Tease(24)

I scan forward again, trying to find pictures with me in them. I have a few on my wall, but the only one Dylan has is a group shot, and that’s only because someone else tagged him in it. I’m not tagged, even though I’m standing next to him, up on my toes to see over Jacob’s big shoulder. It was after a game and the guys are all wet-haired from the showers. It’s not, like, a couples shot—it’s just a bunch of people who happened to be outside the school, on our way to a party at Kyle’s house.

My fingers hover over the scroll pad. Do I click on it, add my name to the tags? Will that show up in the feed and make me look like a loser? It will. “Sara Wharton tagged herself in Tyler Chang’s photo because she is an insecure lame-o and she needs you to know that she’s totally dating Dylan Howe, so back off.” Shudder. I click back to the Photos of Dylan page quickly.

And then I see it. Another group picture, but with fewer people. Three, actually—Dylan, Tyler. And Emma in between them. Sitting together on a bench. A bench that’s in Tyler’s backyard. At night. Each of them is holding a plastic cup. It’s definitely a party—besides the cups, all three of them are a little glassy-eyed. And it must’ve been not too long ago, because they’re all wearing winter coats. I’ve seen Emma in that pea coat, in fact. The first time I saw it I couldn’t help but feel jealous, because it’s this really pretty aqua color that looks amazing with her hair.

It looks amazing in this photo, too. This photo where Dylan is leaning his head close to that hair of hers, so close you can’t tell if they’re touching. Tyler is laughing, but Emma and Dylan just look happy. Comfortable.

I was definitely not at that party. I have to take a deep breath before I look down, at the date on the photo. It’s another one of Tyler’s, so maybe he’s just loaded some new ones or something. Because it must have been taken earlier in the winter, before Dylan and I started going out officially in early December.

And maybe it was. But the date on it is January 20.

The day after Brielle’s party.

Brielle doesn’t know about the photo I found on Dylan’s page, but it’s like she does, because suddenly we’re practically on a mission to Get Emma. Every day Brielle finds a way to say something mean to her, at least in gym—though after the locker room thing, Emma isn’t around for gym very often.

But Brielle is like the late-winter weather outside, cold and relentless. She makes us go out of our way to walk down the hall where Emma’s locker is. She finds Emma in the library. She never says much, but that’s almost scarier—just hissing “Slut” at someone as you walk past, so quietly they’re not even sure they heard it, is like a poison dart in the forest. Emma’s head always jerks up, and she always knows it was us, but she never really knows for sure. She just feels the sting.

It’s just, I don’t know, a hobby. There’s nothing to do at school these days. I want to try out for the spring musical, but that’s not for another three weeks. Brielle used to play basketball, but she dropped it this year. I guess everyone’s bored, because Brielle seems to be gathering recruits to our anti-Emma campaign. Alison Stipe and Jacob aren’t even a little bit friendly to her now.

Emma’s helping the cause, of course. Kyle asked her to the Valentine’s dance, so now she’s on to Boyfriend #256 or whatever.

“She’s always around,” Tyler complains when we’re all having lunch off campus one day. It’s, like, two degrees outside and I’m sunk down in my puffy coat, not concerned that I must look like a turtle squished down in its shell. I can’t help it, though. Even now that we’re inside Burger King I can’t get warm.

“Well, dude, I mean, they’re ‘dating,’” Jacob says, making air quotes with two french fries.

Tyler laughs, but Brielle wrinkles her nose. “Are they, though?” she says. “I mean, Kyle keeps texting me. I think she’s just stalking him, like she did with all of you.”

The guys act like they haven’t really heard this; they all seem to be very interested in their food suddenly. I shoot Brielle a look, but I don’t think she sees it. To be fair, only a small part of my face is visible right now.

“Whatever, you know, she’s just gross,” Brielle goes on nonchalantly. “I just hope Kyle’s being super careful, because we seriously don’t know where that thing has been.”

Now everyone laughs. I feel a little confused—isn’t this more insulting to Jacob and Tyler than the stalking thing?—but I’m relieved that the tension is gone. The boys go back to talking about baseball and I come out of my coat long enough to eat a few chicken nuggets. But Brielle is still kind of frowning, like she’s trying to figure something out. I try to catch her eye again, but when I finally do, she looks right through me.

Dylan and I walk back to his car together, and he puts his arm around me on the way. “Are you always this cold?” he asks.

“Yes! It’s ninety billion degrees below zero!” I say, and I wiggle my arm under his open coat, around his waist. “You’re so warm.”

He just laughs and lets me into the SUV, where I sit and shiver until he comes around to the driver’s side and turns on the heat. “Sorry,” he says, “I should’ve started it from inside.”

“That’s okay.”