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“Are you sure? Lucas and I swear there’s something going on between you two.”

It hits me that Hoshiko and Lucas are close enough now that they’re going off on secret dance dates and having conversations about the rest of us. “Do you think Lucas knows anything?”

She shakes her head. “He’s tried getting it out of Nathan, but he won’t talk. They don’t really have that kind of friendship.”

“What is going on with you and Lucas, anyway? That dance! How long have you two been practicing?”

“He started coming to the studio two weeks ago.” She shakes her head and grins with a faraway look in her eyes, like she’s still imagining it. “I was so surprised when he asked to take a class with me. I thought he might be full of it, but I think he actually likes the classes. I’ve had such a fun time dancing with him and he’s already talking about prom and—” Her mouth clamps shut and she whacks my arm. “Hey, stop trying to distract me! I’m here to check on you, not talk about myself!”

“But you’re so much more interesting than me.”

“Absolutely, but we’ll have all night for that.”

I grin and a jolt of joy goes through me at the reminder that no matter what’s happening right now, Hoshiko is coming back to my house after to spend the night. Boys come and go, but best friends are irreplaceable.

A group of girls from ourShrekshowcase come into the bathroom just then and shriek with excitement when they see us. We spend a few minutes complimenting dresses and hairstyles and discussing the upcoming performance. The girls move to the stalls and Hoshiko tugs my hand toward the door. She must know there’s no way I want to discuss Nathan when there’s a possibility of people overhearing us.

“Enough of the bathroom,” she says. “You can’t stay here all night.”

“Sure I can.” I lean forward and lower my voice. “I’m getting all the intel. It sounds like Emily Harris is having a rager at her house after this—her parents are going to be there and even bought the alcohol! And Sara has decided to go all the way with Eli. Good for them.”

She groans. “Not cool. Let’s go.” She pulls me toward the door, then stops and inspects me. She uses a thumb to rub under both my eyes and adjusts one of the tendrils of hair that frame my face.

“Perfect. You might as well make all these boys lust after you.”

“All the boys except Lucas,” I tease.

She winks and we walk back into the gymnasium, which has lost the winter wonderland magic I felt earlier tonight. It’s back to being a basketball court that hasn’t been renovated in twenty years. A J.Lo dance anthem is playing and the vast majority of the students are jumping around together inthe center of the floor. There are a few stragglers—a group of girls at one of the tables, a couple making out in the corner. I scan for Paul, but luckily he isn’t waiting around for me. I hope he went home already or is back with Lainey. I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with him.

I follow Hoshiko to the other side of the floor where Lucas and Nathan are sitting on folding chairs with Anthony. Anthony’s face is flushed and he’s breathing heavily.

“There you both are!” he exclaims when he sees us. “Come out with Kenzie and me.”

Lucas stands so quickly that the backs of his legs hit the metal chair and it shoots backward. He looks between Hoshiko and me. “Do you want to?”

Hoshiko bites her lip. “I don’t know…” I can practically feel her spirit splitting in two directions. Dancing is one of her favorite things in the world, but she won’t leave me when she knows I’m upset.

I nudge her toward Lucas. “Go!”

“Come with me.” She nods toward Nathan, who’s sitting like a statue. “You should both come dance.”

“I’m good,” Nathan mumbles.

“Go ahead. I’ll be there in a second.”

She frowns but follows Lucas and Anthony out to the dance floor. After an awkward second, I pull Lucas’s chair over and sit down next to Nathan.

“What happened back there?” Nathan asks. “Did I see Paul try to kiss you?”

“Yeah.”

His expression darkens. “I knew I hated him for a reason. Unless…Are you two…?”

“No. It just took him a minute to figure that out.”

“I’m happy to break the news if he’s still confused.” He glares around the cafeteria.

“The Paul situation is officially done. And I have to give you credit—you played your part better than I ever imagined you could. You didn’t just convince him we were together, you made him so jealous he actually came back to me begging.”