“He seems like a good kid,” Jack said.
“He’s an idiot,” I replied. “If it wasn’t for me, he’d be dead by now.”
Jack leaned back against a wall. “Do I sense a sweet side, Ev?”
It was too much. I was there, and he was there, and he wasn’t being completely horrible, and I didn’t know how to flirt. So I did the next logical thing. I ran. Well, I didn’t actuallyrun, seeing as how the fashion boots made that a physical impossibility, but I did leave Jack to follow Noah with a great deal of speed and very little explanation.
“I’ll be back in a second,” I called over my shoulder.
Jack crossed one foot over the other and continued leaning on the wall, his eyes still on me.
As I did my best to follow Noah through the crowd, the song changed, and I grimaced. Either the DJ had a personal vendetta against everyone there, or everyone at the party other than me had completely horrible taste in music. This shouldn’t have surprised me, granted, but honestly, is a little bit of the Pixies too much to ask for? Mayhaps some Sonic Youth? Anything that’s not sung by an actress/singer or a rapper/pimp? When it comes to music, slashes are never a good thing.
I caught up with Noah, and proving once more that it is completely impossible that we could possibly share any DNA whatsoever, he grinned broadly. “I love this song.” A group of girls strutted by, moving their hips to the music as they walked, and Noah raised his eyes heavenward. “Ireallylove this song.”
As much as I hated to interrupt his prayer of thanksgiving, I felt compelled to reissue my warning. “If you get into a fight, you’re on your own.”
My words had less than no impact on his cathartic experience.
“Toby!!”
I only knew one person who spoke with two exclamation marks in her voice.
“Hi, Lucy.”
“Isn’t April’s house amazing? Doesn’t it look …”
Like something out ofLaguna Beach? Or possibly what it would look like if Lindsay Lohan and Usher made a music video together?
“… like totally amazing?”
“Amazing,” Noah repeated.
Lucy smiled at him. “Hi!” She punctuated her greeting with a wave.
Feeling strangely compelled to protect both Noah and Lucy from inevitable disaster, I tried to warn Lucy that waving at my brother while wearing a tube top could have major consequences, but a hand on my shoulder stopped the words in my mouth.
“Your outfit is so cute,” Brittany said, her eyes sparkling.
“You have such incredible taste,” Tiffany chimed in.
I rolled my eyes, but with Noah standing there, I couldn’t stop their self-congratulations.
“Your necklace is off center, though,” Britt said. “Here, let me.” She reached up and fiddled with the charm around my neck, turning it ninety degrees to the right. “There,” she said, and the real meaning behind her words (and the fiddling) didn’t escape me. She’d turned on the video and audio feed in the necklace. I was officially good to go.
If only I knew how to go about seducing someone.
No sooner had thoughts of seduction crossed my mind than I caught Jack’s eye. He was still standing where I’d left him, but had since been surrounded by a mass of girls, all vying for his attention. The smirky smile was back on his face.
“Go talk to him.” Tara’s voice was soft—her words were encouragement, not an order.
“I should probably stick with Noah for a while,” I said. “You know, just until I’m sure that—”
“We’ll take care of your brother.” Tara nudged Brittany, who nudged Tiffany.
“Hey, Noah,” the twins called in unison, and moments later, an arm around each twin, Noah left me behind in the dust.
I buried my head in my hands. “He’ll be impossible to live with now.”
