Her heart ached as last night’s interaction with JD came rushing back. Like their shredded childhood flag, the past was slashed. Destroyed. And there was no way for Em to piece it back together. In fact, there was a chance that last night she’d made things even worse.
“Um, Em? Earth to Em?” Fiona was snapping her fingers lightly in front of Em’s face. “Are you even listening to me? I’m asking what you think about Mr. Landon. Do you think he’s coming back?”
“Yeah, I’d think you of all people would be interested in the disappearance of Ascension’s hottest book-nerd teacher,” Lauren said. “Didn’t you have him this year?”
Em looked at them blankly for a second before nodding vaguely. “Yeah . . . the sub is meh. I’m bummed. I was looking forward to Mr. Landon’s reading list this semester.”
She couldn’t think of much more to say. Honestly? She was thinking about those icicles and what it would feel like to have one stabbed into her heart.
CHAPTER FOUR
Skylar was still glowing when she arrived at school the next morning. Her hair was pinned back from her face, and she knew her green sweater made her hazel eyes shine. Pierce’s sweatshirt was tucked in her messenger bag and still warm from the dryer—she’d slept in it, savoring his boyish scent—and gotten up early this morning to wash it. Right before shoving it in her bag, she’d spritzed it with a tiny bit of her perfume. Maybe when he wore it he’d think of her.
She saw him just before homeroom, standing near a bay of lockers with a group of his teammates. She had about four minutes before the bell rang. Should she go up to him and return the sweatshirt right there, in front of everyone? Should she call him aside? Should she wait until math class—which they had together next period—and put the sweatshirt on his desk then? Why didn’t she know how to do this stuff? And how come so many other people did? Come on, Skylar. Be who you want to be.
She took a deep breath and looked around to make sure no one was watching her, then she started to approach him. But just as she was about to say his name, she heard it come from someone else’s mouth. She recognized the sweet, high voice from the day before. Gabby.
“Pierce!” Gabby called from down the hall. “Come here for a second!”
Skylar watched Pierce wheel around and jog right over to Gabby, who stood with a bunch of girls by the water fountain. Gabby casually slung her arm through Pierce’s like it was nothing. Like she was in charge. They walked off together, Pierce towering over Gabby despite her wedge-heeled riding boots. Skylar wondered what they were talking about. She wondered if she’d ever be that comfortable around a guy.
By the time Pierce got to geometry (he must have walked Gabby to class, Skylar realized with dismay), there was no time for a flirtatious exchange. He slipped into the seat next to her just as Ms. Abrams was starting class.
“Here’s your sweatshirt,” she whispered, pulling it from her bag. “Thanks.”
Pierce looked up with clear blue eyes and grinned. She felt that giddiness again. He was so cute—like army cute. Like southern cute, almost.
“Oh, hey, no problem,” he said, taking the sweatshirt from her. “I’d almost forgotten about it.”
“Well, here it is,” she said, dumbly repeating herself.
He balled it up to put it in his bag, and as he did he took an exaggerated sniff. “This doesn’t smell half as bad as it did when I gave it to you,” he said. “Maybe I should lend you more of my clothes.”
He noticed! Skylar smiled shyly and tried to think of something funny to say back. But then Ms. Abrams trumpeted, “Let’s get started, people,” and Pierce was digging in his bag for a pencil. So that was it. Opportunity officially missed.
? ? ?
She watched him jet out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang, and then realized, with a sinking feeling, that she had nothing else to look forward to that day. There was no one else she was interested in running into—in fact, she hoped to avoid anyone who might have seen her at lunch yesterday, pitiful and pathetic in her marinara-drenched shirt. When lunchtime rolled around, she took her PB&J and started walking up the hill off campus. She couldn’t face more probing stares, or even the minor discomfort of sitting alone in the cafeteria. She thought she’d seen a little row of stores right around the corner from the school. Maybe she could hide out in one of them.
She trudged up the hill away from Ascension High, burying her face in her scarf to keep it from getting whipped by the wind and replaying her conversation with Pierce. He’d definitely been friendly, and there had been an undertone of flirtation. Right? She just didn’t know how to follow through. Lucy would have known. Gabby probably knew. She sighed deeply, filling the scarf with hot, damp air.