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“It’s not like he’s ugly,” Mia said.

“At least not on the outside,” Tessa added.

I rubbed the back of my neck as I nodded. I could do this. I just needed to imagine my home free of Chase’s irritating presence. As the image rose up in my mind, I relaxed a little. “You’re right, it’s going to be worth it.”

Tessa smiled at me with a look of pride before focusing back on her poster. “Then we finish him off with Step Four: Getting Caught. I like to think the mechanics of this are fairly self-explanatory. I think we’ll need to figure out the details once we see how your relationship has progressed and we know what we’re working with.”

I nodded along with her. I knew this plan would end with Dad catching Chase and I together, but at least I didn’t need to worry about that part of the plan just yet. I somehow had to get through the other three steps first.

“Do you guys really think this has a chance of working?” I asked. “I mean, Chase hates me, and I honestly think I’d have more hope of becoming an astronaut than getting him to date me.”

“Don’t worry,” Tessa reassured me. “He won’t be able to resist you once you guys stop fighting for one second and he sees the real you.”

I slowly exhaled, wishing I had half the confidence of my friends. “I just don’t know how I’m going to do any of this.”

“We’ll be there every step of the way,” Mia added, ginning at both Tessa and me as she spoke.

“And we start with step one this weekend,” Tessa added. “So, keep Saturday afternoon free. Highlight it pink in that crazy diary of yours.” I smiled at the fact my best friend knew pink was the color I used for anything that couldn’t be missed. “And in the meantime, bite your tongue around Chase and wear all your cutest clothes. I know he drives you crazy, but every time he provokes you, just smile and imagine yourself in your happy place.”

“Like a Chase-free house?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Tessa said with a grin. She picked the poster up and stuck it to one of the walls. “I’ll keep it up here in case you need reminding of any of the steps.”

I poked out my tongue at her, making her laugh. “So, what’s the plan for Saturday?”

“We work on attraction,” Tessa replied. “And I’ve got an idea that I’m pretty sure will ramp the attraction up sky high.”

8

Ally

By the endof the week, my tongue had developed a permanent indent on it from the amount of times I’d had to bite it. I’d been trying to follow Mia and Tessa’s instructions to make peace with Chase, but keeping my opinions to myself was a struggle when it came to him. I barely managed to stop myself from uttering cutting remarks let alone make any headway with flirting.

I don’t think Chase even noticed I was acting all that differently toward him. If anything, I think he believed that since I wasn’t rising to his provocations I must have been giving him the silent treatment. The plan was failing so far, and I really hoped Tessa had something a little more effective for me to try. I knew she was cooking something up in that devious head of hers, but she hadn’t given me a single clue about what she had planned for the weekend.

“I’m going to need a new tongue if I keep this up,” I grumbled as I took a seat across from Tessa. It was just the two of us at lunch. Miles always had his science club meetings on Fridays, and I knew Mia had PE, so she would probably be running late. “He spent nearly an hour in the shower this morning, and by the time it was my turn, the water had gone cold.”

“Man, that sucks,” Tessa replied.

“And I had to wash my hair!” I complained. “I barely got all the shampoo out, and I think I might have hypothermia.”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “You don’t have hypothermia.”

“Okay, probably not,” I agreed. “But I haven’t been able to get warm all day.”

“Did you say anything to him?”

I let out a sigh and shook my head. “You told me not to fight with him, so I didn’t say a word. I could tell he did it on purpose though, and I’m not sure how much longer I can hold my tongue.”

“You’re doing great, Ally.”

It didn’t feel like I was. If anything, by taking the high road, it felt like I was letting Chase win the war between us, and it was almost impossible to resist fighting back.

“You might want to stop giving him the evil eyes though,” she added. “You’re going to ruin all the hard work you’ve put in if he sees you glaring at him like that!”

I jerked my eyes away from Chase, and my cheeks warmed with embarrassment. I’d been staring at the back of his head from across the cafeteria. It seemed my hatred for him was hardwired into my brain, and even though my tongue had stopped telling him what I thought, my eyes were willing to pick up the slack.

“Sorry,” I said. “I’m just so frustrated with him right now, and it’s really hard not to do anything about it.”