Head to Head (On Pointe Book 2)

by Penelope Freed

  But then, I was probably the only one who saw it, since she is at my house way more often than anyone realizes. Not only are Tyler and Jack best friends, and have been ever since the Stanleys moved into the house on the end of our street, but my brothers have a knack for gathering a constant entourage of people around them.

  My parents are super chill about us having friends over—as my mom says, “I’d rather have a loud house and know exactly what kind of trouble my boys are up to, than a quiet house and unpleasant surprises.” And since my three older brothers are A) jocks B) popular and C) hot (so I’m told), ever since Cole was a freshman in high school our house has been the hangout spot for everyone who ever considered themselves part of the “popular crowd” at school.

  I’ve been floating around the periphery of the fun since I was eight.

  I’ve answered to “Cole’s little sister,” “Jack’s little sister,” and “Hunter’s little sister.” Hell, I’ve even answered to “Baby Quinn.” At the start of last year, I vowed to change that, not that it was easy, but I’ve slowly been making headway with my brothers and getting them to see me as an equal-opportunity Quinn, not the baby of the family. I mean, honestly. Jack and Hunter are only fifteen months older than me, we’re practically triplets.

  Case in point.

  I had invited Hannah, Lisa, and Olivia over to hang out with me and go swimming this afternoon. Just the girls. But of course the second Hunter saw his girlfriend, god that’s so weird to think, walk in the door he had to join us. And of course, if he was coming so was Tyler. Which means that Jack had to come too. And somehow, *cough*Jack*cough*, word got out to the rest of the boys’ usual crowd.

  Which is why I’m standing at my front door, pretending to be excited to see Allyson and the rest of the Plastics, otherwise known as Megan and Madison, walk up my driveway. The second she sees me, Allyson plasters a fake smile on her face.

  “Hey, Katy. How’s it going girl?” she calls in the fakest voice I’ve ever heard.

  “Everyone’s out back,” I say, waving a hand behind me. When Hunter sent me to the front door, I thought it was because someone new was coming over, not these bitches. They brush past me, Megan’s giant bag slamming painfully into my stomach as she waltzes inside.

  “Oops, sorry.” Like I believe anything that comes out of that girl’s mouth.

  “Hello?”

  Letting the goon squad go, I turn back to see a tall, leggy, amazon standing awkwardly on my doorstep. She towers over me, which is unusual, I’m not exactly short at five seven, her curly blonde hair pulled back into a tight French braid, a little halo of hair at her forehead already sneaking out. Her hazel eyes are wide and nervous-looking as she peers behind me.

  “This is Hunter’s house, right?”

  “Yeah,” I say slowly, caught by the way her bronze skin is glowing in the sunlight. She has deep tan lines on her shoulders, from a swimsuit or a tank top, I can’t tell. “I’m Katy, Hunter and Jack’s sister,” I finally manage to say. What is wrong with me? And also, who is this girl? There’s been the occasional female athlete gracing my brother’s gang, but the cheerleaders usually drive them away, like the pack of hyenas they are.

  “I’m JJ, nice to meet you Katy.”

  “How did you…?” I trail off, not sure what I’m trying to say.

  “I was in AP Chem with Hunter, and I’m on track with him too. He and Jack wanted to hear about a terrain race I’m doing at the end of summer.” She looks around. “Can I come in?”

  I step back, letting her pass me. “Yeah, sure. Uh, sorry. Everyone’s out back.” I lead the way to our backyard, confused by my own confusion. What the heck is wrong with me?

  Stepping outside I’m in time to hear Megan saying to Madison in a stage whisper, “Seriously? Who invited the dork brigade? I thought this was supposed to be just our friends?”

  Before I can speak up, they move away, stepping neatly around the pool towards the chairs that Lisa and Hannah are sitting on.

  “Excuse me? I don’t know if you’re here to hang out with the baby or what, but those are our spots. Do you mind?” Add a snap of gum and an exaggerated hair flip and I’d think I’d been transported into a made-for-tv kids movie. God, I hate these girls.

  “I’m sorry, did you tell my girlfriend to leave?”

  My brother pushes himself up out of the pool in one smooth movement, water streaming down his body to complete my out-of-body movie moment—okay, it’s impressive, I can admit it—and stalks towards Megan, aka Regina George. I’ll give her credit, Megan doesn’t move as he glares at her. Not until he wraps a dripping wet arm around Lisa, pulling her into his side protectively.

