He folds his arms.
“He’s attentive and generous …”
“Evie …”
“He’s forever checking in.”
No response.
“Nobody else would love me the way he does.” I puff up defensively. “He said so!”
“Try not to read too much into it,” Oliver says, two hours later, after I’ve given him the executive summary of my first real argument with Drew. “If he’s getting a bit intense, maybe give him some space?”
Thisis why I’m into Oliver. Drew has openly criticized him, yet he’s being so reasonable.
“He’s always been emotional,” he adds. “Misses classes. Goes away for days. Flakes out on group assignments. Maybe he thinks you’re the only thing he can control in his life …”
Control?I hadn’t thought of Drew’s behavior that way. But maybe Oliver is right; he seems to be about most things.
“I can’t give him too much space,” I explain. “We’ve got the exhibition opening in ten days. And the formal next month.”
“You’ve got the exhibition under control, haven’t you? And I’ll be at your formal.” He pulls me into a hug, but I push him back, surprised.
“You’ll be there?”
“Bree and I were going to surprise you,” he admits.
Bree and Oliver?
“Since friendship dates seem to be a thing …”
I don’t know how I feel about this.
“She was so cut up about Tom Jenkins asking Madeleine Dupont, I thought I’d offer to go with her. Obviously just as mates. And you and Drew will be there. Bree seems to like him.”
In what way?
This whole development is head-spinning.
“Evie, any other boyfriend would be insanely jealous about his girlfriend going to the formal with someone else, but I reckon we could just make a party out of it. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”
I think it does, even though it’s doing multiple weird things to my insides trying to put it all together.
41
Drew
“The media has asked for two students to be spokespeople for the exhibition,” Dr. Walsh says, at the students-and-parents-only preview ofPictures of You. “Evie, obviously, as this was your idea …”
She looks sick at the thought. I can practically see the color drain from her cheeks in real time. “Oh, I don’t know?” she says.
“You’ll be fine! Take the credit,” Oliver says.
He has no real understanding of how much she hates being in the spotlight.
She glances at me, panic in her eyes. I send her a brief, encouraging smile, and a nod. It will be okay. I don’t like the idea of media attention any more than she does, but we’ve worked so hard over several months, curating this. She deserves to be the one to show it off.
“Oliver, as school captain, you should join her,” the principal adds.
