Pretty Dark Nothing (25 page)

But he did sleep with her. Nothing could change that.

As if answering her thoughts, he whispered, “I never loved her, Quinn. I swear.” Jeff pulled away and cupped her chin until they were eye to eye. “Do you want me to stop?”

He wanted her, and she longed to be wanted—to be loved. He would stop if she asked him to. What would be the point of stopping now? She deserved to be happy. Jeff made her happy. Being with him made the world right.

If I do this, things will go back to normal, to the way they were before
.

“If you’re with Jeff, everything will go back to normal,” the demons promised. “Seal the deal, and he’ll be yours.”

And Aaron?

“Don’t worry. He’s already over you. We’ve seen him with Jenna.”

Quinn bit back tears. He could be happy with Jenna, like she was happy with Jeff. “No, The party can wait.” She kissed Jeff, her fingers working the buttons of his shirt as her dress slipped to the floor.

And in that moment, she let herself go, surrendering to his embrace, to him, like she had never done before. She had nothing left to lose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Quinn and Jeff found the party in full swing. The gym sparkled like a fairytale. The Student Council took the Winter Wonderland theme to the extreme, covering the floor with fake snow and painting the dance floor bluish white, like a giant ice rink. Fake Christmas trees stood with snow-laden limbs, creating a frosty forest that lined the walls. Even the stage at the far end of the gym had a snow-peaked mountain poking up from behind the band.

Thousands of twinkle lights poked through black butcher paper, creating a canopy of stars. The astronomy club outdid themselves, making the lights look like real constellations, mimicking that very evening’s night sky. A pang of guilt hit Quinn as Orion stared down at her. Coward, that’s what she was. She’d let Aaron believe what he wanted to believe, didn’t even have the guts to tell him she was back with Jeff. The demons got what they wanted; Aaron was out of her life and Jeff was back in. Maybe they would leave her alone now. Fingering the string of pearls around her neck, Quinn watched them as they watched her from the shadows. If she had given them what they wanted, why were they still there? Hadn’t she done everything they asked? She rubbed her hands over the goose bumps rising on her flesh.

Homecoming bliss, everyone partied in extreme celebration mode. Westland’s win against Eastwood had been a miracle. A miracle attributed to Jeff and Quinn’s reunion. A miracle powerful enough to stamp out Kerstin’s rumors, and within minutes, catapulted Quinn back to the top of the social ladder.

Quinn searched the room for Teresa and Marcus. A few couples cuddled at some of the tables, kissing and whispering. On the other side of the room, a handful of singles mingled by the punch bowl. Among them stood Kerstin, alone, evil-eyeing Quinn, face as green as her emerald velvet dress. Quinn had won, but watching Kerstin soured her triumph. A part of her felt sorry for her. Then she noticed Aaron standing in the corner with that brunette from his band, Jenna. Quinn’s chest became a fist, squeezing her heart until she thought it might burst. Massaging the pain blooming above her breast, she closed her eyes and pictured Jeff holding her hand when they were little, their first kiss, how he’d held her after her father left while she cried. The tightness eased.

“Want some punch?” Jeff shouted over the music and pointed in the direction of the table.

“No.” Quinn grabbed Jeff’s hand, leading him to the far side of the dance floor before Aaron could notice them. “This is a dance. We should dance.” Quinn put her arms in the air and moved in time with the frenzied beat.

“Okay, if you want to dance.” Jeff paused. His dimple illuminated a mischievous smile. “Let’s dance.”

“Oh, no.” Quinn grinned when he picked her up around her tiny waist, holding her close. “No, no, no,” she squealed, closing her eyes as he twirled her around and around until a joyful laugh erupted from her. “Okay, okay. Put me down!” she yelled at him between giggles. “Put me down!”

Jeff lowered her to the floor as the music slowed. “I almost forgot how beautiful your laugh is.”

“I almost forgot what a great dancer you are.”

Like metal spikes on a chalkboard, the microphone crackled as Principal Halstor’s giant, faded-orange corsage scraped against it, prompting all chatter to stop. She tried to adjust the mic stand to fit her lanky proportions, making the scraping sounds worse.

“Could someone help me with this thing!” she screamed, waving her hands in the air.

At once, a skinny kid with glasses bolted from the back of the gym and skittered up to the stage. He kept his head low, and with a flick of his wrist, set the mic to just the right height. “Thank you, Horace,” she said to him. “Attention, Westland High students. It’s now time to introduce this year’s homecoming court.”

