Wicked Together

By Lauren Courcelle

Persephone Smith is back. This time, she's a junior in high school. She may be in the passenger's seat in cars, but she's back in the driver's seat of narration in the sixth installment of the series.
See, there often comes a time in life when a very special person consumes one's mind, heart, and time, and nobody can share Persephone's first venture into "true love" like she can. Yes, the boycrazy, naturally powerful Vermonter has fallen hard for one boy in particular, and the two of them are... wicked together... even if she isn't allowed to date anyone until she is thirty-four. But will young love blossom into forever? Or will senior year find the two lovebirds wicked apart?
Join Persephone and her friends, family, and enemy for junior year at Red Clover High School... and the summer that follows it. Be forewarned: this novel includes more romance than previous Persephone Smith books, and the teenagers in it face many of the mature situations that continually confront today's high school students.
"Wicked Together" is the long-awaited sixth book in the Persephone Smith series by author Lauren Courcelle and marks the second young adult novel in the coming-of-age, realistic, paranormal, fantasy saga.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lauren Courcelle
• Release date: Apr 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370113651

Lauren Courcelle

Lauren Courcelle has lived in Vermont all of her life, but if she told you how many years she's been a Vermonter, you'd know how old she is, so don't expect her to admit that! At a young age, she decided she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. In hindsight, much of her decision was initially based on her tremendous excitement at the idea of being able to write on the chalkboard whenever she wanted! As she matured, or maybe due to the inclusion of many more white boards in classrooms, Lauren realized that the best part about teaching was being able to have a daily impact on students, particularly when inspiring them to become lifelong lovers of literature.For a few years, Lauren left the field of education, to try her hand at something else. When folks would ask her what she missed most about teaching, her response was always, "The kids, and in particular, reading great children's books with the kids!" Having always wanted to write an amazing picture book, in May, 2011, she decided to pursue her dream. Nearly 400 pages later, a chapter book, surprisingly, emerged from her efforts.That book was "Wicked Normal," and Lauren immediately knew that it would become a series, as her characters still had so much more story to tell. Lauren released "Wicked Weird," the second book in the series, less than six months later. The third book, "Wicked Awesome," was published within a year of the first. The fourth book of the series, "Wicked Dramatic," had protagonist, Persephone Smith, embarking on her final year of middle school.Lauren paused Persephone's series to release "unLEASHed," the first book of her first Young Adult series. Although it is a futuristic novel, she hopes it is not a psychic vision of what life will be like some twenty years (or so) from now.On the heels of the release of "unLEASHed," Lauren returned to Persephone's series with Young Adult novels "Wicked Confessions," "Wicked Together," "Wicked Alpha," & "Wicked Omega." She's currently working on the 2nd book in Cordeleya's series (working title: "unGUARDed") and fighting off the urge to spend time right now on the next Persephone book as Imemy's tale needs to be told first! ("Imemy" is a futuristic, YA love story between the narrating protagonist and another teenager told without revealing either's gender, for love is love. Yeah. Be on the lookout for that one!)Lauren continues to reside in Vermont, and in her leisure time, she enjoys knitting scarves, making beaded jewelry, and painting.

Book preview

chapter one

Something New

"Are you sure you know what to do, Harley?" I asked, petrification perforating my voice.

You want me get Totter to help us out?

No! I objected. We don’t need him here for this.

Just relax, he coached, stroking my cheek with his thumb. It’ll be instinctive. Now, close your eyes, and I’ll take it out and hand it to you. Without closing my eyes, I whacked him. What? he whined.

Are you purposely selecting the most suggestive wording you can? I groused.

He raised his eyebrows and giggled, That’s what she said.

Yeah, I did say it. What of it?

He shook his head. You are impossible, Woman.

"And you are perverted."

He shrugged. So, you ready to do this?

Yeah. I was. Ready and excited and scared. Upon my nod, he smirked and unzipped his duffle bag. I gasped in sheer disbelief. Flawless. Perfectly smooth. Perfectly oval. Perfectly green. Simply perfect! With instantaneous love, I carefully cradled it in my hands.

He placed his hands atop mine. Nose to nose and looking directly into each other’s eyes, he chanted something, but I couldn’t even tell you what, as shaking tremors overtook my body. Yet, I held on, both terrified and exhilarated at the same time.

And then, it happened. The eggshell cracked open, and a baby dragon’s head poked out! I gasped, "Oh my gosh, Harley! Look at it! We did it! It’s real! And it’s so cute!"

"It is cute! he agreed, proudly putting his arm around me. Goodness, we were so in over our heads. We knew nothing about raising baby dragons, but we now had one of our own. And it was up to us to make sure he or she grew up to be a healthy, happy, well-behaved, adult dragon. Congratulations, Persephone. It’s a dragon."

As it looked up at me with crystal clear, sparkling, blue eyes, I whispered, "Not just any dragon. Our dragon."

And just like that, we’re co-parenting a baby dragon.

"It’s living in my basement, I determined. Grams will never know of it." Yeah, Harley’s grandmother, Grams, had killed my very own baby dragon, Jade, last spring. Thankfully, yet completely unbeknownst to me, Harley had created a second dragon’s egg that he had conveniently neglected to mention until after he had returned from the Harlan College July Program. That egg had this dragon inside it.

