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“I’m not even going home.”

“All we ever do is party with Brent. Why don’t you want to spend alone time with me?”

“We were alone after school,” he says suggestively, running his hand along her cheek and back into her hair.

She isn’t amused, and she shoves him. “Sometimes I think that sex is all you want from me,” she snaps before walking away.

“Come on, Kassi. Don’t be like that.”

She flips him the middle finger, and I shake my head at their stupid spat as I duck back behind the wall.

“Finally,” I whisper when I find my keys.

As I turn the corner to leave, I bump right into Sebastian, who looks at me in annoyance. “Watch where you’re going, Cricket.”

Hoisting my bag over my shoulder, I stopped in my step once again when I see Noah. In an attempt to go unnoticed, I quickly turn, giving him my back, and pick up my pace as I walk to my car.

“Harlow,” he calls out from across the way, and when I look over my shoulder, he’s jogging toward me. “Hey,” he huffs, slightly winded.

“Are you that out of shape,” I tease, to which he laughs.

“Just slightly. I didn’t think I’d see you here.”

“I’m on the newspaper, so ...”

“Cool.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask “Did you come alone?”

He shrugs. “Trying to blend in and make friends.” I give him a nod and when the conversation comes to a stall, the interaction, or lack thereof, turns awkward. “So, hey,” he says, breaking the silence. “You want to go grab a burger or something?”

“Umm,” I hesitate, not expecting him to want to hang out. Someone should warn him, that if he’s wanting to fit in and make friends, he should probably steer clear of me.

“Are you trying to think of a reason to say no?”

He hits the nail on the head, and it gets a chuckle out of me as I admit, “Kinda.”

“Come on. I haven’t eaten since lunch.”

Even though I’d much rather go home and call it a day, I would feel bad if I told him no with how excited he seems at the prospect of hanging out. And I’d be lying if I said that a part of me didn’t want to hang out as well. There isn’t much in my life to fill in the gaps of space and distract me from myself aside from school. So, I take a step out of my comfort zone, and say yes instead of making up an excuse to say no.

“Yeah, sure.”

He smiles. “Great. So, what’s good around here?”

“Dick’s Drive-In has the best burgers.” Plus, it’s a drive-in and not an eat-in restaurant, so I’m not locked into this lasting a long time. “I need to get gas in my car first, so I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds good.”

We go our different ways before I get into my car and head toward the closest gas station. While I wait for my tank to fill, I lean against my car and send a quick text to my mom.

Me: Grabbing something to eat and then I’ll be home.

When the pump clicks and I pull the nozzle out, I catch my mom walking out of the convenience store with a cup of coffee in her hand. But it isn’t her car she walks towards ... it’s an SUV. I try to hide myself behind the large concrete pillar as I watch her from across the lot. The SUV backs up and when it turns my way, I see her laughing from the passenger side next to a man I’ve never seen before.

I tuck myself back into my car as confusion sparks a multitude of questions. My thoughts immediately go to the worst-case scenario, but instinct has me creating excuses to make that scenario implausible. I mean, it isn’t as if I saw her doing anything bad. The guy could be an old friend of hers, somebody she knows from work, or he could be ...

My cell phone vibrates in my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts.