“That’s the spirit,” Meg said, nodding as if she’d expected that answer. “Good luck, babes—you earned it.”
Skylar didn’t feel half as self-assured as she was making out to be, but she tried to psych herself up as she let herself in through the auditorium doors and made her way through the back hallway of the theater and into the library wing, which led to the cafeteria. Her boot heels made clacking sounds that bounced off the walls and windows in the empty, dark halls. It was fun to be in school all alone. She hummed a little bit, and her voice reverberated against the lockers and classroom doors.
In the cafeteria she’d expected more moonlight to be shining through the Gazebo’s skylight, but the glass overhead was already covered thickly with snow. It was dark and shadowy. Intimate. Pierce would have no choice but to fall for her. She grinned and spun in a circle, arms outstretched, on the freshly waxed linoleum. Her pink coat flared out around her. In the silence, despite the empty tables and benches, the curling posters, and the smell of school lunch still lingering in the air, it was easy to imagine herself as reigning queen bee.
And then she heard them—rubber-soled steps squeaking faintly in the hallway. Good. So Pierce had found the door she’d told him about. Her heart beat faster; she reached up with both hands to bring the hood of her coat carefully over her curls. She knew that from afar, she looked a lot like Gabby, and she was going to use that to her advantage, to draw him in close before making the big reveal.
“Gabby?” His voice resounded in the empty room. She motioned him closer; he grinned in the easy, flirtatious way he was known for. “Hey there,” he said as he walked toward her. Even in the dark, she could see his strong frame, how his shoulders fit perfectly in his football jacket, the way his crew cut highlighted his strong jawline.
And then, when he was just an arm’s length away, Skylar pulled the hood away from her face and stepped into a small patch of moonlight that shone through the skylight.
“Hi, Pierce,” she said, offering her best pageant smile.
Pierce’s shock crushed her almost instantly. It was more than surprise. It was discomfort. It was disappointment.
“Skylar?” He could barely speak. His mouth opened and closed like a cartoon guppy. “Hey. I wasn’t . . . um . . . What are you . . . Where’s . . .” He trailed off, looking mystified. And slightly angry.
“I know you weren’t exactly—expecting me,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. “But . . . hi.”
“I don’t understand,” Pierce said, staring at her and then at his snow-soaked boots. “I’m sorry, I’m confused. It wasn’t supposed to be—”
“I know,” she interjected. “But it is supposed to be me, Pierce.” She gazed at him, waiting for him to understand her meaning.
“I—I don’t get it, Skylar.”
“It’s been me all along,” she said. “Online, at school, at parties—we have a connection, don’t we? We’re perfect for each other. Don’t you see it? I’ve known since that first day in the cafeteria—when you lent me your sweatshirt? I’m just right for you. And you’re just right for me. You know?”
He backed away ever so slightly. He ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell, Skylar?” He shook his head. “All this time—all this time, when I thought I was talking to Gabby, it was really . . .” He couldn’t even finish.
Oh god. This wasn’t working. Panic palpitated through Skylar’s whole body.
“Pierce, wait. Can I explain? I mean, look—” Her words got all jumbled, and she was fidgeting with the tassels of her scarf. She looked and sounded like a scared little girl. This was nothing like the impression she’d hoped to make.
He cleared his throat and shifted his eyes toward her. God. He looked so uncomfortable. “Hey, Skylar,” he said. “I know you have a thing for me. And look, I don’t mean to say . . . You’re great, okay? You’re a nice girl. But I just—” He looked down again.
A nice girl. He might as well have reached out and slapped her. She knew what he was going to say next. “Gabby doesn’t want you, Pierce,” she said, suddenly regaining the ability to articulate. “So think about that.” She crossed her arms and stood there.
For a moment it seemed like he was softening. Their eyes met. He smiled a little bit. Skylar’s heart soared. To hell with Gabby—she had won Pierce after all. Her arms fell to her sides, fingers tingling, waiting for him to come closer.
Then Pierce just shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sky.”