“Hey, Emma, just so you know, I don’t believe any of the rumors,” Jenn said quietly as we walked to English.
“Thanks,” I replied, f lashing her a grateful smile. “And thanks for, well, I guess for being seen with me,” I said with a hard laugh.
“Kristin and I used to be close,” she whispered, glancing around to make sure no one heard. “She’s changed a lot—she used to be a really fun person. She’s just gotten so mean. And she’s like, obsessive about Anthony. I think he was her first or something.
“Anyway,” Jenn continued. “Try not to let it get to you.
Most people know she’s full of it because they’ve been the subject of one of her rumors at one point or another.”
“Why is she so popular, then, if she’s been mean to everyone?” I asked, frustrated.
“She throws these crazy parties and people want to be invited, her family is really powerful, and she’s just one of those people,” Jenn explained. “And I think everyone is happy she has a new target—and that it’s not them.”
I made a face. “I hate to say it, but it makes sense.”
We got to English and instead of feeling excited or relieved to see Brendan, I just felt exhausted. I slid into my desk and fought the urge to put my head down, opening my notebook and pretending to review my notes instead. For the first time 9780373210305_TS.indd 238
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since I’d started at Vince A, my head didn’t automatically turn when he came into the room—and I didn’t realize he had entered the classroom until he was sitting in front of me.
“Hey, Emma, are you okay?” Brendan folded his arms on the back of his seat, his green eyes full of worry. “You look…
bothered.”
“It’s nothing. Long morning,” I mumbled unconvincingly.
Brendan just pursed his lips.
“We’ll talk at lunch,” he said, then turned around since Mr. Emerson had shuff led into the classroom, loudly blowing his nose. Seriously, this guy needed vitamin C, or a vacation, because it was now plain gross.
We were barely out of the school before Brendan asked what was wrong.
“It’s just…there’s a lot of rumors f lying around about me.
And you. And Anthony,” I admitted, not wanting to go into specifics. “It’s frustrating to hear it. And to have people staring and talking about me. Again. ”
“You did nothing wrong. What could anyone possibly be saying about you?” Brendan asked. He kept his voice calm but I noticed the hard edge of anger creeping in.
“It’s nothing,” I said dismissively. “Forget I said anything.”
The last thing I wanted to do was bring up the rumor of us sleeping together. I wasn’t sure about Brendan’s mental state, but mine sure couldn’t handle the topic of us having sex on top of everything.
“Come on,” Brendan wheedled, taking my hand as we walked toward Central Park. “We’re finally past secrets, remember?” Damn. He has a point.
“Fine,” I pouted, leaning against the nearest building and taking a deep breath before the words tumbled out. “Apparently, everyone at school thinks that I was sleeping with 9780373210305_TS.indd 239
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Anthony. And, um, now they think I’m sleeping with you, too. And that you’re embarrassed to be seen with me. Oh, and I also left my last school because I was pregnant. That last bit is all Kristin, whom I’m positive set us up.”
“Oh.” I could see the muscles in Brendan’s jaw tense. “How do you know all of this is going around?”
“I heard them this morning in the girls’ bathroom. It was Kristin, Amanda and Kendall, who bragged about hooking up with you, by the way.”
“She’s
still talking about that?” Brendan looked taken aback.
I just nodded, biting my lip nervously before pushing myself off the building, continuing our walk to the park.
Brendan gave me a sideways look. “Last summer, I was in the Hamptons with some friends, and they wanted to go to a party at Kristin’s house. So I went, too. Kendall wouldn’t leave me alone all night. I wasn’t into her but she didn’t exactly play hard-to-get.”
“Oh.” I gritted my teeth, annoyed that this bothered me just as much as everything else she’d said in the bathroom.
“Please tell me you don’t care,” Brendan asked, letting go of my hand to slide his arm along my shoulders, pulling me closer. “This happened before I even met you, you know.
Please, tell me this isn’t bothering you.”
“Well, a little,” I admitted.
“Emma, I have zero interest in Kendall. I promise you,” he swore. “I never gave her a second thought. To be completely honest, I never even gave her a first thought. She was just there at the time.”
“It probably bugs me because I heard this after I got a nice little note in my locker.”
Brendan’s head snapped up and he stopped walking. “Someone left something in your locker?”
“Yep.”
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“What did it say?” Brendan demanded angrily.
“I really don’t want to—” I started, embarrassed, but Brendan cut me off.
“Emma, what did it say?”
“It called me a slut.”
Brendan stopped walking, and when he faced me his eyes were ice-cold. “I’m going to have a little chat with Kristin,”
he said, his voice low.
