9781250209153

Candlehawk boyfriend to turn our way and say, “You’re fucking kidding me
right now.”
Irene ignores her and continues through the chaos like a queen in a
fucking parade. I’ve got to hand it to her: When she sets her mind to do
something, she goes full throttle.
It’s not until we reach my locker, all the way at the end of the hallway,
that I realize I’ve been holding my breath. I relax my shoulders and loosen
my grip on Irene’s hand. I didn’t realize how tightly I’d been holding it.
Danielle watches us approach. Whereas everyone else in our class seems
to be jumping at this piece of gossip, Danielle’s eyes are narrowed like she
just caught Teddy sneaking candy.
“Fascinating couple,” she says as Irene steers me to my locker.
Irene all but drops my sweaty hand and wastes no time in wiping her
palm on her skinny jeans.
“Jesus. Can you get her some gloves or something?” she asks Danielle.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Danielle says.
“You can’t tell? We’ve fallen for each other,” Irene says, batting her
eyelashes at me.
“Give it a rest,” I tell her.
“Fine.” She resumes her usual tone. Now that we’re past the rest of the
hallway, her nerves are on display again. “I’ll see you later. Oh, and if
anyone asks, which they definitely will”—she lowers her voice and leans
closer to me—“you asked me out.”
I scoff. She shakes a hand through her hair, and then she’s gone, wading
back through the sea of onlookers.
I try to avoid Danielle’s pointed stare, but she moves to block me from
my locker. She won’t even hand me my coffee.
“Scottie. What. The fuck.”
“What?” I say innocently. “Just trying something new.”
“Are you blackmailing her or something?”
“Why does everyone assume I’m blackmailing?”
“What’s your angle here? Do you realize the entire hallway was staring
at you?”