"So you don't really know anything about that house either?" asked Sarah once they were back in the car and on their way to the secret after-party. Her first secret after-party. Actually, her first any type of after-party.

Venus laughed. "Of course not. As if I'd care," she dismissed the follow-up, ignoring the elaborate lie she had just told and proving quite the opposite.

For the second time that night, Sarah wished she could just dissolve into thin air and she turned, fighting back tears. Why was everyone in this town so rude to her? She took several deep breaths to calm herself. Well, not everyone. So far, Caleb had been the only kid her age who'd made a real effort to be friendly and in a few minutes, she'd get to ditch these jerks and hang out with him for the rest of the night.

That realization made her feel loads better, and Sarah spent the remainder of the trip to Bedlam Woods watching the blur of trees go by. Eventually, Bennett turned onto a narrower road that wasn't even paved as they continued deeper into the forest.

Up ahead, an orange glow flickered, its source mostly hidden behind the thicket of trees until they arrived at a clearing. On one side, parked cars were squeezed into a corner like overpacked sardines, leaving no room for one to leave without another getting out first. On the other side, a large bonfire roared, throwing sparks into the air as if releasing a thousand fireflies to the heavens.

Around the pyre, hundreds of teenagers stood and sat with cups and bottles in hand while chatting, flirting, and playing.

"Party time!" yelled Bennett as he locked up his car and grabbed Sonja's hand, pulling her toward the action.

Venus and Bess also broke off to join a group of kids fooling around with a volleyball, leaving Sarah on her own. Taking the cue from other new arrivals, she got in line at the keg. A few minutes later, she was sipping warm and foamy beer out of a red, plastic cup.

Happy that she had something to hide behind while checking out the party, Sarah slowly drank and walked as she searched for Caleb. But unless he was hiding behind one of the scraggly elms or under a hawthorn bush, he wasn't there.

Maybe he's running late, she thought, gulping down another mouthful of mostly bitter foam.

And while that was a perfectly reasonable explanation, her mind wouldn't let her leave it at that.

What if his parents caught wind of his plans and stopped him from going out? Was that even a possibility for someone like Caleb? The most popular guy in school could usually get away with anything and he probably had his parents bend to his every will, so that probably wasn't it.

Sarah frowned as her eyes darted between the kids scattered around the bonfire, all laughing and talking without a care in the world. And here she was, standing all alone, drinking cheap-ass beer by herself, pining for a guy she'd talked to three whole times.

What a sad-sack loser she was!

Yeah, that was more like it. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Caleb was here and he was just avoiding her. But then why would he invite her in the first place?

Sarah's head began to pound from all the theorizing, but just then, the beat of actual drums took over. Someone had turned on music and whether through bluetooth speakers or a car stereo, they were blasting it through the clearing at maximum volume. But as an electric guitar joined the percussion, something even stranger happened.

It was as if the kids had been waiting for this moment. Everyone except Sarah, that is, because she had absolutely no idea what was going on. The others, though, jumped up from where they'd been sitting and ran closer to the bonfire. As the vocals on the recording started, they began to sing along. And while different groups belted out the individual stanzas of the weirdly perverted classic 'Cum on Feel the Noize,' the whole crowd joined in with the chorus.

Sarah's jaw dropped. What in the fucking Glee was this? The only reason she knew the song was because the circulation desk manager at the Alameda Public Library had used it to help her with spelling when she was eight. It wasn't the most appropriate example the blue-haired librarian could have used to demonstrate the pitfalls of phonics, but it did get Sarah interested in alternative subcultures.

But there was no logical explanation why these Massachusetts kids who were all born post 9/11 would be so into Quiet Riot's arguably most famous song.

She didn't have too much time to ponder the why's because unfortunately, the singalong wasn't the worst of it. Because as the line 'girls rock your boys' rang out, Sarah's gaze finally landed on Caleb. He was on the parking side of the fire pit so it was highly likely he'd just arrived, but he wasn't alone. And he looked to be very happy to have the one and only Four Ever Moore grinding herself all over him.

Ugh. Sarah willed herself to squash her bubbling nausea, but she couldn't keep herself from watching the grotesque show. Before she realized it, she'd also caught Caleb's attention as he looked right at her.

"Oh, shit!" she muttered, awkwardly turning and taking refuge behind the nearest tree trunk. But it was too late. Before she could decide what to do next, he was standing in front of her.

"California! You made it," he said with a huge smile, pointing behind them. "But you know the party is that way?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeaaah. I . . . uhm," she muttered, unable to think of any good excuse for hiding behind the tree. So instead, she twirled a lock of her long, platinum hair around her finger and tried to look cute. Caleb was a guy, right? What else would he pay attention to, anyway?

