The torture didn’t stop when she reached the halls, either. Everyone sitting at Steam, the school’s coffee shop, raised their heads and whispered about the video they’d all received last night. Even a few teachers glanced at her with raised eyebrows. Hanna put her head down and darted for her locker as fast as she could, but the nasty laughter felt like barbs in her skin. Her nose began to twitch, but she could not let anyone see her cry. Being the loser of the school was bad enough.
She yanked open her locker and took out a handful of books without looking to see if they were the right ones for her classes. Then, a familiar figure at the end of the hall caught her eye. Mike was standing next to Colleen, his hand on her shoulder. Hanna turned away, willing them to disappear. She couldn’t deal with seeing their smiling faces right now.
She closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then checked the hallway again. They were still standing there. But when Hanna looked closer, she saw tears in Colleen’s eyes. Mike was holding out his palms. Then he lowered his head, patted Colleen’s arm, and headed down the hall. Straight. Toward. Hanna.
Shit. Hanna slammed her locker shut and shoved her books into her bag as fast as she could. Mike’s gaze was on her as he zigzagged around a bunch of freshmen horsing around in front of one of the chemistry rooms. It was clear he was going to chew her out for spying on Colleen and stealing her photos. On one hand, Hanna really didn’t want to face him, but on the other, she knew she deserved it. Wouldn’t she want to scream at New A if they ever came face-to-face?
“Hanna,” Mike said when he got close.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I’m the biggest jerk ever, and I should never have followed Colleen around. I have her photos. She can have them back, and I’ll even pay for them.”
Hanna braced herself, but then felt the unexpected sensation of Mike’s hand slipping into hers. There was an expression on his face she couldn’t read. “I’m sure Colleen would like to hear that, Hanna. But, actually, I think what you did was kind of . . . amazing.”
At first, Hanna thought that the classical music that was pumped through the hallway speakers was messing with her brain. “Excuse me?”
Mike’s eyes gleamed. “You followed Colleen around because you wanted to see what she had over you, right? Why I was going out with her instead?”
Hanna bit the inside of her cheek. “Well, kind of . . .”
“You wanted me back that bad.” Mike hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder. “No one’s ever liked me that much.”
“Colleen likes you that much,” Hanna mumbled.
Mike glanced over his shoulder at the students clogging the halls. “I know. I feel bad. But . . . she’s not for me.” He inched closer. “You are.”
A muscle in Hanna’s jaw twitched. She smelled Mike’s familiar piney, smoky scent. She always used to tease him for smelling like a ski lodge. She’d missed it so much.
But then she made a face. “So wait. You sleep with Colleen, then break up with her a week later? That’s a pretty shitty thing to do, Mike.”
Mike gave her a crazy look. “What gave you the idea Colleen and I were sleeping together? I know I’m a stud and everything, but we’d only been going out for a couple of weeks.”
“But Mason and James . . . I overheard them saying . . .” Hanna ran her tongue over her teeth. “Wait. Is this just a guy thing? Do guys just assume everyone’s doing their girlfriends?”
Mike shrugged. “I guess.” He gave her a sweet, vulnerable smile. “Honestly, Hanna? I’m saving myself for you.”
Fireworks went off in Hanna’s head. “Well, it’s your lucky day,” she murmured. “I’m saving myself for you, too. Remember what I said about the Marwyn Trail? I’m game if you are.”
Mike leaned into her again, and Hanna savored every second of their kiss. Then Mike pulled away and poked Hanna’s side. “So, Ms. Stalker. What did you dig up on Colleen, anyway? Anything good?”
The between-classes music stopped, and when Hanna looked around, she realized that most of the students had cleared out of the halls. She licked her lips, considering spilling the beans, but suddenly, it didn’t matter that much. Exposing a secret was only important when you felt threatened by someone—when they made you feel insecure or had something you wanted or made you scared—and Colleen didn’t make her feel any of those things anymore. She wasn’t like A, looking for revenge.
“Nah, nothing good at all,” she chirped, taking Mike’s hand and pulling him down the hall. It felt freeing to no longer be Colleen’s A.
The only thing that would make everything perfect was if her A was gone, too.
35
ANY CLUB THAT DOESN’T WANT SPENCER AS A MEMBER . . .
That afternoon, Spencer sat at the kitchen table with her parents. Her dad was staring at his phone, and her mother was sipping a glass of iced tea. It was almost like old times, when her parents were still together. But Mr. Pennythistle was there, too, leaning against the kitchen island, his arms crossed over his chest.