The Boy I Once Hated: Love & Hate Duet

Sixteen years old

Tonight is homecoming, something that we didn’t really care about in our old school, but evidently, here on the island, they’re all about celebrating it.

Ironic since most of the people who grow up here never really leave, so what’s there to come home to?

The idea of that fills me with dread, and I try to push it away. The countdown of when I can get off this island is like a clock in my head, ticking every hour away as Noah continues to try and make my life as miserable as possible.

It’s been months since…the mistake. Or at least that’s what I’m calling it in my head. Because I can’t really call it anything else.

Since that time, we haven’t exchanged more than two words with one another. And that was only me saying ‘excuse me’ when we almost ran into each other in the hallway as I headed to the bathroom.

He didn’t bother to say anything back.

I should be enjoying the silence, enjoying the break. But it feels foreboding in a way, like the silence is just a ruse to get me off guard and he’s actually gearing up for something even more sinister than what he’d done to me so far.

Noah is far more intelligent than I’ve given him credit in the past. Which makes me think that his silence since the debacle in the hallway after he punched Kyle is Noah’s way of just lying in wait until he can pounce and do his worst.

As for me, I apparently don’t have a self preservation mechanism to speak of since tonight I’m attending the homecoming dance with none other than Kyle.

In my defense, he kind of wore me down.

He started asking a month ago, and I had declined for the first week with a sure no. But that didn’t seem to deter him, asking every day the following week too, until my answer switched from a solid ‘no, thanks’ to something a bit gentler like ‘I’m busy’ or the not so fool proof ‘I have to study.’ When the third week came around and he still didn’t look to be losing any steam, I finally relented. Or at least I pretended it was his persistence that changed my mind.

I don’t want to think too hard on the real reason why I’m going to this godforsaken homecoming dance. Like hell I’ll admit that my answer only changed after I overheard Stacy bragging in the school hallway about everything she and Noah have planned for tonight.

Admitting to that means that I care. And I don’t care. Not one bit.

Staring at myself through my bedroom’s mirror reflection, I smooth down the light pink dress Daisy and I had found at the mall in Falmouth last weekend. The minute Daisy learnt I was going to the dance, she made sure we took a day trip off the island to buy me the perfect dress. In all honesty, I really didn’t care what I wore, but the outing was a welcome relief from the tension I constantly experience in our new home.

I was so happy to get out of Thatcher’s Bay that I made the rookie mistake of texting my father and telling him both Daisy and I would be on the mainland that day. He replied back saying at one point during the day he would definitely meet up with us to have some father daughter time but neither of us had really expected him to show. In fact, I knew Daisy would have preferred to chew her arm off than have him tag along and ruin our fun with his presence.

It was to both of our surprise when we got off the ferry and there he was, a giant smile on his face like it made his year seeing us.

‘Little bird,’ he bellowed, his arms outstretched like I was still a small child that was going to run towards him and jump into his arms.

It was kinda sad, but for a second, I actually felt like doing it.

I wonder when that faded away completely, the need to feel loved by your parents. It was definitely fading as I got older, but not fast enough. It was my fervent wish that one day I would wake up and truly not care what he did.

One person shouldn’t have the power to make or break your day.

My mind immediately flicked to Noah with that thought, but I gritted my teeth and pushed his image out of my head.

My father’s grin had dimmed when neither of us made a big deal that he was there, but he quickly recovered, giving both of us tight hugs once we got to him. I was still feeling off from our trip across the water. As much as I longed to get off the island, having to be on the boat for that long had been pure hell. The water was choppy today, the waves licking at the boat and sending it rocking back and forth. One of the deck chairs had almost knocked me over the railing, and I’d finally gone to sit inside on the benches, squeezing my knees to my chest and taking deep breaths.

‘Daisy,’ my father said affectionately as he gave my sister a hug.

‘Grant,’ she drawled disrespectfully, and I elbowed her in the side as soon as he let her go with a frown. She shot me a look and I gave her a begging one in return.

