“All thanks to your amazing aunt and uncle.”

“You think I’ll have a plus one by then?” I muse as I finish my last bit of food. “Maybe the gods of love will finally heed my call and drop a guy into Earth for Mia Park?”

“Let’s be hopeful,” Zoey says.

“What about Declan?” Rylee asks.

“What about him?”

“You can always ask him to be your plus one. You guys are friends. Sort of.”

“We’re not…well, I don’t know what we are. But I don’t think…” I shake my head. “Maybe I can bring Gianna or someone else from theater.”

“Or you can bring Declan,” Rylee insists. She holds up her hands. “As a friend, Mia. Geez.”

“Speak of the devil again,” Zoey says, her gaze focused on the entrance to the cafeteria.

There’s a crowd near the door that makes its way into the cafeteria and to the lunch line. Declan, surrounded by fans. But he doesn’t wait at the back of the line—all the students in line let him go first. He tries to refuse, but they insist.

“I guess we can go as friends,” I say. “If he would want to go with me, that is. Which I’m not sure…”

“You did hang out with him at Jarel’s party,” Zoey points out. “What did you guys even talk about?”

I raise my shoulders. “Nothing special. But we didn’t talk much because he was always getting dragged away by HartHeads.”

“Must suck to not live a normal life,” Rylee says.

“He seems to like it, though,” Mason says as he watches him talk and laugh with the crowd.

“Making his fans happy is very important to him,” I tell them. “But he definitely wishes he could have a normal life here.”

“You’d think things would have died down by now,” Kade says.

“I’m sure it will,” Zoey says. “Anyway, back to the book?”

“Ooh, this is my favorite chapter,” Rylee says as she flips through her paperback to the right page. “When Ivy and James go on a secret boat ride. Ivy stands up because James said something to upset her and they fall into the water.”

“Oh my gosh, me too!” I say. “And the awesome part? James was the one who didn’t know how to swim. Ivy had to save him.”

“I loved that, too!” Zoey says. “You know I always love when the girl saves the guy.”

“Hey, everyone,” a male voice says.

When I look up, I find Declan standing near our table, clutching his tray filled to the brim with food. Much more food than one person can eat. The lunch lady is totally spoiling him.

“How are you here when you were right there?” I point to the front of the lunch line.

Declan chuckles. “I used my unique superpower. My two feet.”

“We were busy discussing the book, Mia,” Zoey says. “So you didn’t see him come over.”

“Why would I see him come over?” I hiss. “I wasn’t watching him or anything.”

“You’re discussing the book for English?” Declan asks.

“Nope,” Rylee says. “It’s for book club.”

“Book club?”