Page 85 of Sweet Ruin

“You too.”

Wes grabbed Sawyer, and the two of them took off again. They were in their element as they darted across the battlefield, dodging snowballs and returning fire.

From the safety of our fort, defended by Anna, I could see the courtyard was total chaos. There were some kids like us who had taken cover and were defending their positions. Then there were others like Kaden and Luther who were in the thick of the action. The two of them were dominating the fight from the center of the courtyard, and I couldn’t tell if people were simply too intimidated to try to take them out or if they were simply that good.

Cress let out a small sigh beside me, and I grinned when I realized she was watching them too. “Are you checking out Kaden?” I said, nudging her with my shoulder.

“Maybe.”

"Definitely.”

“What?” She laughed. “I can’t help it. My boyfriend looks good in his snow gear.”

“Boyfriend?” I gasped.

“Yeah.” Her eyes glittered with excitement. “We made it official when I got back to school last night.”

“Aw, I’m so happy for you both.”

“Yeah, congrats, Cress,” Anna interrupted. “But can we gush about this later? We have a snowball fight to win.”

Cress and I shared a look and then laughed. Anna was taking this game far too seriously. Still, we both tried to focus on the task at hand, probably out of fear Anna might turn her snowballs on us if we didn’t.

I was distracted when I heard a giggle coming from somewhere beyond the bushes behind us. Cress and Anna didn’t seem to notice, but I turned and pushed the branches aside as I tried to see who was there.

There was a flash of long red hair as a girl ran past, closely pursued by a boy. He playfully tackled her to the ground right in front of me, and the snow went flying up around them as they landed.

“Got you.” He laughed as he hovered over her. They had their backs to me, so I couldn’t see either of their faces. I was wondering whether they knew they were out of bounds and would be disqualified from the snowball fight. But then the boy lowered his head and kissed the girl as she lay under him in the snow.

I quickly pulled back from the bush and resumed my place next to Cress. “Oh, my gosh,” I said. “I know Anna wants us to stay focused on the fight, but there are totally two students kissing on the other side of the bushes behind us.”

“Really?” Cress laughed. She turned to take a peek through the branches and giggled. “Wow, they’re really making out.”

“Okay, I have to see this,” Anna said, leaving her post at the corner of our bench. Given how seriously she was taking the snowball fight, I was surprised she was willing to take her eyes off the game for a second. Apparently, her curiosity was too great.

“Shit, that’s Veronica and Eric,” she said, jolting back from the bushes, her eyes wide with surprise.

“What?” I crawled up beside her and took a second look. The guy had pulled back to look the girl in the eyes, and now they were farther apart, I could see Anna was right. And from the adoring way Eric was looking down at Veronica, this wasn’t just some surprise snowball fight fun.

“Why is Veronica making out with a scholarship student?” Cress asked as I faced the girls again. “She’s always hated them.”

I knew that wasn’t totally true. Veronica had told me she didn’t actually have a problem with the scholarship students, and seeing her with Eric made me wonder if her cruelty toward them was just part of the carefully crafted persona she’d built for herself at this school. Still, I probably wouldn’t have believed she was kissing a scholarship student either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

“I guess she doesn’t hate all of them,” Anna replied, her eyes still bulging. “Do you think they’re together, together? Or do you think they’re just caught up in the moment?”

Cress glanced through the bushes again. “It kind of looks like they’re together, together. Look at the way they’re smiling at each other.”

Anna and I crowded in to see. Veronica and Eric were covered in snow, and he was helping her to her feet. I’d never seen her look so lighthearted, and there was a bright sparkle in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her, and the way he held her showed familiarity that couldn’t be faked. But seeing as they didn’t know anyone was watching them, why would they be acting anything other than genuine.

“Wow, I think you’re right,” Anna said. “People at school would lose their minds if they knew about this.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone,” I said as I pulled away from the bushes. I was starting to feel bad about intruding on their privacy. “They seem happy and clearly want to keep it a secret. Why would we ruin that?”

“Are you forgetting that Veronica put posters around the school of you in your café uniform?” Anna asked.

“She did.” I shrugged. “But I don’t really care anymore, and she kind of did me a favor. I hated keeping the truth about that from everyone, and my life’s better with it all out in the open.”

My friends nodded with understanding, and Anna let out a sigh. “Okay, so I guess we’re keeping Veronica’s snowy rendezvous with Eric a secret.”

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