Page 122 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
I had no idea about any of it. But what I did know was that it’d stop here. Connor made the choice to jump from his Top Tier pedestal—and I’d helped him. Things were crashing down under the starry sky and football field lights.
And for Jade, the fall would hurt. I wouldn’t let go, though. We could get through this.
Connor strode forward, toward the bleachers, with an almost quick-paced step. “What is he doing—” Jade tried to wrench free, but I held on.
“Let him go.”
She whipped her head around so fast that her bun nearly fell. “What’s going on?” She was beginning to lose her facade. “Youplannedthis?”
Old Madison would’ve shaken her head, would’ve claimed she had no idea what Connor was going to do, but I forced myself not to break her stare. “Yes.”
“Maisie Matthews,” Connor’s voice echoed, causing us both to turn. He’d hopped up and clung to the opposite side of the bleacher railings of Maisie, holding a bouquet of flowers. “Will yougo to homecoming with me?”
The student section erupted into cheers and squeals, all eating up the public display of craziness happening in front of them. Maisie accepted the bouquet of flowers with wide eyes, her lips moving a little as she murmured a reply. And then, a second later, Connor kissed her. Right there in front of everyone. No hesitation. Even the cheerleaders below him cheered, shaking their pom-poms even though they were cheering against their leader. Maisie’s fingers curled against his shoulder pads, having her perfect storybook moment.
That was a grand gesture, all right.
My other thought?Why was everyone getting kissed but me?
With a sharp breath in, Jade stormed forward—not toward them, but toward the way off the field. I followed in her footsteps, heart thundering in my chest alongside the cheers of the bleachers. She barreled past everyone who congratulated her for being on homecoming court, the people who had no idea what was happening on the bleachers at this very second. She didn’t even look at anyone, almost as if no one existed but her.
She dragged me out to the parking lot, away from all the girls who were trying to trail after us. Riley stopped them, knowing to give us privacy, keeping them back while Jade pulled me further and further into the darkness.
I pulled my wrist from her crushing grip between two SUVs. “Jade,” I said, swallowing hard.
In a slow, horror-movie pivot, she turned to me. The football field lights were bright enough that I could see some of the features of her face, but most of it was in shadow.
“It’s done,” I said slowly, fighting the urge to take a step backward. “It’s over. It’s… time to let go now.”
“Let go?” Her voice was incredulous, borderline wild. Her heels crunched on the gravel of the parking lot as she took a step forward, scoffing out a harsh laugh. “Let go of everything I’ve worked for? Let go of my top spot—why? Because you want it?”
My forehead crinkled. “Jade.”
“Thatisit.” She came closer until her reflection joined mine in the window of the SUV. “Knock me down so you can step up?”
“Jade, that’snot?—”
“I should’ve known when you didn’t even try to convince Coach about being co-captain. You were probably scheming about how to get rid of me since she announced it. To have it all for yourself.”
“No!” My voice cracked in the night. “I couldn’t care less about any of it!”
“Liar.”
“Jade, this istoo far. Blackmailing Connor and Maisie, humiliating Lacey and Landon.” My head spun as the list stretched on. “Breaking Jefferson’s quarterback’s leg, blackballing Hudson Bishop, sabotaging Maisie’s cheer tryouts?—”
She rolled her eyes. “You were the one who sabotaged Maisie.”
“Because you told me to! And, yes, I did it, but I never would’vedreamedof doing it on my own.” Time and time again, I’d tried to back out of the idea, but Jade pushed me forward. Like she always did. I reached for her hand now. “Jade, I might like being popular, but not when I have to hurt other people in the process. If I have to push people down to be on top, I don’t want it.”
Jade looked at me as if all of that had been spoken in another language. “Gosh,” Jade said on a small sigh. Her lip curled. “You’re such a hypocrite.”
I flinched at the bite in her voice. “Jade, I?—”
“I know about Logan.”
Everything stopped. The tension building, brewing, all seemed to slam to a halt as her words knocked around in my head.I know about Logan. The space between the cars suddenly seemed far too small for two people to stand in it, not with how large Jade seemed to have grown in an instant.
“I know you’ve been sneaking around behind our backs,” she plowed ahead, eyes flashing. “So hop off your high-and-mighty podium before you break your neck.”
