I give Jenna a look. “I donot.” I cover my face with my hands, trying not to yell. “Fine. I do. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.”
Jenna grabs my hand, pulling it away from my face. “Check it out. Brianne’s headed toward him.”
I watch as the most beautiful, popular girl at school saunters over to him with that flirty smile she always shoots at guys. Most can’t resist her, because she’sBrianne. Nearly the entire male population at school would die to exchange just two words with her.
But not Ryan Rogers. Nope. He’s so sucked into his drawing he doesn’t notice the pair of designer shoes tapping on the tiled floor before him.
I lean closer to Jenna. “He’s insane. No one ignores Brianne.”
“I heard she and Derek broke up. Five bucks it’s because of Ryan. She wants to sink her claws into him before someone else does.”
I clutch her arm as Brianne bends toward him, pushing some of that silky black hair away from his face and whispering in his ear.
“No. Please wake me up from this nightmare,” I say.
Aw, who am I kidding? Of course Brianne is his type. Pretty goes with pretty and lame goes with lame.
“Oh my gosh, he’s totally ignoring her,” Jenna hisses.
Why does my heart flutter like a butterfly?
Jason groans. “Can we maybe talk about something other than the new kid?”
We’re not listening to him. We watch, entrapped, as Brianne continues to whisper in his ear, her golden hair brushing his face.
After pulling away from her, Ryan gets to his feet, nearly knocking his head into hers, and stalks out of the cafeteria, sketchpad and pencil in his hand.
Brianne stares after him, pissed as heck that a guydaredreject her.
“Oh my gosh,” Jenna gasps. “Oh, she’s totally not done with him. She won’t give up until she gets what she wants. And she wants him.”
Jason groans again. “I’m losing brain cells here.”
Jenna playfully rolls her eyes before smacking her lips to his.
I tell my brother and best friend I’ll catch them later, then leave the cafeteria and search the halls for Ryan. Ineedto know where he ran off to.
I find him sitting at the corner, near the guys’ bathroom down the hall. No one else is around, because, let’s face it, the bathroom stinks and no one really uses it. He doesn’t mind, or maybe he’s too into his drawing to care. I really wonder what he’s working on, and my mind stupidly conjures all these images of me, with different expressions on myface.
Sigh. A girl can dream, can’t she?
As if feeling my eyes on him, Ryan’s head snaps up. But he doesn’t look at me. Nope, he’s looking through me. Like I’m just another locker pressed against the wall.
Sigh again.
On my way back to the cafeteria, a sign hanging on the bulletin board catches my attention. The school dance. Right. I almost forgot. Every year, our town celebrates the founding families, which includes mine. We have a whole weekend of festivals and activities, it’s insane. In addition to that, our school has a dance. It’s something everyone looks forward to because it’s, like, a major thing. And it’s also tradition for guys to ask girls. Every year, I wish a guy would ask me, and every year, no one has. I’d sit like a loser at the corner, watching everyone including my best friend have the time of their lives.
It’s not just a dance, it’s a legacy. And I’d give up an arm to have the opportunity to go with someone.
It’ll take place next week, and already guys have been asking girls. But has anyone asked me? Nope, nope, and nope.
But then again, do I expect anything different?
Chapter Two
Artemis
I take my seat at the dinner table, staring at the beige tablecloth. Two days have passed and I still don’t have a date to the dance.
