Fake Boyfriend - Kate Brian (19 page)

He brought up Isabelle's MySpace page with her smiling face up in the lefthand corner. Just looking at it made Vivi want to smack her head against the wall. She couldn't be here for this. She had to go.

"I'll be downstairs," she told Marshall, grabbing a pillow off her bed.

"Wait a minute. Y don't want to tell me what to write?" Marshall asked.

ou

Vivi paused at the door. She felt the tears threatening. Like she had any idea how to let a person down easy. Like she

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could even remotely bring herself to do this to her friend. She looked at her brother, so wide-eyed and innocent, and her heart panged. "Y ou're way nicer than I am, Marsh," she said. "I'm sure whatever you come up with will be fine."

Vivi jogged down the stairs to the first floor, suddenly needing to put as much distance as possible between herself and the mess she'd created. Her eyes stung from unshed tears and her throat felt tight. She'd failed. She'd failed her friend in the worst possible way. Just thinking about how Isabelle's face would look when she read Marshall's e-mail made her want to hurl something. And it was all her fault. She raced for the basement and its comforting, cool darkness. It wasn't until the door closed behind her that she finally let the tears flow.

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* * * * eighteen * * * *

After driving around the entire town of Westmont twice, searching for Curtis's mystery party and finding nothing but a policeman's retirement bash at the VFW Hall, Lane sat on her front step and waited. Her parents were out at some big gala in the city and wouldn't be home until the wee hours of the morning. Which was good. Because at least she knew Curtis would get home before them and they wouldn't find her passed out in front of the door. At least she hoped he would get home first. If he stayed out all night, she was pretty sure her adrenaline rush would be gone by the next time she saw him.

Finally, a pair of headlights flashed around the corner. Jeff's Mustang. Lane stood up, her heart leaping into her throat. She wiped her sweaty palms against the back of her jeans and waited for Jeff to pull into Curtis's driveway. Waited for Curtis to get out and knock fists with the two

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be

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guys in the backseat. Waited until he turned around and finally saw her.

"Lane?" he said.

Somewhere off in the distance, thunder rumbled. Wind tossed Lane's hair across her face. She shivered and pulled her jacket closer to her as she walked across her lawn to meet him in his driveway. He was wearing a blue sweater with frayed cuffs and a pair of cargo shorts, and his hair was all styled into a perfect mess. He was adorable.

"Hi," she said. "Did you get my messages?"

He lifted his hand to show her that he was holding his phone. "Just now," he said, his tone apologetic. "I didn't even realize I had my phone off."

"Y just got them?" Lane asked, relieved.

ou

"Y eah. When I came by to pick you up and no one was home, I tried calling your cell, but it kept going right to voice mail. I just figured you'd forgotten about me." Curtis laughed and scratched at the back of his head. "I was mad at you all night. But if I'd just checked my freaking phone ..."

Like I could ever forget about you, Lane thought.

Okay. It was time. Time to do this thing. Time to throw herself out there. He'd be an idiot not to go out with you, Jonathan's voice said in her mind. "Curtis--was

"I'm really sorry," he said. "Tonight was supposed to be fun, but instead it got all screwed up. But you should have been there. It was totally insane. This guy came wi--was

"Curtis," Lane attempted. But he was rambling.

"And then he set up a turntable and it was like something out of a bad movie. He was jus--was

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"Curtis!"

He flinched. "What?"

Lane's heart stopped beating. She held her breath. "Will you go to the prom with me?"

Curtis's face went slack. The whole world slowed to a crawl. Lane's hopes and dreams washed away with the first few drops of rain. Petrified was the only word she could think of to describe his expression. Big, fat drops of rain smacked down on the crown of Lane's head, as if taunting her.

"Never mind," she said, backing up. "I don't know why I just said that. I--was "Lane. Wait," Curtis said. He covered his face with both hands for a second, then dragged them down. "Dammit. It's not that I wouldn't want to go with you--was

"But you don't. That's fine. I get it," Lane was navigating backwards across her lawn as the raindrops came faster.

"No, it's j... I already have a date," Curtis said.

