I gasped, and my coffee fell from my hand to shatter across the floor.
Damn.
There was no chance they hadn't heard that. I held my breath, but their conversation had stopped. Damn, damn, damn. I looked behind me and then crawled backwards. Holding my breath, I gently set one of the chairs from the staff table on its side and lay on my stomach, my hands stretched above me.
The door creaked open and I glanced up to see all three of them glaring down at me. I smiled, making it look like a wince. Just act natural and you can figure the other crap out later.
"Aly?" Gabe's gaze narrowed. "What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"
Huffing, I winced again, and pulled myself to my knees, rubbing my side for effect. I clapped, brushing my hands off with the motion. Okay, I was one groan away from becoming obvious. Just answer the question, Aly.
"You guys have class, too," I countered.
"Midterms. No classes," Mike said, raising his hand.
"Skipping," Raffy said, and shrugged, and then looked to Gabe, who took a moment to realize we were all watching him.
Shaking his head, he glanced away from me, and shrugged. "I have a spare in third and now its lunch."
"Huh, well, I went to third." I stood and wiped my hands on the thighs of my pants. "Sorry about the mug." I looked to Gabe and grinned. "Again."
"At least it wasn't in my face."
"I thought your parents said you weren't allowed here?" Raffy asked with a grin as though saying, "I won't tell, but that's awesome."
"They said I couldn't work tonight. Not once did they say not to come here or stop by over lunch."
"Aly—"
"I like how you think," Raffy said with a nod, interrupting Mike.
"Why are you here, Aly?" Mike asked, crossing his arms, and Raffy clamped his mouth shut.
"Well, I came for some coffee," I said, "but that's a bust." I laughed and pointed to the floor. "Get it? Cause the cup broke? A bust?" Nobody else laughed, and I waved my hand at them, rolling my eyes. "Whatever. You guys suck."
Raffy smiled, Gabe glared, and Mike grabbed the broom and began sweeping.
"Actually, I came to ask why you booted Brenan from the hospital, so I guess it's good you're all here. This way I don't have to repeat myself."
Mike stopped sweeping, Gabe quit glaring, and Raffy stopped smiling.
One by one, they turned to look at one another as though determining what to say without having to speak a word, and while they were agreeing, it was like I didn't exist. But after what I'd just overheard, I doubted anything they said could surprise me. Maybe it would be a good thing, like I was some sort of long-lost princess that had riches and gold waiting for me to claim.
"Okay then." Shifting my weight, I crossed my arms and narrowed my glare at each of them. "How did he know I was there?"
"What do you mean?" Mike looked back at me and then Gabe and Raffy followed suite.
"Well, he was there before my parents, right? Unless he was visiting someone, or you called him, how would he know I was there?"
They all shrugged in unison.
"He was just there, Aly," Raffy said. "We didn't call him or see him visiting anyone."
"So then why did you tell him to leave?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. In the year we'd known each other, not even Raffy was rude without a reason, though they'd all been protective.
"Because we don't like him."
Mike elbowed Gabe in the ribs, but he remained unapologetic. I preferred it that way. At least I could always count on his penchant for candour not to lie to me. I didn't think any of them would lie to me, not outright, though I knew they were having no problem hiding things. The issue with that was that it was hard to rely on. How did I know I'd asked all the questions, thought of all the possibilities? Looking good would only get them so far and it certainly wouldn't placate me.
"So, you guys kicked Brenan out of the hospital because you don't like him? Without even asking me if I wanted you to?" Unfolding my arms, I placed my hands on my hips and attempted to appear angry. The smile didn't help.
Once again, they glanced at each other, silent, before turning back and nodding at me.
"Are you really dating that guy?" Raffy asked.
"Raffy," Mike warned, as if he was worried about offending me now.
"What? Like you weren't dying to ask her."
"Uh, hello?" I raised my hand in the air. "I'm right here."
"Are you?" Gabe asked, ignoring Mike and Raffy. He caught and held my gaze, and it was like I couldn't look away.
"I—yes." I nodded. For now. I couldn't tell them anything different until I had the chance to talk to Brenan. He lied, sure, but he was—or seemed to be—too nice to treat that way, and I wanted to be able to say I took a high ground. With high school ending, it was time to act the part.
Gabe looked away, but not before his eyes grew dark, and the hold he'd had on me was broken. Air whooshed out of my lungs. Mike . . . well, Mike was unreadable. Raffy shuddered with a loud, over-dramatized groan. Only he could understate something with an overstatement so effectively, even if it was an action instead of words. Same poop, different pile.
I looked at my watch. "I gotta head back. Thanks for..." I rolled my eyes. "Nothing, I guess. You guys really didn't help."
"Wait," Gabe called when I turned to leave. "Can I get a ride back with you? Mike needs the car this afternoon and I don't wanna be late."
I shrugged. "Whatever."
They shared a silent look as I watched, and for once, I didn't feel left out. In fact, it was just the opposite. They didn't know it, but I knew what they were doing. One would stay with me while the other two found threats, whatever that meant. I was too confused to figure out what to ask now, but after I took the time to think about it, I'd be getting answers. Even if they were reluctant to include me, I could be as sneaky as they were and make sure they didn't realize they were telling me any of their so-called secrets. I just needed to determine what the right questions to ask were.
"Ready?" I asked without patience.
