The Girl Next Door

8. The Ride

Tuesday morning came faster than I expected, and despite getting little to no sleep, I still couldn't shake off the conversation with Astrid from the night before. It kept replaying in my head like a broken record. The way she laughed, how she'd opened up just a little bit, but then pulled back just as quickly. It was all tangled up in my mind.

Matt's horn blared outside, and I shot up, rushing to get ready. No time for coffee, no time to think. Just get out there.

As soon as I stepped outside, Geoff spotted me and grinned. "If it isn't the prince charming himself," he teased, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes, trying to keep my cool. "Shut up. Nothing happened," I barked back.

Geoff's face twisted in mock disbelief. "Nothing? You and Astrid O'Brien—alone in a cabinet? Yeah, sure."

I shook my head, running my hand through my hair, trying to ignore the weird feeling in my chest. "Seriously, we just talked. That's all."

Matt, who had been listening in from the car, raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that? Because when Astrid O'Brien is involved, there's always something."

I sighed, slamming the door behind me. "Nothing happened, alright? Get it out of your heads."

Geoff laughed. "Oh, we will. But come on, you're not fooling us."

Melanie, of course, was nowhere to be seen. She probably hadn't forgiven me for the stunt she tried to pull with Astrid and me at the party. That was her thing—create drama, stir the pot, and then watch the mess unfold. And after last night? I had a feeling she'd be extra cold to me today. I didn't care.

Astrid was missing from the scene as well. No surprise there. She was always slipping through the cracks, vanishing into the crowd. But this morning? I spotted her by the sidewalk, headphones in, eyes focused on the ground as she walked.

"Stop the car," I said to Matt without thinking. "Let her ride with us."

Matt turned his head, his expression unreadable. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," I said quickly, trying not to sound too eager. "Just do it."

With a skeptical look, Matt slowed the car and rolled down the window. "Astrid!" he called out.

She didn't even flinch, didn't even look at us right away. But when she did, there was that same uninterested look on her face—headphones still in, arms crossed.

"What?" she asked flatly.

"Come on. Hop in. We're giving you a ride," I said, trying to keep things casual.

She stared at me for a moment, calculating whether it was worth it. Then she sighed, pulled the headphones off her ears, and started walking toward the car.

She slid into the seat beside me, and just like that, we were headed to school together.

I could smell her perfume, faint but fresh—like vanilla and something else I couldn't quite place. It was distracting, but in a good way. I shifted in my seat, suddenly hyper-aware of the space between us.

Blaine's voice cut through the tension. "This is weird," he muttered beside me.

Astrid didn't respond. She didn't even look at him, just stared out the window like she was somewhere else entirely.

I tried to focus on the road ahead, but all I could think about was the awkward silence filling the space between us.

"So... no headphones today?" I asked, trying to break the silence, though I felt ridiculous.

Astrid glanced at me with a slight smirk. "What, you miss the sound of my music?"

I blinked. "No, I mean... I just figured you'd have them in again."

Her lips quirked into a small, amused smile. "You'd be surprised how little I listen to music when I'm not pretending to be a part of all that noise."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "People talk too much. Music drowns it out."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I get it. You're just too cool for the noise."

Her eyes flicked over to me then, a bit of amusement in them. "Something like that."

And then the conversation died again, but it wasn't the uncomfortable silence I expected. There was something easy about it. Like, for once, I wasn't trying to impress her or figure her out. I was just... existing in the same space as her, and that felt new.

For the rest of the drive, we were quiet, but not in a bad way. It was just the kind of silence that let me think. About school. About practice. And—yeah—about Astrid.

Matt shot me a glance through the rearview mirror and raised his eyebrows.

"Good luck with that," he muttered under his breath, obviously referring to the ride with Astrid.

I didn't respond, because honestly? I didn't know what to say.

But there was something different about today. Something I couldn't shake.