“You’re trying to make me sound pathetic,” I accused.
“No, you’re doing that all on your own,” he responded.
“Appreciate the support.” I stepped out of the shower and grabbed my clothes from my locker, muttering under my breath about annoying friends. I shouldn’t have told them about any of this. I should have just said that Lilah and I actually had started dating today—or better yet, that the kiss in the store had been real and we were too nervous to tell everyone about it until today. Even once the fake break-up happened, they wouldn’t have made fun of me this much if they thought I was heartbroken.
And if everything went according to my hopes, there wouldn’t even be a break up.
“I’m just saying,” Bear said as he stepped out of his own shower. The other boys followed suit moments later. “You’re going to catch feelings—worse ones than you already have—and she’s going to hate you when it blows up.”
“It’s not going to blow up. We have it all planned out.”
Mako laughed. “That’s what people always say right before something blows up.”
Crossy pointed at me with his water bottle. “You should see your face every time you say her name. You’re already done for, man.”
I groaned. “Can we not turn this into a group therapy session?”
“Fine,” Bear said, crossing his arms and frowning. Not that that was unusual—he was almost always frowning. “Then let’s talk about how dumb it is. What, are you guys gonna hold hands in the hallway? Sit together at lunch like it’s middle school?”
“You don’t need to make it sound so idiotic,” I said. I hated that my voice was starting to sound petulant, but there was nothing they could say right now that would make me change my mind and they weren’t taking the hint. “Everyone has been asking about the relationship so we’re just confirming it. We’ll go on some dates, kiss, do whatever we need to do. Everyone will be obsessed for a few days and then they’ll get over it.”
Mako cackled. “This is so good. I can’t wait to see you staring at her like you’re in love while she looks like she’s planning your death.”
“How’s that any different from their daily routine now?” Bear asked.
I didn’t dignify that with a response. I pulled my hoodie on roughly without putting on a shirt underneath, ready to get out of this conversation. The inside of it got wet from my freshly washed hair and felt disgusting but I didn’t take it off.
“I’m leaving,” I said.
Mako rolled his eyes. “Wait two minutes for us, drama queen.”
Crossy looked at me curiously as he pulled his jacket on. “So how’s it supposed to end? You guys have a big fake breakup? You dump her? She dumps you?”
“We didn’t plan the breakup exactly,” I said. “Just that we’ll casually break up. Something that won’t be interesting enoughfor people to start talking about us again—a mutual decision that it didn’t work out.”
Unless we don’t. I wouldn’t begrudge Lilah if she did want to go through the fake breakup, of course, but there wouldn’t be any part of me that would stop hoping for it to work out anyway.
Mako tossed his towel into the bin. “If it makes you feel any better, I give it two weeks before she gets sick of pretending.”
“How would that make me feel better?”
“Aren’t you a little concerned this is going to prove to her once and for all that she never wants to date you?” Crossy asked.
Without thinking, I said, “Well, that’s her plan. But I don’t see it happening.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Mako said, waving his hands in front of me. “Are you saying you agreed to help her prove that you’re terrible together?” He didn’t wait for my response before he burst out laughing. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Dude,” Crossy said, throwing an arm around my shoulder, “you are so down bad.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not.”
“Say her name without smiling,” he said.
I opened my mouth. Closed it again. “That doesn’t prove anything.”
