Page 70 of Let's Pretend I'm Okay

I gasp. “You’d look gorgeous in that! Forget sparkles and sequins. You don’t need it.”

She smiles. “What are you going to wear?”

I laugh as we start to walk into the school because she knows exactly what I’ll wear. “Probably sparkles and sequins. I want to look like the night sky.”

“Of course you do,” she says. “Maybe we should go shopping later and find something for you. I’ll have extra cash after all.”

I come to a full stop. “Am I dreaming? Did you actually offer to go shopping with me?”

“Online,” she says, pulling me along.

“Oh,” I say, a little disappointed.

She laughs. “I’m kidding. You got me tickets. The least I can do is go shopping with you. Even if that means venturing out into public.”

I give her a side hug, squeezing her tightly.

The hallway is pretty crowded because two buses just arrived, and the kids are streaming in all at once.

“It’s probably good practice,” I say. “There are going to be thousands of people at the concert.”

“That’s different. Broken Sage will be there. I will gladly make an exception.”

“Your logic is flawed,” I say.

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

We near the next hallway. “Are you headed to the library?”

“As usual,” she says.

“I’ll probably head to the cafeteria.” I lift my foot to take my first step around the corner, but I’m jerked backwards. I spin around, half expecting to see one of my friends, but Daniel stares back at me. He’s dressed in all black, making his dark blond hair stand out. It’s wild, covering his eyes.

I open my mouth to demand an explanation, but he lifts his finger to his lips. “Trust me.” Then, he takes ahold of my hand, and the next thing I know, we’re running in theopposite direction. He leads me all the way to the freshman wing of the high school before stopping.

“What’s the big idea?” I ask, not particularly happy with being kidnapped.

He lets go, hands immediately thrown into his pockets. “I figured you didn’t want your sister seeing me talking with you.”

“And this was the answer?” My brow furrows as I gesture to the freshman around us.

“I know the name of the girl in the picture,” he blurts out.

My head tilts to the side. I didn’t think Daniel was the type to go and investigate on his own. He’s never seemed like a motivated person. He seems like the type who waits for everyone else to do the hard work for him, but clearly I’m wrong. “How?”

“Laura met her a long time ago and told me her name is Meghan.”

I smile. He’s so hooked on finding his father he’s making my job easier. “That’s amazing. What about her last name?”

“All I have is a first name, but that’s better than nothing.” He smiles, and I realize I’ve never seen it before. Not really. It’s lopsided, his teeth are a little crooked, but somehow perfect.

My heart flutters, because for the first time, I think I might see a glimpse of what Annie sees.

There’s a sparkle in his usually dark eyes that lights up his face. I wonder if Annie’s ever seen this smile. Is this why she found him so attractive? I start to reach for him, mesmerized by his joy. I want to see if it’s real or if I’m imagining it, but I stop myself before I touch his smile.

His gaze flickers to my hand, and I’m horrified. “You’reright. It’s huge. Great job, detective,” I say, trying to save myself. I hold up my hand for a high five.

He grimaces as if I’ve insulted him. “No.”

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