Page 107 of The Lucky One

“But you were—” Henry began.

“Dating Jon,” Kiki said.

“Who’s dating you,” Helen added, pointing at me.

I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. I didn’t know if you could still say we were dating.

Paul noticed my look. After dinner, he convinced me to watch a movie with him and Kiki. She didn’t exclude me, but she did sit between me and Paul the whole time. It was strange because normally we always sat next to each other, and I missed feeling his body heat. He hadn’t made any moves on me lately, though, and our friendship was working better than ever.

“Anyone want more popcorn?” I said, needing to step out of the room for a moment.

“Sure.” Paul smiled and handed me the empty bowl. “Thanks, Emi.”

Kiki got up from the couch. “I can help.”

“No!” I said a bit too forcefully, making her flinch. “Sorry. I just meant it’s a one-person task. Really.”

I left the room and prepared the slowest bowl of popcorn of my life. When I walked back downstairs I saw them kissing. Quickly looking away, I cleared my throat and they jumped apart. I was happy for them, yeah, but it was still strange to see Paul looking at someone the way he used to look at me.

Jon’s seat in US History was empty again. He was going all out to avoid me, even if it meant skipping US History week after week. I would only get a glance from him in the school halls before he went the other way. Mr. Harrison had approached me and expressed his concern for Jon’s persistent absence from class. “He’s missing too much,” he said. “There’s no way I’ll be able to grade him like that.”

I wished I could assuage his worry, but I was just as clueless about Jon’s whereabouts—and mad that he was letting his education suffer because of his issues with me.

I tapped Brandon on the shoulder. “Hey, have you heard from Jon lately?”

He shook his head. “Stopped by Tim’s place a couple of times but he wasn’t there.”

A heavy sigh escaped me. “I don’t have much time left to reach him...”

“Maybe it’s not only you he needs,” Brandon said with a nonchalant shrug.

That gave me an idea.

“You want me to do what?!” Kiki slammed her locker door shut, her expression a mix of surprise and incredulity.

“You know him so well. Maybe he’ll tell you what’s wrong with him if you just try to talk to him.” I knew I sounded pathetic, but my desperation outweighed any concerns about what she might think of me.

She put her hands on my shoulders gently. “Emily, I like you, okay?” she said, making me think of Tim. “And since I like you, here’s some advice: don’t kill yourself to make Jon happy. He distanced himself from me countless times. If he doesn’t want to talk to you, he won’t. Bringing other people into it won’t make a difference.”

“Please, Kiki... I can’t give up on him.”

She sighed, then picked up her backpack. “Fine, I’ll try and talk to him. But don’t expect anything, okay?”

Her agreement gave me a glimmer of hope. It was faint, but it was there.

Beep.

Cheese... blue cheese. Barf.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Cans. Pizza. Marshmallows. Ew...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Apples. Bell peppers. Onions. Better.

“Can we talk?”

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