“Well, I’m still sorry I let that happen. I was drunk and dumb and upset about Rylan. But I don’t have feelings for Royal, and now that I know you two might get back together, I can guarantee it’ll never happen again. Promise-swear, cross my heart.” She makes an X over her heart and gives me a hopeful smile.
“I’m not mad at you about it,” I say. “I told him to go hook up with someone. I’d rather it was you than some rando. Besides, I hooked up with you, too.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m not mad at you about last year anymore, either,” she says. “I’m glad we’re friends. I need a friend like you.”
“Me, too.”
“Then, as your friend, let me give you some advice. If you want to be queen here, you should really think about getting back together with him. I mean, if there’s one thing that’ll give you more status than dating Baron Dolce, it’s dating a college guy who used to be the king here.”
“You’re shameless.”
“I just want my two besties back together,” she says. “I’m still working on getting him to forgive me, as a friend of course. But I’d really like it if we could all hang out again, like we did last year.”
“Me too,” I admit.
“Hey, want to ride to the game with us?” she asks, brightening. “It’ll be like old times. The court walks tonight at the game, and tomorrow, I’ll be crowned at the dance.”
“Sure,” I say. “Are you going with Baron?”
“Yeah, but I’m riding with Dixie to the game tonight. We’ll have a limo for the dance. Now that Rylan’s not speaking to me…” She drops her gaze, and for a moment, I catch a glimpse of the real Gloria Walton, the one who’s not a bitch at all, the one who cried when she told me about Royal’s secret and told me she just loved him the only way she knew how.
“You’re really upset about that, huh?” I ask, stopping at my locker with her.
“Well, yeah,” she says. “He was my boyfriend… Before. Y’know. Back in Georgia.”
“He was?” I ask, drawing back. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah,” she says, nodding and holding her books to her chest. “I think… It sounds crazy, but he moved here for me. And now…”
“Now he found out about you and the Dolce boys.”
She nods, her nose going red as she sniffs up her tears. “Just Royal. But he’s so pissed.”
“Lo… I’m sorry. I had no idea. I thought you’d only been with him a few months.”
“It’s fine,” she says, lifting her head and running her finger along the bottom of her lashes, wiping the tears before they can fall and ruin her makeup. “I’m fine, really. I’m going to the dance with Baron, and I’m going to be queen, and he’ll be king, and everything’s going to work out perfect.”
“Hey, Appletini,” Colt say, swaggering up with Dixie clinging to his side. He sticks a black-and-gold sticker to my shirt. “Vote for Dixie. Powell in Power. Pussy Power. Something like that.”
Gloria lets out an annoyed huff and rolls her eyes. “Do you ever stop?”
“Stop campaigning for my girl? Nope. Vote for Dixie, or she’ll put you in the blog and ruin your rep.”
“I’m literally on the court with her,” Gloria says.
“Right,” he says. “Of course the self-obsessed witch is voting for herself.”
Gloria shakes her head. “I’d rather be obsessed with myself than your dick. That’s all you seem to think about.”
“And yet, you’re the one bringing it up,” he says, giving her a lazy grin. “I admit, it’s hard not to be obsessed with dick this good. Right, babe?”
Dixie giggles, looking like she’s ready to bust out a happy dance in the hall. Good for her. I’m glad they sorted out whatever was wrong between them, even if it sort of seems like his lost memory might be the cause of that. It’s none of my business, though. I have enough shit on my plate, especially when I notice a few girls squealing and pulling jerseys out of their lockers, holding them up and buckling necklaces on each other. I don’t remember Baron’s number, so I’m not sure if he’s 17, but I’m guessing he is. He must be up to something and is handing them out for a reason. My stomach knots at the thought of impending drama.
“I’ve gotta run,” Gloria says to me, studiously ignoring Colt and Dixie, who are now wrapped in each other’s arms. “See you after school?”
I agree, and Colt breaks away from Dixie to yell down the hall after Gloria. “Don’t worry, one day you’ll get good dick, too!”
I make it through the morning without incident, though it’s hard to focus when I’m sure that the other shoe is about to drop at any moment. I can feel it, a tide of energy rising, an undercurrent of unrest. I don’t try to talk myself out of it, to tell myself I’m being paranoid and that it’s just excitement about the game and the dance. I know better than to ignore my instincts.