“I need my glasses to read, Isla.” Plus, if they weren’t on my face, I generally forgot them. It was far easier just to wear them the whole time.
“And you always wear such scruffy clothes,” she continued, like she hadn’t heard me. “You spend every morning in your basement doing weights, and we all saw the rig you’re hiding under those loose T-shirts last summer. If you wore clothing that was a little more fitted, maybe, you’d have more luck getting the girls here to notice you.”
“Have you been watching one of those makeover shows again?”
Isla rolled her eyes. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, I appreciate it, but I don’t need girls to notice me.”
“Of course, you do,” she continued. “You know, if you were a little more confident and put half as much effort into your appearance as your brother, you’d get just as much attention as him. Can’t you please let me take you shopping?”
“Don’t bring Owen into this, and we’re not going shopping. My clothes are fine.”
Isla knew perfectly well that I didn’t get along with my twin, so I was surprised she’d used him as part of her little pep talk. It was also strange she had mentioned him, because I hadn’t told either of my friends that Owen was coming back to Lincoln High to finish the year. He didn’t start classes until next week, and I couldn’t bring myself to admit the terrible truth out loud. They’d all find out soon enough, and I’d probably never hear the end of it. This was my final week of peace at school, and I didn’t want Owen disturbing it.
“Dude, even I know your clothes aren’t fine,” Colin said.
The teacher walked in, and the conversations in the classroom lulled as she sat at her desk and started taking attendance. I was barely focused on her though; instead, I looked between my two friends.
“I’m not changing who I am to get attention from girls,” I hissed at them.
“I’m not saying you need to change. I’m just suggesting you highlight your assets,” Isla replied. “I’m sick of waiting for you boys to get girlfriends, so it’s time you upped your game.”
I groaned. Was this really what my life had come to?
Colin wore a broad grin, and I scowled at him for reveling in my pain. His smile quickly disappeared though when Isla honed in on him too. “Don’t get so comfortable, Colin,” she added. “We’ll be focusing on your atrocious performance with girls at lunch.”
He visibly swallowed, and I had to smother a smile. I might have had no game when it came to girls, but Colin was even worse. He could barely string a sentence together when they were near, and though my lecture from Isla had been bad, I felt sure his would be worse.
“Now, class,” Mrs. Carpenter said. Her voice had grown louder and pulled my focus to the front of the room. “We have an announcement to make this morning. Can you please give your attention to Angus?”
She waved toward Angus Fable, who was standing at the front of the room. His chest was puffed out, and he wore a confident smile as he surveyed the class. Angus was our student council president and took great satisfaction in having everyone in a room watching him. I didn’t know him all that well, but I wasn’t a big fan of the guy. He was too insincere for my liking, which probably made him a perfect president.
“Hi, everyone,” he said, emphasizing his words with a big, and unnecessary, wave of his hand. “I have some exciting news for you this morning. I know you’ve all been waiting for this moment, but I’m pleased to announce that tickets for the prom will be going on sale at lunch today.”
A flurry of excited squeals and whoops echoed through the room.
Angus’s smile grew wider. “The theme for the dance this year will be Winter Wonderland…”
“Real original,” Colin quietly complained at my side.
“And the student council will have a table set up in the cafeteria, where you’ll be able to purchase tickets,” Angus continued. “If you have any questions, feel free to talk to me or one of the other student representatives. And, that’s all from me. Take it away, Mrs. Carpenter.” He shot the teacher a false smile before excusing himself from the room.
The moment Angus left, the class erupted in noise once more, the sound of excited voices drowning out anything the teacher was trying to say. Everyone was talking about the prom, and my gaze immediately darted to Hayley. She was speaking with another cheerleader sitting next to her and looked just as happy as everyone else in the room about Angus’s announcement.
“Man, I’d forgotten that was soon. Our school has too many dances,” Colin grumbled.
I nodded emphatically. The whole class couldn’t wait for the prom, but all I could think was that it was another opportunity for rejection. There was only one girl I wanted to go with, but there was no way it was ever going to happen in this lifetime.
“Guess we’ll just have to go to another dance stag,” I said.
I couldn’t stop myself from glancing back in Hayley’s direction and wishing things were different though.
3
Hayley
I struggled to concentrate on the whiteboard. It was hardly a surprise considering I’d been distracted all morning, and it really didn’t help that Miss French was writing some crazy complicated math problems up there. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I grew up, but I did know that nothing in my adult life would require anything other than basic addition and multiplication. Perhaps, a little subtraction—but I was drawing the line there.
Seriously though, who cared what x equaled when there were much more pressing issues. Namely, who was I going to go to the prom with? I’d pushed the dance to the back of my mind, but now that tickets were going on sale, I couldn’t think of anything else.
I let out a long sigh, the sound catching Madi’s attention. She was sitting beside me, diligently writing the problem out in her graph book, but she looked up at me when she heard the sound.
She started scribbling a note before subtly passing it over to me.
“What’s up?” the note read.
