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"They said you were super talented," Phoenix pressed

"I don’t know about that I’ve been playing h," I answered truthfully I embraced the distraction fro

"So you’ll play for us then?" Phoenix asked so casually I alht of his words

"What do you ar Skulls?" I asked a bit hysterically

"Yeah, we’re looking for a keyboardist," Phoenix’s eyes lit up with excitement and expectation while Ryder stilled to stone next to me "We need you, Ives"

"No, I don’t think you do," I backtracked quickly "I’ve only ever played classical I wouldn’t even kno to go about playing with you guys Plus, it will irl It’s cool that you would think of me, but honestly I would be more work than it’s worth"

"Don’t be so e "I’ll help you out, help you get the feel of playing with a band It will be good for you Expand your horizons and all that"

I clearedto be Ok with it"

Phoenix’s entire body sagged with disappointe, cartoonish versions of sadness and his lower lip slipped out into the most pathetic pout "Aw, Ivy, we need you Come on, don’t you want to help out your friends?"

"It’s not that I uys probably have lots of practices, plus the gigs and I don’t think I can coet, I’ve never even played in a band before I’ve never had to try to play with anyone It’s probably outside of uys, that’s all" I hurried throughto convince the sorow ot

"How about we just start with one song, yeah?" Ryder asked just a fraction h to break downwith us and decide fro to say yes, but needing to say no

Phoenix looked at ain until he

bounced with the restrained excitement "Come on, Ivy, we need you" he pleaded with ether in prayer position

I openedwide and Mrs Tanner hauled her large fraasped in horror at our little po "What is going on out here?" she snapped, her beady eyes falling immediately on me

"Hall pass!" Phoenix held up the aooden board with an abrupt swing of his ar backwards toward his classroouys later"

I waved at Phoenix liainst the wall Ryder was resting on and workedthe sharp pangs of panic, but it waselse in the world

"Where’s your hall pass Ivy Pierce?" Mrs Tanner snapped

"I don’t have one Yet," I clipped the "t" sharply just to get under her skin

"Ryder? Please don’t tell es with her," Mrs Tanner asked desperately in a high shriek

Before he could even speak, a pang of guilt punched e as left of Ryder’s reputation "Not to worry, T Ryder wouldn’t be caught dead helping the likes of me He’s smarter than that, aren’t you Ryder?" But before he could answer I pushed off from the wall and walked purposefully toward my locker located on the opposite end of the hall "He was in thea pass froed hair flying

"That’s what I told him," I tossed my thumb over my shoulder and rolled my eyes for her benefit "I’d much rather take the detention than have to deal with you this early in the irl or it will be worse than a detention," Mrs Tanner hissed

I ether draer and thu on I didn’t even bother to stop by my locker I shoved my cropped jacket into my backpack on my way to class and didn’t slon until I had been reprimanded by my Government teacher and slid to safety in the seventies era desk

My heart hauilt and sha Ryder on the rollercoaster I lived on He was crazy to spend more time with me, to ask questions about my life So much could happen to him, to me… to us

And yet les where he touchedof classes was a blur of movement and confusion I kneent to all of et there, but hts of Ryder Always Ryder I went over his song, the car ride hoain thisover and over and over until I felt a little bit crazy The constant argument of whether he was drawn tohis intentions warred back and forth inat each other

By the ti to declare a clear winner and gave into the fuzzy haze of exhaustion instead I avoided the buffet line co to extract the easy warroup was stretched out on the long benches,away at theirinside ainst my hair before he pressed a kiss tointo him Instant relief settled over

That is until I liftedstare froranite eyes were back and colder than ever He shook his head slowly as if I didn’t feel bad enough from just the look he sentback to ave me a direct order to date hiht I couldn’t keep stringing Chase along I couldn’t treat hireat to e together

Knowing Nix was out of the country o somewhere?" I asked in a subdued voice so only Chase could hear

"Sure," he s ok?"

"Let’s just go somewhere," I stood up quickly and fled fro eyes I felt Chase close behind me but didn’t turn around until we had slipped out a west side door that faced the art ray October sky prorass between the school and gy and slick with mud

"Ivy?" Chase asked when I kept my space from him outside and crossed my arms

"Chase," my voice faltered before I even started with the hard stuff "You’re really great-"

"Oh, no," he sighed He ran his hands over his face roughly and then had to push his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes "I’ to like this am I?"

"I ju truthful with hi up with Chase for all the right reasons, even if I would have done the sa ones "I’m just not ready for any kind of relationship Not even a slow one"

"You’re breaking up with ether?" Chase turned his back on h stone of the building like he could push through it

"I just don’t want you to think that this was you or anything you did," I rushed to offer promises "This is all me I ‘m just still… broken," I ads felt closed off and drowning with dread, but between the two of us there was nothing I didn’t know Chase enough to really be upset about it The only emotions I felt were selfish and shallow I felt bad for letting hi the curse pull hiht back out

"What is that? A it’s not you, it’s me speech?" He looked over his shoulder at me His cheeks red with frustration and his eyes shifted to hard blue orbs of anger, but he was a good enough ently

"No," I swore And then hated the lie "Ok, maybe?"