throat and force myself to step into the room. It feels like leaping a gorge. âUh, are you okay with it? The breakup?â
âThis is the fourth time, so Iâve adjusted,â he says. He smiles and comes to life, dimples curving his cheeks. âHonestly, we knew it was inevitable for months. Could have done without the drama though.â
I should say something. âWell, youâve both got a goodâ¦support network. Iâm sure things will settle down.â Wow. How very Hallmark of me.
I gesture vaguely at him when he doesnât say anything. âI mean, you both have lots of friends, right?â Ugh, I really suck at this and just need to stop.
Nick rolls his shoulders. âYeah, that doesnât always make it easy.â
My goodwill vanishes. âRight,â I say. âThe trials of popularity.â
I see a flicker of irritation cross his features, but he pushes away from the table and stands up, obviously trying to stay unruffled. âMaybe we should talk about something else.â
âLike what?â
He moves slowly toward me, and I swear the temperature jumps ten degrees with every step he takes. âLike the pictures you took of Jackson last week.â
My whole bodyâheart and lungs and just everythingâstops. Thereâs this hollow silence in the room, and I want to fill it up. Finally, a tinny laugh dribbles out of me.
âIâ¦â Yeah, Iâve got nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Nick moves around the last row separating us. He leans back on the table across from me, and I notice our feet again. Boots for meâtall ones today. Nikes for him. Of course.
Nick looks utterly relaxed, completely at ease while I stand here twitching.
âSomehow I donât think you took those for the yearbook,â he says.
âWell, itâd be a more honest look at senior year, wouldnât it? A moment that illuminates reality.â
âIlluminates?â He smiles. âJackson might pick a different word.â
I cross my arms. âIâll bet he would.â
âCan I see them?â
â Why , so you can try to get me to delete them?â
His smile vanishes. I swallow hard as he stands up straight, and man, he is towering over me. I force myself to look up at him and ignore the fluttery, breathless feeling in my chest. Iâve got no clue why this guyâs eyes work voodoo on my lungs, but they do.
âDo you really think Iâd do that?â His voice is almost a whisper.
âI donât know what youâd do,â I say, just as softly, but I donât tell him what I do know. Like how far his people will go to stick together. And what theyâve already done to me.
âThen maybe you should ask instead of assuming.â
âOkay, fine. Would you?â
He just shakes his head and walks past me. I slump hard, trying to steal the strength from the wall. Nick stops at the door, the false light from the hallway casting yellow-green highlights over his face.
âYou ever hear the saying, âDonât judge a book by its coverâ?â
I scoff. âOf course.â
âSame principle applies to football jerseys, Piper.â
⢠⢠â¢
In my entire life, Iâve never been this early to an assembly, but according to the text, this is where Kristenâs going down. Iâve always pulled the yearbook-team card for these. I snap some pictures in the hallway, and hope to slip away before the doors close. Itâs easy to go unnoticed, especially if youâre holding a camera and generally viewed as a non-problem student. For the record, we still assemble, but we do it in the technology lab, usually after Manny sneaks out to bring us coffee.
Speaking of Mannyâ¦
He strolls up, looking at me like Iâve just grown a second head. Iâm probably the first senior to get in line for assembly in the history of the school.
âHey!â I say. Still too
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