Part 21 (1/2)

I drop my bag on the floor with a smirk. ”I haven't changed that much.”

Mags takes a sip of her coffee, and I see her smile for the first time in what feels like forever. Okay. Yeah, it's going to be okay.

I drink my coffee and listen to Maggie's latest punk obsession, and I promise myself I will treasure this moment. I promise I won't think about Blake's dad or Adam's scarred wrist or any of the stuff that's happening. I don't quite manage, but I'm close.

My day has taken a steep nosedive. Maggie barely said boo on the way to school. And I managed to tank not one but two quizzes in my first three periods. What the h.e.l.l happened to my superpower brain?

I slide through the lunch line, grabbing a tuna sandwich that looks as pale and lifeless as I feel. I snag an apple and set it on my tray with a sigh.

”Bad morning?”

I try to bite back a smile, but it's impossible. I feel the press of Adam's arm against my shoulder, and my face practically blooms.

”I thought you might have bailed today,” I say.

”I never skip school.”

I frown up at him, furrowing my brows. ”Why on earth not? You've got a G.o.dlike GPA. I'd probably only show up on Tuesdays.”

He just laughs and pushes his way down the line, paying for both of our lunches.

”So do I actually get to eat with you or is this a drive-by flirt?” I ask.

”Drive-by,” he says, then he looks over his shoulder at a table where Blake is glaring in our direction. ”I think it's too early to stir the waters.”

”Since when do you care what he thinks?”

”I don't. But I think you still might.”

I feel like a balloon that lost its air. ”So yesterday...”

”Was a very good day,” he fills in with another shoulder b.u.mp.

”But it was just a day,” I say, hating the hollow ache in my middle.

”Hm, I think I need to be more clear.” A wicked smile curves on his face as he leans close, his breath tickling the side of my neck. ”I'm not going to kiss you in front of him. But you'd better believe I'm thinking about it.”

He backs away again, and I'm pretty sure he takes all the oxygen in the room with him because every breath I take feels thinner than the last.

”So this weekend,” he says. ”Study date? We've got that pre-calc final.”

”I just tanked my quizzes in chemistry and English. You might need to trade me up for a better model.”

”h.e.l.l no. Math's your subject. You're not getting out of helping me because of a bad mood.”

He dumps his tray by the cafeteria door, keeping only the apple he stole from my plate. I can't help but call across to him.

”You're not even eating?”

”I paid for the company,” he says. He gives me one last grin, one that makes my whole middle squeeze in on itself, and then he's gone.

Blake's expression wipes the smile right off my face. I see him whip out his cell phone, texting something almost violently.

”Okay, I'm officially wanting t-to know what the h.e.l.l you're up to.”

I whirl with my tray, tuna sandwich almost sliding off. ”Maggie?”

I don't know whether to do cartwheels at the fact that she's speaking to me in public or to be terrified of the bald accusation in her eyes.

”Yeah, we need t-to talk,” she says. ”Back steps?”

”Definitely.”

We make our way out of the cafeteria to the back stairs of the school. During freshman year, I got in trouble once for being too loud in the cafeteria. When it became perfectly clear I was never going to learn to keep my trap shut, we found the back stairs. Right across from the girls' bathroom, we could always claim feminine issues if the teachers asked.

I glance at the bathroom door, listening to the squeal of undercla.s.smen inside. I remember those days, poised in front of the mirror, lip-glossing myself into a s.h.i.+mmery concoction for a boy that probably didn't even know I existed.

We nibble our sandwiches in quiet for a while before Maggie puts hers down and brushes off her hands. ”So what's going on with you?”

”What do you mean?

”I mean your sudden g-guy switch. You're t-trading in Blake f-for Adam?”

”It's not like that,” I say, but really it's sort of exactly like that.

”Are you sure you know what you're doing?”

I put down my uneaten half sandwich. ”No. I'm not.”

Maggie seems satisfied with this until she frowns. ”I never got it, you know. The hot factor.”

”With Adam?” I ask.

She waves a hand dismissively. ”No, not Adam. He's g-got that whole tragic but beautiful thing happening, though I never thought you noticed.”

”I didn't,” I admit, dropping my voice to a whisper. ”But I do now. I can barely go an hour without noticing.”

”I was t-talking about Blake.”

I feel my nose wrinkle. ”You didn't get why I'd like Blake? Who doesn't like Blake? He's Mr. Nice Guy,” I say, though I'm sarcastic as h.e.l.l.

Mags pushes her plate away and looks across the hall, shaking her head. ”Maybe. Or maybe that's what he wants everyone to think. I could never t-tell.”

”You never said anything to me.”