I didn’t write back and simply shrugged in response. Madi wouldn’t understand what I was going through because she’d spent almost all of high school with a boyfriend. She didn’t know what it was like to want a guy who didn’t want you back. She also had no idea how miserable it felt to wait around for a boy to ask you to a dance. It was especially hard when none of the boys at school were interested in you. My chances of a prom date were so hopeless I might as well line up at lunch and buy my solitary ticket now.
I hoped my shrug would put Madi off, but as soon as the bell rang, she started questioning me again. “Seriously, Hayles, what’s wrong?” she asked as we gathered our books to go to our next class.
“You know how I feel about math. It’s always a massive downer.”
Miss French looked up from her desk and scowled at me. Yeah, she’d totally heard that. Whoops. I walked a little faster to get out of the room and avoid the daggers her eyes were throwing in my direction. Miss French really wasn’t my biggest fan.
Madi stopped me as soon as we were out in the corridor. “I know it’s not math bothering you. You’ve been in a funk all morning.”
I bit on my lip as I looked at her. She had a determined look in her eyes, and I knew she wasn’t going to let up until I admitted the truth. “Okay, fine. I guess I’m worried about the prom. I’m not sure who I’m going to go with.”
Her eyes lit with surprise, like this was the last thing she expected me to say. “Can’t you go with one of those college guys you’re always dating?”
I swallowed down a thick lump in my throat, unable to meet Madi’s gaze. All of my friends thought I only dated older guys, but in truth, it was a total lie. I’d gone on one date with a guy who was in college last year, and it had been a complete disaster. We had nothing in common, and he’d constantly talked about politics—a subject I had very little knowledge of or interest in. He’d looked at me like I was dumb, and his condescending tone made me feel like I was
too. I might not be the smartest cookie in the jar, but at least my cookie had chocolate chips and sprinkles, and I wasn’t a complete bore like him.
I couldn’t bring myself to admit the truth about my terrible date to my friends though. So, I’d slightly overcompensated and told them the date was so amazing that I didn’t want to date high school boys ever again. I’d been stuck with the stupid lie ever since and had no idea how to own up to it.
The worst part was that the story had spread, and now, guys at school never bothered to ask me out. They all assumed I’d just say no, and I was sure the prom would be no different.
I gave Madi a tight smile and nodded. “You’re right. I’m sure I can rope one into it.”
Her brow pinched as she stared at me. Apparently, I hadn’t lied convincingly enough, and I quickly kept talking before she could interrogate me further. “Now, I think we should focus on more important matters, like what we’re both going to wear.”
Madi groaned. “Please don’t tell me you want to go dress shopping.”
If anything could lift my spirits, it was the thought of shopping, so I started to grin. “Is that even a question? Of course, I want to go dress shopping.”
“But I’m allergic to shopping,” Madi complained.
“You’re not allergic, and we need to go soon if we want to find perfect outfits in time. Have you got anything planned this weekend?”
“Would it be bad if I said yes just to avoid a shopping expedition?”
“Very bad,” I replied with a laugh. “And you’d only be putting off the inevitable.”
“Fine, fine. You win. I’ve got nothing planned.”
“Perfect.” I might not have a date, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to find the two hottest dresses in town for us to wear. I started to walk toward my next class, splitting off from Madi. “Keep your Saturday afternoon free,” I called over my shoulder to her.
She gave me two thumbs-up, but given the resignation on her face, she was clearly dreading it. I knew she’d come around once I found her something awesome to wear though.
I went to my locker to swap my books. It was right by the school office, and as I started to pull out the books I needed for my next class, the door to the office opened. My gaze drifted toward it just as Owen Beck came striding out with his mom at his side. My heart clenched at the sight of him, and my body buzzed with curiosity. His expression was crinkled in a frown, and his mom didn’t look much happier.
The two of them walked past without looking my way, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off them. Why was Owen in the school office? Why was he at school at all? I was desperate to know the answer, but given how tense he looked, I could tell now was a bad time to ask.
Still fixated on Owen, I closed my locker but instantly felt a jarring pain as my finger got caught in the door. My books dropped from my arms, and I sucked in a breath through my teeth as I jerked my hand away from the offending metal door. Several swear words escaped my lips as my finger started to throb.
I scowled at the locker. “What did I ever do to you?” I hissed at it before bending down to gather my fallen books.
My finger was really aching now, and I kept trying to shake it out in the hopes the pain might fade.
“Hey, are you okay?”
My gaze shot upward at the sound of the masculine voice. For a brief moment, I held the dizzying hope that Owen had come to help me. Instead, I looked up to find his brother standing there.
I was surprised to find concern lit his gaze as he crouched down to my level. I’d never been so close to Ethan before, and I found that I couldn’t pull my focus away from his blue eyes. They were so clear they reminded me of the sky on a hot summer’s day. Not the sky directly overhead though. No, the light shade of blue made me think of the point where the sky dipped toward the horizon and the color seemed to fade slightly. For a moment, I felt trapped in his stare, but I quickly remembered myself and turned my attention back to my hand.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I just had a fight with my locker.”
