by Amanda Abram
So since it was a beautiful, sunny, warm afternoon, I opted to spend my lunch period reading a book outside instead. There was a tree near the football field that stood away from the rest of the trees. It was a loner tree, which was perfect for someone like me. It had a large trunk, which made for great back support, and its abundance of leaves provided just the right amount of shade. It was my favorite tree and I had to wonder why no one else had chosen to sit underneath it. I guess I was just lucky.
As soon as I sat down and got comfortable, I opened up my book and tried to read it. For some reason, I had chosen Emma for leisure reading. I loved Jane Austen novels, but in order to really get into one, I had to devote full concentration to it. At the moment, though, I just couldn't seem to focus on anything other than thinking about Jase.
But I gave it an honest try. However, I had to keep rereading certain paragraphs because after I would get to the end of one, I would realize I had no idea what that paragraph had been about. With a sigh, I was just about to close up the book when a dark shadow suddenly fell over the front of me. Somebody was blocking the sun.
Glancing up, I was shocked to see that someone was Zach O'Connor.
“Hey,” he said, grinning down at me.
I glanced around to see if there was anyone else near me that he might have been talking to. But it was only me and the tree, and Zach didn't seem weird enough to be talking to plants. Still, squinting up at him, I said, “Are you talking to me, or the tree?”
Zach chuckled softly. “I only talk to trees when I'm drunk. I was talking to you, actually.”
“Oh. Well, then...hey?” I didn't bother hiding the confusing from my voice.
“Hey,” he said again. And then, he cut right to the chase. “Listen, I heard about what happened between you and Jase.”
“Oh yeah?” I had to wonder how much of the story he'd heard. Did he hear that our entire relationship had been fake?
“Yeah. That was really lousy of him, dumping you for Kylie.”
I couldn't stop myself from wincing at the phrase “dumping you for Kylie”. It just sounded so straightforward. “Yeah, I know.”
“For what it's worth, I'm on Team Lexi.”
I contorted my face into a look of confusion. “Wait...there are teams?”
“Yeah,” he said, beaming. “There's Team Lexi, Team Jase and Team Kylie. The only people admitting to being on Team Kylie are the girls from the cheering squad, though.”
I let out a groan. I had a team. A team of people supporting me because I got dumped. How humiliating.
“Thanks, Zach,” I mumbled, pushing myself up off the ground. I brushed off the loose grass and dirt that had gotten onto my jeans.“That really means a lot to me.”
I started to walk away, but he quickly fell into stride beside me. I glanced over at him curiously and stopped walking. “Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he nodded. “Look, I just wanted to tell you that I think Jase is a real dick for the way he treated you. Everyone thought it was going to be different with you. We thought for sure you two were going to be together for a while. And we can't stand Kylie. She's boring, like all the other girls he dated before you. That's why I'm out here right now, because I couldn't stand sitting at our lunch table listening to her talk about shopping. It's annoying.”
I smirked, thrilled to hear at least one person in the world hadn't fallen under Kylie's spell.
With a giggle, I said, “Zach, I really appreciate your support, but Jase is your friend. You should be taking his side. You should be on his team, not mine.”
“Jase and I aren't best friends or anything. We hang around in the same circle. We play the same sports. We go to the same parties. But we're hardly close.”
“Okay. But you and I are even less close than you and Jase are.”
Zach shrugged. “Yeah, but I find you more attractive than Jase, therefore your team is the most logical one to join.”
My breath hitched in my throat. I wasn't entirely sure, but it almost seemed as though Zach was flirting with me. I could feel myself begin to blush, and then I blushed even harder when I realized he had noticed.
With a huge grin, he said, “I should get back. People are going to wonder where I've run off to. I'll see ya.”
“Uh-huh,” was all I could say as he turned and jogged off.
I was overcome with overwhelming confusion as I watched him go.
Zach O'Connor, possibly the most popular guy at our school, was on my team. And he didn't like Kylie.
And he had definitely been flirting with me.
Hmm. Maybe the day wasn't turning out to be as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Everyone is staring at me. Is everyone staring at me?”
Trish glanced over her shoulder as she reached into her locker. “Um, not everyone.” But she was lying. Everyone had been staring at me all day. When I walked past anyone in the hallway, they would look. And as I would walk away, their gazes would follow. I was starting to feel like Trish, except people weren't staring at me because I was insanely beautiful. They were staring at me because they felt sorry for me.
I'd been dumped by two guys in less than a month. Both had left me for other girls. Blonde, busty girls. I couldn't blame people for staring at me. They were probably trying to figure out where on my body my “LOSER” tattoo was located.
I sighed and leaned up against the locker next to Trish's. “Nobody so much as even glanced at me when Jeffrey dumped me, and we'd been together for three years. I date Jase for two weeks and he dumps me, and now suddenly people can't take their eyes off me. And can you believe there are teams? Yeah, there's a Team Lexi, a Team Jase and a Team Kylie. And Zach O'Connor is apparently on my team. Does that make any sense to you?”
Trish shut her locker door and gave me a thoughtful look. “Not really, no. Wait, why are there teams?”
