After my confrontation with Bryan, I didn't look forward to going back to school the following Monday. I comforted myself with the fact that I'd focus on classes and hide out in the computer labs at lunchtime. That would give us almost no time together. 

Sequestering myself in the computer labs was nothing new. It had been my M.O. since Bryan and I had broken up almost four months ago. It was a good plan, one that worked because the jocks and cheerleaders wouldn't be caught dead with the nerds who populated the terminals. 

But dumb-ass me had forgotten her lunch. Great. That meant I had to brave the cafeteria with its packs of jackals or go hungry. 

Somehow I'd managed to scrape together a handful of nickels, dimes, and quarters from the bottom of my backpack. Just enough for a sandwich or a snack and a drink.  I'd go in, scoff my food, and get out as soon as possible. 

Standing at the top of the stairs that descended towards St. Stephen's cafeteria, I caught sight of Bryan. Sitting all the way in the back.  

My jaw dropped.

He was sitting with the cool kids. 

Jack the Jock. Nicky. Sarah. The new elite Fabulous Four gang.

What the hell is Bryan doing with them? Didn't he break up with Sarah?

It doesn't matter. Not my business.

What did utterly suck was the fact that the Fabulous Four reserved a table near the vending machines. I couldn't get food without passing their table. Screw them! I had a right to eat just like everyone else. I'd be damned if I would tuck tail and run just because a bunch of cool kids was sitting there. 

As the line moved forward, I caught more and more of their conversation. Not that they did much to hide their contemptuous whispers.

"Well, never mind her, Bryan," Sarah sneered just loud enough for me to hear. "I'm glad you saw reason. She's not worth it. Frigid bitch."

"Yeah, no wonder why you weren't able to screw Sarah last time," Jack said, "after so many years of holding back with the Ice Princess."

"Shut the fuck up!" Bryan roared. "That's my business, and you all had better stop talking shit about Jess!"

Bryan wasn't kidding. The guy never swore once in front of me in seven years. I detected regret and defeat in his voice. It broke my heart a bit. Why had he gone back with her? 

Sarah gave an exaggerated sigh. "Jack, keep your jock talk in the locker room where it belongs."

"Seriously," Nicky said. "And Bryan's right. Enough about Jess. Jeez."

"All right, all right. Take a chill pill." Jack squeezed Bryan's shoulder and gave him a condescending little shake like an older brother teasing his sibling. "I'm just teasing."

"You're such a jerk." Nicky threw down her sandwich. "Why do I date you?"

"Because you love me."

And then they proceeded to French kiss in front of everyone to a chorus of hoots and cheers. A couple of teachers came marching over to break them apart.

"Detention, Mr. Darden."

Jack curled his lip. "Worth it."

For the love of God...

The line moved again, placing me right next to their table. Undaunted, I stared straight ahead and ignored their jeers. I could have touched Bryan, he was so close.

But he didn't acknowledge me. 

A little part of me was relieved. Maybe he was starting to let go. I would have been happy if he'd been with someone nice, like Carolyn. But Sarah? It blew my mind.

"Just wait until she sees what we have in store for her at prom," Sarah said in a haughty tone. She gave Bryan a peck on the cheek. "It's worth giving up one dance with you, sweetie. Just to see her utter embarrassment."

"Yeah."

I knew that affirmation all too well. It carried regret, reluctance, and apprehension. Snakes curled up into balls in my belly, and I'd lost all sense of hunger.

What had they planned for me?

Adrenaline kicked in. It took all my strength not to bolt from the room. But I'd come this far. No, I wouldn't run away. I couldn't.

I held my head up high and grabbed a diet coke from the vending machine.

Scanning the hall, I spotted Carolyn sitting alone, reading a book. She was munching on skittles and diet coke. I marched over purposefully to the free seat across from her.

"Mind if I sit with you, Care?"

Her eyes widened, and she put down her German translation of The Little Prince. "Not at all, please." She cast a derisive glare over her shoulder. "Survived the lion's den, huh?"

"Pfft, yeah, just about."

