by Alicia Rades
I looked back at my hands because I couldn’t bear to meet her gaze.
“You know,” she continued, “I thought that Aaron would be the bad one for you. I guess I was wrong.”
Then she whirled around and left my room. I heard the front door click shut behind her, but there was nothing I could do about it now except reflect on her words.
CHAPTER 12
AARON
The third week of school was filled with classes, cheerleading practice, and hanging out with Aaron afterward. After school on Friday, I stopped by Dani’s locker. When she noticed my approach, she spun around so that her long dark ponytail flipped over to the opposite shoulder.
“Ready for tonight’s game?” she asked enthusiastically.
I bit my lip. “Not really. I’m a little nervous about the new dynamite cheer.”
Dani and I fell into step beside each other.
“Well, I have plans with Brandon, but I can stop by your house shortly before the game, and we can run through it a few times if you want.”
“That’d be great! Thank you. And maybe we could work a little on our English project, too.”
“No problem.” In that moment, she spotted Brandon. She hurried ahead of me and turned back to wave. “See you in a couple of hours.”
I headed down the hall toward Aaron’s locker. Since neither of us had to be anywhere before the game, I suggested we spend some time together.
“What do you want to do?” he asked on the walk to his car.
I shrugged. “Ice cream?”
Aaron gave a sideways smile. “Sounds great.”
I ordered a cookies and cream cone, and Aaron got strawberry. We slid into a booth in the corner and licked at our ice cream while discussing our groups’ English projects.
“No stealing our ideas,” I warned him.
He laughed with confidence. “Please, like we’d need to steal from you. Our project is going great.” After another lick of his cone, he asked, “How are your other classes going?”
“Okay, I guess. I didn’t do great on my latest science test, and my government class sucks. But other than that, I guess I’m doing okay so far.”
“How’s art treating you this semester?” he asked before biting into his ice cream. The idea of using my teeth on ice cream made me shiver.
I pressed my lips together guiltily.
“What?” He dragged the word out as if he was suspicious of me, but he smiled to show he was only teasing. His dimple appeared, which was something I loved about him.
“I, um, almost forgot about one of my assignments last week,” I admitted sheepishly. I hadn’t thought to mention this to him earlier. It was the first time the subject came up.
“Maddie,” he sighed like he was disappointed in me.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I’m making it out to be worse than it was. I remembered the night before it was due, and I whipped something up real quick.” I shrugged and then spoke smugly. “I still got full points.”
“Well, that makes it all right,” he said before rolling his eyes back at me. “It’s not because of me, is it?”
“What?” I asked, shocked. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”
He bit into his cone and then wiped his face with his napkin before he spoke. “I admit we’ve been spending a lot of time together. I wouldn’t want your grades to suffer. You still want to get into a good college, don’t you?”
Why did he suddenly sound like my father?
“What? No, Aaron. My grades are fine. I’ve just been spending a lot of time doing other stuff, like cheerleading.”
“You like it, right?” he asked.
It almost sounded like he was worried, like he wasn’t sure it was the right choice to drag me into it. Except if I was being honest, I did enjoy cheerleading. Well, parts of it, at least. I was having a lot of fun with Dani.
“Yeah, Aaron. I like it.” I hoped that was the end of the conversation. When I glanced back down at my ice cream, a soft, melted layer had formed over the top. I licked it off before it could drip onto my hand.
Luckily, the topic didn’t come up again. Aaron dropped me off at home a couple hours later. He left me with a kiss, promising he’d see me shortly for the game. I set my purse on the couch and headed upstairs to change into my cheerleading uniform while waiting for Dani to arrive. Just as I zipped up my skirt, the doorbell rang. I hurried downstairs to answer it.
“Ready?” I asked when I opened the door.
“Okay,” Dani answered in her best cheerleader voice.
I laughed as she stepped into the house. “You’re the one who says ‘ready.’”
She shrugged with a giggle. “I know, but I couldn’t resist. Okay, let’s run through that cheer.”
The extra practice with Dani helped immensely, and by the time Aaron arrived back at my house to drive us to the game, a newfound confidence in the cheers had settled over me.
I slipped on my sneakers and grabbed my pompons and purse off the couch. “Anything else I need?”
Dani glanced around as if to make sure I hadn’t dropped anything. “I don’t think so. You have your poms and your uniform. You should be good.”
Once we arrived at the field, Aaron kissed me goodbye, and Dani and I hurried to the sidelines to join our other squad mates. I tossed my purse near the edge of the fence in the pile of other cheerleaders’ bags. A chill settled over the field as the sun fell low in the sky, but it wasn’t quite cold enough for goosebumps.
“Anyone need to run through some cheers before the game?” Dani asked. Even though we both knew there were a couple of girls who could use the extra help, no one answered. “Do you all remember what stunts we’re doing?”
“Can you remind me?” Rachel asked.
We reviewed what we were doing for the game until the pep band began playing. I noticed Logan in the stands, but my anger for his behavior had mostly faded. He caught my eye once or twice, but that tension in his features didn’t seem as strong as it’d been last week. It was like he was starting to forgive me, or at least learning to live with it.
