Danny, Nathan, Isaac, and Lee had already made their way down to the truck and were trying their best to ignore Cole as they piled their backpacks in the bed. Alex, however, was still standing next to me on the front walkway. I could feel him staring at me, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he had gone rigid. But he didn’t have anything to worry about. Until I knew exactly what had happened between the two of them, I was going to stick with Alex since he seemed like the more trustworthy one of the pair.
“Actually,” I said, shouldering my satchel. “I think I prefer riding with the losers.”
Cole’s only response was to stare at me, surprise evident on his face. Turning back toward Alex, I offered him a thumbs-up before making my way over to the truck. I kept my eyes glued to its rusty red shape so I wouldn’t break my resolve and peek at Cole. One glance at those blue eyes and I would crumble. Nathan pushed open the passenger-side door for me and offered me a hand up. As I climbed in, I heard a car door slam and gravel crunching.
“Damn,” Nathan whistled, watching the Porsche disappear through the rearview mirror. “Did you see his face?”
“No,” I said, buckling my seat belt. “Why, was it bad?”
“He’s beyond pissed,” Alex said, laughing, as he climbed into the backseat. The grin on his face was huge. “Man, I wish Jack and Jordan could have got that on camera. Cole Walter getting turned down.” He was shaking his head in disbelief.
“It was just a car ride,” I said, starting to feel a little nervous. “Not a marriage proposal.”
“You don’t understand.” Nathan had a look of pity etched on his face. “I tried to warn you on the first day. Cole doesn’t get rejected. You’re a challenge to him now,” he said, and Danny nodded his head in agreement.
“What do I do?”
“Just ignore him,” Alex said, like it was no big deal. But I knew how hard it was to ignore Cole when he was around. I wasn’t good at it at all.
“Pray,” Danny muttered at the same time. My eyes went wide.
“Isaac, can we just leave for school now?” Lee demanded. “I don’t really care about this stupid soap opera. I’ve got classes to skip.”
“Preaching to the choir,” Isaac said as he started the truck. “I was just waiting for Captain Dork to get in.”
Alex rolled his eyes but otherwise disregarded his cousin’s insult. The purple marks were still present under his eyes, but unlike yesterday, he looked positively cheery. The truck lurched backward and started down the driveway, and I stared out of the window into the right side mirror. Unfortunately, I thought, as I caught a glimpse of my face, I don’t look nearly as happy as him.
Twenty minutes later when we arrived at school, my stomach was still a knotted mess. It didn’t help that when I climbed out of the truck, the skin on the back of my neck prickled and I knew that I was being watched. Looking around, I spotted Cole sitting on the front steps with a flock of girls around him, but he wasn’t paying them any attention. He was staring across the parking lot at me. I knew that I would have to face him in math class, and the thought made my fingers tremble.
“Hey, Alex,” I said as we walked toward the school. “Where do you normally eat lunch?”
“I don’t really eat lunch,” he said, his cheeks going pink. “Normally, I—um, go to the computer lab to get a quick round of Gathering of Gods in.”
“That’s the online game you play with Kim, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, you play?”
“No, but I was wondering if you wanted to take a break today and eat lunch with us.”
“You and Kim?”
“And our other friends, yeah.” He looked like he was about to say no, so I quickly added, “Pretty please?”
He was clearly confused but nodded his head anyway. “Sure, I guess.”
“Perfect,” I told him as we walked into anatomy together. “Pick me up by the math room. We can walk down together.”
As we sat down, I smiled to myself. I’d decided the best way to fight off one Walter boy was with another. And my plan worked perfectly. Later that morning, I turned up at math just before the bell rang so Cole wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk to me. Then, when he saw Alex waiting for me after class, he swept out of the room without a backward glance.
“Hi,” I greeted Alex cheerfully. Kim was standing next to him, an impressed look splashed across her features.
“How’d you do it?” she asked.
“What?”
“Get him out of the computer lab for lunch. I’ve been trying for ages.”
“I just asked nicely.”
“That’s a neat trick,” Kim grumbled. “You’ll have to show it to me someday.”
“I’m not a dog, you know,” Alex shot back. But we knew he wasn’t really angry, and the three of us made our way to the lunchroom laughing.
***