Jealousy Read online

  “I hate that your first night at Canterwood came with news like this,” I said. “I don’t want to lead you on.”

  “You didn’t have to be honest—not after I lied to you.” Taylor slumped a little. “I shouldn’t have kissed you and just assumed . . .”

  “Yeah. Because I have to go find him and explain now,” I said.

  “I’m sorry. He shouldn’t be mad at you—it was my fault.” Taylor paused, playing with his mask. “If you need me to do anything, I will. Even though . . .”

  I gave him a few seconds, but he sat still and quiet. “Even though what?” I asked.

  Taylor sighed and shrugged one shoulder. “Even though it would be hard.”

  Argh. The last thing I wanted was for Drew and Taylor to have issues with each other.

  “Thanks, but I’ll handle it. I don’t want to go around in circles all night. It’s your first night here. That’s special too. Can we talk—really talk—when we’re not sitting outside freezing?”

  “Of course, and I didn’t mean to keep you away from your party for so long. I’ve messed up so much tonight.”

  “Lucky that you’re sticking around in case I need you to fix anything.” I smiled at him, and Tay smiled back.

  “I want our relationship to stay like it was—mature—and not be tarnished because of my stupidity tonight,” Taylor said.

  That was Taylor. Even when we weren’t together, he liked me enough that he always—well, almost always—carefully considered my feelings. He had what my dad called an “old soul.”

  “One mistake didn’t ruin everything,” I said. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “You asked about Bri and Ana earlier,” he said. “They didn’t know until my last day at Yates. I asked them to let me tell you myself. Don’t be mad at them—they only kept it a secret because I begged them to.”

  I wondered if that had anything to do with the disconnect among Brielle, Ana, and me lately. Maybe they’d been trying to stay off Skype on purpose because they were afraid they’d spill Taylor’s secret.

  “I don’t want to be mad at anyone, but I do want to go inside.”

  “Laur?”

  “Yeah?” I stood, smoothing my dress and picking up my mask.

  “This guy better be really good to you.”

  “He is.”

  It was too weird talking to Taylor about Drew. I thought I’d have until Thanksgiving or Christmas break to tell Tay about my new guy. If Drew and I kept going in that direction. Right now I wanted to cease all boy talk and go. I looked away from Taylor and at the ballroom.

  As if on cue, the ballroom doors opened. Lexa, Clare, and Khloe stepped outside. Their hand masks were at their sides. Each girl looked in a different direction.

  Whew. Perfect timing, guys, I thought.

  TOMORROW. THE NEXT DAY. THE DAY AFTER THAT.

  I TIPPED MY CHIN TOWARD THE DOORS. Taylor followed my gaze.

  “Those are my friends,” I said. “They are probably about to post a missing persons report.”

  “Then we better hurry,” Tay said. Together we started back to my party.

  “Do you have a dorm room?” I asked. I’d wanted our talk to end when we’d left the bench, but now I had so many things to ask Taylor. “When did you even get here? What about your stuff?”

  Then I laughed. It was as if my body didn’t know how else to react. “I have so many questions. Too many to ask before we get to my friends.”

  Taylor grinned, and the tension in my neck and shoulders seemed to slowly loosen. If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend that Tay and I were friends walking out of a movie or leaving the gym back in Union.

  “Maybe I can BBM you tomorrow and we can meet up to talk?” Taylor asked.

  “Sure. But where? When? And how?” I asked, referring to my questions from eons ago. Taylor knew me well enough not to need more explanation than that.

  “Where: Wren Hall. When: Got here a couple of hours ago. How: I brought what I needed for tonight, and the movers are bringing my stuff tomorrow.”

  “I haven’t been by Wren,” I said. “But I know it’s close to The Slice. Did you meet your roommate or anything?”

  I let out a tiny breath of relief that Taylor was in Wren and not Blackwell—Drew’s dorm hall.

  Taylor shook his head. “Nope. He wasn’t in our room and I wasn’t there long. All I know about him is that his name is Matthew. My dorm monitor, Ben, is a super-chill guy. I explained that it was a friend’s birthday and I really wanted to surprise her at her party. He was cool about it. As long as I was back by curfew and met him tomorrow for an orientation briefing, I could go.”

