting my usual ride with her was not an option. I would have been on time if I had a license. I know this. Obviously, I don’t, so this resulted in taking a bus, which was behind schedule.
Austin shoots a glare at Rachel. “Why don’t you chill? She can be a little late.”
“No. She’s right. I shouldn’t. It won’t happen again. Um, here’s something Austin and I came up with while we were in
detention.” It’s sort of a lie. I came up with it, and he looked it over.
Rachel snorts. “Are we being for real here? You made Zander and Lucas managers?” She chuckles as if it’s funny. “On top of that, I already told you, Frost Queen—we’re not building a skateboard ramp in the park. I mean, hello, does anyone else smell a lawsuit, or is it just me?” She shoves the plans away with a sneer.
“It’s not ideal. We can place a bunch of safety features on it,” I say. I was trying to find something that Zander and Lucas would actually participate in. They hang out with the skaters in school, so I thought this would work. Speaking of Lucas, I have no idea where he is. I do know one thing: this is turning into a major pain in my ass.
“So it can be lame?” Zander asks in a bored tone. “That’s not cool. The danger is what makes it fun. ‘No thrill. No reward.’”
Austin lowers his phone and says, “What the hell are you talking about? The phrase is ‘No pain. No gain.’”
“I don’t care what the stupid saying is. We’re not doing this. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to be somewhere else.” Rachel pushes up from the table and saunters off.
I grab my notebook from the middle and place it back into my bookbag. Zander tilts his chair. “Dude, she’s so strung out.”
Austin looks at me then over at Zander. “Where’s your partner in crime. I thought he was coming.” Austin asks.
“Uh … right. He doesn’t come to school until about eleven.”
“Wait, how is he supposed to know what’s going on if he’s not here?” I ask.
Zander shrugs. “Call him. In fact, I think from now on you all should just text us. Here’s my number.” He slides me over a business card and winks.
I glance at it and then look over at Zander. “You have a picture of a weed leaf on your card.”
Zander smiles. “Sure do. If you need some, hit me up. I even got some other stuff.”
My eyes widen. “She’s not hitting you up for anything,” Austin says, plucking the card from my hand. “We’ll keep in touch, though.”
Austin’s hand slides down my back, and he says, “Come on Ads. I’m walking you to class.”
“I … um … ” Yeah, I got nothing. I let myself enjoy the feel of his hand on my back while he walks me to first period.
I’m about halfway to first period when he says, “I can’t believe Zander was hitting on you.”
“Wh-what? No, he wasn’t.”
“Uh. Yeah. He was. That whole him trying to hook you up with weed was a ploy. He was hoping you’d call so he could ask you out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Austin turns me, so I have to face him. “I’m not. Every straight guy in this school can see how sexy you are. I mean, hell, you’ve got three practically banging down your door.”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
He smiles. “Yeah, you do. It’s so cute how blind you are to it. Fletcher, Bromwell, and me.”
I roll my eyes and shift away from him. “Now I know you’re full of crap.”
Austin is beside me in an instant. “How do you figure?”
“Chase maybe but you and Greg? Please. You’re just trying to butter me up so you can get a good grade.”
“I don’t need to butter you up, Adaline. Especially not if what I’m saying is true.” We pause just outside my first-period class, and he stares at me for a moment. His dazzling eyes make my insides melt. He winks and leaves me with those words rattling through my head first thing this morning.
Damn, Austin Reed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Austin
I love this girl. Yep. I said it. I love her.
Adaline stares me down at lunch. I smirk at her cute scowl. “What are you looking at?” Jared asks. He and Tyler are sitting at the table for the rest of the week.
“None of your business.”
“Ha. If we would have said this to him, you know he would have been hounding us until we told him. Who is she?” Tyler asks.
I take a bite of my pizza and shrug. “Right. Well, I just hope to hell it’s not Rachel,” Tyler says.
I swallow. “It’s not.”
“Wow. Really?” Jared says.
I glare at him. “Yeah. We don’t have shit in common.”
Tyler smacks my arm. “You weren’t singing that tune a few months ago. Who is it? Seriously, I need to thank this girl.”
I push his arm off mine. “I’m not telling you fools anything. It’s not even like that.” Because for one, the girl is still ticked at me. Two, I don’t need a bunch of dumb rumors spreading around the school. Last, these knuckleheads will tell their girls, and then they’ll try to get involved. Again, I don’t need any of that. If I’m going to win Ads over, it has to be my way.
