Chapter 10

                “I don’t understand.” Cassandra groaned, letting her head fall onto my bed. She stared up at my ceiling, which had some stupid glow in the dark stars taped at the top, from when I thought they were cool back in middle school. “Max and I danced at homecoming, and we’ve even kissed six times already! Why hasn’t he asked me out yet?”

                I gave her a strange look, before snorting. “You counted how many times you guys kissed?”

                Cassandra gave me a glare, before taking a pillow from my bed, and tossing it at me from across the room. It hit my chest with a thud, before landing onto my lap. I held back a laugh, as Cassandra sat up, giving me a pout. “I’m serious, Riley.” She sighed. Her face suddenly turned pale, as her face read a sudden shock of horror. “You don’t think he’s playing with me, is he?”

                Raising an eyebrow, I shook my head almost immediately. Max has been my closest friend since two years ago, and I’ve known him long enough to know that he wasn’t one to play with a girl’s emotions. Sure, he’s been on a couple of dates or two, but those dates have always been casual. He’s never broken a girl’s heart before, from what I’ve known. “Max isn’t a player.” I assured Cassandra, who let out a sigh of relief. “Maybe he’s just shy, you know? I’ve never seen him with an actual girlfriend before.”

                Cassandra’s eyes widened, as she clamped a hand over her lips. “But that’s impossible! He’s so hot!”

                I let out a chuckle, before rolling my eyes. “He doesn’t like flings, you know? Especially because that’s what most girls want these days.”

                I looked over to Cassandra, who was sulking on my bed. She began to pluck the loose threads on my sheets, before sighing. “I don’t want a fling.” She muttered under her breath. “I haven’t had a boyfriend since freshman year, and when I finally do want one, he doesn’t want me back.”

                “Max likes you, a lot, trust me.” I smiled at Cassandra reassuringly. “Just give him time, okay?”

                Cassandra let out a puff of air, before a weak smile slipped across her face. “Okay.” She nodded, sitting up straighter this time. “So Max tells me that you were jealous of Everett’s new stepsister?”

                My cheeks turned bright red, as I had the sudden urge to go hide from embarrassment. “Can we please not talk about that?” I asked in a little voice.

                Cassandra burst into a misfit of laughter, as she clutched her stomach in pain. She gave me one last amused look, before biting down on her lower lip to stop her uncontrollable chuckling. “I’m just curious as to how you didn’t know it earlier, I mean, everyone was talking about it from the very moment she stepped into our school.”

                I suddenly grew quiet at the fact that I didn’t know because everyone was practically hiding it from me, for example, my own mother. I wasn’t going to snap off at Cassandra though, because she didn’t know. “I tend to stay away from school gossip, you know?” I gave her a small smile.

                Cassandra chuckled lightly, before giving me a smile. “I know, Riley.”

*

                “Am I going to see you at lunch today?” Max asked, as we found each other in the school corridors the next morning.

                I stared mindlessly at the piles of textbooks that were in my arms, giving him a sheepish smile. “I don’t think I can make it.” I sighed. “I’ve got to study for three tests this afternoon.”

                Max let out a groan, before running a hand through his curly blonde locks. “You haven’t been to lunch with me for a week now.” He pointed out. “And that’s the only period I get to have with you, besides French.”

                I gave him a hesitant look, before letting a long breath of air. I gave him a glare, before giving into Max. “Fine,” I rolled my eyes, “I guess I could do a little bit of cramming during study hall.”

                Max gave me a broad grin, before throwing an arm over my shoulder. “See? This is why you’re my best friend.”

                I gave him a playful glare, before pushing his arm off of me. “Are you sure?” I teased, poking his shoulder. “I was starting to become convinced that you’ve replaced me with Cassandra.”

                Max let out a dramatic gasp, as he clamped a hand over his lips. A laugh escaped my lips, as I stared up at my best friend with amused eyes. “I can’t believe you think so low of me!” he joked along.

                “Well, you have been pretty close with her lately.” I pushed his shoulder, as I thought back to the night before, when Cassandra came over to my house to talk about how Max hasn’t asked her out yet. “Word is it that two of you have kissed four times-“

                “Six.” Max corrected me.

