“No, but I’m one of the core members. You gonna ask Gideon?”
“I doubt I’ll go.”
“Don’t say that.” Emily frowns. “I won’t complain about you freeing up Gideon for someone else, though. Not like I’d have a chance with him anyway.”
She glances at me wistfully, probably wanting some word of encouragement. Too bad I’m in the worst mood ever. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh.” Emily’s babbling stops for a moment. Then she smiles and continues talking like I’m the first person she’s seen all year. We wander the halls, pausing for me to peek through the tutoring center door, where Peter is helping someone who isn’t Gideon. As we approach the doors to the outer courtyard, a couple of juniors—Henry Belton and Jordan Lee—enter. When Henry sees us, he tilts his head and whispers to Jordan, who sneers and makes Psycho stabbing gestures. The two trot off, snickering.
My fists curl, but I notice Emily has gone quiet. Her eyes glaze the tile floors. “That wasn’t about me?” I ask.
Emily shrugs and keeps walking. “Doubt it. The Seth stuff took on renewed life when Melody went missing.”
I’m not the brunt of a joke for once. It doesn’t feel the way I thought it would.
Her eyes glisten. I never realized how much Seth’s sister was affected by all of the creepy stalker talk. We make it outside, past the open courtyard and along a path to where the grassy fields border the campus. Several boys are tossing a football and I spot a shirtless Gideon. My cheeks warm. A group of freshmen girls gathered on the outskirts of the field seem to feel the same way. He nears them to run down a misfired ball, and the girls race one another to get to it first, squealing as a small brunette with milkmaid braids hands it off to him.
From far away, his eyes snag mine, and he hesitates. But he turns back to continue passing the ball. My heart twists. He’s never ignored me like that before.
“Do you want to call him over?” asks Emily, twirling a blazing red spiral around her finger.
“Nah. He must’ve mentioned something about playing ball this morning and I just forgot. Let’s go.”
Her hopeful expression sinks. We plod back inside to wait for the bell.
At morning break, I glimpse Gideon hiding within the masses of students by the lockers. The dark circles under his eyes are visible from a distance. But he disappears, and I’m left standing alone by my locker.
My eyes sting as I exchange books. I don’t know what else to do, so I trudge over to the group gathered in the courtyard, hoping I can finally confront Brandon.
Laura slinks through the crowd to stand beside me. “You okay?”
No, I am not okay. I can’t confide in my only friend without putting his life in danger. I can’t be honest with the police, or they’ll think I had something to do with Melody’s disappearance. I have no viable options, and I feel like I’m suffocating.
But there’s no way I’m telling Laura Gellman any of that.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Well, I’m always here for you, if you need anything.” I’d like to knock the saccharine smile off her mouth, but her delicate face would probably crack. “Ever since Melody disappeared, I just—I could use a friend too.”
Ah, yes. The real reason Laura’s talking to me. To garner sympathy now that her BFF is missing. “I’m really sorry about Melody. You must be a nervous wreck.” To be honest, she does look especially high-strung today. Her always-haughty voice sounds a bit squeaky.
“I’m wondering if the cops are working all the angles,” she adds.
“Angles?”
“Yeah, you know. Taking into consideration all the people in town who have a propensity for that kind of thing.”
Is that a dig at me? My eyes narrow. “Actually, Laura, I was in the middle of looking for your ex. Have you seen him?”
Laura’s concerned expression melts away like ice on hot asphalt. “Why would I know anything about him?” She spins around and heads down the hall.
I duck outside to the back courtyard. A group of guys sit along the low brick wall at the back of the fenced-in area, laughing over someone’s phone. On one of the picnic tables, a girl sips from a canteen while reading a paperback. I stop at the vending machines, digging through my wallet for quarters for a soda, when a hand falls on my shoulder.
I jump, turning straight into Brandon. “Hey, Cass.” His voice is low, eyes prodding. “Can we talk real quick?”
I freeze before spitting out, “Sure.” Then I follow him to a spot in front of the wall, away from the huddle of boys.
“Hey,” he whispers, leaning in close like he did at the party. This time, his breath smells sweet, like he’s been sipping cherry cola rather than beer. “So you were there in the woods when someone took Melody?”
“Yeah.” I try to gauge his expression.
“It’s totally creepy, right?”
Almost as creepy you acting surprised. “Mm-hmm.” He’s visibly shaken, but I can’t read his eyes. I know I’m tired, but it’s almost like he’s leery of me. The way people are always leery of Fire Girl. The thought rattles me, and I take a step back.
“Cass.” He lays a hand on my wrist. Gently. But alarm bells blare in my head. I want to shake myself free. “I know you didn’t have anything to do with this.”
I blink. How did he manage to twist everything around? Keep cool. If he has the notebook, the last thing I want to do is spook him. His hand lowers.
“And you know I had nothing to do with this, right?”
I nod. “Of course.” Because we know each other so well. “We weren’t the only people in Maribel that Melody pissed off.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Still, it’s such a coincidence. I mean, after everything we said.”
“Yeah, I know. But we were just messing around,” I say, hoping to provoke him.
“Right,” he says, but I hear the doubt blaring through that meek, one-syllable word. “I don’t know the details, but I can’t get over the similarities to what you wrote.”
Is he taunting me? I stick my fists into my kangaroo pocket. “You know what’s even weirder? I can’t find that notebook anywhere.”
He pulls back, mouth open. “It’s gone?” But that sparkle lights his eyes. He’s definitely testing me.
“Almost like someone took it and carried out the plan.”
His brows cinch together. “I hope not. That would almost make it…our fault. Right?” He frowns, spinning around before I can answer. An uneasy feeling pins my sneakers to the cement. I never expected Brandon to fall to his knees and confess to whatever I heard in the woods that day.