It seemed to work because his satisfied expression didn't waiver. "Long time no see," he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. As promised, he'd changed from his football uniform into jeans and a long-sleeved henley that hugged the muscles in his upper body perfectly. And there were definitely many of them. "I mean, apart from like an hour ago at the game. Anyway, I thought I'd see you in school by now. Oh, I've said that already, didn't I?" he rambled.

It was adorable, but it made Sarah feel awful about her feelings of jealousy and even anger about seeing him with Ever a minute earlier. She really needed to chill with the assumptions. He did deny them being together, after all.

"Yeah, I didn't get permission to start until Thursday, and then I wasn't feeling very well this morning," Sarah admitted, deciding to be as honest with him about her reasoning as possible without sounding like a freak.

His smile grew even wider. "Already playing hooky on your second day? Impressive!"

"It wasn't like that." She shook her head and furrowed her brows. The change in tone didn't escape his attention, and Caleb immediately threw up his hands in opposition.

"No, of course not. I'm just kidding," he said, apologetically before reaching for her cup. "Mind if I have the rest of this? If you're sick then maybe you shouldn't be drinking."

She didn't resist, handing over the little left of her beer. "Sure. But I'm not sick. Not any more. I mean, not like that," she babbled, but the attempt at clarification sounded more like denial, even to her own ears. Desperate to regain control of the conversation, she steered the topic back to school. "Hey, I think we'll have at least one class together."

Downing the remaining booze, Caleb looked up. "Oh, yeah? Which one?"

Sarah smiled. Although the rest of her requests were tailored to her academic interests--Physics for getting a scientific explanation of the paranormal, State History for diving into local lore, and English for sharpening her writing skills--she had specifically asked the counselor what elective football players usually took to guarantee a shared class with Caleb.

"Drama, I think," she said, hoping that she didn't sign up for it for nothing.

He held up his free hand for a high-five. "How lucky is that?!" he exclaimed as she accepted the celebratory gesture. But as their palms smacked against each other, instead of swooping through, he gently grabbed her fingers. "That means I get to see you every day, right?" he whispered, turning serious for the first time while intently looking into Sarah's eyes.

The moment was straight out of a Hallmark romance movie. Sarah saw and heard nothing, but the boy standing in front of her. Her nose was filled only with his scent and her ears only caught the sound of his breathing as his face gradually neared hers. Her heart practically beat out of her chest as she waited to be kissed, the anticipation of his lips on hers making her head spin.

And then her phone rang.

Caleb jumped back, dropping his grip on his hand before Sarah scrambled in her pocket for the device. The number on the screen was different than before back in the library, but the display once again said "Unknown Caller."

"I think it's just my mom," she said, almost thankful that it was a call that she could easily ignore. She'd already texted Jane that she'd be with friends, but if it had been her aunt checking in, she would have had to answer. "It can go to voicemail."

Caleb appeared confused. "You think? Like, I get not recognizing the number, but you don't have your mom saved as a contact? Mine's listed as 'Congress' since she makes all the rules. Get it?" he asked, quickly pulling up the directory and showing it to her.

Sarah couldn't help, but smile again at his goofy charm. She was also thankful that he didn't seem cross for the interruption. "Yeah, sure. That's cute. But my mom has trouble keeping track of her stuff so she doesn't have her own phone any more," she said.

He pocketed his phone. "Does she lose things or something?"

"Loses, pawns, it's all the same in the end," said Sarah with a shrug.

Caleb's expression fell as he began to understand. "Oh. So how does she contact you?" he asked as the phone in her hand kept on ringing.

"She'll use the one in the grocery store or borrow a friend's, I suppose," Sarah said, looking back down at the screen, illuminated by the relentless activity. "This really should have gone to voicemail by now."

"Answer it," Caleb said, nodding to the phone. "Go on."

Sarah sighed. She wasn't in the mood to deal with her mother, but she also didn't want to look like a heartless bitch in front of the boy she liked. She pushed the green icon to accept.

"Hello?" she said after raising the device to her ear.

Silence.

Sarah turned her back to Caleb. "Mom, this isn't a good time. Remember that I'm three hours ahead and it's pretty late here . . .," she said with her best effort to appear assertive, but the sound of static on the other end made her pause. "Mom?"

More static.

"Is everything okay?" Caleb asked, prompting Sarah to pivot back around to face him.

"I don't know. There's no one--"

Heavy breathing on the other end of the line cut her off. The sound was so unexpected and so creepy, that Sarah's reflexive reaction was to toss the phone away.

Caleb gasped. "Holy shit! What's going on?" he asked, grabbing her elbows to prop her up.

It was only then that Sarah realized that her knees were buckling under her, and had it not been for his quick thinking, she would have fallen to the ground.