I frown at him. "Why not?"
He gives me a look like I'm stupid. Like whatever he knows is obvious.
"What are you not telling me?" My eyes narrow in suspicion. What the hell is going on?
His face drops a little, turning serious as he stares at me. "You really don't know?"
I shake my head slowly, feeling my stomach weigh down with lead. He leans closer, his knees pushing further into mine. I push my chair back a little, releasing the contact. I’m suddenly feeling cold inside.
"Roman wouldn't let any of us ask you to any dances. None of us could do anything, really. Now that he's not here, though, I figured now's my chance."
"Who is us?" I feel like my eyes are about to bug out of my head. “Chance for what?”
He scratches his jaw, looking like he's got all the secrets in the world stuffed in his pockets. "Everyone. All the guys in our grade. Some from even the grade above us. We've all wanted to ask you out multiple times, Luna. Some have even tried. Roman shut everything down before we could even ask." He taps his finger on the table, thetap, tap, taploud and echoing in the quiet library. "He honestly never told you? You never knew?"
"How would I know?" I nearly shriek.
"Shhhhhh!" The librarian, with her glasses and colorful chain hooking from them behind the back of her head, looks at me like she wants to hit me with the newspaper. "Quiet down or else I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
I cringe and mouth an apology before looking back at Travis. "No, he never told me," I whisper.
The look he makes is a cross between the cat that ate the canary and the kid who stepped in his neighbor’s dog poop. "Don't tell him I told you, okay?"
I glance up at the clock, seeing it's about ten minutes from the last bell of the day. Roman gets out earlier than I do, so he's probably already outside waiting for me.
I slam my book closed, the boom sounding like a gunshot. Shoving everything in my backpack, I don’t even care that my pages are wrinkling, and my pencil pouch is opened, spilling everything to the bottom. I stand up too quickly, my chair making an ugly groaning noise even against the carpet. I wince, pushing it back in quietly.
I'm going to kill him.
I pause on my way out, turning around to a shocked Travis. "Oh, Travis?" He looks up at me, a little nervous from our conversation, I'm guessing. "Yes, I'll go to the dance with you."
His uneasiness drops, a genuine smile popping up in its place, and his dimples reappear. I feel like sticking my fingers into them.
A voice clears her throat behind me, and I look over my shoulder to the librarian standing directly behind me, pointing at the exit.
"I'm already leaving." I huff, walking out without another word.
The librarian will want me to go to the office to wait the last few minutes until the bell rings, but I'm not. I take a detour to my locker and grab the rest of my things. I pull my jacket off the hook and slam my locker closed so hard the door wiggles on the hinges. Slipping my arms into my purple sleeves, I stomp toward the exit with only one purpose in mind.
Roman.
Shoving the doors open, a blast of cold air immediately hits my face. This December is ridiculously cold, with our first snowfall being in October this year. As soon as that first flake melted on my skin, I knew it was going to be a hellish winter.
I let out an angry breath when I see him, sitting on top of the monkey bars as he usually does. Even in the winter, he finds his way to his park. That's what I like to call it. His park. It's been a part of him since I met him. I think if he could, he'd lift it up and put it in his backyard.
Roman blocked guys from seeking me out? Screw that.
The wave of breathy fog escapes my lips with a shuddering, angry breath. I can't believe that asshole.
I'm going to kill him.
I trudge through the freshly fallen snow. My feet go deep, snow instantly making its way into my shoes and socks. He notices me before I cross the street, and a worried look crosses his face. He slips down, landing effortlessly on his feet and brushing the snow from the back of his jeans as he walks up to me.
"What's wrong? The bell hasn't even rung yet. Are you okay?"
I press my cold fingers against his wool coat and give him a shove. "You jerk!"
He stumbles back, slipping on a small patch of ice, but rights himself before he falls to the ground. "What was that for?" he shouts at me.