I may have been in a constant state of unhappiness with my father, but that didn’t mean I wanted the visits I did get with him to suck. I knew what that was from. It was because a big part of me thought that the more amazing I was, the more interesting I was, the more exciting I was…the more he’d think about me.

And maybe it would get him to want to see me.

I knew it was pathetic, thinking like that.

But I couldn’t help it.

It was the part of me I hoped faded in time.

‘So I hear we’re going to be looking for dresses,’ he commented as we got into his rusty metal truck that I was always surprised was still running. He’d had it for as long as I could remember. I don’t think it actually got that many miles since he preferred to use his motorcycle, so maybe that accounted for the fact that it was somehow still kicking despite him having it since before I was born.

‘Who are the lucky guys?’

Daisy made a snorting noise from the front passenger seat and I glared at the back of her head.

‘I think Daisy has like three dates,’ I offered. ‘One to start the night, one to have dinner with, and one to dance with.’

My father shot Daisy a surprised look. ‘More and more like me every day,” he spouted proudly.

Daisy stiffened in her seat, her face paling.

I wish he hadn’t said that.

Our father might think that pointing out the obvious, that Daisy is just like him, a free spirit that nothing and no one could chain down, is something that they could bond over, but he’d be wrong. For her, those similarities between them only makes her hate him more.

Or at least that was the theory I had going.

I hadn’t been exaggerating though. I was pretty sure Daisy had said yes to at least three guys for Homecoming. And I was pretty positive they all knew about each other, and just didn’t care. And why would they? When they could have Daisy.

I couldn’t imagine that situation happening to me though.

Not that there was ever any danger something like that ever would.

I’m not my sister.

‘Skylar’s got a big date too. She’s going with the school’s basketball star,’ said Daisy, obviously trying to move the attention from herself and onto me.

My father’s eyes widened in shock in the rearview mirror, and a pulse of disgruntlement flashed through me.

‘Is that so, little bird? Good for you.’

I muttered “thanks”, feeling embarrassed by how surprised he’d been. Not that my mother’s reaction had been any different.

My father talked the entire way to the mall, not seeming to mind that neither of us were really talking back. Evidently, he’d just gotten back from California. He rode his motorcycle all the way from the northern tip to the southern one, not stopping until he got to the border with Mexico. I listened avidly to all of his tales, trying to picture the things he’d seen.

I wondered if I’d ever get out there.

When we finally got to the mall parking lot, Daisy pushed open her door like the cab was on fire and she was desperate to get out.

I followed at a more leisurely pace. As we walked across the parking lot, my father took the nape of my neck and gave it a gentle squeeze.

‘How’s your new school going?’ he asked, actually sounding genuinely interested.

For a second, I got the insane urge to tell him everything that had happened. To walk him through the almost daily embarrassments I had thanks to Noah. Tell him about the story I was writing, the one with a character who actually took control of her own life.

But that urge immediately disappeared when an attractive woman in a tight skirt walked by, and my dad’s attention was immediately redirected.

‘It’s going great,’ I finally say with a sigh, knowing he wouldn’t hear me now anyway. Not while his attention was on something far more prettier and shiner than me.

Daisy shot me a knowing look at the lie.

She knows I’m not exactly settling in well at Bayshore High. And even though her knee jerk reaction was to go full protective big sister mode and fix it so that I don’t feel like such a pariah at our new school, I made sure to nix that in the bud. Having Daisy defend me, because I wasn’t doing a good enough job of it myself, only reminds me of my shortcomings. And I’ve got enough of those.

After the skirt with legs disappeared from his view, my dad finally remembered that we were there too, making up for his distraction by pretending he was actually interested in finding us the perfect dress to take to the dance. As we walked through the mall, going in and out of the stores, he tried his best to keep conversation going by asking us questions about our new home life. Tired of his lame attempts at sounding interested in what was happening in our lives, Daisy eventually turned the conversation back to him. It didn’t take much coaxing for him to start going on and on about his own adventures.

