What If... All Your Friends Turned On You

by Liz Ruckdeschel

  IGNORE IRENE’S ADVICE

  Listening to your heart can lead you down a dark alley to nowhere.

  On the Monday after her birthday Haley wore her new blazer—the beautiful green velvet one with the orange lining that Devon had given her—to school. When she walked into art class her eyes went straight to Devon, who was sitting alone at the pottery wheel. She flashed him a warm smile and touched the jacket to make sure he got the message: she liked it, and him, very much.

  Irene had warned her not to let Devon know how much he meant to her, to put it off as long as she could. And Irene’s advice had worked beautifully so far. Devon was practically groveling at Haley’s feet. Once he gave her the jacket—a birthday gift that he’d sweetly noticed she liked—Haley figured it was time to stop playing games. He’d made his feelings very clear. Wasn’t it time to let him off the hook? Haley couldn’t stand pretending to be cold to him another second.

  She walked across the room and sat beside him. He grinned happily at her. This was great—all Haley’s dreams finally come true.

  “I love the jacket,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you knew that. It was such a sweet and thoughtful gift.”

  His smile faded. “It’s no big deal,” he said. “Just an old jacket from work. It’s not like I paid for it or anything.”

  Haley felt the chill instantly. What just happened? she thought. All she said was that she liked the gift he had given her. Was that one little thank-you enough to cool his feelings for her so quickly?

  Without another glance at her, he dipped his hand into a bag of clay and plopped a gooey gray blob onto the potter’s wheel. He was withdrawing, and fast.

  I’ve got to do something, Haley thought. She knew he liked her—she knew it. All her instincts told her to move in fast and seal the deal with him before he pulled away completely.

  “What are you going to make?” she asked, nodding at the clay on the wheel.

  “A pot. What do you think?” Devon replied stiffly.

  Mr. Von, the art teacher, called for class to start. Haley moved away to work on her own project, a collage of ice and other frozen objects. She’d started it to inspire her to keep cool with Devon. Now she felt like trashing it.

  You won’t slip away from me now, she thought with a glance at Devon, who slumped morosely over his clay, refusing to look up. Not when I’ve gotten so close.

  Now that she’d had a taste of Devon’s affection, she wanted more. She wanted all of him.

  She caught up to him in the parking lot after school that day. “Devon!” she called, chasing after him. “Want to go to a movie or something later?”

  He gaped at her as if he didn’t quite remember who she was. How can he switch gears so suddenly? she wondered. Only a few days earlier he was begging her to go to a photography show with him. Now he just stared at his boots and said, “A movie? Uh, no, thanks. I can’t.”

  “Maybe over the weekend, then?” She could hear herself pushing him, hear Irene screaming at her to stop, but she couldn’t help herself.

  “Yeah, maybe,” he said. “I’ll call you.”

  She skipped away, satisfied for the moment. He’d said they could get together that weekend. Maybe. He’d call her.

  Well, she waited all weekend for him to call, but the phone stayed quiet. I guess he’s just busy, she told herself. Or maybe he’ll call later, at the last minute. Devon could often be spontaneous that way.

  She decided to distract herself by going out for some coffee. She had her cell with her in case Devon called. She stopped in at Drip for a latte to go. While she was waiting she spotted Devon at a table in the corner by the stage. She started to wave hello to him but stopped when she saw who he was with: Darcy.

  Not her again, Haley thought, her heart sinking. She’d thought she’d gotten Darcy out of the way. So that was how Devon was spending the weekend. Well, if he had plans, why didn’t he just say so? Why did he tell her he’d call if he never meant to?

  He did mean to, Haley told herself. Darcy is probably distracting him on purpose. She saw how much he started liking me and is hanging around him as much as she can to win him back. Well, it won’t work, Haley vowed. He’s mine. I’ll show her.

  Her latte arrived. She took the cup and walked over to Devon’s table. He and Darcy were laughing about something, and Darcy was pawing him as usual.