He grumbled, "I wish I lived in your basement."

Things still not going well with Grams?

He shrugged. "She hasn’t killed any dragons recently, but well, I dunno. It’s just tough to live under anyone’s roof at this point."

But you just said you wish you were living at my house, I reminded him. It kinda, sorta has a roof, too, yanno?

Yeah, but you’ve got cool ‘rents! Do you even know how much freedom they give you? You basically do whatever you want!

Clearly, Harley was delusional. My ‘rents were tough. I wasn’t even allowed to date until I was thirty-four! Can you even imagine that? Not cool. Not cool at all. Grass is always greener, Harley.

Speaking of green, what are we calling her? he inquired, nodding towards our dragon.

"Her? How do you know she’s a her?" He tickled her belly and revealed how he had determined her gender, and indeed, she looked like a her. But her wouldn’t be her name. She needed a good name. A dragon name. What the heck was a dragon name? Nobody had dragon names. Nobody had dragons. Hmm… Maybe magical creatures had their names bestowed magically. Didn’t that seem reasonable to you? It did to me. So, yeah, I opted to simply play with her, hoping that her name would just magically come to me.

Meanwhile, Harley read a text and relayed, Totter’s done with practice. Wanna go get him with me?

I looked at my dragon. Did I really want to do anything other than play with her? Uh, no, not so much. I glanced at Harley, hoping my face effectively expressed my reluctance. He rolled his eyes and groaned, Bring her with us in the duffle bag. Just don’t zip it up more than halfway, and don’t let anyone see her.

Other than Seth, I reminded him.

Other than Totter, he concurred, but only when we’re way out of earshot and eyesight of everyone, got it?

It annoyed me that he didn’t give me more credit. I knew no other humans could ever know about my dragon cuz they’d hurt her, take her away from me, and use her for their own advantages. Yeah, no! I loved that she was our little secret. Obvi, Harley.

He shook his head in seeming disbelief, ran his hand through his hair, and decided, Alright, let’s go get Totter, before turning and heading for the car. Grams’s car. Cuz ever since Harley’s candy apple red convertible met its untimely demise last spring, he had driven her car – a sensible, reliable, grandmother car. Alas, he couldn’t just borrow it for the whole school year, so recently, he had been shopping for a new ride. And on our way over to Red Clover High School to pick up Seth, he excitedly informed me of his decision. He was going to get – drumroll, please – a bike.

Okay, honestly? I couldn’t understand his sheer joy. I mean, a bike? I had a bike when I was three. Downgrading from a 1967 convertible to a ten-speed? "How does a bike cause you such happiness, Harley? Do you have a special affinity for ringing the bell?"

Not a bike-bike, you dork. A motorcycle! He went into all the specs, but well, I didn’t care. I couldn’t ride on a motorcycle.

Can’t you just get some junker so you can haul me around?

"Uh, no, Persephone! You’ll need to find another taxi service. What about Jesse?" he asked me, in a faked-swoony tone.

Jesse. My on-again, off-again crush. When I met Jesse, and for the longest time, I believed he was the love of my life. But then I realized that the determining factor in crowning him with that title – that time moved in slow motion when I met him – also occurred when I met Harley and Seth, and so, I concluded I should discredit the notion entirely. After all, I couldn’t have three true loves, right?

Of course, right! So, I now simply had crushes, with all three of the aforementioned boys topping that list. But Seth was going out with Naomi, so I currently crushed on – in no particular order – Jesse and Harley. But whereas Harley doubled as one of my best friends, Jesse was purely a crush who I saw when I did plays or went to Stella’s, the diner where he worked that was our town’s popular hangout spot. "Uh, Harley? Do you remember the last time Jesse gave me a ride to school?"

He shuddered at the shared memory of the first day of school last year. I wound up with a chopped-off haircut, and Harley ended the day suspended. Okay, good point. Guess you’re hoofin’ it until you get your license.

Yeah, no. My ‘rents will give me a ride, I decided. Besides, I have other friends with licenses.

Yep, and good luck mooching off them!

I don’t mooch rides off you, Harley! I defended.

Well, we’ll see how often I see you now that I will no longer be your source of wheels.

Harley Stevens! How dare you? I snapped. If you don’t see me anymore, it’s because you’re off joyriding on your motorcycle!

"Pickin’ up chicks, startin’ a rumble, smokin’ some smokes, drinkin’ some beers, yeah, that sounds like me," he sarcastically challenged.

I chuckled. Yeah, no, not in the slightest. Well, ya never know. Bennington might’ve changed you and reverted you to your old self.

"Yeah, I completely abandoned all of my progress from the past five years over the course of one month away from you. Right."

Well, it’s possible, I suggested with a grin.

As we pulled up to the school, Seth jogged over, threw his gear in the trunk, and jumped into the backseat. Hey! Princess! I didn’t know you were coming, too! Meems will be thrilled!

"Apparently, there are plans beyond picking Seth up?" I inferred.

Bro! You didn’t tell her? We’re grabbing Meems and hitting the beach! he exclaimed, settling back into the seat.