We both knew that our father’s favorite subject has always been himself.

We’d gone into at least five stores before I found a dress that I liked. It was more on the expensive side, but Daisy forced me to try it on.

I hadn’t wanted to look in the mirror in the dressing room, but eventually I had, slightly taken aback by the image of myself in the mirror.

I looked…good. Something I didn’t think very often of myself. The pink shade of the dress made my skin look more olive than its usual drab paleness. It also accented the highlights in my hair that I’d gotten from trying to walk my frustrations out every day after school.

‘Sky…’ My sister gasped as she forced her way past the curtain into the dressing room. I immediately crossed my arms in front of myself self-consciously.

‘Don’t do that,’ she commanded. ‘Don’t hide yourself away. It’s okay to let people see…’

‘Let people see?’ I whispered.

‘Let people see who’s the actual star in our family,’ she answered back with a shy smile before leaving the room without another word.

I stared after her in shock, a warm, bubbly feeling fizzing up inside of me.

‘Little bird, let’s see it!’ my father called, my sister obviously having said something.

I took a deep breath and pushed the curtain aside with a sigh, walking out of the dressing area, self-consciousness tearing at my skin.

My father took a step back, putting his palms over his heart feigning he was having a heart attack.

‘What is this? When did my little girl grow up?’ he announced loudly in horror. There were a couple of other shoppers in the store, and they were watching him, amused.

I couldn’t help the giggle that slipped out of me, and my father’s grin widened.

‘You look beautiful, little bird,’ he said softly, and I had the strange urge to cry.

After I purchased the pink dress, and Daisy had gotten a shiny silver one that reminded me of a disco ball, we’d eaten dinner in the Italian restaurant that was connected to the mall, and then my father dropped us off at the ferry.

I hugged him hard before he left, like I always did, savoring the sight of him as he walked away, because a part of me always wondered if this was the last time. If one day he’d really just disappear somewhere, never to return again.

He didn’t wait to see if we got on the ferry. He just waved goodbye from the truck, a wide grin on his face before he drove off.

And immediately, an edge of melancholy coursed through me.

‘Chin up, Sky. At least you have a killer dress,’ said Daisy cheerfully.

Unlike me, she seemed lighter now that my father was gone. I gave her a fake smile that just made her roll her eyes. And we walked on to the ferry.

The water had been better on the way back, but I still kept inside, wanting to be as far away from it as possible.

‘Kyle’s here,’ my mom calls out from down the hall, breaking me out of my thoughts. A rush of anxiety floods through me at the thought of what might lay ahead, and I take a few deep breaths. Daisy’s done my hair in loose curls and given me a pair of sparkly fake diamond earrings. Thanks to her, I’m also wearing more makeup than I usually do. Some blush on my cheeks so I don’t look so pale. Silvery eyeshadow on my lids and some thick mascara. A swipe of bubblegum pink lip gloss.

On the outside, I’m practically a new woman.

On the inside though…I’m still just me.

‘Pull yourself together. You can do this,” I whisper to myself as I open the door and head down the hall, only sparing a short glance at Noah’s closed door.

Kyle’s chatting easily with my mother and Curt as I get to the edge of the living room, and he doesn’t notice me standing there.

It gives me one more second to put on a brave face before I walk into the room.

‘Oh, honey, you look beautiful,’ croons my mother a second later.

A blush floods my cheeks at the look on Kyle’s face. There’s no denying that he’s slightly dumbstruck at the sight of me.

Shaking his head a little, he strides forward with a small box in his hand.

‘Good thing I had my mom help with these. Wouldn’t want anything to ruin the perfection you’ve got going on tonight.’

It’s a sweet thing to say, even if corny, but to my disappointment butterflies don’t assault my insides at his words. He opens the box to reveal a corsage of sweet white flowers with pale pink ribbon wound around them.

‘They’re beautiful,’ I say softly as he slips it on my wrist.

