As I pass Raven and her friends’ table, I stop to say hi. Then I go to mine and plop down.
“So what did you guys talk about?” Beck asks with a mouth full of food.
“Just stuff.”
“Romantic stuff?”
“Shut up. How many times do I have to tell you that we’re just friends? Anything more will just complicate everything.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t believe it.”
I give Jasper and Leo a look. “Can you guys please stop him? Raven and I are in a good place now and I don’t want to rock the boat. We’ve been through a lot and the last thing we need is to mess everything up.”
Jasper holds up his hands. “I’m not getting involved in this.”
Leo stares at something in the corner of the room. “What does she even see in that guy?”
We twist around to check what he’s looking at and find the girl he likes chatting to her boyfriend near the entrance to the dining hall. It doesn’t look like they’re having a pleasant conversation and I notice the hopeful look in Leo’s eyes. Of course he doesn’t want to break them up, but he won’t complain if they do end their relationship.
“What’s her name again?” I ask him.
He sighs dreamily. “Lilah.”
Beck frowns. “We’ve got two guys who can’t have the girls they like. This school stinks.”
Jasper lifts a brow. “Like we’d have more luck at Everheart? You know, a school with only boys?”
“That’s why it was harder to get a girl. Because you had to look for one outside of school. This school has lots of girls, but no options. That’s why it stinks.”
“That’s because you don’t have a trust fund.”
“Dude, look at them. Leo can’t take his eyes off Lilah, and Ky can’t stop staring at Raven.”
I blink. “I’m not staring at Raven.”
“Right. Sure you’re not.” Jasper snorts. “You get this look on your face whenever she’s around you. Like a lovesick puppy.”
“I do not. Like I said a billion times, Raven and I are—”
“Friends who want to be more than friends but they can’t because they’ve been through crap and are scared they’ll get hurt again,” Jasper says.
“I’m done with this conversation,” I tell them and stab my fork into my chicken. “Didn’t you just say you’re not getting involved? Maybe your parents should do you a favor and bring you a muzzle for Parents’ Day.”
Jasper sticks out his tongue, then starts laughing, making me laugh, too. “At least if they did bring me one, I wouldn’t be forced to answer the questions when teachers give us oral quizzes.”
“And Raven wouldn’t get mad at you for calling her Rave,” I add.
He grins. “She secretly loves it, even if she won’t admit it.” He glances in her direction and yells, “Rave!” When she looks at him, he waves enthusiastically.
She playfully rolls her eyes at him.
“See? She can’t help but love it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Raven
The friendship song, now titled “Better With You,” is finally ready!
