“Unexpected commitment to the theme,” James says to Will and me.

“Isn’t Sam’s dress awesome?” Will shouts back, gesturing to the beaded monstrosity engulfing me. I think he’s trying to help me feel like less of a fuckwit, but unless he activates an obliteration ray that will reduce me to particulate matter, there’s no hope.

I let go of Will and slip behind Caroline, whose full figure and explosion of purple taffeta provide the perfect blockade between me and the rest of the room. Syd, Erin, Cammie, and a couple of other equally pretty girls are already out on the dance floor having a fantastic time, but Zoe isn’t among them. Ethan’s talking so loudly, I can almost hear him even over the wretched echo of the music. He busts up laughing over some asswit thing he said to Connor and Hunter, and in the process nearly sweeps an entire tray of cookies off the snack table with a rogue gesture. He must be tanked. I hope Mr. Sherman or one of the other chaperones notices. I’ll take my vengeance where I can get it. But it’s Hunter I follow with my gaze as they move away from the table.

When he walks off with two drinks in hand, my heart lurches as he steps through the crowd. But it’s not Zoe that Hunter hands the other cider to — it’s Nicki Bowman. I blink in confusion as they disappear into the crowd. He can’t possibly be here with her.

The DJ puts on a slow song and couples start to sway, prompting Kitty to eye-fuck Will into instant zombification. He leads her out onto the dance floor, and they mash their bodies together in an awkward entanglement of limbs. Kitty can barely reach his shoulders, even pressed right up against him, undoubtedly contaminating him with eau de haricot vert. She stares up into his eyes, smiling. Sometimes I swear there’s little difference between lust and lobotomy. But Will looks a little blushy and very happy, so I don’t want to quack it up for him.

I take the opportunity and slip away along the edge of the gym. I wasn’t so sure about seeing Zoe, but now I’m not even sure she’s here — and if she’s not, I need to know. I weave my way through clusters of people until I catch another glimpse of Hunter. Sure enough, he’s dancing with Nicki, and Zoe is nowhere to be seen. They sway together, chatting intermittently, until the song changes and then they finally break apart. She looks happy when she turns back to her friends, but something dark and troubled flickers over Hunter’s expression until he catches up with his group, and then they’re jostling each other and he’s smiling and playing along like nothing’s wrong.