Page 20 of Before We’re More Than Friends (When We Faced the Music #1)

“There’s a bro lunch code?” Caleb blinked. “Why are we just now following it?”

I rolled my eyes. “You guys are freaks.”

Oliver frowned. “What did I do?”

“Rot here with the trash.” I hope my jokes weren’t coming off as too forced.

“You see, the four of us stumbled across this place on the first day of freshman year,” Caleb said. “A group of seniors dared us to eat our lunch here when we accidentally stole their table, and we did it because we’re masochists.”

“And because we were scared,” Hayden added.

Caleb scoffed. “ I wasn’t. I’m never scared.”

Hayden gave him a funny look. “Sure . . .”

“When one of the seniors came back to taunt us, Caleb threw his lunch in the dumpster,” Oliver said. “For some reason, that was enough to make them leave us alone. I bet they’re probably college dropouts by now.”

“That’s, um, interesting.” I blinked. “Wait, who’s the fourth person?”

“Huh?” Caleb said with a face full of my chips.

“You said the four of you guys.”

All three of them exchanged looks.

“The racoons took him away,” Caleb said, though his joke fell flat. “They took his lunch, and they decided to chase after him.”

“That one was lame,” Oliver muttered.

Caleb shrugged. “I tried.”

“Sorry I asked,” I said, staring at my lap.

“Naw, we’re dead to him,” Hayden told me.

“He hates our guts so much that he hasn’t said a word to us since he transferred to Apple of the Arts in New York.

He’s having the time of his life without us.

” He dramatically rolled his eyes. “Can you believe it? Imagine being happy without us in your life.”

“He has reasons, I guess,” Caleb muttered under his breath, no longer shoving chips in his face.

Hayden furrowed his brows. “What reasons? He was the one who willingly dated your girlfriend of two years?—”

“Can we not talk about him?” Oliver snapped. “We have Dallas now.”

Yeah, maybe this had been a bad idea. “I’m sorry,” I said, opening my pudding cup. “I shouldn’t have asked.” I tried to remember if Raina had mentioned the fourth guy before, but nothing came to mind.

“It’s fine, you didn’t know,” Hayden said. “Just let us know if we ever bother you. And please don’t date our exes. Then again, I don’t think Oliver knows who his exes are.”

Oliver gasped in offense. “Hey, I can name some of them.”

“That’s already a bad sign.”

“No, let me spell them out.” He pulled out one finger.

“My first girlfriend was Jade Abbott in middle school. There’s Natalie Mao from freshman year, the great kisser.

I dated Alyssa Sullivan last fall before she threw up on my shoes at the Saturn Frenzy.

There were one or two Mias. Someone’s last name was Johnson.

Um . . .” Oliver widened his eyes at Caleb and Hayden as if asking for help.

“What about Raina?” Caleb asked as he started eating chips again. “Beginning of freshman year? Before Natalie?”

My pudding turned in my stomach. “You dated Raina? Our Raina?” I still didn’t know her last name, but it started with a V.

Was this why she’d said Oliver was a great kisser?

“Not officially,” Oliver said. “We made out a few times. Our spark just dissipated after a while.” He scratched behind his neck, his eyes meeting Caleb’s as if there was another reason why they never dated. “I was ready for something new.”

My heart locked up in my chest at the idea of Raina making out with someone. I knew she had a crush on one of her guy friends at some point, but I would’ve remembered all too well if she’d told me about having her first kiss. How far did the kisses go? Did she still think about them?

Instead of asking more questions, I said, “Oh.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Why, you want her?”

I nearly choked on my pudding. “No!” Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I-I barely know her.”

“Oh my gosh, and I thought Oliver’s face gets red,” Caleb said with a snort. “You look like how you did at the shelter yesterday.”

Hayden pursed his lips. “What happened at the shelter yesterday?”

“ Nothing happened,” I said, and for once, it was actually the truth. “She just helped me feed the bunnies.” I hadn’t even noticed that Caleb or anyone else had been around.

“Uh-huh,” Oliver said. “But you can date any of my exes.”

“Whoever they are,” Hayden added.

“Shut up.”

I laughed, though I fought the urge to swallow. My complicated feelings for Raina were already too noticeable to everyone. How the heck was I supposed to hide it?

Maybe I could ask Kami for tips.

At the end of the lunch period, the bell rang. I didn’t hesitate to close my lunch box and stand up. “Thanks for inviting me to sit with you guys.”

“Of course.” Hayden stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “What’s your next class?”

I whipped out my schedule. “Chemistry with Mrs. Bennett in Room 214.”

“Oh, that’s my next class.” He smiled. “I’ll walk with you.”

“Thank you.” The last thing I needed was to end up in the wrong class again.

We walked up the stairs of the nearest building and into Room 214, but I stopped once I realized that everyone probably had an assigned lab partner. I went up to the woman with brown hair and way too much makeup at the desk.

She looked up from her computer. “Dallas Friar, right?” She pointed the table diagonally from her desk, all the way at the back of the classroom. “You can sit in the right seat at that last table. She doesn’t have a lab partner. ”

“Okay, thanks.” I didn’t know who she would be, since she wasn’t here yet, but I sat at the table.

Only a few seconds later, Arielle and Raina walked into the classroom. My chest tightened as I crossed my fingers under my desk. Please don’t tell me it’s her. Having a class with her would already be messy for my mind. I didn’t need?—

“Hey.” Raina smiled at me as she pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. “You’re here.”

It was official—the world was against me.