On Monday what little patience Devon had for Cassidy was quickly evaporating. Despite Cass getting her great makeover and the fact that Emma had made serious progress in getting Lane’s attention for her, Cass was definitely slacking. It was just wrong that Cassidy should benefit from the DG without even lifting a finger.
By noon, Devon had decided to give her a piece of her mind. She started by reading rules two and three to her during lunch. “Two: We will be loyal to our fellow DG members. And three: We will help fellow DG members to find dates with good guys.” She narrowed her eyes at Cassidy. “Can you honestly say you’re doing that?”
Cassidy’s neatly plucked brows arched. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you’re not making any progress with Harris for me. Yet we’ve all been working to help you. In case you haven’t noticed, you seem closer to nailing a date to the dance than anyone else in the DG. It’s just not fair.”
Cassidy frowned. “I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?”
“Invest yourself,” Devon told her. “Act like you care.”
Cassidy shrugged. “Okay.”
“Listen,” Bryn said quietly. “We do need to work together, but we also need to keep things light. Remember, we are not desperate.”
Devon took in a deep breath. She knew Bryn was right. Even so, she felt slightly desperate. “But Harris still doesn’t even know I’m alive.” She glanced over to where Harris and Isaac were just coming out of the lunch line. “When I said hi to him today, he didn’t even respond.”
“Why don’t you let me work on Harris for you,” Bryn offered. “It seemed like I was getting somewhere with him last week.”
Devon wasn’t so sure.
“How about if I work on him?” Emma offered. “After all, it looks like I’ve succeeded with Lane.” She glanced at Cassidy. “Right?”
Everyone stared at Cassidy, and her expression was a mixture of embarrassed and smug. “Yeah . . . I guess so. Lane has really started talking to me. But so far no invite to the dance yet.”
Emma turned to Devon. “I sort of have a connection with Harris—I mean, since he’s best friends with Isaac. Did I tell you that I seem to be making real progress with Isaac? He actually talked to me this morning—and I didn’t initiate it either.” Emma beamed at them. “It felt like he was really interested in me.”
Cassidy looked surprised. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I was going to, but it just happened and—”
“Back to Harris.” Devon pointed at Emma. “Yes, I’d like your help.”
“What about me?” Bryn asked. “Abby is supposed to be working on Jason for me, but so far—no offense, Abby—but we’re not making progress.”
“I just need a little more time,” Abby assured her. “Give me a day or two.”
“Maybe I can help,” Devon told her. “Since it’s going pretty well with Isaac now, I could focus my energy on Jason for you.”
“Would you?” Bryn looked hopefully at her.
Devon smiled. Suddenly she saw the brilliance of this plan. If Bryn was dependent on Devon to secure a date with Jason, she wouldn’t try to mess anything up with Harris. Would she?
They kicked around this new plan a bit more, making sure that they were all on the same page. Finally, satisfied that every girl was committed to the cause, Devon made another suggestion. “How about if we give this plan our full effort until Wednesday—that’s a week and half before the dance. If no one has been asked by then, we’ll regroup and revise our battle plan as needed.” They all agreed to this, and as Devon went to her next class, she felt confident. Somehow they would pull this thing off. They had to!
It wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon that Devon felt like she was making real progress with Jason. To her surprise, he waited to walk with her as she emerged from biology. He made it seem casual, but it felt set up to her. As they made small talk on their way to the locker bays, she experienced an odd sensation. Was she imagining things, or was Jason actually flirting with her? And if he was, did she really mind? He was awfully good looking. What would the harm be if he was interested in her? Maybe Bryn could go to the dance with Harris. Of course, she knew that rule six clearly outlawed stealing boyfriends. But was Jason really Bryn’s boyfriend? They’d never gone out.
“So . . .” Jason eyed her with what seemed like approval. “You haven’t even been here a month, and you’re already stirring up trouble.”
“Moi?” She giggled.
He looked amused. “Kent told me you’re the one who got the girls all worked up about going to the homecoming dance.”
She acted shocked. “Why would I do that?”
“To shake things up.” He grinned.
She gave him a sly sort of smile. “What’s wrong with shaking things up?”
He looked directly into her eyes with a surprising intensity. “Nothing much, I guess. Some things are better when shaken.”
“So are you interested?” she asked. “I don’t mean in me,” she said quickly. “I mean just interested in general—not interested in me.”
He laughed. “You sure about that? Sounds to me like you’re asking me to take you to the dance.”
“No. No.” She firmly shook her head. Her cheeks suddenly got warm, and she almost felt like he’d been reading her thoughts. “I’m not asking for me. I mean, I’m not asking for anyone.” She felt flustered, bumbling around like a seventh grader. She took in a quick steadying breath, faking a self-assured smile. “I’m just curious as to your interest level in general. That’s all.”
His smile grew larger. This guy seemed to ooze confidence, which was both attractive and aggravating. “Well, my interest level is steadily rising, Devon.”
“You’re not one of the guys who’s worried about the Worthington speech?”
His brows arched. “You know about that?”
She glanced around uneasily. Had she just spilled state secrets? “Yeah . . . just a little.”