  “Did you get lost? I probably would have ended up in the woods, especially since it’s dark out.” My chatter helped distract me from my nerves.

  We were almost at the ballroom. Lexa, Khloe, and Clare hadn’t spotted us yet. They still craned their necks and stood on tiptoes looking for me.

  “Nah, I looked at the campus map a couple of times before tonight,” Taylor said. “I’m going to wander around tomorrow and check out everything.”

  Tomorrow. Taylor was going to be here tomorrow. And the next day.

  “You should definitely BBM me,” I said.

  Just because I was into Drew didn’t mean I couldn’t be around Tay. Especially since we’d been friends all along. Drew would understand . . . right?

  “Um, after the movers and stuff, you know,” I finished. “Talking would be a good idea.”

  “Sounds good,” Taylor said.

  I glued my eyes on my friends. Lexa glanced in my direction, and I lifted a hand. She took a step forward, waved back, and said something to Khloe and Clare. Khloe held out her arm, putting her palm up in a what’s going on? gesture. Clare put her lips close to Khloe’s ear and must have whispered something that made Khloe’s arm fall to her side.

  It was hard to tell if my friends were staring at Taylor or at me. I wasn’t close enough to see their expressions clearly, but I knew they didn’t recognize Taylor. It was as if the landing was an island. If they went down the stairs and came toward me, they’d be swallowed up by the sea.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Tay for a few seconds. Everything about him screamed relaxed, from his dropped shoulders to the easy swing in his walk.

  We reached a split in the sidewalk. Part of the sidewalk continued to the ballroom. The other started toward the north side of the campus.

  Light streamed from every window of the enormous ballroom. Now we were close enough to hear lyrics of a pop song. The horse and carriage were gone—someone was out on the trail that Lexa had decorated. I went to the right and walked a few steps before turning back to see that Taylor had stopped.

  He smiled at me. “I hope I didn’t ruin the rest of your night. Have fun, okay? We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  “You’re going back to Wren? Now?”

  The second the question had left my mouth, I heard how dumb it sounded. Of course he was headed to Wren Hall. He lived there now. I’d just yelled at him for crashing my party, and it wasn’t Taylor’s style to be a repeat offender. But this was my birthday and Taylor was here. Even though he’d come for the wrong reasons, I’d be a bad friend to let Taylor go and not ask if he wanted to come to my party.

  Taylor tilted his head, eyeing something behind me, then focusing on me. “I’m glad the three girls staring at us are your friends and not your enemies,” he said. “They look pretty intense.”

  I grinned. “ ‘Intense’ is the right word, and yes, they would be scary enemies. I’d be holed up in my room hiding.”

  Tay laughed. “So would I! And yeah, I’m going back to my room. Maybe my roommate will be there. I can at least unpack what I brought.”

  We both paused. I could feel my friends’ stares at the back of my head, and the question I was about to ask made my heart pound so hard.

  PARTY CRASHER TURNED GUEST

  “TAYLOR . . . DO YOU WANT TO COME TO MY party?” I asked.

&nbs
p; “Oh, Laur, I—”

  “I know what I said before,” I interjected, cutting him off. “I’m still mad at you for kissing me. You are a student here, though, and all of my friends are inside.”

  “Laur, no, I can’t. You’re way too generous after what I did tonight. You’ll already have to explain me to your friends, and I don’t want to take any more attention away from you. It’s your birthday.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “It is my birthday, and I’d really like it if you came to my party.” I smiled. “C’mon. If you say no, I’ll send my posse after you.”

  That made Taylor smile. “I definitely don’t want those girls coming after me.” He shifted and tugged at the sleeves of his crisp white shirt. “Okay. I’d really like to come as a guest and not a crasher.”

  Taylor fell into step next to me as we walked toward the ballroom. There was no way I would have felt right if he’d gone back to his room. But now I had goose bumps from nerves. Drew was (hopefully!) inside, and I was about to walk back into my party with my ex-boyfriend. My new crush wasn’t even my current boyfriend, and tonight he’d meet Tay.

