It was the only thing that made sense.
I plannedon skipping lunch and going to the library, but when I looked up and saw the drama block in front of me, I realised my feet had made a different decision.
Strangely, it wasn’t Dominic who had me wanting to ditch. It was Maya. I had three unread messages from her on my phone, all sent through the morning. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to open them.
It’d be okay if she was telling me that we’d be better off as friends. Or even that she was so disgusted by my poor game and clear lack of interest that she wanted to never speak to me again. I wouldn’t mind that.
No, my issue was that I suspected it’d be the opposite. That she’d want to meet up again.
I didn’t want that. Plus, I’d promised Dominic I wouldn’t.
And why did you do that?
Fuck if I knew.
As I rounded the corner, my gaze swept over everyone, but there was no sign of Dominic.
That was odd. I rubbed a hand over my chest. Where was he?
An excited squeal pierced the air right before a bundle of colourful scarves threw itself into my arms.
I groaned internally, awkwardly putting my arms around Maya and wishing the ground would open up and swallow me. I guessed those messages weren’t telling me to fuck off and die. Shame.
Max caught my eye, his lips twitching as he noted how I was gingerly patting her back. I waited for the pang of annoyance, but instead I found myself widening my eyes, signalling for help.
His brows flew up. And then he did the last thing I expected.
“Put him down, Maya,” he called out teasingly. “Ryan and I need to catch up.”
Maya let me go reluctantly, trying to hide her confusion behind her pout. I couldn’t blame her for being confused—Max usually made no secret of his disdain for me. “Can’t you talk to him later? You guys live together, after all.”
A dark look flashed through Max’s eyes, there and gone in a second. He liked being challenged about as much as Dominic did. “Yeah, but Amy wants to talk to you about her party next month.”
Amy, bless her, wasn’t keeping up. “I do?”
“Yes,” he said slowly, staring at her intently. “About the playlist. Remember?”
Finally, she caught on. “Oh! Yeah, Maya, come and look at what I’ve got so far. Max thinks it’s a bit too emo but I’m not sure.”
Maya glanced back at me, smiling shyly. “You’ll save me a dance at the party, right?”
That would be a no, butI couldn’t say that, so instead I just smiled weakly. “Don’t think I’ll be invited, but thanks anyway.”
“What do you mean? Of course you’ll be there,” Amy said as she grabbed Maya by the arm. “Come on. I need your thoughts.”
Amy dragged Maya over to a nearby bench. Max nodded at the fence beside him. “May as well sit down. It’ll look odd if you don’t.”
“Thanks.” I perched warily beside him, letting my bag fall to the floor. “I don’t have to come to the party, you know.”
Max took a drag of his cigarette, staring off into the distance. “You do now. Amy wants you there.”
Amy, not him. He might’ve helped me out, but things hadn’t changed that much.
“She seems nice.”
“She is.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Too nice for me, that’s for sure.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I hunted around for another subject, my mind latching on to the first thing it came across. “No Dominic today?”