  “What?” Madison is the one who finds her voice first, looking from Hunter to Lisa in utter disbelief. “Are you serious?”

  “Obviously he’s not,” Allyson drawls, twirling her hair around her finger. I wish I was making this up. “I mean...look at her.”

  And that snaps me out of my silent observation, no one insults my best friend and gets away with it.

  “You mean, look at how stunning she is? How perfect she is for my brother? A fact that you’d never know because you’re so fucking self-centered you can’t even tell Jack and Hunter apart?” I growl, storming up next to my brother. “Get out. Get out of my house. You’re not welcome here.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare at the Sanderson witches in front of me. A towering presence comes up behind me, one of my brothers I assume.

  “Whatever, baby. Oh sorry, I mean Katy.” Megan and Allyson look over my head.

  “Jack, come on, this is a joke, right? Olivia?” Megan stammers.

  The only answer she gets is glares from everyone facing her. Me, Jack, Hannah, Olivia and Tyler. Lisa is staring at the ground, her cheeks bright red. Hunter is practically vibrating, he’s so angry.

  “Go. Home,” he grinds out between clenched teeth.

  With a last look and a cartoonish flounce, Megan turns on her heels and stalks back through the house, passing a shocked JJ on her way. Allyson gives Olivia a hard look before grabbing Madison by the arm and dragging her after Megan.

  I leave Hunter to take care of Lisa and follow after them to make sure they’re really leaving. JJ trails behind me as I peer out the front door watching the devil’s trio retreat.

  “So…” JJ clears her throat. “Is it always this dramatic at your house?”

  Her deadpan delivery pulls a startled laugh from me. This chick is pretty cool, if she’s going to be around this summer, maybe when Lisa and Hannah leave for Seattle I won’t be quite as lonely as I thought.

  The End

  I hope you enjoyed getting to know Hannah, Olivia and the gang! Hannah’s story continues in Face to Face which is available for pre-order now.

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  If you enjoyed this book, the best way to thank the author is to leave a review. Thank you!

  Acknowledgements

  We made it! Writing Lisa and Hannah’s story has been such a thrill, a needed escape from the world when the world was...well, it was 2020, need I say more? I had so much fun exploring the dynamic between Lisa and Hunter and what happens to your best friends when you throw boys in the mix. And oh man, those boys? Hunter and his swoony words stole mine and all my beta readers hearts!

  Writing your second book is so different from the first. The first was a slow labor of love. I wrote it over years, re-writing, perfecting, changing the story so many times. This book was a whole different animal—the story just poured out of me. I probably should thank Lasairiona again for convincing me to start with a plan this time instead of just wandering around, as my dad would say, “like a lost fart in a phone booth.” And for her ability to multi-task—spotting errors and sending me tear-inducing messages while she reads my words.

  As always, h
uge thanks to my amazing editors Caitlin Fitzgerald and Sax Gray who make me work for it and I’m so grateful. All mistakes are my own, don’t blame those two lovely ladies for my overuse of adverbs and em-dashes.

  Alina Lane and Stella Nova, my RWR babes, thank you for keeping me sane and letting me snark as needed. Norma Marie and Patti, your beta feedback is invaluable. Mom, Dad, Katy, Ryan, Liz— my amazing family, thank you for cheering me on even when you had no idea what I was doing.

  I couldn’t do this without my amazing kid who lets me pick her brain for references, tells me when I’m being lame, and is only embarrassed of me ninety percent of the time.

  And as always, thanks to my husband for being my #1 fan, for making the best tacos and for keeping me supplied with chocolate and wine as needed. Love you babe!

  This one is for all the kids out there who keep being told “it’s not a real job.” It is a real job. And even if that isn’t what ends up paying your bills one day, no one can take the dance out of your soul unless you let them. Keep doing the things that bring you joy, no matter how big or small they are. Fight for what you want.

  About the Author

  Penelope Freed lives in the Pacific Northwest where you can find her learning how to drive in the rain, walking her dog and making a mess in the kitchen. Her husband and daughter think she’s a little bit bonkers and really hate it when she dances embarrassingly in public.

  Which she does, often.

  After a lifetime in the ballet world, Penelope decided to start writing down the stories in her head instead of narrating her ballet classes with them—her former students are very thankful for this decision. Now, Penelope writes stories about dreamers, just like she is, who are willing to do whatever it takes to make those dreams come true.