Famous (13 page)

“She stayed with you until Whisper was cooled and groomed, right?” Drew asked.

Despite everything that had happened in class and what I was about to tell him, I couldn't help but notice
how cute he looked. His black hair was a little tousled, and he wore a clover-green kangaroo-pocket hoodie that made his pale skin stand out.

“Carina helped with everything,” I said. “Including talking me out of my bad mood after that lesson. She confided some info about herself with me, and it's something she's looking forward to sharing with you and the rest of our team.”

“Can't wait to hear it,” Drew said.

“I'm trying to tell myself that the bad lesson was worth it since Carina talked to me. But I wish I could permanently erase it from my brain.”

“Everyone has a lesson like that. It happens. You'll wow Mr. Conner next time, and he'll forget all about it.”

I smiled at Drew for trying to make me feel better. “I hope so.” I took another sip of hot chocolate. “Enough about that lesson. Ugh. I'm glad you were able to meet me after riding so we could talk.”

Drew's eyes settled on me. “Of course I'd meet you to talk. I'm guessing from the way you've acted today, it's something pretty bad.”

“Bad to really, really bad.”

Drew scooted his chair a little closer to mine. “I'm sorry.”

“Me too.” I sighed. “Over the weekend, Clare told me that something was up with Brielle.”

“They're roommates, right?” Drew asked.

I nodded. “Clare couldn't tell me what exactly was going on because she didn't have proof of anything. She didn't hear Brielle on the phone or see an e-mail or anything that pointed to what was going on.”

Drew was quiet, watching me. A couple of older students came into the Shoppe and stood at the counter. I crossed my fingers that no one from our grade would have a sweet tooth attack while Drew and I were here.

“I totally blew Clare off,” I said. “She had no concrete proof, and I thought that since Bri was my best friend, if something
was
wrong, I'd see it before anyone else. But Clare wouldn't stop talking about it. Then she told Khloe, and you know how Khloe is about stuff like that. By yesterday morning, I knew I had to just ask Brielle if everything was cool so I could make Clare and Khlo see that I was right.”

I took a long sip, and when I put down my cup, Drew's hand enclosed mine. Something about that sweet gesture gave me the courage to keep talking and get through this story for a final time.

“I met Brielle after riding. I'd planned to meet you
after we talked. I told Bri that I was meeting her for a silly reason and asked if anything was wrong. Turns out, she was hiding something from me and it had started to get to her.”

“Oh, Laur.” Drew's mouth turned down.

“Last summer and part of the fall, Brielle was dating someone. Ana knew and didn't tell me, and neither did Brielle.”

Drew sat back in his chair a little.

“Brielle and the guy only stopped dating when he transferred schools.”

I watched Drew, waiting for him to catch on. His expression was turning stony.

“He transferred to Canterwood.”

Drew's jaw clenched so tight that I saw the muscles move in his face and chin.

“Then
she
transferred to Canterwood.”

Drew's hands, resting on top of the table, balled into fists.

“And neither of them bothered to tell me about this incident. I found out when I questioned Brielle, not expecting to hear anything and only with the intent to silence Clare.”

A string of inaudible words escaped from Drew's lips.
His cheeks turned scarlet, and he gripped the edge of the table with his hands, his fingertips turning white.

“Lauren. I don't know what to say.” Drew's voice was deep and anger-filled.

“You don't have to say anything,” I said. “Except that you, hopefully, don't want to break up with me because of yet another Taylor problem.”

I swallowed, staring at him and awaiting his response.

“Oh, gosh, Lauren, no. Never!” Anger disappeared from his face and concern replaced it. He reached out a hand and I put mine in his.

“I was scared to tell you,” I said. “I know how much it's put a strain on you to have Taylor here. It's not a normal situation. Plus, now you're both cocaptains on the swim team. You can't avoid him all the time. I'm so sorry.”

Drew squeezed my hand. “Don't you ever apologize to me for this. You did nothing wrong. I'm glad you came to me and told me what happened. I'm
not
going to break up with you because of something someone else did. I can handle Taylor.”

A breath that I'd been holding since I'd found out released. “I can't tell you how much better that makes me feel. I didn't want to lose you over this. I already talked to both of them, and I haven't spoken to them since.”

“What do you want to happen next?” Drew asked. His cheeks slowly returned to their normal color. That gave me relief too. I didn't want him angry enough to get into a fight with Taylor or do anything that could get him into trouble.

I sighed. “I'm not sure. Right now, I can't imagine ever being friends with Brielle or Taylor again. Ana . . . I don't know. She was put in a bad spot. But Khloe and I talked a lot about this, and I don't want to make rash decisions that are emotion fueled. I need to take a step back from the whole thing for a while, stay away from Bri and Taylor, and see how it goes.”

“That's one of the reasons why I like you so much,” Drew said.

I smiled. “What do you mean?”

“You have
every
right to make Brielle's and Taylor's lives miserable here,” Drew said. “But that's not you. You're bigger than that. You also don't write people off for one mistake.”

“Well, like I said, I really don't see us ever being friends right
now
,” I said. “But things change. I'm just going to focus on school, riding, and my friends.” I grinned. “Oh, and
you
.”

