Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

MARGO

I sit at the lunch table, taking an overly aggressive bite of my apple. The crunch echoes against my teeth as I chew. My eyes are laser set on none other than Daniel across the cafeteria.

I hate him. I truly do.

Doesn't he realize the opportunity I'm trying to give him? Anyone else would jump on my offer in a heartbeat. And yet, he has to go and act like he doesn't have a care in the world.

Annie sits down in front of me. She's trying to hold back a smile, but it keeps poking through her cold mask. "Guess what."

Normally, I don't have a hard time figuring out what's on her mind. She likes books, caramel, and the viola. But something tells me this is different. That she did something outside of the box.

"What?"

"You'll never guess what I did this morning," she says.

"You ordered a special edition book?"

She shakes her head. "Nope. Not even close."

"Did you fail a test? "

She grimaces. "Definitely not."

"Then tell me."

Her smile breaks free in full force. "I talked to him."

I choke on my apple.

"Are you okay?" She hands me my drink.

No. Not okay. My body is completely rejecting the idea of my sister ever being with him. I take a sip of my milk, continuing to cough until I can breathe again. I set the milk down. "You what? When?"

Her eyes light up, doing a little happy dance inside of her brain.

I repeat: not okay.

"I ran into him at the library again. Literally," she says. "I dropped everything, and he helped me pick it up. I think he might've even smiled." She holds up two fingers, pinching them together. "Just a little. Maybe. I don't want to overthink it."

Smile? Daniel? No. I can't even picture it. I don't think he was born with the necessary muscles in his face.

Annie sets her elbow on the table and rests her head on her hand. "I mean... he's so dreamy."

My gaze shifts back to Daniel. He's not ugly. I'll give her that. He's kind of cute in a dark and mysterious way... if you liked that kind of thing. I don't. I wouldn't be caught dead with someone like that. I don't see the appeal.

I've never really given much thought about the type of guy I'd like. The first time I got sick was right around the time all of my friends were forming their first serious crushes, but I didn't let myself go deeper than silly ones that lasted a few days. It wouldn't have been fair for me to like someone when my future wasn't guaranteed. Then when I got better, I still felt like a relationship with me was taboo. Everyone knew me as the girl who had cancer. I was scared, tainted by something out of my control.

Instead of forming a crush and giving someone the opportunity to reject me, I avoided those situations entirely. Besides, kisses are overrated. I know Annie thinks they are the best part of every movie she watches, but who cares if two people's mouths touch? Half the time, the main characters don't even have good chemistry.

"Did you hear what I said?" Annie asks.

"Huh?" My eyes focus on her again.

She gives me a look. "I was asking you if I could borrow your light purple dress tomorrow."

"Why do you want that?"

She blushes. "Well, I was thinking about heading to the library again tomorrow morning, and I've already ran into Daniel there twice—"

"No!" I smack the table.

She jumps back. "No?"

Margo, reel yourself in . . .

"I mean... no, you can't borrow that dress because... I tore it." Believable? It's a fifty-fifty shot.

"Since when? You wore it last week."

"Since last week," I say quickly.

"Oh, well I guess I'll wear something else then." She seems slightly disappointed, but I think she'll perk back up soon enough. "Could I borrow something else?"

Not all of my clothes can have tears, unfortunately. "Yeah, sure."

This has gone too far. She's even wanting to dress up for the guy. There has to be someone else I could get her to like. I know Daniel is not the only mysterious boy who reads. "Do you remember Liam? "

There isn't even a flicker of hope when I mention his name.

"Liam who?"

"Liam from orchestra. Remember how you used to talk about him all the time?"

Annie peers up from her book and raises an eyebrow. "That was three years ago."

"Maybe we should invite him to eat lunch with us tomorrow."

Annie closes her book and shakes her head slowly. "I don't like Liam."

"But I bet you would if you got to know him."

"I know what you're doing, and it isn't going to work. You're wrong about Daniel. You'll see. I don't want you wasting your time trying to set me up with anyone else. I want to give him a chance first."

If Daniel thought I was determined and annoying earlier today, he's seen nothing yet. He's about to meet a whole new version of me because I need to fix this situation as fast as possible. I can't let Annie fall any further down this rabbit hole.

When school finishes, I spot Daniel waiting at the bus stop surrounded by a bunch of other students. His eyes are on his feet, not caring about the world around him.

Does he really think he can get rid of me so easily? I'm Margaret Blakely, and once I start something, I don't stop until I finish it.

I spot Annie coming out of the school and run to meet her. "Hey. "

"Is for horses," she says.

I laugh even though she's told me that joke more times than I can count. "I have something I need to do in town before I come home. I'll take the city bus back home."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing important. I just have to return something."

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

I shake my head. "No, it's okay. I know you have a lot of homework."

She sighs. "Don't remind me."

I spot the city bus a block away. "I'll text you."

"You better," she calls as I race to the stop.

I pull out my bus card so it's ready to scan. I don't want to be that person who makes everyone late because they're trying to fish the card out of their bag after they're already on the bus.

I wait as all of the other kids get on first. It's only fair since they've been waiting longer. Daniel gets on about halfway through the group, but I keep a close eye on him. He heads to the back of the bus, which doesn't surprise me at all.

When it's finally my turn, I jump up and scan my card, smiling ear to ear. "Hello," I say to the bus driver.

I walk to the back. The bus starts moving, making me wobble, but I refuse to sit down in the front. There is an empty spot with my name on it right next to Daniel. He doesn't know it yet, but we have plans.

He rests his head on the window, and then his gaze meets mine.

I smile and wave.

He tries not to show any emotion, but his eyebrow twitches.

