The next morning, I waited on the main steps of the school, watching for Brandon to arrive in his Jeep.
When that didn't happen, I lingered in the hallway to catch him at his locker. But when first bell rang and he still didn't show, I had no choice but to go into class. Brandon's seat remained empty. The clock above the chalkboard ticked as my mind raced. Had Dr. Maddox put Brandon on a plane to Europe? Had he taken him to a local hospital? Or was Brandon locked inside his guesthouse like he'd asked me to do once before?
"What's wrong with you today?" Ivy asked when the bell rang for lunch later that day.
"Nothing."
"I know you are worried about lunch," she said. "But I guess you don't have to feel compelled to sit with Brandon since he's not here today."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Are you worried about coming back to our table?"
"What? Oh . . . yeah, I can't sit there with Heidi. It would be too weird."
"We've had a talk with the guys," Abby said authoritatively. "Heidi won't be sitting at our table. And if she does, we won't be sitting with her."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes," Ivy concurred. "We told Jake and Dylan that if she does, then they can eat alone."
"You did?"
"I told them no tramps allowed!" Ivy said proudly.
"I guess it worked," Abby said as we entered the caf. "Look - the guys are all waiting for us and no sign of any cheerleaders."
My friends really did have my back.
Ivy sat by Jake, and Abby by Dylan.
I paused for a moment when I came upon my empty seat.
"We can spray it for germs," Ivy said.
Abby laughed, and I did as well. I was glad to be back to normal - or somewhat normal - and sat down in my seat.
Nash slid in next to me. He grinned a wide, toothpaste-commercial smile.
"I'm glad to have you back, Celeste," he said. "You know why I did it. Just to show you what you'd be missing. Like you've been showing me what I've been missing by being with Brandon."
"But that's not why - " I said.
"I know," he said resignedly. "But it hit home with me and I thought maybe it would with you, too. I'm trying to start over," he said. "I thought you might like this." He handed me a single rose.
Nash had never before displayed such a romantic gesture, public or private, and I wasn't sure how to handle it. It wasn't that I didn't like Nash. I did. But as a couple we were more different than alike. However, I admired him as a friend and still cared for him. And now that he was bent on changing and becoming a more mature and serious suitor, I couldn't help but feel awkward. I didn't want to reject him in front of our friends, and I really didn't want Brandon to walk in and see me holding a rose from another guy. Nash was charming and charismatic, but I couldn't help but be in love with the one guy who wasn't in the lunchroom today.
"Thank you," I said sincerely. I imagined Nash taking the time to buy it at a store on his way to school, and the flower was beautiful. It was truly sweet and thoughtful. I had to admit I was flattered that he was thinking of me in this way.
"Aw!" my friends cooed.
"That's so romantic," Abby said.
"I know. Why can't you guys be more like Nash?" Abby asked.
"He brought another girl to our table yesterday," Dylan charged. "That's what you want?"
"That's not why she was here," Nash retorted. "Celeste knows the real reason."
"Yeah, to get back at her for sitting next to Brandon," Jake said.
"No," Nash said, still in the hot seat. "That's not why."
"Then why?" Jake asked. Nash wasn't used to talking feelings in front of our clique.
He nervously drummed his fingers on the table and fidgeted trying to come up with the right words. "I wanted her to see what life was like without me."
I was shocked. I was surprised to see Nash lay his feelings out so honestly before everyone. He was truly changing.
My friends must have been as surprised as I was. They paused for a moment, then Ivy and Abby sighed. "How romantic," they said in unison.
Dylan and Jake rolled their eyes and burst into laughter.
"Wow - you are the charmer," Dylan said, nudging his friend.
"So it was more like a prank?" Jake whispered. "To get back at her?"
"Uh . . . yes," Nash agreed, but I knew better.
"Man, you are good," Dylan said softly. "It really worked."
"Let's put the flower in a cup and we can use it as our centerpiece," Ivy suggested. Before she could take it from me, I placed it on my lap.
"I'll put it away for later," I said. I gingerly placed the rose in my backpack, out of sight.
As we started to settle in, my mind drifted away from our table, and I glanced over to Brandon's table and saw his seat still empty.
Dylan must have caught sight of me gazing toward the Westsider's table. "Finally we don't have to see you girls fussing over that weirdo," he said.
"We don't fuss over him," Ivy shot back.
"You bet you do," Dylan went on. "Since he returned your dog, it's like you've started an Eastside chapter of the Brandon Maddox Fan Club."
"Jealous?" Abby said.
"Not even close!" Dylan scowled.
"Well, now you see how he is," Jake said. "Probably so freaked out he can't come to school."
"Is that what you wanted?" I asked.
"Uh, no. But you don't want to be seen with a wolfman, do you?" Dylan snapped.
"Well, we don't want to be seen with an airhead cheerleader, either," Abby shot back.
