I shook my head at her. “Are you dating Hayley or am I?”
“You are, obviously. It’s just, it’s like something out of a fairy tale, and you know how much I like happily ever afters.”
“Don’t go getting ahead of yourself about the happily ever after,” Colin said.
She shot him a scowl. “Where’s your optimism, O’Leary? You’re totally ruining the vibe right now with such negativity.”
My vibe was nowhere even close to as excited as Isla’s, but I gave Colin a knowing look. “Yeah, man. Don’t ruin our vibe.”
He laughed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “Sorry, sorry. I’m really happy for you, Ethan.”
“Good.” Isla nodded with approval before turning on me. “So, tell me everything. When did this happen?”
“Saturday, after practice,” I replied. Isla knew me really well and would quickly work out I was lying if I didn’t make it sound convincing. I took a deep breath in before I continued. “Hayley came home at the same time as me, and I saw a chance to talk to her.” I took another breath. Damn, this was hard. “I guess all your encouragement to make a move must have got to me because, before I knew it, I was asking her out. I never believed she’d actually say yes.”
The story wasn’t actually that different from what had happened, minus my brother and the whole fake relationship thing. Hayley was smart to suggest we keep our story as close to the truth as possible. There was no way I would have been able to lie convincingly to Isla otherwise.
Isla’s eyes filled with awe, so I guessed she’d bought it. “I mean, this is exactly what I’ve been telling you to do all along,” she said. “I just can’t believe you finally went through with it. How could you not tell us what you had planned beforehand?”
“It was all pretty spontaneous,” I replied. “The moment seemed right, so I went for it.”
She placed a hand against her heart. “How romantic.”
“Yeah, it was.” I gave her a tight smile and nodded. I figured it was better I left the conversation as soon as possible before she wanted more details.
“We can talk about it more later, but we should probably get to class before we’re late.” I started to walk before Isla could object. I really wasn’t a very confident or experienced liar, but I seemed to have gotten through that one unscathed.
* * *
I’d agreed to have lunch with Hayley in the cafeteria, but as I went to meet her, I began to regret the decision. I normally hung outside during lunchtime and preferred to avoid the cafeteria because the place was like a jungle.
It wasn’t any different today, and I felt like groaning as I walked into the large hall and immediately caught sight of my brother. It was his first day back at Lincoln, and already, he’d made himself right at home at the popular table. He looked the picture of confidence as he sat surrounded by some of the prettiest girls in school. They were all hanging off his every word as he animatedly described some dramatic football play for them.
My brother’s date with Laurie must have gone well because she was clinging to one of his arms and looked completely enamored by him. I had no idea how he did it. How could he have slotted in so quickly and easily at school after being away for years? He might have been a dick, but my brother certainly knew how to lure people in.
“Ethan, over here!”
I turned and found Hayley sitting at a table, waving me over. She’d saved a seat beside her and was smiling as she enthusiastically gestured toward me. She was sitting with Madi and Evan. I remembered that their friend Teagan usually sat with them too, but she’d landed a small role in a movie and was currently filming in Hollywood. She was also dating the star, Liam Black, and for weeks, it had been all anyone could talk about. The people at our school really loved nothing more than a bit of gossip.
I lowered myself into the seat at Hayley’s side and gave her a nervous smile. I tended to avoid situations where I got stuck speaking to people I didn’t know that well, and right now, I was remembering exactly why. I had no idea what to say to Madi or Evan. I’d never spoken a word with Evan before, but I’d sat next to Madi in biology last year. She was pretty friendly at the time, but I could hardly ask her how she did on last year’s bio exam. My pulse was racing, and for a moment, I wished I were more like my brother. Owen would already have Hayley and her friends eating out of the palm of his hand. Why did I have to be so awkward?
“Ethan,” Evan said in greeting, giving me a wide smile. “Nice of you to join us in the circus today.”
“Circus?” Yep, my heart was galloping, but then, he gestured around to the cafeteria, and I finally caught on. This place was a whole lot like the zoo. “Circus, right. Yeah, one of the monkeys insisted I come sit with her.” I glanced at Hayley out of the corner of my eye and gave her a small smile, as Madi and Evan both chuckled.
“Hey, I’m not a monkey,” she replied, shooting her two friends an annoyed look. “If I’m going to be a circus animal, I’d be a lion or something cool.”
“You are kind of ferocious,” Evan teased.
“And you do spend a lot of time grooming yourself,” Madi added.
Hayley shook her head at the two of them. “I really don’t know why I put up with you guys.”
“Because you love us,” Evan replied. “Now, you two need to dish. When did you start dating?” His eyes seemed to narrow in on the large gap between Hayley and me as he asked the question, and I knew we needed to up our game if we wanted people to believe our lie.
I slung an arm over Hayley’s shoulder, acting far braver than I felt. Her skin was warm to the touch, and my stomach dropped as we connected. Holding hands this morning hadn’t felt nearly as intimate as this. We were far closer than we’d ever been before, but I wanted to be closer still.
