Page 131 of Dear Love, I Hate You (Easton High)

Then I spotted the time on my dashboard.

Aveena: Crap, I have to run. Wish me luck.

Xavier: Go get ‘em.

We stopped texting after that.

Well, until now.

A new message from Xavier pops on my screen as I’m pulling into the school’s parking lot.

Xavier: Fun fact about me: I fucking hate Mondays.

Xavier: Another fun fact about me: the thought of seeing you today makes me hate Mondays a little less.

You’d think I won the lottery judging by the dopey grin growing on my face. And, crazy enough, I think maybe I did? Sure feels an awful lot like I scored the guy of my dreams right now. Could it be… that things are finally going my way?

Tossing my phone into my opened backpack, I climb out of my car and head straight for the school’s entrance. I wasted over ten minutes just sitting in my car

and rereading Xavier’s texts. I push the heavy glass doors open and waltz in, painfully clueless as to the nightmare awaiting me on the other side.

Everything seems normal at first.

The halls are lively, the students chatty.

I do notice teachers and school staff running around looking a bit distressed but don’t overthink it.

Just another day at Easton.

I turn the corner and spot the thick crowd by the locker section. The hallway is crawling with what I’m sure is Easton High’s entire student body. Kids are talking, laughing, whispering in each other’s ears. I’m pushing to the tip of my toes, fishing around for a feasible explanation, when a tan hand wraps around my wrist.

“Vee, you’re here.” Dia materializes by my side. “Come on, you have got to see this.” My best friend guides me through the masses, and my pulse accelerates when I spot Finn, Theo, Axel, and Xavier in the distance.

That’s when I see it.

They’re everywhere.

Printed by the thousands.

Stuck to each locker.

Covering every inch of the floors.

My darkest secrets.

Our darkest secrets.

I can feel the air thinning, my ability to speak dying on my tongue when Xavier and I lock eyes across the room, invisible strings tethering us together like chains. I must black out for a bit because by the time my brain reconnects with my body, Dia and I are part of the guys’ circle, smack in the middle of the hysteria.

I can feel him staring at me.

I feel the weight of Xavier’s gaze crushing my shoulders, every bone, every atom in my body imploring me to return his glances, but I can’t bring myself to face him.

My confessions might not portray me in the best light, but his confessions, especially the one about his mom, could lead to criminal charges. They can’t ever trace it back to Xav.

How is this even possible? We were so careful. Made sure to take the confessions out of the book as we went to prevent this exact situation.

“It’s all everybody’s talking about.” Dia gestures to the pieces of my bleeding heart scattered all over school. “A bunch of anonymous confessions were found hidden in some book at the library.”