‘You’re beautiful,’ he responds meaningfully.

I smile at him shyly and then let my mom take what feels like a hundred different pictures of us before she finally lets us go.

Kyle has an old pickup truck that reminds me of my dad’s, and he escorts me to the door.

Daisy had left in a rented limousine with a pack of her friends a little while ago, but I’d refused her offer when she asked if we wanted to ride with them. There was no way I wanted to sit around with her friends for that long, forced to make idle chit chat.

It was going to be hard enough conversing with my date all night.

‘Excited for tonight?’ Kyle asks as he starts the truck and we begin to drive.

‘Yeah,’ I say with fake excitement, praying he can’t see right through me.

Apparently he can’t, because he talks about last year’s dance and how much fun tonight’s going to be. They’re having dinner at the dance, so we don’t stop anywhere before we get to the school.

The parking lot is completely packed, and you can hear loud music coming from the open gymnasium. Kyle has me wait in the truck while he trots around and proceeds to open the door for me.

He puts out his arm for me to take, and I slide my arm through, noting how strong his arm feels.

We get to the gymnasium doors and my mouth opens in surprise at what they’ve done to the place. There’s thick black drapes covering the sides, and black tulle artfully hangs from the rafters so it doesn’t look like a school gym at all, with the exception of the court floor. There’s large circle tables set up around the room draped in black table cloths, and silver plate settings and centerpieces are set on top of them. This year’s theme is ‘starry nights’, and they’re going all in. There’s a dance floor set up in the middle of the room and a stage set up on the far right side. There’s only one musician up there playing music on the piano right now, but I know there will be a full band later on.

‘Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?’ Kyle comments as he leads me to a table filled with his friends.

Immediately, I tense up as we approach. I’d done my best to stay as far away from that group of people as possible, since they’re also Noah’s cronies, but with no sign of Noah, they actually give me polite smiles when we get to the table. Some of them even give me appreciative stares.

Kyle helps me into my seat and then settles down next to me, his arm going along the top of my seat so that his fingers can stroke my shoulder softly. Goosebumps spring up under his touch, and I shift, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Everyone talks around me, and for a couple of minutes, I almost fool myself into thinking the night won’t be that bad.

That is until I feel it.

Him.

As if we’re connected by a string, I glance over my shoulder and see him and Stacy walking through the entrance. His gaze is locked on mine.

Meanwhile, Kyle continues to stroke my shoulder. I drag my gaze away from Noah’s, who looks unreal in his navy blue fitted suit, something I’m pretty sure most teenage boys would never be able to pull off without looking like a fool.

Instead, he looks like a freaking model. It would be great if just one time he could look terrible.

I study my date. He looks good as well, but younger…softer. I know really nothing about Kyle other than the small details he’s mentioned in class, but something just tells me he hasn’t experienced the spark of sorrow that Noah has.

Two people at the table abruptly stand up. ‘We’ll see you all later,’ the guy says somewhat nervously. I’m pretty sure he’s on the basketball team as well.

When he and his date walk away, I lean towards Kyle. ‘What’s going on?’ I whisper.

Before Kyle can answer, Noah and Stacy are sitting at the table.

Horror clenches my insides. I foolishly thought I was safe. It never occurred to me that someone would sit there until Noah arrived.

I also notice that Noah doesn’t help Stacy into her seat.

And he doesn’t have his arm around her.

I’m not sure why that fills me with so much satisfaction.

Stacy is beautiful tonight. She looks like she fits with Noah.

And I hate that.

Because I’m sure if I was standing next to Noah in front of a mirror, I wouldn’t feel the same.

Not that I would ever be thinking about that when it comes to my tormentor.

‘Chicken or steak?’ someone asks from behind me. I glance back to see one of the catering staff standing there with a tray full of plates.

‘Chicken, please,’ I say, until I notice there’s pecans on the accompanying salad. I glance over at the steak; the salad on that plate is luckily pecan free.

‘Sorry, can I have the steak? I’m really allergic to pecans.’

