His text came back almost immediately.
Don’t be. I looked into the Rockford High anti-bullying policy. They can’t do anything to you at school.
She rolled her eyes.
Great. Should I print it up to hand out, then? Maybe get it laminated? You think that will help?
Ha ha. I’m serious. We’ll tell Principal Brown if anyone messes with you.
Right. Maybe Eli had never seen anyone get blackballed at school before. He sure wasn’t acting like he knew what would happen. But she didn’t want to argue with him. It would be pointless.
All right. See you in an hour.
Even though she dragged her feet as she got ready for school, she left the house on time. She parked in the school lot but spied Eli standing outside the doors before she got out of her car. Dang, he looked good in his jeans. Had he done something different with his hair? Whatever he’d done, it was really working for him.
She climbed out of her car and he started toward her. “Hey.”
She joined him. “Hi.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Amanda and Cole are at your locker. We might want to take a minute to get there.”
Her heart sank. “What did they do to my locker?”
“Just your normal stuff. Wrote all over it with red marker. Called you names. They’re cleaning it off.”
He didn’t look her in the eye. She wondered what else there was on her locker that he wasn’t telling her. She decided to let it slide. “Well, that’s original.”
He chuckled. “Yeah.” He put his arm around her. “You okay?”
She nodded even though she didn’t feel okay. She felt a little like throwing up.
“Let’s go in. It’s cold out here.” He walked with her. He looked like he was shielding her.
She liked how protective of her he was being. It was endearing. Eli opened the door for her, another thing she liked about him. He was old-fashioned that way.
The second she was in the building, it was obvious everyone had heard the rumors about her. People stared at her. Others gave her nasty glares. One girl turned around like she couldn’t stand to look at her. Destiny tried not to let it bother her, but it hurt. These were people who had said hello to her just last week. People she sat in class with. People who normally liked her.
“So, Amanda wants me to join in some protest thing she’s organizing for next week. Know anything about it?”
“Yeah, it’s that old opera house they want to tear down.” Destiny tried to ignore the glares. “She wants to go stand in front of the bulldozers.”
“When is it coming down?”
“I’m not sure. Next Friday, maybe?” Destiny had promised Amanda she’d be there against the death of her first-born child, so she’d probably better ask.
“So, do she and Cole have a thing going on?”
Destiny stopped short and stared up at Eli. “What? Why do you ask? Did you see something? Because I’ve always thought she had a crush on Cole, but she denies it venomously. But I see the way she looks at him, and I totally think she’s got the hots for him.”
“It’s just the way they argue. Like they both want to slap each other then make out. You know?”
“Ha!” Destiny shoved his chest. “So, it’s not just me.”
Eli grinned at her. “Nope.”
“Good. I feel validated.” Destiny turned the corner and her blood froze. Amanda and Cole were scrubbing her locker, but it was obvious the word ‘whore’ had been written on it. Several other choice words, too, apparently, but those were scrubbed enough she couldn’t make them out.
Amanda turned and made eye contact with her. A flash of pity crossed her face. “Sorry,” she said when Destiny got close enough. “We tried. It was permanent marker.”
“Eli told us what happened. Sorry, man,” Cole said, hunching over. He looked like he was suddenly interested in his shoes.
“That was so rotten, what they did to you. I told you they were brain-dead. You should have stayed away.”
Destiny nodded. “You were totally right.” She opened her locker and got her books. “It doesn’t matter. I no longer care about being popular. I just want to make it through today without having dog food dumped on me.”
Eli straightened his back. “I won’t allow that.”
She patted his arm, suddenly emotional, for some reason. “Thanks, Eli.”
The bell rang and Destiny took in a deep breath. “Well, this is it. I have to go to class.”
Amanda’s expression softened. “No one will do anything to you in class. The teachers are there.”
“Right.” Had they actually never seen any teen movie out there? She plastered on a smile. “See you at lunch.”
Destiny left her friends standing around her locker. She could do this. All she had to do was ignore the sneers, the jabs, and the mean things people whispered in the hallways. She imagined an armor of steel protecting her. She would not talk to anyone. Not look at anyone.
She entered her first class. Biology. It wasn’t a hard class, and her teacher was funny. She usually liked the class. As she walked past the row of students, one girl stuck out her foot and Destiny tripped. Her chin hit the floor, jarring her teeth, and her papers flew down the aisle.
She slowly pulled herself up. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. She gathered up her papers and sat in her chair. No one looked at her. No one helped her. Everyone pretended she wasn’t there.
Destiny steeled herself. She was made of stone. No one could harm her. She spent the class, forcing herself not to care about what everyone else thought of her. She had Eli, Amanda and Cole. They were on her side, and that’s all she needed.
Chapter 17
Destiny walked to the cafeteria. At least no one tripped her in her other morning classes. She just had to get through the next thirty minutes without anyone dumping chocolate milk or spaghetti on her head.
Eli met her as soon as she walked through the doors. “I got your lunch for you, so you don’t have to stand in line.” He walked her to their table. Amanda and Cole were already seated.
“What happened?” Amanda asked, looking up at her. “You’ve got a mark on your chin.”