  Doubt settled into my stomach, making me feel seasick. I’d only known Drew for a couple of months. What if he disagreed with my decision to invite Taylor? I wasn’t going to stop being Taylor’s friend if Drew had a problem with it. But Drew didn’t seem like that kind of guy. I wanted to make the right choices for everyone. Most of all, I didn’t want to lose Drew. Almost every girl in my grade had a crush on him, and it wasn’t just because he was cute. There were so many things that I liked about Drew—I’d get lost making a list in my head. I’d already made my intentions clear to Taylor, so I had to find Drew ASAP and talk to him.

  I shook off my thoughts, and my eyes connected with Khloe’s first. Her own were wide, and she wasn’t blinking.

  Clare and Lex smiled as Tay and I approached them. My friends were dressed in the most elegant and gorgeous dresses, and, arms at their sides, they each held a decorated stick attached to a beautiful mask.

  Choosing our dresses and accessories had been no easy task. The memory of shopping online at Macy’s made me smile. Khloe and I had gotten so into it, we’d even sent Clare, Lex, and Jill links to dresses that we thought they might like.

  Khloe looked sophisticated in her strapless black dress with a satin belt that tied in the front. Closest to her, Lexa’s tangerine dress with floral appliqué complemented her mocha-colored skin. My favorite detail of Lex’s sleeveless dress was the bodice—each flower had a tiny pearl in the center. Clare’s amethyst-colored dress made her long red hair pop. Almost out of stock on Macy’s Website, the capped-sleeve dress was pleated and had a tulle underlay. Looking at each of them in their dresses and holding their masks calmed my nerves a little. These were my new friends, and I was about to introduce them to one of my old friends.

  Taylor and I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Taylor, welcome to Canterwood, I thought.

  CUTIES IN CAULDRONS

  I SMILED UP AT MY FRIENDS, TAKING A QUICK breath.

  “I stepped out for a breath of fresh air and came back with a friend from home,” I said. “Is that a crazy birthday present or what?”

  The girls giggled, but I could see their get to the truth already! looks.

  “That’s quite the surprise present!” Clare said. “I hope one of my friends from home just appears when I turn thirteen. Or maybe stuff like that only happens to people who have birthdays on Halloween.”

  “I think that’s it,” I said, trying to keep a serious look on my face. “When this cauldron popped up on the lawn and this guy next to me stepped out, I thought, ‘Whoa! You guys really went all out!’ ”

  “That cauldron better still be there,” Lexa said. She grinned. “I need a cute boy to pop up out of nowhere!”

  We all laughed.

  “Guys,” I said. “This is Taylor Frost. He’s a friend from home. No cauldron involved with his appearance, though. Sorry, Lexa.”

  Lex stuck out her lower lip. “Boo.”

  “Oh. Oh,” Khloe said. Her blond hair shimmered under the lights as she shook her head. She put both hands on her hips and grinned. Her near-palpable excitement almost sent sparks into the air. “Taylor! Taylor Frost! At Lauren’s party! Omigod!”

  Uh-oh! I thought. Khloe’s going to freeeak out!

  “Taylor, hi,” Lexa said, stepping in front of Khloe.

  I shot her a quick, grateful smile, and Lexa winked back. She knew that when Khloe got excited, the girl got excited. I’d told Khlo everything about the Taylor saga. If no one stepped in and gave Khloe a moment to compose herself, my roommate would bury Taylor under a zillion rapid-fire questions.

  “I’m Lexa Reed,” Lex said. “This is Clare Bryant . . .”

  Clare smiled. “Hey, nice to meet you, Taylor.”

  “. . . and Khloe Kinsella,” Lex added.

  “Hi!” Khloe said. “Lauren’s told you that I’m her awful roommate who plays emo music twenty-four/seven, fills our fridge with kelp smoothies, and snores, right?”

  Taylor looked at me, then at Khloe. He had the deer-in-the-headlights look.

  “No, not at all,” Taylor said, shaking his head. “Lauren’s never said any of that.”

  Khloe! I yelled at her in my head. She’d scared Taylor—just like she’d done to me when we had first met.

  “Khloe’s an actress,” I said, jumping in. “She—”

  “She likes you from everything Lauren’s said and was just teasing,” Khlo said. She dropped her act. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

  Taylor smiled at her—the kind of smile that I knew meant he liked Khloe’s sense of humor now that he was in on the joke.

