Complete Nothing (True Love #2)(38)

CHAPTER TWENTY


True


“So then he gets up on the stage and reads this poem asking me to homecoming. . . .” Katrina beamed as she trailed off and looked over at Charlie.

“Pretty much the most humiliating moment of my life,” he said, shaking his head at the french fries on his plate.

“No! It was sweet! Everyone loved it.” Katrina rubbed his back, then leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I loved it.”

“As long as you loved it,” he said. “But I guarantee you I’m not going back to open mic poetry night at the library anytime soon.” Then he glanced up at Katrina. “Unless you’re reading, of course.”

I beamed across the lunch table at them—my big success story. It was just the three of us today, since Hephaestus had discovered this morning that the school had a functioning metal workroom in the arts wing and I was pretty sure I was never going to see him again. The good news was, being around Charlie and Katrina made me feel more confident that I would find a way to bring Peter and Claudia back together. It was just a matter of time.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much of that. Just ask the rapidly emptying sand timer on my desk and the ever-looming threat of the AA twins.

“I got you a present.”

Wallace announced his arrival by tossing a wrapped gift on the table in front of me. He wasn’t one for hellos and good-byes, this one. I looked up as he grabbed a chair and sat at the end of the table. He was wearing a faded Star Wars T-shirt and plaid shorts along with battered flip-flops, and totally making the look work. Geek chic, I believe it was called.

“What’s this for?”

Wallace lifted a shoulder. “My mom always says, ‘When you see a need, fill it.’ That’s why she’s the CEO of a major multinational food chain,” he said matter-of-factly. “This is something you need, and I had one I didn’t want anymore, so now it’s yours.”

Charlie raised his eyebrows at me, intrigued. I tore open the package. Nestled into layers of tissue paper was a phone that looked exactly like Wallace’s, with the earbuds already attached.

“You’re giving me a cell phone?” I asked.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For my first couple of weeks on Earth I’d considered cell phones my enemy—the insidious monster that kept teens everywhere from experiencing actual interpersonal communication. But then I remembered the music. And I knew after watching Peter with his phone last night as he pined for Claudia, and hearing how mere texts between Keegan and Claudia had sent him over the edge, they might have some purpose in my mission. Slowly I was coming around to the idea that cell phones weren’t so bad. And now I had one of my very own. I was going to have to ask my mother to set up the account, but I was sure she would. She’d just gotten her own credit card, and if the shopping bags strewn throughout her room last night were any indication, she loved using it.

“It’s the last generation, so it’s not as cool as mine, but yeah. You can do everything you want with it,” Wallace said. “And I already downloaded some classical.”

“Wallace! This is too much!”

“What’re friends for?” he replied.

I got up to wrap my arms around his shoulders and planted a smacking kiss on his cheek, moved by the generosity of this person I barely knew. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

He was blushing by the time I sat down again.

“I’m Charlie Cox, by the way,” Charlie said, lifting a hand.

“Oh, hey. Wallace Bracken.” He lifted his chin at Katrina. “Hey, Kit Kat.”

“Hey, Wall-E,” she replied.

Charlie and I shared a confused glance.

“Day camp nicknames,” Katrina explained. “We had a counselor who couldn’t remember anyone’s names, so he made up nicknames for us. It was like a million years ago, but you don’t forget an entire summer being named after a chocolate bar.”

“Or a robot,” Wallace put in. “He probably woulda called you Chuck E. Cheese,” he said to Charlie.

“And you would have been True Dat,” Katrina added with a laugh, biting into an apple.

I laughed and unwound my earbuds, feeling relaxed for the first time in days.

“Hey, guys.”

My heart took a twisting, flipping dive into the depths of my stomach. Orion was hovering behind Wallace’s shoulder, holding his lunch tray. He wore a dark blue T-shirt that clung to his biceps, and had a bit of stubble on his chin and cheeks that reminded me of his first few days on Earth. The days when we were just getting to know each other.

“?’Sup, Orion?” Charlie said. “Why don’t you sit with us?”

“Yes!” I could have hugged Charlie for suggesting it. And the closest empty chair just happened to be next to me. I pulled it out and grinned. “Please, sit with us. I need to get to know my football player better.”

Orion’s smile widened, nearly breaking my heart. “Okay. Sure.”

He glanced uncertainly at Wallace as he skirted past him and took the chair next to mine. As he sat, our knees touched, and a shot of attraction zoomed up my leg so hot and fast I almost passed out. Orion froze for a second. Had he felt it too?

“Sorry about that,” he said, clearing his throat.