"Better you than me."

I pointed at her book. "I haven't seen that one before."

"Yep, bought it new today." She gave the fresh book a pat. "I save fifty cents every day. After twenty days, I can afford a new book."

"I feel your pain," I said, opening my bottle of diet coke. "Breakfast of poor champions."

She held up her half-drunk bottle, and we tapped them together. "Cheers." She took a swig along with me. "So did your grandparents put up a fuss last night?"

"Nah, it's weird. Like they're giving me freedom." Carolyn held out her bag of skittles and plopped a few into my hand. "Even invited to take me back to Holy Cross next weekend."

"Holy shit!" Carolyn's eyes widened. "For real, now?"

"Yeah, I guess they'd rather give me permission and know what I'm doing."

"Smart," Carolyn said with a thoughtful nod. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"Care!"

She grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Bryan approaching our table. "You got to be kidding me."

Care directed her attention towards him and rolled her eyes. "Here we go again. I'll head to the computer labs."

"No, you don't have to--"

"Yeah, you need some privacy," she replied. "Remember, if he acts like a jerk, just join me downstairs in the labs."

I gave a reluctant sigh and nodded. Bryan sat down in Carolyn's seat. 

"Hey, Jess..."

I gave him a scalding glare. "Having fun with Numbnut Central?"

"Not you too, please." He closed his eyes and gave a huff. "I came here to tell you something important. Something I shouldn't really tell you."

"You shouldn't reveal secrets. Didn't you learn that from the blog incident?"

"I care about you more than I care about them," he said in a firm tone. "And this is important."

"Fine."

"Are you going to prom?"

That question almost made me lose it. Why wouldn't people shut up about it already? It was a freaking dance. Not an interview to work at Microsoft.

I just rolled my eyes.

Bryan lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Listen, you have to know something about prom."

All my pent-up frustration came tumbling from my lips. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. Prom is the most important event of my life. Blah, blah, blah. Well, you know what?"

"You're prom queen."

"You can shove Prom up your--" I almost choked on my sip of diet coke. "Wait... What?"

He turned away with a guilty expression. "And guess who's king?"

I gave him an incredulous look until he dared to meet my gaze again. He shrugged.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I asked.

"I wish. Why do you think Nicky was so insistent during her call? And such a petulant fool afterward?"

"Because she's crazy?"

"Because she'd planned the whole thing," he said. "As a surprise for you. Because of the tough time you had with your family and stuff. And when you backed out, she flipped her lid."

"How is this even possible?"

"Need I remind you that up until a few weeks ago, you were thick as thieves with Nicky?" He gave a frustrated sigh. "Jack's dad is a friend of my family, so he's like an annoying brother to me."

"They set it up."

"Yep, organized all their friends to vote for us months ago when we were still together," he said. "They want me to kiss you."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"They want me to surprise you with a kiss," he said. "At first, to be sweet and make your first kiss special. Now...Sarah and Jack just want to humiliate you."

I furrowed my brow. "Why would they do that?"

"Revenge for foiling their plans, for pissing off Nicky, and for dumping me."

"You left me."

"You refused to kiss me," he said, turning red with anger. "Just think for one minute what it feels like...holding the love of your life in your arms. Not being able to show her any affection."

"Bryan..."

"I understood saving yourself until marriage," he said. "I wouldn't have gone past first base. I just wanted a kiss. Just one."

"Bryan, not here," I hissed under my breath.

"Then where? You avoid me every time."

He wasn't wrong. But every instinct told me to run away from this conversation.

"You couldn't even promise me we'd have a sex life after marriage," he said in an angry whisper. "What the hell was I supposed to think, Jess? Of course, I thought you didn't love me."

"I..."

My throat choked up, and I couldn't answer him.

"I get it now. I really do. Finally." He shrugged. "We're not meant to be together. And that's why I'm telling you. So that you have a choice. Go to the prom and dance with me. Or make other plans with whoever the hell your new boyfriend is."

"How can you make me choose?"

"I don't want to..."