Harley asked me, You good to go to the lake?

Cue internal panic. Um, can we stop at my house to drop off the dragon and get my beach stuff? I negotiated.

"Dragon?" Seth boomed, popping back up from the backseat.

Totter! Seat belt! Harley insisted.

Bro! Pull over! I wanna see the dragon! Seth directed as he smacked Harley repeatedly on the shoulder.

Dude! I’ll slam on the brake if you don’t knock it off! Harley shouted. You can see the dragon when we get to Persephone’s!

Where is it? Seth clamored at me, grabbing onto the back of my seat and leaning over my shoulder. With no notice, Harley slammed on the brakes and crushed my organs into my seat belt. Seth’s body crashed into the back of my seat and added to the squish. Seriously, Bro? What the hell? Seth gasped when he caught his breath again.

I warned you, Harley seethed. "Seat belts on."

Not sure why I needed to sustain pain for Harley to prove his point to Seth. "I was wearing my seat belt, I choked out. So, I didn’t really need Seth flying into me."

Panic flooded Harley’s face. Then, he stared straight ahead, focused on the road. Sorry, Persephone. Didn’t think that through.

"No, no, you didn’t," I agreed, rubbing all of my sore spots.

Good goin’, blockhead, Seth piped in, smacking Harley on the back of his head.

Without warning, my baby dragon leapt from the duffle bag at my feet and bounced onto my lap. Her actions made Harley swerve, ever-so-slightly, but he maintained control of the car. She captured my eye contact and opened her eyes extremely wide, revealing rainbows within her crystal blue irises. Immediately, all of the hurts left my body! Wow! Then, she curled up in my lap and went to sleep.

I noted, Um, okay. That was weird.

What? Seth demanded, pulling himself up over my seat again.

Harley boomed, Totter! Didn’t you learn the first time?

Yeah! I learned you won’t do it again cuz last time you hurt Princess, he replied. He was right, of course. I knew Harley felt like pondscum for even temporarily causing me pain, and his silence towards me since his apology confirmed that his brain currently spun in the continuous cycle of a guilt trip about it.

The car abruptly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. You know what, Totter? Get out. Get your crap out of the trunk, and call Naomi to come get you. You don’t want to follow the laws? That’s up to you, but you’re not doing it on my watch. I’ll be damned if you get me in trouble.

Narc, Seth mumbled as he got out of the car without fighting Harley’s decision. The trunk popped open, and Seth grabbed his stuff and slammed it closed. Then, Harley kicked up a cloud of dust around our best friend as he sped away from him.

When he stopped at the next stoplight, I asked him, "What was that all about?"

He whimpered, "Persephone, I am so sorry about the seat belt."

Yeah, I know. I’m fine. I meant that whole thing with Seth.

Well, Totter’s gone all rebel without a clue, he revealed.

Wait a sec. Seth Totter? Rebel? Yeah, no. That didn’t jive. I had known Seth since kindergarten. A wimp? Yes. A rebel? Oh, heck no. What are you talking about, Harley?

How is it that I was away for most of the summer and know what he’s been up to, but you don’t?

"Cuz I hung out with my brother all summer," I reminded him. Okay, it still felt weird to have a brother. After fifteen years of being an only child, without any warning or even a pregnancy, revisionist history had presented the Smith family with the most beautiful, happy, healthy, baby boy ever. Not that I was partial, of course.

"Alright, I approve of that. But now with a baby brother and a baby dragon under your roof, I’m never getting you out again, am I?"

Yeah, no, probably not, I sarcastically admitted.

Yeah, so, in that case, we’re heading straight to the beach. Cuz otherwise, we’ll never get there. He turned towards the beach I associated with Jesse. Cuz well, four years ago, Jesse and I had gone there almost daily. Wow. Was it really that long ago? Dang. Time flew!

"But Harley! I need sunblock!" I remembered. My baby dragon lifted her head, blinked her eyes, and climbed back into the duffle bag.

"Yanno, I brought beach stuff. So, there’s sunblock in the trunk. No girly bikinis, but I got a couple pairs of shorts and T-shirts if you need to change into dry clothes afterwards."

I glared at him and scoffed, Your clothes won’t fit me. He was like a whole foot taller than me.

It’ll be close enough. You worry too much. ‘Sides, if you don’t wanna wear my clothes, you could skinny dip. I wouldn’t object.

I laughed and announced, Dream on, Harley.

"Oh, I will, he assured me. Believe me, I will."

And believe me, if anyone other than Harley said that, they’d be a creepster. But Harley and I were… us. So, it wasn’t creepsterish at all.

When we arrived at the lake, he slathered sunblock on himself, and I texted the ‘Rents with the new plan. Okay, not gonna lie, I most definitely eyeballed him as he took his shirt off. Yeah. Um. Very pretty. Can you get my back? he requested, tossing me the sunscreen.

Sure, I nervously agreed. Then, I noticed it. Harley! When did you get a tattoo?

He glanced back at the massive cross on his shoulder blade. "Oh, that? I got that when I was on tour in Europe."

I gasped, They let a fourteen-year-old get a tattoo?

