I opened my mouth and closed it again. Even though all I wanted to say was, “Then he should stop dressing like a slut.” Maybe I did use that term too much…

Liam turned around in the front seat to stare at me. “Yeah, how would you like it if I started calling you a cad?”

I just stared at him. “I wouldn’t mind it at all because no one knows what that means.”

“It’s a male slut, Scar,” he said.

“I know, I gathered that from the context.” I leaned forward and slapped his shoulder.

Liam laughed.

My dad shook his head. “Both of you stop calling each other derogatory things.”

It wasn’t a big deal. He knew we were both joking. But I wasn’t a slut or a cad. Because even though Axel had held my hand yesterday morning, he’d basically ignored me ever since. I’d been on top of the world. And now I just felt like an underground troll.

My dad cleared his throat. “Well, I guess it’s just the three of us tonight then, Scar. You can pick the movie.” He pulled into the parking garage under our apartment building.

I sighed. If I was stuck watching a movie tonight, I’d be so late to the party. Not that I knew how I was escaping yet. RJ refused to tell me his master plan until the “appropriate time.” I thought lunchtime was an appropriate time, but apparently he did not.

But I’d overheard him mentioning a saw? I feel like I probably misheard that. “Can we get takeout for dinner and watch while we eat?”

“That sounds like a great plan. That way Liam can join us too.”

“Sweet,” Liam said. “But I’m picking the movie so Scar won’t choose a romcom.”

“What’s wrong with romcoms?” I asked.

“They’re unrealistic,” Liam said and climbed out of the car.

Yeah. Maybe.

***

I pulled on the sparkly dress that Sophie thought would be perfect. And it was. I felt as confident as I had when I first stepped into Empire High this week. Right before Gigi tripped me and Axel said he liked my glasses. I pushed the thought aside and smiled at my reflection in the mirror.

The dress was all the things I’d said before – too short, too sparkly, too much. But too much was just right tonight. It was the first party of the year and I wanted to stand out. The gold dress cut off right below my butt and the neckline dipped dangerously low down the front. My dad had confiscated my Odegaards, but Sophie was bringing me black high heels. I laced up a pair of sneakers in the meantime, checked my makeup, and was ready for the escape plan.

The only problem was…I was waiting for a text from RJ to tell me what the heck the plan was.

And waiting.

And waiting.