Lane felt as if a spotlight had just snapped on, searing her with its hot, white light. She imagined the entire AV squad from school--along with everyone else she knew-- standing on Curtis's roof, training the light on her and laughing at her humiliation. She wanted to throw up. Right there on the driveway walk. This was supposed to be her night. The first day of the new Lane--the Lane who spoke up for herself and got what she wanted. Instead it was a nightmare.

"Of course. Of course you do," Lane said, still backing away. "I mean, the prom is next week already. And you have a tux. How could you not have a date?"

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"Well, I didn't until tonight," Curtis said, looking physically ill. "I asked Kim Wolfe. At the party."

Lane lost all ability to breathe. Tonight? He'd asked Kim Wolfe tonight? When she was supposed to be with him. Tonight when she was out doing Vivi's dirty work Curtis had still been dateless. The realization of her missed opportunity hit her like a lightning bolt to the head. If only she had known where the party was, if only she had gotten there first...

"Kim Wolfe?" Lane said, her brain not quite functioning. "I didn't even know you two were--was

"We're not. I mean, we're not, like, dating or anything. I just--was Curtis made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat and shoved his hands under his arms. "Kim is--was

"A total gossip with a completely ridiculous love of the word woot?" Lane blurted. "Which, by the way, isn't even a word!"

Curtis pulled his head back, stunned. "Lane--was

"I have to go," Lane said, whipping around. Her soaked hair swung around and smacked her in the eye. She tripped over one of the sprinklers hidden in the lawn. Pain exploded in her toe, but she kept right on walking. Insult to major injury.

"Lane!"

"I'll talk to you later!" she said, attempting to sound normal through her tears. Hand shaking and wet, she managed to grasp the doorknob and shove her way into her house. Inside she leaned back against the door and dropped to the floor, clutching her injured toe and trying very, very hard not to cry.

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"Thanks a lot, Jonathan," she muttered under her breath. It was his pep talk that had convinced her to do this. His confidence in her that had finally made her believe it would all go her way. Well, she'd finally done it. She'd finally spoken up for herself and put herself on the line.

And now she was sitting on a cold tile floor, dripping wet, with her bare toe throbbing in her hand, her heart breaking, and tears streaming down her face. So much for that.

***

Lane pulled up right behind Vivi's car in Isabelle's driveway the following morning. Vivi was just getting out of her convertible. Lane's body temperature skyrocketed at the very sight of her friend.

It's all your fault, she thought, narrowing her eyes. If you hadn't forced me to go over to Jonathan's on a pointless mission, I would have been with Curtis last night and he wouldn't have been anywhere near Kim "Woot-Woot" Wolfe.

Vivi looked over at Lane impatiently, shoving her sunglasses up on her head. "Are you coming or are you just going to sit there keeping the seat warm?" she snapped.

Lane narrowed her eyes. Was Vivi mad at her? For what? For being a good little errand girl and driving all the way over to Cranston for her? Lane got out of the car, slammed the door, and stormed right past Vivi on the front walk. "She called you, too, huh?" she asked curtly.

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"Of course she did. Why wouldn't she?" Vivi asked, scurrying up behind Lane.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe she somehow sensed you were the cause of all her misery," Lane said over her shoulder, her heart pounding like crazy.

"Me! Y ou're the one who went over there to convince him not to bail and failed miserably," Vivi replied, shoving her hand into the front pocket of her large hoodie. "Did you even try, Lane? I mean, really try?"

"Of course I did!" Lane shot back. She reached out and rang the bell. "But someone had already offended him so badly, he wants nothing to do with us!"

"Uh!" Vivi exclaimed indignantly, her mouth hanging open. "Y have got a lot of--was

ou

At that moment, the door swung open, and there stood Isabelle, makeupless and wearing her pink Victoria's Secret pj's, tears streaming from her swollen eyes. She had about five tissues crushed in each hand.

"H-h-hi guys!" she wailed.

Lane forgot all about Vivi and Curtis and Jonathan. She forgot everything. Never in her life had she seen Isabelle look so horrible. Guilt seeped in like cold lead around her heart.

"Iz?" Vivi said uncertainly.

Isabelle stepped forward and wrapped them both into her arms, snotting all over Lane's shoulder. "I'm s-s-so glad you're h-h-h-here!" she cried.

Lane looked at Vivi over Isabelle's bent head. We did this to her, she thought, narrowing her eyes.

