002

Madelyn Vance

~•~

If I thought Flynn Cahallan was a walking cliché with his tattoos, murder trap disguised as a bike, and his leather jackets, then I was even worse.

I couldn’t even tell where they appeared from but two of my friends flocked towards me the moment I pulled over in the parking lot the next week.

Hazel and Anna were by my side by the time I opened my car door to step outside. “We missed you at the party last Friday,” Hazel said, linking her arms with mine.

I let out an exaggerated sigh. “My parents think I should focus more on school now that it’s senior year.” I gave them the same excuse my parents gave me last Friday night, which I didn’t entirely believe, but it was too convenient not to use.

“Maybe if my parents held me to the same standard as your parents did you, I’d be smarter,” Anna said wistfully.

I rolled my eyes with a fond smile on my face, which lasted until Lucas’ car pulled in beside mine.

“Are we mad at him?” Hazel leaned in to whisper in my ear as we stopped walking.

I nodded.

“Well, I guess we’ll just wait for you by your locker. Have a nice talk.” She nodded towards Lucas’s car and in less than a second, they disappeared.

By the time I looked away from their retreating backs and back in front of me, Lucas was already out of his car. “Mads,” he started. He was the only person who called me that and he thought it was cute, but I didn’t really resonate with the nickname. “About last Friday…”

I didn’t care to tell him though. The same way I realized I wasn’t in the mood for his excuses. It wasn’t the first time he was letting me down, which was why I forced a smile on my face, making sure it came out more pleasant than I felt when I spoke. “It’s fine.” It was much easier than explaining to him that he shouldn’t pick me up if he wasn’t sure he could return me to my house.

“It’s not fine, I know that.” He touched my elbow lightly, pulling me into him. “The scouts ran long. I had no idea it would go that late or I would have made better plans. I was even late to the—“

“Lucas.” I looked at him, taking an unnoticeable step back. “Really. It’s fine.” It wasn’t like we were dating. My parents were hypocrites and we weren’t allowed to date. Not yet, at least. But they expected me to date him as soon as we wrote our final exams next year.

He studied me for a moment as if he was trying to determine whether I meant it or not. “I’ll make it up to you,” he said finally, his blue eyes shining with a promise I wasn’t sure if it was worth holding on to or not. “Whatever you want.”

I nodded, just to get the conversation over with.

He smiled then, showing the dimples that every girl in the school was obsessed with. “So how did you get home then? I still kind of feel bad.”

“One of the girls gave me a ride,” I said, trying to sound as noncommittal as possible. “Just like you said.”

The lie slipped out of my mouth effortlessly. I didn’t know why, but my brain told me not to mention Flynn. I didn’t want to have to explain why I had to ask Flynn of all people to give me a ride on his bike. Lucas was usually friendly with everyone, but his lips thinned whenever Flynn was the topic of conversation, which was a rare occasion, but I noticed it anyway.

Aside from Lucas’ mysterious grievances with Flynn, it felt like a private moment between us that I wanted to hold on to.

Lucas nodded in satisfaction and launched into the game last Friday. They’d won, obviously, and the scouts had been very impressed. He also mentioned that his coach said the scouts’ talk with him was very promising. I still didn’t know if football was his future but good for him, I guessed.

He said a lot of other things and I was listening. I really was, but when I heard the sound of the bike that dropped me off three days ago, it stole my attention.

The loud sound of the engine cut through the noise in the parking lot and every head turned. It was hard not to.

Flynn rode in like he had no care in the world and pulled over at a far corner in the parking lot. He took off his helmet and his hair was slightly disheveled. He didn’t bother to fix it.

Then his eyes moved around the lot as if he could sense every eye on him. His gaze tracked every person in the vicinity until it met mine.

My stomach did a little flip, my breathing suddenly becoming harsher.

He looked at me for only a second, maybe even less, before his eyes fell on the boy beside me. I saw his jaw harden as he tucked his helmet under his arm, completely killed his engine, and walked into school without turning back.

Was the feeling mutual? I turned back to Lucas but he hadn’t even noticed my lack of attention. “—which is why I think this year could—“ I zoned out again, but this time we resumed walking.

We separated inside the building and went to our respective lockers. Haze and Anna were waiting at mine as promised, but all I could think of was the short look Flynn and I shared.

We shared a look, right?

Surely I wasn’t imagining it, was I?