Ivy shook her head, glimpsing the hurt hidden behind Olivia’s expression. ‘But –’
It was too late. Olivia had already spun around and hurried away, her pink shoes clicking against the cafeteria floor. A moment later, she’d disappeared into the crowd of strangers, by herself.
Ripples of reaction ran through the cafeteria, and Ivy’s vampire ears forced every whisper on her.
‘Did you see that? Even her own twin isn’t cool enough to sit with her!’
‘Of course not.’ Someone let out a snort of disgust. ‘Just look at all that pink!’
Fury tightened every muscle in Ivy’s body. Under the table, Brendan took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. He was the only person who could know exactly what she’d just heard . . . and how hard it was for her not to react.
Ivy squeezed his hand back, grateful for his support . . . but it wasn’t enough. This can never happen again. OK, she couldn’t find Olivia a place at her table this lunch hour, but she could do her best to fix things.
Starting now!
Squaring her shoulders, she looked at the goth-girl directly across the table from her, who was wearing a Shadowtown T-shirt.
The truth was, Shadowtown was Ivy’s favourite show . . . but it was undeniably trashy. And so far, no one else at Franklin Grove High knew about Ivy’s midnight marathons of Shadowtown. So . . .
She forced her face into a sneer. ‘So, is that how you like your vampires?’ She pointed dismissively at the other girl’s T-shirt. ‘Moon-eyed and sappy?’
‘Uh . . .’ Brendan stared at her, visibly shocked. ‘Ivy –’
She gave him a gentle kick under the table. The last thing she wanted right now was for him to blurt out how much Ivy loved Shadowtown and its sappy, moon-eyed vampires.
Brendan closed his mouth obediently, but his eyes were wide as she continued, ‘I mean, don’t you think all of that –’ She waved her hand in the general direction of the Shadowtown T-shirt, forcing poison into her tone –‘is a bit pathetic ?’
The girl rocked backwards as if she’d been punched . . . and Ivy’s stomach gave a sickening twist.
The whole table had fallen silent with shock. Everyone for three tables around was watching Ivy and her victim, waiting to see what would happen next.
It’s for the best, Ivy told herself, fighting down guilt. Really, this whole horrible scene was for the poor girl’s own good, and everyone else’s, too. If they all decided Ivy was horrible, they wouldn’t want anything more to do with her. Then they’d all find something more interesting to do with their lives – and she’d finally be left in peace to settle in at her new school without everyone analysing her every move.
Still, she couldn’t stand the look of hurt in the other girl’s eyes. Crossing her arms, she looked pointedly away, studying the rest of the cafeteria. As her gaze picked out Olivia in the crowd, she let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, her twin hadn’t ended up stuck at a table full of strangers – Sophia had made space for her at the skater table with Finn and his friends. Between Olivia’s pink top, Sophia’s black dress and the rest of the skaters’ tie-dyed or gingham outfits, they looked like an odd mixture of students to be sitting together . . . and that was exactly how it should be.
Ivy was just wishing that she could be part of it when she suddenly heard a piercing gasp. She swung back around to her own table and found Shadowtown Girl staring down at her T-shirt. When the goth-girl straightened, she was beaming with delight. ‘I get it! You’re quoting from that scene in series two, episode four, aren’t you?’
Uh-oh. Ivy swallowed hard. Was she? She hadn’t thought she was . . . but now that Laura pointed it out . . .
‘When that vampire guy makes fun of the sweater his girlfriend is wearing,’ Laura went on ‘to try to make her dump him because he knows he’s not good enough for her! But she doesn’t, she just loves him even more because she can see through his act and knows he’s a good person underneath.’ Her eyes misting, the girl reached across the table and grabbed Ivy’s hand. ‘I can’t believe this. I’ve never met anyone who knows Shadowtown as well as I do. You are the coolest !’
As all the other goth-girls around the table chimed in with agreement, Ivy sagged in despair.
So much for that plan! She’d just accidentally made herself more popular than ever!
When she looked at Brendan, she found his cheeks sucked in tight to try to hide his smile . . . but she could tell he was laughing on the inside, even while she was dying.
And it was still only Monday!
Chapter Four
‘I just miss you,’ Olivia whispered into the phone that evening, as she sat curled up on her bed.
‘I miss you, too.’ Her boyfriend’s voice was warm and confident, and just the sound of it made her shoulders relax. ‘But things will get easier at school soon. I know it. Hey, you’re a movie star now, remember?’
Olivia rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help laughing as she propped herself up against her pale lavender pillows. ‘Yeah, maybe I should tell the goths at school to keep that in mind.’
Jackson laughed too, but when he spoke again, his tone was serious. ‘Just remember, it could be a lot worse. You wouldn’t want to be fighting off paparazzi every day, right? That’s why you went back to Franklin Grove in the first place – because you wanted a normal life. No Hollywood lifestyle, no hangers-on . . .’