Page 2 of I Hate You More

This time, it was Tessa’s turn to roll her eyes. “You won’t hear any other girl at school agree with you on that one.”

I scrunched up my nose, unable to see the appeal. Chase was just as irritating as my brother, and the two of them had spent years teasing me when we were younger. I’d never felt even the slightest attraction toward him, but Tessa was right about the rest of the girls at school. They were obsessed with how Chase towered over the other boys in our grade and how his face looked like it was carved by angels. The dark and broody expression he always wore only seemed to add to his appeal in their eyes.

I’d lost count of the number of times I’d heard girls gushing about how they wanted to run their hands through his messy brown hair or how they could spend days gazing into his intense blue eyes. It was his elusiveness that really reeled them in though. He showed little interest in the girls at school that flung themselves at him. He was seen as unattainable, and I guessed that made him even more desirable. All I saw was a withdrawn boy who was constantly breaking girls’ hearts. It was like he didn’t even care.

“I suppose you’re right,” I agreed. “And I’m sure theChaserswill all be flocking around him tonight.”

Tessa sniggered as I used the name we’d come up with to describe Chase’s fan group. I swore those girls had no self-respect. They all followed him around like lost puppies and watched his every move with doting eyes. It was actually kind of creepy, if you asked me.

I glanced in Chase’s direction once more and was surprised to find both he and Shane looking at me from across the room. When Shane caught my eye, he waved, and the two of them started making their way toward us. Shane and I rarely acknowledged each other at school. He was too busy with the popular crowd while I was quite content with my own friends. We got along well enough at home, but I had zero interest in being a part of his world once we left the house.

Shane and Chase stopped when they reached us, and my brother started frowning as he took me in. He seemed surprised by how I looked.

“Do you need something, Shane?”

He nodded, his eyes clearing of the confusion that had filled them moments ago. “I need you to come find me at the end of the dance so Mrs. Williams can drive us home.”

“Chase’s mom?” My eyes briefly flicked to look at Chase, but returned to my brother as he nodded. “That wasn’t the plan,” I added with a frown.

“No,” he agreed. “The plan’s changed. Dad can’t pick us up because he’s going to be late at work.”

“But he said he was coming to get us.”

Shane grunted in frustration. “Is it really that big a deal?”

I quickly shook my head, not wanting to make a scene. I liked order in my life and hated when plans changed unexpectedly. There was nothing I could do about Dad picking us up though, so I needed to let it drop.

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that Dad wasn’t coming. He was married to his work, and this wasn’t the first time he’d relied on another parent to give us a ride home. I was sure it wouldn’t be the last time either.

“Hey, Shane,” Tessa said, giving my brother a shy smile. “That was a great game you played last weekend.”

“Thanks,” he replied. Tessa was looking at him adoringly, but Shane seemed completely unaware of her attention. Now that our ride home was sorted, he was entirely focused on the dance floor and didn’t bother to make eye contact with her as he turned his back on us and went to join the fun.

Tessa stiffened at my side, and I could almost hear her heart shattering because of Shane’s careless dismissal. He hadn’t even looked at her, and I wanted to thump my brother over the head for being so oblivious.

“You’re wearing a lot of makeup tonight.”

My gaze jerked toward Chase who was still standing where my brother had left him. His arms were folded over his chest, and he was frowning as he stared at me.

Most girls would kill to have Chase Williams focused on them so intently, but the intensity of his gaze made the hairs on the backs of my arms stand on end, and I lifted a nervous hand to touch my cheek. “Tessa helped me with it for the dance.”

“Right,” he replied.

Why did he sound so pissed off? “Is there a problem with my makeup?”

He shrugged and turned away without another word.

My stomach swirled with hurt as I watched him leave. I’d felt so beautiful when I’d left Tessa’s place tonight, but with a few words and a shrug, Chase had managed to destroy the precious illusion I’d built up in my head.

“Don’t pay any attention to him,” Tessa said.

It was pretty hard to ignore the most popular boy in school though. I hated that Chase had rattled me so easily, but I let out a shaky breath and tried to school my features to mask the hurt he’d caused. I gave a shallow laugh. “I don’t care what Chase thinks. Like I said, he’s a Neanderthal more likely to grunt at you than to start a civil conversation. His opinion means nothing to me.”

Chase stopped in his tracks a few steps away from us. He must have heard what I’d said. I froze as I waited for him to turn, my heart beating quickly as I started to worry that perhaps he would come striding back to confront me. But then his back stiffened, and he continued walking away.

I exhaled with relief as he disappeared into the crowd. I wondered if my words had wounded him the same way he’d hurt me with his brutal assessment of my makeup. I was pretty sure they hadn’t though. You needed a heart to feel pain, and I couldn’t be certain Chase had one of those. He spent his life carelessly brushing aside girls without a hint of remorse, and given the way he always joined in with Shane when it came to teasing me, all signs pointed toward there being a lump of black coal where his beating heart was supposed to be.

I felt Tessa’s eyes on me as I watched Chase walk away. “Are you okay, Ally?”

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