Page 89 of Finding a Melody
“Hi,” I replied, wary of her already. All of my instincts told me she wasn’t talking to me out of the kindness of her sweet heart.
“I’m Isabelle.”
“Cadence.”
“I know.” She grinned big, flashing her perfectly straight white teeth. Still, she didn’t leave.
“Is there something you wanted?” I asked, feeling super awkward.
“Yes. I have a question for you.”
“Okay.” I dragged out my response, wondering what I had to do to get her to ask so I could leave.
“Which of them are you dating?”
“Excuse me?”
She ticked off with her fingers, suppressing a giggle. “Seth. Paxon. Justin. Bryan. Toby. Out of the five, which one is yours.”
“Is that really any of your business?”
“Many of us are interested in them. But we follow girl-code. If we know who you’re dating, then we know who to not bother.” The sly look in her eyes said otherwise.
“You’re here for more gossip,” I snapped out.
Her smile dipped with my harsh response. I slammed my locker shut, making sure it was locked.
“I’m not here to feed into the rumors. It isn’t any of your business.”
The others in the locker room grew dangerously quiet as they moved closer to watch the drama unfold. Probably betting if a punch would be thrown. And no doubt, if a fight started, more would jump in to back up Isabelle and I would have my ass handed to me. An acrid taste filled my mouth. I almost thought I was going to throw up all over her. Would serve her right.
“So it’s fine if we approach any of them.”
No, not at all. The idea of it hit me hard. They weren’t mine; I had no control over who they decided to date. But if they were willing to corner me in the locker room, I didn’t want them in the guys’ lives. I couldn’t exactly say that though. But her words felt wrong to me. Why was I feeling so possessive of them all?
“If you had wanted to approach any of them sincerely, why hasn’t it been done yet?” I asked. Good, that response gave nothing away.
“What?” She frowned.
“We’re all in our senior year. The guys have always been at this school for four years now. Suddenly, they start hanging out with me, and what? Everyone wants what they think is forbidden fruit? They never went anywhere. They never changed. So why now all of a sudden are you approaching me, trying to dig into my business under the pretext of wanting to ask the others out? If you ask the guys, they’ll give you an answer. Why gang up on me?” I glanced around to make my point. So many grouped together and stood at her back, as if on her side. All I had at my back were the lockers.
Isabelle grimaced, realizing what I just called her out on.
I snorted, grabbed my bag, and shoved past her. Two others were in my way but as soon as they saw my face, they stepped to the side and let me pass. They weren’t getting shit from me, and I wasn’t about to let them bully me for their own entertainment.
As soon as I stepped in the hallway, I released a breath.
“What happened?”
I jumped, making a weird little screeching sound that stopped as soon as I realized it was only Bryan. He stood across the hall, his bookbag at his feet as he held his phone out. He looked cute, his glasses dipping down his nose, a strand of his black hair falling over his forehead.
“Were you waiting for me?” I asked.
“You took too long.” He tucked his phone away and pushed up his glasses. “Thought maybe the girls were ganging up on you in the bathroom.”
I grimace, unable to hide my reaction.
Bryan’s expression shut down into something cold. “Something happened. What?” He pushed away from the wall and came closer. “Did they try something?”