Page 28 of The Enemy Plot
The concert continues with a mix of ballads and upbeat songs. Emma and I dance, singing the lyrics we know and making up the ones we don’t—which earns us a few backward glares from Lola’s friends—and overall have a good time.
Lola seems to be enjoying herself too, bumping shoulders with that skater kid and jumping up and down with Khloe.
The concert eventually ends, but the little group stays in place, talking.
“So, are you coming to my party tomorrow night, Lola?” Brianna asks while examining her way-too-long nails. “Or are you still on lockdown?”
Lola’s cheeks redden. “Um.”
Stephanie laughs. “Please, there’s no way. He doesn’t let her doanything. You know, your mom was a pain in the ass, but her brother is even worse.
“Right,” Brianna snorts. “Sucks to be an orphan.”
My blood boils in my veins, and just as I’m taking a step forward to put a stop to this, Lola punches Brianna right in the face. I blink back, stunned. Looks like she takes after her uncle after all.
There’s a general “Oh!” around us, and a small crowd gathers. I hurry to Lola’s side, putting my arms around her as tears well in her eyes.
Brianna and her friends curse at Lola while the guys just look on, amazed by the scene unfolding in front of them.
“Oh, hell no,” Emma says before grabbing Brianna by her slim top. “Listen to me, you little f—”
“Emma!” I yell, grabbing her by the shirt.
She swings around. “What?”
I give her an insistent look, then focus on Lola, who’s about to have a full breakdown. “Let’s just go.”
Nodding, Emma throws one last death stare at Brianna before turning around, ignoring the sneers plastered on the girls’ faces as we start walking.
Hold on. Not so fast.
“Lola, Emz,” I say. “Keep walking.”
Emma frowns, but my tone leaves no room for argument.
I march back to the clique of girls and level them with a stare. “Enjoy it while it lasts. This mean-girl thing you’ve got going on, it’ll get old fast, and one day, when you least expect it, you’ll get hit by a school bus.”
They stare at me with wide eyes.
“It’s called karma.”
With that, I turn on my heel, catching the expression on Skater Boy’s face, looking like he just lost his favorite beanie.
I hurry to join Emma and Lola and find them waiting under a tree by the entrance. Lola peers over my shoulders, probably hoping to catch a glimpse of her so-called friends. “What did you say to them?”
“Nothing. Just promise me you won’t hang out with them again. They’renotyour friends.”
She sighs, her gaze falling. “I know. I just thought . . . Never mind. It’s dumb.”
“It’s because of that boy, right?” I say, and Emma nods.
“The one with the beanie,” she adds.
Lola swallows hard. “Yeah. His name is Leo. He’s not like them, and I thought if I hung out with the girls, he’d notice me since he's friends with Jason, who’s dating Brianna.”
“Oh, honey,” I say, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t need to be friends with anyone for a guy to notice you. Plus, Leo clearly doesn’t need any convincing. He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”