Starstruck

After school, Costi offered to drive me home again, but I refused. “There’s someone I really, really need to talk to, and she walks home.”

“But Aura,” he protested, making my heart warm. I loved being called that. “I’m more behind than I thought. I need your help.”

And that got me. I was a sucker for people who needed me. “You can come over my house again, but I really do need to talk with her. Just meet me there in an hour, alright?” He nodded, not looking happy, exactly, but probably knowing that this was the best offer he would get.

“Later!” I called over my shoulder as I ran down the hallway. Goodness knew, Alexia was quick, and she didn’t know to wait up for me. I managed to reach her, though.

“Oh, hey, Aurely. What’s going on?” she asked when she saw me. She didn’t quite meet my eyes. She’d been acting off for the past few days, and I’d been too distracted by my writing, Cord, and Costi to even talk to her about it. I felt awful.

“I was going to ask you the same question. You’ve been pushing your food around at lunch instead of eating it, sitting farther from Jase than usual, and you look miserable. Spill.”

She took my hand and tugged me out of the school building, then let go and hurried off in the direction of her house. I half ran to keep up with her. “Alright. I slept with him.”

We both stopped walking, and I knew I looked comical, standing there with my jaw on the ground. “And now you regret it?” I murmured, stroking her hair.

She collapsed into me, suddenly sobbing. “No, but he does!” My stomach twisted.

“I doubt that. He’s been starry eyed over you for years. Of course he can’t regret it.”

“Then why hasn’t he even looked at me since? Why did he practically sprint out of my house?” She sounded miserable, and I hardly knew what to say. This was out of my depths.

“Maybe it’s all a big misunderstanding,” I said. What else could you say about this? “And you’re so, so brave, to keep sitting with us at lunch.”

“I didn’t want to show him how much he’d hurt me. It’s not fair. It’s just not fair.” We stood like that for a while, hugging while she cried. She was such a lovely girl. How could Jase not want her?

But then, he’d been acting funny lately, too. Too cheery, I thought. And he’d been fighting to keep the attention off of himself, I thought now. Always steering conversation to other people. Maybe he was just as miserable as she was. God, I hoped so, I thought, looking at her.

She let go and wiped her face, rubbed a little at her smeared makeup. “Thanks, Aurely. You’re a great friend. But I really need to get going. I have a piano lesson, oh.. About now,” she laughed a little, checking her watch. “Gosh, do I feel like a fool.”

“Don’t. And feel free to call me, any time.”

We both went our separate ways, and I glanced at my watch. This had taken longer than I’d expected. If I’d known she was that miserable, I never would have put off talking to her for so long. I felt so, so selfish. But now I was sure to be late for my tutoring session with Costi. It was a half-hour walk to my house, and I was supposed to be there in fifteen minutes.

Great. Just great.

When I finally made it through the front door, I found Costi and my mom sitting there, watching Parental Control together. “Now this is something I never thought I’d see,” I commented.

They both looked me, and something about their grins scared me. “I was just telling him about the fit you threw a couple of months ago when I wouldn’t let you go see his band’s concert.

I flushed beet red. “It was my one chance to see them so close! Well, except for the concert that’s coming up, of course, but how was I supposed to know that I would get tickets to it?”

“You’re going?” Costi asked, obviously pleased.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell me you’d gotten tickets,” Mom put in.

“Oh, Coll bought them, to surprise me. Didn’t I tell you?” She shook her head. “But you’ll let me go, right?”

She glanced at Costi and heaved a fake sigh. “You think I could refuse, with the lead singer sitting on my couch? Of course you can go.” I grinned and looked at Costi, too. He did not seem so happy any more.

“Well, we’d better get started,” I said, then turned around and headed straight for the stairs. I heard him scramble a little, but he caught up to me.

“What is Coll to you?” he asked.

“He’s my friend. My best friend,” I clarified.

“I think he’s in love with you,” Costi said as he took my hand, squeezed.

Denial sprang automatically to my lips. “Of course not! He can’t be.”

“You didn’t see the way he looked when you jumped him this morning, or the looks he kept giving you at lunch. You really haven’t noticed?”

“No,” I said. And he couldn’t be right, could he? No. If he was, it would ruin everything. I didn’t want to lead anyone on, and I knew that all of the feelings I felt for Coll were as a dear friend only, and could be nothing more. Costi studied my face and must have liked what he saw there, because his expression brightened.