Of course, the police had been called, though Brett was long gone. The other two boys began complaining immediately that they were the wronged parties, so Officer Briggs had told them that they should pursue Mr. Banks in a civil proceeding if they felt they had grounds, but he saw nothing to indicate that Mr. Banks should be taken into custody at that time.

The one they really wanted was nowhere in sight, though. Officer Briggs assured Mr. Sisco, Ruthie, her father, and Elliott that someone had already been dispatched to his family's ranch to search it for his truck, or the culprit himself.

Just when things at the parking lot were calming down a little, Elliott's grandmother arrived, crying and asking if she could call their reverend. Elliott and Ruthie finally convinced her that doing so wouldn't help anyone, though she kept asking Mark and Leroy, for some reason, if it wouldn't help them.

"All three boys have refused medical assistance, so we'll be taking Dumb and Dumber over there to the station to book them on assault," Officer Briggs told Ruthie and her Pop.

"No way, Elliott was punched and kicked in the belly and abdomen," Ruthie complained, her voice loud enough to reach the paramedics who were treating all of the boys.

"I checked him over, Ruthie," Shirley, the paramedic working on him called over. "Like last time, he'll have some contusions, but no internal injuries."

Ruthie nodded, though she was reluctant. She couldn't get the image of how his inert body was lifted when Brett kicked him out of her mind.

Mrs. Nicholson insisted on taking Elliott straight home, and Ruthie couldn't help overhear her words as they walked away.

"I told you that girl was trouble."

Her Pop heard the words as well, and he was speeding up to go challenge Mrs. Nicholson, so Ruthie put. hand out to stop him.

"No, don't bother. You won't change her mind."

"You surprise me," Pop responded. "I thought you'd be the first to go correct her."

Ruthie shook her head. "Like I said, you won't change her opinion of me." She smiled. "She won't change Elliott's, though, you know?"

This time her Pop only looked surprised; he didn't say anything.

Ruthie shrugged. "Maybe I'm growing up, realizing people's limitations," she answered by way of explanation.

"Right. I don't know if that's a good thing, a mature thing, or just a sad thing," her Pop said, putting an arm around his daughter.

Ruthie braved the cold that night and went out to her special perch on the roof. She'd gone there less, partially because it was winter, but also because she felt less need to be solitary. There were dead leaves blown into the corner, so she wrapped the blanket around herself and snuggled into them as she looked toward Elliott's house, just to see if he was around.

She found that if she craned her neck she could just make him out, all tucked up on the couch as his grandparents waited on him.

"I'm stalking you," she sent on her phone.

"Oh yeah? Aren't you going to get cold?"

"I won't be out here long, don't worry."

Elliott looked up at the dining room window and gave her the bird as he stuck his tongue out.

Ruthie laughed.

"How rude!"

"Isn't watching someone through a window at least equally rude? Not to mention creepy lol."

"Maybe Brett's watching you too, from somewhere else."

No trace of her ex had been found yet, though the police were looking in all of his usual haunts.

Elliott read her text and proceeded to make barfing motions.

In the middle of this he suddenly broke off and looked in another direction. He listened for a moment, then shook his head vigorously. Ruthie could see him mouthing the words, "No, I'm fine, honest."

She could even hear the words, in his accent, from the way his mouth moved, in her head of course.

"Haha! Got caught."

"Bitch."

"Yeah, but you love me."

"I do. I do."

Ruthie smiled as she read the words.

"Well, this bitch is cold. I'm going in, see you at school tomorrow."

"Night."

"Night."

The next day, Ruthie and Elliott's altercation with the others in the parking lot was all anyone at school could talk about.

Leroy and Mark were suspended, unless information about Brett's whereabouts were discovered, and expulsion for the rest of the academic year was being considered for Brett. This didn't seem like much to Elliott until Ruthie explained that, with Brett's current grades, it would put his graduation the following year at risk.

"I, on the other hand, have enough credits to graduate right now," Ruthie informed Elliott, her voice lofty. "The only reason I can't is because you have to be a senior to take senior English, and I'm obviously still a junior."

"My girlfriend, the genius, friends and neighbors," Elliott announced to all in his immediate vicinity.

Pepsi, Linda and Gordon laughed, along with a few other students who were around the table.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gordon asked Ruthie. It was the end of the lunch period.

"I'm fine," Ruthie assured him. "Elliott's the one who got kicked into the middle of next week, honestly." She rubbed Elliott's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I'm not asking him," Gordo said. His voice was unusually curt.

Ruthie bit her lips together. She gave Gordon a sympathetic look.

I know you can't talk to Elliott, the look said. I know why, too.

No one else had seen the look, but no one else had to. Gordon saw, and the effect it had on him was nothing short of remarkable.

He shook his head in disgust, and rose, so quickly that the bench he'd been sitting on got pushed back, and tipped over.

Unfortunately, Pepsi was still sitting on it, and she went flying onto her back, though she sat up short of hitting her head on the pavement.

"What the fuck, Gordon Keith Miranda," Pepsi huffed, as Elliott quickly came around the table to offer her a hand up.

But Gordon din't even turn his head in Pepsi's direction, which shocked Ruthie, as he was usually such a gentleman. The venom in his look shocked her, too.

"Don't," he said to her, eyes narrowed. He shook his head. "Don't presume to know my motivations or lack thereof, okay? Just fucking don't."

He finally acknowledged Pepsi. "I'm sorry I knocked you on your ass," he said, turning briefly in her direction.

"I've just had as much of people's assumptions about me as I can stomach," he said, looking at Ruthie once more.

"Gordo, it's okay," Ruthie tried to assure him. "I get it, honest."