"Persephone! Popstars do what they want! And well, I wanted a tattoo, and I got one. I don’t regret it. I mean, how could I ever regret having a cross forever inked into my skin to remind me of what my Savior did for me?"

His smirk gave him away. "Okay, you almost had me there."

"Well, I am serious about not regretting it. I just exaggerated the holy roller part a little bit." He squatted down so I could reach his back, and I applied the sunscreen. Um. Was it bad that I was really enjoying the way the lotion felt on Harley’s skin? And then, once the sunscreen was fully blended in, liking the sensation of simply rubbing his shoulder blades and back? Wow. You’re good at massage.

Uh, thanks, I nervously replied, still kneading his muscles. When I had stalled as long as possible, I inexplicably kissed his tattoo. Then, I blushed in preparation for the inevitable onslaught of relentless teasing he’d lob my way for having done something so stupid.

But he didn’t tease me. Instead, he just whispered, Remind me to take my shirt off more often, before smiling and smoothing my hair out of my face. Then, he mimed like he was prepared to return the favor by applying my sunblock… on my chest! Yeah, no. He did get my arms and legs, below my knees, but everywhere else on my body was out of his comfort zone, so I had to glob it on myself. As I finished up, he dug two baseball caps out of his beach gear, donned one, and tossed one at me. Ready to take on a paddleboat?

I loved the paddleboats. Sure, they reminded me of Jesse… and pop phenom, Xander Mack… but nothing would be more fun than paddling around the lake all day with Harley. I agreed, I’m in! and grabbed the duffle bag, as my dragon, in the half-zipped bag, could ride in the paddleboat, too.

We paddled a little, talked a lot, and paddled a little more, absolutely in no rush, as Harley had rented the paddleboat for the entire day. From time to time, he jumped into the lake and swam around before climbing back aboard to continue paddling with me. As the hours went on, we traveled further around the lake’s perimeter than I had ever gone before and discovered an entire section that was completely secluded from not only the public beach but all of the camps as well.

Yanno what would be fun to do out here? he asked me.

Oh, I knew what his one-track mind was thinking. We would never do such a thing, but we sure did talk about it a lot. Harley! Get your mind out of the gutter! I chastised.

He jumped in and dove down. Deep. Crap. He was up to something. I didn’t know what, but it was safe to say I wouldn’t be overly amused with him. Amused by him, sure. Just not amused with him. There was a distinctive difference between the two.

He popped up on my side of the paddleboat. "If my mind’s in the gutter, how’d you know what I was thinking? he challenged, sliding his hands between my seat and my butt, lifting me out of the boat, and dropping me into the water! Obviously, I screamed, but there was nobody around to hear me. Shh. I’ve got ya. You’re fine." Sure enough, he had pressed me up against the boat such that I didn’t even have to tread water. And then I realized he hadn’t meant what I thought. The way he looked at my lips? He had been referring to kissing! Oh gosh, I so wanted him to kiss me with one of those kisses that went on and on and on, like in the movies! And this was the perfect place! We could kiss out here, in private, for the rest of day, and nobody would ever even know about it! "So… have you had your first kiss yet?" He was so close to me that I felt his words on my lips.

No, I barely admitted. But it’s okay if you–

He put his finger to my lips to stop my statement. Then, he leaned in the last few centimeters and kissed his finger, which, for that brief moment, was the only reason our lips didn’t touch. He kissed my cheek, lifted me back into the boat, and disappeared underneath again before popping back up into his side. Once he was settled in his seat, I reached over and grabbed his hand. He brought my hand to his lips and gently kissed it as we paddled along. Then, he whispered, Well, remind me to bring you back here after you do.

Okay. I had played this close, but not quite game with him long enough. "Harley! Are you seriously not going to kiss me?"

We’ve been over this, Persephone. I’m not stealing your first kiss! You deserve the true love first kiss you’ve always dreamed of!

I snarled, And somehow, you’re not capable of that?

He chuckled and kissed my hand again. "You love Jesse, he pointed out, before giving my hand another kiss. And Totter." He placed a kiss on my hand before trailing loud, goofy, kisses all the way up my arm to my shoulder where he paused and looked me in the eyes. Um. Swoon. "And well, we’re friends."

Friends can kiss, I reminded him.

Um, you don’t kiss your friends, he defended.

"You do," I sneered. Yeah, okay, I still struggled with the knowledge that Harley used to kiss my on-again, off-again, best friend Coral. He didn’t anymore, as she was re-engaged to Charles, but for the better part of a year, they were, to put it mildly, more than friends.

Let it go, he grumbled, kissing my hand again. "I certainly wasn’t thinking of her when I envisioned what I’d like to do out here."

You can think about anyone you want to, I replied. You don’t have a girlfriend.

You can think about anyone you want to, too, he reminded me. "You won’t have a boyfriend until you’re thirty-four. You’ve got years of daydreams ahead of you."

I groaned. Yes, I was forbidden to date until I was thirty-four. However, the ‘Rents had never dictated a minimal age for kissing. I looked over at Harley – scantily clad, dripping wet, and so beautiful that breath escaped me. Yeah. He was rather perfect. Mmm.

