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"I'm not being obsessive," Ariana replied. But Noelle was already gone, filling the store with cold air as she
swept out. "I'm not," Ariana repeated quietly to herself as she fingered the red hat.
But of course she was. The second she'd left Mr. Holmes's class, she'd felt this overwhelming need to buy
Daniel the perfect pre-Christmas gift. True, she'd already gotten him a Tag Heuer watch engraved with his
initials. But after her conversation with Paige, she realized that she needed to do something to prove her
devotion to Daniel. And that something couldn't wait until Christmas Day.
But now it was five fifty-five. She still hadn't started her paper, and the store was closing in five minutes.
Ariana wanted more than anything to follow Noelle, to just leave, but she couldn't walk away. She had gotten
it into her mind that she needed something more for Daniel, and she couldn't go back to Billings until she had
found something. One of the salesgirls started cashing out her register while the beefy manager hung around
by the door, his keys already out. Ariana suddenly felt stretched tight and panicky. Why had she convinced
herself that the only thing that could bring her back to center was a stupid hat? Picking up a thick cashmere
scarf, Ariana decided not to dwell on the nagging suspicion that it was because being worthy of Daniel
went-in Paige's mind, at least-hand in hand with being worthy of Billings. And the idea that Paige might
have heard Ariana and Thomas talking after morning assembly made Ariana sick to her stomach. But there
was no way to be sure exactly what Paige knew, or what she suspected-and Paige would never come right
out and say it. That would be too easy. A cryptic comment here, an icy stare there, until Ariana went insane.
Slow, murderous torture. That was the Billings way.
She sighed, put the scarf down, and examined the sleeve of a blue windbreaker. Suddenly a frigid hand
clamped the back of her neck and Ariana's breath caught in her throat. She whirled around. Thomas Pearson
smirked down at her. Even as her heart stopped beating and her neck tingled where he'd touched her, she
forced her eyes to narrow in indignation.
"What is your problem?" she snapped. "You shouldn't scare so easy," he replied with his irritatingly sexy
smirk. A light dusting of snowflakes was scattered over his hair, and his nose and cheeks were flushed, his
eyes bright. Adrenaline raced through Ariana's veins, making her entire body feel shaky. "What are you doing
here?" She glanced quickly around. Apart from the salesgirl and the manager, there were only two other
people in the store, both girls, but neither from Easton Academy.
"Um, shopping?" He looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Like you'd ever wear North Face," she replied,
hoping her pounding heart wasn't visible through her sweater. "Aren't you more of a grunge boy than a ski
rat?" "So now you're keeping tabs on my style?" Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Stop doing that," she
