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“Uh-oh, Ally,” Celia said suddenly. “Incoming.”
The little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I didn’t know Celia that well—only from the few times we’d hung out together—but being a peripheral friend, she knew all about the Jake/Chloe/Ally triangle situation. I looked over my shoulder. Lincoln Carter was strolling toward us, his hands in the pockets of his brown corduroy jacket.
I didn’t know what I had been expecting, but it wasn’t Lincoln. Celia and Lincoln were friendly, so I wondered if he’d maybe told her what had happened at the cast party and I suddenly felt betrayed. Prickles filled my stomach and I went hot around the collar, more in the spotlight than ever.
“Hey,” he said, pausing in front of me.
“Hey.”
I glanced over at my friends, then moved a few feet away. Lincoln followed. Luckily, the others took the hint and didn’t. My throat was dry and tasted like ash from the fire. I licked my lips nervously and looked up at him.
“What’s up?”
He lifted his shoulders, keeping his hands in his pockets. “Not much. I guess I’m just wondering … how you are.” His expression was somewhere between concerned and hopeful. I didn’t get it.
“How I am?” I said dumbly.
He pressed his lips together, like he was maybe regretting coming over here. “Yeah, I mean. I heard about … you know, Jake and Chloe and I just wondered … if you’re okay.”
My stomach dropped. This felt completely wrong, talking about this with him. Lincoln had been my escape from the reality of my life. And now here he was, stepping right into the thick of it. It wasn’t his fault, I knew, but I didn’t like having him in my reality. I wished he’d stayed separate. I wished he’d stayed clean.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said. “I’ve known about it for a while, actually.”
“Oh. Really? So you guys are still …?”
My face burned. “Yeah. We’re still together. We’re fine. Better than ever.”
The hope died off his face and I felt the prickles in my stomach harden into a rock-hard ball. That was maybe overkill, but what was I supposed to do? I didn’t want him to go on thinking that he had a chance with me just because everyone now knew my boyfriend was go
“Oh. Okay.” His expression darkened. Like maybe he was seeing me in a different way suddenly. Like maybe he was judging me for staying with a guy who was obviously a slut player.
He could join the club.
“Anything else?” I said, feeling defensive. I lifted my chin.
“Nope. I guess I’ll just … see you around.”
“Yeah. See ya,” I said softly.
He turned and was gone, walking back to his friends a lot quicker than he’d come. Guess if I ever was looking for a random hook-up in my future, it wasn’t going to be with him. A
“It’s too bad you two never smooched for reals,” she said. “Because damn.”
“Why don’t you go out with him, then?” I asked, a
On the far side of the bonfire, the cheerleaders launched into some elaborate pyramid and the team began to gather together near the dugouts. I saw their coach looking over some notes and realized the show was about to start—the speeches and cheering and actual rallying. I’d never come to a football pep rally when I’d lived in Orchard Hill the first time, and I was kind of curious to see what went on.
“Welcome, everyone, to this year’s Orchard Hill High football pep rally!” the football coach suddenly shouted into the microphone.
As the baseball field filled with cheers, I glimpsed one maroon-and-gold jacket set apart from the rest. It was Will Halloran, ru
“What’s Will doing over there?” I said, mostly just to change the subject. “Isn’t this his big night?”
As everyone turned to look, he shifted position and we saw that he was in a deep one-on-one with none other than Chloe Appleby. Her baby belly, which I guess she was no longer hiding, stuck out between the open flaps of her camel, leather coat.
My skin sizzled with intrigue. What the hell were Will and Chloe talking about? I’d never seen them speak to each other in my life. I’d noticed him looking at her longingly a couple of times this year, but I figured he was just suffering an unrequited crush. As we stared, Chloe gave a desperate gesture with her hand and Will touched her arm in a way that’s usually reserved for boyfriendly types.
“That’s … interesting,” Celia said.
“Ho. Lee. Crap.” A
“What?” I said, my pulse starting to race. If there was one thing I knew about my best friend, it was when she had good gossip to spill.
“Oh my God,” she said, covering her face with both hands now. “Oh my god oh my God oh my God. She couldn’t. She … she wouldn’t.”
“Who couldn’t what?” David said, looking around at the rest of us. “What the hell is she talking about?”
“Oh my God, she can’t possibly be that evil,” A
My stomach started to slowly clench into a marble-size ball, and I wasn’t even sure why. I glanced over at the spot where Will and Chloe had disappeared, as if they’d signal the answer to me via flash card.
“Who?” Marshall asked, baffled.
“A
“Are they, like, together or something?” Celia asked.
And suddenly, just like that, this snatch of conversation from last summer came back to hit me in the face. I had asked A
And then she’d been interrupted when David and Marshall had come bounding through the door like two puppy dogs.
Suddenly my brain went fuzzy. The wind shifted and my senses filled with the acrid, smoky scent of the fire. I reached out and clutched A
“You don’t think Chloe and Will … over the summer … the other guy …” I couldn’t even form a real thought, let alone a sentence. Had Chloe and Will hooked up? Had Chloe and Will had sex?
A
I just stared at A
“I mean, after I heard about Jake and Chloe I just figured I was wrong about Will and Chloe, but, I mean …” She gazed off toward the dugout. “Son of a—”
“Wait a minute. Will and Chloe hooked up?” David blurted.
“And now, like, two seconds after everyone finds out she’s pregnant, they’re having emotional tête-à-têtes?” Celia put in.
“Oooh, I love it when you talk French,” Marshall said, nuzzling her from behind. Then, suddenly, his head popped up. “I bet he thinks he might be the father! I bet that’s what they’re talking about!”
My mind was reeling. It was like the entire bonfire was trying to swallow me whole. The light, the heat, the ash, the laughter, the screaming, the music, the drums. I couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t see.