God, if she could just drop one damn thing for once. You’d think I’d love school events, being a total jock and shit, but I don’t know. Dances always seem so lame. I’d much rather go to the after-party. “Yeah, but you don’t want to go.” Her finger is in my face now, and her voice is shrill.

“But I said I would. What the fuck do you want from me?”

“Hey, guys. What’s up?” We both turn to see Camden approach us, concern written all over his face.

“Just another day in paradise,” I say grimly, and Kennedy is fuming now.

“You’re such a jackass. Why don’t you just take Camden to the homecoming dance? He’s all you care about, anyway.” She’s furious, her voice not coming down a level at all. I notice Camden stiffen, his entire body growing tense.

“Don’t drag Camden into this shit. And he thinks dances are just as fucking stupid as I do.” He groans, shaking his head at me, like I’m the one being crazy here. But that’s all Kenn. “And I said we could go.”

She rolls her eyes at me again in annoyance but ignores me entirely, looking at Camden. “Talk some damn sense into him, will you? Like we talked about Friday.”

They were talking about me on Friday?

She pushes past me, still pissy as ever, and I face Camden with a crooked eyebrow. “You were talking about me?”

He rolls his eyes and heads to his locker. “She was talking. I was trying to drink in peace. And what the hell did you do now? Just go to the dance.”

“I didn’t do a damn thing.” I saw them chatting after I left to dance at the party, but I’m surprised to hear they were discussing me. Does he think I don’t take things seriously? He knows me better than anyone. Is he on her side? “What did you talk about?”

He grabs a book and shuts his locker, calm as ever. “College. Dances. I don’t know. She talked, like I said. I told her I wasn’t getting into the middle of it, and I’m not. This is between you two.” He looks around the crowded hall and then back at me. “Well, it’s kinda between you two and the whole school, since I could hear you arguing from the front doors.”

I cringe, hating being part of high-school gossip. But really, what else is there to talk about? “Yeah.” I grab the back of my neck, embarrassed he heard it though. “Do you also think I don’t take anything seriously?” I hate the way my stomach clenches while I wait. His answer means so much more to me than anyone else’s. His opinion always matters more to me.