  “Devon. Hi,” Haley said. “What a surprise to see you here.”

  Devon did seem surprised to see her, but not pleasantly so. “Oh. Hey, Haley.”

  Darcy didn’t bother saying hello. Haley decided to ignore her too. “So, are we going to a movie later or what?” Haley said.

  “Sorry, Haley, he’s busy,” Darcy said.

  “I think he can speak for himself, can’t you, Devon?” Haley said.

  “Darcy’s right. I am busy,” he said. “Sorry.”

  “I thought you said we would do something this weekend,” Haley said.

  “I never said that. I said maybe. I said we’d talk about it.”

  “You said you’d call me,” Haley said. She held up her phone. “I don’t see your number here under Recent Calls.”

  “I was going to call you—if you’d just give me a chance….”

  Haley could feel that she was pushing too hard. She decided to let it go—this time. He was obviously under the pernicious influence of the evil Darcy. It wasn’t his fault.

  “No worries,” she said, trying to sound more lighthearted than she felt. “I just didn’t want to let you down if you were looking forward to seeing me, that’s all.”

  Darcy stifled a laugh. Devon said, “Oh. Thanks. I think I’ll be okay.”

  Haley left with her latte, her cheeks burning. It was all Darcy’s fault! Why did that little peroxide blonde have so much sway over Devon? It had to stop. That was all there was to it.

  The rest of the week Haley trailed Devon wherever he went. If she saw him in the cafeteria, she sat with him, no matter who else was there. She started working with clay in art class so that she could use the pottery wheel next to his. She texted him after school, just asking what he was up to. But the more she chased him, the faster he ran away. Haley didn’t get it. What was she doing wrong?

  Then one day she walked into school and saw Devon from behind, wearing a new T-shirt. He had access to a silk-screening machine at Jack’s, and he often used it to make his own shirts.

  “Devon!” She ran up to him. “You made a new shirt. What’s it say?”

  He turned around. Across his chest, in metallic silver letters, was the word Stalker. He looked at her sheepishly. He wasn’t a mean guy; he didn’t set out to hurt people’s feelings. But Haley took one look at that shirt and knew that the message was aimed straight at her.

  He thought of her as a stalker now. Things had changed so much in just a few days.

  “Huh. Funny,” she said. She walked away, defeated.

  I give up, she thought. She knew now that she had somehow let herself get obsessed with Devon, all the while thinking he was the one obsessed with her. She was totally humiliated. But she wasn’t so obsessed that she didn’t know when to stop when the truth slapped her in the face.

  She should have stuck with Irene’s plan, she realized. It had been working so well, and she’d ruined everything by ignoring Irene’s wisdom.

  I lost control, Haley realized. Devon wins.

  Worse yet, Darcy wins.

  Haley really blew it this time. She made a complete fool of herself, chasing after Devon that way. Who knew Irene was such a fount of wisdom about boys? In Devon’s case, at least, she knew what she was talking about. Haley should have heeded her advice.

  Now Darcy has Devon all to herself, and Haley feels like an idiot. Next time, listen to Irene.

  Hang your head and go back to page 1.

  DEAD END

  SLEEP OVER

  If your mom is a lawyer with an investigative bent, it’s probably not so smart to lie to her.

  Alex had already prep
ared for this moment: he’d covered every empty surface in his room with candles. As he lit them, Haley looked around. She was relieved to see that his room was not the still-clearly-a-little-boy’s-room that so many guys her age had. No sports car bedspread, no band posters on the wall, no toy dinosaurs strewn across the floor. It was neat and tidy, as she expected Alex’s room would be, but also warm and masculine and mature. The bedspread was plaid, the furniture antique pine, the walls a tasteful shade of hunter green. And the bed, Haley couldn’t help but notice, was a double, not a twin.

  Alex led her to the edge of it and she sat down. “So are you having a good birthday so far?” he asked.

  “Very good,” she said. “The best.”

