C

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School went on normally, which felt weird. I kept waiting for Nicole to pop up from somewhere and launch an attack on me or something with her friends. It seemed like something that she would do. Instead, there were the usual petty scoffs and dirty glares. I didn’t blame her today though, I probably deserved it.

As much as I didn’t want to go along with this, I still ended up getting roped into it. That was concerning for me, but I tried to ignore the anxiety and reminded myself that this was not a real date.

It was just a dinner with a classmate whose parents were nice enough to set up reservations for us. Yeah, that was it. And at the end of it, I’d get to see my mom.

Okay, I could get over the whole ‘date’ part. The biggest thing now was how to tell Melissa and Callie.

It turned out that I didn’t have to tell them yet. Melissa wasn’t at school, because she had to attend a conference with her Law class and Callie was stuck doing rehearsals for a play all day. I was very relieved. I texted Callie to let her know that I would be going home with Kevin later.

Ashton and I exchanged a few glances throughout the day and in English, my desk mate had finally returned. Too bad Callie wasn’t there, because Ashton took the liberty of moving himself to her seat. He really wasn’t helping my case with Nicole.

“You talked to her already, right?” I asked him as we did the essay activity.

“Not yet…” he admitted.

“Ashton!” I whisper-yelled at him. “It’s tonight.”

“I know, I know. But technically I’m doing you a favor here. At least this way she can calm down over the weekend instead of attacking you now. You’re welcome,” he smirked

I pulled down his lips so that his smirk turned into a frown. “This is how I feel.”

“That’s not how you thank someone, but okay,” he retorted.

“Thank you. Now she’s going to have two whole days to figure out how to ruin my life.”

“And you have two whole days to figure out how to save your life,” he said, tapping my head.

I scowled at him and turned to my other group mate, since Ashton didn’t intend to answer the questions. However, he was stuck in the ‘Ashton daze’ and was smiling at him with a dreamy expression on his face. Thankfully, this was the last class of the day.

After school, I found Kevin near the parking lot trying to get away from a group of girls who were inviting him out. He spotted me and relief washed over his face.

“Liz,” he called and broke away from the girls and jogged over to me.

They eyed me with envy and then flocked off to find their next prey.

“That was scary,” he shuddered. “I didn’t know girls flirted in groups now.”

“You’re just too popular,” I laughed, giving him a playful shove.

“You’re the one who has a date tonight,” he teased as he drove me home.

“I most absolutely do not have a date!” I yelled. “I’m having a friendly dinner with a classmate.”

“Yeah, right,” he snorted.

I stared at him in disbelief. “You actually want me to go on a date with Ashton?”

He looked at me and smiled sheepishly.

“Unbelievable,” I said, pretending to feel betrayed.

“I mean, it could be fun… you guys have some stuff in common.”

I glared at him. “Name one.”

“Umm… Me!”

“You don’t count,” I giggled.

“Hey, if all else fails, you guys can discuss how great I am. I’m sure you’d agree.”

“Uh huh,” I laughed, rolling my eyes.

He pulled up at my gate and then looked at me seriously.

“If anything happens, just call me. I’ll be there.”

I nodded and smiled as I exited the car. "Thanks, Kev."

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