Blake sat next to Logan with a camera slung around his neck. He noticed me looking their way, so he smiled and waved. That got me to smile just before he pulled the camera up to snap a shot for the yearbook. I made a big deal of rolling my eyes at him so he could see from this distance. He only laughed back and snapped another picture of me. My heart sank when the moment ended. Since I’d been sitting by Aaron at lunch most days, I hadn’t hardly talked to Blake since school started. I missed him.
Announcements rang over the speakers, and I turned with my team toward the flag to prepare for the national anthem. Once the game started, I focused my attention on the field. My gaze drifted toward Aaron every chance I got, even when he was only standing on the sidelines.
After the game, Dani came up to me. “You did really well tonight, Maddie.”
I shot her back a smile. “Thank you. You’ve been a big help.”
“It’s no problem. See you next week!” She waved as she retreated to meet up with her boyfriend.
Aaron found me on the sidelines and pulled me into a hug. “Hey, angel.”
I smiled back. “You guys did really good tonight.” His face was so close that I could feel his breath on mine. It sent my body melting into his. I wrapped my arms around him tighter.
He pulled away far too soon. “Are you ready to go?”
“Do I have to?” I faked a pout.
“I can go home and change and then come back to your house. Your parents probably won’t mind, will they?”
I took Aaron’s hand and shook my head. “No. I’m sure they’ll let you hang out for a while, as long as your parents don’t care.”
“Nah. My parents don’t really give me a curfew.”
“Lucky,” I teased.
We reached his car, and Aaron drove me home. When we approached my house, I noticed Alaina’s car in my driveway.
“Oh,” Aaron said. “Did
you already have plans?”
I was just as confused as he was. Alaina knew I’d be at the game, but maybe she just wanted to hang out after her …
“Crap!” I shouted out loud.
Aaron pulled into my driveway beside Alaina’s car. “What’s wrong?”
I bit my lip. Alaina’s art night was tonight, and I was supposed to visit her for a little bit before the game. Instead, I had Dani come over and help me with that cheer. Plus, my phone had been in my purse during the whole game, so if she texted me, I didn’t hear any of the notifications. I quickly dug my phone out of my purse and checked the screen. Sure enough, she’d left several texts already.
I took a deep breath and turned back to Aaron. “Nothing. It’s fine.”
His hands dropped from the steering wheel. “You still want me to come back?”
My eyes shifted between Aaron and the front door. I let out a sigh. “Yeah, you can come back. I just need to talk to Alaina for a couple of minutes.”
“Okay. Hey,” he stopped me before I could get out of the car, “is something wrong between you two?”
I twisted my face up uncertainly. “I think everything will be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” he agreed before pulling me back toward him and planting a kiss on my lips.
“I’ll see you soon,” I called back to him.
When I turned toward the front door, guilt knotted in my chest. Alaina was going to be so mad at me. How could I have ditched her on her special night? I had the urge to flee, to not face the guilt, but when I glanced back at Aaron, he was already pulling out of the driveway. I had to face Alaina, but there was nothing I could say to make up for forgetting about her big night.
I stepped through the door cautiously. Just as I suspected, Alaina was sitting in my living room waiting for me. A stone cold expression sat on her face. I thought I’d be able to manage an apology, but once I saw her, I couldn’t bring myself to speak. She stared at me like she expected me to talk first. I let my face fall, hoping she’d see that I realized my wrongdoings. I hated knowing that I’d disappointed her.
Finally, she stood and broke the silence with a snappy tone to her voice. “How could you bail on me?”
I winced like she’d slapped me. I deserved that. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry.”
“An hour,” she stated. “An hour is all I asked from you. I wanted to spend just an hour with my best friend before you had to go to the game. You were supposed to meet me there. I waited and waited, and you never showed.”
“I forgot.” I knew it wasn’t a valid excuse.
Alaina’s voice rose, and I only hoped my parents weren’t listening to our conversation. “What’s gotten into you lately?”
I took a step back, startled. “What do you mean?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Before this school year, I could have counted on you for anything. Now you’re ditching me? You didn’t even bother to text me that you couldn’t make it?”
“I didn’t hear my phone while I was cheering.” I said it like I had a good reason, like she should forgive me, but the anger written on her face told me it was going to take much more than excuses to make up for this. “I’m sorry, Alaina. It was one mistake.”
“It’s not just that,” she spat back before I could hardly finish my sentence. “You’re completely different, Maddie. You don’t sit by us at lunch. It’s like—”
“I do sit by you!” I defended.
She scoffed. “Like, once a week. I feel like I barely see you anymore. And now you’re forgetting about your art assignments, and you aren’t drawing. That’s not like you, Maddie.” Before I could come up with an explanation for her statement, she continued. “And now you have a whole new crowd of friends. It’s like I’m not even your best friend anymore.”
My feet remained planted in place, but it felt like every word she threw at me made the space between us grow larger. “New friends? You mean Aaron? We’ve been friends for a long time.”
Alaina’s shoulders dropped. “It’s not just Aaron. You seem to invite Dani over more than you invite me to hang out with you. What happened to our after-school hang outs?”
