‘What did he say?’ she asked, the moment Ivy caught up with her.
Ivy shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that Finn is going to be nice to you from now on, and his friends won’t tease you any more.’
‘Finn’s always been nice to me!’ Sophia protested. Ivy could hear the desperation in her friend’s voice.
Gently, she put her arm around Sophia’s shoulders. ‘Yes, but he’s not . . . right for you.’ These were hard words to say out loud and Ivy didn’t like hurting Sophia’s feelings, but she knew it was time for this madness to end. Things could have been worse. At least Finn wasn’t a complete jerk. It turned out Sophia had good taste – even if it was misplaced.
‘Don’t forget the Second Law,’ Ivy mumbled to Sophia, out of anyone else’s hearing. ‘“No vampire should fall in –”’
‘I know,’ Sophia interrupted her, nodding sadly. ‘Being with Finn was just a silly fantasy.’
Ivy felt a twist of pain at the wrecked look on her friend’s face. First crushes are never easy!
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘And I’m really sorry if I’ve been annoying you this last week. I was only trying to help.’
‘I know.’ Sophia’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘Starting a new school is just so confusing. I’m going to need my sidekick.’
‘No doubt,’ said Ivy, feeling the sting of tears in her own eyes. ‘But, wait . . . when did I become the sidekick?’
Sophia laughed, and pulled Ivy into a hug. Just then, someone walked up to them. It was a tall goth-boy Ivy hadn’t seen before, dressed in a black Pall Bearers T-shirt and ripped black jeans. But it wasn’t his clothing that caught Ivy’s eye, it was his hair – his bleached blond hair.
He stopped beside them, looked Sophia up and down . . . and gave her a nod of deep respect.
Sophia’s mouth dropped open as he walked away.
‘See?’ Ivy whispered. Grinning, she poked Sophia’s arm. ‘I’m not the only one who thinks so!’
But there was no time for Sophia to reply. Suddenly, they were being swarmed by goths.
‘Oh, my Goooood!’ A pale, black-haired goth-girl clutched at her heart. ‘Baxter actually acknowledged you!’
‘He nodded right at you,’ agreed a skinny goth-boy beside her. He gazed at Sophia in worshipful awe. ‘Do you have any idea how cool you must be?’
Grinning, Ivy stepped back, letting Sophia be the centre of attention. Goths on all sides were inviting her to parties, asking her advice . . . and completely ignoring Ivy. This was just the way she liked it. She watched as Sophia answered question after question, clearly thriving under all the attention. At one moment, she caught Ivy’s eye and the two of them shared a secret glance of pleasure. It was so nice for Ivy to see her friend looking happy again.
‘Excuse me,’ a student said, squeezing past Ivy to get closer to Sophia. ‘I just want to get to the popular girl.’
Ivy made a show of stepping aside. ‘Be my guest,’ she said, with a proud smile.
‘Hey.’ Brendan stepped up behind her to murmur into her ear. ‘Just so you know? As far as I’m concerned, you are still the coolest girl in the world. Even if your hairstyle is no longer the “in”-thing . . .’
‘Oh, shut up.’ Laughing, Ivy turned and threw her arms around him.
Over his shoulder, she took another look around the darkened halls of Franklin Grove High. Students milled around in their groups, chatting happily.
High school was definitely weird . . . but maybe it wouldn’t eat her alive, after all. If anything, she was now intrigued. Over in one corner of the hallway stood Finn with his friends. He was staring hard at another place in the hall, where Amelia’s goth pals crowded around her.
A star-crossed romance, Ivy thought. Even I’m curious to see how this will end . . .
Olivia looked up into Jackson’s face, which was more gorgeous than the sea of red petals in her trailer. She felt as if she were in a waking dream. ‘You did this . . . for me?’
He nodded. For once, he wasn’t wearing his megastar smile. He looked nervous . . . and vulnerable. He pulled away from her. ‘Of course,’ he said, and swallowed visibly. ‘I thought you knew how I felt about you?’
‘I didn’t,’ Olivia said softly.
But now . . .
Suddenly, so many things made sense. She understood why he’d wanted to walk by the river together, and why he’d organised the private lunch on the London eye. She knew now why he’d been so moved by the Shakespeare play . . .
She knew everything!
They were gazing into each other’s eyes, so intensely that Olivia could hardly breathe. Now was the perfect time for her ‘spontaneous’ speech . . . but, right now, she couldn’t find the words!
Oh no! She grabbed a rose from the side-table by the door and pretended to inhale deeply, to hide her face.
Unfortunately, she breathed a bit too deeply. The strong scent made her choke! She doubled over, coughing. As her eyes watered, Jackson hurried over to slap her back.
Argh! Waving him off, she straightened up. ‘Why,’ she gasped, ‘can I never do these scenes properly in real life?’
‘Don’t ask me.’ Jackson was smiling again. ‘I can’t see a single thing wrong with the way you’re playing this one. You know, you’ve never looked as pretty as you do right now.’
Olivia snorted. ‘What, because of my red, watering eyes and flushed face?’