Destiny sank into her chair and shook her head. “Someone tripped me. I fell and hit my chin.”
Eli hunched over and gently lifted her chin so he could see. His jaw clenched. “Who did that? I talked to Mr. B., and he said if anyone bullies you to tell him about it.”
Destiny’s face heated. “You talked to Mr. B.?” How humiliating.
“Yes. I told you they have an anti-bullying policy here.”
“I can’t run and hide behind Mr. B. That’s just going to make things worse.” Destiny slowly pulled away from him. “I know you’re trying to help, and I think you’re sweet, but I will handle things myself.”
Cole punched the palm of his hand. “If anyone tries to mess with you, I’ll handle things my way.”
Destiny smiled at him. He was formidable, but she didn’t want him getting in any fights over her. “It’s okay, Cole. I’m fine.”
Cole shrugged. “I’m here if you need me.”
Eli sat beside her and put his arm around her. “If anyone is going to protect Destiny, it’s going to be me.”
“How’s the pizza today?” Destiny picked up her piece even though she wasn’t hungry.
“Greasy,” Cole said.
Amanda whacked his arm. “No, it’s not. It’s good today. You’ll like it.”
Everyone was acting weird. Destiny took a bite of her pizza and set it back down on her plate. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips. “Who are you asking to the Halloween Dance, Cole?”
His gaze flickered around the table. “Aren’t we going as a group?”
“What, the four of us?” Destiny motioned between them. “Me and Eli, and you and—”
Amanda slapped the table. “Why does society want to put everyone in a box? Don’t you think we can have fun together without pairing up? Why bow down to the s
ocial pressures?” She looked like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone.
Cole shrugged. “I don’t mind going to the dance with you.” He looked at Amanda. In fact, everyone looked at Amanda.
Her cheeks turned red. “Uh...”
“Why not?” Cole picked up his milk carton. “Will you go with me?”
Amanda blinked a couple of times. Then she played it off cool and shrugged like Cole had done. “Sure. I guess if we have to officially say it.”
“Great.” Cole took a long drink of his milk. Then he crumpled the carton in his massive paw and tossed it onto his tray. “What are you going to dress up as?”
“I have this great costume planned. I bought a fishing net, and I’m going to glue trash all over it.” She beamed, like this was the coolest idea she’d ever had.
Cole made a face. “So, you’re going as a pile of trash that washed up in a fishing net?”
Amanda glared at him. “No. I’m helping bring awareness to the state of our oceans and lakes.”
“By going to the dance as a pile of trash,” Cole said, but his lips twitched up as he said it.
“Gah!” Amanda threw her arms up in the air. “I suppose you want me to go as a cheerleader or something stupid like that.”
Cole grinned. “Then I could go as a football player. We’d match.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “No way, meathead.”
Destiny knew she had to salvage the conversation or they’d bicker like that for the rest of the time. “How many more spiders do we need to make? And how early are we getting to the gym on Thursday night?”
“Last I checked, we need about twenty more spiders,” Eli said. “We’d better meet after school to work on them more.”
The conversation shifted to dance preparations while Destiny ate the rest of her pizza. It had started to taste better. When the bell rang, Eli leaned over and pressed a feather-light kiss to her lips. “I’ll see you after school,” he whispered.
Her stomach filled with energized butterflies. He knew how to make her feel special. “See you,” she said.
The rest of her afternoon classes dragged by, but nothing eventful happened, other than people ignoring her. She was fine with that. She’d rather have everyone ignore her than come out with outright hostility. After school, she grabbed her books and headed down the hall to put them in her locker.
As she approached, she saw Eli standing there. He hadn’t noticed her yet, and she slowed her steps so she could take him in.
He seemed to be guarding her locker, or something. His shoulders were tense, and his hair looked like he’d been running his hand through it. It was sweet of him, and she felt her heart swell.
Jack came around the corner and walked up to Eli. He clapped him on the shoulder. “Here’s your hundred bucks.” He shoved a handful of bills at him. “Thanks for helping me with my girlfriend problem.”
Jack’s words sent a jolt of shock through her. She stepped out of the throng of people, her back up against some random locker. A football player hid her from view. She peeked around him.
Eli put the money in his pocket. He looked uncomfortable.
Jack put his thumbs in his pockets. “Next time I have a girl I want to get rid of, I’m calling you, buddy.” He laughed like he’d said the funniest thing in the world, then walked off.
Destiny tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. Jack was paying Eli? For what? To flirt with her and make her break up with him? She couldn’t believe it was true. She stepped out from behind the football player and approached Eli. “What was that all about?”
Eli jumped and spun around. “What?” He looked panicked.
Destiny’s throat grew tight. “Why did Jack pay you?”
Eli stared at her like she wasn’t speaking English. He didn’t say anything, which told her a lot. Heat rushed up her neck. “Did Jack pay you to flirt with me?” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
The look on Eli’s face revealed it all. “Des. It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?” Her voice rose. “Were you coming on to me this whole time because of Jack? Is that why you were so into me, back before we knew each other?”
