Byron grinned and looked at her. “Fun fact! I’d rather braid my veins than listen to this song.”
Onny’s shoulders fell. “What am I going to do with my dirt?”
Byron shrugged, hands in his pockets. “You’ve got two out of the three ingredients. That should be, what, half a love spell? Probably enough to work on what few brain cells Alexander possesses.”
Onny glared at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong withyou?” shot back Byron. “You’re the one who actually thinks a love potion is somehow going to work, and I’m the idiot indulging this whole mess.”
The music blared a little louder, and Onny felt her face warming. She wished she could hold the recipe for the love potion against her heart. She wished, more than anything, that she could pick up the phone and ask herlolaif she was doing this right, if she was wasting the gift she’d been given or if she really was a colossal cosmic joke. Anything would be better than having to stand here, getting mocked by—
“Whoa, where’d you disappear to, Diamante,” said Byron, tapping her shoulder.
Onny looked up. His wide, gray eyes bored down on her and he looked startled for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away. “I said I’d help with your love potion—”
“It’s not mine,” said Onny. “My grandmother wrote it. For me. Right before she died.”
Guilt crept into his gaze. He gently touched her shoulder, his hand warm on her skin.
“I know how you two were close,” said Byron softly.
Onny looked up at him, confused. “How do you know that?”
“You’ve mentioned it before, in class,” he said. “You used to bring out and show people the amulet she gave you. I forget what you called it.”
“Anagimat,” said Onny, shocked that he’d remembered it.
She constantly wore the bright blueagimatnecklace up until the moment she lost it exactly one day before her grandmother died. She’d been heartbroken, until her mom had comforted her:You know how yourlolais about her jewelry. She probably wanted to wear it in heaven.
“She was the one who got me into all this stuff,” said Onny, smiling at the memories. “She used to say mylolo’s love for her was something written in the stars and how it all came together with a little luck from a love potion. I mean, they weretotallymade for each other. I guess I wanted something like they had.”
When Onny looked up at Byron, an unfamiliar expression flitted across his face. It was there and gone so fast that Onny couldn’t quite be sure what she saw, and yet she suddenly felt exposed.
“Um, anyway, there’s not much we can do about the last ingredient,” she said, looking away from him and gesturing at the golden floor. She studied it for a minute or so. “No one is dancing to this. And no one wants to be the person that’s dancing first, soooo… what are we going to do?”
Onny turned back to face Byron, but he was gone. She lookedto her right and left, but it was like he’d vanished on the spot. Her face went hot. Was what she said that ridiculous that he’d walked off? What an absolute jerk.
SERIOUSLY?she wanted to yell into the void.
All of a sudden, the music cut off. Onny paused. Slowly, the familiar bass notes of “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire spread across the dance floor. All around it, people paused and stared, flat-out bewildered. Behind her, she heard loud footsteps and turned to see Byron walking back from the DJ booth. The light haloed his tall frame, and the moment he was at her side, he flashed that slanting smile at her.
A huge grin stretched across Onny’s face. “I thought you said no one was going to dance to this,” she said.
“People generally don’t like to engage in humiliating acts unless they know they’re not alone,” said Byron, holding out his hand. “And I did agree to be your willing sacrifice.”
Onny stared at him. “Canyou dance?”
“God no,” said Byron, taking her hand and pulling her onto the dance floor. “Which hopefully will only encourage people more.”
Onny laughed as he led her to the dance floor and spun her in a circle. She spun against him, her back colliding against his chest. When she turned around, he looked a little dazed. The beat picked up, and Onny grinned as she danced. Byron, on the other hand, was keeping it very safe with a mild side step to the right and left. There was barely a head bob to his movements, but he was there, and he seemed completely unbothered with the fact that half the school was watching them. Somehow, ByronFrost had a way of making something even extremely awkward look like an intentional power move.
The familiar lyrics washed over her, and Onny threw up her hands. Byron abruptly stopped dancing.
“What in the world are you doing, Diamante?” asked Byron, horrified.
“I’m surrendering my body to the rhythm,” said Onny, closing her eyes.