                I shot him a glare, as a blush crept up his neck. It seems as though that Cassandra wasn’t the only one who was counting. “Okay, six times.” I corrected myself, while rolling my eyes. “Why haven’t you grown a pair of balls to ask the poor girl out yet?”

                Max rubbed the back of his neck with his palms, as he stared down at the ground with embarrassment. I’ve got to admit that Max should be scared and shy, because Cassandra was actually his first girlfriend. But, he should own up and ask Cassandra out before she got the impression that he was playing with her.

                The late bell finally rang, as a relieved look came across Max’s face. He gave me a small smile, before disappearing off down the empty hallways. Before he made a turn, though, I called out, “Ask her out!”

                I stared down at the time that was written on my phone, noticing that I was already a few minutes late to my history class, which was all the way on the other side of the building. I was too busy scolding Max to notice that I was going to be late for my next class.

                I groaned, as I hurried down the hallways to make my way towards my history class. When I finally got there and opened the door to the classroom, my teacher shot me an unimpressed look. She glared at me, as I muttered an apology. My cheeks turned bright red as I made my way over to my seat, which was right in front of Cooper, the guy that I danced with at homecoming.

                I dropped my stuff down, as I took a seat. I took out my notebook, as Mrs. Wilkins continued onto teaching her lesson. Just a few minutes into the lesson, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

                I flinched just slightly, as I glanced over to Cooper, who had a grin across his face. “Hey.” He whispered. “You’re Riley, right?”

                I nodded shyly; almost satisfied with myself that he remembered my name. Even though dancing with Cooper at homecoming was a bit uncomfortable, I still wanted to prove to Everett that Cooper hadn’t only chosen to dance with me because I was in a dress and heels. “That’s me.” I gave him a tiny smile.

                I saw Cooper smiling behind me, as he licked his lips. “I never really got to talk to you after homecoming, did I?”

                I shook my head, brushing a strand of my brown locks behind my ears. “I guess not.” I muttered. “But that was kind of my fault, sorry.”

                Cooper suddenly gave me a flirtatious look, as he leaned over his desk to get closer to me. “So, I was wondering if you would maybe want to go out sometimes?” he asked, biting on his lower lip. I frowned, suddenly wondering if he thought that it made him look attractive, because it certainly did not. I gave him a faint smile, before shrugging. Cooper let out a chuckle, before winking at me. “You’re playing hard to get, Riley. I like that.”

                I blinked, wondering if he was being serious or not. “I’m not playing hard to-“

                “But, hit me up if you ever want to hang out.” Cooper grinned, sliding a note across his desk towards me. “And you should start wearing dresses and heels more often. They make you look hot.”

                I gave him a tight smile, before taking the note, and shoving it in my bag. I made myself a mental note to burn it to shreds later on, because Everett was right, just like he always was and has been. Cooper only liked me because I put on a dress and heels on homecoming. There was nothing else to me that he wanted.

                History class felt like it was dragging on the entire period. Multiple times I had the urge to just fall asleep from all the talk about American History. When the bell finally rung, I quickly packed my bags, and tried to escape. But, I couldn’t leave without Cooper stopping me to give me a wink.

                When I did finally escape, I found that someone was waiting for me outside of the class. Maria was leaning against the wall, and smiled when she saw me. “Riley, I was waiting for you!” she smiled.

                I noticed that Maria had an effortless beauty about her. She had hair exotic black hair tossed up in a messy bun, but she still managed to make heads turn while she walked down the hallways. I gave Maria a small smile, raising an eyebrow. “Really?” I asked, surprised. “How did you know that I had History?”

                Maria laughed, as she put her hands on my shoulder. “I have History with you.” She said, as a deep red blush formed on my temples. I slapped myself mentally, wondering how I could’ve missed that Maria had been in my class all along. “I sit on the opposite end, though.”

                I nodded slowly. “Oh, sorry.” I muttered with shame. “What do you have right now?”

                Maria looked at the schedule that was in her binder, before her eyes snapped back at mine. “Lunch! What about you?”

                I smiled, nodding. “Same here.”

                “Great! Maybe we could sit together?” she asked unsurely.

                I raised an eyebrow, turning around to stare at Maria to see if she was being serious or not. I studied her prominent, cat like eyes, noticing that there were no hints of playfulness. I blinked for a moment, before I offered her an uneasy smile. “Sure.”

