Page 46 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
Jade pulled me inside and yanked the cord to the exposed bulb, and the tiny room brightened, revealing her shining eyes. The interior was filled with boxes and other sports equipment, and I was near hyperventilating on dust when she faced me.Defuse the situation, every instinct in me screamed.Apologize. Talk her down. Don’t make her mad.
“Jade,” I tried to say, but her name came out in a desperate gasp for air. “I?—”
“You didn’t text me yesterday,” she said.
I didn’t text her. Okay. So thiswasabout cheer. “I had a lot of homework,” I replied, pulling out the answer I’d rehearsed over and over. “I wasn’t feeling good after school, and?—”
“Decided that you’d skip practice without notice? You know no-shows aren’t allowed.”
“I told Riley to tell you.”
I hadn’t, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that Riley wouldn’t have passed along the message—and if Jade tried to fact check, and Riley denied it, it was still plausible Riley would lie due to our “irreconcilable differences.” And if Jade believed her over me… I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
“That isn’t co-captain behavior, you know. I’d expect it out of Jen or Gina, but not out of you.”
She was right about that, as per usual. I should’ve texted her I wasn’t going to show. No, I should’veshown up. What she said—that isn’t co-captain behavior—caused more unease to surface, manifesting as a weight on my chest.
“I’m sorry,” Jade said suddenly, surprising me. I realized her eyes weren’t shining because of the light—there weretearsbuildingthere. “I shouldn’t have put you on the list. Not for that label. It was… mean.”
I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t immediately come. Shewas apologizing, and Jadeneverapologized first. Like, ever. It was so disarming that for a long second, all I could do was blink open-mouthed at her.
“I knew you really liked Logan, and I made a joke of it all.” Jade pressed her hand against her face, muffling her voice. “If anyone should’ve been voted to peak in high school, it should’ve beenme, swear to God.”
“Don’t say that,” I immediately objected, reaching out and rubbing her upper arm. “Seriously. You’re not going to peak in high school. Neither of us will.”
“Please don’t be mad at me,” she begged, drawing her other hand up to hide more of her face as she cried into her palms. The bracelets on her wrist jingled. “You’re the only person I’ve got—the only one who truly gets me, Mads. Please—please don’t be mad at me.”
My heart twinged at the crack in her voice, and without another thought, I wrapped my arms around her. A part of me actually felthappyat her tears, only because it appeased all the fears that’d been brewing in my mind over the past few weeks. Jade did still careabout our friendship. She did still care about me. She wasn’t trying to shove me out of the friend group.
And then I felt horrible, horrible, horrible for beinghappy. What was wrong with me?
“It’s—it’s not a big deal,” I told her, rubbing circles into the back of her cardigan. Jade didn’t hug me back, but continued to sniff into her hands. “I’m not mad. How could I be mad at you? You’re my best friend.”
She didn’t answer, but leaned more of her weight into me.
“Are you mad that I’m co-captain?”
“Of course not,” she murmured into my shoulder. Echoing me, she said, “You’re my best friend.”
“It did hurt my feelings before,” I admitted, feeling a little emboldened to tell the truth since she leaned so heavily on me. “The label. But I know you didn’t mean anything by it. You didn’t make that label to hurt me or to make me upset. I know that.”
“I know you really liked him.” Now her hands fell from her face to wiggle down between us, and she finally hugged me back. “If you wanted to date him, I wouldn’t tell the others.”
I stiffened, sure I’d heard her wrong. She must’ve beenreallyworried about me being upset. For Jade, that offer wassacrilegious.
I almost confessed. The words, almost painful in their guilt, sat at the tip of my tongue, begging for release. Secrets from Jade were forbidden, and the relief of just being honest was almost too sweet to deny. But she didn’t need to know this one. It was a one-and-done thing after all. After today, Logan Castle wouldn’t matter. What was one white lie?
“It wasn’t meant to be,” I said, thankful she wasn’tlooking at me. I was sure the lie was all over my face. I forced my voice lighter, hoping to convince her with my false cheer. “I mean, come on. Could you imagine me with aBulldog? Pass.”
She huffed out a breath, one I couldn’t tell if it was a sigh or a laugh. “I trust you ’til the end, Mads.”
She trusted me, and here I was, throwing it back in her face. But it was just this once. One time to prove to myself that I wasn’t shallow enough to let the Brentwood/Jefferson war stop me in my tracks. After one date, I could walk away from Logan. And I would.
“And I’ll follow you ’til the end,” I returned.
Overhead, the bell rang, declaring both of us tardy, but neither of us immediately moved. I was surprised—Jade made such a fuss about tardies last week. “We should go,” I said finally, giving her back one more pat before grabbing her shoulders. “Let’s make sure your makeup isn’t too smudged.”
Jade had her head ducked as I peeled her back from our hug, her hair hanging in her face. She sniffed hard and quickly patted her cheeks, wiping at her skin. “Thank God I used waterproof mascara, huh?” she said, and brushed past me. “Let’s go. Maybe we can convince Mrs. Diego to not give us tardies.”
