When the bell finally rang signaling the end of school, Emma walked out with the rest of the students. She made her way to her locker, going the long way around to avoid the gym. Not that she'd planned on going in there today – or any other day after class, ever again – but she had this vague, nagging sense about it. There was almost no way she'd get trapped inside again; what were the odds? But it still wasn't worth the risk. She might have avoided getting in trouble for not coming home last night, but she'd be getting in trouble for sure if it happened again tonight. So, as she swapped out her books and headed to the parking lot, she made sure to stay with the crowd.

She made her way to the far end of the parking lot, to the back row where she'd parked her car the day before. She got in and leaned against the headrest, resisting the urge to recline the seat back and close her eyes. It had been a long day, but at least it was over. She was supposed to be at a debate club meeting, but there was no way she was doing that today. Besides, they were only going over the final touches on their arguments for next week, and she'd submitted her outline three days ago. It wasn't like they'd really need her for anything today.

She opened her eyes and put the key in the ignition. She didn't live that far away, and her bed would make a much better place to nap than her secondhand car. She pushed the gas pedal down halfway, then released it. The car had always been temperamental, and she didn't want to flood the engine. Maybe someday, she'd get enough money to buy a new one.

Emma made it home in one piece and headed straight to her room. She'd never been so glad to see her own bed. She slid under the covers, not even caring about the mountain of homework she had to make up. Besides, that's what Saturdays were for.

Monday morning, Emma got ready for class as usual. And she was pleased to say that the day progressed normally. She'd been a little worried that once debate club was over, they'd find that someone had locked them in the room, but it hadn't happened. Apparently, whoever was in charge of things like that was taking a little bit more care nowadays. Still, Emma made sure to walk out with the rest of the students, just in case. Once she was safely outside the school's main doors, she finally began to relax.

Emma said goodbye to the others and walked across the parking lot. She was aware almost instantly that someone was watching her. She glanced around and was only vaguely surprised to see Logan Harris grinning at her from across the nearly-empty lot. Emma groaned to herself. What did he want? Maybe if she just ignored him, she could get home without having to subject herself to him again for a second time in less than a week.

"Hey, Emma!" he called out.

"Yeah?" she asked, sighing. She slowed down as he came up to her. And that's when she noticed the man walking a few steps behind him. The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and scowling slightly. Emma immediately got a strange feeling about him.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Logan wanted to know. He grinned at her in his typically annoying way, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Something was clearly going on here.

"Uh, yeah. I guess." Emma replied, her eyes sliding over to the man who was now standing just behind him.

Her mind immediately began filling with questions. Did Logan know this man? Was there a problem? Was that why he needed a favor? She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do about it, but she guessed she could try something if she had to. If nothing else, she could probably call 911.

Logan must have seen the look on her face. He winced slightly and she was pretty sure she watched him mouth the word sorry.

"This is my dad." he said, nodding vaguely behind him. Emma looked. Now that he mentioned it, she guessed she could see the resemblance, especially around the eyes. She breathed a small sigh of relief that she hoped neither of them noticed.

"Oh. Hi." she said, trying to be polite. Why was his dad here? More importantly, why did he look so unhappy about it?

"He dropped me off at school today." Logan told her. He sounded nonchalant, but a scowl crossed his face that his dad couldn't see.

"Why? Is something wrong with your truck?"

"Nope. But apparently, I'm not trustworthy enough to use it for the week."

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw his dad sneer. She was about to ask what Logan had done this time, but he continued on before she got the chance.

"Can you tell him what happened Thursday?" he asked, glancing back at his dad for the first time.

"You mean when we got locked in the school?"

"Yeah." Logan nodded.

"Oh. Sure." Clearly, Logan's dad hadn't believed him when he'd tried to explain what had happened. Emma didn't exactly blame him. Turning to his dad, she said, "We were in the gym after school – just talking. And when we went to get out, the doors were locked."

"How long were you two just talking in the gym?" his dad asked, eyebrows raised.

"Only a couple minutes." Emma answered. She found herself glancing over at Logan, but he remained frustratingly quiet. "We were talking about Homecoming. I mean, about the date, and—"

And about how he'd wanted to change it and she'd said no.