A hint of surprise entered Hayley’s eyes at the contact, but she didn’t shrug my arm off, and within moments, she actually began to settle against me. It was far more natural than I would have expected. It felt like she belonged there.
“The weekend,” Hayley replied, sending a warm smile in my direction. “We’ve been neighbors for ages, so I guess you could say it’s been brewing for a while.”
It certainly hadn’t been brewing on Hayley’s end, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way she was looking at me. She always landed minor roles in our school plays, but right now, she was putting on a pretty convincing performance. There was total adoration in her eyes, and a part of me had to wonder if it was because she was picturing my brother at her side. I immediately felt sick.
I gave Evan a tight smile. “Yeah, this has been a long time coming.” I wasn’t nearly as believable as Hayley, but Evan seemed to be buying it.
“Well, you guys sure do look cute together,” he said. Apparently, he was convinced. Madi had been awfully quiet throughout the conversation, but I assumed that was because she knew the dirty truth. I couldn’t imagine Hayley hiding our arrangement from her best friend.
“Uh, thanks?” I replied.
Hayley must have noticed how uncomfortable I was answering questions about our fake relationship because she quickly moved the conversation in a different direction. “But enough about us,” she said. “You guys will never guess what the guidance counselor suggested for my future career.”
Madi jumped in with an answer right away. “Fashion designer?”
Hayley shook her head. “I wish.”
“Quantum physicist,” Evan guessed.
Hayley rolled her eyes him. “It’s like we’re not even friends. Ethan, any guesses?”
“Australian tour guide?”
She looked at me for several long seconds before she burst out laughing. “Australian tour guide?”
“Well, you made it sound like a job we’d never guess. So, I went with something unlikely…”
“That was a great guess then,” she said. “But, no. She said my test results indicate I’m perfectly suited as a driving instructor.”
Madi and Evan erupted in laughter.
“Are you serious?” Madi asked between laughs.
“Deadly,” Hayley replied, earning herself another round of laughter from her friends. “I told you guys those things weren’t accurate.”
“That really is the worst possible job for you,” Madi said.
“Are you that bad at driving?” I asked.
“Yes!” came the resounding response from everyone at the table, Hayley included.
I smiled. “I guess I better keep driving us to school then.”
“I guess you better,” Hayley agreed, returning my smile. She actually seemed pleased with the idea.
“So, Ethan, your brother’s back at Lincoln,” Evan said. Owen was the last person I wanted to talk about, and I really wished we could go back to laughing about Hayley’s bad driving. I couldn’t see a way of avoiding the topic though.
“Yeah, he’s back,” I said, holding in the sigh that naturally seemed to come out whenever I had to talk about my brother.
I glanced in Owen’s direction and saw he was currently standing on his chair, making a tooting sound through his hands like he was blowing a horn into the air. I didn’t even want to begin to guess why. He was such a show-off, so it was hardly surprising to see him doing everything in his power to gain attention.
As I turned back to the others, I noticed Hayley was looking at Owen too. I thought she’d been looking at me with adoration before, but it was nothing compared to what I saw in her eyes now. There was a longing in them that was impossible to ignore and devastating to see. I wanted to compete with my brother for Hayley’s affections, but seeing her watch him like that made me feel like I’d already lost.
She blinked as she focused back on our table again, and the look in her eyes quickly disappeared. It was like it had never been there at all, but I knew I was going to find it hard to forget.
“So, why is he back in Lincoln?” Evan asked, leaning forward on the table. He clearly couldn’t wait to hear all the dirt, and he wasn’t the only one. Madi and Hayley both looked intrigued too.
“He lost his scholarship,” I said with a shrug. It was hardly a big secret, and anyone with half a brain could have figured out as much.
Evan’s eyes widened, like he was shocked to hear the news though. “What did he do?”
“Something stupid,” I replied. I refused to delve into the details. I wasn’t a fan of my brother, but I wasn’t going to spread nasty rumors about him either.
Madi frowned as she looked at me. “It must have been pretty bad to lose his scholarship…”
Again, I shrugged. “It wasn’t great, but I’d rather not talk about it.”
Madi nodded, and immediately, the subject was dropped. The fact they were so quick to respect my wish not to talk about Owen made me warm to Hayley’s friends. A lot of people at this school wouldn’t have given in so easily.
They started talking about some assignment they had for drama, and my focus drifted from the group. I found myself looking over at my brother again, and I was surprised to see he was looking back at our table. Specifically, he seemed to be concentrating on how my arm lay across Hayley’s shoulders.
He turned away the moment I saw him, and I almost questioned whether he’d been watching us at all. My stomach tightened with concern though. Hayley and I had only been pretending to date for one day. Had she already piqued Owen’s interest though? I just hoped I’d mistaken the look, because I wasn’t ready to give Hayley up. Not yet. Not ever.
9
Hayley
“So, I think day one of operation fake relationship went well,” I said, as Ethan drove me home. We’d held hands between a couple of our classes and eaten lunch together without any problems. If this was all the effort that went into pretending to date someone, I’d say we were in for a pretty smooth ride.
