Page 51 of The Wrong Prom Date

I frowned. “Are you sure? I can come back to get you if you need.”

“I’ll be fine, Liam.”

The smile on her face was the perfect one she adorned when she walked down the school halls, but it didn’t reach her eyes, and I got the feeling she wasn’t being honest with me.

“I should get back to Topher. Thanks for today,” she said before I could question her.

“I’ll see you at school on Monday,” I said.

“Yep, first after-school rehearsals start. I hope you’re ready.”

I was still struggling to get the lines down for my part, but I refused to admit that to Teagan. I had the rest of the weekend to practice with Zeke and was going to make sure they were cemented in my memory by the time Monday came.

“I’ll be ready,” I said, giving her a wink and turning toward the car.

As I walked away, I couldn’t dismiss the feeling that Teagan was hiding something from me. She might have finally opened up to me today, but her answers had only gone skin deep. I was going to keep on trying to get to know her though, because there was something incredibly special about this girl.

18

Teagan

Spending the day with Liam on Saturday had been disastrous to my self-control. I’d been quite happy keeping the guy at arm’s length, but just one day alone with him and I was turning into every other girl at school and developing a massive crush. I felt like such an idiot. The guy dated supermodels, and almost every teenage girl in the country was in love with him. I had no chance with him. But why did I feel like there had been a connection sparking between us?

The one positive to come from the weekend was that I’d had time to focus on my English assignment. The words had come so easily after talking with Liam, and they flooded out of me and onto the page in a seamless flow. I’d actually been proud of the work I’d done when I handed the assignment in, but I would have died if anyone other than Mr. Randall read it. I probably sounded like one of Liam’s groupies the way I gushed about him. It was hard not to though once you caught a glimpse of the guy he was beneath the bad boy façade.

I just wished I knew what to do about the feelings I was developing for him. It wasn’t like I could ask him on a date, and I was completely hopeless at flirting with guys. My one lone kiss had been with Slobbery Steve back in freshman year and the experience had been so bad that I hadn’t considered kissing another boy since. I still had nightmares about the saliva he’d dribbled all over my face, and I pushed down a shudder as I thought of it.

It would be so much easier not to be affected by Liam if he wasn’t so good-looking. His dark hair always fell in a perfect mess, like he’d just run his hand through it, and the color of his eyes were an ever-changing shade of green. One day. they reminded me of the ocean while other days they were imbued with shades of a tropical rainforest. Today, they looked like emeralds, not that I’d ever admit thinking something so embarrassing out loud.

Liam was up onstage without his script in hand, and something about the lighting really made his eyes stand out. I couldn’t seem to stop looking at him, and it was lucky we weren’t in the scene together or people might have noticed me staring.

“He’s just as handsome in real life as he is on screen, isn’t he?”

I jumped at the sound and turned to find Zoe sitting next to me in the auditorium. I’d been so distracted by Liam I hadn’t heard her approach. “Zoe, what are you doing in here? Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“I had a free period and thought I’d come check out the rehearsal.” Her voice was calm, but there was something calculating about the way her eyes flicked toward the stage.

“Only drama students are allowed at rehearsals.”

She shrugged my comment off and held up her notepad as she started to scribble something on it. Zoe was on the school paper, and she was so good at uncovering the latest news and gossip that everyone at school was certain she had secret Jedi mind powers.

“Zoe, you can’t be in here,” I repeated.

She pouted and shook her head at me. “Don’t be such a spoilsport, Teagan. I’m just trying to get a head start on my piece for opening night of the play.”

“More like another scoop on Liam.” He’d been quite the feature in the paper lately, and her last article on him had been a damning exposé on teen drinking at parties and the fights that ensued. Liam had been the poster boy for her article, and it was clear she didn’t have the highest opinion of him. A few days ago, I might have agreed with her.

“I’m just here for the play, I swear,” she said, her eyes wide and filled with innocence. I didn’t believe her for one second though.

“Opening night is still a couple of weeks away.”

“And I want the piece to be perfect. Don’t you want my article about your performance to be good?”

I folded my arms over my chest as I stared her down. She knew how much every element of the play meant to me including whatever critique she wrote about it. I wasn’t an idiot though. Whatever information she gathered now wouldn’t change her review if she didn’t like the performance.

“I have total faith in your talent, Zoe, and feel sure you’ll write the best piece in the world come opening night.” I stood up and motioned for her to get up with me.

She sighed and put her pen and paper away as she allowed me to walk her from the room. She paused when we reached the door though.

---