“No. I mean, maybe it started out that way, but it didn’t...I couldn’t...” Eli stammered for a second, then just closed his mouth.
Her stomach clenched. She thought the worst thing in the world had happened to her, with the pop girls spreading rumors and hate toward her. But she was wrong. This was much worse. She backed away from him.
How could Eli have taken money to pretend to like her? Had Jack hired him so he wouldn’t have to break up with her? Like some twisted service where you pay to have someone else break you up? She felt like throwing up.
She could feel the tears about to flow, and the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him. Eli didn’t deserve to have that kind of power over her. She gritted her teeth, trying to stop them from coming.
“Don’t ever talk to me again.” She turned from him and fled down the hallway.
Chapter 18
Eli reached out to stop Destiny, but it was too late. She had already disappeared into the mass of students rushing to get out of the building. He stood there, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. Destiny heard the whole thing. How could he have let that happen?
He swallowed. This was bad. Destiny hated him. He should have shoved Jack away. Told him not to talk about it in the hall. He should have known Destiny was coming, and that she could overhear. Jack was such a jerk!
No. This whole thing was his fault. He should have told Jack off from the beginning. Maybe even told Destiny about it. Been on the level with her. She would have seen through Jack. They would have ended up together, and there would be no reason for her to hate him now.
He pulled out his phone. He had to fix this. He pressed on Destiny’s name and sent her a text.
Please listen. It’s not what you think.
It took a moment for her to answer.
I think Jack paid you to flirt with me. Is that not right?
Crap. It was what she thought. How could he make this better? He ran a hand through his hair and tried again.
It started out that way. But it quickly turned into something more.
He waited for her to answer, but no more texts came through. He leaned against her locker.
Call me. I really need to talk to you. To explain.
This time the answer came fast.
No. I don’t want to talk to you. Stop texting me or I’ll block your number. I’ve gotten a lot of practice at that lately.
Eli blew out an exasperated breath. He couldn’t give up. Not with things so bad. He had to make it right. But she obviously needed time to cool down. He pocketed his phone, moaned and turned toward the library. This was just great. Now he had to go tell Cole and Amanda why Destiny wasn’t staying after school to make spiders with them.
He’d rather swallow razors.
Eli walked into the library and went into the back room. No one was there yet, and he grabbed the tub of craft supplies that was in the corner. Maybe Cole and Amanda wouldn’t show up. Maybe he could quietly make spiders and no one would bother him.
No such luck. Amanda and Cole walked in, laughing about something. She touched Cole’s arm, and it looked a bit more intimate then just friends. Eli held back a grin. He and Destiny had so pegged it. They’d be a couple by the end of the dance, he was sure of it.
They sat at the table, picking up supplies. “Where’s Destiny?” Amanda asked.
Eli braced himself. “She’s not coming.”
“Why not?” Cole’s eyebrows pulled down. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s mad at me.”
“What?” Amanda’s mouth dropped. “How could she be mad at you? What happened?”
Eli sighed, then launched into the long story of how Jack had approached him, how he’d liked Destiny from the start, and how he needed the money, so he finally said yes. As he talked, Aman
da’s lips pressed tighter together, and he knew she was going to give it to him when he was done.
“So, that’s how she found out about it. And I feel horrible, but she won’t listen to me.”
Amanda scoffed. “Of course, she won’t. You do realize what a jerk move that was, right? I mean, the whole thing is making me super angry. She’s not a possession. She’s a person, Eli.”
“I know.” He tossed a spider on the table. “I didn’t mean to be a jerk. I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen.”
“You played with her emotions,” Amanda said, narrowing her eyes at him. “You pretended to like her. How do you think that makes her feel?”
“Did you not listen?” Cole interrupted. “He said he liked her the entire time. He said he had real feelings for her.”
Amanda glared at Cole. “After he pretended to like her. That is so not cool.” She turned back to Eli. “What if you had gotten to know her and hadn’t hit it off? What if she had been annoying and whiny? What then?”
He shook his head. “You’re right. Things could have gone very badly. I never should have agreed to be Jack’s pawn.”
Cole picked up the glue. “I think it’s one of those cute stories about how people met that you’ll laugh at someday.”
“Cole!” Amanda looked like she wanted to slap him. “He lied to her. Faked that he liked her. Can’t you see how bad that was?”
“He flirted.” Cole shrugged. “It wasn’t like he scammed her.”
“But he did scam her. Don’t you see?”
Eli held out his hand. “Amanda is right. I shouldn’t have done what I did. But now it’s done. What I really need to know is, how do I make it better?”
Amanda pulled her long hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a band that she’d had around her wrist. “She needs time to process what you did. Time to vent and get angry. You can’t bug her right now. She’ll just shut you out.”
Eli picked up a Styrofoam ball. Amanda was totally correct. Destiny was too mad right now to deal with it. He had to give her some time. He had to let her cool down even if it killed him to not run to her. “You’re right. I’ll leave her alone. But I have to do something to show her I wasn’t lying at the end. That I want to be with her. That I...” Dare he say it? He swallowed. He had to. “I love her.”
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