“I don’t see anything obvious about it,” I say, wiping my face on a napkin and pushing my uneaten breakfast away from myself. I look up at Wills, and he’s looking back. “Wills is the one who stood up for me last night. I didn’t see you standing up to Victoria … or am I wrong?”
Blair looks like he can’t register what I’m trying to say. He just stares back with a blank expression.
“I don’t get it,” he says. “The only reason we couldn’t be together before was because of Astor and Wills. You know that.”
I’ve been trying to keep my rage under control, but this is too much. I stand up suddenly, the chair behind me knocking over to the floor. I know I’m drawing attention to us, so I drop my voice … though that doesn’t cut out any of the venom.
“All I ‘get’ is that you weren’t man enough to stand up to them when it mattered. Now you’ve come crawling back since you think it’s safe.”
I can see that my words are cutting at him, and I don’t care. He’s hurt me and used me and now he’s going to hear about it. I notice that behind him, Victoria and Astor aren’t even trying to hide the fact that they’re listening in. Both of them have turned in their chairs and they’re watching us.
I plant my hands on my hips and glare at him. Blair just stands as still as a statue.
“Wills had the guts to stand up to Astor and Victoria, knowing what it would cost him. And now you think that you can just ride in on his tailcoats and start right back up where we left off?”
“Not exactly,” he starts, but I’ll not let him use that silver tongue of his to try and explain his way out of things this time. I thought we moved on beyond all that this summer.
“No, that is exactly what you thought,” I say. “I stand by what I said before. You are a coward, Blair Rashnikov, and I have no use for a coward.”
Blair is speechless. I’m pretty sure the Richter scale is picking up the shock waves that are registering all over his face. Dana is grinning from ear to ear, but she doesn’t say anything. Wills stands and slides his hand into mine, weaving our fingers together. He too gives Blair a cold look and shakes his head before turning away.
I start to walk with him, and Astor stands up and looks at Wills and me. I’m expecting him to sit in silence, but he clears his throat to catch our attention right before we leave.
“At least Wills had the courage to stand up for what he really wants,” Astor says, giving Wills a nod of respect. Then Astor’s eyes meet mine and he gives me a nod too, and I feel butterflies erupt inside me. This is more than the comment back at the college fair. For the first time, he’s actually acknowledging my existence.
It’s the same as if he outright offered us his blessing.
Victoria clenches her jaw tightly, and it makes me smile a little.
Astor looks at Blair. “Now, come back where you belong. At least let some things remain the same.”
I glance back at Blair I can see that he’s wounded. But like a scolded puppy, he does what he’s told, and walks over and sits down with Astor.
Wills lets go of my hand and wraps an arm around my shoulder, leaning in to kiss me, and I kiss him in return for a long moment. It’s an extra sweet and wonderful kiss, because I know Astor, Blair, and Victoria are watching.
When he pulls away, he looks into my face and smiles mischievously. “We’ll win them over yet,” he says, quietly.
I look away, playing coy. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He just leans in and kisses the spot right beside my ear. “Oh, I think you do.”
He’s surprisingly astute this one. With that, he leads Dana and I out of the room together.
Chapter 13
With Wills at my side, some of the tension even among the other students starts to abate. It’s a relief to walk through the halls of my own school and not have every single person looking at me like they despise me. There are still several who do, but it’s certainly a lot fewer than it was before.
If he’s bothered by the split from his friends, Wills doesn’t let on much. Though he doesn’t say as much, he seems pretty positive that it’s only a matter of time before they follow suit. I wish it was as simple as that. I’m not ready to let Blair back in, not with how he acted before. I need to know that he’s really genuine this time.
Victoria seems somehow to hate me more now than she did before. I can only guess that it’s because I’ve managed to break up the holy trinity, when no one else in the world could have done that; not even her. There’s no hiding and ignoring me anymore. Her spite is obvious … but it’s my turn to do the ignoring. I focus instead on Wills, Dana, my classes, and my future.
And it’s that indifference toward her that sends her over the edge.
I’m coming out of photography club one afternoon on my way to the library to meet Dana and Wills when Victoria, along with Laura and Alisha, corners me in a small hallway. I know right away that this is no mistake.
“Well look who we have here, girls.” Victoria’s eyes and voice are as cold as ice.
I’m surprised to see her, but I’m not about to stop for a chat. “I don’t have time for you, Victoria,” I reply coolly as I move to walk past them, but her hand shoots out and she grabs my shoulder. Her perfectly manicured nails are long and sharp, like miniature spears digging into the fabric of my uniform.