I'd be lying if I said I'm not enjoying this just a little. Because he acts like he doesn't care about anything, it's fun to get a reaction, no matter how small, out of him.

I sit. "Thought you could get rid of me?"

"Do I need a restraining order?" he mumbles.

My lips curve upwards. "Was that a joke?" I didn't know he was capable of making those.

He closes his eyes. "No. It was a threat."

"Just tell me what you want. What's your wildest dream? Then, I'll get it for you and leave you alone forever. You have my word."

"Why?"

"I'll explain later. If I tell you now, you won't go along with it."

He huffs. I imagine his eyes rolling even though they're closed. "You're a stalker."

Me, the stalker? I'm not the one who's been watching him non-stop for the last week and a half. That's Annie. I haven't even done much.

Well . . . I am following him home . . .

Oh man, I am a stalker.

Temporarily a stalker.

But I don't want this. I'd rather be as far away from this guy as possible.

"I'm not stalking. I'm just stubborn, and apparently so are you." I hug my backpack and use it as a pillow. "Is it so hard to think of one thing you want? Don't you like anything? Games, food, music? Or is your soul so dark nothing brings you joy?"

I might as well be sitting next to a brick wall. He turns toward the window and no matter how many times I try to talk to him, he doesn't reply. It's like he's tuned me out which is not something I'm used to. I'm the type of person that always has someone to talk to. I'm not the most popular person in our school, but I'm definitely not a nobody. People love to talk with me.

Because talking clearly isn't working, I tap his shoulder a few times, trying to get a reaction.

He remains motionless with a straight face until he opens his eyes and pulls on the cord that signals the bus driver to stop.

"Is this where you're getting off?" I stand up to let him out.

He pushes past me, not acknowledging my existence.

Is following him to his house too much? Probably—but I jump forward, hoping I don't regret this. A chill hits me in the face as I exit the bus.

He walks fast, but it's effortless, like he isn't doing it on purpose. It's his natural speed.

I hurry after him. I'm not that short, but I feel like I'm practically running to catch up to him.

"This is your last chance," I call out. "I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime."

Convincing? Tempting? Nothing. He doesn't give me a speck of attention.

He turns to walk down the driveway leading to a yellow ranch with white trim. "Come any closer, and you'll be trespassing," he says with his face forward, not even giving me the courtesy of looking me in the eye.

He acknowledged me, though. That's progress. Right?

I bite my lip, trying to figure out what to do. Is there another way to help Annie move on? A way that's not as hard? There's got to be. Daniel is impossible.

"Can I help you?"

I spin around .

The girl I saw in the hallway the other day stands behind me. She's pretty, with long hair tied back in a ponytail. She wears a polka-dotted sweater, which I love, and wide jeans.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

She raises an eyebrow. "This is my house. What are you doing here?"

"Oh." I cringe, cheeks burning. "Well I— Daniel— I'm trying to talk to him."

She smiles. "Let me guess, he won't talk to you."

"How did you know?"

"I live with the guy." She laughs. "I'm Olive. Daniel's my cousin."

"I'm Margo, Daniel's lab partner."

She studies me, no doubt noticing how awkward I am standing at the edge of their walkway. "Well, do you want to come inside? I doubt Daniel will come out of his room, but you could try."

I can't be trespassing if I'm being invited in by someone who lives in the house. My stomach turns, but I've come this far. I'm not about to back out now. "Lead the way."

She walks to the door, me trailing behind.

My collar is hot and my palms are sweaty. For someone who's not technically trespassing, why are my nerves on edge? Why does every step feel like I'm wading through cement?

Their house is nice. Very clean and bright. There are big windows that fill the whole house with light, and there are green plants in every corner possible.

Olive kicks off her shoes and heads straight for the kitchen.

Not knowing what else to do, I follow her. It's not like I can go knock on Daniel's door. Even I know that would be crossing the line.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asks.

"Sure," I reply, standing close to the wall.

"So what'll it be? I have some premium H 2 O out of the tap or some luxury, one of a kind, store-brand apple juice that's been in our fridge for an unknown amount of time."

I suck in a breath. "Wow, so many options."

"For real."

I smile. I like Olive's humor. It reminds me of Annie. "Water is fine."

She takes a glass from the cabinet, fills it up, then walks it over to me. "So what do you need to talk to Daniel about? It must be important if you came all the way here."

I scratch the back of my neck. "Well, it's kind of a long story. I need him to do something for me, but I know he'll say no. So before I ask him, I'm trying to do something nice for him. Think of it kind of like a trade. The problem is he won't tell me what he wants."

Olive scrunches up her nose when she laughs. "I can imagine."

"Maybe you can help," I say. She lives with him, after all. She must know something that could help me.

"How?"

"Tell me a little bit about him. Maybe it'll give me some ideas."

"Well, I don't know him very well to be honest. We're second cousins, and we didn't ever do things together growing up. He also doesn't do or say much, which doesn't help. His grandma is in a nursing home, though. She has dementia. He used to live with her before he came here. That's pretty much all I know. "

I didn't expect him to have such a rough background. His anger starts to make a little more sense. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have my grandparents go through that. "What about his parents?"

Olive looks at her feet. "His mom died when he was little."

My heart sinks. I love my mother so I can only imagine how hard it was for him to grow up without one. "What about his dad?"

She shrugs. "That's kind of the family mystery. No one knows who his dad is."

Despite the heaviness of this new information, the wheels in my brain start turning. If I were him, I would've done everything possible to solve that mystery. "Has he ever tried to find his dad?"

"Like I said, we don't talk much."

There's a thud a second before the door across from us flies open, and Daniel runs out. His face is bright red, and he grabs my wrist, pulling me away.