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Axel saw and smiled. He started walking toward me.

I took a deep breath. I guess it was now or never. I met him halfway through the hall.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.” My heart was racing so fast. I’d always wanted to ask Axel to the Sadie Hawkins dance. I’d been dreaming of it for years. This was my moment. “So I was thinking.”

“About what exactly? Don’t tell me you and Soph are starting another operation?”

“Actually, yes. Operation Sadie Hawkins Dance.”

Axel laughed. “And what does that involve? Asking your kiss thief to go with you or something?”

This wasn’t a good start. He was basically telling me to ask someone else. Just like Jacob had. “Um...no. Not exactly.”

Axel just stared at me.

“I don’t want to go with Leo. I was wondering if maybe you...” my voice trailed off as I stared into his eyes. “Would you maybe want to go with me, Axel?”

“Oh. Um.” He looked at something over my shoulder like he wanted to be anywhere but stuck in this conversation. “As friends?” he said a little louder than he needed to when I was right in front of him.

Why did everyone I like always just want to be my friend?

“Because that’s all we are,” he said, too loudly again.

“Right.” God, I was so stupid.

“But yeah, sure. We can definitely go as friends. It makes sense for us to go together because we have a vow of singledom and everything. So taking someone else would be a waste of time.”

I had built this up in my head as this whole romantic thing. And I was so freaking wrong.

Axel kept looking over my shoulder.

I turned to see my dad staring at us. I cringed and turned back to Axel. This was mortifying. Even my dad had heard this rejection.

“Maybe Soph can go with us too,” Axel said. “Since she’s single too.”

What?

“It’ll be fun. Just three friends hanging out. A fun group thing. Like usual.”

I didn’t want things to be like usual. Had I not been clear when I’d asked? I thought about what I’d said. No, I’d definitely asked him in a date way. Not in a friendship way. “Actually, maybe just go with Soph.”

“What?”

I felt tears welling in the corners of my eyes. And I prayed they wouldn’t betray me and fall. “You two will have fun together. I didn’t really want to go anyway. I don’t even know why I asked.”

“No, you should definitely come. It’ll be fun.”

I saw Leo walk by on his way to class. Leo who’d never done anything but like me. Leo who had made it pretty clear on our reveal date thing that he was ready to love me out loud. No more dark closets. What the hell was I doing asking Axel when I knew he didn’t like me? And I didn’t want to stay home. I couldn’t. It would be pathetic. So would showing up in a weird throuple. I might as well have been dating Luis the Cheater.

“You’re right,” I said. “I do want to go. But I’ll ask someone else. Don’t sweat it.”

“Scarlett...”

I turned and hurried after Leo.

“Pumpkin, are you okay?” my dad asked.