Only when he leaves, do I wonder where he’s going. I assume to the bathroom, but then he goes to the counter and takes out his phone. A moment later, he taps it against the credit card machine.
“Did you just pay for me?” I ask when he returns, standing up.
“It’s my shout.”
“Henry,” I groan. “Let me pay you back.”
“No,” he says with a triumphant smile. “I’m the one who suggested coming here. Come on.” He grabs his school back.
After a moment, I do the same and follow him out of the restaurant. A warm breeze passes over us, ruffling our hair.
“Henry? Thank you.”
He smiles. “You’re welcome.”
We kill as much time as possible walking around, browsing through stores with no intention of buying anything and exploring the grey streets of central Easton. My heart feels big in my chest, and I can’t keep my eyes off Henry.
He’s my best friend in the world. When he laughs, my breath hitches. This feeling … I know it’s more than a crush. I might never be able to tell him, but I know without a doubt it’s true.
17
Eve: Lie
As I’m locking my locker with one hand, my snacks in the other, my phone buzzes from my dress pocket.
Noah: Hey, here are the details for Craig’s party — I forgot to give them to u earlier, haha.
Underneath is Craig’s address, which is a few streets from Ruby’s house, and the date and time: this Saturday at seven o’clock.
Eve: Thanks Noah :)
“I have the best news,” I say when Ruby arrives at the lockers, putting away her books.
“What?” Ruby takes a five-dollar note from her wallet, and we head to the canteen.
“I got us invited to a party!”
“What? Really? Who’s?”
“Declan’s brother, Craig. He went to this school, two years above us? Doesn’t matter — he’s having a party and there’ll be heaps of people we know there. And we’re going too!” I’m so excited, I’m skipping.
Ruby frowns. “Declan’s brother?”
“Yeah.” I tell her the time and location, suggesting we get ready at her house. We join the canteen line and Ruby fiddles with the note. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask. “I thought you’d be excited.”
“I am,” she lies. “How did you get invited?”
I laugh. “It’s a funny story. I ran into Declan and Kaito on Sunday night, at the supermarket near my house. It was so embarrassing because I looked like a hobo. It was like eleven at night, so I didn’t think I’d run into anyone. Anyway, we talked, and they invited me.”
Ruby doesn’t smile. Okay, maybe the story isn’tthatfunny. “Why were you at the supermarket by yourself so late?”
“I wasn’t alone,” I say. “I was with Noah, and we were getting snacks.”
Her lips twist. “Snacks? Why?”
I explain everything — I was helping him study for the English essay which isn’t weird because we go to each other’s houses regularly. That Noah’s family is super healthy and there was nothing yummy in his house to eat as a reward, so we went shopping.
“You guys must have had fun,” Ruby says.
