When I’m maybe ten feet away, Dacen enters my line of vision as he stops in front of his locker. I slow down and watch. He gets it open without having to slam his hand into it, a small miracle, and pulls a couple of books out of his bag. When he reaches up to set them on his locker shelf, his hand falters and he nearly drops the books. He manages to shove them inside and when he pulls his hand back out, his planner is in it. Even from here, I can see the complete surprise on his face. His eyes are wide as he brushes his hand along the cover, and his mouth is slightly open. I press my lips together to keep my face neutral and take my last few steps, sliding on up beside him. Using muscle memory I spin the combination for my lock and yank open the door.
“You better keep a closer eye on that, Dacen.” I pull a few books out of my backpack and toss them in my locker, then grab my history book and shove it in my bag since I’ve got a paper to finish this weekend. I slam my locker closed and turn toward him. He closes his mouth.
“I heard it got up and walked away from you today. And yet somehow it managed to find its way back to your locker. Lucky break.”
He turns and stares at me. “Did you—”
“Better leash that thing. Next time Mr. Archer might have his desk drawer locked, and then what’ll we do?”
His eyes widen even more when I wink at him and walk away. The corners of my lips tug up when I turn back to catch one more glance at Dacen. He stands there, staring after me, his face completely lit up. The tension that had been on it all day is no longer there and I cannot explain the sense of relief that washes over me.
“I saw that.” Tyler materializes next to me and nudges my ribs with his elbow. “You smiled. Well, sort of. You twitched, anyway.”
I turn around and snort then wrap my arm around his head and put him into a loose headlock. “You need to get your eyes checked, Ty.”
24
Dacen
Ispent Saturday morning with Lucy, Noah, and a few others double and triple-checking everything’s ready to go for the dance this evening. It would have taken six times as long were my planner with all my notes still tossed aside in Mr. Archer’s desk drawer. Ryne didn’t technically come out and sayhey, I got your planner back and stuck it in your locker, but it was him. I know it was him. I’m not sure how he got into my locker but I’m not going to question it. I’m just glad to have it back.
Not only does it have all my notes but it’s like my lifeline, the thing that keeps me grounded when all else fails because I have control over it. There are few things as satisfying as checking items off a list and having a neat and organized schedule all laid out in front of me, especially when I’m feeling anxious. It might seem weird and a bit neurotic to others, my slight obsession with it, but as Dad says, that’s a them-problem, not a me-problem. I’m not sure what came over Ryne that he went to the trouble of getting my planner back for me, but I appreciate it.
“Dacen, you’ve got that look again, like you’re off in la-la land dreaming about Ryne.” Evie teases me as she runs a lint roller over the front of my dress shirt. It’s surprising how much puppy hair ends up all over my clothes even when I keep them covered with a garment bag. I straighten my bowtie in the mirror behind her and try to glare but break out into a smile instead. She scrunches her face up and grins, then spins around to check out her own reflection.
Her knee-length dress is a deep turquoise blue, fitted on top and flowy from the waist down. She pulled her hair up in a high ponytail and left a few strands out to frame her face. She looks great. We both do. I’ve got on khaki-colored slim-fit dress pants, a short-sleeve light blue button-down chambray shirt, navy suspenders, and a medium cerulean blue bowtie with a tiny taco print. My brother Milo got it for me for Christmas and I finally have a chance to wear it. I step up beside Evie and smile. The heels she paired with her dress make her come up my chest higher than usual.
“I’m not used to you not fitting into my armpit,” I joke as I awkwardly try to wrap my arm around her waist. “This feels weird.”
Evie laughs and then makes that same scrunchy-face look again. “At least Evan won’t have an excuse to call me Armrest tonight.”
I try to hold back my laugh but it slips out. “He really does come up with the weirdest nicknames.” She curls her lip up at me and I grin. “Hey, maybe you and Evan will end up being voted homecoming king and queen. Wouldn’t that be hilarious? I can hear it now… ‘Ev and Ev, please come up to the stage for your coronation.’ You’d go down in history as the cutest Knoxton Falls royalty to ever exist. Then you can fall in love and get married and live happily ever after.”
She’s gonna slap me.
She doesn’t slap me. But she does get a little riled up.
“What? No. NO.” Evie asserts in a deeper voice. “Can you even imagine?” She makes a broad rainbow-shaped gesture in front of her face, painting the picture for us. “Evan and Evelyn Kennedy. How frickin’ awkward does that sound?”
“Or how PERFECT does it sound, you mean? You could totally rock Ev ’n Ev Kennedy.”
She shakes her head vehemently. “No, no way. Our names are wholly incompatible, as are we. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Don’t give me that look, Dacen!”
“You’re so weird.”
“And he’s so ugh.”
“He doesn’t actually seem so bad, once you get past the goofy stuff.”
“Ugh,” she repeats emphatically. “No. I’ve known him all my life, you’ve known him for a short while. You know the annoying yet shiny surface version he shows to everyone, I know the truth. No thanks. You know I’m right.”
“What I know is that you are protesting really hard right now over a little teasing. And one might stop and ask why the lady doth protest so much?”
“Don’t you try to Shakespeare me right now, Dacen Liam Becker.”
I snort out loud. “My middle name isn’t Liam. It’s Lukas.”
She gives an indignant huff. “Whatever. Don’t you try to Shakespeare me right now, Dacen Lukas Becker.”
