Sidekick (13 page)

“If you were a jerk, it would be a lot easier to stop thinking about you,” she says.

Instead of replying, I grab her arm and pull her closer. She kisses me without hesitation, as if she’s been dying to. Her arms wrap around my neck and she lightly runs her tongue across my upper lip.

She’s good.

I can’t pull myself away from her, even though somewhere in the back of my head I know I should leave. They’ll notice if I’m an hour late, suspect something. But she has me up against the window, her body plastered against mine. She feels so good in my arms, strong yet soft, curvy in all the right places.

I don’t know how long it’s been when she pulls back; all I know is that I’m more than ready to go as far as she wants.

“Wow,” she gasps. “You’re better than I imagined.”

I smile. “And you were the one accusing me of just wanting to make out?”

“Shut up.” She punches my chest gently then spreads her fingers out. “I better go before my mom comes out here and gets proof she should be worried.”

“I told Izzy I’d be home around two. She’ll call soon and ask where I am.”

She frowns. “They probably shouldn’t know, huh. Garr seems to—”

“Yeah, uh…” That cools me off some. “Maybe not yet. Let me talk to him.”

She nods, gives me one more long kiss, and then says, “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

On the drive home, I have to keep telling myself that it actually happened. It feels like a dream, but then I look over at the passenger seat still craned back. She was there. She kissed me. She tried not to like me—probably because punks don’t date jocks—but she couldn’t help herself.

I won.

For once in my life, I’m not the sidekick. I’m not second best. I’m not the guy everyone forgets.

I thought it would feel better than this.

But now what? The closer I get to my house, the bigger the pit in my stomach grows. I’d only planned as far as getting Keira to like me. I never considered what I’d do
after
that. How am I supposed to tell Garret? We’ve never fought over a girl before, but that’s because I always stepped aside. I don’t know if he’ll do that for me. He might hate me.

He is so into Keira. I made it look like I was helping him out, though I really wanted her for myself. I’d have to explain that I’ve been lying since the second we met her. There’s no way he wouldn’t be pissed. If I told him I liked a girl, and then he got with her…

After I park the car, I lean my head on the steering wheel. How do I fix this? I don’t think I can. I screwed it up from day one. All I can do is keep it secret, so I put the passenger seat back like it was and get out.

“Russell Arnold Pearson!” Izzy calls.

I almost flee to my room, but she’ll just follow. So I make an appearance. It’s like it always is, each person in their expected seat as if nothing has changed. “What?”

“You watching?”

I shake my head. “I’m beat.”

“Me, too.” Garret gets up, like my not watching means he’s not obligated to stay. I walk him to the door, my palms sweating. Can he tell just by looking at me? His eyes are bright, hopeful, when he says, “Dude, you should have been here tonight. She was definitely flirting with me. You have to help me snag a dance with her tomorrow at the Halloween thing.”

This is the part where I should tell him. It’s as good an opening as I’ll ever get. But I can’t seem to get the words out. “Sure.”

He punches my shoulder. “You’re the best, man.”

More like the worst.

Chapter Eighteen

I kind of wish Old Man Parker didn’t give me Halloween off. The last thing I want to do is spend the night at this dance, surrounded by all the people who keep making my life so complicated. I stare up at my bedroom ceiling, clicking through songs on my iPod until I find one I like. There we go, “Landslide.” As I get lost in the melody, the tension slowly leaves. Stevie Nicks may be old, but her voice is still sexy. When I was ten my dad took me on a flight to Vegas just to catch a Fleetwood Mac reunion concert. I didn’t tell anyone but Garret how awesome it was to see her live.

Someone bangs on my door. Before I can get it, Izzy marches in, already in her perfect replica of the
Vampire Knight
school uniform. It’s black with white detailing, and the skirt has a lot of frills underneath to make it poof out. She wears a short brown wig, and she’s even tracked down brown contacts. She’s a dead ringer for Yuki Cross. If you know your anime, that is. Most people probably won’t get it.

“You aren’t even ready!” she whines.

“Yeah, I am.”

“You are not going in
that.
” She glares at my T-shirt and jeans like I’m wearing a cult robe or, even worse, a football uniform.

