Page 26 of I Hate You More

Tessa had a point, and I was pretty decent at moving around a dance floor. Mom had started me in dancing lessons as a kid, and I’d loved it from the first moment I’d put a tutu on. She’d come to every recital and always snuck in to watch my rehearsals. My love of dancing was something we’d shared together, and I felt uncomfortable with the idea of showing off my skills to impress Chase.

Add that to the thought of stalking him to Dizzy, and I was far from convinced this was a good idea. I’d never voluntarily go somewhere I knew Chase was going to be. Plus, I could only imagine how my dad would react if he caught me with a fake ID. It was all part of Tessa’s “Operation Pest Control” though. I’d agreed to try it, so I could hardly back out now. I’d barely given the plan a go so far.

“C’mon, Ally, it’ll be fun,” Mia pleaded.

“Okay, fine,” I said. “But, if my dad finds out, I’m blaming the two of you.”

Mia clapped her hands excitedly. “This is going to be amazing. Now all we have to do is convince Miles.”

I couldn’t hold in my laughter. “There’s no way in hell you will get Miles to come out with us.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one, it would mean one less night of studying,” Tessa agreed.

“And, secondly, he’s allergic to fun,” I added.

Mia rolled her eyes. “He’s not allergic to fun.”

“Did you see him at one party last year?” Tessa asked.

“Well, no, I guess not,” Mia said with a frown.

I nodded like my point was proven. “Allergic to fun.”

She smiled and shook her head. “We’ll see. I’m sure I can convince him.”

“You can try,” I said.

To my surprise,Mia somehow managed to get Miles to come along on Saturday night. I figured she must have threatened to steal his textbooks, or something equally as horrifying for him, when she called and said he was coming. But, when he arrived at my place ready to go out, he actually seemed excited.

“I really need tonight,” he said, as he entered the kitchen. He’d let himself in the front door and had shown up before Mia and Tessa. I wasn’t surprised he was comfortable enough to let himself in. Miles, Tessa, and I had been best friends since kindergarten, and he felt just as welcome in my house as I did. He’d spent less time visiting me last year when he’d started getting extra serious about schoolwork, but it didn’t make him any less of a friend.

“I’m surprised you’re so excited to come,” I said. “I thought you’d be studying or something.”

Miles shook his head. “Nah, I’m exhausted at this point. I need a day off.”

“You realize we’re still in week one of senior year, right?”

He shrugged. “Just getting a head start on things.”

I was pretty certain he’d done more than that. I’d overheard him asking Mr. Ross a question in English yesterday about a book we weren’t supposed to start until next term. English was the one subject I was any good at and the only class I shared with Miles. He was in all the advanced classes for every other subject. He was smart, but it was really the time and effort he dedicated to schoolwork that put him at the top of our class.

“How are you getting on with school so far this year?” he asked.

“Err, next question?” I asked with a laugh.

He grinned back at me. “No, I think I want to hear the answer to this one.”

I let out a long drawn-out sigh. “Can’t we talk about the latestAvengersmovie or something instead?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Not even Marvel can get you out of it now. I’m curious.”

I poked my tongue out at him but then smiled. “It’s okay so far. I’m sticking pretty closely to the study schedule we mapped out, which I think is helping.”

He grinned proudly at me. “You’re still using it?”

“I’m still using it.”

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