She arrived at Mamma Leoni’s and parked across the street, in front of the fertility clinic that promised to “make those shy MC1R genes express themselves!” The hostess had already seated Haylie, Ryan, Ivy, and Darren at a table with two empty chairs. Haylie was radiant in a flowing shell-pink dress, an orchid corsage the size of a mango around her wrist. Ivy was decked out in a pin-striped suit with tails, and she and Darren had matching yellow rose boutonnieres. She looked absolutely perfect. Both of the boys seemed fidgety and uncomfortable in their rented tuxes, and looking at them sent a pang of longing through Felicity. She had no doubt Brent would wear his tux as if it were a second skin.
Haylie jumped up with a shriek and pulled Felicity into an enthusiastic hug. “You look amazing!” she squealed. “God, I love that dress so much!”
“Yours too,” Felicity said. “Nice suit, Ives.”
Ivy grinned. “I don’t see why I can’t just wear this for the pageant.”
“Doesn’t she look awesome?” Darren agreed, running his hand through Ivy’s spiky hair. Felicity waited for her to bat his hand away and toss out some clever, snarky comment, but Ivy just looked down at her bread plate and blushed a deep shade of raspberry.
Felicity tried to say hi to Haylie’s date, but Ryan was busy inspecting his salad fork at very close range and didn’t seem to notice that there was a new person at the table. When she leaned closer to see what was so fascinating, she caught a strong whiff of pot, and Ryan’s whole personality suddenly made more sense. Every seven seconds or so, he jerked his head violently to the side to flip his shaggy, rock-star hair across his forehead, and Felicity wondered how long it would take for him to stab himself in the eye. She didn’t see how he was going to make it through the prom court dance without embarrassing Haylie.
“Where’s Brent?” asked Ivy, looking around. “Is he parking the car?”
Felicity shook her head. “Actually … can I talk to you guys alone for a second?”
“Sure.” Haylie shot Ivy a worried glance, then headed for the bathroom at the back of the restaurant. Ivy and Felicity followed her, and the three of them squished into the tiny room.
“What’s going on?” asked Ivy when the door was safely locked behind them.
Felicity swallowed hard. “Brent’s not coming.”
“What do you mean? He’s not coming to dinner, or he’s not going to prom?”
“He’s going to prom. Just not with me.”
Haylie’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, Felicity, did you break up?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. He just has to take someone else. It’s not his fault, it’s this community service thing for an athletic scholarship he wants. Some of the guys are taking brunettes who weren’t invited. I told him it was okay, but I’m just … I’m really sad about it.”
“Wow, that seriously sucks.” Haylie rubbed Felicity’s back. “When did you find out?”
“A few days ago.”
“God, he could have at least given you some warning,” Ivy said. “That’s kind of a dick move. Who does he have to take? Is it someone horrible?”
Felicity took a deep breath. “He got matched with Gabby Vaughn.”
Haylie and Ivy exchanged a long look, and Felicity’s heart began to race. Her friends were clearly aware that something didn’t quite add up. “Does this have to do with the trouble you were in before?” Haylie finally asked.
“What?”
“I mean, something’s obviously going on with you and Gabby. I’d never even seen you speak to her before this month, and then she’s suddenly at our lunch table, and her painting’s in the art show, and then you nominated her for prom queen, and now this. Is she, like, blackmailing you or something?”
Felicity’s heart was pounding so hard now that she felt slightly dizzy. She grabbed the edge of the sink for support and forced a laugh. “What? Blackmailing me? Of course not. And no, this doesn’t have to do with any of that stuff. It’s just a coincidence.” She could tell her friends weren’t buying her story. “Guys, come on. Don’t look at me like that. I’m already having the suckiest prom night ever, and now you’re making me feel like it’s my fault.”
Haylie slipped an arm around her waist. “Nobody thinks it’s your fault. I’m so sorry this is happening to you, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure you have fun tonight. Okay?”