Jared gives me a look and smiles. “If you need someone to do a little digging for you, I can,” he says.
“Aw, no fair. You know who it is, don’t you?” Tyler says. “You’re going to clue me in on it later.”
Jared shakes his head. “I don’t know. I have an idea. I don’t think I should clue you in, though. Austin looks like he’s about to blow his top over there. Like when we make mom jokes at him.”
He’s right. I do not like them making mom jokes at me. I also don’t want them to get any ideas about hooking me up with the person they think I’m talking about. It would put me in the doghouse with Adaline if they ended up being wrong.
Adaline gets up from her table and marches over to mine. She slaps a notebook beside my tray, and I look up at her. “Hey, Ads. What brings you around?”
“Since you have detention, here is this to look over.” She darts a look from me to Tyler then Jared, then returns back to me. “Uh, because you know Rachel thought our idea was terrible.”
I roll my eyes at the mention of that fiasco this morning. To be fair, Rachel does have a good point, at the same time I have no idea what other things we could do to keep Zander and Lucas around. We need those yo-yos in order to get a good grade. That’s the shit part about this group project—if we all don’t participate, all of our grades drop. Did I mention we had to have video proof?
If we could have done this shit without the video proof, we could have totally cut those jackholes right out.
“So when do you think you can work on the project? Rachel said she’s available after school, but, and I quote, ‘If I screw with her Friday and Saturday nights, she will murder me in the parking lot and make it look like an accident.’ I know you have to work.”
I run my hand through my hair. “Right, about that. I actually um, have to find a new job. So for now, except for today and tomorrow, you have me whenever you want.”
She blushes. “Uh. Okay.” She tucks a piece of her blond hair behind her ear. “Good chat.”
As soon as she walks away, Tyler says, “I’m curious. How’s working with Frost again? Usually, you’re hiding from her, but you two looked pretty chummy from here.”
“We’re kosher, that’s all. What?” I ask Jared when I spot his cocky grin.
“Nothing. Not a thing,” Jared says.
Tyler is now laughing, and I decide to mull over the notebook while eating the rest of my lunch. Jackasses. My friends are a bunch of jackasses. Wonder if they figured out Adaline is the one I want to make my girlfriend?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Adaline
I try to be accommodating. I really do, but wow, sometimes I just want to choke the life out of this group of idiots I’m paired up with. Rachel decides at the last minute that the time I have down is not good enough for her. She has a nail appointment and that, my friends, changes for no one. Lucas, well, he doesn’t even bother coming to school. Zander was right beside me, and now I have no idea where the hell he went.
Austin strolls into Bradfield Park where we all agreed to meet and says, “Am I early?”
“Nope. Zander disappeared, and everyone else was a no-show.” I pull out my phone and show him the text from Rachel.
“Ads, I’m sorry. I know how much grades mean to you. Don’t worry, I’ll get them all here one way or another.”
I nod. Honestly, I feel like crying. This is why I usually do this on my own or with people I trust. Principal Briggs is probably in his office laughing it up about his randomly picked groups. I should have taken my aunt’s offer and moved to France for this semester. My mom wanted me to have more culture; it is supposedly good for your soul.
Yes, I could be sitting in a little café, eating divine pastries with my cousin, Sophie. Instead, I’m here losing my mind. Why did I say no? I wouldn’t be in this situation right this second.
“Addy, did you hear me?” Austin asks.
“Yeah,” I swipe a stray tear and say, “you are going to fix this somehow.”
“Right, that was earlier. I said this is a great compromise you came up with. I think we can pull it off.”
I blink at him. “Oh, uh, yeah. I was just throwing ideas out there. So you think building a boardwalk would be better?”
“Yeah. I do. This way people can ride bikes or skateboard, and we won’t have to tear it down. Which park? And where should we put it? We’ll need Rachel to get her dad to approve it ASAP.”
“Right.” Another reason I needed her here today, but of course, she couldn’t bother.
Austin looks left then right. “I think over there is the best spot if you want to do it here.” He points to a corner of the park that’s shaded but has enough open space to build our project.
“The idea was to place it here because it’s in the center of town, also closest to our school.”
Austin smiles. “I like your thinking, Frost. Come on, let’s make sure that ground over there is stable.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
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