As we began eating, I did feel a sense of relief being back with my friends. Of course, I longed to be with Brandon, but since he wasn't even here, I was glad to have Ivy's and Abby's usual lighthearted banter take my mind off of what had happened last night.
I looked again at Brandon's table, where his seat remained empty. I wondered where he might be and what he might be up to. Nash must have noticed.
"I knew it would work," Nash said so only I could hear.
"I came back because I wanted to sit with my friends," I said.
"But I am one of your friends, right?" he asked.
"Yes, you are. But . . ."
"And I've been more . . ." he hinted. "Your boyfriend, too."
"Yes. But - "
"It's still a full moon," he said. "Creatures will be out tonight. Dangerous ones."
"Keep your voice down." I tried to shush him.
"And you came back to me. You made the right choice this time. My plan worked. I knew if you saw me with someone, you'd remember what you were missing. And here you are."
"But that isn't - "
"It's what I wanted, Celeste. And I think you did, too." He reached his hand across the table and placed it over mine. Ivy and Abby caught his move and winked at me.
I couldn't help but note the irony. I'd spent nights being kissed by Nash and was often happy in his strong embrace at movies or parties. But too often, I'd felt like I wasn't important to him. I had to compete with his athletic schedule. He paid more attention to leather balls and winning scores than to me. Now that I wasn't paying him attention and was focused on Brandon, Nash seemed to see it as a challenge that he couldn't face with a team behind him. He needed to win this one on his own, and he wasn't giving up the fight. With basketball ending and baseball beginning, Nash had time to take on another sport - love. Nash appeared driven to win, and his courting me this way would have made him more attractive if I hadn't been so distracted with Brandon. Otherwise, his attention was tempting, to say the least. It was hard not to fall under his charms - I'd had feelings for him, and they hadn't gone away completely. I'd just had deeper feelings for someone else.
Before I could withdraw my hand from Nash's, Ivy snapped a picture with her cell phone.
"You guys could get Cutest Couple in Class. I'll send this off to the yearbook," she said with a smile.
Ivy was happiest when the sixsome was intact. I couldn't blame her. I wanted everyone to be happy, too, but I wasn't sure that my happiness was the same as hers.
After lunch, I headed off to the annex buildings to philosophy and I heard a whistle coming from the wooded area behind the gym. When I heard it again, I took a closer look and saw a figure standing in the brush. It was Brandon. I raced down the hill as fast as I could. I reached him to find him wearing only jeans. He appeared worn out and exhausted. He had twigs in his hair and dirt stains on his jeans and body. And though it wasn't winter, there was still a nip in the air. He was shivering.
"Take my hoodie," I said.
"No, that's okay."
I didn't listen to him. Instead, I unzipped and removed my jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders.
"Where have you been?" I asked. "I've been so worried about you."
"I didn't go home last night," he said.
"You've been out all night?"
He nodded.
"You ran away?" I asked.
"I didn't run away - I just didn't go back."
"You need to see your father. He's the only one who can help you. He's already sent in your samples. Maybe he can work on a cure."
"But - I can't let him see me like this. You saw how he acted. I shouldn't have called him."
The final bell began to ring off in the distance. "You have to go - " he said. "I have to go - "
"But where are you going?"
"I don't know. Meet me after school. I'll text you where I'll be."
He drew me into him and gave me a kiss that made me forget about classes, school, and life without my hoodie.
"You have a leaf in your hair," Abby said when I finally got to my seat in philosophy. "What gives?"
"Uh, I guess it just fell from a tree," I said. I untangled the stem from my hair and removed it.
"Where's your hoodie?" Ivy asked. "You were wearing it at lunch. It's too cold for a T-shirt."
"Uh . . . I'm fine," I said. "Spring is almost here."
"But it's not here today," Ivy said. "I think she's just heated up from her lunch with Nash." She put her arm around me. "Right?"
"Right," I said, resigned.
"We are all going out tonight," Ivy said. "The guys are free and so are we."
"What should we do?" Abby asked. "Bowling? Indoor putt-putt?"
"The mall?" Ivy suggested.
"The guys hate the mall," Abby said.
I was distracted, thinking of the one person I wanted to be sharing the evening with.
"Let's hang out and watch movies," Ivy said.
"We've been to my house already," Abby whined. "And my mom's pissed that her snow globe was broken."
"We go to mine all the time," Ivy remarked.
"Then why don't you come to mine?" I asked, joking. I knew it was a safe invite, and maybe the whole evening would be canceled since we couldn't agree on a location.
"We never go to yours," Abby said.
"There's a reason," I replied. "I don't have a basketball court in the basement."
"Well, neither do we," Ivy challenged. "I think it's a great idea."
"You do?" I asked.
"Your house is so cozy," Ivy said.
"Yeah, and your parents are cool," Abby said.
"Uh . . . I can't," I said.
"Why?" she asked. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not sure."
I wasn't, in fact. It was a full moon, and I planned to visit Brandon. But if his father was forbidding me to see h