didn’t know about, and she’d been video calling him or something? I immediately felt the urge to hunt down and punch the hypothetical guy.
She shrugged. “I told Zoey I’d do one of her makeup tutorials,” she explained. “And this is the result.”
“Ah.” A rush of relief washed through me at her words. “So, it’s not for some secret boyfriend then?”
“What?” She frowned. “No, of course not.”
“Good,” I muttered.
My response only made her frown more prominent. I was suddenly feeling a lot less aggressive though. The hypothetical boyfriend wouldn’t be getting punched after all.
“It all started because they canceled the prom,” Clary added. She was still looking at me strangely, and I knew I needed to stop acting so possessive.
“Oh yeah, I heard it was canceled.” I’d woken up to a string of messages from my friends telling me the news. They all seemed devastated, but I wasn’t all that upset. “Are you sad it’s not happening?”
Clary pursed her lips as she considered it. “I mean, it would have been nice to go, but I understand why they had to cancel it. How about you?”
“Yeah, I feel the same. It would have been fun, but I get it.”
She scoffed lightly. “I would have thought you’d be completely distraught that you wouldn’t be getting your prom king crown.”
My eyes lifted to the ceiling. “I don’t care about a crown.”
“Sure, you don’t.” Disbelief colored her tone.
“I don’t.”
“Okay, sure”
“Uh, I think you meant to say ‘okay, sure, your highness.’”
She laughed at the seriousness in my tone, and I winked. I really liked it when Clary looked so happy. I didn’t know if I would have won prom king, but everyone had been telling me for weeks the crown was mine. It wasn’t something I cared about though, no matter what Clary might think.
“So, did you have a date to the prom?” she asked.
“Nope. I was waiting for you to ask me.”
She smiled. “Uh-huh, right.”
“I was,” I insisted. “I was heartbroken when it looked like you were never going to ask.”
“Stop messing around. You didn’t want to go to the prom with me.”
I would have loved to go with Clary, but there was no way she’d believe that. She’d started to warm to me since we’d been living together, but if anything, I felt further from dating her than ever before. I was worried she’d put me in some weird kind of friend zone—and I hated it. That zone should be illegal.
“Did you have a date?” I asked.
She shook her head. “There isn’t anyone I’m interested in at the moment.”
“You don’t have to be interested in someone to go to the prom with them.”
“But it helps,” she replied.
“I guess it does.”
I slowed the truck as we pulled up outside her house. She turned to me before getting out. “I get longer than two minutes this time,” she said. Her face was stern. She was seriously cute when she was trying to be serious.
I grinned. “Okay.”
“Okay?” She sounded surprised I’d caved so easily.
“Sure. I don’t mind if you take all afternoon—as long as I get to come watch.”
Clary’s nose scrunched up with irritation. “Wouldn’t you rather just go home and come back to pick me up when I’m done?”
“Nope.” I opened my door, jumped from the truck, and started toward her house before she could object.
“I really don’t need your help!” Clary called as she rushed to catch up with me.
“I know,” I agreed. “And who said anything about help? I’m just looking for some entertainment, and you’re the most exciting thing in my life these days. What could possibly beat watching you gather more clothing?”
“Just about anything,” Clary grumbled. She fished her keys out of her pocket rather than continuing to argue the point.
I followed her inside and up to her room. Clary’s house was small compared to mine, but it was filled with so much life. The walls were painted bright colors and covered in collages of family photos. The furniture was all mismatched, but I liked how everything was unique and interesting. It actually felt like this place was lived in.
Our place looked so generic in comparison. Our living room was an exact replica of a picture Mom had seen in a Pottery Barn magazine. She didn’t have time to search for interesting pieces of furniture or put together artistic arrangements of family photos. There might have been a lot of love in our house, but it was sorely missing the homey vibes I was getting at Clary’s.
Clary’s room was a striking contrast