Vivi rolled her eyes right back, telling her to back off.

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Then Vivi extricated herself and closed the door. "Come on, Iz. Let's go sit down."

"Okay," Isabelle said with a sniffle.

She held one of the tissue wads to her nose as she shuffled between her friends toward the living room. On the couch in the normally pristine, opulent room, was a bowl of half- eaten cereal, three Pop-Tart wrappers, ten romantic tragedy DVD's, and Isabelle's laptop. Izzy shoved the Pop-Tart wrappers aside with her foot as she sat, and placed the bowl on the floor to make room for them, weeping the whole way.

"It's gonna be okay, Iz," Lane said, sitting down on the couch.

"No, it's not!" Isabelle wailed. "He dumped me! Everything was totally fine and then we went on a date and then he dumped me! Do you realize what this means?"

There was a lump in Lane's throat the size of a soccer ball.

"It means he thinks I'm repulsive!" Isabelle cried, throwing her hands up. A few of the tissues tumbled to the floor. "I'm hideous!"

"Isabelle, you're not hideous," Vivi said, reaching out to stroke Izzy's hair. "Come on, you know you're not hideous."

"Well, why else would he have dumped me?" Isabelle asked, wiping her face. "Y guys were there! What did I do? Did I say something wrong? Did I

ou offend him?"

Lane was growing so frustrated, she wanted to scream. She would kill to be able to tell her friend the truth. Of course she hadn't said anything wrong. The whole thing was a freaking lie! But she couldn't. Because then Isabelle would hate them 200

both and she would throw them out and then she wouldn't even have any friends to cry to.

"Y didn't say anything wrong," Lane told her, stacking the DVD's up neatly on the coffee table and swiping some crumbs off the couch. "I'm sure

ou there's a good explanation."

"Well, I'd love to know what it is, but he won't write me back," Isabelle said as she pulled the computer onto her lap. She struck the keys haphazardly like she wanted to break the thing. "Why! Won't! He! Write! Me! Back!?" She said each word with another slam of a key.

Lane and Vivi's wide eyes met, disturbed. As angry as Lane was at Vivi, they were in this thing together. And this thing was getting serious.

"Okay, Iz, let's just leave the nice computer alone," Vivi said, pulling the laptop away from her and setting it on the side table. She closed it with a snap, and Isabelle looked at it longingly. "Listen, you don't need him," Vivi said. "He's just a guy."

"But what about the prom?" Isabelle asked, looking at Vivi, then Lane, wild eyed. "I have no date!"

"So we'll all go together. Alone, together," Vivi suggested, putting her hand over Isabelle's.

"Really?" Isabelle said hopefully.

"Y It's a perfect idea," Lane said, taking Isabelle's other hand. Her heart panged as she thought of Curtis. Of her failed attempt at happiness. But

es! she managed an encouraging smile. "Who needs dates? We have each other."

"We have each other," Isabelle repeated, looking at each of them with such deep thanks in her eyes, Lane wanted to tear

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her own hair out. "Y guys are the best friends in the world, you know that?"

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Then she reached out and pulled them both to her so fast, she almost knocked Lane and Vivi's heads together.

"I could never get through this without you guys," Isabelle said dramatically.

Lane's heart squeezed in her chest. Little did Isabelle know she wouldn't even be going through this if it weren't for them. She reached up and around Isabelle's shoulder and patted her awkwardly on the back.

"We know," she said, feeling like a total jerk. "We know."

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* * * * nineteen * * * *

Vivi paced back and forth in front of the picture window in her living room, holding up the skirt of her floor- length black dress with both hands. Every few steps, her ankle turned in her high heels. She finally dropped onto the couch to yank them off. Why everyone seemed to feel the need to wear those torture devices was beyond her. She thought longingly of her black Converse lying on the floor of her room and wondered if anyone would notice if she wore them instead.

"She's late. Why is she so late?" Vivi asked Lane. "Did I not say pictures at six? Y were here at six. Curtis told me he was going to be late because

ou Kim had a dance recital thing this afternoon, but Isabelle said nothing. Where the heck is she?"

In the kitchen, her mother and Lane's parents chatted over drinks, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Their laughter was mocking Vivi's anxiety.

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