searched for the right words. “Maybe we can be on the same side one day.”
He was quiet for so long I thought maybe he’d walked away but eventually he spoke.
“You’re really leaving early?”
I turned to face him. “Yeah. I’m gonna head back today. It’s for the best, right?”
He looked distinctly uncomfortable but he didn’t argue. He just shrugged. “I thought you’d stick around through Friday, at least.”
I stared at him in confusion. “Why? What’s Friday?”
“Homecoming.” His gaze met mine and I could have sworn his eyes held a challenge. I stiffened automatically, anger making my muscles tense. Hadn’t we just agreed to let the rivalry go? Hadn’t I just told him I was going to walk away?
Didn’t he get it? I was freakin’ walking away from a girl I liked. A girl I really, truly cared about… And what?
He wanted to rub it in?
I turned back to my duffel bag and shoved the books in with a grunt. “So?”
“I figured you’d take Avery,” he said. His eyes seemed to size me up like he was trying to read me. “Aren’t you guys, like...together or something?”
I let out a sharp exhale. Hadn’t they talked yet? I’d walked out of there two days ago and I knew for a fact they’d been in contact. I’d seen freakin’ Buttercup on our couch yesterday afternoon and they had class together…
So either she hadn’t told Alex yet that she had a crush on him or he was too idiotic to make a move.
I shouldn’t care. Either way, it wasn’t any of my business. I should never have kissed her knowing that she had a thing for my brother. And I should have known from the start that this was one competition I wouldn’t win.
I was used to coming in second in just about everything with Alex, and for the most part I never cared. But now...with this…
When it came to Avery…
I took a deep breath and worked to unclench my jaw. “You should ask her.”
“What?” He sounded so confused it made me want to smack him.
“You heard me. You should ask her to homecoming.” Because that’s what she wants. That’s what she deserved. She was a romantic who wanted the school’s shining star, and she deserved nothing less.
Besides, Alex wasn’t a bad guy. If he actually fell for a girl, I had no doubt he’d make a good boyfriend. He just had to find someone he cared about more than himself.
Or...someone who could help him lose that defense mechanism that only let him worry about himself.
Avery.
If anyone could make a guy forget his selfish ways, it was her. I glanced over at him. “You don’t have a date yet, right?”
“No, but—”
“You should ask her,” I said again, ignoring the fact that the words physically hurt to get out. “She likes you, man. She always has.”
He gave his head a little shake, his brows drawn together in confusion like I was speaking another language. “Maybe she did but that was before you came along.”
I stiffened instantly. His tone wasn’t accusatory but we had enough bad blood between us that I could read the subtext. I’d come along and stole his girl. Of course that was how he’d see it.
And of course he wouldn’t even notice she was alive until I came along and threatened to take her away.
Well, I guess our long standing rivalry was finally good for something. It opened Alex’s eyes to the amazing girl who’d been right in front of his face for years.
“Do yourself a favor,” I said, zipping up my bags because right now I couldn’t get out of here fast enough. “Get out of your own way and let yourself be happy. Like, actually happy not this pretend crap you pull at school.”
“Like you’re one to talk about being happy? You’re the freakin’ king of brooding,” he snapped.
We looked at each other for a long moment and shared a weird, rueful laugh because no matter what we couldn’t seem to stop ourselves from fighting.
But I wasn’t going to fight him for Avery. Not when she’d always wanted Alex and would probably always want him.
I’d always told myself I wasn’t competitive with my brother—that he was the one who competed with me—but right now…
The thought of living in his shadow with Avery?
That didn’t work for me. I’d be jealous every day of my life if I thought she was comparing us. If I thought she was settling by being with me.
Alex glanced down the hallway again, clearly uncomfortable. “Why don’t you