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Caro comes to visit me every day I’m in hospital whenever she isn’t working after school or weekends. And once I’m out, it’s nice (okay, fan-fucking-tastic) to finally have a little privacy occasionally when we’re together. Things are good between us. Really good. We made another pinky promise before I fell asleep on her that first evening she visited me in hospital: to not keep any more secrets. In case I had already forgotten about the first pinky promise, Caroline joked.
Which, full disclosure, I had.
So now we make the same promise at least once a week. Just to be sure.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Caroline
“Yo,SebMurdoch’supon the roof again!” It’s a different guy screaming it this time, but I’m still getting major déjà vu.
I’m in the same classroom. Same teacher. Same rush of people out into the hallway as there was that morning a few months ago.
Mr. Dougherty’s eyes stray to me for a moment, as if I’m in some way responsible for Sebastian’s latest stunt just because I’m dating the guy.
Heat flares in the pit of my stomach—a harsh, angry sort of flame that licks and thrashes up into my chest.
What the hell is Seb thinking?
Running around on a five-story roof with his PCS? Risking suspension now, of all times? When he’s been working so hard to keep his head above water. He’s been staying out of trouble. Mostly. And now this? Some stupid repeat performance of a stunt that already got him suspended once already?
I’m furious right now. I push my chair back and follow right behind the swarm of students rushing the quad. That part, at least, is different this time around.
I pull my phone out and shoot Seb a text.
But he doesn’t answer. Of course.
The front quad is already packed when I get outside, and sure enough, when I glance up, there’s Sebastian Murdoch in all his backwards baseball cap glory, bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands tucked in the pockets of his hoodie with that mischievous grin on his face that I usually find so attractive. But don’t find quite so appealing right now.
I search for Xavier in the crowd and find him right up front, in almost the exact spot he was the first time Seb pulled his stupid rooftop stunt. I push through the mob to reach him. “Did you dare him?” I tug at his sleeve, not bothering to hide the accusation in my tone.
Xave shakes his head, eyes dancing with humor. And I want to wipe that smug little grin clear off his face. Clearly, he had something to do with this.
“He’s going to get suspended,” I snap, looking around for Mrs. Tromely. I see a bunch of other staff members, but no sign of our principal.
And then I hear her booming voice. “Could I have everyone’s attention, please?”
I glance around, confused like everyone else, when I spot her standing up on the roof beside Sebastian. She’s holding that fluorescent orange megaphone up to her mouth. They’re both standing a lot farther from the edge than Seb was the first time he was up there, at least.
“I would like to say I am very…verydisappointed in Mr. Murdoch,” her voice wafts over the crowd as she turns briefly to face Seb. “It has come to my attention that he has not yet asked anyone to the Thanksgiving Formal. Which is only four days away.”
A quiet murmur ripples through the crowd. Someone elbows my ribs lightly, and when I turn, I find Jackie Delaney looking at me with an adorable conspiratorial grin on her face.
“Is Caroline Heinz in the crowd here somewhere?” Mrs. Tromely asks, her voice losing a bit of its stern edge.
Everyone turns to look at me, but I just stand here, mouth hanging open, stunned into silence and apparently frozen and totally incapable of moving. I’m not embarrassed, though. Or squeamish like I would have thought I would be with everyone’s eyes trained on me like this. Just… stunned.
And moved, and giddy with nervous excitement.
Not that I’ve shown any kind of outward reaction at all yet. I’m still sort of glued to the spot, like a petrified log.
Beside me, Xave grabs my wrist and lifts my arm above my head. “Caroline’s right here!” he calls out, and the wave of chatter around me rises and then quiets as Mrs. Tromely spots us. Xavier drops my arm back to my side, eyebrows arched at me with that same laughter dancing in his eyes.
Sebastian shifts beside Mrs. Tromely, almost nervously, hands still tucked in his sweatshirt. I’d bet fifty dollars his thumb is tapping double-time right now.
Our rooftop principal angles the megaphone in my direction. “Caroline, Sebastian would like to know if you’d do him the honor of being his date for this week’s Thanksgiving Formal.”
The chatter ripples into full-blown clamoring now… several squeals, and from somewhere behind my left shoulder:“OhmyGod, that is sooo sweet!”
