King, and I’ve kind of been spying on him ever since he moved in with the Whitneys over the summer.”
Complete silence followed for a moment as though they were too shocked to react to my confession. It was followed by gasps before my friends crashed into me, slamming my back against the hard surface of the door as they jumped up and down, squealing. My eyes popped open, and I pushed them away. “C’mon, guys. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Wrong.” Sarah made a buzzing sound, as though we were playing trivia and I’d given the incorrect answer. “You being into someone is a major deal.”
Emily nodded and grinned. “Yeah, I can’t remember the last time you’ve so much as mentioned a guy since those rumors swirled about Atticus asking you out during freshman year.”
My shoulders slumped at the reminder of how embarrassed I’d been back then. I hadn’t even really been interested in Atticus as anything more than a friend, but I’d been super flattered when I’d heard he was interested in going on a date with me. Then when nothing had come of it, Staci and Traci had lorded it over me for weeks. They’d taunted me endlessly about how dumb I’d been to actually think he was going to ask out a loser like me. Both girls had proceeded to drape themselves all over him anytime I was around, but at least he’d pushed them off each time. The same wasn’t true with Lindy, another girl on their cheer squad who usually stuck to guys on the swim team. Rumor had it that she’s slept with so many of them that they actually called her an initiation to the team, but that hadn’t stopped Atticus from smashing her and bragging about it afterward.
I’d never learned why Atticus hadn’t approached me, but the reason didn’t really matter. The result was the same—me being embarrassed—and the experience had been a lesson in the rumor mill at Black Mountain Academy. Or boys who were supposedly interested in me but slept with girls who wore their skank status like a badge of honor.
“This isn’t the same thing at all.” Sarah elbowed Emily in the side. “She’s into Corby, so whatever happens actually matters. The stuff with Atticus was irritating, but her heart wasn’t involved, so Emmeline wasn’t as hurt as she could’ve been when nothing ever came of it.”
“Oh, yeah. You have a good point.” Emily bit her bottom lip, looking worried. She was the most sensitive of the three of us while Sarah was the boldest of our little trio, which wasn’t saying much since we were all on the quiet side.
“Okay, so we need a game plan.” Sarah rubbed her hands together and grinned. “Living just down the street from him is convenient. What have you learned about him so far?”
“Besides the fact that he’s super-hot and plays hockey.” Emily let out a little sigh and got a dreamy look in her eyes, irritating the heck out of me. I’d already spent the past two weeks watching plenty of the popular girls try to flirt with him. The last thing I needed was one of my closest friends to catch feelings for him too.
“Ahem.” Emily’s head swiveled toward Sarah, who was glaring at her and jerking her chin in my direction.
Emily’s eyes widened, and her cheeks tinged pink. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that. Corby is cute and all, but he’s not my type. It’s just that the possibility of you and him dating makes me happy.”
I heaved a deep sigh, relieved to know that I wouldn't have to navigate that potential minefield. “You’re such a soft touch.”
“Maybe, but this is all so exciting.” She bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands together. “We’re smart girls. I’m sure we can devise an awesome plan for you to meet him, so you don’t need to stalk him anymore.”
I thought back to how it had felt to spend half an hour with him on the first day of school and blushed. Since Sarah didn’t miss much, she caught on right away to the fact I hadn’t shared everything with them yet. “What’s with that look on your face?”
“Um, so...you know how I have office aide for first period?” I asked, twisting my hands together in a nervous gesture.
“Yeah.” Emily circled her hand in the air, letting me know she wanted me to get on with the story.
I took a deep breath before rushing