Oh, crap. How long had we been immersed in this awkward silence? Surely, too long! Um… You doing cross-country this year?

Yeah, I’ve been doing pre-season practices every day before you even wake up in the morning.

"Okay, stalker. How do you know when I wake up?" I pressed.

He chuckled. You don’t text me before noon.

That’s not true! I squawked.

"I know. I’m joking. But you don’t text me before nine, so I know you’re still asleep when I’m out running at five."

I gasped, You go running at five in the morning?

Other than the mosquitos and people delivering newspapers, nobody’s up at that hour. So, it’s awful peaceful. And I won’t get run over by idiot drivers with their learner’s permits.

Harley! I groaned, feeling his intended jab.

You do realize we’ll be seniors before I can even ride in a car with you, he reminded me. "And that’s only if you get your license as soon as you turn sixteen."

Which I’m not doing, I confessed. I hated driving. It intimidated me. Yeah, I completed my hours for drivers ed and always obliged my parents’ requests to drive them somewhere for practice, but I was good with never actually driving for real again.

Are you ever letting that Xander Mack thing go? he pressed.

No. No, apparently, I was not. But well, driving like a bat out of heck in an attempt to outrun the paparazzi chasing us was a bit traumatic, okay? And I was eleven! Eleven! Yeah, not letting it go.

Mmm. The mental image of escaping the paparazzi on the back of Harley’s motorcycle caused my lips to involuntarily smile.

What? he urged.

Nothin’, I lied.

Tell me, or you’re going back into the lake, he threatened with a playful, gentle shove.

I shook my head. Nothing, Harley. I just had a thought.

Yeah, I got that, but what was it?

Just that it’d be fun to ride on your motorcycle with you.

"Yeah, no, he chuckled. I mean, yeah, fun for you, but your father would kill me D-E-A-D, with no hope of resurrection, if I let you near the back of my motorcycle. He took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair. Actually, he’s probably onshore right now waiting to kill me just because you even thought of riding on my motorcycle."

Alas, the idea of hanging onto Harley for dear life as Vermont’s scenery sped by us continued to take over my stream of consciousness. I mumbled, Dad won’t kill you, Harley.

"Glad you feel that way cuz I think he would. He almost did once. And that was just over a rumor I wasn’t even spreading. He smirked at me. So, have you figured out who your real friends are yet? Or do you still need more time to think about it?"

I groaned, Harley! How many times do I need to apologize for that? I’m sorry! Yeah. I said awful things to my friends last year. But I didn’t want them to see me like I was, and I thought if I pushed them away hard enough, they’d stay away. But it didn’t work on Harley. Nope. Cuz well, he was absolutely one of my real friends.

Ah, friends. A lovely yet damning word. Lovely because Harley and I loved each other unconditionally, as friends. Damning because as friends, there was a clear line that we would not and could not cross. So, despite the rumors, nothing had ever happened between us. Hugs. Hand-holding. Kisses everywhere on my head except my lips. But never a kiss on the lips… or anything more than that. And as big of a crush as I had on him and as much as I yearned for him to kiss me, my mind sputtered every time I heard about anyone I knew going beyond kissing. Cuz the concept of all that stuff was just gross! Eww!

And yeah, I knew that Harley had gone further than kissing. But I did not want to think about that. Oops. Too late. Cuz well now, I was thinking about it. Grr.

I know, he acknowledged. "We were both in dark places last year. His face filled with concern. Uh, don’t puke, Persephone." Like I wanted to puke? Yeah, no. Upchucking was neither a fun nor enjoyable experience. And well, I hadn’t barfed all summer, so, it really had been school sickness last year. And hopefully, my current queasiness was not a sign that the condition would reemerge for my junior year. "Fine. I promise not to push you back in. Okay?"

I grumbled, "That’s not why I’m nauseated."

He held his hand over my stomach and requested, Uh, Persephone’s stomach? There’s no school today, so don’t be getting sick, okay? I smirked. He always had such an amazing knack for making me forget whatever ailed me. Oh, right. Him and Coral. Grr. "Alright, I had a smirk there for a split-second, but it’s gone again. What is it, Persephone?"

I mumbled, I wish you hadn’t ever kissed Coral.

He ran his hand through his hair and put his cap on backwards. I know, he whispered. "That whole thing was dumb and self-sabotaging. Yeah, I get it. But I won’t live my life with regrets, so I chock it up to being a complete idiot and pledge it will never happen again. I mean, yuck. Coral? What the hell was I thinking? By the way, got any cootie spray?" He shuddered in disgust.

Thinkin’ you thought, ‘Yay, girl who will actually kiss me!’

He nodded, agreed, Yep. Pretty much, and released a big sigh. I need to remember to avoid desperation like the plague. After a hard exhale, he leaned his head on my shoulder. I was just so scared when you weren’t talking. I mean, I didn’t know if we’d ever have moments like this again.

Harley, we have so many more moments like this ahead of us.

Hope so, he whispered.

My dragon then hopped out of the duffle bag, leapt into my lap, and gained my eye contact such that I again saw the rainbows in her eyes, and afterwards, she curled up for another snooze.