Emma decided this was a good time to stop talking. She had no idea why she'd brought up the Homecoming stuff. Mostly, she guessed it was a combination of nerves and because Logan's dad was still staring at her like his son had probably paid her for a convincing story. But she wasn't about to continue if she didn't have to. The man already looked so grim, she didn't want to tell him what an entitled jackass his son was. She got the feeling it wouldn't go over all that well. Besides, it would also mean having to admit that she hadn't exactly been at her best that day either.

"So, you two were talking about Homecoming?" his dad asked, looking skeptically at Logan.

"Actually, yeah. We were." Logan said. Then grinning, he added, "I almost forgot about that."

"About the date?" his dad asked.

"I... well, I, uh..." Logan said. He looked vaguely nervous. Emma wondered if it was because he'd just realized how arrogant it sounded. Maybe he figured his dad would be almost as unimpressed as she'd been.

"So, you finally found someone to take to the dance then?" his dad asked, regarding his son with an expression that Emma couldn't quite read. Clearly, he hadn't been on the same page as her at all.

"Oh—" Logan said, straightening. He looked over at Emma, eyes like saucers. "I mean – Well..." Then, he got ahold of himself. "I mean, sure. Why not?"

He gave Emma a shrug and a half-smile. Emma just stared at him for what must have been a full minute. Was he serious? Weren't there at least a dozen other girls he'd rather take? Besides, she didn't even like him! And she was more than sure he didn't like her either.

She was about to tell him that no, she wouldn't be going this year. She never did like dancing, and the thought of buying an expensive dress just to go hang out in the gym with a horde of sweaty, overdressed students seemed ludicrous. But as she opened her mouth, she saw his brow crease just a fraction, and she hesitated.

Please? she saw him mouth.

"You really want me to?" she asked, confusion washing over her. He actually looked almost worried that she'd say no.

"Uh, yeah. I would." he said. He swung his eyes to the side, in the direction his dad was standing.

Oh. So they were doing this for the benefit of Logan's dad. Emma guessed that made sense; if she said no, there was a decent chance his dad would assume their whole story was a lie.

It was true she'd never really liked Logan, but she also had to admit, she didn't know him all that well. Even though she still found him grating – one single night in a dark room with a guy wasn't enough for her to overcome years of loathing – he hadn't actually been as bad as she would have thought. Besides, as the student body vice president, she really should go to the dance. How could she spend weeks planning an event, encouraging everyone else to buy tickets, only to bail on it herself? And most importantly, even if she decided to back out later, she guessed she didn't have to actually embarrass the guy in front of his dad.

"Yeah, sounds good." she told him. She could see his face flood with relief for just a second.

"Great." he said casually. Then for the first time since he'd approached her, Logan turned to face his dad. "See? I told you – we just got locked in the gym."

"...So you did." his dad agreed, sounding somewhat surprised. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys. Without another word, he tossed them to Logan and started heading back across the parking lot.

"Thanks." Logan whispered to Emma before turning and hurrying after his dad.

Emma nodded, even though Logan wasn't there anymore to see it. And as the two of them got to their car, Emma was almost positive she heard his dad say something.

"Well, looks like for once you might not be quite the screwup you usually are."

Emma turned her head automatically, not quite believing she'd heard correctly. She could never imagine her dad saying something like that to her.

"So who is that girl, anyway?" his dad asked as he shut the door.

"Oh, Emma?" Logan asked. "She's a girl who—"

But the car door shut, and Emma couldn't hear the rest of what Logan said. As she walked across the parking lot to her own car, she had to admit she was a little disconcerted by the whole thing. There was something about Logan's dad that she just didn't like. And the way Logan seemed almost nervous around him didn't exactly help. Emma caught herself wondering if Logan's dad was always like that, or if he'd just hit his limit with his son's obnoxiousness.

But the thing that shocked her most was the fact that she actually did want to know what Logan had told his dad about her. She never would have thought she'd actually care what Logan Harris thought about anything, much less about her.