Page 2 of Dear Love, I Hate You (Easton High)

“You think it’s a drill?” I ask Dia.

A mocking scoff keeps her from answering. We flip our heads to see a messy-haired, drenched Theodore Cox. He goes by Theo, and, piece of advice, don’t ever call him by his full name.

He bites.

Theo, like many of his basketball teammates, is your typical quick-witted, popular asshole. You know, the “more handsome than he deserves” type. He’s tall, arrogant, unfamiliar with the concept of being wrong, and to my great misery…

Someone I have to hang out with on a daily basis.

“Something you want to share with the class, Cox?” Dia sighs.

“’No fucking way that’s a drill,” Theo scoffs. “We already had one this year. Plus, they wouldn’t do it during this end-o

f-the-world shit.” Theo gestures to take a look around.

So, I do.

The school’s front lawn is damn near bursting with students.

We’re all freezing.

Soaked from head to toe.

The idiot has a point.

They wouldn’t just throw a fire drill smack-dab in the middle of the apocalypse. And, as crazy as it might sound, Theodore Cox isn’t completely deprived of brain functions.

You see, I went years assuming jocks had the intelligence of a doormat, and was perfectly content adhering to the stereotype. Then my best friend had to go and fall for one of the cool kids…

Finley Richards. Star basketball player, notorious flirt, and, as of late, Dia’s favorite bad decision. Bottom line: we hang out with Finn’s crowd this year. What? Dia’s my only friend, so it’s either that or I eat alone until graduation.

It all started last summer when Dia got herself a job as the Richardses’ house sitter. Finn’s filthy-rich father spends every summer up in Santa Monica and didn’t trust his son to take care of the house one bit—did I say house? I meant mansion.

Golden boy didn’t take his father’s lack of faith in him very well and unleashed his wrath on Dia. Made her life a living hell, crossing every line imaginable to get her to quit, but she was determined to see things through.

Long story short, they hated each other.

Until… their genitals didn’t.

Thus began the most confusing love/hate relationship to ever exist. Why? Because Dia and Finn aren’t dating. Not really. They like to say they’re “friends with benefits,” but anyone with half a brain knows that’s a load of crap. Everything a couple does, they do. Sex, PDA, exclusivity, nauseating nicknames.

The list goes on and on.

It’s so painfully obvious that they have it bad, but you will never hear them refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. If you ask me, their so-called “casual” relationship is a big, fat disaster just waiting to happen.

Two fire trucks branded Silver Springs Fire Dept and a police car come charging into the school’s lot before Dia and Theo can argue further.

“How’s that for a drill, Finn’s girl?” Theo snarks.

“Shut up, Cox,” Dia grumbles, grabbing a handful of her black, curly hair and squeezing the water out. The deluge has decreased into a drizzle. It’s about time. I don’t know how much longer they could’ve left us out in the pouring rain.

“Speaking of, where is Finn?” Dia pushes to her tiptoes, searching for her not-boyfriend. She’s right. He should be here by now—these two are like magnets. Plus, it must’ve taken five minutes tops for kids to disobey their teachers and go find their friends.

“How should I know where your boyfriend is?” Theo drawls, his phone pinging with a text. He plucks it out of his pocket, his jaw going slack when he skims through the message on his screen. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Dia asks.

“These crazy sons of bitches. They actually did it,” he says, more to himself than us.