Drew smiled back, making me feel warm inside. “
That
is definitely the right decision.”

“I HATE THIS WEATHER,” KHLOE
grumbled. She pulled her coat collar higher up around her neck. “If it's going to be this cold, at least make it worth it and
snow
!”

“Exactly what I said a few days ago,” I said, hurrying up the sidewalk toward the English building. “This is brutal.”

“I have to keep reminding myself that one day I'll be in sunny Los Angeles, and no temperature below sixty will touch my delicate skin.”

“Have we discussed going to college in L.A. together?” I teased.

“Don't tempt me, LT,” Khloe said, smiling through chattering teeth. “I might learn hypnotizing techniques
and convince you that you want to live in L.A. with me because I can't be far away from my bestie.”

“Aw, Khlo. That's sweet. Twisted. But sweet.”

We laughed, leaning against each other. We stopped laughing at the same second when shouting rang across the campus.

“. . . do that to her?”

“. . . out of it.”

I knew those voices. I glanced around, my heart pounding hard.

“There,” Khloe said, pointing.

Next to the side of the math building, Drew and Taylor stared each other down. There was less than a foot of space between them, and Drew's posture was like I'd never seen before. It was aggressive and he leaned into Taylor, saying something I couldn't hear.

“Oh my God. They're going to get in trouble!”

I took off at a run, with Khloe right beside me. I clipped my shoulder against another student, but I was in too much of a hurry to apologize.

“Guys! Stop!” I called just as Khloe and I reached them.

Drew didn't move. His face was tight, and I felt the anger radiate off him. I glanced at Taylor, not having been this close to him since our fight. There was nothing but
defeat in his green eyes. I couldn't believe it when I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

“You didn't answer me,” Drew said through clenched teeth. He didn't yell, but he may as well have—there was so much force behind his words. “How could you do this to her?”

Taylor's shoulders slumped. His body was thinner than usual, and he wasn't even wearing a coat.

“Drew,” I started.

“I don't know,” Taylor said, his tone quiet. He didn't look at Khloe or me. He kept his eyes on Drew. “It was the stupidest thing I've ever done.”

Taylor fell silent and Drew stared at him, not moving.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. There was
no
way Drew would actually punch Taylor, was there?

“You're both going to get in trouble,” Khloe hissed. “Be quiet and leave each other alone. You're just making this worse for Lauren. And that's who you really care about, isn't it?”

Neither guy broke eye contact with the other.

“Isn't it?!” Khloe asked sharply and louder.

That broke their hold on each other. Drew stepped back, shaking his head. Taylor flicked his eyes downward and, with his head down, disappeared.

Drew watched him go before looking at me. I searched his face and watched the anger vanish.
My
Drew reappeared.

“I'm sorry, Lauren,” Drew said. He stuck his hands in his black coat pockets. “I didn't go looking for him. We honestly ran into each other, and I started it. He was going to keep walking, and I made the first move.”

My teeth chattered from what had just happened—not the cold.

“Thank you for being honest,” I said. “Please don't do that again. I don't want you to get in trouble,
and
I don't like you guys fighting. Please.”

Drew reached out and touched my cheek. “I promise. I won't say another word to Taylor. I was a jerk.”

“You better promise,” Khloe said. Her tone was stern, and she was in total Protect the BFF mode. “Lauren's already been hurt enough. If
you
hurt her, remember that I know where you live.”

Drew didn't make a joke out of Khloe's comment. He nodded at her. “I swear, Khloe. I would never hurt Lauren. You're a great friend for what you just did.”

I looped my arm through Khloe's. “She's my best friend for a reason.”

“We need to get to class,” Khloe said. “C'mon, LT.”

On sort-of-shaky legs, I moved a few steps with her.

“Laur?” Drew called.

I turned back toward his voice. In a few strides he was in front of me. He kissed my forehead lightly and ran a hand over my hair. “I'm sorry, again. I'll see you at lunch, if that's okay.”

I nodded, smiling. “That's definitely okay.”

THE DREW VS. TAYLOR THING
aside, the rest of the day hadn't been as awkward as I'd feared. I ignored Brielle in the classes we shared, and she didn't try to approach me. I'd focused on classes and my friends. Somehow I'd managed to put this morning in the back of my brain and leave it there until I talked to Drew.

“I'm glad we're partners for the history project,” Carina said.

“Me too!” I smiled at her.

We had bumped into each other on our way to lunch. Carina and I shared the same history class in second period, and we'd been paired up to write a research paper together.

“I'm still so new,” Carina said, shifting her leather
messenger bag. “I was sweating thinking that anyone who got me as a partner would be like, ‘Ugh. The new girl.' ”

“No ‘ugging' here.” I made her smile. “I'm happy, because I've been around you enough in riding to know you're not going to bail on the project, leave me to do all of the work, and slap your name on it at the end.”

“No way,” Carina said. She shook her head. “I've had partners like that before at home. I'm good at history and science—those are my best subjects. My classmates know it too. So whenever we get to choose our partners, all of the slackers are suddenly my best friends. I try not to be rude, but I want to work with my friends or people who will actually, you know,
work
.”