was still gorgeous. He was still passionate, talented, deep, and brooding ... but there was no full-body frizzle at the sight of him. I was over it.
"Hey," I said when I reached his side.
"Hey."
The last time I'd seen him, I was rushing angrily out of his house. A small part of me wondered if he'd ask about that, or at least look a little concerned when he saw me. He didn't. He glanced up from his guitar, just like always, then scooted over so I could sit next to him. I considered it, but it didn't seem right. I tried standing, but that felt too strident. Instead I sat on a patch of grass. From this angle, I had a far better view of Nate's crotch than his face, and the frosted grass was seeping through both my ratty pea coat and my jeans, leaving me with a cold, wet butt. Not a good call.
"Hey!" said a voice.
I recognized the guy, even though I didn't know him. His name was Eddie Riegert, and he was a Penultimate. He wore jeans and a T-shirt featuring a glasses-wearing, book-reading dinosaur labeled THE-SAURUS. He was muscular without being buff and had wavy, reddish-brown hair. He looked cold; he clearly didn't intend to be outside very long.
Nate looked up at Eddie but said nothing. I didn't either—Eddie was looking at Nate, not me.
After several moments, Eddie seemed to realize Nate's stare was all the acknowledgment he was going to get. He laughed. "Cool, okay. Look, I'm having a party at my house Saturday. Punch in your e-mail. I'll send you the stuff."
Eddie held his cell to Nate, but Nate didn't take it. He just looked at it and kept strumming his guitar.
"Dude, if you don't want to come, that's cool, but say it," Eddie said. "Don't leave me hanging. I'm freezing my ass off out here."
Nate took the phone and punched in his information, then handed it back. He still hadn't said a word.
Eddie gave a sarcastic bow. "Thanks."
He started trotting back to the building. I felt bad for him. He was just being nice; he didn't deserve to be ignored.
"Thanks to you, too!" I called after him, and immediately blushed at my own idiocy. Thanks to you, too? It sounded either desperately dorky or completely sarcastic and rude, neither of which I'd intended. Nate scrunched his face at me, and Eddie stopped in his tracks to stare, like I was some alien life-form. He trotted back and handed me his cell.
"Here," he said. "Punch in your e-mail, too."
Really?
I did what he asked, then tried to salvage some dignity by giving him my best DangerZone emo-girl stare as I handed back the phone.
Eddie laughed out loud. "Thanks"—he looked down at his screen—"Cara. I'll e-mail you guys."
He darted back to the warmth of the building.
Amazing. I had just been invited to a Populazzi party. A Populazzi party! Or at least I was invited to be invited to a Populazzi party.
Wait—was Eddie actually inviting me, or was he inviting Nate-and-Cara: DangerZone couple? Because in about two minutes, that couple wouldn't exist.
"Nate..." I began.
The bell rang.
"Gotta take a final." Nate scowled. "I'm here tomorrow. Or you can come study later."
He gave me one of his half smiles, then strode to the building.
"Nate, wait!" I tried to get up and follow him, but my butt had gone completely numb from the cold and wet, and I immediately fell back down. By the time I got up, Nate was inside, and I had to run to make my French exam.
I called Claudia on the way home. "Do you have any idea how close you came to complete Armageddon?" she asked.
I didn't answer. I had a pretty strong feeling she'd tell me soon enough.
"This party is exactly the steppingstone you need to make the transition from DangerZone to Penultimate! You can't possibly break up with Nate until it's over!"
"Claude, I can't stay with him just to go to a party."
"A Populazzi party."
"Even a Populazzi party." I parked my car at Wegmans and strode across the lot. "Believe me, I want to go. I really want to go. I mean, seriously, this is the kind of thing you and I have been talking about since long before the Ladder. But I can't stay with Nate to do it. I don't feel good about myself anymore when I'm with him. And—"