Page 21 of Friend
“In the morning?” Bianca frowned at him, taken aback. “That’s really early.”
Cory’s bright grin faltered as a hint of doubt broke through his swagger. “No,” he said. “At night.”
“But…” Her lips pursed as she looked to the side, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “That means we’d be out late then. Won’t your parents be worried?”
I couldn’t breathe from the horrible scene unfolding in front of me. I almost expected him to laugh at her innocence. He’d made fun of her so many times in the past it was the most natural response.
Hehadto do it! If he made fun of her, it would solve everything.
My right hand curled into a fist and my arm shook. Why couldn’t he call her a duncenow? It would give me every excuse to punch him.
But he’d reeled in his natural reactions and, instead, shot her the strangest look. “That’s really cute.”
Goddamn it again!
Why couldn’t he just screw this up?
“Okay,” Cory continued, the harsh lines fading from his face. For the first time since I knew him, he didn’t look angry.
In fact, he looked almostnormal.
My heart picked up in alarm as he said, “I’ll pick you up at eleven in the morning instead. We’ll go to lunch and see a matinee.”
My pulse was roaring in my ears. This could not happen.
“Bianca.” I moved toward her. I was desperate to put a stop to this madness before more extreme measures had to be taken. Besides, there was no way her parents would allow her to go out on a date. They barely let her go out withme. “You can’t…”
She stepped away, ignoring me as she smiled softly at Cory. The dreadful feeling in my stomach became almost unbearable. The way the two looked at each other… It was almost like the cover of one of the G-rated cheesy chick-flicks that Bianca sometimes watched.
Or even a teen Disney movie. I half expected them to break out into song.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Enemies to lovers wasnota thing in real life!
Wait. Not lovers, she couldn’t—
“Okay,” she said. My hackles rose as she tucked Cory’s note into the front of her shirt. Now there was no way I could get to it. “I’ll talk to my parents tonight and give you a response in the morning.”
Likehell.
Cory glanced at me. “Ner—Finn,buddy.” His voice sounded strained. “Are you okay?” he asked in mock concern—and the way he couldn’t seem to decide if he was going to be nice to me or insult me was almost comical. “You look like you’re about to have a fit.”
“Justfine,” I answered through gritted teeth. What in the world was Bianca thinking? She could not go anywhere alone with him! And ‘buddy’…
He was playing with me. It was obvious from the twinkle in his eyes. My hatred grew. But if I threw the first punch now, then I’d look like the bad guy.
I would have to kill him in secret. It was the only way.
Even after Cory had gone back to practice, Bianca still wouldn’t talk to me. In fact, she barely even looked in my general direction. Instead, she quietly packed up her stakeout items and began to leave, pausing only to let me know she was texting her parents for a ride.
I couldn’t even ask her to stay.
My heart twisted as I watched her ready to leave—driving her home wasmyjob.
I was already losing her, all because of Cory Moore.
But, still! Whatwasshe thinking? She couldn’t possibly like him! We’d known each other for years, and I was well aware of her deep loathing.
But maybe…