“Well, I’ve never taken the Worthington speech too seriously.” He chuckled. “I obviously wasn’t influenced by it last year. I’m for sure not going there now. Not in my senior year.” He leaned in closer. “And for sure not with girls like you around.” His eyes seemed to run from her head to her toes and back up again—but all in the flash of a microsecond. Or maybe she’d just imagined it.
She felt a nervous flutter as she swallowed hard. This was not how this was supposed to go down. “I, uh, I heard you used to go with Amanda Norton,” she said carefully. “Is that relationship really over?”
Jason’s smile faded slightly as he made a noncommittal shrug.
“Because if it is,” she continued, “I know of a certain girl who might be interested.”
His smile returned. “A girl who’s kind of new to this school?”
She waved her hand. “I’m serious, Jason. I’m not talking about myself.”
He looked slightly confused. “Who then?”
“Bryn Jacobs,” she said.
His look grew even more puzzled. “Bryn?”
She nodded.
He seemed honestly blindsided. “Not you?”
She shook her head.
“So you already have a date to the dance?”
“Well, no . . . not actually.”
“Huh?”
“What do you think—are you interested in Bryn or not?”
He got a hard-to-read look, almost like a mix of disappointment and curiosity. “I’m gonna have to think about that one, Devon.” He turned abruptly, heading toward the senior locker bay. Somehow this hadn’t gone down quite like she’d anticipated. Yet at the same time she felt strangely flattered by his attentiveness.
Was it possible that a guy as cool as Jason was actually interested in her? From what she’d heard, Jason was considered the school’s hottie. She’d assumed it would take a girl like Bryn Jacobs to snare him. But perhaps she had been wrong. Perhaps she’d set her sights too low in settling for Harris.
Of c
ourse, this posed a serious problem. For one thing, there were the DG rules. Here they were barely out of the gates, and she was considering breaking them—the rules of a club she’d worked so hard to establish. No, Devon decided as she opened her locker, she needed to come at this from a different angle.
“Hey, Devon.”
She turned to see Bryn peering curiously at her. “What’s up?”
“Huh?” Devon slammed her locker shut, stuffing some books into her bag and trying to appear obliviously innocent.
“I mean with JT.” Bryn smiled prettily.
“JT?”
“You know . . . code.” She lowered her voice. “For Jason.”
“Oh. Right.”
“I noticed you talking to him.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess I was.” Devon nodded like she was just remembering something insignificant, like maybe she’d just experienced a quick case of temporary amnesia.
“So?” Bryn’s eyes twinkled. “Were you talking about me?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact we were.” Devon pulled the strap of her bag more snugly over her shoulder.
“And . . . ?” Bryn waited expectantly.
“And what?”
“What did he say?” Bryn’s tone grew perturbed.
Devon glanced around the busy locker bay like she was uncomfortable. “You really want to have this conversation here?”
“Right.” Bryn nodded like she got this. “Maybe not.”
Devon promised Bryn they would talk later. In the meantime, she needed to come up with a new plan—to convince Bryn she should go after Harris instead of Jason. At least for this go-around. After all, hadn’t Devon made it clear to all the members? The Dating Games were meant to be games—an arena where they could learn about dating. Did it really matter which guys they ultimately went out with? Besides that, everyone knew that rules were made to be broken.
12
Emma didn’t know what to expect when she showed up at Costello’s for the DG meeting. As far as she could tell, their club was turning into a disaster. Bryn was upset that Jason seemed to have gotten interested in Devon. Abby thought that Kent was interested in Bryn. Emma was still waiting for Isaac to step up to the plate. Ironically, it seemed that Cassidy was the only one enjoying a little success. Emma had witnessed the whole thing, and although she was glad for Cassidy’s sake, she was feeling left out.
“Can you believe it?” Cass chirped happily as they sat down at Costello’s with the other girls. “Lane asked me to the dance.”
“When did this happen?” Abby asked.
“Just a few minutes ago in the school parking lot.” Cassidy beamed at them. “I guess the DG really works.”
“Maybe for you,” Emma said glumly.
“This is so not fair,” Bryn complained to Cass. “You do the least work of any of us, and then you’re the one who lands the first date. How is that fair?”
Cassidy just shrugged.
“Well, it’s not over yet,” Devon told them. “It’s possible that we just need to regroup. That’s why I called this meeting.”
“Regroup as in you stealing Jason from me,” Bryn said hotly. She set her cup down so firmly that her mocha sloshed over the side.
“I am not stealing anyone,” Devon told her. “Can I help it if he’s more into me than you?”
“What about the rules?” Bryn demanded.
“That’s right.” Cassidy pointed at Devon’s notebook, which was sticking out of her bag. “Already you guys are breaking them.”
“That depends on how you interpret them,” Devon argued as she removed the notebook. “For instance, answer this for me: Is Jason Bryn’s boyfriend?” She looked around the table, and everyone appeared uncertain. Emma had to agree with Devon on this. “See what I mean?” Devon pressed. “Bryn has never gone out with Jason, so how does that make him her boyfriend?”
“But we all know she was going for Jason,” Abby told her.
“Yes, and we all know I was going for Harris. It looks like Harris is not interested in me.” She pointed at Bryn. “But we know Harris is interested in you.”
