Page 118 of Zero Chance

“So we’re still friends?”he asked as he palmed the back of my head gently.

Closing my eyes, I murmured, “Yeah.”Even though he’d always be more than a friend to me.I’d love Keene Dugger to my dying breath.But from him, I’d take whatever I could get.“We’re friends.”

He exhaled heavily in relief.“Good.”

27

WAVERLY

Life felt different after Keene learned the truth.

I had thought him finding out would be the worst thing that could happen.Like my world would literally end, and I’d expire like rotten milk.My parents would have to pour me out in the backyard, and the name Waverly Frank would sink into the earth, nurturing weeds and dead grass for the rest of eternity.

But no.

His initial reaction had even been exactly what I’d feared.

Anger, indignation, betrayal.

Why did you do this to me?You were the one person I never wanted.

Yet he hadn’t given up on me.The irritating man had forced me to talk it out.He’d forced me to keep listening to him until I understood his perspective.And he’d even shared a secret with me.

And don’t even get me started on learning about the existence of ghosts.I couldn’t even touch that one yet.

Because I was still thunderstruck over how Keene had managed to smooth everything over, allowing us to remain friends.

I had no idea where he’d gotten a superpower like that.But I was jealous as hell.

I wished I had the art of conversation.He didn’t just know how to talk; he knew how to draw the other person into talking too, even when talking was the last thing they excelled at.

And now I couldn’t wait to see him again, couldn’t wait until he sauntered into the library and plopped onto my counter to blurt some crazy, idiotic thing that would both aggravate me and make me want to laugh at the same time.

Who cared if he never wanted to explore a physical relationship with me?He still wanted me to be in his life.And I just knew being around Keene was going to be the highlight of everything.

So I went to class the next Monday without that itch of stress digging into my gut, without the fear of running into him at every turn, without worrying he was going to hate me when he learned the truth.And it felt weird as hell, like the calm after the storm that had passed right over my house without striking.

It felt so unreal, in fact, I hadn’t even mentioned to Xander yet that Keene now knew my identity.

And it was obvioushehadn’t told her; she came into Early American Literature chatting about actualhomework.

“Did you already start on your essay?”she asked as she dropped her bag heavily onto her desk and sat next to me.“Because I can’t even pick which topic I want to write about.None of the options from the list sound interesting at all.”

“I finished and submitted mine last night,” I answered, figuring out a calculus equation for the homework I’d just gotten the hour before.

Gasping, Xander whirled toward me in outrage.“Youwhat?You’re already finished?Frankie!What the hell?I thought we were in this together?”

Honestly boggled by that statement, I glanced up and opened my mouth but had no idea how to reply.

“What topic did you choose?”

“The theme of Henry’s fear of death inThe Red Badge of Courage,” I answered, which only made her scoff and roll her eyes.

“Of course.But there’s no way I want to write aboutthat.Which one do you think I should pick?”

Returning my attention to my calculus, I jotted down a new figure and said, “The breaking-the-cycle theme inThe House of Seven Gables.”It fit her best.Maybe it could even help her get over her ex somehow.

Xander made a thoughtful face and nodded as if growing onto the idea.“You think?”

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