Page 20 of Wallflower

Mrs. Reynolds, the librarian, shushed me, and my mouth immediately snapped shut. Looking from her to Dare, I couldn't believe it. This was the first time any teacher had ever reprimanded me. And it was all because of him and his odd behavior. As I watched Dare grin out of the corner of my eye, I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was up.

The rest of the week was more of the same.

I drove Dare to school each day. He sat with me at lunch (which meant Tyson along with a whole bunch of Dare's friends/followers were there as well), worked with me on the Lit project (along with Jovonte and Estelle, who was growing on me), continued to sit with me during study hall, though I blatantly refused to speak to him just to see if he'd back off.

He didn't.

Everything changed on Friday. It started as I was leaving my locker about to head to my first class.

"Hey Vi, wait up," Dare called out.

I froze as he strode toward me. Did he have to say that so loud? Like I said, I was not a fan of attention, but here he was pulling all eyes to the two of us again. When he was about a foot away, Dare stopped and put his hands on his hips.

"Where's my treat?" he said. "You were in such a hurry you forgot to give it to me this morning."

I had. We'd been running a bit later than usual because my hair drier decided to die. And yes, okay, I'd stayed up way too late watching this new K-drama, which resulted in me waking up later than usual. But hadn't everyone done that before? There'd been no time for breakfast or small talk. I'd zoomed here and went to my locker first thing. But for the past three days, without fail, I'd brought him something to curb his seemingly endless appetite.

Keeping my voice low, I said, "The warning bell's about to ring. I'll just bring it to lunch, okay?"

Dare shook his head. "That'll be too late. I'm hungry now."

"Dare," I hissed, "people are staring."

"Relax, Vi. Ten to one, they're looking at me, not you," he said back, which made a few girls nearby giggle. They looked like freshmen, but I couldn't be sure. As he threw them a smile, it set them off again. Their eyes were all over Dare in his dark blue t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. And I got it. He was gorgeous standing there, jaw all tight, a shine in those sky blue eyes. If I hadn't known how frustrating he could be, I might've melted right along with them. "Now, are you going to feed me or not? I'm not leaving until I get my treat."

Taking a deep breath for patience, I re-entered my locker combination, grabbed a granola bar and apple from my bag and quickly pressed them into his chest. I jerked my hands away, not liking the zing that went through me as I touched him.

"There," I said. "Happy now?"

Dare looked down at the food then smiled up at me. "Very," he said. "Thanks, flower. I was thinking I might starve. You're a lifesaver."

"Yeah, right." I shook my head. "You are so annoying."

Dare scoffed. "I'm a freaking delight, and you know it. Later."

And then he was gone, giving fist bumps to guys, and saying hi to almost everyone, teachers and students alike. He was that popular—which was why a lot of people were still staring curiously at me, the girl he'd stopped in the hall to get his morning treat.

Ugh.

That's what I got for being nice.

Penn and crew found me again—like they had every other day this week—and began their barking routine. The only difference was Dare. He walked up right in the middle of it, on his way to study hall no doubt. The guys were barking, and I was just holding it together. I'd already felt like crap because, thanks to my dead drier, my hair really did look like a wet dog, and the guys' insults had seemed extra cutting today. They were standing in a semi-circle, hounding my steps—no pun intended—when Dare suddenly appeared in front of me.

"What's this?" he said, glaring at the three of them.

"Nothing." Penn shrugged. "We were just messing around."

"Yeah," Rex said while Jimmy remained silent. "It's all in good fun."

"Dog Girl likes it when we bark at her." Penn shot me an ugly smile. "Don't you, Dog Girl?"

Dare said nothing while I stood there fuming.

"Come on, bro." Penn gestured to me. "She brings it on herself, dressing like that, acting like she's better than everyone. Just because her loser father played for the big leagues."

"You are absolutely vile," I said. "Doesn't take much to be better than you."

"See? Total bitch."

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