“I’m not dressing up, Iz.” I haven’t dressed up since I was eleven, haven’t been trick-or-treating since I was twelve. Even in junior high I figured out it was cooler to go to a party. We always had leftover candy anyway.

“Seriously, you look like a loser.” She tromps to my closet and grabs a white shirt. “I have an idea.”

“Izzy, I am not—”

“It won’t be crazy, I swear. You’ll look totally cool still, but with extra…flair.” She throws the white shirt at me. “Put that on.”

“It’s too small.”

She rolls her eyes. “Trust me.”

“I don’t like participating in your crazy plots
.
”

Izzy lets out an evil laugh and taps her fingers together. “It is Halloween, dear brother, loosen up. I’ll be right back.”

I shake my head, but I’m smiling. Her enthusiasm for Halloween rubs off on everyone who crosses her path. I pull on the shirt and check it out in my mirror. It’s totally ridiculous. I look like one of those guys who makes out with his reflection. I laugh, picturing Dallas doing just that.

“That’s perfect,” Izzy says.

“Yeah, if I want to look like a douche.”

“Not when you’re wearing this over it.” She pulls out a black leather jacket from behind her.

I hate to admit it, but I like it. It’s got this classic feel, and I immediately get that she’s turning me into a fifties greaser. It could be worse. “Where’d you get that?”

“It’s Dad’s, I think. I found it when I was rummaging through some boxes for Mom’s weirdo old clothes.” She tosses it to me. “Try it on.”

I slip my arms in, wrinkling my nose at the smell of old leather. It’s a little tight in the shoulders, but other than that it fits. I check it in the mirror, trying not to be too impressed with myself. But with my dark messy hair and slightly scruffy face, I look pretty tough. “I’m not doing my hair.”

“Fair enough.” She smiles. “As long as it looks like you put in
some
effort.”

The doorbell rings, and she disappears. I take a deep breath. I can do this. Garret just wants to dance with Keira. Maybe if she’s indifferent, he’ll get the picture and give up. It would be ideal if I could find him another girlfriend before I tell him about us. It’s the best way to fix this fast.

Grabbing my phone and wallet, I head downstairs. But I freeze before I get to the bottom.

Trent went all out for Izzy. He’s dressed as Kaname from
Vampire Knight
to match her. And then there’s Colin, who is dressed like a navy admiral. But that’s not what surprises me. It’s Daphne.

She’s dressed in a royal purple sari with gold trim, looking more Indian than I’ve ever seen her. It only exposes her toned right shoulder and arm, but for some reason that’s enough. Her hair is pulled back in some intricate style, and she’s wearing massive earrings. When she turns and sees me, she smiles. She looks so not like her usual self, but she’s beautiful.

Daphne holds out her arms. “What do you think?”

I gulp, trying to find the right words, the ones that won’t make me sound like I’m hitting on my little sister’s best friend. “Did your mom have a heart attack?”

She laughs. “Almost. I think I scared her more than any zombie could.”

“I bet.” I jump down the remaining stairs. “What made you think of this?”

She looks down. “I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to know more about my culture, but my mom gets so stressed over it, like I’ll run off to India or something. I guess this was my chance to try it without her totally losing it.”

“Because it’s a costume,” I say.

“Yeah, exactly. Not the real me.” But it is her, or at least part of her.

“You know,” Colin says. “Your mom sure is uptight about that crap for someone who is all ‘be yourself no matter what.’”

Daphne smiles. “Kinda hypocritical, right?”

“Completely.” Izzy grabs Colin’s arm. He seems more surprised than anyone. “Let’s go get Keira.” She pauses to look at me. “You’re going with Garr, aren’t you?”

“Yup.” I shove my hands in my pockets, refusing to look disappointed that I can’t go with them.

I knock on Garret’s door and the guilt washes over me again. I tell myself it’ll subside over time. It’s not like I did anything so bad. They aren’t together. I can’t help what Keira wants. And it’s what I want, too. I deserve to be happy, don’t I?

When the door opens, I bust up laughing.

“Is it that bad?” Garret says, frowning.

“No, man.” I try to compose myself. Garr’s dressed like a skater punk, complete with his usually wavy hair combed straight over one eye. I can barely look at the skinny jeans. “I just wasn’t expecting it. At all. It’s a great costume—people won’t even recognize you.”

