INSTALOVE

Chapter 35: Playground games

Is that possible? But that would mean...

Eleanor's visors pokes out from her bag. I eye it thoughtfully. Was she really about to call her mother just now? If I grabbed that visor and looked behind the lenses, would I see any evidence of a phone call?

Or has all her talk about cutting off my funding been nothing more than a playground taunt?

Yeah. I see you, Eleanor Winthrop.

She always used to do that when we were little. Any time the game of "freeze tag" or "red rover" turned against her, she'd always deal with it the same way: threaten to tattle to the nearest grownup.

But she never followed through on those threats. Not if her opponents stood firm.

Maybe I'm on to something here. I press my advantage, choosing my words carefully as I ease my way to where she's standing. "Why are you doing this, El? This whole fake relationship thing... What are you trying to hide?"

Eleanor ignores my question with more forced laughter, but her eyes go hard. The tip of her tongue darts out to wet her lips. "I'll tell you what," she says, as if she didn't hear my question. "I'll give you one more chance. But you cannot so much as look at another girl for the rest of the program. Do you understand?" Her hands are on her hips again. "Especially during Maker Fair. You will stand next to me, not her. You will hold my hand. You will put your arm around me. When I tell you to, you will kiss me. And you damn well better make it look convincing—"

There. See? How could I have been so clueless? She basically confessed. Her parents will be here in attendance at Maker Fair. She wants me to make it "look" convincing.

None of this is about me and Ellie. She's playing games, using me like a prop.

I can't believe I ever loved this girl. The lengths that she would go... the amount of damage she would cause...

"And if I refuse?" I say slowly, "You're not seriously going to blow up my whole life. My whole future. Over what?"

Her face remains perfectly calm. "You only have a future because my family handed it to you. And now I'm asking you—" she pokes me in the chest "—not blackmailing you, asking you, for one little favor in return. I really don't think that's so much to ask."

I stuff my hands in my pockets to keep them still. I could strangle this girl right now, with that fake-angelic smile on her fake-angelic face.

I can't take it. I'm done. If I had any lingering reservations about meeting up with Ellie later, they're gone. I'll meet up with her. I'll kiss her dizzy. I'll do anything I like. Eleanor can go to hell for all I care. "Go ahead and call your parents. You tell them your side of the story, and I'll tell them mine."

Eleanor looks down sharply. She nudges Ellie's backpack with her elbow. "Is she really worth it?" I hear her murmur. "You're going to lose your spot at Winthrop over this?"

I grab the backpack by one strap and move to toss it over my shoulder. Eleanor keeps hold of the other strap.

"Let go," I say.

"No. You let go."

I give the backpack a tug, only stopping at the sound of ripping fabric. Somewhere on this bag, a seam is giving way. I can't tell if it's the strap around my shoulder, or the one clutched in Eleanor's fist.

My eyes narrow as she lifts her chin defiantly, daring me to tug my side again.

So this is what we've come to? This girl has been the center of my life since we were both two years old. I thought we'd matured a little bit since then, but no. Apparently not. After all that time, we're playing one last playground game. Tug-of-war.

"I'm heading back to Fenmore anyway," she tells me, twisting the canvas loop around her wrist. "I'll drop it off in her dorm room."

"No."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Moxie. I'm not going to light it on fire."

I see where that ripping sound came from. There's a thread unraveling by my shoulder, where the strap I'm holding meets the fabric of the bag. Part of me wants to tug anyway, even if we leave the whole thing in tatters. That's the only way to win with Eleanor. Stand up to her. Stand firm.

But maybe it's not worth it. There are other ways to win at tug-of-war besides brute force... With a shrug, I let the strap slide off my shoulder and down my arm.

"Fine," I tell Eleanor. "Have it your way. Have everything your way."

She smiles at me, but her eyes are frosty cold. "Good boy." She tosses Ellie's backpack over one shoulder and spins away, heading for the door. "I knew you'd come around."

That's where she's wrong, though. These games have been going on between us for way too long. It's time I put a stop to them, once and for all.

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