me.
“What?” I say, feeling guilty and buzzy at the same time.
“You look … weird,” Teeny says. She flips her hair behind her shoulders and leans in. “So, spill. I texted youlike fifteen times last night during Bible study, and you never said peep back.”
“I did too,” Emi says sourly. “I wanted to know if you got the answer to number fifteen on our Statistics homework.”
“I wanted to know if you made out with Nick Roberts,” Teeny says, and grins at me. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say yes.”
“Maybe,” I say, but my smile gives it away.
“What did you do? Did you go anywhere?” Teeny asks.
“Did you get the answer to number fifteen?” Emi says.
Teeny and I stare at her and burst into laughter.
“What?” she asks defensively. “Statistics is next block.”
“We just … hung out,” I say, because it feels disloyal to talk about the bombing run that put the word “Nothing” on sixteen different buildings last night. And while Teeny is pretty open-minded, she is really only a good girl who pretends to be bad. I know she would be shocked. And Emi … Emi would never understand.
I should be shocked too, but for some reason I’m not. The thrum of illicit excitement still courses through me.
“Hung all over each other is more like it,” Teeny says with a smirk. “Is he a good kisser?”
“Um … yes .”
Teeny starts to laugh, then glances up over my shoulder, her eyes widening.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see Nick standing behind me.
“Do you want to eat with us?” he asks, looking adorably uncomfortable.
I throw a glance at Teeny and Emi. “You guys want to come?” Something like pleading creeps into my voice, because I know what they’re going to say. It feels like a moment when you think, I bet I can beat that train or That dog looks friendly , but Nick is looking at me with those eyes that seem to see the small, scared part of me that doesn’t want to feel that way anymore.
“No, you go on, girl,” Teeny says, eyeing Nick narrowly.
I get up and take my tray. “I’ll see you in Statistics,” I say to Emi.
“Okay,” she says, and mouths be careful , but it’s too late.
Nick and I don’t talk as we walk to the other side of the cafeteria to where Dave is sitting. I don’t know whether Hailey is in this lunch block or not, but she’s nowhere to be seen. In the fluorescent lights of the cafeteria, Dave has obvious zits and his gray “Two Time World War Champs” T-shirt is stained and straining across his broad chest.
Nick, on the other hand, looks just as good as the laughing boy I remember from last night, the silver ring in his eyebrow flashing, the smell of paint still on his hands.
“Okay, so what I want to know,” Dave says as I sit down, “is where did you learn to climb like that? You went up that fence like it was nothing.”
“I climb,” I say. “You know, the Gunks and stuff? My dadhas owned the climbing shop for like thirty years, and I’ve been climbing since I was a kid.”
“You must really be into it,” Dave says. “I’ve gone out a couple of times, but it was never my thing.”
“I’m pretty into it,” I agree, though it’s a far cry from how I really feel about climbing. It’s the best thing in the world.
“I think she did good last night,” Nick says, sneaking one of my chicken bites.
“You going to help get us some paint?” Dave asks.
“What?”
“We have to be careful about the paint,” Nick explains. “We can’t just go down to the hardware store and buy a case. So we either find someone to buy it for us, or steal it.” Nick watches for my reaction, and I carefully keep my face blank. “She’ll help us get paint,” he says to Dave.
I nod, because of course I will, and he knows it. I’m blowing up the box, and it feels dangerous, and wonderful, and completely necessary.
“Hailey is not going to like it,” Dave says.
“Hailey’s just going to have to deal,” Nick
“What?” I say, feeling guilty and buzzy at the same time.
“You look … weird,” Teeny says. She flips her hair behind her shoulders and leans in. “So, spill. I texted youlike fifteen times last night during Bible study, and you never said peep back.”
“I did too,” Emi says sourly. “I wanted to know if you got the answer to number fifteen on our Statistics homework.”
“I wanted to know if you made out with Nick Roberts,” Teeny says, and grins at me. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say yes.”
“Maybe,” I say, but my smile gives it away.
“What did you do? Did you go anywhere?” Teeny asks.
“Did you get the answer to number fifteen?” Emi says.
Teeny and I stare at her and burst into laughter.
“What?” she asks defensively. “Statistics is next block.”
“We just … hung out,” I say, because it feels disloyal to talk about the bombing run that put the word “Nothing” on sixteen different buildings last night. And while Teeny is pretty open-minded, she is really only a good girl who pretends to be bad. I know she would be shocked. And Emi … Emi would never understand.
I should be shocked too, but for some reason I’m not. The thrum of illicit excitement still courses through me.
“Hung all over each other is more like it,” Teeny says with a smirk. “Is he a good kisser?”
“Um … yes .”
Teeny starts to laugh, then glances up over my shoulder, her eyes widening.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see Nick standing behind me.
“Do you want to eat with us?” he asks, looking adorably uncomfortable.
I throw a glance at Teeny and Emi. “You guys want to come?” Something like pleading creeps into my voice, because I know what they’re going to say. It feels like a moment when you think, I bet I can beat that train or That dog looks friendly , but Nick is looking at me with those eyes that seem to see the small, scared part of me that doesn’t want to feel that way anymore.
“No, you go on, girl,” Teeny says, eyeing Nick narrowly.
I get up and take my tray. “I’ll see you in Statistics,” I say to Emi.
“Okay,” she says, and mouths be careful , but it’s too late.
Nick and I don’t talk as we walk to the other side of the cafeteria to where Dave is sitting. I don’t know whether Hailey is in this lunch block or not, but she’s nowhere to be seen. In the fluorescent lights of the cafeteria, Dave has obvious zits and his gray “Two Time World War Champs” T-shirt is stained and straining across his broad chest.
Nick, on the other hand, looks just as good as the laughing boy I remember from last night, the silver ring in his eyebrow flashing, the smell of paint still on his hands.
“Okay, so what I want to know,” Dave says as I sit down, “is where did you learn to climb like that? You went up that fence like it was nothing.”
“I climb,” I say. “You know, the Gunks and stuff? My dadhas owned the climbing shop for like thirty years, and I’ve been climbing since I was a kid.”
“You must really be into it,” Dave says. “I’ve gone out a couple of times, but it was never my thing.”
“I’m pretty into it,” I agree, though it’s a far cry from how I really feel about climbing. It’s the best thing in the world.
“I think she did good last night,” Nick says, sneaking one of my chicken bites.
“You going to help get us some paint?” Dave asks.
“What?”
“We have to be careful about the paint,” Nick explains. “We can’t just go down to the hardware store and buy a case. So we either find someone to buy it for us, or steal it.” Nick watches for my reaction, and I carefully keep my face blank. “She’ll help us get paint,” he says to Dave.
I nod, because of course I will, and he knows it. I’m blowing up the box, and it feels dangerous, and wonderful, and completely necessary.
“Hailey is not going to like it,” Dave says.
“Hailey’s just going to have to deal,” Nick
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