Virtually in Love by A. Destiny

a week or two, right?” I took a deep breath. “What if he’d actually been here for the school dance?”
    Vanessa gasped, her carefully lined eyes going round and dismayed. “Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that! How romantic would that be?”
    â€œYeah.” I sighed. “It would be straight out of the song, actually—remember that line?”
    â€œYou’ll know it’s true on a magical night, whether sailing at sea or dancing in the moonlight,” Vanessa sang softly. “Oh, Chloe. I’m so sorry.”
    She looked so devastated that I almost giggled. “It’s okay. I’ll live. Probably.” I hummed the next line of the song, which happened to be the one about special first kisses: That’s when you’ll share a first kiss if you dare / Remember it always: true romance is rare . Oh well. Maybe next year . . .
    At that moment Van’s mother’s voice drifted up to us, calling our names.
    â€œOops.” Vanessa checked her watch. “Time to go.”
    We were in the car when my phone buzzed again. It was Trevor.
    Hey, cutie, just checking in before I meet up with the guys in a few. Saw your pic—very nice! Why are u guys so dressed up? Got a hot date today? Lol! Anyway, wanted to check in since I’ll probably be out of touch for hours—we’re auditioning drummers today, remember? Hope u have a great day!
    I did remember, though I guessed from his comment about our outfits that he didn’t remember today was Kaz’s party. Oh well—he had a lot on his mind. The band had put out a bunch of online ads for a new drummer, and tons of people had responded. Which just went to show how famous Of Note was already getting, at least in their local music scene.
    I texted him back: Good luck with the auditions! I’ll be at K’s party all day myself, but text me later, okay? Bye!
    He texted back a moment later: U know it! Tell K happy bday from me.
    Just then Vanessa’s mom pulled over to the curb in front of Kaz’s house. “Have fun, girls,” she said.
    â€œThanks, Mom.” Van smiled at me. “Ready to get this party started?”
    I stuck my phone into my pocket. “Let’s go.”
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    By twelve thirty, Kaz’s living room was packed. Pretty much every single person we’d invited had shown up, which should have been surprising, given the last-minute invitations. But for Kaz? No surprise at all, really. People liked him. Enough to change their plans, even.
    I was returning from fetching more napkins from the kitchen when I paused to look around, a little amazed as always at the variety of Kaz’s friends and admirers. The entire sci-fi club had turned out, along with his friends from various other clubs and classes, including the popular president of the sophomore class. Speaking of über-popular people, Maya was over near the punch bowl chatting with a couple of random people. She never traveled without an entourage, and today she’d brought her current boyfriend and a couple of her fellow cheerleaders. And of course at least half the music department was there—that practically went without saying. Kaz was into a lot of stuff, but music was his first love. Just one more reason we got along so well.
    â€œThis is fun.” A kid named Wallace wandered over to me, clutching a plastic cup of punch. “Okay, maybe not as cool as the laser tag party I wanted Kaz to do, but hey.”
    I didn’t bother to explain that Kaz himself had requested a quieter, more low-key party this year. Which this qualified as, at least in Kaz’s world. I dropped the napkins onto the coffee table and smiled at Wallace, sizing him up. He was one of the cuter nerds from the sci-fi club, with adorably messy dark hair and a brain like a calculator. Would he make a suitable dance date for Vanessa? Maybe even turn out to be her Dream Nerd so she