Chapter 9

It was almost two weeks before I saw him again, which surprised me for some reason. He had been so adamant about us being friends and then he just disappeared. Of course I was thinking about him all the time by now, which didn't make it any easier.

I was forced to act like a normal teenager, which I guess was the point of high school. I went to school, was as friendly as I could be, pretending my life was just like everyone else's. But it wasn't.

My mom had not apologized for screaming at me, and I knew better than to bring up Asa again. Now I just avoided talking to her at all. My life was definitely not like the kids at school's.

I liked being at the library best, but when the first week passed and Duke didn't show up, I found myself feeling disappointed. I had told him when I worked next and assumed he would show up, which was my first mistake. Why did I even care?

I hung out after school with Lex and Matt a few times, when I didn't have to work. I realized it was way better than going right home after school. We would get coffees and go to Matt's, whose parents were never home. We watched movies and played games and it was just fun. I was finally feeling like a normal teenage girl.

The next week, I was sure Duke would stroll into the library with some excuse for not being there sooner. But I worked both Wednesday and Thursday and he didn't show up. It made me mad, more than anything. He had pushed himself into my life in such a weird way, and now that I was interested, he was gone. Maybe that was his plan.

At lunch on Friday, I heard Camilla and Lydia talking about a party that night. I wasn't really a part of the conversation, though. And then, in fifth period, Lex told me that Lydia had invited him to said party.

"Fun," I said, half annoyed that I would have to spend all evening alone, at home.

"You can come," he went on, then added, "and Matt said he can drive you home."

"Oh. Where's the party?" I asked, curious.

"Lydia's. Her parents are gone for the weekend. Some of us are going to crash there..."

I had a feeling that Lex liked Lyida, more than a friend. He always flirted and laughed if she said anything even remotely funny. It was odd, seeing him have interest in other girls at school. To me, he was just Lex, my best friend. But he was different with girls who weren't me.

"Okay, well... if Matt can get me home..." I finally said, agreeing to the party.

Lex grinned. "He's into you, you know?"

"What?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Matt likes you."

"Uh..."

"He knows you're, like, my best friend."

"Okay," I said awkwardly.

"So, yeah. He likes you." Matt said again.

I took in a breath. "When's the party?"

"Oh, like 7 P.M.? You can come to my house to hang out, after school... Matt's going to pick us up," Lex explained easily.

"Right. Okay," I finished, feeling completely unsure of everything.

This party was not unlike the previous one, except it was confirmed that Lex liked Lydia and she liked him back. I felt awkward standing with Matt, watching Lex and Lydia a few feet away, flirting. Her house was nice and in the same neighborhood as Lex. Convenient. It was a smaller party though, maybe twenty or thirty people total. Camilla's party had been more like fifty or sixty. It did seem like I recognized a lot more kids here. Some were in my classes, and most I'd seen around school.

Knowing Matt liked me made me feel both more comfortable and more awkward. I didn't really feel anything for him. He was nice and I was glad he didn't think I was weird; but he knew where I lived and he was the only one who knew. And that was not good.

"I'm glad you came," he smiled at me, leaning closer.

The music was loud. I smiled back. "Not much else to do."

"Right. So..." he began again. "Alex said you need a ride later?"

"Oh, uh, only if that's okay -"

"Yeah, of course," he nodded.

I did feel bad accepting the ride since he was likely thinking he was getting closer to asking me out, or something. But how else was I going to get home?

I spent the next hour sipping a drink that Matt had given me, watching as Lex partied and danced with all of his friends. It wasn't that I wasn't included, it was just that I felt like I didn't fully belong there, at this party.

It was late, after midnight, when Matt asked if I wanted to get going. I did, so I crossed the room to talk to Lex. He was drunk, dancing with Lydia and Sam, and I was glad he lived close. It was strange seeing him that way, when I was totally sober.

"Hey," I said, pulling at his arm.

"Pen!" he yelled, a huge smile on his face.

"Hi," I said, then added, "I'm leaving."

"Oh." He looked confused. "Is it late?"

"Yeah. Matt's going to drive me-"

"Oh, yeah!" Lex yelled, then turned to Matt. "You two have fun!"

"Get home safe?" I asked him.

"I'm crashing here. Call you tomorrow?" His words were slurred.

"Okay," I nodded.

He hugged me lightly before turning back around to start dancing again.

Matt and I were almost through the house and at the front door to leave when I saw him. Duke. He was in the front sitting room, dressed in a suit coat and jeans, a red dress shirt underneath. His hair looked different, shorter. He leaned against a wall, a beer can in his hand. Camilla was to his right, her arm slung through his. They were talking to some guys I didn't know.

I was so close to being out of there, but I couldn't look away. And then he glanced over, and our eyes met. It was only a second before I looked away again, as Matt opened the front door. I knew Duke wouldn't let anyone know that he knew me, so I followed Matt outside without looking back.

But Matt was parked way down the road, and before we got to his car I heard someone yell my name. I wanted to keep walking, but I froze instinctively.

"Penelope," Duke said again, jogging up behind me.

Matt was now at his car, but looked over, confused. Matt wasn't the most popular guy or the most confident. He was just a nice guy who everyone liked. Now, I could tell he had no idea what to do.

I looked back at Duke, who was still a fair distance away. He had stopped jogging to catch up. "What?" I asked him.

Now, Duke looked unsure. He definitely didn't look like his cocky, confident self. "You're leaving?"

"Uh, yeah."

"With that guy?" he asked, nodding towards Matt.

"I needed a ride," I told him, without thinking.

"I'll drive you," Duke went on.

My heart started racing. His girlfriend was still inside at the party. Matt was right there. This was too much. Why would he offer to drive me home?

"Uh -" I began.

"She's good," Matt called out. "C'mon, Penny."

I glanced back at Matt. I really hated that he kept calling me Penny. I sort of really wanted to go with Duke, which was insane. I knew better than that. That had disaster written all over it.

I gave Duke an apologetic look. "I'm fine. Go back to the party."

His look told me he didn't care at all about the party. I knew he wanted to convince me to go with him instead, but he shrugged. "Have a good night, then."

I turned back to Matt's car and got in beside him. He had already started it and warm air was blasting onto me. I took in a deep breath.

"So, you know that guy?" he asked, as he started driving.

"Um, not really."

"He knew your name?"

"I guess we met at Camilla's party a few weeks ago," I admitted.

"And why did he want to take you home?" Matt asked, confused.

"I don't know, okay?" I snapped.

Matt shrugged and we were both quiet for the rest of the drive. When he pulled up by my house, I noticed my mom's car was gone. I sighed.

"It's just that... that Duke guy is... unpopular in our group of friends," Matt said quietly, before I had a chance to get out of the car.

"I know that," I told him.

"And he's... like... his family is rich."

"Yeah. I know."

"So... not to be rude, but, his background is very different -"

"Than mine? I know," I snapped.

Matt sighed, now. "And he's dating Camilla."

"Jesus Matt, I know."

"Okay... it's just... I like you, Penny. I don't want you getting hurt." Now he was serious, and just a bit shy.

I forced a smile. "Thanks for the ride. I'm okay."

"Okay," he repeated.