I press my lips together. Inside, students are bustling around, grabbing books from lockers or heading toward classrooms. A girl with a huge tumble of curly hair and a thin Asian guy are holding hands in front of the boys’ bathroom. They’re staring into each other’s eyes, and they seem so focused on each other that I bet I could scream at them and they wouldn’t even notice. Will I ever have that with Juliet? Will I ever be able to look at her without thinking about the fact that we only met because I’m a Love Interest?
“Do you have your locker yet?” she asks as she stops in front of one and opens it. Inside all the books are sorted alphabetically. A black-and-white picture of a man and a woman, presumably her parents, is stuck on the back of the door. “If you don’t, you’ll need to go to the principal’s office before class. Have you done that yet?”
I’m out of script!
Improvise, man! Use words!
“Is something wrong, Caden?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s all a little overwhelming, that’s all. And no, I haven’t, I only just got here.”
She looks down at her watch. “I know the feeling. Head down the hall and take the first right. The door at the end of that hallway is his office. Sign in and head to class.”
“Will do.”
She bites her bottom lip. “See you around, Caden. I can’t wait to properly catch up.”
“Neither can I.”
She grins, then spins and makes her way down the hall. As she walks, the people around her glance at her. A surge of protectiveness flares in my chest. Is this love? Is this what it feels like?
After being signed in by the principal—a short, balding man with an overly firm handshake—I’m assigned a locker. When I find it, I see it’s right next to Juliet’s. Of course it is.
The next time I run into her is during lunch. She’s sitting at the far end of the courtyard in the shade of the school’s chapel. She’s sitting with her back against the stone wall, next to a thin black girl who could easily be a model.
I walk up to Juliet. “Hey.”
Juliet smiles. Damn, she’s pretty. I got lucky. Who knows, maybe in time I could actually fall for her.
“Hi, Caden.”
“Well, hello,” says the could-be-model girl. “Where have you been hiding my whole life?”
“Natalie!” says Juliet. “He’s not a piece of meat.”
Oh yes I am.
“Not hiding,” I say, fidgeting. “Just on the other side of the country. I’m Caden, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She ignores me and turns to Juliet. “He’s not the Caden, is he?”
Juliet looks me in the eye. She squints in the brilliant sunlight. I can feel the warmth on the back of my neck. “The one and only.”
“Now I know why you wouldn’t shut up about him.” Natalie turns to me. “Wait, is he blushing? That’s so adorable I think I’m going to die on the spot!”
Juliet pushes herself up off the wall. “Come on, Caden. Let’s catch up.”
We stop in the corner of the playground and sit down on a long silver bench in the sunlight. She turns to face me.
“Caden, I need you to fill me in. What happened after you left? You never responded to my messages and …” Her voice trails off. “Sorry. I wanted to be friendly. But man, that was so unlike you. Whenever I’d check my in-box I’d hope that there would be a message from you, saying hi. That’s all I wanted. What I got was four years of radio silence and a bunch of shitty feelings. And then you show up at school with no warning? What’s the deal with that?”
I scratch the inside of my palm. “Mom said I was never coming back. She told me it was best to forget about you, so that’s what I tried to do. I know it doesn’t excuse my behavior, and I’m sorry I didn’t reply, but I didn’t handle being away from you that well.”
“So you shut me out? Why is that better?”
I fan a hand through my hair. I imagine Craike staring at me, judging my performance. “I can’t explain it, but I was a kid, and writing to you reminded me of how much I wished I was sitting next to you. I tried to make other friends, but that didn’t work; I never clicked with anyone as much as I clicked with you. I resented them for that. And I knew if we kept messaging the pain would get worse. So I was a coward and I stopped. I’m sorry, Juliet, and if I could go back, know that I would message you every single day.”
She looks down at her black dress shoes, and her hair falls over her face. Her hands, which are dotted with freckles, are shaking. Why is that happening? What am I doing wrong?
I slide an inch toward her. “But I’m here now, Juliet, and if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, I’ll do it.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
She smiles a sheepish smile. “Well, there is one thing. Later on in the term.” She rolls her eyes and chuckles. “No, it’s stupid. Forget I said anything.”
“I said I’d do anything, Juliet. I meant it.”
Two little bursts of pink light up her cheeks.
“Well, for my art project, I need to do a, um, portrait. And I need a subject. And, well, there aren’t a lot of guys willing to pose for me, because it has to be, um, you know.”
I gulp a hard swallow and raise both eyebrows. “How naked are we talking?”
She tilts her head back and laughs. “Oh God … only shirtless. I can look up pictures online for the rest of you and …” She laughs again. “I know I sound kinda weird right now, but I promise I’m not. I’m like, ‘Hi Caden, I haven’t seen you in ages, now come into my house and strip for me.’ Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
I shake my head. “I said anything, so I’ll do it. It just means I need to stay away from the cafeteria.” I pat my stomach. “I need to make sure I keep this figure. And I was looking forward to letting myself go. But it would be my pleasure to do this for you, Juliet.”
“Thanks, Caden. Really.”
The bell rings. She skips back to her friends, leaving me alone on the bench. I watch her go. So that’s the only girl I can ever be with. She’s pretty, and she seems nice. It could be so much worse. I guess I got lucky.
How’d I do?
Kaylee’s laughter sounds in my mind.
She invited you to her house to get naked. You’ve got this in the bag.
It’s what I suspected, but hearing it confirmed makes me grin. I look back at Juliet. She’s back with Natalie, who is leaning toward her, trying to get her attention. From across the courtyard Juliet raises a hand and waves at me. I smile and wave back.
Dyl’s a dead man.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
I’m on my way to the Starbucks down the street from the school when a drop of rain hits the back of my neck. I frown and look up. The day has turned south, and the air is thick and muggy, the sky filled with gray clouds. Rain splatters against the road. I tuck my hands into my pockets and shuffle-jog the rest of the way, treading carefully to make sure I don’t fall on the slippery ground.