The fact that it was Sarah in the lip lock with Leo must’ve especially hurt Quinn, I thought. She’d been crushed a few years before, when the two had dated. I’d actually liked Sarah; she was friendly, willing to include us, and never made me feel like I was the ‘special’ friend. But Quinn seemed to sense something between Sarah and Leo that threatened her, and although she wasn’t ever outright mean to her—that wasn’t Quinn’s way—neither was she especially warm or welcoming.
Quinn herself came around the corner at that moment. If she saw Leo and Sarah out of the corner of her eye, she didn’t give any indication. Instead, she greeted me with a bright smile and one of her signature Quinn hugs.
“I’m so glad you’re back.” She stood back, checking me out with narrowed eyes. “You’re feeling better?”
“Hundred percent,” I lied. My head was still a little achy, but she didn’t need to know that. I hated for Quinn to see me as weak and sickly; there were times when it was unavoidable, but if I could help it, I would. “So you want to fill me in on what’s been happening since Friday afternoon?”
She shrugged. “We won the football game. It was the typical scene at the Starlight afterwards. Oh ...” She lowered her voice. “And Gia thinks I should write a piece for the newspaper about bullying and what happened to you.”
“No.” I put as emphasis into that one syllable as I could. “I mean it, Quinn. I don’t want you to do that. I just need for this to go away. For everyone to forget. You understand?”
Quinn drew back, frowning, a tinge of hurt in her eyes. “Yeah, I understand. You don’t have to get all upset about it, Nate. It was just a thought. I didn’t even sayIwanted to do it. It was Gia’s idea.”
“Okay.” I nodded, as the bell rang. “I need to get to class.” Still, I didn’t move quite yet. Leo and Sarah had separated and were strolling away from us, hand in hand. I waited until they’d passed before I spoke again. “Um, I wanted to say ... thanks for coming with me to the hospital. I was pretty out of it, you know? But I kind of remember you being there. I hope I didn’t say anything ... you know, crazy.”
Pink washed over Quinn’s cheeks.Crap. She knew exactly what I was getting at. “Of course I was going to be there for you. We actually didn’t get to see you that much, though. You talked to Leo and me, and then you were taken up for your scan. By the time you came back down, your mom had arrived. And then my mom did, too, and I went home with her.” She lifted one shoulder. “No big deal. I was just glad you were all right.”
“Ah, okay. Good, then.” I twisted my neck, looking away from Quinn so she couldn’t see the disappointment on my face. I hadn’t meant to say those things to her at the hospital, but at the same time, part of me wished that she’d acknowledge them. Answer me.
In my perfect fantasy, Quinn would loop her arms around my neck, just as Sarah had with Leo, and she’d say, “You told me you loved me, Nate. Which works out great, because I love you, too.”
Only this time, she’d mean it the same way I did. This time when she pulled me tight, it would be to kiss me, with her mouth open and seeking.
I gave a ragged sigh and began to make my way toward class, glad that my T-shirt was long enough to hide the bulge under the fly in my jeans.
