Opposite Force

Chapter Twelve

Mikaela Martin | Present

"You know that's not true, right?" Sarah murmurs.

I nod. I do know that Liam's words aren't true. That's not why I'm upset. "Yeah, we..." I sniffle. "We talked about it yesterday, about not rushing stuff. I just can't believe Liam thinks that."

"I don't think he actually does. I think he's just paranoid because of what happened to Olivia."

I nod again. I suppose that makes sense. Sarah has a knack for reading people.

"Crap," Sarah mutters. "Peyton and Jake are coming over."

A sledgehammer of stress hits me square in the chest. "Does it look like I was crying?"

She bites her lip. "A little. Um, say it's allergies. Pretend to blow your nose. Take a napkin."

"Ew, Sarah!" I laugh. "I'm not blowing—"

"Not what?" comes Jake's amused, pervy voice.

I sniffle. "My nose."

He takes a step back, definitely realizing I've been crying. Lovely.

Peyton's smile falters. "Everything okay?" he asks, looking between Sarah and me.

"Allergies," I mutter.

"Yeah, there's so much pollen in here," Jake deadpans.

I feel my eyes start to water again, but Sarah jumps to my rescue as Peyton smacks his friend's arm. "People are allergic to things other than pollen, Jake," she snaps. To Peyton, she says quietly, "We were just about to head out, actually. See you guys tomorrow."

"Do you need a ride?" Peyton asks.

I'd much rather spend time with Peyton than explain to Mom why I'm crying. "Yes!" we both say far too quickly. I meet Sarah's eyes, and we dissolve into laughter. We slide out of the bench once we catch our breath, and Sarah sighs loudly, Annalise-style. "Annalise left her dresses," she grumbles.

I giggle again. I still can't believe she bought two, one of which provided a peek of her underwear. "I'll take them and give them to her tomorrow."

"Good idea. I don't think they're coming back. I'll text Annalise," Sarah replies.

The second we're in the parking lot, Jake yells, "Shotgun!"

I planned to sit in the backseat anyway, but Jake's declaration makes it official, I suppose. Crazy. I wonder if he was like this when Peyton was going out with Gigi. It's like he's upset his best friend is spending time with his girlfriend, so he feels the need to claim his spot as the front seat person in Peyton's life. Again, crazy.

Peyton sighs. "Mikaela, do you want the front seat?"

"No, I'm good. All good." Jake makes me nervous, and I don't care about seating arrangements anyway. I'm just happy not to be stuck in a car with Liam. I don't understand what's gotten into him.

"Alright, well, you get dibs," Peyton replies.

Jake scowls but doesn't respond. I smile and, like Jake, don't respond.

The ride is awkward. Painfully awkward. Sarah tries making small talk, but Jake doesn't want any part of it, so it's just Peyton and me chiming in, but since I'm anxious around Jake, my responses are weird and all over the place. When I'm flustered, the few social skills I've developed over the years fly out the window. Luckily, Jake lives near the mall, so Peyton drops him off first, and I take his seat in the front. Ha.