“I’ll punch Gabby in the face if it’ll make you feel better,” Ivy offered. “I’m small, but I’m scrappy. I could totally take her.” She held up her tiny fists, and Felicity finally managed a weak smile.
“You ready to go back out?” Haylie asked. “I’m starving, and the pesto tortellini here is so good.”
Felicity nodded and followed her friends back to the table. When the waiter came, she asked him to remove the sixth place setting.
Dinner was a blur. The threads of various conversations wove lazily around each other, but Felicity had trouble following any of them. She sat quietly at the table, mechanically moving her fork to her mouth, but her mind was a cyclone. What would happen when they got to prom and everyone saw Brent with Gabby? Would her classmates point and laugh at her, like they always did in The Dream? What if someone figured out this was a setup and there was no athletic scholarship? Was taking the blackmail lying down really the best way to protect her secret and her family? What if her mom was wrong? What if Felicity could make this all go away by landing one good strike on Gabby’s weak point? But what was Gabby’s weak point?
By the time the check had been paid and everyone was ready to go, Felicity felt queasy and exhausted and headachy, and she wasn’t sure she could go through with prom after all. Maybe she should just go home and hide under the covers. She closed her eyes and massaged her aching temples.
“Felicity?” Ivy said, gently shaking her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t feel very good,” she said.
Ivy rubbed her back, a distinctly un-Ivy-like gesture, and Felicity realized she must look pretty terrible. “Are you going to throw up?”
“No, I don’t think so. Just … I don’t know. My head hurts and I’m kind of dizzy.” She hoped Ivy would suggest she go home—if someone else said it first, it wouldn’t count as chickening out.
“Tonight really isn’t working out for you, huh? You probably shouldn’t drive if you feel dizzy. Why don’t you come with us, and someone can drop you back here to pick up your car after the party. If you’re feeling really awful, I’ll take you home sooner, okay?”
Felicity nodded and let Ivy lead her to the car, but even her friend’s steady hand on her back couldn’t chase away her dread.
Darren and Ivy kept up a steady stream of chatter all the way to the school, but the ride wasn’t nearly long enough for Felicity to steel her nerves. Before she knew it, she was ordering her body to follow her friends across the parking lot, one red-heeled foot in front of the other. In moments, she was swept up into a flash flood of rainbow-colored prom-goers. There was no escape now.
Felicity put on her most convincing smile and let herself be funneled through the door of the school. She produced her ticket, had her hand stamped, and then she was back in the gym. Her friends gasped and congratulated her on how beautiful the decorations looked, but she hardly heard the praise. All she could do was watch the door, waiting for Brent and Gabby to arrive.
That was hardly necessary—their entrance a few minutes later was impossible to miss. It affected the crowd like a lightning bolt, spreading crackles of electricity through the room. Every coiffed head snapped to attention as the couple glided through the doorway arm in arm. Brent was gorgeous and regal in his tux, and Gabby was resplendent in a backless satin gown the color of fresh blood. They left a trail of whispered fragments in their wake as they crossed the floor: “Did you see … ? But why are they … ? Isn’t he supposed to be with … ?”
And then came the ubiquitous, “Where’s Felicity? Does she know?”
Even with her advance knowledge of what was going to
happen, Felicity was totally unprepared to see Brent and Gabby together in person. Watching her boyfriend with her nemesis was like having an open chest wound sprinkled with lemon juice and salt. The fact that they looked good together made things even worse. When Brent located Felicity in the crowd, his eyes were full of hurt and longing. Felicity’s hand flew to her mouth, trying to trap her emotions before they turned into words.
When she finally tore her eyes away and looked around at the rest of her classmates, she saw her worst fears realized. Everyone was staring straight at her with pity, confusion, or suppressed delight on their faces. No one could have anticipated a prom scandal this delicious.
Cassie Brynne was suddenly by her side, digging her shellacked nails into Felicity’s arm. “Oh my God, what is he doing with her?”
