"Really?"

I wasn't sure if I was disappointed.

"Yeah." He threw all of the bags in the back of his Escalade and slammed it shut again. I wasn't surprised to see it was full with other bags. "And your buddy can come too, but I don't want her talking to me. She can talk to you, that's fine, but no questions to me."

I gave him a salute.

"Very funny."

"I thought so." I couldn't hold back a small grin before I went and told Becky the news. And as I expected, when I found her with a plate full of pancakes and muffins, she dropped all of it and started screaming.

"Three hours in the same car as Mason Kade!" She grabbed my arms and started jumping up and down.

"Ugh. Stop." Pain seared through me. I backed away and tried to hold down whatever last meal I'd had. "I am never ever going to get in another fight again."

"You better not drink like that then."

"That too."

Becky giggled behind her hands. "I'm sorry, Sam. It's so exciting."

I shook my head. "You can't talk to him, you know."

She nodded. Her smile couldn't be wiped off.

"You're a bit strange in the head."

"You already told me that once," Becky informed me as she followed me out to the car. It was as if she'd never been hungover. The Becky I woke up beside had transformed at the news of our car ride. Energy flowed out of her and I sighed. It was going to be a long drive.

I needed coffee.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Mason dropped us off at school. My bag stayed in his backseat, but Becky tugged hers out. When he asked what time to pick me up, she started giggling. We glanced over and she saluted us with her hand. "I'll find my own ride home. Thanks." Then she pivoted on her feet, clapped her heels together, and marched off.

He gave me an unreadable look and I sighed. "She's tired and…snarky…"

He shook his head. "I don't care. What time do you want me here?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Uh…quarter after three?"

"Done. See you." And he zoomed away.

As I turned and headed after Becky, I caught a lot of stares from those who lingered in the parking lot. Then when I entered the hallway, I got even more. I groaned as I glanced at my phone. It was a little after noon—lunch hour. No wonder there'd been so many around their cars.

Becky was nowhere in sight so I targeted my locker instead. As I got there, Miranda Stewart greeted me. She seemed to appear from nowhere. She gave me one of those serene smiles that hovered on her lips. Her hair hung loose in shining curls this time and she readjusted the books in her hands. Warmth oozed from her. "You got here!"

I frowned as I opened my locker. "You seem happy about that?"

She glanced over her shoulders and then gave me another smile, this one seemed secretive. "Everyone knows about the Kade Trip."

I fought the urge to hang my head. Of course everyone would know.

She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I spoke to the rest of the group on the way back and they want to return the favor to Mason and Logan."

"What are you talking about?"

Her eyes seemed to dance. They were sparkling. "Come on, like you don't know."

"I don't. What are you talking about?"

"Logan's friends with Mark, but they're not that great of friends. I assumed we were invited because of you."

"You weren't."

"Oh." Her back straightened and her shoulders stiffened. Then she let out a soft laugh. "Regardless, I'm throwing an intimate dinner. I've extended invitations to Mason and Logan, but I wanted to invite you in person."

"An intimate dinner?"

"I throw them all the time, but it's usually only for our close friends."

"The Academy Elite," I mused and tried to remember what book I needed for the next class. It was fifth period… My hungover brain was still going slow.

She laughed again. "That's right. I'd forgotten you knew about that name. That's what your friend calls us, right?"

"And Adam's."

"Hmmm?"

I looked up and held her gaze. "She's Adam's friend too. He's got a soft spot for her."

"Oh, I know. I know." The corners of her mouth turned downwards, but they flipped up a second later. "So I would love if all three of you guys would come to my dinner tonight."

I sighed and turned to her. "Look, don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Mason and Logan won't come to your dinner."

"But you haven't even talked to them about it yet."

"Have they ever come before?"

"I've never invited them…" A small frown had come back to her as she started to look around. A small audience had appeared around us. They weren't close, but they were within hearing distance.

Here we go again…

"They won't come. I know them. They don't care about anyone except themselves. Trust me."

She looked down at her feet. "They seem to care about you…"

I lifted a shoulder. "If they do, they do, but don't invite them. They won't come and it'll make you look bad. You told me this morning you didn't want a war, but that's what you're starting. It won't work with Mason and Logan. Everyone knows they're jerks because they don't care about anything or anyone."

When she looked back up, she was transformed. A fierce determination shone through her emerald eyes and pinned me down, but she edged closer and lowered her voice to a whisper, "You're right. You're completely right. Thank you. I know this came from a good spot with you so I'm not going to invite them. I never was."

"I thought you said—"

She gave me a tight smile. "I didn't. I was testing you. I wanted to know what'd you do and you proved me right. You proved some others wrong."

"What are you talking about?" I shook my head. Was she mad? "There's no dinner?"

"There's a dinner, but do you really think I'm crazy enough to invite the Kade brothers? Everyone knows they don't care and we all know that we weren't really invited on that trip. You invited Adam, he invited us, and no one else cared if we went or not. That's how we went on the trip. You're completely right. Mason and Logan don't care about us, though I think they should. Everyone knows they should've gone to this school. They should be our friends, but they're not. They made their choice."