“It seems like the locker won,” he replied.
“Yeah, well, this week really isn’t my week,” I grumbled to myself.
“Why isn’t it your week?” Ethan asked as he passed me one of my textbooks. “Is this about the cop car giving you a ride home last night?”
My stomach dropped, and my eyes darted around the corridor in the hope that no one had overheard. Thankfully, none of the kids walking past seemed to be listening. “You saw that?”
He nodded though he struggled to retain eye contact as he explained. “We arrived home at the same time. It was hard not to notice.”
I swallowed and tried to remain calm. So, not only had I embarrassed myself in front of this guy, but now, he probably thought I was some kind of petty criminal. Even worse was the possibility that Owen might have seen it too. My chances with him were slim enough, but this might truly put me out of the running for good.
“Were you in some kind of trouble?” he asked.
“No, of course not. My car broke down, and the sheriff was kind enough to give me a lift home while the tow truck took it away. It’s not a big deal,” I replied as quickly and quietly as possible. I stood up and rearranged my books in my arms, ready to end the conversation. “Thanks for your help. I have to get to class.”
I went to walk away but stopped as I remembered what had prompted the run-in with my locker in the first place. I turned and searched the end of the corridor. It was still busy with students moving between classes, but Owen was a commanding figure, and it wasn’t hard to spot him as he disappeared around the corner with his mom. My heart sank at the realization I’d missed another opportunity to talk with him.
“Guess it’s going to be hard to keep that quiet,” Ethan said, following my gaze to where his brother had disappeared. Now that he was gone, I finally noticed I wasn’t the only girl looking in Owen’s direction. Several groups of girls nearby were giggling and clearly whispering about him. Apparently, it only took one appearance from the guy to get the Owen Beck fan club up and running again.
“What’s going to be hard to keep quiet?”
Ethan blew out a long breath before he answered. “Owen’s returning to Lincoln High.”
“What?” I spun to look at Ethan. My response had been far too eager, and I quickly tried to backtrack. “I mean, he is?” This time, I managed to sound more neutral, but in truth, I could barely breathe. This could not be happening. It was like a dream come true.
Ethan nodded, but he looked as if the idea made him completely miserable.
“But, why?”
“Because my brother’s an idiot,” he said. “Weren’t you going to class?”
“Ah, yeah, I was.”
“I’ll see you around, Hayley.” He walked away before I could ask him anything else about his brother. It was clear he wasn’t thrilled about Owen joining us at school again, but for me, it was the highlight of the year.
A sense of excitement rushed through me as I made my way to class. I’d had a crush on Owen for such a long time, and now that he was back, I might finally have a chance with him. He’d never paid me much attention before, but I was hoping that this time things would be different.
As I walked past a poster for prom that was plastered on the wall, I felt a sudden burst of optimism. This morning, there was no one I was interested in going to the dance with, but it was amazing how much could change in a few hours. Now that Owen was coming back to school, there was finally someone I could picture as my date. The only problem was that he needed to see himself going with me too.
I worried about it throughout my next class, and as soon as the bell for lunch rang, I rushed to find Madi at her locker. She was always the voice of reason in our little duo, and I needed her opinion on what to do.
I found her as she was putting her books away with Cole leaning against the locker beside her. He was smiling down at her, his eyes crinkled with happiness as she laughed at something he’d
said. The two of them were far too cute together, and for a moment, I wondered if Owen and I would be as cute if we were together. I quickly dismissed the idea though—I was getting way too far ahead of myself.
Madi’s smile grew as she closed her locker door and saw me coming toward her. “I know your car’s out of action, but Cole’s offered to give us a ride to go dress shopping on the weekend.”
“That would be great,” I replied, but I didn’t sound nearly excited enough. I was too distracted to whip up the appropriate level of enthusiasm.
Madi’s smile faltered a little. “What’s up?” She knew me far too well.
“I just heard Owen Beck’s returning to Lincoln High.”
“What?”
“Owen’s coming back to Lincoln,” I repeated.
Madi’s eyes were wide with surprise, but she was also watching me closely. She knew I had the biggest crush on Owen back in the day, but I never told her it didn’t exactly fade with time. I could see she was trying to decipher exactly how affected I was by the news. The answer? Very.
“Well, that’s unexpected,” Cole said, joining the conversation. “I can’t imagine him giving up his athletic scholarship. He was at one of the best football schools in the country. Do you know what happened?”
“Not really. Ethan was the one who told me the news, and all he said was that Owen’s coming back because he’s an idiot. It’s not much of an explanation.”
“No, that doesn’t give us a lot to go on,” Cole agreed.
The three of us started to slowly walk toward the cafeteria. I was practically bursting at the seams to talk to Madi alone though.
“Uh, Mads, we need to go to the bathroom,” I spluttered, as we reached one.
“We do?”
The Wrong Prom Date Page 3