“And Jason is interested in you?” Cassidy asked Devon in disbelief.
Devon grinned. “Yeah, I think so.”
Bryn folded her arms across her front, narrowing her eyes.
“We just need to keep things in perspective,” Devon told them. “These are the Dating Games, which means this is like a sport. Does it really matter who takes you to the dance as long as you go?”
Emma wasn’t so sure. “But what if I don’t want to go with someone besides Isaac?”
“Why not?” Devon demanded. “Maybe Isaac would be more interested in you if he saw you with another guy.”
Emma could barely imagine herself with Isaac. How would she possibly be comfortable with someone else?
“Back to Harris and Jason,” Bryn said sharply.
Devon held up her hands helplessly. “What do you want me to do?”
“You used to like Harris,” Abby quietly told Bryn. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad going with him.”
“But it feels like Devon stole Jason from me,” Bryn argued. “Like I never even had a chance.”
“For your information, I tried to talk Jason into taking you out,” Devon told her.
“Right. Now you’re acting like you had to force him to even consider it.” Bryn stood up and grabbed her bag. “I think I’ve had enough of this club.” She stormed off.
“I’d better go with her,” Abby told them.
“See if you can talk some sense into her,” Devon called as Abby hurried away.
Cassidy looked concerned. “What will I do if I’m the only one going to the dance?” she said suddenly. “I told my parents it was a group date. They won’t like it if it’s just Lane and me. Besides that, what if, thanks to Worthington’s speech, no other guys want to go to the dance?”
“Don’t worry so much,” Devon said casually. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be going to the dance. And I’m working on Isaac for you.” She pointed at Emma. “I think he’ll come around.”
“Cassidy made a good point, though,” Emma told her. “What if hardly anyone goes to the dance? Won’t we look ridiculous? Maybe this is all a big mistake.”
“Emma,” Devon said sharply. “Don’t be such a wet blanket.” She scowled at Cassidy as she pulled out her iPhone. “I’m going to text Isaac the good news right now—that Lane and Cass are going. I’ll insinuate that others are going too.” She was texting something, but Emma couldn’t see it. “I’ll make it seem like he’s going to be left out.”
Cassidy’s smile returned. “Good. Then even if it’s just Emma and Isaac, at least it’ll be a double date. My parents might be okay with that.”
“This is not just about you,” Devon told her.
Cassidy looked slightly guilty now. “Yeah, I know, but I don’t see how I can help the others.”
“You can,” Devon said. “It’s now up to you to put some pressure on Lane. Get out your phone and encourage him to get the other guys on board. Convince him that it’ll be more fun if there are a bunch of us going together.”
Emma nodded eagerly. “Yeah. Maybe he can talk to Isaac.”
“That’s right,” Devon told Cass. “It’s the least you can do for Emma. After all, if she hadn’t talked to Lane, you probably wouldn’t even have a date.”
On Thursday morning, as Emma was on her way to art class, Isaac fell into stride right next to her. “What’s the big hurry?” he asked in a friendly tone. “Where’s the fire?”
Caught off guard, she gave him a shy smile. “No big hurry,” she said, trying to remain calm. “What’s up?”
“Not much.” He pressed his lips tightly together, as if he was about to say something but felt unsure. Feeling hopeful, she slowed down her pace and made a feeble attempt at small talk. They were nearly at the art room. If he didn’t say something soon, this moment would be lost.
“So . . .” he said slowly. “I hear Lane is ta
king Cassidy to the dance.”
Emma just nodded. “Yeah. I heard that too.”
“And, well, I was wondering . . . maybe you’d like to go with me?”
Despite her wildly pounding heart, Emma was determined to remain calm. “Sure,” she said quietly. “That’d be fun.”
Isaac looked surprised. “So you do? You want to go?”
She laughed. “Didn’t I just say so?”
He gave her an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, I guess you did. Okay, it’s a date then.”
“Yeah.” With one hand on the art room door, she looked up into his sincere-looking blue eyes and gave him a happy smile. “It is.”
“Cool.” Just like that, he turned and hurried off. Emma felt so jazzed that she wanted to jump up and down and squeal like a four-year-old, but she managed to control herself until Isaac was out of sight. Once she saw him disappear around the corner, she did a little happy dance right there in the hallway before entering the art room. She didn’t even care when some of the other art students teased her. It was worth it. She was going to the homecoming dance!
Emma couldn’t wait to tell her friends, but since this was a no-phone time, she would have to contain her excitement until lunch. She’d be sure to show her gratitude to her DG friends, and she’d apologize for being so impatient with them, because it seemed obvious that it was working. As Emma began working on her charcoal sketch, she still could hardly believe that Isaac had asked her to the dance. If anyone had told her, back before the DG, that she would be going to the homecoming dance with Isaac McKinley, she would’ve chalked them up as just plain crazy. And yet . . . she was going. And she already had the dress!
13
On Thursday afternoon, as she emerged from the choir room, Cassidy was surprised to see that Lane was waiting for her. At least she assumed that was what he was doing since he smiled and waved.
Dating Games #1 Page 11
