Impossible (15 page)

Ash may not have any real friends, but I sure as hell did, and these guys knew me too well. I’d never hidden my dislike towards Ashton and it was gonna be hard to convince them otherwise. “She’s had a shit week. She lost all her friends and she got kicked off the cheerleading squad. It changed her.”

“She seems the same to me,” Eddie remarked.

Even Eddie, the moral compass of the group, wasn’t warming to the idea of me and Ashton dating. Eddie was usually reasonable, but there was a limit to even how much he could take. Was it really worth it to do all this for a girl who, up until yesterday, hadn’t given a damn about me? And she still didn’t. Ash had already lost everything—she had nothing else to lose—but I still had my friends and there was no way I was going to let Ash ruin that for me.

Still, I kept thinking back to when we were kids, and the way we’d always been there for each other. Some days she’d see other kids with their dads and when she’d get home she would cry. I’d hated seeing her like that so I’d go over to her house, climb into bed with her and hold her until she’d calm down. Then I’d tell her that she could borrow my dad for as long as she wanted and her face would brighten up.

I’d lived for her smile and I would’ve done anything to make her laugh. It always made me feel like I’d accomplished something when that dimple appeared in her cheek. Things were different now, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t help her out this once.

I’d hurt her in the past when I pushed her away and ended our friendship. This was the least I could do for her. When all this was over and she had her friends again, I could go back to my life and pretend that none of this had ever happened. It was for the best. We both wanted to live in completely different worlds and I knew I’d have to let her go.

“Give her a chance, just this once.” There was a hint of desperation in my tone, and I saw Eddie’s shoulders slump.

“Fine,” Eddie said, sounding defeated. “Just keep her away from Stace. Bad things happen when they’re around each other.”

“Thanks, man.” I bumped fists with both Eddie and Riley before sticking my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “So, rehearsal this afternoon?”

Riley’s face lit up and the topic of Ashton was quickly forgotten. “Yeah, definitely! You free Eddie?”

Eddie nodded. “I don’t have to babysit Hailie tonight, so I can make it for a few hours. We gotta be perfect during practice. No mistakes.”

“No mistakes,” Riley agreed, before launching into a series of ideas he had for the logo on our band t-shirts.

I listened as Eddie and Riley exchanged ideas, but my mind was elsewhere. I’d managed to convince them about Ashton this time around, but I had a feeling that next time things weren’t going to be so easy.

Ashton

“Pssst.”

I was bored out of my mind in 5th period Calculus. It was beyond me why I’d decided to take this class. The semester had just begun, so there was a chance I could still drop it. Math interested me enough, but I was by no means a full blown out geek like some of other students in the class.

I’d never noticed until today that Luca’s friend, Eddie, was in this class. He sat by himself at the front and hadn’t acknowledged me once during the entire lesson. For most of the class I’d spent my time fascinated by all the piercings he had on his ears. What drove someone to get that many piercings was a mystery to me.

“Pssst, Ashton.”

This time I turned my head to search for the source of the sound. Directly behind me sat two cheerleaders who had taken a neutral stance on my eviction from the squad.  They weren’t BFF with me, but they weren’t making fun of me either.

Kendall Olsen was a cute girl with thick, curly, chestnut-colored hair, and pale skin with a smattering of freckles. Beside her was Yuki Kishida who, in complete contrast, had dead straight black hair and a tan complexion—she was absolutely stunning.

“Yes?” I asked, surprised that they were addressing me. We’d never been close, but I’d spoken to them from time to time. They were nice girls, but were the gossip queens of Statlen High. They didn’t know how to keep a secret.

Yuki leaned forward, her dark eyes bright with excitement. Her hair was slicked back in a high ponytail which emphasized those amazing cheekbones of hers. Yeah, she was definitely stunning. “Did my eyes deceive me or was that you with Luca Byron at lunch today?”

I nodded, not giving too much info away until I could tell where this was going. “Yeah, it was Luca.”

Kendall’s mouth formed an ‘O’. “Are you kidding me? Last time I checked, Luca did not look like
that
.”

I tried to hide the smile that was creeping onto my face. “Yeah, he had a little makeover.”

“Is he single?” Yuki blurted out. Kendall nudged her and they both burst into a fit of giggles.

“Girls, is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?” Uh oh. I turned back to the front to find Mrs. Cope giving us a dirty look.

“No, Mrs. Cope,” Kendall said as she smothered a laugh with her hand.

Mrs. Cope gave us a stern look before she turned back to the board, muttering something under her breath. Not a second passed before someone kicked my chair. I turned around again and raised an eyebrow in question.

“So, is he single or is he seeing someone?” Yuki asked in a whisper.

“He hangs around with Stacey a lot. I think they’re sleeping together,’ Kendall said with a frown.

The two of them fell silent and looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. I’d been hoping that Luca and I would get noticed, but I hadn’t thought that it would be this soon. Apparently, girls really were suckers when it came to cute guys.

“Well,” I said, drawing out the suspense a little longer, “I kind of have a thing going on with him.”

Their eyes widened and they had almost identical expressions on their faces. I stifled a laugh and tried to look serious.

“No way,” Yuki said.

“Yes way,” I said simply.

“Is he creepy weird or anything?” Kendall asked.

I shook my head. “No, he’s just plain hot.” Without waiting for a reaction, I turned back in my seat and let the smile spread across my face.

My plan was already working, and very soon I would have everything I wanted. I would show Kance who was really the alpha of the school.

***

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” I chewed on my bottom lip as Luca led me through his house and into the kitchen.

We stopped as Luca grabbed some drinks out of the fridge and placed them on the bench top. His hand brushed against the bare skin of my arm and I shivered at the touch.

