05

Skylar glanced at Cody, and they both exchanged completely awed looks. « It’s almost like Talia lives under a rock, » Skylar said to him.

« It’s almost like she’s a Catholic nun who hasn’t seen sunlight in forty-two years. »

I wasn’t paying attention to either of them ; I was thinking of what Cody had said.

Leather-jacket-wearing . . . motorcycle-riding . . .

Holy shit. I think I know who she is.

« Come on, » I said, hoping I was wrong. « Just spit it out. How do you know she has a motorcycle ? »

It can’t be. There’s no way.

Cody threw my stuffed bear―Mr. Lemon―at me and said reverently, « She first came to town a week ago. Sunday night, I think ? You could hear that motorcycle for miles, and Aaron said that when she first knocked on his door, she had a split lip and blood on her knuckles. Like she had been fighting. »

« That just makes her ten times hotter, » Skylar said.

« Yeah, because violence is so attractive, » I added sarcastically.

The green-eyed girl I saw exactly one week ago . . .

Hadn’t she been beating that waiter half to death ?

There was no way. It couldn’t possibly be her.

Skylar sighed, leaning back in the chair. « Hey, isn’t our September goal to kiss a stranger ? Maybe I should kiss the shit out of Monroe. »

Something clenched in my stomach. The thought of that girl’s sea-green eyes, her ink-black hair coming unbound as she slid bloody, tattooed fingers through it . . .

It’s not safe here, she had said.

My heart had been pounding. It seems like you’re the only dangerous thing around.

Again, I felt the warmth of that memory ripple through my blood. Heat flushed my cheeks, and I looked down quickly.

« Yeah, Sky, you should kiss Monroe Kingston, » Cody teased.

Skylar twirled a strand of pink hair between her fingers. « I don’t even know if she’s gay, but God, that’s tempting. »

« Guys, some of us actually do our homework ! » I snapped.

« I’d pay Monroe Kingston to do me, » I heard Claudia say, muffled, from outside my bedroom door.

« You’re thirteen ! » I shouted back at her.

« Jesus, Talia, loosen up, » Skylar said. « You’re never this uptight. What’s wrong ? »

Well, Sky, for one week straight, I’ve been having what I’m pretty sure are wet dreams about a girl I saw in a parking lot last Sunday. I’m not even gay and I’m pretty sure there’s something wrong with me. How would you feel ?

« Wait. » Something like terror burned hot in my stomach. « You said she was in grade ten when we were in grade nine. She’s one year older than us. So does that mean― »

« Yeah, apparently she’s going to be staying at Aaron’s house for the rest of the school year. » Cody grinned roguishly. « And tomorrow, she’s enrolling as a senior. »

« YOU’RE LATE, » I TOLD Aaron later that night.

« Are you gonna open the window or not ? It’s cold as fuck. »

I unlatched the window, letting him crawl through, and crossed my arms. « Cody and Sky already left. Why didn’t you tell me about your cousin ? »

« I did, » Aaron said. « Multiple times. But you’ve been so distracted this week, it’s like you haven’t paid attention to a single thing I’ve said. »

« I . . . » I hesitated. Guilty―I felt guilty. He was right. « I’m sorry, I just . . . I guess it’s the whole junior year thing. I thought a bucket list would make it better, but― »

« Hey, don’t knock it till you try it, » Aaron said gently. « Maybe it will make you feel better. »

« Kissing a stranger ? » I laughed. « Doubtful. »

His eyes flickered. « I mean, you could always kiss me. »

« That’d be cheating ! » I shoved his hard, muscled shoulder. « I couldn’t lie to Sky and Cody. And besides, you’re . . . you. You’re Aaron. You’re practically my brother, don’t you think it’d be weird ? »

Aaron let out a breath. « Yeah, » he said. « It’d be weird. »

I fell back on my bed. « Will you help me with trig ? There’s this question I just don’t get . . . »

I probably could have asked him more about Monroe Kingston.

I should have.

But then he laid his head on my lap, holding my math notebook up in front of him, and there was something so familiar, so comfortable, in his touch that I just―I couldn’t.

« Thanks, Aaron, » I said softly. « For―everything. »

I didn’t think he’d understand. In sixth grade, I had been so shy I could hardly speak more than a sentence in front of strangers. My only friends, honestly, had been the books I could find in the library. And I had gone from that girl to the one who loved embarrassing herself in public, who didn’t care what the whole world thought as long as I had my friends.

I didn’t know if just a thank you could cover all that.

But Aaron smiled anyway, just faintly, and said, « I love you, too, idiot. »

« DEVILISH JUNIPER FLOWERS or The Latin-American Pigs ? »

Claudia, in the sink next to mine, spat out toothpaste foam before saying, « Neither. Those suck. How about The Sex Bots ? »

« At this point, I don’t even know why I ask you for advice. »

« Because my ideas are awesome. How about you name your band The Cum Glowsticks ? »

I finished brushing my teeth, swirling water around in my mouth, and shot her a glare through the mirror.

Claudia and I might have been sisters, but we looked completely opposite. She had inherited our mother’s fair-faced colouring, with sandy-blonde hair and blue eyes. I had inherited my father’s olive-skinned complexion, with brown hair and brown eyes that I honestly didn’t see the appeal of.

I was pretty―but that was all I was.

« How is your first week of being a freshman ? » I asked while drying my hands. « Life-changing ? »

« I auditioned for the cheerleading squad, » Claudia said, excitement practically bursting in her shining eyes. « And today’s the soccer team try-outs, but I don’t know if I should bother, because I kind of suck at soccer. »

« Clauds, you love soccer. Try it out, and if you don’t get in, it’s not like you’re losing anything. »

« Besides my pride ? »

« Come on, » I said, laughing. « No one will bother you, I swear. They’ll have me to deal with. »

Claudia rolled her eyes. « You’re not scary. But―wait, you’re right. Your name is basically a synonym to Skylar Tori’s, and my friends all call her a psychopath. »