“Brendan, no. Look, we’re both in enough trouble right now so there’s no sense in confronting her.” I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. “Kristin’s who she is, there’s really not much we can do about it. Besides, Anthony could have left it before leaving school yesterday.”
“Still, she has no right to talk about you,” he said protectively. “Your name should never even cross her lips.”
“Brendan, please. Let it go,” I pleaded. “It just made for a hard morning. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s really pissing me off that I’m getting away scot-free in this whole thing, and you’re on the hook.”
“That’s because girls are evil,” I muttered. “High school girls are demons, seriously.”
“Emma, I don’t want things to be harder for you than they already are.” His face softened, and he grabbed both of my hands in his.
“They won’t be as long as I have you,” I promised.
“It’s not like we don’t have enough to worry about,”
Brendan whispered, resting his palm on my medallion. “If I could let you go, I would. If I thought it would make things easier.”
“It would make everything harder,” I said, feeling an ache in my heart when I thought about facing another day like this without him.
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“Look, please just don’t do anything. Please, let it blow over,” I begged.
Brendan eyed me for a moment and bit his lower lip. Then he laughed a low, rumbling laugh and pulled me into his arms.
“Only if you will indulge me with something.” I could practically hear the wheels spinning in his head.
“What is it?” I asked cautiously. “I’m not going to break into a pool to go skateboarding with you if that’s what you want.”
“You might prefer that. But instead, I want you to—”
Brendan paused for effect “—go to the stupid winter dance with me.”
“What?”
> “You heard me,” Brendan said, tracing my jawline with his finger. “I want you to go to the winter dance with me.”
“You don’t want to go at all, I thought,” I countered.
“You’re right, I don’t,” he agreed. “But I was thinking about it this morning. I’ve never really gone to any of these things with a girl I was…involved with.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Involved with?”
“Don’t make me spell it out, Emma. Look, I want to make a statement with you. I want people to see that I care about you. You’re important to me.” His tone softened over that last statement.
“Brendan, the last thing I want to do is be trapped in a roomful of those people.”
“Then do it for me so I’m not alone with them,” he bargained. “And so maybe you can get some peace from the rumors. If people see that we’re really together…”
“You have a point,” I muttered.
“Look, if they were just talking about me, I wouldn’t care,”
Brendan said. “But I don’t want anyone talking about you and if you won’t let me tell them off, then let me do this.”
“Okay, fine,” I conceded begrudgingly. “As long as I’m 9780373210305_TS.indd 242
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allowed to go.” And can somehow get a dress to wear. No helpful woodland creatures or fairy godmothers here. Maybe Ashley will lend me something.
“I can’t believe it, but I’m actually looking forward to it now,” Brendan admitted, leaning against a building and pulling me with him.
“Well, I know that I don’t get enough of Kristin Thorn’s bitch-face during the school day, so an extra dose next Friday night will keep me going through the weekend,” I said sarcastically, and Brendan laughed.
“You won’t even see her,” he promised. “You’ll be in the deejay booth with me like a girl in a Jay-Z video.”
“I’m not wearing a bikini and a fur coat to this dance, Brendan,” I warned.
“Damn.” Brendan pouted. “Not even some booty shorts?”
“Isn’t this a semiformal?”
“So?”
“And it’s November?”
“Oh, I’ll keep you warm,” he teased, tucking his fingers underneath my chin and raising my lips to meet his. And the minute our lips touched, all my concerns about school faded into nothingness.
I had to hand it to Brendan; his kisses were a better mind eraser than that magic wand thing from Men in Black. We both lost track of time, and had to grab hot dogs from a vendor before running back to school. Still, I nearly f loated through my afternoon classes, in a decidedly better mood than I was that morning. I didn’t even let it get to me—much—when I sat alone in chemistry and heard Kristin’s scathing remarks about my hairdo. Her Oompa Loompa skin is a color not seen in nature and she’s making fun of my appearance? I brief ly considered attempting a spell, but figured with my luck, I’d end up turning myself into a chicken burrito. Besides, my last—and 9780373210305_TS.indd 243
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only—spell was probably only a success because Angelique, a more experienced witch, was with me. So I bit my tongue and toyed with my necklace, reminding myself that I had bigger things to worry about than Kristin.
After the last bell rang, Brendan was waiting for me when I finally made it down to my dungeon locker room after class.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, happily surprised.
“Just stealing a minute with you before basketball practice.”
Here I was, worried about myself, when Brendan had more or less gotten one of the best basketball players kicked out of school and had to face his teammates.
“Is that going to be rough?” I asked, embarrassed that I hadn’t even thought to ask before.