Felicity’s first instinct was to pull away and tell Cassie to mind her own business. But then she realized she might be able to use Cassie, who had the biggest mouth in the school, to make the rumor mill work in her favor. “I know it looks dramatic, but it’s really not,” she said, rolling her eyes and trying to look nonchalant. “Brent’s just with her because of this community service project. It’s for an athletic scholarship.”
“Taking brunettes to prom counts for community service?”
Felicity looked around, then leaned in as if she were confiding something nobody was supposed to know. That pretty much ensured the information would be all over the gym within minutes. “When the situation is this pathetic? Absolutely. I mean, Gabby somehow made it onto the court, but then nobody even asked her to prom. Can you imagine doing the prom court dance alone? How embarrassing would that be?”
Cassie nodded solemnly, her eyes wide. “Wow. Your boyfriend is really nice. But you must be so bummed that he’s not with you!”
“I am. But he asked me for permission, and I said it was okay. Sometimes you have to give back to the community, you know? Help people less fortunate than you.”
“You’re right. Way to go, Felicity. You’re totally an inspiration.” Cassie beamed at her, then trotted off to join Savannah and Kendall. Felicity was pleased to see her gesturing at Brent and Gabby and talking a mile a minute. In the end, people wouldn’t remember her as the pathetic one.
The DJ put on the first slow song of the evening, and the dance floor flooded with starry-eyed couples. On the other side of the gym, Felicity watched Gabby wrap herself around Brent like an evil little tourniquet, and the few bites of dinner she’d managed to swallow churned in her stomach. “I need to get out of here for a minute. I’m going outside,” she told Ivy.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to come with you?”
Felicity would have liked the company. But Darren was tugging at Ivy, and she looked as if she wanted to give in to some long-dormant female instinct and slow-dance with him. Haylie was already entwined with Ryan, who was experimentally squeezing her butt. “No, I’ll be fine,” she said. “Go dance. I just need a minute alone.”
The front lawn and the parking lot were full of people, so Felicity circled around to the empty soccer field at the back of the building. Her high heels sank into the soft ground the moment she left the path, so she kicked them off and abandoned them where they fell. She dug her toes into the cool damp field, closed her eyes, and breathed in the quiet night air, perfumed with the scent of newly cut grass. It was a relief to let the painful forced smile fade from her lips. The thump of the bass echoed from the gym, but otherwise, the only sounds were those of the occasional car and her own rustling petticoats. She started walking out across the dark field, glad to be free of her classmates’ prying eyes.
By the time she’d reached the center of the field, far from the lights of the path, her petticoats were full of static and were bunching up around her hips. She glanced around to make sure she was alone, then reached up under her skirt and wrestled the frothy red fabric back into place. Just as she was adjusting the ruffles over her butt, she heard a noise and whipped around.
A guy stood on the path at the other end of the soccer field, staring out into the darkness.
Felicity quickly finished tugging her skirt back into place. How much had he seen? Was it someone from her class, or was it a teacher who could get her into trouble for being out here alone? She stood very still, hoping he hadn’t noticed her.
The guy walked to the edge of the grass, then stooped to pick up her shoes, and she silently cursed herself for leaving them by the path. “Hello?” he called. “Is someone out there?”
The voice sounded familiar. She couldn’t place it exactly, but it was definitely just a student. “I’m over here,” she called back. “Those are mine.”
He moved back and forth along the edge of the field, shielding his eyes and trying to see her better. Finally, he called, “Felicity? Is that you?”
It was no use hiding now. Felicity started trudging back toward the path with a sigh. “Yeah, it’s me,” she called back. She put her pageant smile in place and prepared to face yet another pitying look.
But when she got close enough to see the guy’s face, she stopped, surprised. “Jonathan?”
He looked different in a tux. Most of the guys she had seen tonight looked younger than usual in their formal wear, like kids playing dress-up. But the tux had the opposite effect on Jonathan, lending him an unexpected air of maturity and sophistication. Felicity had never seen him look so comfortable in his skin. Her candy-apple-red shoes dangled from his fingertips.
