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Rory followed her down the hall and into the girls’ bathroom. They casually checked their hair and makeup, waiting for other girls to leave, before Zoe turned to her. “Okay, I need to tell you something, and it’s going to sound really freaking strange.”
“Uhhhh, okay?”
Zoe took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair nervously before staring back at Rory. “So, you know I’m dating Tyler.”
Rory frowned. “No shit.”
“Okay so what if…what if I told you that it wasn’t actually real?”
She didn’t respond, just stared at the girl, flabbergasted.
Zoe continued. “I know it sounds insane.”
“Wait, you’re not actually dating him?” Rory blurted. The room was starting to spin.
“Correct.”
She felt anger bubbling up in her chest. “Okay, and does he know that? Are you just playing him? Because I swear to god, Zoe, if you are—”
Zoe placed her hands on Rory’s shoulders. “He’s in on it, don’t worry. I would never do that to him.”
“I’m-I’m so confused.”
“I know…everything,” she says. “I know that you guys kissed, that he’s in—”
“Stop,” Rory said, wrenching out of Zoe’s grasp.
“I know how he feels for you, Rory.”
“Okay, so then tell me why he hasn’t done anything about it?” she demanded. “If he does like me, then why is he still keeping up this facade with you? Why haven’t you broken things off?”
“I’ve told him that we should,” Zoe admitted. “Ever since he kissed you, I told him to go for it. But he hasn’t. He says he doesn’t want to break our…deal.”
“And what is your deal?”
Zoe pressed her lips into a firm line. Apparently knowing the “deal” was going too far.
“If you’re not going to tell me what’s really going on, then what was the point in telling me at all?”
“Because I don’t want you to give up on him. I wanted you to know the truth.”
She was crying now. “Am I supposed to thank you?”
“No, I’m sorry, Rory. If I knew when we started things, I would have never done this to you.”
Rory scoffed, crossing her arms. “Yeah right. Let me guess, this is just some scheme to keep up with your Haverport High royalty status. Probably to make that asshole Walker jealous or something.”
Zoe’s face darkened. “Fine, make your assumptions about me. But I’m telling you right now that whatever you’re thinking is probably false. I just wanted you to know the truth, even though Tyler will hate me for it. Because we’re friends.”
Rory couldn’t help herself—she laughed. “We’re friends?”
Zoe just gave her an icy stare. “Not anymore,” she answered, and then stormed out of the bathroom.
Chapter Eighteen
Not really dating.
Rory blasted music in her car on the way to Scoops the next night, but no volume could drown out the sound of Zoe’s words that played over and over in her head.
