'Getting back together with you.'
The sound of barely stifled chortles made my cheeks redden. Oh, God, we were being 'cute' in company. My eyes slid to Joss. Sure enough, she had a superior smile on her face. There was no way to win this round, but I could lessen the cuteness. 'Fine,' I mumbled ungraciously, relaxing against him.
Elodie and Clark, who had been introduced to Cam only three minutes ago, started firing questions at him about being a graphic designer, about growing up in Longniddry, and about his parents, until I eventually left him sitting beside Cole and enlisted Hannah in making an escape. Since I couldn't feel the heat of Joss's stare, I took this to mean that she was just happy Cam and I were together and didn't need to know the details. Ellie was a different story. She would want to know absolutely everything. Her eyes bored into me, and I could almost hear her telepathic orders for me to look at her. That was when I started shooting Hannah 'save me' looks.
My little saviour shot to her feet. 'I have to show Jo something. Alone,' she said pointedly, giving her sister a look that allowed no room for argument. She got that look from Elodie.
'But – '
We were already out of the room before Ellie could say a second word.
Trying to muffle our giggles, we fell into Hannah's room. 'You are the best person in the whole world.' I grinned at her.
Hannah smiled in response as she flopped down on her bed. 'You know you're going to have to face the inquisition soon though, right?'
'I know. I'd just rather face it later than sooner.'
Suddenly Hannah's cheeks flushed a little red. 'He's really hot.'
Laughing, I moved to sit beside her, feeling my own cheeks heat as I remembered this morning and last night. 'He is that.'
'I won't ask about Malcolm or anything, but … I heard Ellie speaking with Joss and they said Cam's not really your usual type. I guess that doesn't matter if you're happy.'
I loved this kid. Truly and deeply. 'I'm happy today. Scared. But happy. Cam has convinced me to do something just for me, rather than for me and Cole.' I remembered all the security that had walked away with Malcolm last night and I felt a stab of fear and anxiety. In an effort to ignore it, I nudged Hannah with my shoulder. 'So how is Marco?'
Heaving a massive sigh, Hannah fell back on the mattress and stared at the ceiling, avoiding my eyes. 'He's talking to me again.'
'Why aren't you more excited about that?'
'Because the tool is acting like nothing happened. Like we're just friends. Not to mention there is this girl in the year above me who's been telling everyone she hooked up with him at a party last weekend. She's really pretty.'
'Well, considering you're beautiful, I think you have one over on her.' Hannah made a noise of disbelief and I patted her knee. 'One day you're going to look in the mirror and see what I see.'
'A geek who needs an attitude readjustment?'
I made a face. 'What?'
'I got in trouble this week. Mum and Dad aren't happy.'
My painfully shy Hannah had got in trouble? 'What?' I repeated in disbelief.
'My PE teacher had a go at me because I refused to get into an all-girls team against an all-boys team at basketball. I told him that it's scientifically proven that boys are stronger and faster than girls and that to put all girls against all boys was setting the girls' team up for failure. He said that I was being unfair to my own sex. I said I was being realistic and that I thought he was deliberately favouring the boys over the girls. He reported me and, while our head teacher told him that all basketball teams during classes should be mixed from now on, the head teacher also called Mum and told her I needed an attitude readjustment.'
Choking down my amusement as I caught the twinkle of bedevilment in her eyes, I shook my head at her. 'What happened to the crippling shyness?'
She somehow managed to shrug lying down. 'I just feel like being shy is getting in my way.'
'Is this because of Marco?'
'No, not just that. Although I'm getting the impression I'm not really "cool" enough for him – '
'Then he's an idiot.'
' – It's more that I missed out on joining the debating team because I was too shy to speak up. And I know I'd be really good at debating.'
'I think we all know that.'
She threw a cushion at me and continued as if I hadn't spoken. 'And I missed out on the Christmas dance this year because my friends and I felt too self-conscious going alone together. And I wrote this poem that really means a lot to me and I wanted to enter it into this regional competition but I didn't because – '
'You were too shy.' I patted her knee again. 'So you what? Just woke up one day and decided not to be?'