The staff member looks annoyed but switches the plates for me.

‘I didn’t know you’re allergic to pecans,’ comments Kyle.

Of course he doesn’t know, I think to myself, because he doesn’t know anything about me. But out loud I simply say, “It’s the only allergy I have. All the other nuts are fine. But my throat completely closes off with pecans.’

‘That’s too bad,’ the girl next to me says. ‘My mom makes the best pecan pie.’

I nod, not really knowing what to say, because I doubt that there would be an opportunity for me to try her mom’s pecan pie anyway. The staff member gives the rest of the table plates and everyone starts eating.

‘I want a drink,’ Stacy whines. Okay, maybe she doesn’t whine, but that’s how her voice sounds to me every time I hear it.

‘Who’s stopping you?’ Noah says, taking a bite of steak. “Go get a drink.”

Stacy’s eyes widen in embarrassment and her face flushes.

“You are such an asshole,’ she spits, and he just winks at her…which makes her melt.

I should say I’m disgusted that she folded so easily after he was such a jerk, but I kind of get the magic of the wink.

At least a little bit.

She gets up from the table in search of whatever drink she’s jonesing for, and I shift uncomfortably in my chair, because Noah’s attention seems to be glued to Kyle’s hand on my shoulder.

Everyone’s talking around us, but Noah’s voice cuts through the conversations.

‘I seem to recall us having a conversation a while back,’ Noah says in a soft, dangerous voice.

The girl next to me whimpers a little, like she’s either terrified, or she’s in heat from the sound of Noah’s voice. It really could go either way.

Kyle, for his part, just lifts his chin. ‘It was a good chat, Fontaine. But I decided I was going to go in a different direction.’

It’s obvious they’re talking about the conversation where Kyle ended up with a black eye. Again, I shift uneasily in my chair.

Everyone’s eyes are locked on Noah right now. It’s very obvious he hasn’t been challenged like this very often…if at all.

‘Is that so?’ Noah simply responds as Stacy comes back to the table holding two glasses of punch.

She seems unaware of the tension in the air, and instead pulls a small flask from her rose gold pink clutch.

‘A little something extra,’ she gloats as she unscrews the cap and pours a generous portion into the two cups. ‘Anyone else want some?’

Everyone at the table eagerly pushes their cups forward, none of them even looking to see if a teacher is watching. She adds some to every cup and then glances at me.

‘Hey, stalker. Do you want some? Or will Mommy get mad at you?’

I roll my eyes exaggeratedly. ‘I’m good,’ I respond sweetly.

I glance over at Daisy who’s the reigning queen of her table with the popular kids from her class. As if sensing my stare, she glances over at me and gives me a questioning look. I see a similar flask at their table and hope Daisy will be safe tonight, because I know there’s no way that she’s missing out on that.

‘So tell me, stalker, are you always a stick in the mud, or is that a recent thing since you moved here?’

Hearing Noah’s cruel nickname for me coming out of her lips feels like sandpaper on my skin.

Kyle stiffens beside me. ‘Shut up, Stacy,’ he snaps, and a flicker of surprise swirls inside me. Kyle definitely has some balls.

‘Excuse me?’ Stacy says slowly, throwing daggers at my date. “Since when did you become so pussywhipped?”

But then I’m even more surprised by what happens next.

“You heard him. Shut the fuck up,’ Noah drawls, knocking back some of the punch.

Stacy gapes at him, somehow shocked at what he’d said.

They’d been on and off for years from what I’d heard. . So how is she still so surprised when he acts like this?

Although I don’t dwell on that for too long since I’m a little shocked myself. Did Noah defend me just now, or is my imagination playing tricks on me?

Stacy pouts through dinner as everyone else attempts stilted conversations, tiptoeing around Noah because clearly…he’s in a mood.

“I can’t say I remember Homecoming being like this last year,” whispers Kyle, and I giggle…because I imagine not.

Noah’s glower deepens when he hears me laugh.

