Page 14 of Fade into You

Whatshername takes the joint back, pulling one last drag before she tosses it into the toilet. “Just say no, Jessa,” she whispersin Blue Hair’s—Jessa’s—ear. So close her lips almost touch the piercings that run in a delicate curve all the way from the cartilage to the lobe.

Jessa smirks, amused. At my expense once again.

Nice. Perfect.

How do I always end up feeling terrible about myself no matter what? I shouldn’t care what these two stoners think of me. I shouldn’t care if some random nobody laughs at my poem. So why do I?

Jessa is staring at me in the mirror. She looks at my ill-fitting jacket, its buttons barely closed. Then down at the shirt in my hands.

“Man, that shirt got really fucked up, a unicorn puke on it?”

“Almost,” I say, as defiantly as possible. “You managed to dump a rainbow latte all over me when you left the table just now.”

“Did I do that?” she asks, like she really doesn’t know.

“Did I do that?”No Name imitates in that nerdy, grating Urkel voice.

“Oh, shit,” Jessa says, and laughs. Again. “Sorry.”

Whatshername giggles too, spurting out, “Who the hell drinks that garbage?”

“Kay-laaaaa,” Jessa says in a stupid singsong voice.

Heat sparks in my chest. I might not be 100 percent happy with Kayla at the moment, but I’m not about to let this asshole say anything bad about her. “You know, you shouldn’t crap on people you don’t even know,” I say, defending my friend even if I can’t quite defend myself.

Her eyes narrow. “Really? I feel like I know that wannabepretty well, since she’s attached herself to my bestie like a leech this summer.”

“Well, you don’t know her. Not at all! Kayla is a smart, decent, creative—”

“Skinny biotch!” she finishes, and bursts into laughter again, her friend joining in.

“Yeah, you would say that—obviously you get your kicks out of hurting people, so who’s the real bitch?” And I nearly run out of air before I finish what might be the most unkind thing I’ve ever said out loud to anyone in my life.

“Ooooh,” Nameless whistles. “Them’s fightin’ words! Should I pull up a seat or what?”

“Look,” Jessa says, and I finally turn around to face her. It surprises me a bit that, eye to eye, she’s actually a couple of inches shorter than me; hardly anyone is shorter than me. “I’m not trying tohurtanyone, but she’s been anything but a good influence on Dade. He used to be at least a halfway decent dude. He also used to be cool. And ever sinceKay-la, he’s—”

“Soshe’sa bad influence?” I interrupt, unable to even contain myself. “Are you actually serious right now? He’s terrible for her!”

“I think you’ve got that a little backward.”

“Jessa,” I say. “It’s Jessa, right?”

She nods. “Right.”

“Okay.Jessa,” I say pointedly. “I left for the summer and I get back two days ago and I barely even recognize the person my best friend has become, and the only thing that’s changed is him.” Shit, am I actually yelling at this total stranger right now? “And you,” I add, quieter.

She crosses her arms and glances to the side at No Name, simply amused. “That’s some interesting math there.Bird, is it?”

I roll my eyes. “Making fun of my name now? That’s original.”

“I wasn’t—”

“You know what?You’rethe bad influence, getting her high, then leaving her alone with him. He almost…” I pause. I shouldn’t be saying any of this, I know. She raises her eyebrows, waiting for me to finish. “She almost…” I almost sayshe nearly lost her virginity while high, but I don’t need to share Kayla’s business. “Wh-what were you thinking?” I try again. “Great job watching out for your fellow women.”

“My ‘fellow women’?” she scoffs. “Who is this?” she says to the other girl, laughing again. Then she turns back to me. “Um, she took the joint right out of my hand, like I would share with her. Green is for friends, and I am not planning on befriending her anytime soon. She just wanted to look cool, and that is by far the stupidest reason ever to get high.”

“Like there’s a smart reason for getting high?”