Unexpected

“Like you have the power to crush him.”

Beep! Beep!

“Bye, Mom!” I yell, running out the door.

The music from Maggie’s red VW Beetle hums through the closed windows. I open the door and my ears are assaulted by her latest obsession, Machine Gun Kelly. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of the songs he’s made, but Maggie has a problem. She can listen to the same song over and over for hours, trying to find new aspects to it. Hidden messages. Musical genius. I don’t know what she’s looking for. All I know is after the fifth time of listening to ‘Bloody Valentine’ in a row the other day, I was over it. She twists the knob on the stereo, turning the music low enough that we can talk when I get in.

“For the record, I’m mad at you.”

Maggie being mad at me is as shocking as waking up to find the sky blue. She has had an opinion about my relationship with Liam since we were fourteen, landing me in her hot seat almost daily. Considering everyone thinks Liam and I are on the outs, I’m curious about what I’ve done now. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

Maggie huffs impatiently, like I should already know. “You didn’t tell me that you and Asher are hooking up! I had to hear it from Marley, who heard it from Alandra, who heard it from Karen, who saw him give you a ride somewhere yesterday.”

I groan and drop my head against the headrest. I haven’t made up my mind about Asher’s offer yet. In the unlikely event I don’t go through with it, this newest rumor isn’t going to help my reputation. “Do people have nothing better to do than gossip about me?”

Maggie shrugs, a shit-eating grin stretched across her face. “I think you two getting together is brilliant.”

“We are not together,” I insist because, despite what the whole school must think, we aren’t. We’re just… seeing if we can stand to be around each other for more than five minutes. Yeah, that’s it.

“Too bad. You dating Liam’s best friend would have been dope. It’s the ultimate fuck you, in my opinion.” Maggie flicks her blinker and turns right.

She’s right, the situation would be the perfect f-you if Liam and Asher were actually friends, but they’re not. They’re brothers, and I haven’t decided if that makes everything better or worse. “Asher asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday.” Sort of. “But...I don’t know.”

Maggie slams on the breaks at the stop sign, launching me forward and into the dashboard, only to be yanked back by the seat belt. “Ow! What?”

I rub the sore spot on my collarbone then stretch the seat belt loose again. “Calm your tits, lady. It’s no big deal.”

“Lainey!” She gasps. “Asher has never had a girlfriend. It’s a huge deal if he wants you to be his first.”

I roll my eyes and try not to think about the heaviness of being Asher’s first girlfriend. Fake or not, the implication makes my stomach flip. Just another reason why fake dating is a bad idea. “He’s been with plenty of girls. I wouldn’t be his first anything.”

“Yeah, hookups, but none of those bitches got the coveted title of girlfriend.” She groans and rolls her eyes. “What happened when Asher gave you a ride home? I know your mamma; she wouldn’t let you just show up on the back of a motorcycle, no questions asked. Did she freak?”

The car behind us honks, forcing Maggie to focus on the road instead of me. She sticks her hand out the window, flipping off the person behind us, then shifts into gear again.

“No. Mom was fine with it. She seemed more excited to have Asher at the house than me.”

“Weird.”

“I know. Right? So, what’s Russell up to lately?” I ask, trying to change the subject. Talking about Asher is almost as uncomfortable as talking about Liam. I love Maggie to death, but it’s no secret she and I don’t see eye to eye when it comes to boys.

Maggie groans as she turns into the school parking lot. “Russell who?” She finds an open parking space then reaches into the backseat for her backpack. I don’t budge, instead opting to stare at her, expectedly, until she spills the beans. “We broke up.”

“What?” I shriek, my mind spinning. Maggie and Russell have been in love with each other since Mr. Tabor sat them next to each other in Biology class freshman year. They are that perfect, nauseating couple you can’t help but love to hate. “Why?”

Maggie shrugs and looks down at her hands. She puts up a good front, but I know she loves Russell. They were each other's first everything. That kind of love never dies. Everyone after is a band-aid, covering the wound of a broken heart, but never filling the hole. “What am I supposed to do, Lainey? He’s going to Berkeley in a few weeks and I’m not.”

I shake my head, not believing what I’m hearing. They can’t break up. They’re meant to be together, like Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar. “That?

??s stupid, Maggie. People do long distance all the time.”

“And it never works. Someone ends up ignored or cheated on.” She reaches over and takes my hand, comforting me through her break up. “It’s okay. Besides, what am I supposed to do? Follow him to New York?”

“Yes!” Finally, she’s seeing reason! “Mags, there are tons of colleges in New York. You only need to get into one and you’ll have your happily ever after!”

Maggie’s lips stretch into a tight smile. She gazes out across the courtyard, probably spotting Russell as easily as I do. He stands with his friends, hands in his pockets, head hung low. One of the guys nudges Russell’s shoulder and he looks up. He smiles, but there’s no joy in it. Even from here, he lacks the charismatic presence that makes him so endearing. I feel bad for him. For her.

“Asher’s bike isn’t here,” Maggie says, nodding towards his usual parking spot.