Finally, the miserable dinner is over and the staff come to collect our plates.

Stacy recovers from the fit she’s been throwing as soon as it’s clear that the Homecoming Kings and Queens are about to be announced. She takes Noah’s hand and drags him towards the stage where the principal is making some kind of speech that I’m trying to drown out.

I manage to keep myself from watching them walk away.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say you probably aren’t a dancer,” says Kyle, a dimple in his cheek as he smiles that I hadn’t noticed before.

My first instinct is to agree with him, to tell him I prefer to watch rather than do…anything. But as soon as I open my mouth, disgust floods through me, because honestly…I’m sick of always being that person.

And maybe tomorrow I’ll be back to being that girl, but tonight I’d like to pretend to be someone else.

“I’d actually love to dance,” I respond lightly, enjoying the surprise in his eyes just as the principal announces that Noah and Stacy have won King and Queen of our grade.

Kyle’s mouth curls up in disgust. “Shocker,” he spits. My gaze automatically goes to the stage where Noah’s standing next to Stacy, a scowl on his beautiful face, like the win has actually disgusted him.

“He doesn’t look happy up there,” I murmur absentmindedly, and Kyle hums next to me.

“He’s always been an asshole, but he’s definitely taken it to another level lately.” Kyle’s face is thoughtful, and his stare darts from Noah to me, and then back to Noah, his lips pursed in thought. “I wonder…” he murmurs, before his voice trails off.

Whatever he’s about to say, I forget, because they’ve just announced that Daisy’s won queen of her grade even though we’ve just started at this school. I leap from my seat and cheer for her as she ambles up to the stage slowly, not looking the least surprised at her win.

For a second I imagine it’s me up there, in a different life, if I was a different girl. I can see the admiration in everyone’s face, feel the touch of the fake crown on my hair. I see it all in my mind’s eye for just that brief moment.

And then I blink and, of course, it goes away, because there’s no chance that something like that would happen to me in this lifetime.

I watch wistfully as one of Daisy’s dates twirls her around the dance floor. She throws her head back and laughs with such exuberance that the whole room can hear it. I wonder what that would feel like, to be able to laugh like that, with such abandon.

All eyes are on her…except for one pair.

Noah’s.

He’s dancing with Stacy, but her back is facing away from me. She’s nestled against his chest, and his eyes are locked on mine, like he’s not really dancing with her…like he’s actually dancing with me.

I realize something then, something I hadn’t before. Where everyone else might miss me in the shadows, Noah sees me. He’s seen me since that first time I met him.

And I’m not sure what to think about that.

When it’s time for everyone else to join the homecoming court on the dance floor, Kyle takes my hand and leads me there, wrapping his arms around my waist, and holding me a little bit closer than I’m comfortable with.

We start dancing, and I try to forget the heat of Noah’s gaze. I pretend to listen as Kyle talks about basketball practice, and when his first game starts, but it’s only when he mentions the college scouts he hopes will see him this year that gets my attention.

‘You want to leave the island?’ I ask, surprised.

I had Kyle pegged for a lifelong hometown boy through and through. There’s a community college on the other side of town where most of the students end up attending before they begin their lives as fishermen or whatever else people do on this island.

Kyle shrugs. “I mean, what guy who plays basketball doesn’t dream of playing pro? And that definitely requires getting out of Thatcher’s Bay.” He gazes around the room wistfully. ‘But you’re right. I’ll miss this place the second I’m gone. I can’t imagine leaving it forever.’

I stare around the converted gym, trying to see what he sees. I picture the small town, the smell of salt in the air, the waves licking at the rocky shore. I just can’t see the magic that he does.

I inhale sharply when I feel the soft stroke of fingertips sliding along my bare back. I quickly glance behind me, only to see Noah passing by, Stacy’s hands on the back of his suit coat like a barnacle.

He’s turned away from me, but I know it was him that touched me.

The question is…why?

I suddenly feel overheated. ‘I’m going to take a bathroom break,’ I murmur as soon as the song ends.