"Then don't do it," I exclaimed. "Stand up to them. Have a recall election."

"Only you would call it a recall election," he muttered under his breath.

"Focus!"

"It's too late to elect another queen or king," he said. "I asked already. All the sashes and items are ready. I'm just giving you a heads-up."

"I'm sure Sarah or Nicky will be champing at the bit to organize everything and become queen."

"Sarah wants to see you humiliated more."

"What is wrong with humanity?" I exclaimed, earning some disdainful looks from my fellow students. "Why can't she just leave me in peace?"

"She's jealous. Because I still have feelings for you."

"You know what?" I stood up, scraping my metal chair across the floor. "Screw this."

"No, wait! Jess, what are you doing?" Bryan ran after me. "You can't just-- Ugh!"

I halted in front of the table of jackals. Their sniggers and laughs soon ended as I stood with my hands on my hips. Never had I stood up for myself in front of these idiots, but that was going to change.

"Listen, assholes!" I said in a voice to make half of the cafeteria fall silent. "You're having another election for your damned prom king and queen, and it isn't going to be me. Got it?"

Jack stifled a nervous laugh. "Who the hell do you think you--?"

"Shut up!" I glared at them one by one. None of them could keep my stare except Jack. "Now you listen to me. I don't give a flying rat ass fuck about prom, but since it's that important to everyone, I'm going with Eric, and I'm dancing with Eric."

Sarah frowned at me. "Someone's going a bit cray-cray..."

"Yeah, you are," I hissed. "If this is so special, why don't you take the crown with Bryan? You've been gunning for it for years. Have your fun, and let me have mine."

"I thought you'd want to be queen," Nicky said with a pout. "I thought you'd come to your senses and realize how good--"

"You knew Sarah and Jack wanted to humiliate me." I turned to Jack and continued. "I get it. I broke up with your best friend." I glared at Sarah. "And I don't have feelings for Bryan anymore. So get over it."

"Frigid bitch," Jack the Jock muttered under his breath.

"Asexual." I squared my shoulders and repeated, "The proper term is asexual. And trust me, both Bryan and I are happier now that I've found a man who understands."

Bryan nodded in silence.

Jack the Jock leaped to his feet. He stared at me for a good, long while with his piercing gray eyes. The table fell silent, along with the rest of the cafeteria. Waiting for his next move. The guy had a reputable temper, and my pulse thudded in my ears.

I waited for him to hit me. Push me. Slam me into the machines. Bully me so bad I'd wished he'd hit me instead...

The teachers came closer, ready to intervene if necessary.

"Asexual, huh?" Jack the Jock said with a firm voice and a curt nod. "Okay, my bad. I didn't know."

I stared at him in stunned silence along with everyone else. Never in a million years had I expected such an answer.

"I thought you were being a bitch to my friend, stringing him along and shit."

"Language, Mr. Darden," the monitor said. "Don't make it a suspension."

"I wasn't stringing anyone along," I replied. "I love Bryan as a friend, but we have different perspectives on things."

Jack was the alpha male of the group, and what he said was the rule of law for the entire student body. Well, the ones who mattered anyway. Even Nicky and Sarah had to abide by his will.

"I was standing up for my own, Smith," he said with a sigh. "But I didn't realize that was your deal."

"For heaven's sake, Jack!" Sarah growled. "We had a deal."

He held up his palm, and she fell silent. "We'll hold another election to choose another queen. It's cool." He turned to the rest of the cafeteria. "Nothing to gawk at here, you losers."

Blossoming whispers graduated into the normal droning of lunchtime conversation. Jack stood and walked towards me, holding out his hand. "No hard feelings, Smith?"

A part of me wondered what episode of The Twilight Zone I'd entered but thought it wise not to question Jack too much.

I shook his hand. "Thanks for understanding."

"Right, then. Fuck off and let me eat my sandwich in peace."

How the hell did I get away with telling him off so easily?

I mean, even the teachers had ignored my bad language. And they normally had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to the rules.

Maybe I'd just said what they'd been thinking for years.