Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 100612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
I can feel everyone waiting, collectively holding their breath. Even Harper’s head lifts a little, her attention on Maddie, glancing between us, her expression tight, mouth turned down in the biggest frown.
“Did you need something, Maddie?” Macy finally asks, the curiosity killing us all. “What brings you to our side of the cafeteria?”
Maddie bounces on her toes and claps her hand, braids jiggling. “You know how this morning on our ride, I told you I was waiting for someone decent to ask me to prom? Well.” She pauses dramatically, keeping us on pins and needles. “I’m giving you the opportunity to take me.”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” Marcus whispers loud enough that the entire table can hear. “This cannot be happening right now.”
Oh, but it is happening—and it’s horrible.
My stomach twists at her arrogant words. She doesn’t even bother to let the offer sink in before continuing, arm extended in front of her so she can inspect her long fingernails.
“Forget that I said no when you asked me on a date; I see how hard you’ve been working on, like, decorations and giving so much of your time volunteering,” she says. “It’s cute. Like, super adorable. And I think if you’ve put that much work in, you deserve to reap the benefits. So…”
She smiles at me, and it’s like a hundred light bulbs flashing. “What do you think? Want to go to prom with someone who actually knows how to have a good time?”
Chapter 29
Harper
I must be dreaming.
Maddie did not just ask Easton to prom before he had a chance to ask me.
She couldn’t have.
She DOESN’T EVEN LIKE HIM.
But there she is, batting her lashes, glowing with bronzer like this is some grand romantic gesture—as if she’s handpicking him as the lucky guy to take her.
I deflate, my shoulders dropping as the fight drains out of me.
What can I even do?
I can’t claim him.
I can’t object.
I can’t tell them we had a pact. That he owes me because I blackmailed him.
So I just stare at my tray, appetite gone, fingers tightening around my fork as the table watches the train wreck unfold.
It’s embarrassing how much this hurts.
And the worst part?
I can’t do anything but sit here and watch.
Chapter 30
Easton
There’s a moment of stunned silence, broken by Marcus’s low whistle.
Maddie presses her hip against the table, tapping her nails against the surface, still smirking like she’s already won.
“So,” she says, feigning cheerfulness. “What do you say? It’s not like you have better plans.”
Marcus launches into a coughing fit.
Deshaun raises his eyebrows.
“I know it’s last minute, but I have a dress, so…” She babbles on. “I think we’d have a lot of fun.”
Fun: There’s that word again.
Fun: the opposite of our ride to school.
The entire table holds their breath, waiting for my reply. Everyone is staring at me.
At her.
At me.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Harper’s fork stops moving.
“I’m sorry. What?” That is my brilliant response.
Maddie’s smile turns playful, but there’s an edge to it, and her eyes aren’t as animated as they were a moment ago. “You know, prom. You’re going, I’m going. We should go. Together.”
Except the plan all along was for me to ask Harper—maybe not by choice, but we have an agreement.
When Maddie said she was waiting for someone decent to ask her, I didn’t think she was referring to me. I assumed she’d rather be asked by Kyle Cleveland, the football player with a full ride to Notre Dame. Or Riley Hendriks, our classmate with half a million followers on his gamer channel—after all, isn’t that what she’s interested in?
Influence?
Clout?
I look at Harper, who’s staring into her lunch bag like if she focuses hard enough, it will swallow her whole. Or disappear into the floor.
“Uh.” I clear my throat. “I…”
Can’t.
“Why are you hesitating?” she inquires sweetly, making the hair on the back of my neck prickle. She cocks her head, braids swinging slightly, genuinely surprised at my pause. “Do you have a date?”
“No,” I answer quickly—too quickly. I don’t have a date, not yet. Not officially. But only because I haven’t gotten around to asking Harper.
Maddie’s confident smile widens, the corners of her mouth curving into something more triumphant than friendly.
“Good. Then it’s settled—you’re taking me.”
The words hit like a slap, and before I can form a coherent response to reject her, Maddie is throwing a victorious shade in Harper’s direction. The look is quick but pointed, almost like she’s checking to make sure her words land exactly where they’re supposed to.
The table is dead silent, all eyes still on me as she walks away, hips swishing, win secured.
Time stands still.
The sounds of the cafeteria cease to exist.
Everything stops functioning, along with my brain cells.
I can barely bring myself to look around the table at my friends but get a glimpse of Gabe; he has a granola bar half hanging out of his mouth, a shocked expression on his face. And Marcus?