  He knelt down and kissed her gently, then wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her harder. She lay back on the bed while he tugged at her sweater. She sighed happily. Alex’s parents and brothers were away for the weekend. They were totally alone. This was the perfect chance to sleep over at Alex’s and see where the whole thing would lead. But the thought of his parents made her jolt upright. “I should call my parents.” They would be waiting up for her until twelve a.m., when she was due home, but she wanted to stay over with Alex. She had fantasies of waking up in the morning to orange juice and coffee, scrambling eggs with him and making toast and then kissing some more over the breakfast table and the morning paper. But for that to happen, she’d have to make sure her parents weren’t expecting her home at midnight.

  “What time is your curfew?” Alex asked. “I’ll make sure you get home in time.”

  She smiled at him. He was so thoughtful and sweet. But Haley didn’t want to go home for her curfew. She didn’t want to go home at all. And she thought she knew what to do.

  “Just let me call them. I want to stay here tonight. All night.”

  “Are you sure?” Alex asked. “Won’t you get caught?”

  “Trust me, I know just what to say. One second.” She ran downstairs to get her cell from her bag. She dialed home and told her mother she was staying over at Annie Armstrong’s house for the night.

  “All right, honey,” Joan Miller said. “Have a good time.”

  Joan bought it. Awesome. Everything taken care of. Haley ran back upstairs to pick up things with Alex where they had left off.

  Alex was waiting for her on the bed. “All cool?”

  “All cool.” She lay down beside him. They began kissing again, and soon they were tugging at each other’s clothes. Alex slipped off Haley’s sweater, then unfastened her skirt, while she undid the top button on his trousers and slipped her hand inside his pants. She felt the hard bulge inside his boxers as Alex gasped. He pulled down the covers and took Haley in his arms while she pulled off his pants. They were now naked except for their underwear. Haley felt warm and giddy and nervous, and as Alex pressed himself up against her, she shivered with delight.

  “It’s going to be amazing to sleep in your arms all night long,” she whispered, hardly able to believe what they were about to do.

  “It’s going to be even more amazing not sleeping in your arms,” Alex joked, slipping his hand down over Haley’s breast, then down farther, across her stomach, and down even farther, lifting up the waistband of her ecru lace underwear.

  Just then the doorbell rang. Haley glanced at the clock on the night table: it was before midnight. Had they really been fooling around for over an hour? She sat up nervously.

  “Who do you think that is?” she asked.

  Alex shrugged, pulling on his pants. “I don’t know. Maybe one of the neighbors has an emergency.”

  “Haley! Are you in there?” a man’s voice called from outside.

  Haley froze with fear. “Oh no. That sounded like my dad.”

  “Your dad? But I thought you took care of that!”

  “So did I.” Haley jumped out of bed and peeked through the window. Sure enough, her father’s hybrid SUV was in front of the house, the engine still running.

  “Oh my God, it’s both of my parents!” she cried. She fumbled around for her clothes. Alex buttoned up his pants and pulled on an undershirt. The doorbell rang again, this time more urgently.

  “I’ll go answer the door,” he said. “What should I tell them?”

  “Just say we were having dinner and dessert ran late,” Haley said.

  “Will they buy that?”

  “No,” Haley said. “I don’t know. But we can’t tell them what we were really doing!”

  “No, we can’t.” The doorbell rang again. Alex hurried downstairs. Haley yanked on her sweater and ran after him.

  Alex opened the door. There stood Perry Miller looking upset and worried, but most of all disappointed. “Haley! What’s going on here?” he demanded. “Your mother said you called and told her you were staying over at Annie’s, but then Blythe called about an emergency revision to a brief.”

  “We were just having dinner,” Haley said as Perry eyed all the candles suspiciously. “I was headed over to Annie’s at midnight, my new curfew, remember?”

  Perry frowned. “Sure you were.”

