Page 10 of You Belong With Me

At least she was quick to the point.

“Uh-huh,” I said, trying not to make it a big deal. Because if I acted like it was some extraordinary event, then it would spread through the school like wildfire in no time. “He’s my neighbor, so he drives me sometimes.”

“But ‘sometimes’ doesn’t mean every morning,” Clem said. “So what was special today?”

She dragged the words out and left them hanging in the air, clearly waiting for my response, but I had no idea why he’d offered this morning. Was it actually Mrs. Novak’s idea, like Mom suggested? Or was there some reason Sebastian had wanted me in the car with him and Tiffany? Maybe he was trying to make sure I knew he was taken now, so the kiss hadn’t been a big deal. If that was the case, then message received.

“He offered and I figured I might as well take him up on it.” I did my best to keep my voice calm and nonchalant, like none of this was important, even though the questions were eating me up inside now.

We reached my locker and I was expecting them to continue on to their own lockers before class started, but they both stopped and stayed by the lockers next to mine. Clementine leaned back against the locker beside mine, her pink messy bun getting pushed up to a funny angle.

“I would give anything to get a ride to school every day from Sebastian Novak,” she sighed.

“Again,” I said, “it’s not an everyday thing. In fact, it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon sort of thing. So, don’t get too jealous.”

“Yeah, Clem,” Reese teased. Even though I had heard her speak before, I was still always surprised by herAustralian accent. Like Sebastian, she’d only moved to Canada a couple of years ago. She looked exactly like what I’d imagine an Australian to look like too—sun-kissed blonde hair, skin that tanned easily in the summer, and the perfect build for a swimmer. “I know he’s cute, but he’s no Will Valentine, right?”

Clem sighed even deeper that time, but smiled. “Okay, you’re right, you’re right.”

Will Valentine was Clementine’s biggest celebrity crush. Actually, she was in love with all the boys in his band—the Valentine Brothers. All it took was one glimpse at the inside of her locker to realize it. It made her look like a stalker. Meanwhile, my locker was almost empty, save for my schedule taped up so I could glance at it easily.

“But still,” Clementine said. “I don’t know how you can live next door to a boy that cute and not do something about it.”

“Besides the fact that he has a girlfriend—” I paused as Clementine snorted, clearly not impressed by the relationship status of Sebastian and Tiffany. “If I ever tried anything, my brother would kill me. Sebastian is his best friend.”

“He doesn’t have to know,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Just think about it.”

“There’s nothing to think about. And it’s never going to happen. He sees me as a little sister and nothing more.”

“That’s what you need to change. I mean seriously—imagine the abs under that soccer uniform?Hot.”

I snorted and pulled out another book. “You want me to get with one of the soccer boys so bad, then maybe I should go after Thomas.”

Her eyes lit up and I immediately regretted saying anything. “Are you considering it?”

The thing about Thomas was that he was an easy cover-up, a way to tell people who I liked without having to reveal my new feelings. But I’d never taken the time to really consider what it would be like to go out with him, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to risk it. Because what would happen if I went out with him and didn’t like him? Then I lost my cover and had to go hunting for a new guy instead.

“’Considering’ is probably a strong word,” I said carefully. I tucked both books into my bag, slammed my locker closed, and started down the hall. I wasn’t surprised when I was immediately flanked by them on either side.

“Well, I can see why you’re into him. I know, totally different vibe than Sebastian, but he’s hot and he’s sweet and he probably likes you. Oh my gosh, you have to do it!”

I was a little worried about the excitement in her voice. I’d only named Thomas as an excuse to get the topic off of Sebastian. I wasn’t looking for a date. But maybe it was good that she was this excited about Thomas. It just gave her that much more reason to think about me with someone other than Sebastian. Sure, nothing would ever happen between Thomas and me, but I could let her dream right?

And maybe going out with him wouldn’t be that bad anyway. Clementine was right in saying that he was hot, much in the same way Sebastian was. I was sure the only reason I liked Sebastian was because I knew he was off-limits, so that made him extra exciting to me. The kiss probably hadn’t even been that amazing anyway—I bet Iwas just all muddled up by it because I knew it wasn’t supposed to happen. If we’d shared the same kiss with Dean’s permission, I bet it wouldn’t be nearly as enticing.

“This is so exciting!” Clementine squealed, even though I didn’t answer her. “You’re going to fall in love and get married and have a thousand babies!”

“Well, gee, I hope not. I’m only sixteen.”

“Oh, you know I was talking about the future,” she sighed, rolling her eyes but smiling. “No, we need to make a game plan.”

“I don’t need a game—” Clementine pressed her fingers to my mouth, effectively shutting me up.

“Yes, you do, trust me.”

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “I have to go. I have a quiz in first period.”

As soon as I said it, I realized I didn’t know if I had that right. I knew I had a quiz at some point today, but I had no idea when it was. For the first time in my life, I had no idea if I had any quizzes, projects due, or anything else that should have been my focus at school. I had bigger things to worry about—every single one of them revolving around Sebastian Novak.

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