Page 41 of Wallflower

And then he murmured as if to himself, "Can't believe I'm actually doing this."

"So, you will?" I asked. Even I could hear the hopeful note in my voice. "You'll be my fake boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Dare said with a shrug. "Why not? I'll do it."

"Really?" I squeaked.

"Did you expect me to say no after all that?" he said then pointed his finger at my face. "But just remember, if Coach ends up killing me for fooling around with his daughter, it's all your fault."

I nodded. "If it happens, I'll be sure to give you an awesome eulogy."

CHAPTER 8

I met Dare at the front of the car, trying to hide how giddy I was. He'd actually agreed! It had taken some persuasion, of course. But that was only to be expected. I'd held onto the information about Dare's prank for years, never knowing it would one day be useful. Pretend boyfriends were something I'd only heard about in books and movies. But now, I had one.

And he was currently staring at me with a frown.

"No need to look so pleased with yourself," Dare said.

Pleased? More like ecstatic, I thought, but I managed to tamp down my enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Dare," I said in my most serious voice. "You won't regret this."

He scoffed. "I already do."

Even his bad attitude couldn't bring me down. This plan was going to work brilliantly. Now, I just had to figure out my next move.

"Are you ready?" Dare asked.

"For what?" I said.

He cocked a brow. "To go inside. School's about to start."

"I know. I'll come find you later."

"Okay, flower, you just spent all that time talking about your crazy schemes—"

"Hey!" I tried to cut in, but he kept going.

"—even went so far as to use guilt, bribery, and blackmail, and now you don't want to be seen with me?"

Dare shook his head.

"No one will believe we're together unless we're together," he finished.

I had to admit, he made a good point.

"Okay," I said, "but I have to stop by the band room first and drop something off."

Dare nodded. "I've noticed you do that. Lead the way. I'll follow you."

"Fine," I mumbled, opening the back door on my side, grabbing what I needed and then meeting him back in front of Buttercup. "Let's go."

"Hold up," Dare said, his brows furrowed as he looked at what I was carrying. "What's that?"

I glanced over my shoulder then back up at him. "My cello case. Why?"

He blinked. "You play the cello?"

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