No Status Quo

7. Butterflies

"I cannot believe you ditched me for him!" Kate wails the second we're out of the school. "You were supposed to come at my house."

That makes me halt in my tracks. I turn so abruptly even she stops walking. "Wow, you've lost it. I didn't ditch you for him." How could she even assume something like that?

"The hell you did," She says, "We had our plans and you spent the night with that—rat!"

That's it. There's no way I'm backing down now.

"One, he's not a rat. And two, I didn't lock us in."

Kate looks at me in disbelief, "Yeah right." She thinks for a second, "Fine, but still."

I stare at her, "I didn't ask to get locked in, Kate."

"You could've called me."

Great, my best friend has memory problems now. "I would have if you hadn't banned the phones in the theatre." I remind her, crossing my arms over my chest.

She opens her mouth, then closes it again. I take that time to get my car keys. Olivia must be worried, hopefully she did not call the police. That reminds me, I didn't check my phone since yesterday.

"So wait," Kate's saying, a flicker of remembrance crossing her face, "I banned the phones?"

I nod and she sighs, "That was so dumb, sorry."

"There you go." I say, glad that's all cleared up.

"Anyway, be thankful it was me who saw you guys." She says. I frown, facing her again. There's relief on her face, which confuses me further.

"Why?"

Kate starts laughing as If I made the joke of the century, "And this is why you're the funny one." She laughs, clapping me on the shoulder. I just raise an eyebrow, "Hun, there's no way you can be seen with Accetta. That would be like...insane."

I open my mouth to argue when she says, "We, rich people...don't hang out with poor people. You know his mom's a waitress, right?" she shudders to emphasize her point. My insides clench at her cruel words and there's that unpleasant feeling again.

"I thought you died or something, not gonna lie." Kate says as she walks with me.

Still thinking about her words, I force a laugh, "What did the others think?" I ask while she loops her arm around mine.

"Hmm, let me see." She starts, counting off her fingers. "Your aunt went to the police station."

She what??

I gape at her, "You're kidding." I say, opening the door to my car. Kate gets in from the other side. "She didn't."

"Oh she totally did." She confirms, "Amy thought you got kidnapped, Rory thought the same, only he was certain that someone murdered you and dumped your body in an alley."

I flinch. Okay, ouch.

"And Cam wouldn't stop calling me. It was really annoying."

Classic Cam.

"So, you're gonna go to your house?" I ask, pulling out of the parking lot. It's so fun because it's vacant. Except for Ren's motorcycle, that is. The day dawns crisp and clear. The rising sun casts a rosy hue across the morning sky. I glance at the clock on the dashboard. It's six.

"So, what did you—Damn it! Giavannah!" Kate yells suddenly, her hands clutching the seat. Startled, I look at her, my hand on the steering wheel. I'm about to ask her what's wrong but then I follow her gaze to the speedometer and instantly get where her concern lies.