Again, But Better(41)

If something were to happen between us, he would have to make the first move. Not that I would even know how to initiate any sort of move … he might have been making moves last night. Moves that I blocked? I wish I could ask Babe. It feels taboo to share any of this with anyone, because as far as I know, Pilot has a girlfriend. It’s against the rules to like him. I like to follow the rules.

But, maybe they did break up? It’s not like he would have shouted it from the rooftops. He could have. He said he wanted to go to Edinburgh together next weekend. I mean, the signs are saying yes!




“Shane?”

My head snaps up. Pilot’s at the foot of my bed, waving his hands around. Whoa. Last time I looked up, Pilot was heading to shower. I slam the cover closed on my notebook, hastily click off my pen, and smile at him. “Hey! Yes! Ready?” I shove Horcrux Nine into my book bag.

Pilot and I find Babe and Chad in the lobby, sitting on opposite sides of a bench with their arms crossed.

“Hey,” Pilot says as we step up to their bench.

“Morning!” I greet them.

“Ready to get a cab?” Babe jumps up.

“Yeah, sho—” I start.

“Great!” Babe interrupts. She power walks out the door with her suitcase.

It takes us ten minutes to flag down a taxi in this outskirt area of Paris. When we do, I step up and open the door to the back seat. Babe jumps forward and scoots in immediately. The driver pops the trunk and gets out to help load our bags.

“I’m not getting in that taxi,” Chad announces from the sidewalk. There’s a thump as Babe’s bag flops into the trunk.

I whip around. “Why? What’s wrong with this taxi?”

“I’m not going in the same taxi as her.”

I hear the thump of my bag dropping into the back. The boys both hold onto their packs, so the driver closes the trunk with a bang and gets back into the car.

“What do you mean, you’re not going in the same taxi as her? We’re all going to the train station. There are four seats here.” I try to speak calmly, but bits of anger edge their way into my voice.

“I want to get a separate taxi!” he yells. Pilot and I exchange a look.

“Man, it took us, like, ten minutes just to find this one taxi,” Pilot reasons.

I duck my head down into the cab to gauge Babe’s reaction. She’s looking determinedly at the back of the seat in front of her.

“I will not ride in this cab,” Chad repeats loudly.

“Shut up, Chad,” I say, whirling back to him.

“You guys go. I’ll stay with him, get another cab. We’ll meet you there,” Pilot offers.

I blow out an angry breath, but concede with a nod and slide in next to Babe.

“Okay, good luck,” I say before closing the door. I shoot a glare at Chad and slam the door. “Gare du Nord, please!” I tell the driver.

My eyes are on Pilot as we pull away from the curb. He nods at me before turning to say something to Chad. I settle into the back seat, my puffy jacket swishing against the leather. Babe pouts next to the window.

I heave a great sigh. “Babe, did more stuff happen with you two? I’m sorry about last night, but please don’t be mad at me. Chad came at me with his face to make you angry or something, but nothing happened. I ran away from him.”

Babe sighs as well. “I’m not mad. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I drank too much.” She’s still looking at the floor. “Chad’s just being an asshole and making a scene. He gets really dramatic sometimes.”

“No kidding.”

Babe snorts and meets my eyes. Hers are glassy. “Last night at the bar I thought things were going really well. He freaked out—and then later when we got back to the room, I wanted to explain, but he wasn’t having it. He just talked over me: ‘Babe, we’ve talked about this! I like short girls, you’re not my type, god, why are you trying to ruin this? We’re having fun and you have to ruin things. It’s so frustrating.’” Her Chad impression is pitchy but I like it.

She continues, “And I was like, ‘I don’t understand why would you ask me to plan your birthday, then!’ And he had the nerve to say, ‘I didn’t ask you to plan anything.’ And I was like, ‘You sure as hell didn’t ask me not to; here we are in Paris together for your birthday!’ And he goes, ‘Don’t try to turn this into some romantic thing.’ And then I told him he was being an asshole, and then he stormed out of the room.”

“What kind of douche kabab says those things to their friend? Who treats anyone like that? He doesn’t deserve you in his life.”

“He eventually came back in and went to sleep.”

“And apologized?”

“No, we didn’t speak this morning.”

“What the heck? And that’s why he had a hissy fit outside and wouldn’t share a cab?”

“I tried to talk to him again while we waited for you guys to come down…”

“Babe, there are other guys out there who like Disney. This whole situation is so weird and melodramatic. It was like you were married for ten years, and he caught you with another man in bed this morning.”

“He’s just passionate.”

I slap a palm to my forehead. “You’re not going to pursue him anymore, right?”