Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,28

this stupid crush. He is soooo not interested in me.”

Juliette was adorable, with silky pale blond hair that fell to her shoulders and pretty green eyes. Ellie offered her a friendly smile, and despite the fact that Juliette seemed to be under the impression Ellie was Brian’s date, she returned it.

Nice, too. A thought began to form in Ellie’s mind…a little matchmaking could be a fun distraction from all the drama.

She was just figuring all of this out when she noticed Adelaide giving Juliette and Brian a speculative look. The same curious glance that she herself had received just the other night, right after Griffin had showed up at the pizza place. Not the time to worry about that. Shake it off, she scolded herself. But maybe Adelaide can help me with my matchmaking idea.

The movie was really good, but Ellie spent most of it trying to come up with ways to throw Juliette and Brian together. The only plan she could come up with was befriending Juliette herself. They didn’t share any classes, but there had to be some way.

When the movie finished, they all decided to head to the Dairy Queen downtown. As they were leaving the theater, Ellie noticed Juliette leaving as well. “Adelaide,” Ellie called her friend over. Nodding toward Juliette she said, “Do you know her?”

“Juliette?” Adelaide seemed a little surprised by the question. “Sure! She’s in my English class.”

“Why don’t you ask her to join us at the Dairy Queen?” Ellie suggested.

“Alright,” Adelaide drew out the word. “What’re you up to?”

“Just following a hunch. Trust me. I think it could end well.”

Adelaide remained inquisitive, but shrugged it off. She went over to Juliette who was headed to her own car. They had a short conversation and Juliette walked over to the larger group, clearly having agreed to join in.

“Juliette, this is Ellie Aubrey,” Adelaide introduced them.

“Hi,” Ellie said, offering her hand to shake. “I’ve seen you around school.”

“I’ve seen you too,” Juliette shook the proffered hand. “You’re new here right?”

Ellie grimaced, shifting on her feet. “Yeah,” she pretended to look around as the others headed for their cars. “Hey, why don’t you ride over with me and Brian,” she offered. “We can drop you back at your car on the way back.”

Juliette looked somewhat reluctant. “Okay,” she finally agreed.

When they got to the car, Ellie insisted that Juliette ride in front. “But you’re his date!” Juliette protested.

“Oh!” Ellie widened her eyes in feigned surprise. “No. Brian and I are just friends. He lives in my neighborhood and offered me a ride… He’s really the nicest guy. If I wasn’t already interested in someone else, I’d definitely go for him.”

She flashed a guileless smile and hopped in the back seat. The ride to the Dairy Queen was very short; they could’ve walked if it hadn’t been so cold outside. Ellie started chatting about this and that and then sat back as Juliette and Brian took up the conversation and talked between themselves. Ellie crossed her arms, feeling a little smug. They seemed to have a lot in common. Ellie muffled a small giggle. And was that a bit of flirting going on? Who knew that matchmaking could be so fun in an oddly satisfying sort of way?

After hanging out at the Dairy Queen, the group broke up to head to their respective homes. They got back to the theater only to discover that Juliette had a flat tire, and Ellie knew immediately who had been responsible. Nate could barely contain himself, to the point that his mental laughter was loud enough for Ellie to pick up on with very little effort to tap into Griffin’s power. Apparently Adelaide had put him up to it, doing a little matchmaking herself.

“It’s too late for you to bother dealing with it now,” Brian insisted to Juliette. “I’ll bring you back for your car in the morning if you’d like.”

A shy blush stained Juliette’s cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Where do you live, Juliette?” Ellie asked. After hearing her reply she said, “Drop me off first Brian. I’m on the way.”

When Ellie unlocked her front door and walked in, she immediately met Griffin’s disgusted glare.

“You seriously used my powers to set those two kids up?” He looked so disgruntled Ellie had a hard time not laughing.

“What’s wrong with that?” Ellie brushed past him and headed to the kitchen.

Griffin just shook his head, clearly baffled. “Do you want first shift?” he asked, changing the subject. After Griffin’s sighting of the wolves, they’d agreed to