Kiss Me

 My throat drops into my stomach.

Me:  If she’s not found by tomorrow morning, I’m getting on a plane and coming home.

Garrett: You will do nothing. Understand me. Nothing. Please do not compound this situation for me.

Me:  I can’t sit here in hiding while my friend is wherever with him. I can’t. 

Garrett:  I am sending someone to sit outside your school. If you attempt to leave, you will be detained. Do you understand me?

“Come on, girls! Move!” Peyton yells and I’m hustled out the door.

It takes everything I have to put on a smile and perform at halftime. I focus on the dance. Try to lose myself in the music. Try to forget everything and focus on the steps. The moves.

The rest of the halftime show is a blur and pretty soon we are lined up with the cheerleaders to cheer for the team’s return to the field.

Dawson runs by me without touching me. He always hits my skirt playfully when he comes on the field. I know he’s mad at me. He’ll be even madder when I tell him I’m not going this weekend.

I’m shaking my pompoms but lost in thought about how I can get out of here without Garrett knowing.

A big body in a uniform stops in front of me and faces me.

It’s Aiden. I can see those gorgeous green eyes peering out from his helmet.

He grabs both my arms gently. “Have you heard anything?”

I’m too shocked that he stopped in the middle of their big entrance to respond. I just shake my head no.

He leans his helmet against my forehead and says, “It’ll be okay. I promise.”

Then he runs toward the rest of the team.

When he gets to the players’ area, Dawson grabs him by the facemask.

I don’t know what they are saying, but I can tell by Dawson’s body language that he’s pissed. Aiden grabs Dawson’s hand and pulls it off his facemask then he shoves Dawson away. Dawson is just getting ready to throw himself back at Aiden when Jake steps in between them and appears to get in Dawson’s face. Then he pushes Dawson away from Aiden and over to the bench.

I run with the cheerleaders and the dance team to our assigned spots for the start of the second half, where I say a prayer that Aiden is right.

After we come off the field from our third quarter dance, Whitney is standing by the fence. She waves Peyton over. Who then waves me over.

I walk over thinking, Now, what?

Peyton runs back to the edge of the field as Whitney says, “Keatyn.”

“What did you need, Whitney?”

She sighs a big fake sigh. “This is kind of awkward, seeing as you were sitting at the table when I invited everyone, but you know that you’re not invited this weekend, right?”

Wow. She’s telling me this now. About an hour before we’re set to leave. She so pla

But I don’t care.

“I have no desire to spend a weekend with you, Whitney.”

“You know that he’s just using you. You’re just the flavor of the week. He and Rachel are hooking up this weekend. He’s been texting her all week. I’m just telling you that now, as a friend. I don’t want you to be all upset come Monday and embarrass yourself by trying to sit with us at lunch. That little ticket has been revoked too.” She stops, gives me a big fake smile, and then pats my hand sympathetically. “Okay. Good talk.”

The rest of the game I wrestle with what to do. I want to go home and find Vanessa. I want to tell Dawson what Whitney said. I want him to tell her that he likes me and that he doesn’t care what she thinks. I want him to stand up for me. I want him to commit social suicide for me.

But then I realize that we really haven’t talked about it. He didn’t actually invite me to go with him this weekend. He said he would go, but he and I haven’t talked about it once. I just assumed.

Does that mean it’s true? That he’s going to hook up with Rachel?

Has he really been texting her?

I want to fight Whitney. I really do. I want to tell her off in front of everyone. I want to wipe that smug little smile right off her bitch face.

But I can’t.

I have a much bigger battle to worry about.

After the game, I call Garrett to get an update. He doesn’t have much for me. He asks me to please sit tight tonight. Not do anything stupid and call him in the morning. That if she’s not back, he’ll meet me in New York and fly home with me.

I grab my bag. I was all packed and ready to leave right after the game. Whitney told everyone the limos would pick them up straight from the field house. I’m ru

As I come out of the door, I see one limo pull away and another with the door open. Whitney is standing outside it with Dawson standing next to her. Rachel is right behind him. I slide over into the bushes. I don’t want Whitney to see me standing here.

Dawson looks around for a minute. Whitney say a few words to him. He nods, then puts his hand in front of him allowing the ladies, Whitney and Rachel, to go first. He gets in the car behind them, the driver shuts the door, and they are off.

Now I know what it feels like to be excluded. To be the one that the bouncer puts the velvet rope in front of and says You’re not on the list.

It doesn’t really feel very good.

From behind me a voice whispers, “Why are we hiding in the bushes? And why did they just leave without you?”

I turn around and my boobs brush across Aiden's chest. I take a step back in shock and almost fall backwards over the bush. Strong arms reach out and grab me, keeping me upright. When he pulls me back toward him, I already have more tears in my eyes.

“Whitney told me right before the game was over that even though I was sitting there when she asked, that I wasn't invited. Then she said something nasty about me being Dawson’s flavor of the week and how he’s going to hook up with Rachel. I was going to cancel on him anyway. I have a car coming to pick me up at eight in the morning and then I'm going to New York. I guess Dawson is still mad at me about today. Or maybe Whitney is right and I am just the flavor of the week.”