“It was a good start,” he agreed. “Your friends are nice.”
I smiled widely at him. “Yeah, they’re the best.” I’d worried it would be awkward having Ethan sit with us at lunch, but Madi and Evan had both accepted him immediately. In fact, they probably liked him a little too much, which might cause problems when I eventually did a Beck brother switcheroo—provided the plan worked, of course.
“Do you think your brother noticed us?” I asked. I’d been dying to bring it up with Ethan all day but didn’t want to sound too eager.
He hesitated and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he drove. “I’m not sure our relationship is really on his radar yet.” Ethan’s voice was soft, like he was worried about breaking the news to me.
My shoulders slumped a little, but I tried not to be disheartened. We’d only been at this for a day and still had plenty of time to make it work.
As if he could sense my concern, Ethan continued. “But, don’t worry. It’s only his first day back at Lincoln High. I’m sure once he’s settled in he’ll take more of an interest.”
I slowly nodded, knowing Ethan was probably right. If he wasn’t worried, then I shouldn’t be either. I just had to be patient, but that was hard when there had been so many girls throwing themselves at Owen today. They were all over him at lunch, and Laurie, in particular, was commanding his attention. While Ethan seemed to think we had plenty of time, I feared one of those girls would capture Owen’s heart before I had a chance.
“So, the guidance counselor really suggested you become a driving instructor?” Ethan asked.
“Yes!” I was almost relieved to talk about something other than Owen. The thought of him with all those other girls at lunch was making me anxious, and I needed a distraction. “I just can’t believe it’s true though. I think she might be messing with me.”
“You think?”
“Or perhaps, my test got mixed up somehow.”
“That’s probably a more likely reason than the teacher pranking you.”
“Probably,” I agreed. “Though I swear she had an evil glint in her eyes when she was telling me about my bright career in the instructor industry.”
Ethan looked like he was struggling not to smile. “What does an evil glint look like exactly?”
“Like I caught a glimpse into her soul and all that was there was blackness.”
“Wow. You got all that in one look?”
“What can I say? I’m perceptive like that.”
Ethan was silent for several seconds before he let out a low laugh. “I guess nothing gets by you then.”
“Nope. I’m practically omniscient.”
He grinned. “I’ll try to remember that.”
I looked out the window and was surprised to find we were already pulling into Ethan’s driveway. The fact I was caught off guard probably meant I was going to have to work on the whole omniscient thing. The trip had gone so quickly though. Talking to Ethan had been so easy, I’d totally lost track of time.
“Thanks for driving me home,” I said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem,” he replied. “Your house is kind of on my way home.”
“It is.” I laughed. My hand reached for the door handle, but I stopped myself from opening it when I glanced toward my house and saw Kitty standing out front. She was practicing a cheer with one of her bitchy friends, and I really wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation.
Ethan followed my gaze and grinned as he caught me frowning. “You really don’t get along with your sister, do you?”
I sighed and shook my head. “She’s not exactly easy to get along with these days. All she can think about is being popular, and it doesn’t exactly bring out her best qualities.”
“This coming from a cheerleader herself,” he replied. “One who also happens to be popular…”
“Hey, I cheer because I enjoy it,” I replied. “And I’m not really popular. Madi’s the one that everyone loves.”
A look of surprise crossed Ethan’s face. “If you don’t think you’re popular, then I’m not sure you see yourself clearly.”
I shrugged. “I’m a little t
oo feisty for most people.”
“Most people are crazy.”
“True.” I smiled.
I glanced in the direction of my house again. I was actually impressed by some of the moves my sister was making as she danced. She’d come a long way since I’d last seen her cheer. I would have loved to compliment her form, but I knew there was no point. She’d probably just throw the words right back in my face.
“So, are we getting out or sitting here scowling at a thirteen-year-old for the rest of the night?” Ethan asked.
I laughed and opened the car door. “Getting out. I’d hate to give her the satisfaction.”
He grinned in response before climbing out of the car. “So, do you need a ride again in the morning?”
I bit on my lip and looked at my sad empty driveway. My baby must still be getting repaired. “It looks like it,” I said, turning back to Ethan. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not, you are my girlfriend, after all.” He winked at me before turning toward his house. “I’ll see you in the morning, babe,” he called over his shoulder to me.
I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh. “Yeah, see you then, honey.”
He shot me a grin before giving a small wave of goodbye. I turned toward my house and let out a sigh. My sister was already glaring at me from across the lawn, and her friend was giving me an equal look of disgust. Ethan had no idea how lucky he was to have a brother.
* * *
Ethan drove me to school for the rest of the week. He couldn’t always give me a ride home because I needed to stay late for cheer practice some nights, and I began to dread when Mom would swing by to pick me up with my demon-spawned sister riding shotgun.
There was still no news on when my car would be fixed. The part the mechanic needed was taking longer than expected, and it truly felt like my car was gone forever. I was already starting to forget the smell of it. How long would it be until I forgot what it looked like too?
The Wrong Prom Date Page 9