Page 82 of Drama Queens Don't Fall For Charming Boys

“Yeah, Edenbury High has a book club,” Mason says with a smile. “Which is basically just the five of us.”

“Because people are lame and don’t join,” I say. “They have no idea what they’re missing.”

“Very true,” Kade says. “I didn’t think it could be so much fun.”

Declan’s eyes move between the four of them and he shakes his head. “Sorry, I don’t think you guys and I have been introduced.” He squints at Zoey. “You’re the quarterback, right? I recognize you from the photos on Mia’s Spill It!.”

He looks at my Spill It!? Well, I guess there’s no reason why he wouldn’t. I don’t know why I never considered that before.

“Yeah, that’s me: Zoey Hastings.”

Declan holds out his hand and she shakes it. “Nice. I’ve been doing some research on Edenbury and I read an article about you and your mom being the first and second female quarterbacks for the high school. That’s so amazing.”

Rylee’s head snaps up from her book. “My mom wrote that article.”

“Kara something, right?”

“Yeah, Kara Barrington.”

“Cool. It was a great article. Very informative. You’re Rylee, right?”

“Yep.”

“Hi, nice to meet you.” He shakes her hand. Then he introduces himself to the boys, also shaking their hands.

“You guys seem like you have a lot of fun,” he says, putting on that charming smile. “I always smile when I look at Mia’s photos.”

Does he look at them often? And did he do that before we became…er, friendly? Or was he always looking at them?

Rylee throws her arms around both me and Zoey. “Yep. We’re always having fun. And with our guys.” She leans over to press a kiss on Mason’s cheek.

Declan is about to say something, but some of the kids at the popular table, like Tiffany, call him to join them at their table. Declan turns his head in their direction before twisting back to us. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He winks and walks away.

Is it just me, or did he look like he didn’t want to go to the popular table?

Nah.

I yank my eyes away and smile at my friends. “So let’s get back to Ivy and James.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Declan

On Tuesday morning, the usual crowd drags me through the halls, chatting about different topics. And like usual, many take selfies and quickly post them on Spill It!. I’ve been in Edenbury High for a while now and I thought things would calm down. While they have a little, I still wonder if the kids ever see me as a normal student. But maybe that’s impossible and I need to accept that. If I want to keep my career, maybe I should focus on being Declan Hart instead of ordinary Declan.

“I need to get some books from my locker,” I tell the crowd. Fortunately, most of them leave me alone, continuing to wherever they were headed. Some stand next to me as I fetch the books from my locker and shut it. They tell me other stories or how their videos of me have gone viral on social media. I thank them for all their support, then my eyes wander around the hallway until they settle on Mia. She’s gathered at her locker with Rylee, Zoey, Mason, and Kade.

We had a good rehearsal yesterday after school and it looks like the play will be a hit. Mia and I have chemistry, which is weird because we had zero chemistry in The Beat of My Heart. I don’t understand it, but I think it’s best not to question it. We all want the play to be a hit, so I’m not going to be distracted trying to understand…whatever it is that’s happening between us.

We didn’t chat much, since we were busy with rehearsal, and then Tori asked Mia to stay behind because the costume department needed to take measurements or something.

Mia’s head turns in my direction and she smiles. I wave, returning her smile, as well as a wink. Then I find myself heading in her direction.

“Hey, morning, everyone,” I greet. “How’s it going? Did the rest of book club go well?”

Mia shrugs. “We always get sidetracked talking about life and our drama, but yeah, it went well. It sucks that we don’t have as much time as we used to for book club. That’s why we treasure the tiny allotted time for lunch to dedicate to the club.”

I smile. “Sounds pretty cool. You guys are very lucky you share something special.”

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