“I have cheerleading practice after school. You know that.” I said the words like they’d make it all better, but they only felt empty.
She shook her head. “That’s what I mean. You never wanted to be a cheerleader before, and now you’re all pompoms and rah rah rah.”
I didn’t bother correcting her on the proper term for “pompons,” but I did slowly slide them behind my back like I’d suddenly become self-conscious of them.
“Look, Alaina. I’m really sorry I missed your art night. I can go check out the artwork later this week. And besides, we still have dress shopping tomorrow for homecoming.”
Alaina rolled her eyes in a way she’d never done to me before. It wasn’t out of sarcasm but instead out of true annoyance. “Forget it. I don’t want to go dress shopping with you anymore.” She grabbed her purse and slid around the couch to the front door.
I couldn’t bring myself to move from my spot at the bottom of the stairs, but I still managed to speak. “Alaina, please—”
She cut me off. “Just don’t, Maddie. You’ve completely changed, and I want the old Maddie back. Let me know when you find her.” She flung the front door open, but before she made it outside, she paused and turned back to me. “You should have listened to me to begin with. I knew Aaron would be bad for you.”
I didn’t chase after her like I wanted to. I didn’t try to reason with her. All I could do was stare dumbfounded after her.
Was this what it all came down to? Choosing between my boyfriend and my best friend? I didn’t think I could make that kind of decision.
CHAPTER 13
LOGAN
After missing dress shopping with Alaina, thanks to Logan’s surprise date, I didn’t know what else to do but raid my sisters’ closets the following week for an appropriate homecoming dress. I found three that could work.
The first was one of Kayla’s dresses that had gold sparkles on top with a short golden skirt. When I couldn’t manage to get the zipper up all the way, I tossed that one aside. Kayla had always been slimmer than me, so that was no surprise.
The second was a blue spaghetti strap dress of Amy’s, but the skirt was so short that I was afraid I’d flash everyone. I threw that dress on top of the gold one on my bed and prayed the final dress would fit.
I’d found the last one in Amy’s closet and held it out in front of me. It was strapless, but at least the skirt seemed a little longer than the blue one. The way the pink and purple fabric blended made the dress shimmer. I pulled it on and zipped it up before turning to the mirror. Once I did, I drew in a reflexive breath. It was perfect. It hugged my body just right, and the beading on the bodice was an attractive touch. I couldn’t wait to see what Logan thought of it. I let an involuntary grin break across my face when I slid into my desk chair and let thoughts of Logan consume me. Sure, I was still feeling bad about missing dress shopping with Alaina, but at least the thought of going to the homecoming dance with Logan left me with a sense of comfort.
After pulling myself from my thoughts, I stripped off the pink and purple dress and hung it in my own closet before slipping on my pajamas. I threw the blue and gold dresses on their hangers and placed them back in my sisters’ respective bedrooms.
When I returned to my own room, I sunk onto my bed and pulled the covers over me. I checked my phone before completely turning in for the night. That’s when I noticed a text from Alaina. At least she wasn’t so mad about missing dress shopping that she’d stopped talking to me, but every time I saw her name pop up on my notifications, a pang of guilt hit me. I swallowed the guilt and set my phone aside, praying we’d have enough fun at the dance that she’d forget about my recent behavior and forgive me. I fell asleep that night daydreaming about the upcoming dance.
***
Wednesday was pajama day at school, so I d
idn’t bother changing into something new for the day. I donned my usual sneakers because I didn’t have any decent slippers to wear, but I remained in my purple plaid pajama pants and white t-shirt. I applied a small amount of makeup and twisted my hair into a long braid that ran down my right shoulder. When I entered the school, it looked like all the students had arrived for a huge slumber party.
“Cute pajama pants,” Emily told me when I found our group by our lockers.
“Thanks.” I eyed her outfit. She wore pink flannel bottoms with a matching top, and her blond hair was fashioned into two matching braids, one on either side of her head. “Yours are cute, too.”
I looked back up at my friends. Alaina gave me a smile, which told me that she was starting to forgive me for how I’d been acting lately. I opened my mouth to ask where Logan was, but before I could get a word out, I sensed the heat of his body behind me. My pulse quickened, and I turned to him in excitement. Before I could tell my body to simmer down, my arms flung around his neck. At least I had enough self-control to realize what I was doing a second later, and I managed to refrain from planting a kiss on his lips.
“Happy to see me?” he joked with a smile.
I drew away from him and stared into the beautiful blue eyes behind his glasses. The rest of our friends talked amongst themselves, and it nearly felt like we were alone. “I’m always happy to see you.”
A rush of red rose to his cheeks. “I’m always happy to see you, too.”
“Walk me to my locker?” I suggested.
As we walked, I checked out Logan’s pajamas. His were blue plaid. “Hey, we almost match,” I pointed out.
He gazed down at my pants, but the way he eyed them made me think he was checking out more than the fabric. “Indeed, we do. Hey, you aren’t busy after school for any reason, are you?”
We reached my locker, and I spun the combination to open it. I glanced back at him while I shoved my bag inside. “I’m not busy. Did you have something in mind?”
