Page 115 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
Yeah. You’re going to that art thing for your mom, right?
undecided. I could always just come sit with you
Logan
You promised your mom, didn’t you?
I want her to like me, not think I’m stealing you away from time with her
how about I stop by the art show and then come to expresso’s? that way I can see both of you?
Logan
What about your friend’s party?
I have to get back to work, but text me if you end up going to the party, ok?
I stared at his last message. I still hadn’t sent a reply back, mostly because almost immediately after he’d sent that text, a new one had buzzed in my phone.
Jade
I’m picking you up at seven-thirty.
No question. No room for me to say no. Before, I’d never have dreamed of telling Jade no. Now, though, after our confrontation in the bathroom, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a party with her. Well, really, the last thing I wanted to do was party withanyonefrom the Top Tier. The only thing I really wanted to do was be with Logan.
Unease gnawed at my stomach. Was it time to come clean about him? If I no longer believed in the Top Tier, and my friendship with Jade was on the rocks, what was the point in keeping him a secret? What was the point in any of it?
But was it truly so easy to turn my back on everything I’d ever known? Even if the Top Tier was no longer what I’d always thought it was, could I really renounce it in such a public way?
And the way I was overthinking it all… was that Peak in High School behavior?
I wanted nothing more than to just go to Expresso’s and spend the evening watching Logan close up. I also wanted to apologize. After finding out that the Top Tierwasinvolved with the bribery plot last year, I’d been thinking over and over how to make it right. First, I needed to apologize to Logan for not believing him at first, and then I needed to apologize to Noah.
Except Noah needed a whole lot more than an apology.
A sharp car horn startled me from my circling thoughts, and I pulled myself up from my bed to peek out my window. Sure enough, Jade’s silver SUV with a pink stripe on its door sat in my driveway. It was seven-twenty-eight.
I let out a quiet breath, pulling my phone out to text Logan.
I’m going to the party, I guess. I’ll text you if anything crazy happens.
I gave the goose a kiss before going out into the kitchen to grab my house keys. I left my varsity jacket hanging on the kitchen chair, feeling dirty at the thought of wearing it. So, instead, I went out in just my sweater, wanting nothing more than to just crawl back underneath my covers.
Jade wrinkled her nose at me when I opened the passenger door. “You’re wearing that?”
I hadn’t changed from the outfit I wore to school, which was just jeans and a pink sweater. Not quite party material, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I fell into the passenger seat. “Yeah.” I stretched the seatbelt across my torso. “We need to stop by Centre Inspire.”
“Why?”
Irritation prickled within me. “Because we just do.”
“Well, Ashton’s waiting?—”
“Why do you have to fight me on everything?” I demanded, shocked—and slightly proud—that I’d snapped at her twice in one day.
Jade huffed, slouching lower in her seat. “Someone’s in a mood.”
In a mood.In a mood. As if she couldn’t fathom why.As if our argument in the bathroom earlier hadn’t even happened.
