CHAPTER FOUR: THE BOY I COULDN'T STAND

**Chloe's POV**

The knock came at exactly seven.

I stared at my bedroom door, hoping that if I ignored it long enough, Caleb Walker would grow tired of waiting and go away.

Another knock followed.

"Chloe!" my mother called from downstairs. "Your friend is here!"

"He's not my friend!" I shouted back.

There was a brief silence. Then Caleb's voice floated up the stairs, rich with innocence.

"That's hurtful, Chloe. I even wore my good shoes."

I closed my eyes. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be him?

I checked my reflection one last time. A simple black dress, small silver earrings, flat shoes. Nothing dramatic. I wasn't trying to impress anyone, least of all Caleb. I had changed my outfit twice, but that was only because the first two had looked like I was trying.

I grabbed my phone and went downstairs.

Caleb stood by the front door with his hands in his pockets. He wore a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and black jeans. His hair looked annoyingly good. The moment he saw me, his smile widened, and I immediately regretted noticing any of it.

"Wow," he said. "You actually came downstairs."

"Don't start."

"I haven't said anything."

"Your face is saying plenty."

He laughed. "You look nice, by the way."

I stopped for half a second. It was so unexpected that I almost forgot how to answer.

Then he ruined it.

"Like someone who'd rather be attending a funeral."

"And you look like someone who should be at one."

"There's my girl."

"I'm not your girl."

"Keep telling yourself that."

I walked past him before I did something that would get me grounded.

Outside, his car waited near the gate, its engine ticking quietly in the cool evening air. I climbed into the passenger seat and fastened my seat belt without looking at him.

Caleb started the engine. "So," he said, pulling away from the house, "are you going to behave tonight?"

"Are you going to stop talking tonight?"

"Probably not."

"Then no."

He laughed again. I hated how easily he entertained himself at my expense.

For several minutes, neither of us spoke. I watched the familiar streets slide past the window, the streetlights blurring into long gold streaks, and tried very hard not to think about Ryan.

That was the whole reason I was here. I needed one evening when I wasn't sitting alone, imagining Ryan holding Olivia's hand. One evening when I didn't have to listen to my best friend explain how wonderful he was.

Unfortunately, my escape plan involved Caleb Walker. I wasn't certain that counted as an improvement.

"So," Caleb said eventually, "you and Ryan have been spending a lot of time together lately."

I turned to him. "We're working on a project."

"I know."

"Then why ask?"

"Making conversation."

"Find another hobby."

He glanced at me, and his smile faded just slightly. "You know, Chloe, you don't have to pretend you're fine with everything."

My stomach tightened. "What are you talking about?"

"Ryan and Olivia."

I looked out the window. "They're happy. That's what matters."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Convincing."

"Caleb."

"What?"

"Don't."

For once, he didn't reach for a joke.

The silence that followed felt strange. I was used to Caleb provoking me, not leaving me room to breathe. It sat between us like something fragile, and I didn't know what to do with it.

Then he turned the music up.

I was grateful. I didn't want him asking questions I wasn't prepared to answer, and somehow, I suspected he knew that.

When we reached the bonfire, the sound of laughter and music spilled across the parking area. Groups of students stood beneath strings of lights, their faces warm and golden, while the fire roared in the centre of the field and sent sparks drifting into the dark. The air smelled of woodsmoke and sugar.

Couples were everywhere. Leaning against each other, sharing blankets, whispering into each other's hair.

Of course they were.

Caleb came around to open my door, which was so unexpected that I stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I didn't know you were capable of basic manners."

"I'm full of surprises."

"Most of them unpleasant."

He offered me his arm. I looked at it as though it might bite.

"Absolutely not."

"It's a couples' event, Chloe. We're supposed to look like a couple."

"We're supposed to *attend* together. That's different."

"Fine." He dropped his arm. "Walk beside me, then. Try not to look like you're being taken hostage."

"I make no promises."

We stepped into the field, and the heat of the fire brushed my face. Almost at once, someone called his name, and then my eyes found what they had been searching for all along, despite every promise I'd made to myself in the car.

Ryan.

My heart reacted before I could stop it.

He stood beside Olivia near the fire, one arm resting around her waist. The flames threw light across his face, and across hers. She looked beautiful, glowing as she laughed at something he'd said, her head tipped toward his shoulder as though it had always belonged there.

For one moment, I forgot how to breathe.

Then Ryan noticed me. His gaze moved from my face to Caleb standing beside me, and his expression shifted into surprise.

"Chloe?" he said. "You came?"

I forced a smile. It felt stiff, like a mask put on too quickly. "Apparently."

Ryan looked at Caleb. "You two came together?"

Before I could answer, Caleb slipped an arm around my shoulders.

I nearly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Of course," he said easily. "Who else would she come with?"

I could feel Ryan looking at us. I could feel Olivia's curious stare, too, and the heat of the fire on one side of me, and Caleb's warm arm resting across my shoulders on the other. I was caught between all of it, unable to move without making things worse.

And for the first time that evening, Caleb wasn't smiling at me.

He was watching Ryan.

Not carelessly, and not with his usual amusement. It was a steady, measuring look, as though he were waiting for something.

I knew then that bringing Caleb Walker to this bonfire might have been a terrible idea.

I just didn't know how terrible it was about to become.