My stupid heart all but stopped. An invitation to Shannen’ s birthday was
huge. Her mom threw the sickest parties this side of Manhattan, and
Shannen only ever invited her one hundred closest friends. The parties were
so legendary, she’d had to have bouncers outside the country club for her
thirteenth and had hired more for her fourteenth after some sixth graders
had managed to sneak in through a kitchen window . People cried over not
getting invited to Shannen’ s birthday. They had their moms call her mom
and beg.
And here was an invitation all for me. I tore my eyes away from it and
yanked my chem book out of my locker .
“No, thanks.”
“What? Everyone wants one of those,” Shannen said, incredulous.
“Call me crazy , but I don’ t,” I said, turning to face her . “Not from you.”
Shannen sighed and took the envelope back from Chloe. They exchanged
a patient look that made me want to stomp on both their toes and run. What
would they do if I actually tried?
“If this is about the going away party, I told you. That was Faith’s idea,”
Shannen said slowly , crossing her arms over her chest.
“And we didn’t know the cops were going to be there. I swear,” Chloe
said, her green eyes serious.
I believed that Chloe didn’t know about the cops. If she had, she would
have stopped it. The girl knew when to draw the line. She understood the
difference between what was right and what was wrong. Shannen, however ,
had known. She was probably the one who had called them. For her it
wasn’t about right or wrong. It was always about how much she could get
away with.
“Ally, look . . . we know about you and Jake,” Shannen said, looking at
the floor briefly. She tossed her bangs out of her face as she met my eyes
again. “If you’re going to be with him . . .”
“Then you’re going to be with us,” Chloe finished.
I looked from one face to the other. Chloe seemed so sincere. Almost
hopeful. It always seemed to be this way with her. Like she wanted things
to be different. Like she felt bad about the way the other Cresties were
treating me. But Shannen was a dif ferent story . She’d been messing with me
from day one.
“Just like that,” I said, looking at Shannen. “One date with Jake and all of
a sudden you want to hang out with me.”
Shannen lifted her shoulders. “He’ s my best friend.”
I felt like a knife had just twisted inside my chest. I was her best friend
not that long ago. She should have been doing this for me, but instead, I
was the outsider—the one being grudgingly brought in to the group by
association.
Jake held some serious power around here, and he didn’ t even know it.
“So. W ill you come?” Shannen asked, holding out the envelope again.
“I’ll think about it,” I said, snatching the invite and shoving it into my
bag.
Shannen scowled. She wasn’t used to being turned down or put off.
“Well, think fast. I need to do table arrangements by the end of the week,
and my table is, obviously , the most important. So if you want to sit with
Jake, I need to know you’re coming ASAP .”
Sitting with Jake. The thought sent a thrill through my heart. Okay. I had
to think about this for a second. Shannen’ s party was an event we could
actually go to together . It might even make up for the whole prom fiasco.
The image of Jake arriving at my door to pick me up, wearing some
stunning suit, looking all coiffed, was insanely alluring. All I wanted was to
be with him, and this was another chance to do that. Besides, if they really
cared that much about Jake, they wouldn’ t mess with me—his date—while
he was standing right there. Right?
“Okay,” I said, closing the flap on my bag and snapping it shut. “I’ll
come.”
Shannen smiled. “Good.”
Chloe actually hugged me. “W e’re going to have so much fun!”
“Yeah. Definitely .”
I forced myself to smile back and hoped for the best. But if this invite
turned out to be some kind of joke, all bets—and bluf fs—were of f.
Ally looked amazing. She was wearing this short black dress with skinny
straps and a colorful sash thing right under the chest that tied in a bow in
the back. And her hair was up with that curl grazing her neck. At some
point tonight I was going to push that curl back and kiss that part of her
neck. I was practically salivating at the thought of it.
“I like you in a suit,” Ally said, looking me up and down. I’d bought a
new light-and-dark-blue striped tie for the occasion.
“Thanks. I like you in a dress,” I r eplied.
She blushed and looked down at her knees. “Thanks.”
We were standing right outside the open double doors to the country
club’s main ballroom. Inside the music was pumping. A couple of girls
walked by us, coming back from the bathroom, and shot us odd looks. I
didn’t remotely care.
Ever since Shannen had told me she was inviting Ally, I’d been
wondering why. Was it some kind of apology? Or was she trying to say she
was going to acc ept her now that we were together? But tonight, I didn’t
care. I was just happy that Ally was here.
“Hi, hon! Hello, Jake.”
Ally’s mother came up behind us with Dr. Nathanson. Both of them were
all dressed up. Shannen’ s mom had invited a few of her own friends, too,
including Mrs. R yan. We said hello, and Ally gave her mom a serious look.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ally asked her .
My heart gave a thump. I knew she was referring to that Sunday dinner
when my mom had helped humiliate hers.
“Ally, we went over this. Danielle invited me, and she has been a good
friend,” Ally’s mother said. “I’ve decided to just . . . rise above.” She shook
her hair back and smiled.
“Okay,” Ally said. “We’ll see you in there.” Ally took a breath and stared
through the doors after her mom and Dr. Nathanson. The room was dimly