"No, you don't," Gordon retorted, mimicking Ruthie's tone in a spot on impersonation. "You have no idea what I'm thinking about your boyfriend, none!"

He gestured vaguely in Elliott's direction. "You don't think that, do you? What Ruthie's thinking?" Then he turned on Linda. "Or you?

"You might, though, because you'll believe anything," he said to Pepsi.

"Hey now! What did I ever do to you?" Pepsi asked, indignant.

"Never mind," Gordon said, gathering his things quickly into his bag. "You wouldn't know which end of a train was its front until it ran over you."

Now Pepsi was actually speechless, as were Linda and Elliott.

"Gordo!" Ruthie gasped. "What the fuck's gotten into you? Pepsi's your best friend--"

"No, she's not, she's not, Ruthie," Gordon contradicted, taking a step toward her, getting so close she could see the flecks of dark brown in his eyes.

He grabbed his back pack and left without another word, heading toward the parking lot.

Oh my god.

Ruthie followed him, and caught up just as he was starting his car.

"Unless you're coming home with me, you'd better get the fuck out of my car," he said, his tone completely devoid of emotion.

"Gordon! What? What's wrong?" Ruthie was utterly at a loss. "Is all of this because I--I--looked at you like I did?" She shook her head. "Everyone knows how you feel, it's okay, for crying out loud! You're in love with Elliott, and--"

"I'm not!" he roared in her face. "I'm not," he repeated, more quietly.

"Gordo, we all know you're gay, we've known it since, like, fourth grade, okay?" Ruthie tried to rub his shoulder, but he moved away, twitching with anger. "That's no reason to be so abusive to Pepsi, though, you know?"

"I'm not gay," he said, gritting his teeth. "I don't know what makes you think I am, that I could be. What have I ever said to make you think such a thing?"

"That, for starters," Ruthie said with a little smile. "The way you talk, the way you tuck your shirts in--"

"That's so offensive, on so many levels that I don't even know where to start," he responded, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

He turned to face Ruthie once more.

"I'm in love with you," he said, looking into Ruthie's eyes.

"I'm in love with you."

It was as if all of the air in the car had suddenly gone somewhere else.

Ruthie smiled, looking closely at Gordo's face so she'd know when to laugh.

But Gordo wasn't laughing.

Not even close.

Gordon removed one hand from where it was clenching the steering wheel, and put it on top of hers.

"I've loved you since the first day of kindergarten, when you cried because no one would play 'Crackers in Bed' with you on the computer."

Ruthie could remember that day. Ms. Houser had asked if anyone wanted to play the game with her, but no one had volunteered, and she'd burst into tears.

Had Gordon even been in her class?

"Gordo, is this a joke? Isn't this a joke?"

Gordon was shaking his head.

"Do you even know how hard it's been, pretending, all these years, that all I felt for you was friendship?" He reached up to touch her hair, and Ruthie allowed it.

"When we were little, it was such a pure feeling, Ruthie, you can't know unless you've felt it--"

And Ruthie tried to imagine what it would feel like to like someone, to love them, during that time when "sex" was just a funny word, and running as fast as you could was just something you did because it felt so wonderful.

"I loved coming to school each day just so I could look at you and play jump rope with you and lie down next to you during nap time." Gordon't face had finally softened, his features misty with memory.

"Then we got older, and I had to know that you were dating that cave man in human form," he continued, his voice hardening. "It was torture, knowing when you were out with him, knowing he was doing god knew what with you."

Ruthie was actually rendered speechless for the first time in her life.

"Then, you finally get rid of him, and before I can say or do anything, Elliott the Englishman, Mr. perfect in skinny jeans, is all over you."

Ruthie wanted to hug him, but was worried about how he'd take it. A week ago she would've done it without thinking twice.

God, how awful Gordo's life must have been.

"That day, outside drama, when Brett asked you about the dance? I was going to ask you to go with me," Gordon confessed.

Ruthie could remember the day, how he'd stepped up to be next to her, how he'd put a hand out to her--then Elliott, too, had stepped up, and he'd gotten credit for it, because he'd asked her to the dance.

Like Gordo had been going to.

Gordon took a deep breath, and Ruthie saw to her horror that he was now crying.

"Do you know what it's been like for me? You invited Elliott to go up to Lake Tahoe with your family. You invited me to drive your ex-best friend to her abortion." Gordon wiped his tears, swiping at them angrily.

"Gordon, I'm so sorry," Ruthie said. She felt wetness on her cheeks, and realized she was crying as well.

"Need a ride somewhere? Ask Gordon, he won't mind, he loves driving people around. Got a mess that needs cleaning up? Gordon will do it, he's a pal." His voice was scathing. "No one to eat lunch with? Of course, doormat Gordo is available. But don't worry if your real boyfriend comes along and offers to whisk you away, Gordon won't mind. He's a real mensch, is Gordon."

"I never treated you like that," Ruthie tried to interject.

"Yes you did, you did, don't try to deny it!"

Ruthie was shocked at his voice. She felt like someone had slapped her. And she thought about the truth of his words.

And she felt small.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I didn't know how you felt. And I'm sorry you felt like I took advantage of you, it was never my intention."

"It's okay," Gordon said in a tired voice. "Everyone's a bit of an ass sometimes. We all have a little hypocrite in us, don't we?"

Ruthie stared at him.

"Oh, there's the bell," he said, gesturing toward the building.

Ruthie nodded and got out. She had to jump out of the way when he started his car, threw it into reverse, and barreled out of the spot.

She'd assumed he was coming with her.

She'd assumed many things, apparently.