“Go away, Fletcher,” Riley snaps.
He scoffs. “I’ll tell ya, Sheep. Keep your whore pussy away from me and my friends. God knows you’ve caused enough damage.”
“That’s a new one,” I say.
He gets in my space, leaning down so we’re face to face. “I’ve been wondering what’d you do to make your coke-whore mom run away. But then I realized…” He pauses and grins at me. “It’s just a fucking personality defect.”
Images of my mother leaving flash in front of my face. My dad’s grip around my waist as I screamed and begged for her to stay.
Tears fill my eyes, and he laughs. I sprint out of the courtyard.
Riley calls my name, but it’s easier to just leave everything behind. I run across the playing fields, up a path into the woods. Once I’m out of sight, I stop and lean against a tree.
“That was quite a show,” Theo says, coming up behind me. “Although, to be fair, I only saw it through my phone.”
I jerk around, pressing my hand to my chest. He didn’t come from the direction of the school. I’d seen him walking in with Caleb, but he must’ve peeled away. To come out here...
He stubs out a cigarette against a tree and tosses it into the woods, winking at me. “Our little secret, yeah?”
He flashes his phone screen at me. Ian getting in my face is all I can see, and then he powers it off and stuffs it in his pocket.
“What do you want?” I ask, using my sleeve to dab at my face.
“Eh, I guess I want to know why Ian got such a visceral reaction out of you. God knows Caleb’s been trying to do the same for weeks.”
I shrug and look away. “He just touched a nerve.”
“Your mom.”
There’s a gleam in his eye that I don’t like.
I straighten and face him. “If you run back and tell Caleb that’s my secret weakness, I will destroy you.”
He laughs. Laughs. “I’ve always wanted to hear what it would sound like to be threatened by a toddler.”
I turn away from him. “I came out here to be alone. Not…”
“Accompanied?”
I snort.
“I was just heading back. I should’ve offered you a hit before I tossed the joint.” He comes up beside me, offering his arm. “Besides, isn’t this just what you need?”
I squint at him. Of course it wasn’t a cigarette. Their star football player wouldn’t ruin his lungs like that. Instead, he’s getting high in the woods behind the school.
“Liam was going to make this offer, but I’m happy I beat him to it,” he says. “You want Caleb’s attention.”
I straighten.
“We walk in there together, pretend to date… It’ll get the cheerleaders of my back, and Caleb will put you on yours.” He grins. “Win-win.”
“Pretend girlfriend? That’s kind of a cheesy…”
“It’s a useful trick. Old-school play.” He shrugs, his arm still out toward me.
“Why are you being nice?” I demand.
He snorts. “Who said anything about nice? Liam isn’t the only one who enjoys getting on Caleb’s nerves.”
I haven’t heard him say more than one sentence to me, and now we’re having a full-blown conversation. About… Caleb. The one person I’d rather not talk about.
“Just admit that the idea of him and Amelie is driving you nuts,” he says softly. “And let’s do something about it.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Are you into her?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you look kind of how I feel.” There’s something in his eyes, and I want to know him more. Is he as monstrous to someone as Caleb is to me? As Eli is to Riley?
“Amelie isn’t who I hate,” he answers. “But…”
I find myself leaning in.
“We’re not here to discuss her.” The wall he usually hides behind is back.
I can sense that he’s going to renege on his offer, so I quickly wrap my fingers around his biceps. “If this goes badly—it’s over.”
He winks. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”
This is not going to end well.
He glances at his watch as we walk across the football field. “Not necessarily the best timing,” he says. “But good enough for me.”
The doors are already open from the courtyard, and the hall packed. The silence comes in waves. First the people closest to us, and then the screeching halt of the rest of the school rolls down like dominoes.
“Pretend you like me,” he says through his teeth.
I swallow my apprehension and inch closer, smiling up at him. “You look like you swallowed a box of staples,” I mumble.
He laughs. It echoes down the hall.
And somehow, he manages to ignore everyone else around us. He leads us to homeroom, where Caleb and Amelie are perched in the corner.
Liam’s eyebrows skyrocket.
Eli is… unimpressed.
Dead quiet.
“You know,” Theo whispers, tipping his head toward mine, “you’re really putting a wrench in the middle of my friend group.”
“Did I walk into a trap?” I glance up at him. He’s quite a bit taller than Caleb. “Is your plan to say, ‘Ha, ha, I tricked Margo?’”
He smiles. “Not at all.”
And then Caleb is on us, shoving Theo away from me. The force of it must surprise Theo, because he staggers backward. I get the impression that Theo isn’t one easily moved.
Theo’s face transforms into a mask of anger, and he lunges forward. I don’t even think he’s that mad at Caleb—they just want an excuse to hit each other.
Someone pulls me out of the way.
I glance back, surprised at the firm grip that tows me out the door. Amelie.
Her lips are pressed into a thin line, and she doesn’t relent until we’re down the hall and around the corner.
“What was that for?” I snap.
“What are you doing?” She tosses her hair behind her shoulder, glaring daggers at me.
“Me? I walk into a room and your boyfriend goes nuts.” This is what you wanted, I remind myself. “Maybe you should’ve dragged him out here to ask him why he’s so bothered—”
“Oh, drop the act, Margo.” She looks away. “We all know that he only sees you.”
Her mean-girl bravado falls away, piece by piece.