After a short, dramatic pause, she curled the ends of her dry, wrinkled lips into an odd smile. “Now, I am proud to present to you, princes of the homecoming court and nominees for homecoming king.” She pushed her glasses back up her pointy nose, adjusting the paper to the right distance for her to read. “Brandon Kimball, Cody Martinez, Lee Ennis, Bryan McNally, and Jeff Abrams.”

The already rowdy crowd erupted into whistles and clapping.

Old Hawk Eyes peered over the top of her spectacles and cleared her throat until she had everyone’s attention again. “Do I have your permission to continue? Now, where was I? Yes. The princesses of the homecoming court and nominees for homecoming queen are: Irma Alvarez, Quinn Taylor, Teresa Moon, LaTisha Bowen, and Kerstin Connelly.”

Students went wild, cheering and shouting Quinn’s name as Jeff escorted her up the middle of the dance floor, following the other nominees through the excited crowd to take their places.

Jeff and Quinn split up as they reached the stage, one to the left, one to the right, and Quinn took the spot next to Teresa. Kerstin mounted the stage last and stood next to Quinn.

Principal Halstor moved to the microphone, stuck two gnarled fingers in her shrunken mouth, and added her own shrill whistle to the cheers.

Quinn smiled and waved at the crowd in royal dignity. Aaron, his date, and Marcus stood at the foot of the stage. Marcus grinned and winked at Teresa, but Aaron was engrossed in a conversation with Jenna. A twinge of jealousy rose in her heart.

“Aaron looks happy with Jenna.” Quinn leaned over to Teresa, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the noise. “Are they?”

“Well, they’re pretty tight. I think they’ve even been out before. Marcus pressured Aaron to come tonight. He couldn’t stand the thought of not double-dating, so when you two didn’t work out … well, anyway, they seem cute together, I guess. She seems nice. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No.” Quinn adjusted her corsage, avoiding Reese’s questioning stare.

“Liar.”

“No. Really. Everything’s great.” Quinn forced her frown upside-down. “I’m glad he’s here with Jenna. They look cute together.” She choked on the word “cute.”

“Maybe if you keep telling yourself that, you’ll actually start to believe it.” Reese smoothed the skirt on her dress. “So, how is it being back with Jeff?”

“Great.” Quinn jumped at the chance to talk about Jeff—and forget Aaron in the process.

“Really?” Reese probed.

“We connected tonight. It’s almost as if the summer never happened, like we never broke up. He got my coat, and he looked at me, and we kissed, and more. We … ”

“He still loves me.” Kerstin’s slithery voice penetrated the applause.

Quinn ignored her. “He said he never stopped loving me, and that Kerstin was a big mistake.” She raised her voice so Kerstin could hear.

“Do you know he called me last night?” Kerstin interrupted them again. She pressed her mouth up against Quinn’s ear. “After the game, after you went to Nuevo for dinner, you watched a video at his house,
Dream Weaver
.”

Kerstin’s whispers wormed their way into Quinn’s heart, eating a hole through her confidence.

“How do you know what we did?” Quinn whipped her head around and glared at Kerstin.

Kerstin sneered. “I told you, he called me. After he dropped you off, he called me and asked if he could come over to talk. You know where talking to Jeff leads, don’t you? No, I guess you don’t. Let’s just say, talking is overrated.”

“Liar. You were spying on us.” Quinn spat through smiling lips as she tried to remain in royal character.

“Believe what you want.”

“Okay, Westland High.” Once the clapping died down, Principal Halstor, in true dramatic fashion, pulled a second envelope from the bodice of her dress. “I have the results for this year’s homecoming king and queen.”

“Good luck,” Kerstin said, patronizing.

“I don’t want, or need, your luck,” Quinn barked back.

Principal Halstor ran a finger through the top of the envelope and pulled the folded blue sheet of paper from its nest. “This year’s homecoming king and queen are … ”

Several people banged on tables, the floor, and the stage, simulating a drum roll.

“Star quarterback of Westland’s winning Mustangs, Jeff Abrams, and captain of the Fillies, Quinn Taylor.”

“Doesn’t she mean previous captain?” Kerstin shouted as Jeff took her hand, a last ditch attempt to ruin the moment.

Chants of “Jeff, Jeff, Quinn, Quinn,” accompanied the explosive shouts and whistles that echoed through the gym. Quinn glanced back at Kerstin, giving her a full view of her winning smile. Kerstin flashed back a clenched jaw and bright-red face.

