Impossible (28 page)

They were red in the face as they screamed at each other and, as we drew closer to the doors, their voices were loud enough—and far enough from the music—for us to hear.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me!” the girl was yelling.

“Hadie, don’t make a big deal out of this!”

She jabbed him with a finger in the center of the chest. “I deserve better than this, Ben!”

A small crowd had formed around the pair, and Bennett’s eyes darted around him as he took in the people watching him. He seemed to grow with rage—probably from having Hadie confront him in front of so many people.

His eyes shot back to her and he pushed her hand away. “Screw this and screw you.” He shoved past the crowd and left Hadie standing there alone.

Hadie’s shoulders sagged and it looked like she was crying from the way she was shaking. Finally, a girl with curly red hair pushed through the crowd and put an arm around the distressed girl. After a few seconds, they both left.

“Poor Hadie,” Ashton said from beside me.

I turned to her curiously. “You know her?”

“Yeah, she’s a really nice girl. She and Bennett started dating a few weeks ago. He’s turned into such a jerk.”

Before I could respond, someone thumped me on the back. “Hey, man!”

I shoved Riley back and then nodded at Eddie, before giving Stace and Elly quick hugs. It warmed me to see Eddie, Riley and even Elly engage in a conversation with Ashton, who was smiling and nodding. Stace was standing back, but I knew now that she was with Riley, her issues with Ashton would soon disappear.

Ashton had this way of charming the pants off anyone. Especially me.

“This is some party, huh?” Stace commented to me.

“Yeah, whoever thought we’d ever go to something like this,” I said.

“And not as crashers, either,” Stace mused. “We were actually invited.”

Some guys from the football team, who were passing by, actually nodded at me. I hadn’t expected any of them to acknowledge me outside of school. I guess dating the hottest girl in school did a lot for your reputation. Not that I cared either way.

“I always thought that they were all horrible people. You know, that they went around knocking over old ladies and kicking dogs, but they’re not like that at all.”

Stace’s eyes darkened and she tossed her fiery head towards the entrance of the kitchen. “Well, most of them aren’t anyway.”

Following her gaze, I noticed Kance approaching us and groaned inwardly. She was the last person I wanted to bump into. Maybe I could make up an excuse to leave.

“Hey, Ashton!” Kance stopped in front of us and Ashton turned and hugged her. Kance gave the rest of us one of those fake smiles that came so naturally to her. “Hey, Luca, Eddie, Riley, Elly.” Her brown eyes flickered over to Stace. “And, Gracie, how are you?”

Stace glowered at her and I could feel the rage emanating from her body. “It’s Stacey, you imbecile.” She turned to me with furious eyes. “That’s about all I stand of Cruella DeVil for one night. I’ll be around if you need me.” She stormed off, Riley following her, and I could tell she was already venting about Kance to him.

Great. That left the rest of us stuck with the devil incarnate.

I turned back to her warily. “You know her name is Stacey.”

Kance looked genuinely upset. “I swear, I thought it was Gracie. All I wanted to do was get on her good side, but now she hates me even more. I know I’ve done a lot of nasty things to you guys in the past, but I want to make it up to you.”

Ashton shot her a sympathetic look and rubbed her arm. “It’s okay; I didn’t know their names at first either.”

“Yeah, but now she has something else to hold against me. I don’t want to be the girl that everyone hates,” Kance said with a sigh.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I think you already are the girl that everyone hates.”

Kance lowered her gaze and chuckled sadly. “Yeah, I guess I am, huh?”

As stupid as it seemed, I actually felt bad for the girl. I mean, Ashton had been the same way and I thought she’d never changed. Yet here I was, dating her. Sometimes things that seemed impossible could happen. It was possible that Kance had really changed, and if she wanted to be nice to others, who was I to stop her?

I met Eddie’s eye and he shrugged at me like he couldn’t figure Kance out either. Maybe we were being too judgmental. This Kance business was messing with my mind. Man, I needed a drink.

“Guys, I’m gonna get something to drink. You want anything?”

Eddie, Elly and Ashton shook their heads, but Kance looked at me expectantly. “I wouldn’t mind something. I’ll go with you.”

Being accompanied by Kance wasn’t my idea of fun and I was trying to figure out a way to get out of it, when Ashton looked at me pointedly. I knew what that look meant. She wanted me to play nice.

I forced a smile. “Uh…sure.”

Kance, who’d obviously been here before, led the way down the hall and to the basement door. I considered walking off in the opposite direction while she wasn’t looking, but resisted the temptation.

Once we reached the bottom of the basement steps, I saw the setup of all the alcohol. There were three large tables full of everything imaginable. Beer, vodka, gin, rum, and even wine coolers. Kendall really knew how to throw a party.

Speaking of Kendall, she was standing by one of the tables telling off a bunch of guys for mixing vodka and rum together. When she caught sight of Kance and me, she waved and shot me a confused smile. Kendall knew I couldn’t stand Kance.

We waved back and Kance turned to me, her eyes downcast. “So, I guess I’ll never fit in with you guys, huh?”

“Why are you trying to anyway? I thought you were too good for that.”

Kance held my questioning gaze. “Because I don’t fit in anywhere, Luca. No one really wants to be close to the bitch of the school. The only person who put up with me was Ashton, and now I don’t even think we’ll be close the way we used to. I have no chance of fitting in with you guys either.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to try, though. Stace is hard to impress once she makes up her mind about someone. I suggest getting through to Eddie and Elly first.”

Kance looked up at me through thick, dark lashes. “And what about you?”

“Me?” I asked, confused by her directness.

“Yeah,” she said, lowering her tone. “How do I get through to you?”

