When Stars Come Out (When Stars Come Out 1)

Stalker much?

“Has Shy…ever shown interest in anyone?”

“If you mean has he ever dated anyone, there have only been rumors.”

“About him and Natalie?”

“And Lily Martin and Leah Thompson, and Regan Carmichael….”

“You can stop any time.”

“Sorry.”

Lennon finishes tying ribbons in my hair and I turn to face her.

“Speaking of Lily…I invited her to hang out with us after school.”

“Oh,” Lennon sounds surprised, suddenly occupied by her fingernails. “And she said yes?”

“Yeah…is that a problem?”

“Lily and I don’t really get along,” she admits.

“Why?”

She contemplates her answer before meeting my gaze. “You could say…we’re on different sides.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not ready to tell you.” I admire her for her honesty and cringe at what she says next. “Just like you’re not ready to tell me who you are.”

I manage a shaky laugh and it’s my turn to look away. “There’s not much to tell.”

But when I look at Lennon again, something makes me think she can see right through me. “I can meet you at the field tonight if you think that’ll make things less awkward.”

“No—bring Lily! It’ll be fun, even if she’s not my biggest fan.”

“That makes it sound like she’s the one with the problem.”

Lennon shrugs. “It’s not her fault, really. It’s ingrained in her—it’s ingrained in all of them.”

“All of them?”

The bell rings, interrupting us. “Better get to class!”

Lennon bounds down the hallway. I’ve never seen her so excited for school.

The day progresses and I get the impression no one actually wants to work on Fridays, with the exception of Mr. Val. They languidly move through lessons, even Coach David is distracted during P.E.—not that our class is ever his first priority.

After seventh hour, I walk with Lennon toward the dorms. As we near the front of Emerson, Lennon sticks out her hand to stop me. When I go to open my mouth, she puts her finger to her lips and peers around the side of the building. I follow her example and see Lily and Natalie standing together on the sidewalk.

“Really, Lils, you haven’t damaged your reputation that much. You don’t need to hang out with those death-speakers.”

Based on the fact that Lily is supposed to hang out with me and Lennon tonight, I have to guess Natalie’s referring to us when she says “death-speaker.”

I lean to whisper to Lennon. “What’s a death-speaker?”

She meets my gaze. “It’s...a nickname.”