When Stars Come Out (When Stars Come Out 1)

“Yeah, I thought that, too,” she says. Walking to the sink, she turns on the faucet and splashes her face with water. I watch her in the mirror.

“Hey, in a few weeks, no one will remember this and if not, in the end, this is only high school.”

She smiles, but it’s sad, and she looks away from me. “I wish that were true.”

We stand for a moment in awkward silence and then Lily speaks.

“Is it true, what Natalie said? That you got kicked out of your old school?”

“Yeah.” The truth is far harder to explain. Lily tilts her head to the side.

“Funny, you don’t seem like a troublemaker.”

I offer a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.” There is a pause as I study her, eyes downcast. “Hey…you should come to the game with Lennon and me Friday. It’ll be fun.”

The ending is tacked on—Lennon’s words, not mine.

“Are you sure?” She watches me. Her eyes search my face like she thinks I’ll crack under pressure and admit I don’t want to be associated with her.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you’re the new girl. Aren’t you worried about your reputation?”

A laugh tears from my throat and I choke on it. “No. I’d like to be your friend more.”

Lily’s lips twitch and I get the sense it’s been a long time since she’s smiled.

“I’d like that, too,” Lily replies.

CHAPTER EIGHT – SHY & THE WEB

I leave home early so I can get to school and search for Vera, but I haven’t exited my Jeep before Natalie shoves her phone in my face. She stands there, glaring at me while I read through a stream of intimate messages between one of my best friends and a human boy from our rival school. I press my lips together, jaw locking tight. A headache’s forming at my temple, fueled by the pain pulsing up my arm from the Hellhound bite I received last night outside Anora’s house. I used a small amount of Mom’s medic supplies to doctor my arm, but apparently not enough.

I’m not going to have a good day.

I don’t need to ask where Natalie got the screenshots, I know well enough—Roundtable.

“Has—?

“Jacobi crashed the site,” Natalie says, guessing my thoughts. “It’s back up, minus the conversation, but...the damage has been done.”

Not surprising. I’m sure there are a number of students who saved the images just as Natalie had done.

“Where is Lily?”

“Bathroom in the library. She won’t talk to me.”

I sigh, rubbing my temple where the pain has gone from a dull ache to a sharp pain. I get out of the Jeep and reach for my bag.

“Did you know?” Natalie’s question takes me by surprise and I turn to face her.

“What?”

“Did you know she was seeing a human?”

I shoulder my backpack and walk past Natalie toward Covington where the library is located.

“Why do you think Lily would share that information with me?”