Page 70 of Wallflower

Dare nearly growled at that.

Once we were parked, I shut off the engine and turned to face him. "I don't know why I thought this would work in the first place," I said. "And I'm sure you have other girls you'd rather be with."

"You're sure about that, huh?" he said.

It wasn't a confirmation or a denial.

"Yeah, and after talking with the animals, I realized I can't keep you from living your best life." I reached out, laid a hand on his forearm, ignoring the sparks that small contact ignited. "As your friend, I want that for you. More than I need my revenge."

"But why not have both?" Dare said.

His eyes locked on my face.

"You need to stick with this, flower," he said. "See it through to the end."

"I thought you'd agree with me," I said.

"Well, I don't." As I tried to release him, Dare placed his hand on top of mine. "Much as I respect the guy, Coach has this coming. You were right, Viola. He was wrong to ask me to be your friend, and I was wrong to accept."

Man, that hurt.

"So you regret it then," I said.

"What I regret is not getting to know you sooner," he retorted.

Warm fuzzies spread throughout my body.

"You're not lame," he said. "As your friend, I refuse to let you think that or quit."

The warmth growing inside me felt wonderful but also reminded me of another reason, maybe the biggest one, why I should stop this. But Dare wouldn't let up.

"Come on, flower. Just give it a little more time. We've already put in all this effort. It's not like hanging out with me is going to kill you."

"It just might," I mumbled.

Dare laughed, but I was only half-joking.

"So, does that mean we're still doing this?" he asked.

I gave a slight nod. "Revenge is the Slytherin way."

If I'd hoped to put him off with my dorkiness, it didn't work.

"It's also the Jam way," he said solemnly.

"Jam?" I questioned.

"Jim and Pam? It's their—"

"Couple name," I finished. "I know. You really like those don't you?"

He shrugged. "I guess. But isn't theirs the best?"

I gave him a reluctant smile. "Hm, it's not LoVe, Dramione or Olicity. But I'll admit. It's pretty good."

"Yeah, it is," he said. "And Jam loved pulling pranks. We're trying to bamboozle your dad." At my wince, he amended, "Out of love. Face it, Vi, we're basically the real-life Jam."

I thought it over. "But that wouldn't be our couple name."

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