                Maria’s chocolate brown eyes lit up, as she grinned. “Yes!” she cheered. “I can finally get out of talking about stupid lip gloss and shoes.”

                I muffled a laugh, as we approached our usual lunch table. Max and Cassandra were already sitting there, side by side. Cassandra seemed to be laughing at something Max said, as her dewy cheeks glowed. When the two of them finally noticed Maria and I, they frowned for a short moment, until they plastered smiles on their faces.

                “Maria,” Cassandra started off, giving her a smile, “Everett’s new sister, right?”

                Maria nodded, as she tossed her luscious dark locks behind her neck. “That’s me.” She waved energetically. From afar, I noticed that a few people who usually sat with Everett were shooting glares at Maria. I nudged Maria’s elbow, but all she did was spare them a short glance. “So, who are you guys?”

                “Well, I’m Max.” Max offered her a friendly grin, which completely threw me off guard. Max wasn’t exactly friendly or welcoming to Cassandra when she first met us, so why was he opening up to Maria so quickly?

                “And I’m Cassandra.” Cassandra smiled, before turning to Max with a glare. She took her backhand, and smacked Max across his chest playfully. “How come you weren’t that nice to me when I first met you and Riley?”

                Max rolled his eyes, before wrapping an arm around Cassandra’s waist. He pulled her onto his lip, burying his face into her neck. “I thought you were going to be a bitch.” He grinned, while Cassandra gave him a bland stare. “But it turns out you aren’t.”

                “So, are you two dating?” Maria popped the question towards the two.

                Cassandra’s cheeks turned scarlet red, as she bit down on her lower lip. Max stared away from my burning gaze, as I let out a groan. “Max, didn’t I tell you to ask her out?” I snapped, making Cassandra’s eyes go wide.

                Max’s eyes shot up at mine, as he blushed. “Riley.” He hissed.

                Maria laughed beside me, but I noticed her smile faltering once Everett approached out table. He didn’t wear a scowl across his face, which I was thankful for, but his eyes were exactly inviting, either. They were icy blue, as they flickered over to mine for a split second, before he let out a breath of air. “My dad called me earlier today.” He told Maria. “He says that your mom wants you to meet her at the bridal shop after school today.”

                Maria frowned, raising an eyebrow. “For what? She already got her dress a month ago.”

                “He says something about finding bridesmaids dresses?” Everett asked, shrugging. “I don’t know. But, I have to go to the flower shops to pick up the vases, or whatever.”

                Maria threw her head back in exasperation. She ran a hand through her hair, obvious stressed out and frustrated with all of the wedding plans going on. “Crap.” She muttered under her breath. “What else do we have to do?”

                Everett got his phone out, rereading a text that his father sent him. “Well, after I get the vases, I have to go order some printed napkins, then I have to get the wedding favors, review the playlist-“

                “What are the parents doing?” Maria snapped.

                “They’re picking centerpieces, fixing up the dresses, I don’t fucking know.” Everett sighed, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “I just need you to book the rehearsal venues after you leave the bridal shop.”

                Maria groaned, shaking her head. “I can’t! Picking out bridesmaids dresses will take hours, and I have a project due-“

                “We could help.” Cassandra suddenly interrupted the feud going on between Everett and Maria. “We could do some of the small errands for you, if you want.”

                Max seemed reluctant to agree with Cassandra, but when he finally did, he nodded. “Yeah, I mean, we could split the jobs up. Cass and I could go pick up the wedding favors and the napkins, and you and Riley could review the playlist and pick up the cases.” My eyes widened, as my head snapped towards Max. He had to be insane. My best friend had to be going insane if he thought that Everett was ever going to agree to spend time with me! 

                “That’s a good idea!” Maria piped up, as I mentally smacked myself. Everett seemed unconvinced, but Maria was literally begging on her knees. “Come on, Everett! You and I know that we can’t do this shit on our own.”

                I stared down at my hands, as I licked my dry lips. Any moment now, Everett was going to tell everyone that he thought the idea was horrible, just because I was involved in it.

                “Okay, fine.” Everett let out a breath of air. “I’ll give you guys the information right now.”