Page 76 of Inception

Defend their honor? I shut my locker door and turned to face her. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Trace beating up those guys from Easton because of some inappropriate comments they supposedly made about you,” she squawked, beaming as she let the cat out of the bag. “Inappropriatesexualcomments.”

“What?” My eyes grew wild. “There’s no way that’s true.”

“Oh it’s true!” she insisted. “You can lie to yourself all you want but boys don’t beat up other boys over girls theydon’tlike. It’s like, sacrilegious.”

“I don’t know where you’re getting this from but I don’t believe it for a minute.”

I couldn’t believe it. It just didn’t make sense.

Okay, sure, I was willing to admit Trace and I shared a few bond-worthy moments, some prolonged stares, maybe even some kind of hormone-induced attraction that sometimes got the better of me, but that’s where it ended. Trace did notlikeme. He was unavailable, complicated, and up until yesterday, I was pretty sure he hated me.

“Ask Benjamin if you don’t believe me. He’s the one who told me the whole story this morning. He wouldn’t lie.”

“What story?” asked a familiar voice.

Taylor screamed at the sight of Trace. Like an actual balls out scream. My eyes swelled to the size of two Ping-Pong balls as I shot her a way-to-go look.

“Oh, hey, Trace. Uh...” She let out a phony laugh soaked in tension. “You should seriously think about wearing a cow bell or something, you scared the bejeezus out of me! So who’s hungry? I know I am,” she announced, backing away, still laughing, and then bolted for the cafeteria.

Smooth, Taylor. Really freaking smooth.

“What was that about?” asked Trace, looking down at me, his eyebrows pulled in suspicion.

I shrugged, backing up a step. “She gets a little high-strung if she goes without food for too long. It’s like a low blood sugar thing.” I had no idea what I was talking about.

“Okay.” I wasn’t sure if he bought it or just didn’t care either way. It looked like he wanted to say something else but decided against it. He dropped his eyes and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” I asked. “Cafeteria’s this way.”

“I know.” His dimples made a minor appearance.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Not today.” I could hear him fidgeting with his car keys.

“You’re not eating lunch?” It came out a tad over dramatic, like the way you might respond if he had just declared he was an alien who didn’t need oxygen. Like,what do you mean you don’t breathe air?

I couldn’t help but notice he looked a little on edge too—nervous even. But nervous about what?

I took a step towards him, my curiosity getting the better of me. “Are you going off school grounds to eat?”

He shook his head and threw a quick glance over his shoulder. “I just have this thing to do,” he answered without actually answering the question. He was definitely hiding something. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

“What thing?” I probed, following him down the hall now. “Is this like that thing you did last night?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said over his shoulder. “Just drop it.” His tone was sharp—a definite warning.

“I’m talking about the aerial disappearing act you—”

He was in my face before I could finish the sentence, leaving only a whisper of air between us. His jaw set in an angry line and his eyes tapered, letting me know I’d pushed it too far. He was just about to say something when we both caught sight of a freshman girl walking by us, watching us curiously.

He cupped his hand around my elbow and pulled me into a nearby empty classroom, slamming the door shut behind us.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he growled, closing the distance between us. “You can’t talk like that around here.”

I took a step back and bumped into a desk. “I didn’t see her. I thought we were alone,” I said as I crossed and then uncrossed my arms like a nervous tick. “I wasn’t thinking.”

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