Everything is how it should be,
Quinn thought.

Jeff placed the silver crown, decorated with diamond white, purple, and red rhinestones, on Quinn’s head. Again, the student body clapped and cheered, and Quinn thrust her fist in the air, laughing. The demons were right, listening to them had given Quinn her life back—this is where she belonged. Her confidence surged with Jeff on her arm and Kerstin out of the picture. People cheered for her now, screaming her name, and she waved at her loyal voters. Kerstin was no longer in the competition. Quinn had won.

“Would the royal court please join their king and queen for the traditional royal dance?” Principal Halstor motioned for the band to play the traditional homecoming waltz.

“May I have this royal dance, my queen?” Jeff offered his hand.

“I’d love to, my king.”

Jeff escorted her down the stairs and out onto the dance floor, while the rest of the royal court paired off. Teresa danced with Bryan McNally while Kerstin got stuck with Cory, who kept whooping like a wild animal, while spinning around her like a top. The entire gym broke out in hysterics, all except Kerstin.

Tired of the show, Principal Halstor descended upon Cory like a hawk, grabbing him by the arm and escorting him off the dance floor. Kerstin followed suit, disappearing into the crowd. Quinn couldn’t help but notice Jeff’s eyes following her.

“I guess you didn’t find that as funny as everyone else,” Quinn said.

“Did you? I mean, Cory pretty much ruined the royal dance for the whole court.”

“He didn’t ruin it, the song’s not even over.” Quinn pushed away from Jeff. “Oh, you mean ruined for Kerstin.”

“I think Cory was being mean, that’s all. Come on, let’s forget about Kerstin, okay?” Jeff brushed a stray hair out of Quinn’s eye and tucked it behind her ear, turning his full attention to her, but her confidence waned. What if everything Kerstin had said on the podium was true? Maybe it was, but after tonight, he was totally hers. She’d sealed the deal, given everything she had. There was no going back now.

“That’s the best idea you’ve had all night.” Quinn walked into his embrace.

Jeff arched his eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Okay, second best.” Resting her head on Jeff’s broad shoulder, she closed her eyes. His breath warmed her bare neck as they swayed to the music. She remembered all the dances, all the kisses, the laughter, even the tears, but the one thing she wanted to forget kept popping into her head.

Kerstin. No matter how hard Quinn tried, she wouldn’t go away. She opened her eyes, expecting to see burning red hair and blue eyes hovering over them. Quinn scanned the room. No sign of Kerstin.

Aaron, the other thing she wanted to forget, stood a few feet away, hugging Jenna the way he used to hug her. Quinn shut her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

You have no right to him. He can dance with whoever he wants. You made your choice. Jeff. You love him. You’ve always loved him. Let Aaron go, let him be happy. Like you are.

“Kiss me,” she whispered to Jeff.

And he did.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

From the moment they walked into the gym, Quinn and Jeff did nothing but rub their relationship in Aaron’s face. At least that’s what it felt like. He wished he had stayed home.

Determined to double date, Marcus had tried to fix Aaron up with every girl from Texas to Canada. After days of fighting, Aaron relented. His stipulation: he would pick his own date. In the end, he asked Jenna—begged actually—and she’d taken pity on him. But only after making him promise he wouldn’t try kissing her again. She would always have his back, but she wasn’t interested in him anymore. Just like Jenna to be so blunt. He wasn’t sure how true that was, but at least they knew where they stood with one another. Two friends going to a dance. Quinn’s betrayal was still too fresh for it to be anything more.

Quinn. He thought she would at least try to explain herself, apologize, something, but avoidance was what she did best. Why would he expect more from her? He’d even waited by her locker before school, to let her know how pissed off he was, but she never showed. When first period came on Monday, so did the news. Quinn and Jeff were back together, and that was all the answer he needed. The gossip spread faster than the black plague, killing the rest of his hope.

He avoided them the rest of the week, reducing the reality to rumor, at least for him. But now he faced the full truth of it. Everywhere he turned, there she was—with Jeff. And now they’d been crowned homecoming king and queen, dancing, laughing, twirling, and kissing in front of his face. Why was he surprised? He had seen them kissing that night. For a moment Aaron thought he had overreacted; maybe Jeff’s kiss hadn’t meant anything. Now he knew for sure. It was his kiss that meant nothing.