‘Do you want me to come with you?’ Kyle asks attentively.

‘To the girls bathroom?’ I tease, scrunching up my nose. Kyle laughs awkwardly. ‘Oh yeah, right. I’ll just be over there when you come back.’ He points to where some of his friends have sat back down at the table where we ate. I notice that Stacy and Noah have disappeared from the room.

I go out into the dimly lit hallway and make my way into the blissfully empty bathroom. I stall after I finish, standing in front of the mirror noting how…alive I look. Kind of like after that ‘mistake’ with Noah.

Too bad it takes misery for me to feel anything.

Wondering how much longer I have to stay, I make my way out to the hallway, only to be immediately pushed against the wall.

I squeak as a hand slaps across my mouth and stare up into Noah’s fiery gaze. I’m caught off guard for a moment, but thankfully my survival instinct kicks in and I start to struggle. But all Noah does is laugh cruelly at my poor attempts to go free. When he loosens his grip, I freeze as his hand moves away from my mouth and he softly trails a finger from my lips, down my neck, to my collarbone. He traces along it, almost absentmindedly.

‘What do you want?’ I growl.

‘Why does he look like that?’ Noah answers instead.

“What are you talking about?’

‘Kyle. Why does he look like that?’

‘Look like what?’ I counter confused.

‘Like he knows what it feels like to be inside of you.’

I gasp, my eyes wide and my cheeks darkening. I honestly had never gone there in my head with Kyle. For heaven sakes, I hadn’t even kissed him. I haven’t even been kissed.

Before I can say anything in my defense, Noah leans forward, his lips brushing against the edge of my ear, goosebumps trailing down my skin. ‘The only person who’s going to know what that feels like is me,’ he whispers, the threat hanging between us. “Remember that.”

I’m frozen as he abruptly pushes away from me and ambles down the hall like he hasn’t just rocked my world.

I’m achy…hungry. My breath is coming out in gasps. I’m still leaning against that wall when Kyle comes out to look for me. He stares at me questioningly. ‘Everything okay?’

I force myself to move off from the wall.

‘Everything’s fine,’ I murmur, and I let him grab my hand to lead me back into the gym where the dancing is still going.

For the rest of the night I try to have fun on the dance floor. Emphasis on try. With Kyle’s friends actually being nice to me, and Noah and Stacy rooted on the other side of the room, after a while, it doesn’t feel too hard to pretend that I am.

The only thing that prevents me from actually enjoying this rite of passage that is Homecoming is the constant flashbacks of what happened in the hallway with my stepbrother. I can’t stop thinking about what Noah said. I can’t stop thinking of his lips brushing against my skin, the hard weight of his body against mine.

I just can’t stop thinking about…him.

I’m so consumed in my own thoughts that when something cold and wet falls on my head as Kyle and I are slow dancing to some song, it takes me a while to register it. I let out a small scream and turn, just as more cold punch is splashed right at my face. Stacy and three of her friends are gathered around me, and before I can move, the rest of their cups are dumped all over my head. I stand there, dripping wet, my beautiful pink dress completely ruined, my mascara streaking down my face, and my hair plastered against my head. The music is cut off and everyone’s just staring at me before they start laughing.

I gape at the three of them.

‘Why?’ I stammer.

‘Because Cinderella always has to return back to her place at midnight. We just wanted to make sure that you remembered that,’ says Stacy sweetly.

Just beyond her shoulder is Noah, leaning against a column with some of his friends, laughing just as hard as everyone else.

Betrayal sparks through me. To see him standing like that laughing at me, right after that moment we just shared in the hallway. He truly is the devil.

Someone pushes past me and then Daisy’s there, her arm reared back. She punches Stacy right in the face, and blood explodes from her nose.

Stacy screams loudly and the laughing abruptly stops. Daisy looks like some kind of avenging angel as she stands there, glaring furiously at Stacy and her friends.