And just like that, the nausea was gone.

chapter two

The Law of Action and Reaction

As a junior, the concept of getting a ride to school from the ‘Rents mortified me. Juniors drove to school. Period. And although I didn’t want my license, I wasn’t even old enough to have it yet. Ah, another overlooked consequence of skipping a grade.

Add in Vermont’s law requiring young drivers to have their licenses for six months before toting friends around, and well, the pickings of potential rides to school became increasingly slimmer. Yeah, very few of my friends could actually drive with passengers. But wait! Misty lived in my neighborhood, and she got her license in December! Perfect! Only… were Misty and I even friends right now?

In an act of complete desperation, I called her. Persephone! she answered. Long time, no talk. What do you want, Persephone?

Eeks. Was I that bad of a friend? Cuz yes, I wanted something. Hey, Misty, how was your summer?

She laughed. Cut to it, Persephone. I’m kinda busy here.

"Oh-kay, I replied. Any chance I can get a ride to school with you this year? I’ll chip in gas money."

She cackled. "Wow. That was direct. But, of course, I can give you a ride to school. Geez! You live down the street. But gas money is always good. I’ll pick you up at 7:30 on Thursday. Stop it! I’m on the phone! Yeah, I gotta go."

Well, it sure sounded to me like Misty got a new boyfriend over the summer, but apparently, I’d get the gossip on Thursday. I sighed with relief that my ride situation was resolved so neatly and quickly.

Then, my phone rang. Misty. Wait, why isn’t Harley giving you a ride? Okay. She knew that his convertible got totaled but wouldn’t know that the numbskull was getting a motorcycle instead of some old jalopy to tote me around in. So, I filled her in on his brainiac move to become a cool kid with a motorcycle. "But you two are together, right? Cuz Harley Stevens on a motorcycle could not be any hotter!"

"Harley? I teased. Pretty sure he could be."

You must be joking or blind! No, no, he couldn’t!

Well, I was joking. Obviously, he was plenty hot. Too hot. Sigh. Had he always been this divine, or had he gotten more gorge with age? Or were my standards seriously nosediving? Was I in love with him? Oh gosh, I had gotten sidetracked in my daydreams and lost all track of my conversation with Misty! Ugh. "Yeah, well, Harley and I aren’t together, but he remains off-limits, I clarified. But I should let you go, cuz didn’t you have something to be doing?"

She giggled. "I’ll fill you in on that when I see you on Thursday."

Phew. Transportation to school secured.

I went outside to mow the lawn. Coincidentally, Seth was mowing his lawn, too. And ooh, without a shirt! Yeah, being a boycrazy fifteen-year-old was no easy feat. Cuz I didn’t care if he was dating Naomi, he was hot. And well, apparently very hot, if he needed his shirt off. Hey, Princess! he greeted me, shutting his lawnmower off. How’s it going? The sweat gleamed on his chest. Oh, right. I came over to find out how he was getting to and from school this year, as like me, he, too, only had a learner’s permit.

His plan? Get a ride from his girlfriend. Only, I knew Naomi wasn’t old enough to legally give anyone at school, except her brother, Wes, a ride until November. But when I pointed that fact out to him, he not only reiterated that she would be his ride to school, but he also revealed that she had been driving him around all summer!

Wow! Just wow! My mind was blown.

I wandered back to my house, but rather than mow right away, I went inside for a glass of iced tea and more importantly, to talk to Mom. What Seth and Naomi were doing was illegal, and I didn’t know what to do with that intel.

"You might want to keep in mind that you and Harley went to Maine the day he got his license," she reminded me as she picked up the phone and dialed.

That’s different, I dismissed. "If not for revisionist history, he’d have rightfully been eighteen. She smirked and nodded in hedged approval as she waited for someone to answer. Who ya callin’?"

Naomi’s parents, she admitted.

Why? I gasped with genuine concern.

"She’s been breaking the law using their car. They have a right to know. She shrugged. At least Harley drove his own car when you two skirted the law on his sixteenth birthday."

Oh, crap! Right before my eyes, Mom had become that mom! The one who outed her kid’s friends’ dirt to their parents and got them in trouble! No! I had gone to her as my sounding board; I never intended for her to confront Meems’s parents! Ugh! My life would be ruined! Nobody wanted to hang around that mom’s kid! "Mom, no! Please!"

Too late. Naomi’s car privileges were revoked. Wes would drive her to school every day, but Seth would not be in the car.

Okay, I got that it was the right thing to do, but I felt like pondscum. Why couldn’t Naomi just follow the law? I wouldn’t have said anything! I never told anyone that Seth was her first kiss, or about any of the other kisses, as kissing wasn’t a legal issue. But this was.

On the heels of that phone conversation, Mom called Seth’s house. Lots of cryptic half-sentences. Pauses for listening. And one weird question I couldn’t answer about Seth partying. I was unable to piece together the conversation, but after Mom hung up, she did. Seth had told his parents he was hanging out at our house, with me, all summer, but obviously, he wasn’t. His parents had suspected he was actually out partying, and catching him in his lie confirmed it for them.

I desperately wanted to defend him, but crap, I really couldn’t! If he was partying, he needed to be in trouble! Mom reassured me that the Totters wouldn’t tell Seth that I said anything, but chances were that he’d figure it out himself. Because who else would’ve said it?