“I have no idea!” I threw my hands up in the air. “I'm just telling you what Zach told me.”
“And why were you talking to Zach?”
“I don't know that either!” I bit my lip and shook my head. Glancing at Trish out of the corner of my eye, I said, “But don't worry, I don't expect you to be on my team. Jase is family and you should always side with family.”
“I'm not taking any sides. And I'm not going to be on anyone's team, because I think the whole idea of teams is stupid. But for the record, if I was to join a team, it would be yours. You're my best friend, and I love you. Jase is a dumbass and I can barely tolerate him most of the time.”
“Oh, Trish,” I said, before throwing my arms around her in an overly-dramatic hug. “I love you, too.”
“Omigosh.” She quickly shoved me away, but giggled. “People are going to think we love each other too much.”
“Since when do you care what people think?”
She thought about it for a moment. “Good point. Anyway, I should get to rehearsal, and you should get to the bus before it leaves without you.”
I groaned. Once again, Trish was staying after school for drama, but this time there was no way I was going to wait for her to drive me home. Bad things happen when you stay after school.
You end up seeing things you wished you hadn't.
So I made a beeline for the buses. Luckily, they weren't ready to take off yet, as there were still a couple of students piling on. I just made it to the door, and was about to take the first step up when a strong hand suddenly grasped my arm and pulled me away.
“Hey!” I cried out in protest, spinning around to check out the owner of the hand.
My gaze fell on Zach.
“You're not seriously taking the bus are you?” he asked with a slight look of nausea on his face.
“Uh, yeah, actually,” I said, my voice laced with irritation. “It's not like I live next door or anything.”
“Nonsense.” He waved over at the bus driver, who was watchin
g us expectantly, as though waiting to see if I was going to board the bus. “You don't have to wait for her. She's coming with me.”
The driver nodded and then shut the door.
I glanced up at Zach with a glare. “Did I say I wanted a ride home from you?”
Zach shrugged. “Not with words, no. But I can see it in your eyes. You want me to drive you home.”
I was appalled at how endearing I thought he was at the moment. Zach and I didn't know each other at all, and I was about a hundred percent sure he had no clue as to where I lived. Yet he was acting as though we spoke to each other every day, and that him driving me home was the most normal thing in the world.
“Is that so?”
“It is decidedly so. Seriously, though, you can't possibly want to ride the bus home. I know we're not exactly friends or anything, but I'm pretty sure you think a ride home with me would be preferable.”
I shrugged. “I wouldn't be so sure, if I were you.”
Zach chuckled and casually draped an arm around my shoulders. “It doesn't matter now, because you no longer have a choice in the matter either way.” He pointed back toward the bus, which was now pulling away from the curb. “So what do you say?”
With an indignant sigh, I shook my head. “Well, if I have no choice, I have no choice. Take me home, O'Connor.”
“That's the spirit,” he said with a grin. With his arm still around my shoulders, he began to lead me toward the parking lot in the back. “So how are you holding up?”
“I'm holding up just fine, thanks,” I replied. It felt a little more than weird walking and talking with Zach. The only time he had ever really spoken to me before now was at his party a couple of weeks ago. And even then, I wouldn't really consider that “talking”, especially when I was sure he probably didn't even remember seeing me there at all.
“I'm glad to hear that.” He led me over to his vehicle, a shiny red Jeep, and only then did he finally remove his arm from me.
I was about to reach out and tug on the handle, to open the passenger door, when he stopped me.
“Hey,” he said from the front of the vehicle. “Come here. Sit with me for a minute.” He placed a hand on the hood of the Jeep before climbing up and taking a seat on it.
“This isn't giving me a ride home,” I said, but I walked around the front to join him. When he held out his hand to me, I took it. I placed one foot up on the bumper and with one yank from Zach, I was taking a seat beside him.
“Wow. The view from up here is beautiful,” I quipped, looking around at all the students getting into their cars.
Zach gave a half-laugh, half-snort. “Isn't it?”
“So what are we doing up here?”
“We're talking.”
“About what?”
Zach leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Look, I know you and Jase just broke up yesterday, and maybe it's too soon, but I've learned from experience that if you want something, sometimes you've got to act fast before someone else takes it.”
“What are you talking about?”
Zach straightened back up and glanced over at me. “There's this party on Friday I'm going to. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?”
My jaw dropped. “You were wondering if I would like to go with you to a party? Me?”
“Yeah, you,” he said with a lopsided grin.
“But...why?” I was genuinely perplexed. Zach was...well, he was Zach. It had been the consensus at Jefferson Elliott High for the past four years that Zach was the most popular student in the entire school. All the guys wanted to be him, all the girls wanted to date him. And hardly anybody disliked the guy. He was almost like the male version of Kylie, except more human because he wasn't perfect. He had a not-so-great reputation with the ladies and his often extreme party-going ways had a tendency to get on people's nerves. So why Zach was asking me out was a mystery that needed solving. Immediately.
“You know, I was pretty wasted the night of my party a couple weeks ago. I don't remember much of anything at all, but I do remember that kiss we shared during our Spin the Bottle game. In fact, I haven't been able to get it out of my head.”
