Page 8

It was still early September, so it was that awkward weather where it felt like two different seasons every day.

My school blazer was usually warm enough, but I grabbed my coat off the hook as I walked by, awkwardly pulling it on with one arm while holding my backpack in the other.

I’d just barely managed to get it over my shoulders as I reached the end of Sebastian’s car.

And it was only then that I realized he was sitting in the car where he could have witnessed the whole embarrassing walk.

And to make it even worse, he wasn’t alone—his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Tiffany, was sitting in the front seat, and her lipstick was smeared all over Sebastian’s face and neck.

Sebastian waved at me sheepishly as I walked further up the car, opening the back door instead of the passenger-side door like I’d been getting used to doing lately.

Tiffany had her seat as far back as it could go, giving me no leg room at all, so I slid to the middle seat, even though it was the least comfortable place in the car .

“Sorry,” Sebastian said as I pulled on my seatbelt. “I didn’t hear you come out.”

I figured he was apologizing for making out with Tiffany, but I didn’t bother correcting him that I hadn’t seen anything.

Even if I had, it wouldn’t be the first time.

Sebastian and Tiffany had been getting together and breaking up on a loop for years now, being broken up almost as much as they were together.

They fought all the time, to the point that I questioned what they even saw in each other, but when they were dating, they were very into PDA.

It wasn’t uncommon to see Tiffany go from screaming at Sebastian to kissing him in zero seconds flat.

“I didn’t realize you two were back together,” I said.

I knew they hadn’t been together on Friday—Sebastian’s kiss was enough evidence of that.

What had changed between then and now was anybody’s guess, but it was hard not to feel a little bit hurt that it took him only forty-eight hours from our kiss to get back with her.

But then, what did I expect? That he was going to kiss me and magically fall in love?

“It just happened last night,” Tiffany said. She grabbed Sebastian’s hand and squeezed. “I guess we’re just celebrating.”

I couldn’t help the grossed out face I made at those words, but I quickly turned my face towards the window so that neither of them would see.

I guess that threw out my theory that he might want to be alone with me this morning so we could talk about what the kiss had meant to each of us.

If he wanted to talk about it, he would have done it before getting back with his girlfriend, I was sure of that.

At this point, we were never, ever going to mention it again.

I hated the hole that burrowed into my heart.

Nobody said anything as we pulled out of the driveway and started towards school, so I just stared at Tiffany and Sebastian’s interlaced hands and the way he kept running his thumb up and down her skin.

Without even meaning to, I imagined myself sitting where she was now, my hand holding his instead of hers.

His hands had felt soft on my back on Friday.

Did they feel like that now? Would they be as warm as they were that night or were they colder now since we were outside?

I tore my gaze away and forced myself to stare out the window, counting each car that passed by just for the sake of a distraction. It wasn’t enough, though. My thoughts kept returning to Sebastian and the kiss and the girlfriend that wasn’t supposed to be here.

When Sebastian pulled into the parking spot at school, I practically threw myself out of the car.

Sebastian didn’t even bat an eye at that, probably used to me feeling sick from his driving and being desperate to get solid ground under me.

Tiffany stared at me disdainfully, though, as I reached back in to grab my backpack that I’d left on the floor of the car.

But when she raised her eyes and noticed me looking, she smiled brightly and said, “Have a great day, Nellie.”

“It’s Nora,” I said. Then I slammed the car door again and waved goodbye to Sebastian before rushing off.

Could I be mad at her that she didn’t know my name?

No. She probably only knew anything about me through Sebastian, who always called me Nellie.

But she wasn’t allowed to call me Nellie—I gave Sebastian a pass, but that was it. He was the only exception.

And there was something about Tiffany that just rubbed me the wrong way.

I wasn’t sure what it was since she’d never done anything to me, but every time she was around, I just got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

Whenever they went through one of their inevitable break-ups, I always secretly hoped that it would be the last time and she would be gone for good.

There were a couple of times that it seemed like it was really going to happen, but she came back every time.

At some point, I probably should have given up hope that he might forget about her.

“Good morning, Nora!” Clementine said in a sing-song voice.

She had this uncanny ability to appear out of nowhere and she did so right as I walked into the front doors of the school, and she threw an arm around my shoulder.

Her best friend Reese appeared on her other side and smiled at me shyly.

Reese was also on the swim team, but she hardly ever spoke.

I assumed she was just really shy, especially since most of the school still viewed her as the new girl even though she’d been here for some time now, but Clementine always joked that Reese just knew her Australian accent would distract everyone during practice. “How are you doing today?”

“Good,” I said, looking at her curiously. Clem was one of those girls that was always happy and said hi to everyone who passed by her, but since she’d immediately started walking alongside me, I had the feeling she had some ulterior motives in talking to me this morning.

“Did I see you getting out of Sebastian Novak’s car this morning?”

At least she was quick to the point.

