Puck

As we walk down the hallway from our last class of the week, Marlowe's hand lightly brushes against mine. I glance at her with a grin before catching her hand with mine, but then her trio of friends come from around the corner. Marlowe attempts to pull her hand away from mine before they spot us, and I reluctantly let her go.

To say I've been confused by her mixed signals is an understatement.

It was her idea to pretend that we're dating to get through this year without distractions, and we get along great. But she shies away from doing anything too coupley in front of other people and she still won't give me her phone number.

I asked her the night of the party when she drove me home and she grinned and told me to try again once school started. So I did. I asked her at the end of our first school day and she rolled her eyes at me and asked if that's how I got all the girls' numbers at my old school.

If you counted the first time I asked her, when we met in Toronto, that was three times already. By baseball standards, I had struck out. And I wasn't even trying to get on base!

This is why I stick to hockey.

Peyton, Hadley and Ronnie fall into step with us, and I debate on excusing myself to get to the bus. It's not that I personally don't like Marlowe's friends but I'm starting to notice a pattern in Marlowe's attitude toward me when they're around. She becomes more distant and aloof, and it's really perplexing since I thought our pretending to date would mean just the opposite.

"So what are you doing your first Friday night since school started, Puck?" Ronnie asks while placing a hand on my arm.

Marlowe's eyes narrow in her direction.

Crap. I guess I didn't escape to my bus soon enough.

"I'm going to mow down on some food and then head over to practice," I answer while attempting to discreetly move my arm away from her hand.

"But what about after practice? You're coming to Mason's party, right?" Hadley asks.

I shake my head. "No? I don't know who Mason is and this is the first I've heard of it."

"Lowe!" Peyton whacks Marlowe's arm and shakes her head at her. "You didn't tell him?"

I meet Marlowe's eyes and try to decipher what this means. Why wouldn't she tell me? Does she not want me there?

"I didn't think you liked going to parties," she explains with a shrug.

"You're going though?" I ask, continuing to search her eyes.

She nods and then looks away, leaving me with a whole lot more questions than answers.

This girl is so confusing.

"Well, I hope you girls have fun tonight. Stay safe, okay?" I smile at each of them and then take Marlowe's bag off my shoulder to hand it back to her. "I should get going. I don't want to miss the bus."

"Puck," Marlowe mumbles my name in what sounds like an apology as she takes her bag back from me, and now all her friends are oddly quiet.

So awkward.

I offer her another smile. "I'll see you Monday, okay?" For good measure, I reach up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, then I turn away and pick up my pace to get the hell out of there.

I thought our fake relationship plan was supposed to prevent high school drama but now it feels like I'm drowning in it. I can't wait to hit the ice and get this girl out of my head.

----------

Marlowe

"So what the heck is going on between you and Puck?" Peyton asks while the four of us finish getting ready for Mason's party.

I wish I had a straight answer for her.

Everything with Jonah was turning out to be a lot more complicated than it was supposed to be. Things with Chris were easy, simple. Things with Damien were messy, but they were still simple. I knew what he expected and I knew how to play my role. But with Jonah...

The poor guy seemed so confused and maybe even hurt when the girls brought up Mason's party. I caught up to him before he got on his bus and offered to drive him home, but when I mentioned that I was bringing the girls over to my place he shook his head and said he'd be fine taking the bus.

"Puck, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the party. I just know that you don't like parties. I didn't think you'd want to go," I rambled out an apology and he stepped to the side to let other kids get on the bus ahead of him.

"You don't like parties either. You're going," he pointed out with a frown. "I just... Are we doing this or not, MJ? If you've changed your mind, that's okay. I just want to know."

"Yes, we're doing this."

"Great. I'll see you Monday."

He stepped toward the bus and I quickly gripped his hand to stop him. "Wait, Puck. Why don't you come tonight? It could be a good opportunity to show everyone that we're together." I gave him a dazzling smile and squeezed his hand, "Let me show you off a little."

He hesitated before answering and then gave me an answer I didn't want to hear. "I don't know, MJ. I don't have a car to get anywhere and I don't like asking Jack for too many favours. Plus, practice will probably be gruelling. I'll just want to crash afterwards." The bus in front of us started up and Jonah gave me a soft smile. "Monday, okay? You can show me off then." He gave me a quick wink and then pulled his hand free of mine and hurried onto the bus.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I reply to Peyton with a little smirk.

"Uh, yeah. We all would," Ronnie jumps in. "If you're just going to jerk him around, let him go so the rest of us have a shot."

I frown while I straighten the last piece of my hair. "I'm not jerking him around."

"So why didn't you invite him tonight?" Hadley asks. "It's like you don't want anyone else to have him but you're still keeping yourself open and playing the field."

"I'm not-" I bite back the words I want to spit out and take a calming breath. "I think I really like him... I know he's not a fan of parties though and I don't know... I think I didn't want to ask him so that I wouldn't have to hear him turn me down."

I'm surprised by my honesty and I can tell the girls are too by the silence that momentarily fills the room.

"Marlowe Jacobs actually likes a boy!" Ronnie gushes loudly before the silence can stretch out for too long.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. "I've liked boys before. I dated Chris and Damian, remember?"

"You hated Damian," Peyton says with a chuckle.

She's not wrong, but I still scrunch up my face and lie through my teeth. "I didn't hate him... He was my boyfriend."

"You did so!" Hadley laughs, "I'm pretty sure you cringed any time you said his name and you got moody every weekend that he had home games."

"Well, we just weren't very compatible, I guess..." I wipe an imaginary piece of dust off my skirt. "Chris was really nice though. I liked him."

"You were indifferent at best when it came to Chris," Hadley says with a smirk. "He transferred to another team and moved away and you were basically like, kbye boyfran."

"And you never once blushed when you talked about him. Not like you just did now when you mentioned liking Puck!" Peyton teases.

"Just admit it, Lowe. Puck has cast a spell on you and now you're kinda being a bitch to him to keep him from getting too close," Ronnie correctly identifies what I've been doing and I curl my hands into fists to keep from snapping at her.

"Whatever you say, Ronnie," I say with feigned amusement. "Are you guys done dissecting my love life? I thought we had a party to-"

I'm stopped mid-sentence when Peyton softly questions, "Is this because of your dad, Lowe? 'Cause you know, not-"

"Peyton! I am so done talking about this." I stand up from my bed and begin to cross my room to the door. "You guys are reading way too much into this. Maybe that's why I never talked much about Chris and Damien to you, hmm? Geesh!" I reach my bedroom door and swing it open. "Can we get going now?"

When I look into the hallway, my mom is standing there with a troubled look on her face.

Dangit. How much of that did she hear?

She quickly transforms her face into a smile and waves at my friends. "Did you girls need a ride tonight? I'm about to head to work so I could drop you off on my way."

"That's okay, Mom. The party is at Mason's so we're just going to walk there."

"Oh, that works nicely. Are you three sleeping here tonight then?"

My friends shake their heads while I answer, "Ronnie's dad is going to pick them up. I have some homework I want to do first thing in the morning before I go to work."

"It's the first weekend of school and you're already bogged down with homework?" My mom laughs and the girls join her.

"That's what she gets for taking all the smart people classes," Ronnie teases.

"A mother's worst nightmare, having a daughter that's way smarter than she is," my mom jokes as we all file down the hallway to the front door.

I roll my eyes at them and nudge my mom's arm. "Have a good night at work, Mom, and don't worry about me. I'll stay safe."

"I know you will, MJ." She presses a kiss to my forehead. "That's one of the many real benefits of having a smart daughter. I hope you all have fun."