“Nah, no one liked Anthony,” Brendan said with a smile.
“They’ll probably vote me MVP—you know, when I’m actually allowed to play again.”
I grinned, relieved.
“So give me a kiss—I have to get to practice,” Brendan playfully demanded, bending down to press his lips against mine. It was hard to remember that we were in school—and to restrain myself from winding myself around him in a very un-scholastic way.
“I’ll call you tonight,” he whispered, kissing my neck. “Try to stay awake past sunset.”
The way I was feeling at that moment, I had no doubt I could stay awake past sunset on Thursday.
Ashley met me in front of the school, impatiently fussing with her blue headband.
“So Emma, did you ask about the cousins?” she asked excitedly.
“I’m sorry, I forgot,” I admitted, but vowed to ask Brendan about his cousins next time we were together.
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excitedly. “I can’t believe you get to kiss him.” I blushed again when she said that.
“I heard he’s deejaying the dance, too.”
“Word travels fast,” I mused.
“It does when it’s about Brendan Salinger,” Ashley said, adding, “and my friend Vanessa is on the dance committee.
She told me.”
“Kristin let a freshman on the dance committee?” I was incredulous.
“Well, Vanessa’s mom is donating all the refreshments, so that explains it,” Ashley said, throwing her hands up in frustration.
“That explains it.” Vanessa’s mom was a fairly well-known chef at one of the top restaurants in the city.
“Well, I’m going with the deejay if that’s what you’re wondering,” I replied, reminded that I needed to borrow a dress.
But before I could ask, Ashley was jumping up and down, excitedly clapping her hands.
“I’m going, too! A bunch of us are going with Vanessa!”
She squealed. “Oh, Emma, I don’t know why you worry about fitting in! You went on a date with Cisco, now you’re dating Brendan Salinger! We have to go shopping for a dress.”
“Or I can borrow one?” I wheedled, thinking of Ashley’s massive walk-in closet. Even though she was several inches smaller (in every way), I could usually squeeze into her clothing.
“No way, dude, you need something fabulous,” she squealed.
“We’ll go shopping, it’ll be great. Besides, I don’t think I like the dress I bought. I want another.”
“Well, let me make sure Aunt Christine is okay with it,” I warned. But it was too late. The minute I turned the key in Aunt Christine’s door, Ashley pushed past me, giggling.
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winter dance next week!” Ashley called out in her singsong voice to Aunt Christine, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading. Christine removed her glasses and her eyes darted back and forth from me to Ashley, then back to me.
“I mean, if that’s okay with you.” I rushed to amend Ashley’s gleeful proclamation.
“Yes, dear, it’s okay,” she said with a nod of her head.
“Well, his mother is making him deejay the dance so I’m really just going to keep him company,” I explained hastily.
“So I don’t need to go shopping or anything—I can borrow something of Ash’s.”
Christine eyed my chest—then Ashley’s—and chuckled to herself. “No, dear, I think we can get you something. We’ll go to Bendel’s this weekend.”
“Are you sure?” I
asked apprehensively.
“Of course, dear,” she said, picking her book back up and turning the page with a rose-painted fingernail.
“Thanks, Aunt Christine,” I murmured, a little embarrassed. “I don’t deserve all this.”
Christine just sighed. “Sweetheart, you do. I just want you to realize that. Although, I would like to meet Brendan again under different circumstances.”
“He’s pretty great,” I said dreamily.
“Well, at least I know you’ll be safe with the young man. He seems like he’d step in front of a truck for you,” she snorted.
“Still, I’d like to meet him again.”
I nodded, but inwardly cringed. Soul mate or no soul mate, we were still going to have to properly do the “meet the parents” dance, I realized with a silent groan. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want Christine to get to know him—I was absolutely terrified of Laura Salinger. Possibly more than I was of an unseen, impending doom.
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By the end of the week, I was amazed that the rumors had died down a teeny bit. Only Kristin was really stoking the fires anymore—but I figured she would be an evergreen thorn in my side, so to speak. I was pretty positive Kristin was my Lady Eleanor, except that she went for character assassination as opposed to actual assassination. The latest rumor? That I cheated on Brendan with a group of guys from Xavier High School. Never mind the fact that Brendan and I had only been public for a week and it would have been physically impossible to accomplish the level of whoring around in five days that I was accused of committing. But Kristin refused to let up. Still, it seemed like Brendan’s method of dispelling the rumors—remaining an ever-present figure by my side—
was working. If there was one thing he knew, it was how to navigate these shark-infested waters. You know, if the sharks carried Dior purses.