“Uh-huh,” I said, trying not to make it a big deal. Because if I acted like it was some extraordinary event, then it would spread through the school like wildfire in no time. “He’s my neighbor, so he drives me sometimes.”

“But ‘sometimes’ doesn’t mean every morning,” Clem said. “So what was special today?”

She dragged the words out and left them hanging in the air, clearly waiting for my response, but I had no idea why he’d offered this morning.

Was it actually Mrs. Novak’s idea, like Mom suggested?

Or was there some reason Sebastian had wanted me in the car with him and Tiffany?

Maybe he was trying to make sure I knew he was taken now, so the kiss hadn’t been a big deal.

If that was the case, then message received.

“He offered and I figured I might as well take him up on it.” I did my best to keep my voice calm and nonchalant, like none of this was important, even though the questions were eating me up inside now.

We reached my locker and I was expecting them to continue on to their own lockers before class started, but they both stopped and stayed by the lockers next to mine. Clementine leaned back against the locker beside mine, her pink messy bun getting pushed up to a funny angle.

“I would give anything to get a ride to school every day from Sebastian Novak,” she sighed.

“Again,” I said, “it’s not an everyday thing. In fact, it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon sort of thing. So, don’t get too jealous.”

“Yeah, Clem,” Reese teased. Even though I had heard her speak before, I was still always surprised by her Australian accent.

Like Sebastian, she’d only moved to Canada a couple of years ago.

She looked exactly like what I’d imagine an Australian to look like too—sun-kissed blonde hair, skin that tanned easily in the summer, and the perfect build for a swimmer.

“I know he’s cute, but he’s no Will Valentine, right? ”

Clem sighed even deeper that time, but smiled. “Okay, you’re right, you’re right.”

Will Valentine was Clementine’s biggest celebrity crush.

Actually, she was in love with all the boys in his band—the Valentine Brothers.

All it took was one glimpse at the inside of her locker to realize it.

It made her look like a stalker. Meanwhile, my locker was almost empty, save for my schedule taped up so I could glance at it easily.

“But still,” Clementine said. “I don’t know how you can live next door to a boy that cute and not do something about it.”

“Besides the fact that he has a girlfriend—” I paused as Clementine snorted, clearly not impressed by the relationship status of Sebastian and Tiffany. “If I ever tried anything, my brother would kill me. Sebastian is his best friend.”

“He doesn’t have to know,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Just think about it.”

“There’s nothing to think about. And it’s never going to happen. He sees me as a little sister and nothing more.”

“That’s what you need to change. I mean seriously—imagine the abs under that soccer uniform? Hot .”

I snorted and pulled out another book. “You want me to get with one of the soccer boys so bad, then maybe I should go after Thomas. ”

Her eyes lit up and I immediately regretted saying anything. “Are you considering it?”

The thing about Thomas was that he was an easy cover-up, a way to tell people who I liked without having to reveal my new feelings.

But I’d never taken the time to really consider what it would be like to go out with him, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to risk it.

Because what would happen if I went out with him and didn’t like him?

Then I lost my cover and had to go hunting for a new guy instead.

“’Considering’ is probably a strong word,” I said carefully. I tucked both books into my bag, slammed my locker closed, and started down the hall. I wasn’t surprised when I was immediately flanked by them on either side.

“Well, I can see why you’re into him. I know, totally different vibe than Sebastian, but he’s hot and he’s sweet and he probably likes you. Oh my gosh, you have to do it!”

I was a little worried about the excitement in her voice.

I’d only named Thomas as an excuse to get the topic off of Sebastian.

I wasn’t looking for a date. But maybe it was good that she was this excited about Thomas.

It just gave her that much more reason to think about me with someone other than Sebastian.

Sure, nothing would ever happen between Thomas and me, but I could let her dream right?

And maybe going out with him wouldn’t be that bad anyway.

Clementine was right in saying that he was hot, much in the same way Sebastian was.

I was sure the only reason I liked Sebastian was because I knew he was off-limits, so that made him extra exciting to me.

The kiss probably hadn’t even been that amazing anyway—I bet I was just all muddled up by it because I knew it wasn’t supposed to happen.

If we’d shared the same kiss with Dean’s permission, I bet it wouldn’t be nearly as enticing.

“This is so exciting!” Clementine squealed, even though I didn’t answer her. “You’re going to fall in love and get married and have a thousand babies!”

“Well, gee, I hope not. I’m only sixteen.”

“Oh, you know I was talking about the future,” she sighed, rolling her eyes but smiling. “No, we need to make a game plan.”

“I don’t need a game—” Clementine pressed her fingers to my mouth, effectively shutting me up.

“Yes, you do, trust me.”

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “I have to go. I have a quiz in first period.”

As soon as I said it, I realized I didn’t know if I had that right.

I knew I had a quiz at some point today, but I had no idea when it was.

For the first time in my life, I had no idea if I had any quizzes, projects due, or anything else that should have been my focus at school.

I had bigger things to worry about—every single one of them revolving around Sebastian Novak.