“Uh.” I rubbed my forehead. Man, this conversation had suddenly become awkward. Was she hitting on me or was she just being friendly?

Kance burst out laughing and slapped me on the arm. “Oh my God! You thought I was being serious? I’m just playing with you, Luca!”

Somehow, I managed to laugh so she didn’t feel like I was acting like a jerk. Maybe I was taking this too seriously. It’s like I was waiting for her to pull a knife on me. I was so paranoid that she was going to do something evil, that I was acting uptight around her. I needed to loosen up and get some alcohol in me.

“Yeah, uh, I’m sorry. I guess I’m still not used to the idea of you being so…
friendly
.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It just takes some getting used to.”

Kance nodded in understanding, and flipped her hair over a shoulder. I was surprised she was taking it so well. “So, how about that drink?”

I nodded, glancing towards the table full of alcohol. “Yeah, I kinda got sidetracked.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for distracting you. How about I make it up to you and get you your drink?”

“No, that’s alright. Don’t go to any trouble.”

“I can do it for you. I promise I won’t poison it,” she said with a laugh.

Okay, now I felt really stupid again. “Yeah, okay. Get me whatever you’re having.”

Kance smiled, looking pleased that she had gotten her way, as she walked over to the drinks table.

***

The music was so loud.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Like someone was kicking a soccer ball against my head.

The lights were so bright that they hurt my eyes as we emerged from the basement, laughing at something that was so funny I couldn’t remember what it was.

“Where’s Ashton?” I asked, bumping against Kance.

She looked up at me innocently and pointed towards the kitchen. “I think she’s in there.”

“Oh,” I said and then laughed again. It was funny she was in the kitchen. Kitchen. It was such a funny word.

Laughter erupted from beside me, and I plowed into a bunch of people I didn’t know. I slapped a guy on the back. “Man, I know,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “It’s. So. Damn. Funny.”

They stared at me like I was an alien and moved away. Whatever. I didn’t need those party poopers anyway. Kance and me were already having such a great time.

“The kitchen’s this way, Luca,” Kance said, grabbing my arm and leading me down the hallway.

When we entered the kitchen, I stared at Kane in amazement. “You’re freaking incredible! You’re like a GPS!”

Kance laughed and walked me to the part of the kitchen closest to the sliding doors that led to the backyard. There were a couple of people standing in the corner, but no sign of Ash anywhere. “Where’s my Ashton baby?”

“She’ll be here soon. She told you to wait for her here.” Kance’s brown eyes glinted as she moved closer. “Why don’t you sit down?”

I nodded. That sounded like a great idea. Sitting was just as fun as standing. “If I sit, will she be able to see me?”

“Of course.” Kance guided me to a chair which I flopped into it. “I’ll make sure she does.”

“You’re a good friend, Kance. I don’t know why everyone hates you so much.”

Kance smiled in response. “You know, she’s really lucky to have you.”

The smell of Kance’s perfume was so intoxicating that I leaned in closer. She was wearing some expensive shit. “You reckon?”

She nodded and placed a hand on my arm. “I don’t reckon, I think it’s a fact. I wish I had someone like you.”

I tilted my head to the side, and my world spun around. “Maybe you will,” I said as I held onto her hand in a gesture of comfort, and so I didn’t lose my balance and fall off the chair.

As I squinted up at Kance to give her my best reassuring face, I noticed her eyes weren’t on me anymore. She was looking at something past me, towards the glass doors and beyond. Her eyes widened and she glanced back at me. “Um, Luca…you’re not going to like this.”

I turned my head so I could see what she was fussing about. Girls were such drama queens, but they were so hot too. Especially Ashton. She was the hottest…My head started whirling as if someone had pushed me down an endless flight of stairs.

What. The. Hell.

Ashton was standing in the backyard talking to that jerk, Oliver! And she wasn’t backing away like she should be; she was actually in a conversation with him! He placed a hand on her shoulder and she didn’t make a move to remove it. Instead, she gazed up at him in adoration.

This was bullshit. I was going to put an end to this right now.

As I struggled to my feet, Kance pushed me down into the chair again. “No, Luca, let it go. You’re too drunk. Oliver would easily beat you in a fight if it came to that.”

I swatted her away and tried to stand again. “I don’t give a crap! I’m going to kick his face in! How can she stand there talking to him like nothing ever happened?”

Kance’s gaze was sympathetic. “I’m sorry to break it to you, but that’s the kind of girl Ashton is. She doesn’t care about other people. She only cares about herself, and she only looks out for number one. It doesn’t matter who gets hurt in the process.”

“No,” I said, my stomach sinking with every word that Kance was saying. “No, she’s not like that anymore. She’s changed.”

“Luca, this might be hard for you to hear, but Ashton has
always
had feelings for Oliver. Ever since middle school. She’s never going to get over him. They belong together.” Kance’s eyes were steady, and a part of me knew she was telling the truth.

I buried my head in my hands so I was shrouded in complete darkness.

No, no, no, no.

I sat there and rocked back and forth.

She couldn’t do this to me. She couldn’t pick Oliver over me. I needed her more than ever. How could she lie about her feelings? We’d shared everything together, and now she was leaving me for him. How could I be that delusional? How could I believe her lies?

Kance’s legs brushed against mine and she whispered into my ear. That amazing smell clouded my mind. “I can make it better for you, Luca. I can help.”

Raising my head, I noticed how close she was to me. I noticed how beautiful and smooth her lips looked. I swallowed as I drew her onto my lap. “How?”

Wordlessly, Kance pressed her lips to mine, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her lips burned me with each kiss and I almost began to forget about a girl named Ashton.

Almost, but not quite.