‘Nothing.’ I shrug.
‘What, the great Ollie Pointer’s birthday party wasn’t a hit?’
‘It was good, it was nice to see him.’
‘Then why are you acting like you went to a funeral?’
We get into the car and I put on my seatbelt with a small huff. ‘I’m not,’ I say. ‘I had a good time. We spent some time together, I met his new friends, that was it.’
Ty starts driving us out of the city centre. ‘Well, when you want to talk about it, I am here,’ he says.
I look out of the window. ‘It’s just . . . Ollie’s friends are not what I thought they’d be like.’
‘And how were they?’
‘I don’t know, a bit much. Pretentious, some of them.’ I think of Diane. ‘Not all of them. But some of them.’ I pause. ‘Plus, I thought it was going to be the two of us this weekend. Not me, him and a bunch of strangers I don’t know. He sees them every day at school!’
‘And he didn’t tell you?’ says Ty.
I look across at him; his face is giving nothing away.
I feel uncomfortable now. I don’t want Ty to think badly of Ollie. Especially after the concert-ticket thing. And Ollie didn’t do anything wrong – it’s not his fault I’m not a big fan of his friends.
‘Well, it was his birthday. Maybe I misunderstood,’ I say. ‘It would make sense he would want all his friends to be there.’
‘Did you have a good time with him at least?’ says Ty. My Rose Conrad playlist is on again, and he is nodding along to the song and drumming his fingers on the wheel.
‘Yes,’ I say, and I mean it. ‘On the first day, he took me around Manchester, and it was magical. We went to all these cool places, he showed me his favourite restaurants. It was so nice to hang out with him again, you know?’
Ty is silent. Then, ‘Yeah I can see that.’ He pauses. ‘So, he treated you well.’
‘Honestly, nothing bad happened this weekend.’ I chew my lip, thinking of Keeley. ‘He has this new female friend though . . . And I think I’m a bit . . .’
‘Jealous?’ says Ty, when I don’t finish the sentence.
‘Is that so bad?’
‘It’s only human.’ He clears his throat. ‘I didn’t know you liked Ollie like that.’
Part of me wants to throw myself out of the moving car.
Do I deny it? Do I agree? Do I sit here in silence for the next two-hour car ride?
After moments that feel like hours, I come clean. ‘It’s been along time building up. I don’t really know when it went from us being friends to me feeling like this.’
‘And he doesn’t know?’ says Ty.
‘I don’t think so. If he does, he’s not letting on. But I should probably tell him.’
‘Do you think he likes this other girl?’
‘Not sure,’ I reply, thinking back over the evening. ‘He was behaving really weird – one moment he was all over me, then all over her. Maybe that’s the way he is.’
‘Or maybe he’s trying to have it both ways,’ says Ty. ‘And leading you both on.’
‘You want to see the worst in him.’
‘And why would I want that, Selena?’