  Haley caught sight of herself in the hall mirror and understood why her father was skeptical. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks were flushed and her sweater was on inside out. She looked very much like a girl who’d just been caught mid-hookup—not like someone who’d been daintily eating chocolate cake. Her parents weren’t stupid.

  Haley closed her eyes in defeat. She should have known better. Of course Joan Miller and Blythe Armstrong spoke often and compared notes on more than just their caseloads at work. Joan was bound to find out whether or not Haley was sleeping over at Annie’s.

  “Come on, Haley. We’re going home.” Perry led her out of the house by the arm.

  “Sorry Alex,” Haley called back. “Thanks for the birthday dinner!”

  She got into the backseat of the car and waved forlornly to Alex as her parents drove away. “Yes, you’d better wave goodbye,” her mother said sharply. “You won’t be seeing him again for a long time—if ever.”

  “What?”

  “You heard your mother,” Perry said. “You’re grounded. Maybe for the rest of your life.”

  “Well, at least for another year, until you turn eighteen.”

  “What?” Haley shrieked. “You can’t do that!”

  But in fact, that was just what they did.

  Haley should have known that her mother would check out her story with Annie’s mother. After all, they work together. And as a lawyer, Joan Miller is trained not to take what people say at face value. She has learned to dig deeper, and it didn’t take much digging to figure out what Haley was up to that night. Alex was perfectly willing to take Haley home before curfew, but she let her fantasies carry her away. She won’t be making that mistake again.

  Hang your head and go back to page 1.

  DEAD END

  MAKE CURFEW

  Following the rules doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.

  Alex led Haley into the den, which was also filled with candles, and sat her down on the edge of the sofa. “Are you having a good birthday so far?” he asked.

  “Very good,” she said. “The best.”

  Alex knelt down and kissed her gently, then wrapped his arms around her waist. Haley lay back on the sofa while he snuggled up next to her tugging at her sweater. She sighed happily. Alex’s parents and brothers were away for the weekend. This was the perfect chance to get to know each other better—physically. They still had an hour and a half to kill before Haley had to be home for curfew. She had fantasies of staying the whole night, waking up in the morning to orange juice and coffee, scrambling eggs with Alex, making toast and kissing some more over the breakfast table and morning paper. But Haley knew there was no way her parents would ever buy the story that she had suddenly decided to sleep over at Annie’s. It was better to play it safe, and still play around a little with Alex before heading home to her own bed that night.

  “What’s the matter?” Alex asked
.

  “I wish we could spend the whole night together,” Haley said.

  “Me too,” he said, nibbling her ear. “I’ll make sure to get you home in time for curfew. We don’t want you grounded so that you can’t come over and do this again.”

  She smiled at him. “And what are we going to do?” she asked suggestively. Alex’s thoughtfulness made her want to spend the night with him even more. She knew she could trust him. She rubbed her nose playfully against his cheek and snuggled up against him. “I don’t want to think about going home yet. It’s so cold outside and so warm in here….”

  “I know,” he said, kissing her lightly. “But we still have a while before we have to leave….”

  However much time they had, it wasn’t enough for Haley. She bit Alex’s lip playfully. They started making out, hot and heavy. Soon, her sweater and skirt were beside them on the floor, and Alex’s pants were undone. Haley had never gone this far with a boy before, but it felt totally right. She knew she could go all the way with Alex and still feel safe, or she could stop short and do just about everything but, and that would be okay too. So this is what it feels like to be in a real relationship, she thought. I could get used to this.

  They continued hooking up, exploring each other’s bodies until well after eleven p.m. Alex lay beside her, holding her and touching her hair. He lifted his head and glanced at the clock. “It’s almost midnight. Better get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.”

  They kissed once more, then got off the sofa and put on their clothes. Alex went outside a few minutes early to warm up the car. “Brrr!” he said when he came back in. Haley was warming her hands on a mug of tea, which she shared with him. “It’s freezing out there!” He made sure she was all bundled up before they went out to face the cold.