I swallowed hard. I remembered that kiss. I hadn't particularly enjoyed it. Not because it wasn't good, because it really was, but because it was unexpected and everyone was watching and Zach was drunk and...
“Before yesterday, you were Jase's girl,” he continued. “Today, you're not. If he and I were better friends, I wouldn't even be talking to you right now. But since we're not all that close, and since I think he's a douche for cheating on you, I'm asking if you'd like to go out with me.”
“Um...” I paused as my brain struggled to understand what was happening. The most popular guy at school just asked you out on a date. How does this make any sense at all? “I have no idea,” I replied to my own internal question under my breath.
“What? You have no idea if you want to go out with me?”
“Huh?” My gaze flickered over to him. “Oh, no, that's not what I was saying.”
“But that's what I heard you say.”
“Oh, no, I was talking to myself, and about a completely different topic,” I said as a feeling of stupid washed over me.
Zach grinned and shook his head. “You're weird.”
“You have no idea,” I mumbled.
“So? What do you say? I mean, we could just hang out strictly as friends if you'd like. I mean, if it's too soon for you to start dating, or whatever.”
“No, it's not too soon. It's just...”
I stopped talking as I caught sight of something over Zach's shoulder. Jase was walking to his car, alone. That intrigued me. I assumed he would be driving his new girlfriend home.
As though he could feel me staring at him, he glanced over in our direction. When his gaze met mine, I stopped breathing. At first, the expression on his face was impassive. But then it must have dawned on him that I was sitting on the hood of Zach's Jeep, with Zach beside me, because a slight frown began to form on his face. He glanced at Zach, and then back to me with a furrowed brow.
“You know what?” I turned back to Zach. “I would love to go out with you on Friday. And not as friends.”
His eyebrows shot up in what looked like complete surprise. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Definitely.”
“Wow. I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting that to be your answer. I was expecting to get rejected.”
“I don't know why. Have you ever been rejected before?”
He laughed softly. “Actually, no. But I figured there was a first time for everything.”
“Maybe someday, but not today.” My gaze flickered back over in Jase's direction and I was not surprised to see Kylie joining him at his car.
She was laughing about something and caressing his arm with one of her perfectly manicured hands. And then, lifting herself up on her tiptoes, she whispered something in his ear and then pulled away slightly and planted a short kiss on his lips.
“If looks could kill.”
“Huh?” I turned to look at Zach, who was looking at me.
“It looked like you were attempting to murder Jase and Kylie with your eyes,” he explained. “Which is impossible to do, by the way, unless you can shoot lasers out of them. Which would be pretty sweet, but at the same time, kind of a turn-off.”
I snorted.
“What a jerk,” Zach said as he followed my gaze. “I still can't believe he dumped you for her. It makes absolutely no sense. He was so crazy about you.”
Jase did always brag about his amazing acting skills. I guess he'd somehow managed to pull the wool over even his friends' eyes. “Oh yeah?”
Zach nodded. “Yeah. Even before you two started going out.” He paused for a moment as we both watched Jase and Kylie get into the Mustang. “I remember last year, me and some of the guys from the hockey team thought it would be fun to compile a list of girls from this school that we would like to, you know, get to know a littl
e better.”
I rolled my eyes. “You mean, a list of girls you'd like to sleep with?”
“Yeah,” he said, a bit hesitantly. “Or at least make it to second base with.” He paused and looked away. “You were on that list.”
To say that I was taken aback by that little bit of information would be possibly the biggest understatement ever made. “No way.”
“Oh please, don't act so surprised,” he said with a chuckle. “Anyway, when we read Jase the list, he seemed fine with it until we read off your name, and then he flipped out. He ripped it up, threw it away and then stormed out of the locker room. But not before declaring us all disgusting pigs for having made the list in the first place. At the time, we all thought it was kinda weird. But then after you two started dating, his reaction made perfect sense.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You're making this up.”
“I'm not,” he said, his voice believable enough. He slid down off the Jeep and held out his hand once again for me to take. I did and he helped me down. “I'll take you home now.”
“Thanks,” I said numbly, heading for the passenger side.
It was hard enough to believe I would be put on anyone's “get to know better” list, but it was even harder to believe Jase would care. Especially if this had all taken place last year like Zach said it had. Jase and I weren't even speaking to each other back then.
“What are you thinking about?” Zach asked me as he started up the Jeep.
“Nothing important,” I assured him as I put on my seat belt.
Jase and Kylie were already long gone before we finally pulled out of the parking lot, which was kind of disappointing. I wouldn't have minded seeing his expression as he watched me and Zach leave together. Or maybe I would have minded, because maybe he wouldn't have had any sort of expression at all. I was easily forgetting that Jase wasn't interested in anything having to do with me. He wasn't interested in anything or anyone but Kylie anymore.
Zach and I engaged in small talk on our way to my house. We discussed what time he would be picking me up on Friday, and I was telling him how much I was looking forward to the party just as he approached my house. Just as I noticed a black car parked in the driveway, with Jase leaning up against the side of it, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
