Kayne

"Should we go over logistics?" Heather asks, interrupting my thoughts. 

On Tuesday, she asked if she could come over again to do homework. I was able to say no enough times to hold it off until Thursday when I begrudgingly said yes. At that point, I just wanted to have a conversation that didn't start with "Can I?" and ended with 'No."

Through her insistence, she left me with the impression that it was only to do homework. But deep in my gut, I knew it was only a matter of time before she started asking more questions about the investigation.

"You're supposed to be doing calc homework," I remind her.

Shrugging her shoulders, she says, "Eh. I need a break." She pauses, taking a seat by me on the couch. "Besides, we need a concrete plan. Specifically, what I can do to help."

Annoyed, I snidely reply, "All I need you to do right now is stop asking questions."

"Come on, Kayne." She pleads. "I need to know what has to be done. Shouldn't we be interviewing suspects?"

"Which suspects are you talking about? And wouldn't interviewing them defeat the purpose of 'undercover'?" Heather sighs in exasperation with me. I wish she would go back to her homework.

"Well, I don't know enough people at school yet to call any suspects."

"You've certainly made more progress than me when it comes to meeting people," I say. "I figured it would have been easier since I had cool clothes this time around." At seeing Heather's facial expression, I realize that I've said too much.

"What do you mean 'this time around'?"

"Nothing," I grumble, mentally cursing myself for the slip-up.

"You mean the first time you went to high school? I've been wondering what kind of guy you were back then."

"That's an off-limits topic," I snap. Heather frowns. I have been using this phrase more often to keep Heather at bay. I need her to know as little as possible about me so that she doesn't think we're more than we are.

Heather's stomach grumbles, interrupting my train of thought.

"Sorry," she recovers. "I didn't have any lunch today."

"You had a lunch box," I remind her.

"No one else was eating," she explains.

"Those boys were certainly putting it away."

"Yeah, they're boys. Girls shouldn't eat like that," she says. I roll my eyes at her.

"Says the girl who practically devoured Alice's huckleberry cheese pie on Monday night." Heather scrunches her face up at my comment, so I change the subject. "Tell me about the new friends you sit with at lunch."

"Well, there's Ali. She's pretty cool. She's kind of taken me under her wing in yearbook class."

"Just in yearbook, huh?"

"Kayne, do you have something to say to me?" Heather asks, her tone berating. I throw my hands up in surrender and then gesture for her to continue. "Talking like that, you can take a wild guess why Ali doesn't really like you."

I feign hurt, grabbing my heart.

"Two guys, Fletcher and George, are super nice and sweet. They're on the football team. They're also in my yearbook class." I pause, thinking. "Laurie, too. I haven't gotten the best vibe from her yet, and she seems to clash with Ali a bit."

"What about the other guy at the table?"

"Oh! Laurie's boyfriend. Patrick Newman. Total sleazeball. I got the vibe on the first day, and he definitely hasn't changed my mind." I nod, taking in all the information.

"What else do you know about them?"

"Not much. Patrick's parents are wealthy. Laurie and Patrick have a weird relationship. They explicitly talk about other hot people in front of each other, and no one gets jealous," she says.

"Jealousy isn't a good trait on anyone."

"It's not like that, though. It's more of a swingers vibe." She giggles. I cringe at the absurdity of high schoolers acting like that.

I make a fake retching noise. "Ugh. They're too young for sex, let alone swinging."

"Hey, Heather," I say. Heather turns her attention to me. "Promise me something."

"Yeah, Kayne?"

"Be careful. We can't trust anyone at this school until we know who the dealers are. It could be anybody."

"Oh, okay," she says softly.

"Back to logistics," I say. Heather sits up in her seat, eager to discuss this. "You've proven that you're good at establishing that solid first impression. How can we do that more?"

"Maybe by not doing homework at your place. Let's go to a coffee shop or restaurant in town and do our homework there after school on some days. Then we will see all different types of people leaving band practice, after-school clubs, and sports practice." I nod in approval.

Heather takes the opportunity to grab my hand and pull me up off the couch. She moves toward the table where our notebooks are splayed out. She stuffs them into her backpack and slings the bag over her shoulder.

"We can start now at the coffee shop downtown. Besides, then I can get a snack!" She says, her stomach grumbling in agreement.

~*~

Heather

At the coffee shop, we take a seat in the back where we won't be immediately seen, but we can see everyone who comes in.