He turned to me, a smile playing around his mouth. “Don’t tell me that you’re intimidated by my friends.”

“It’s not that. It’s just…” I bit my lip and trailed off. What exactly was it? I wasn’t even sure myself, so how could I explain it to him?

I sighed and looked up into Luca’s amused face. His eyes were a vivid green with a circle of yellow around the middle that I found hypnotizing. For a moment, I became lost in them and forgot what we’d been talking about.

“It’s what?” he asked placing his hands on the counter either side of me. His body radiated warmth and I just wanted to curl up against his muscled chest. Instead of his usual black attire, he had on a white t-shirt that brought out his tan, and a pair of faded blue jeans that hung low on his hips. I’d have to eat my words, because Luca Byron was not a freak, he was smoking hot.

Shaking the inappropriate thoughts away, I frowned. “You don’t have to hang out with me because you feel sorry for me. I have other things to do.”

“Like what? Cheerleading practice?”

I knew he was joking, but his dig at me still hurt. “That was a cheap shot and you know it.”

Luca brought his head closer to mine so that I could see every line and every mark on his face. It was strange how those little flaws didn’t ruin his appearance—they only added to it.

“Alright, I shouldn’t have said that, but if we’re going to make this work, don’t we need to show people that we’re really together? I mean, it’s not like I care about this stupid plan. The quicker I can get rid of you, the better.”

It seemed like he thought I had no feelings and he could say whatever he wanted. I had to remind myself that we weren’t really friends and that this was all pretend. “I guess we have to make a statement both at school and out of it. This has to seem as real as possible. I don’t want people to think I’m paying you to go out with me.”

Luca frowned and his eyes turned serious. “I could be getting paid
for this
?”

Rolling my eyes, I shoved him away and he laughed as he walked over to a cupboard and grabbed two packets of chips. He nodded to the bottle of Coke. “Can you get that?”

Reluctantly, I took the bottle off the counter and followed him into the laundry. He opened up the door to the garage and held it open for me. I guess it was now or never. I couldn’t avoid his friends forever.

“Hey, guys, Ash wanted to join us. I hope that’s alright.” Luca’s voice was overly cheerful. He was obviously trying to compensate for everyone’s lack of excitement at my arrival.

Eddie and Riley—yes, I’d finally bothered to learn his name—were already positioned by their instruments and looked impatient. Riley’s blue and black hair was extra spiky this afternoon and he wore a shirt that said ‘Skeptic Coil’. What on earth did that mean?

Elly and Stacey were sitting on the large sofa facing the boys—neither of them seemed particularly happy to see me. The look on Stacey’s face was one of pure hatred, while Elly seemed more upset than anything else. I couldn’t blame her. I’d been really nasty to her and she hadn’t deserved that.

“Whatever man,” Riley said. “Can we start already? You’ve been gone for half an hour. We gotta try out that new stuff you wrote.”

“Yeah, sure. Just gimme a sec.” Luca went over and to a table in the corner and put the snacks onto it. I followed him and did the same with the Coke. He looked over his shoulder and then lowered his voice. “Keep your damn mouth shut, you hear? This is a big deal for us and you may not like our music, but we don’t need to hear your commentary.”

I pouted at the firm tone he’d used with me and watched him walk over to pick up his guitar. Stacey jumped up and wrapped an arm around his back. She whispered something in his ear and shot me a snotty look. It was pretty obvious she was trying to make me jealous, but her pathetic attempts to get a reaction from me weren’t going to work. Luca was the last person I’d get jealous over.

The only person I was currently jealous over was Oliver, despite the fact that he was sleeping with my ex-best friend. He was the guy I’d been crushing on for the last two years and I wasn’t going to let Kance take him away from me.

Oliver and I would continue to date in college. After graduation he would propose and we would have a beautiful wedding by the ocean. Then, we’d move into a mansion and have 2.5 kids. Yep, I already had my life with him planned out. Now I just needed him to take interest in me again.

Stacey could try her hardest to get on my nerve by throwing herself at Luca, but it was pretty obvious he was only interested in sleeping with her. She was on the same level as Kance was. They were both easy, and when guys wanted a quick fix, they went to girls like them. I had class and I wasn’t easy, which was why Oliver would choose me in the end. First, though, I had to put up with Luca and his insufferable attitude before I could get what I wanted.

It was worth it. Oliver was worth all this.

Rolling my eyes at Stacey’s pettiness, I turned back to the table and grabbed a plastic cup so I could pour myself a drink. I took a sip and looked around the garage, taking in what Luca had done with the space. Apart from the drums, guitars and other musical instruments, there was a TV, and bookcases filled with DVD’s and games sitting off to the side. Luca probably came here to unwind sometimes.

“I don’t know what she’s doing here. Last time, she barged in here and acted like she owned the whole world. Luca’s crazy for bringing her.” Glancing back towards the sofa, I saw that Stacey had resumed her seat beside Elly and was shooting me lofty looks. The sofa was big enough for two more people to sit comfortably, but there was no way I was going to sit with Stacey. I’d rather stand until my legs fell off than be that close to her.

Luca stood in front of the microphone stand holding his guitar. His head was bent over as he tuned the guitar, long strands of chocolate hair curled around his face. Suddenly, as if sensing my gaze on him, he looked up. His eyes flicked over to the sofa and back at me. He wanted me to go sit down. I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest stubbornly. He grinned and shaking his head, bent over his guitar again.

Trying my best to ignore Stacey, I turned completely so that I was facing the back wall and wouldn’t have to look at her. If her bad dye job and re-growth weren’t enough to put me off, that superior look on her face definitely was. Honestly, I’d rather stare at a blank wall than have her in my direct line of vision.

Except…the back wall wasn’t blank. There was a large corkboard that hung in the center which was completely covered in images.