"Oh, crap! Harley," I mumbled. He would not like that I got Seth in trouble. I ran upstairs, announcing, Mom, I gotta talk to Harley.

What’s up? he answered, seemingly before the phone rang.

"Has Seth been… partying?" I asked him.

You’re asking the guy who hasn’t been around this summer.

"You didn’t say no."

"Well, what brought about this… allegation?" he pressed, never actually denying it. Dang it. Clearly, I was right.

His parents confronted Mom. So, she asked me.

"How would you know? You don’t party."

Because he claimed to be hanging out with me all summer.

Ohhh, geez! he groaned. Totter! Could you be any stupider?

"And Meems’s parents took her car privileges away, so he won’t be getting a ride to school with her."

Silence on Harley’s end. I glanced at the phone. Still connected. You ratted them out. Before I could defend myself, he continued, Why can’t you ever just stay out of stuff like the rest of us do?

"Harley! That’s not a solution! Friends look out for each other and help each other when they’re in trouble."

And ratting them out is helping someone? God, Persephone. Remind me never to screw up around you. Did you call up Grams and tell her about my tattoo while you were at it?

The memory of his tattoo… and his back… made me smile. No, I admitted.

"Good! She doesn’t need to know. One, it’s my body. Two, Barry already approved it. Three, it’s not like it can be undone."

I pointed out, "Well, Seth can stop drinking, and Naomi can stop driving him around."

"Can’t argue that. Just be ready to lose two friends. And… anyone else who has dirt and finds out that you’re a snitch."

Dang it. I didn’t want to lose my friends. They just needed to make better decisions! Breaking the law was wrong. Period. And if I lost friends because I believed in obeying the law, they weren’t really my friends to begin with. "Are you still my friend, Harley?"

"Yeah. Or as you would say, ‘Obvi.’ I heard him snicker. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Persephone Smith."

Rats, I joked. Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.

You do that, he agreed. Just be ready for it to be you and me against the world at school this year. I mean, Totter’s wicked popular, so you’ve just ostracized yourself from the popular crowd, and unlike last year, you’re not even ‘Dead Girl’ anymore. You’re just you.

I groaned, Gee, Har, why don’t you kick me when I’m down?

"Oh, stop. You’ll be fine. You’ll just have one best friend."

"The term is intended to refer to just one person anyway," I noted.

He then reminded me that he’d pick me up at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon for Gabby’s end-of-summer party. I couldn’t wait to see everyone. Well, more precisely, I couldn’t wait to see him.

After we hung up, I looked at my clock and whispered, Hurry up, tomorrow, but it just laughed at me and continued ticking seconds at precisely the same, exact, constant speed as always.

chapter three

The Party’s Over

When I met Gabby Kingsley, six years ago, she annoyed me immensely, but since then, she had grown (and grown on me) in leaps and bounds and was now genuinely one of my best friends. Oh my gaw! Neenee! Leyley! You made it! she announced, running up to us before Harley had even put Grams’s car into park.

"Gabs, it’s not ‘Leyley.’ It’s Harley, he reminded her. I’m not in your little coven, remember?"

"Oh, that doesn’t matter, she dismissed. You’re honorarily one of the girls, and you know it."

He rolled his eyes and noticeably suppressed the urge to argue that he wasn’t a girl. Popping the trunk and pulling out a cooler, he instead proclaimed, Persephone and I brought Mythic. Thank goodness for Harley cuz I never even thought to bring something to the party. It wasn’t a birthday party. It was an end-of-summer party!

Ooh! What flavors did you bring? Gabby tittered, climbing onto him as he brought the cooler to the back deck.

A little bit of everything, I think, he revealed. He snagged a hot pink bottle of my favorite, Laspberry Rime, and handed it to me, sneaking a kiss on my cheek as he did so.

Gabby squealed, Oh my gaw! You guys are so cute! It’s about time you two went out! She excitedly jumped up and down. I put my money on junior year, and look! Here we are! Junior year!

Harley interjected, "Hold up. One, we’re not dating, and two, there’s a pool about when we’ll date?"

As my mind whirled to absorb the madness, I had a brainstorm and softly reminded him, If we put our money on 2034, we’ll win.

He nodded. Yeah, we want in on this betting. We’ll each put fifty on February 7, 2034. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and held out a hundred dollar bill!

"I’m not the one collecting the money, Gabby admitted. Oh my gaw! That’s an actual hundred dollar bill! She snatched it from his hands and held it up to find the watermark. Oh my gaw! I’m holding a hundred dollars!"

Harley reached over her head and took his money back. "So, who is responsible for this little pool?" he asked her.

Seth, she replied.

Hang on a second. Our best friend, Seth, who knew darn well we weren’t going out and wouldn’t be going out, and who, in fact, was another of my crushes, had set up a betting pool? I gasped, "He’s not really collecting money, is he?"

Five bucks per guess, she answered with a shrug. That’s why I picked ‘junior year’ cuz it gave me twelve months of possibilities for my five bucks!

I need to have some words with Totter, Harley grumbled.