  “It’s cool to meet all of you,” Taylor said. “Lauren’s mentioned you guys before. Actually, she did mention that her roommate snores . . . .” Taylor looked at Khloe, a teasing gleam in his eyes.

  Khloe’s jaw dropped, and she covered her open mouth with her hand. I winked and stuck out my tongue at her.

  “Lauren’s mentioned you, too,” Clare said. “We thought we had planned every surprise for tonight, but you coming here from Union is def the biggest one of all!”

  “You did come a long way for LT,” Khloe said. She played with the ostrich plume on her white satin mask. “We totes know you’re her ex!” she blurted out.

  I looked at Khloe sideways. Khloe! I mouthed.

  Khloe’s face reddened. “But we know you’re not a bad ex!” she added. “We know it was mutual. The breakup, I mean.”

  Oh my God! I’m going to kill Khloe! I thought. After everything Taylor had told me back at the bench, Khloe had no idea that my breakup was now a teensy bit more complicated.

  Clare played with a lock of her red hair, and Lexa inspected her mask. I half expected Taylor to excuse himself, run to Wren Hall, and never come within ten feet of me or my friends again.

  Khloe stepped out from behind Lexa and made eye contact with me. She curtsied. “I hope you all will congratulate me on making this the most awkward introduction in history to occur on Canterwood Crest Academy grounds. Not since the school was founded in nineteen . . .” She frowned. “Nineteen whatever—just way before cell phones and anything cool had been invented.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. Beside me Taylor did the same.

  “My words that have surely embarrassed Lauren’s friend, the seemingly nice Taylor Frost, should be included in the student handbook under a new section: Improper Methods of Introduction. I hope this night, October thirty-first, is remembered not just for Lauren’s birthday or Halloween but for how I welcomed a visitor to our campus.”

  Lexa nodded, making a serious face and patting Khloe’s arm. They are going to drag me away for questioning when I tell them that Taylor’s a Canterwood student now! I thought.

  “Please make sure to take this story to the yearbook staff,” Khloe continued. “I must be recognized as ‘The Seventh Grader Who Blurted Out Embarrassing Things,’ along with
my other most honorable accolades.”

  Khloe bowed her head and took a step back.

  Silence.

  Slowly Khloe lifted her head as if she was peeking at us to see if I was going to forgive her or revoke her invite to my party.

  We all burst into laughter.

  “I know I told you Khlo was an actress,” I said to Taylor. “I left out how good of an actress she really is.”

  Taylor and Khloe traded smiles.

  I went from wanting to shake KK to applauding her for being the best icebreaker. Her methods weren’t conventional, but they worked.

  “Taylor did come to surprise me for my birthday,” I said. “He had another surprise too.”

  Lex, Clare, and Khloe raised their eyebrows.

  “Do tell!” Khloe said, leaning on the iron railing.

  “Like I said, Taylor’s a friend from home,” I said. “He used to attend Yates.”

  “Wait,” Clare said. She frowned. “You said ‘used to.’ ”

  I wasn’t going to embarrass Taylor with the truth about his father. He would have plenty of time to decide whom to tell and when.

  “He’s not at Yates anymore,” I continued, twirling my mask in my hand. “It wasn’t the right fit for him, and he decided to transfer.”

  “Oh, cool,” Lexa said. “What school? Is it close to us?”

  “About as close as you can get,” I said. “Taylor was just accepted to Canterwood. It’s his first night on campus.”

  THE COVER-UP

  “OMIGOD!” LEXA, CLARE, AND KHLOE SAID at the same time.

  “Sorry. I mean, welcome!” Clare said, recovering first.

  “I’m glad you found a school that you liked,” Lexa said. “It’s great that you have a friend to help you settle in.”

  “Omigod!” Khloe said again. “Sorry! It’s just . . . wow. You’re a student. Here. At Canterwood.”

  Taylor smiled at everyone. He was being great with my friends. “Crazy how it worked out,” he said. “I’m still kind of in shock too.”

  “How about we go inside, grab snacks and drinks, and chat more?” I suggested. “Maybe find a quiet-ish place so we don’t throw Taylor into the middle of a party at a new school?”