“Hi,” he said. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and Felicity noted with surprise how long his eyelashes were. Then he smiled, and it suddenly occurred to her that Jonathan Lyons was very attractive. How had she never seen that before?
She stepped into the light and reached out to take her shoes. As Jonathan’s gaze swept over her, his face changed, as if someone had lit a match behind his eyes. “You look beautiful,” he said. “I mean, I love your dress.”
“Thanks,” Felicity said. “You look really great, too.” She leaned over, brushed the wet grass from her feet, and slipped her shoes back on. “What are you doing out here?”
“It was loud in there. And hot. And I don’t really do the whole dancing thing.” He shrugged. “Wait, what are you doing out here? Where’s Brent?”
It reassured her that there was at least one person here who hadn’t witnessed her moment of humiliation. “He brought Gabby Vaughn instead of me,” she said. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Everyone’s talking about it.”
Jonathan’s eyes widened. “He ditched you for Gabby? Really?”
“He didn’t ditch me. It’s a comm—” Felicity broke off just in time as she realized she couldn’t use the community service story on a dateless brown-haired guy. “It’s complicated. But yeah, he’s in there with her right now. You can go look for yourself.”
“I mean, I believe you. I just … I’m really surprised.”
“You and everyone else. Best gossip of the year, apparently.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, nobody was talking about you when I got here. Topher Gleason came in right behind me wearing this baby-blue dress that looked like a cloud. Everyone wanted to take photos with him. It was kind of amazing, actually.” Felicity laughed despite herself—the fact that there was already fresh gossip cheered her up considerably.
Her phone beeped, and she pulled it out to find a new text.
HAYLIE: prom court procession is soon, where r u?
Felicity sighed. “We should probably go back in. They’re announcing the king and queen in a few minutes. Are you ready?”
“Honestly, I don’t really care who the king and queen are. Do you?”
Felicity’s reflex was to say, “Of course I do,” but that wasn’t really true. She had counted the ballots herself; she already knew Georgia Kellerman and Zach Masters had won. And she could certainly live without seeing her rival parading her boyfriend around like a prize poodle.
“No, actually,” she said. “I don’t care at all.”
When Jonathan turned and looked her in the eye, the intensity of his gaze surprised her. “Hey, Felicity? I know this sounds kind of weird, and I don’t want you to take it the wrong way, but … tonight kind of sucks. Do you want to get out of here?”
For a moment, Felicity was at a loss for words. People didn’t just leave in the middle of prom. But when she thought about it, there was nothing Felicity wanted more than to escape from this horrible, humiliating night.
“Yes,” she said. “I would love to get out of here.”
13
SATURDAY, MAY 22
Five minutes later, Felicity was sitting in the front seat of Jonathan’s dark green pickup truck. As they roared out of the parking lot, a bubble of happiness and excitement expanded in her chest, leaving no room for the hopelessness she’d been wallowing in all evening. She felt as if she had gotten away with a crime and was fleeing the scene, gloriously unobserved.
A small part of her knew that if she were really a good friend, she would have stayed to watch Haylie in the prom court ceremony. But surely Haylie would understand that she couldn’t possibly be in that room while the whole school watched her boyfriend dance with Gabby. If their roles were reversed, Felicity would let Haylie off the hook without question. So she sent an apologetic text telling her friend that she couldn’t handle the ceremony, dashed off a similar one to Brent, then banished all thoughts of prom from her mind. Jonathan hadn’t told her where they were going, but Felicity realized she didn’t even care. Anywhere but Scarletville High was fine.
Jonathan drove with a little half smile on his face, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the music on the stereo. Felicity didn’t recognize the song—it sounded like a love child of punk and pop, peppy and defiant in equal measures. It wasn’t the sort of music she’d expect Jonathan to play, but she liked it a lot. “Who is this?” she asked.
“It’s my friend Amy’s band, Sharks in Heaven.”
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