Katrina’s arrival prompted Gabby to run out front to greet her with a shout of Riri! and Harley suggested that we go, too, to check out her new wheels. It was the polite thing to do as Katrina, clearly thrilled at accomplishing her goal of buying a car by summer’s end, had totally plastered social media with pictures of her big purchase.

It’s not much, she dismissed. But it’s all mine! It was a dark blue, four-wheel drive, gas guzzling, decade-old car. Hey, she had a car, and I didn’t, so it wasn’t really my place to judge.

Harley deliberately inhaled deeply. What’s that I smell? Right! Freedom! He hugged her with a big bear hug. Congrats!

Thanks, she stated nervously before glancing over at me. I didn’t care if she hugged Harley. He was Harley. Perverted, adorable, flirtatious Harley. He was naturally friendly with all the girls. It was how he functioned. Besides, he wasn’t my boyfriend, and even if he was, he’d still be like that with the girls. Because he was Harley. And he was a flirt. And well, we all liked flirting with him.

Oh my gaw! If you’re not dating Neenee, you should go out with Riri! Gabby decided.

Yeah, no, he quickly replied. No offense, Katrina.

None taken, she agreed with a smirk. "I’m still not ready to date anyone." Yeah, I wanted to bust Geoff’s head for what he did to her. Did you hear? After dating her for two years and swearing he loved her, he actually just wanted to sleep with her. Jerk. I felt such pride when she dumped him on his butt at his prom! Classic! I smiled at the memory.

"Hey! We’re not all swine," Harley claimed.

Yeah, right, she and Gabby said in unison before giggling and hugging each other. Gabby had bad luck with boyfriends, too. She and Trav took a break prior to his cross-country jaunt this summer, but so far as I knew, even though they were both back home again, the break never ended. With the amount of trouble that my friends had with boyfriends, maybe the thirty-four thing wasn’t such a bad idea.

Hey, Persephone? Could I get a little help here? I’m feeling slightly ganged up on, Harley pleaded.

Harley was not scum, but as I could not bring myself to advertise his dateability to the girls, I couldn’t exactly defend him. The concept of him going out with any of my friends was my worst nightmare.

Cue the arrival of Coral and Charles at the party. (Gotta love the Universe’s impeccable timing.) So, to the best of my knowledge, she and I were best friends again. Yeah, it really was that back and forth. And judging from her appearance, her mourning period for Marina’s death had passed, as she wore a sundress that included, I daresay, every color of the rainbow. Ladies! Check out my ring! she enthusiastically shouted as she jumped out of Charles’s car.

Guess he finally made it official, Harley mumbled to me.

I can see it sparkling from here! I sarcastically noted as I put a smile on my face and went over to fawn all over her.

M’lady! You look divine! Charles praised as I oohed and ahhed about his fiancée’s diamond.

"Um, okay," I replied. He was so weird. He was engaged to Coral and complimenting me? Why? Was he trying to start a fight?

So do you, Charles, Harley added. I giggled in appreciation of the inserted humor into an otherwise really weird interaction.

Katrina and Gabby headed out back with the happy couple to discuss the details of the proposal. Yawn. Snooze. I was done gawking at Coral’s stupid ring. "Maybe this will be more fun once everyone arrives?" Harley suggested, reading my mind, as usual.

Maybe there’s food now? I hoped. He shared my sentiment, so we followed the others and found chips and dip. Yum.

My newly appointed ride to and from school, Misty, arrived next… indeed, with a new boyfriend. But he was a boy we knew! Morgan! Yeah, the kicker from our football team! They dated back in ninth grade and reconnected at work this summer. And wasn’t Morgan just the best for healing Misty’s broken heart? Insert eye roll here. I mean, seriously? Last year she was in love with Mike Hill, and the moment he graduated, she ran right back to Morgan. Was she even single for five seconds? Doubtful.

Totter’s not comin’, Morgan announced. He’s grounded. Him and Naomi both.

Oh my gaw! Gabby exclaimed. Why? The way she crowded him for the deets rivaled the way a fanatic watched the latest blockbuster action film on its opening night in a movie theatre.

Pass her the popcorn, Harley whispered in my ear as he snatched my hand. Just remember that I’m here for ya, P.

"His dad totally busted him. And Meems’s parents flipped out when they learned she gave him rides all summer," Morgan divulged.

Before anyone asked anything more, Dee Jamieson and Skye Stanley showed up! Um. Gabby and Dee were best friends in middle school but were not even friends in high school, and well, last year, these girls bullied Gabby. So, why the heck were they showing up with fruit salad to her party?

Hi, people, Dee haughtily greeted. "Totter said we could come here in his place. He claimed there’d be a party, and I’m not seeing one. She looked right over all of our heads, back and forth, like she was looking for someone. Have you seen a party around here?"

Skye threw her head back and cackled. Totter owes us. I’ve never crashed a more lame party in my life.

"Yeah, people. Don’t get it twisted. We aren’t here; we’re just Totter’s proxy," Dee clarified.

Oh my gaw! Gabby exclaimed before running into the house.

Seriously? Harley snarled. Dee! Skye! We all know this isn’t your kind of party, so just take your salad and go home.

Whatever, Dee decided. "You