Gabe nodded, and the others said goodbye before heading back into the office to talk—more like strategize. What I wouldn't give to have heard what they might have said if I hadn't dropped my coffee. Having one of them always on my tail pretty much guaranteed I wouldn't get that chance again.
Freaking Lange boys.
At least it was only until Saturday (I hoped).
I was conscious of Gabe beside me as we walked to my car, but neither of us spoke. His size alone... and how had I not noticed his smell? Seriously, put a bag over the boy's head, and the girls would still gravitate towards him. Why had I only just noticed Mike wasn't the only Lange boy who held an appeal? Was I paying too much attention to him now after eavesdropping, or not enough before?
Whatever the case was, my appetite for food vanished with the very new, very real, and very demanding need I had for his attention. God, I was such a fickle girl. I liked Mike but went with Brenan. I have Brenan, but realize he's not who he claims, thus not what I need. Now I have to get rid of Brenan and decide who I like—Mike or Gabe? —because I was sure they wouldn't let me have it both ways. Heck, they both probably thought of me as nothing more than a sister they had to look out for.
"So what class do you have next?" I asked as I pulled out of the parking lot, rolling my window down all the way as if that would somehow alleviate my senses of his influence. It didn't, the fresh smell of rain only serving to deepen the attraction.
Would he tell me where to go and how to get there if I grabbed his hand and held it without the intention of letting go? It was right there, just next to the gear shift. He wouldn't even realize until it was done.
"I have a spare," he said, pulling me from my thoughts.
Now he was lying to me? Taking a deep, calming breath, I licked my lips and nodded, repositioning my hands on the steering wheel. "I thought you said you didn't want to be late."
"I don't."
"But you have a spare?" The confusion of the conversation replaced the compulsion he'd had over me, leaving me feeling cold. I rolled up my window and blasted the heater.
Did all guys come equipped with a How to Screw with a Girl's Head catalogue? Maybe they take little tests and are matched to the method they are best suited for. Or maybe... It was just in their freaking DNA and couldn't be avoided.
He looked over to me and smirked at my obvious overreaction. I knew what he saw: a clenched jaw, narrowed eyes, and a grip of steel on the wheel. But he didn't know everything, and what he couldn't see is what mattered. I'd overheard them, which meant every step they made would be compiled as I tried to decipher what they meant, and that wouldn't be possible if I slipped up. They couldn't know I heard.
"Mike has the car this afternoon, which means that my next class could start at six tonight and I would still be late." He sighed. "If you hadn't come, I would've had to walk."
"O-kay." I rolled my eyes and loosened my grip. He had earned a point in favour of being the first with a believable explanation. I was really becoming paranoid, questioning everything anyone did. "Why? Mike is always going on about being responsible. You'd think he'd get you there so early, it would be embarrassing to admit."
He laughed, and I was once again engulfed by warmth. Damn. I unrolled the window and switched the heat to air conditioning. There was one block left to school.
"Mike is responsible." He nodded and looked at me sideways with a grin. "For himself. High school is nothing to him. You don't pay for it like college, and since nobody expects me to go to college next year, it doesn't matter to him if I wind up a senior again."
"But you were accepted. That should count," I said, remembering our conversation after I'd thrown coffee in his face. "I'd tack your letters to the fridge and tell them to stuff their opinions where the sun won't go."
"Maybe I'm full of sunshine."
"Oh, you're full of something, but I doubt its sunshine."
I laughed along with him, forgetting that a moment before I couldn't breathe through the overwhelming attraction I'd been feeling. With Gabe, I realized things had always come easy: conversation, hatred, laughter, fighting, and now... a crush? It was just too easy.
We reached the entrance to the parking lot and I eased my foot off the accelerator without turning in.
"Why are we stopping?" Gabe looked at me and then the school in confusion.
"You said that you have a spare?"
He nodded.
"What's your favourite subject?"
"History. Why?"
He twisted in his seat as the car behind us beeped its horn, the sound tinny and distant in my ears as I stared forward at something I didn't want to see, let alone face. To be fair, I was stopped in the middle of the road with my left blinker on to indicate turning into the parking lot, and there wasn't oncoming traffic to halt me.
I turned off my blinker, straightened the wheel, and continued down the street, waving my hand through the air in front of my rear-view mirror in apology to the vehicle behind me. Turning to Gabe, I smiled. "We're making our own spare, and I am kidnapping you for help in history. For a, uh... research paper, which is actually true as of our assignments this morning."
"Why?"
My phone began to sing Girls Just Want to Have Fun, indicating a message from Suzie. It was cut off by a generic beeping—I hadn't gotten around to saving a ringtone for Brenan yet, but right now it didn't matter. I turned my phone off and leaned across Gabe without taking my eyes off the road to throw it into my glove compartment, unanswered.
It was the first time I'd skipped since last year, but I was sure my parents would understand. At least my dad would, if I told him before the school called, and so long as I let him believe I was feeling off. It would be true if I said I had to get away from the scrutiny, only it was Suzie and Brenan rather than everyone else.
But that was just semantics.
I chuckled as I pictured the surprise on their faces when they'd seen me, watching as I drove away. Had they seen Gabe was with me? Did I care? Not really. When I'd looked up to the school before turning into the parking lot, they had been what stopped me, Suzie with an impatient scowl of annoyance, and Brenan... I didn't know how to describe how he looked. Pissed off? Jealous?
It was nothing that I wanted to face.