Normally, I wait for Mae after every class, or she waits for me, but today I can’t wait. Charlotte is here, and I have to leave before she catches me. I just need a few minutes to pull myself together, because otherwise I’ll fall apart again. But I’m not fast enough. I’m not even out the door when she catches up with me.
“Zoe, sweetie, wait for me. We have to talk about something.” She takes my arm like it’s the most natural thing in the world. I flinch. My whole body objects to her touch. My heart skips a beat and then restarts far too frantically.
I want to pull away from her, but she’s clamped onto my arm like a vice. I can’t get away from her, and the skin on the back of my neck begins to crawl. “Actually, I don’t have time. I still have to—”
“But you have a few minutes for me, don’t you?” she says, interrupting me. Her tone is sugar sweet, just like her smile, but there’s a silent warning in her pale blue eyes, and I realize now that things have changed. Charlotte isn’t pretending to be my friend anymore. On the one hand, I’m relieved, and on the other, it scares the shit out of me.
I’m about to tell her that I don’t even have a few minutes for her, but someone beats me to it.
“She doesn’t. We still have something to sort out.” Jase strides toward us, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats. He put on a hoodie over his T-shirt, and his hair is sticking up in all directions. The color of his eyes is so intense that it must be possible to see it from across the room.
It’s unfair that he looks so good. And there must be something wrong with me for noticing it again at this very moment, while Charlotte is grabbing me and my pulse is shooting into a range that can’t be healthy. I can feel it in my whole body, right down to my fingertips. My head is spinning, and I can’t think properly. All I know is that Charlotte has to let me go and I’ve got to leave. I’m about to freak out, and she notices. I can see it in her eyes, and I hate her even more for it.
“We need to talk,” Jase says when I don’t answer. He nods in the direction of the corridor. He doesn’t dignify Charlotte with a glance, and that sets off a warm tingling sensation in my stomach. It’s gratitude for rescuing me from Charlotte.
“Then go ahead and talk,” Charlotte says before I can even open my mouth.
Jase gives her a razor-sharp smile. “Then get lost.”
She gasps indignantly. I almost burst into hysterical giggles. Jesus, it really can’t go on like this.
“You know, Zoe and I have a lot to talk about; we haven’t seen each other for a long time. If you want to talk to her alone, why don’t you do it later?”
“I don’t care how much you have to talk about. Since you haven’t seen each other in so long, a few minutes won’t matter. Now go away, Charlotte. Don’t you have to shoot some TikToks?” Jase takes my upper arm and tugs me away from her.
He’s too fast and she’s too slow. She doesn’t have time to react, and I don’t react at all. I feel like a doll that two kids are fighting over. But if I’m honest, I’m almost okay with it because Jase is rescuing me, even if he doesn’t know it. I’m sure it’s not his intention.
Charlotte has gone white with anger, but her smile doesn’t slip an inch. Maybe that’s because we’re not alone in the studio. Everyone else is still here, and Charlotte can’t just drop the nice-girl mask. She opens her mouth, but Jase is faster again. He pulls me out of the room without waiting for her to answer, and I just let it happen.
We walk into the corridor, and Jase immediately lets go of me. He glances at me, and his jaw clenches, just briefly, but it’s enough to let me know that he wants to say something. But then he doesn’t. He’s silent, and I’m grateful for the stillness because at least it gives me a few moments to pull myself together. Deep breath. My heart finally slows to a more normal rhythm. The panic fades, and I should be happy about that, but I know it will be back. This is just a short respite because my body can’t keep it up any longer.
We leave the building, and the sky is an intense blue, the sun shining brightly. A breeze tugs at my hair, pulling individual strands out of my bun so they blow in my face.
“What did you want to talk about?” I ask as soon as I’m sure my voice will come out sounding reasonably calm and not like I’m going to burst into tears at any moment.
“We’re crap. We’re pretty much the worst pair in the whole class.”
His words hit me where it hurts, even though I know he’s only telling the truth.
“Thanks, I hadn’t noticed,” I say. Now my voice breaks, and I realize that I sound extremely weak.
“We should try to change that. I think it would be a good idea if we get together in our free time and practice the choreography so we don’t fall even further behind. You have a problem, and it looks like you need all the help you can get.”
I smile, bewildered. He’s right, but Jase is the last person who can help me. And he’s also the last person who wants to. At least, that’s what I believed until now. It makes no sense that he wants to help me, not after I pushed him away last year.
“You want to helpme?”
“Do you see anyone else here?” His voice is sarcastic. He rolls his eyes and looks like he wishes he had kept his mouth shut.
“Why? Why would you, of all people, want to help me?” I think that’s a fair question, but he seems to see it a little differently.
“Maybe because I’m generous,” Jase replies with a shrug.
“Yes, maybe. But that’s not the truth, and we both know it.”
Jase stops. His expression of apathy has changed to one of irritation. There’s a deep crease between his eyebrows. “Let’s just say this course is important to me.”
“Why?” I can’t help it; I have to know.