He smiles as we head to his truck. “I know. You think I can go the whole night pretending I’m a new kid or your cousin or something?”

“Maybe.”

“At least I look like I belong with Keira,” he says as he revs the engine.

I don’t answer. He’s still trying to impress her. Garret never has to impress a girl. He says hi and they fall down begging to date him. Maybe I should tell him now before he does something even more insane.

“Um, Garr?” A lump forms in my throat, but I have to get this out.

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you want to go this far to impress her? I mean, I hate to say it, but she doesn’t seem that interested.”

He smiles like he knows something I don’t. “Trust me, she’s about to crack. I can feel it.”

“How do you know? Did she say something?” The fact that he’s so confident makes it worse. But he doesn’t have any reason to doubt. A girl has never rejected him before.

“Last night she kept knocking knees with me and other stuff like that. But she seemed embarrassed with everyone around…” He lets out a sad sigh. “I don’t think they like me. She probably doesn’t want to mess up the only friendships she has here.”

This is not how I wanted the conversation to go. I can’t tell him when he’s trying so hard. “That makes sense.”

“So maybe if I get in with them, she won’t be worried about that.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you seriously saying you are trying to ‘get in’ with Izzy’s group? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? The whole school wants to be in with you, dude.”

He shakes his head. “Not true. All these skaters and punks and hipsters or whatever, they think we’re the symbol of everything that’s wrong with high school.”

I open my mouth to argue, but I can’t. Trent’s angry, vengeful face comes to mind. I was so focused on Keira, on beating Garret, that I didn’t consider just how many complications there’d be if we did start dating.

Garret parks at the school and leans back in the driver’s seat. “I never got it before, Russ. I never understood what you were saying about me being popular and crap. But trying to get to know these people? I get it now, and I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want people thinking I’m that stereotypical jock anymore.”

“What do you want to be? A freak?”

“No. I don’t know…” He wipes his hand over his face. “Maybe.”

I almost can’t believe I’m hearing this. “So you don’t want to play football anymore?”

“No!” He seems shocked I even said it. “I love the game. I could play it forever. I just…I like a lot of other things, too. No one seems to remember that.”

Something has happened to my best friend. I don’t know what it is, but it’s scary. He’s changing and I’m changing, and it doesn’t seem like we’re going in the same direction anymore. “Garr, just don’t do anything stupid, okay? I get what you mean, but we’re almost done with all this shit. The season’s almost over, and then we can just lie low until graduation, ’kay?”

He nods. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.”

I know he’s only saying that because he’s tired of talking. Which means he doesn’t agree with me. He might even be mad. It makes me even more uneasy, like I’m bracing myself before I get tackled. The problem is I don’t know when the hit is coming.

Chapter Nineteen

I don’t know what it is with girls and sexy clothes on Halloween, but I am not complaining. From the second we enter the gym, there’s eye candy at every turn. There are hot nurses, busty barmaids, and naughty fairies everywhere. Even the bumblebee we pass looks more like she’s wearing lingerie. With thigh-high boots. There are a lot of boots in general.

“I forgot how much I love Halloween,” Garret says as we head up front by the DJ, where the other jocks and cheerleads are sure to be. He points his head slightly to the left, where a girl in a Playboy Bunny outfit dances. “Look at her. Wow.”

“Seriously, man.”

He stops. “Ah, shit. It’s Mercedes.”

I move my eyes up to her head. Sure enough, she’s got Mercedes’s glossy dark hair and perfect profile.

“Why did you give that up again?” I nudge him, but he doesn’t seem to get the joke.

“She’s doing this to make me jealous, isn’t she?”

As if to prove his point, the second Mercedes sees us she shoves Dallas playfully, laughing at what I’m sure is a lame joke.

I wince. “It’s a possibility, unless she’s actually into Dallas.”

He scoffs.

“Yeah, it’s revenge.”

“Can we go find Keira now?”

“Not yet. We need to pay our dues.” I take the first step forward, and thankfully Garret follows. I’m already on edge, picturing him losing it any second and declaring to the whole school his undying love for a skater girl. A skater girl I happened to make out with, no less.