‘Don’t ever touch my sister again, bitch,’ she growls, rearing back her arm to hit her again.

Stacy cowers and Daisy’s date grabs her arm before she can do any more damage. There are teachers pushing through from the edges of the room, the worst chaperones of all time if you ask me. Kyle’s put his arm around me comfortingly, but it’s the way he’s staring down at me that really gets under my skin—pity.

He reeks of it and how I hate it.

I rip myself away from his grip and walk out of the gymnasium as slowly and confidently as you can when you look like a drowned rat.

The cold air assaults my senses the second I step outside, and angry tears burn my eyes. When someone bursts through the door behind me, I don’t have to turn around to know that it’s Daisy, ever my hero.

Thankfully, she doesn’t say a word. She just takes my hand and squeezes it, standing next to me as I stare out into the darkness.

I try my best, but the tears I’m trying so hard to hold in finally come streaming down my face.

“I hate this place,” I whisper, and she squeezes my hand again.

“I know.”

She allows me to sit there in my sorrow for a few more minutes.

“Come on, squirt. Let’s go home,” she says softly after a while. “I’ll call us an Uber.”

But just as she says it, a flashy red convertible drives right up to us and stops abruptly. I feel Daisy stiffen beside me, almost as if she’s getting ready for another fight tonight.

My eyes are still blurry from my unshed tears, as I try to make out the dark haired boy, with a little too much swagger to his step, walk towards us.

“Don’t start,” I hear my sister call out, stopping the boy in his tracks.

“I wasn’t going to,” he replies with a smirk.

“Sure you weren’t.” Daisy scoffs. “Just go away, Derrick. I’m not in the mood for you to give me shit about your sister. She fucking deserved the shiner she got,” Daisy adds with venom in her tone.

“I’m not here for my sister. It’s yours I’m worried about,” he says sympathetically, eyeing my drenched state up and down. “Stacy really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

I’m still too raw of the sheer embarrassment that I just experienced to answer him.

“Yeah. My sister sometimes goes a little overboard when she’s in one of her moods. Sorry about that,” he mumbles disappointingly.

Sister?

Does he mean Stacy is his sister? How come I didn’t know she had a brother? Or how Daisy is somehow friends with him? Even though by the loathing way she’s staring at him, I’m not sure they’ll stay friends for long.

“How about I give you two a ride home?” he asks in earnest.

“Pass,” Daisy replies coldly, digging her heels in. “One of my dates will take us,” she lies.

“Get in the car, petal,” he retorts evenly, only this time it doesn’t sound like it’s a request anymore. More like an order.

I stand there watching this unexpected interaction, mouth agape as they continue their deadlock stare. It’s only when I start to shiver from the cold air hitting my drenched frame that Daisy relents.

“Fine. You win. This time,” she tells him, after wrapping her arm protectively over me to warm me up.

Not missing a beat, Derrick opens the passenger door while Daisy ushers me into the car, but I hesitate climbing in, knowing that I’ll end up staining the expensive white leather seats.

“It’s okay. I’ll make sure the dry cleaning comes out of Stacy’s allowance.” Derrick winks at me.

Unlike his sister, he’s got kind playful eyes. Eyes that make me trust that he’s telling me the truth. That he actually cares what his sister did to me and that he will make sure she pays some kind of penance for her crimes.

Not that it matters.

She’s made sure to paint a scarlet letter on my chest for all of Thatcher Bay to see.

The damage is done.

I wallow in my misery in the back seat, while Derrick and Daisy whisper in the front. I don’t even try to listen in. Thankfully mom and Curt are already asleep by the time we get home. Just imagining my mom’s face if she saw me this way, churns my stomach.

Daisy tries to distract me by spending the rest of the night in my room, stuffing me with junk food while we watch trash reality television.

But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t remedy what happened tonight.

Stacy might have made me the laughing stock of all of Bayshore High.

But that’s not why I’m hurting.

It’s the fact that I know it was Noah who planned it all.

Down to the very last detail.