People trickle in here and there. It isn't until a group of guys comes in with Patrick Newman that I get up to buy another cup of coffee. I stand behind them in line, looking closely at each of them, but I don't recognize them.

"Patrick," I call out his name. He turns and sees me, giving me a nod. He orders his drink and then strides over to me in the back of the line.

"What's up, Heather?" He asks, shooting me a less sleazy grin than usual.

"Not much. Getting some coffee to get through A.P. homework."

"Oh yeah? That's rough." Patrick glances forward at the group of guys. "These are some of my buddies from school."

Another guy walks up with similar facial features as Patrick, but with short, dark hair. "I'm Faulkner," he introduces himself, "Patrick's cousin." He extends his hand for me to shake, and the feeling of it gives me a chill up my spine. His hands are ice cold.

I nod at him. "Sweet. Do you have any other relatives at the school?" I ask, turning my question to Patrick. He shakes his head.

As each guy finishes ordering, I am introduced to each of them. Soon, I know the faces and names of Sherman Harris, Chris Sweeney, and Matt Rick. Matt is a senior at a school in the next town over. Toned arms and broad chests surround me, asking me about myself when the bell on the coffee shop door rings.

"What are you doing here?" Ali's honeyed voice says.

"Kayne and I are doing our A.P. calc homework together," I reply. Ali shoots a glance over in the direction of Kayne, looking on from afar.

"Ah. The mysterious Kayne."

"He's not that much of a mystery."

"Heather," Ali says, encircling my shoulders with her left arm. "You've never told me his deal. Why do you hang out with him?"

"Well, we're just doing homework right now."

"Yeah, but what's his deal?"

"His deal?"

"His story. How did he end up here?"

"Oh. Kayne's parents died in a car crash over the summer. His grandmother lives here, so when he moved here, she enrolled him at this school." The lie slides easily off my tongue.

"So, it's a pity hangout?"

Her words have me taken aback. "Not at all. I can actually relate to him because of my mom--."

"Listen, Heath," Ali turns, putting both hands on my shoulders. "Just be careful with him. I got a bad vibe off him when he came into school the first day."

"Ali, you thought he was hot on the first day."

"Well, of course. Have you seen him?" Ali's voice croons. "But, someone else might be a better match for my new bestie. Someone like Fletcher, maybe?"

"What are you talking about, Ali?"

"It's not obvious? He's totally crushing on you!"

"Oh. I honestly didn't notice." I say, rubbing the skin on the back of my neck.

"I've made it my mission to get the two of you together."

"Ali, I appreciate the thought, but no thanks," I say, hoping she'll drop the subject. She pulls out her phone and starts typing away on it. "I just got out of something in L.A., so I'm not ready for something new."

Ali ignores me, saying, "I'll tell Fletcher to take it slow. He told me the other day he really wanted to ask you out."

"Ali, really, it's not necessary."

"Seriously, it's my pleasure to set up my new besties. One day you might even get—."

"Is there a problem here, Heather?" Kayne uses his flat, police officer's voice.

"Not at all," I say, trying to perk up. Sending smiles to Kayne and Ali.

"Abbi, it's nice to see you again."

"It's ALI." Her voice is tight.

Although I know Kayne knows her name, his teasing couldn't have come at a better time to put Ali in her place.

"Heather, I'm stuck on a problem. If you wouldn't mind ending your chit chat over here, I need to get this done so I can get home in time for dinner."

"Absolutely, Kayne." I turn to Ali. "Ali, I'll see you tomorrow at school." Kayne spins to walk away.

"Yes! And at the party tomorrow night!" Kayne stops in his tracks and turns around, listening.

"Party?"

"Yes! It's a small kick-back at George's house."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. Kayne's free tomorrow, too, so we will be there!" I say, waving goodbye before Ali can object.

Kayne follows me, and we retake our seats. I reopen my notebook and try to find the question I was on.

"What was that all about?" Kayne asks.

"Nothing," I reply, deflecting the question.

"Heather." He uses the stern voice again. "You can't be keeping secrets from me."

"Ali just wants to set me up with Fletcher. That's all." Kayne's eyes narrow for a moment but then return to normal.

After a moment of silence, he says, "Oh, well, it's like you said. He seems nice."

Unexpectedly, my chest tightens, and I look away from Kayne, focusing again on homework.

A/N: Would you rather be best friends with Heather or Kayne's love interest?

Answer in the comments!