Rachel's Valentine Crush (8 page)

Grandma Nellie frowned as she tried to remember. “I don't
think
I was . . . ,” she began. “But honey, when I moved in, I promised your dad that I would support the decisions he made for you and Robbie. I'm sorry that I couldn't intervene more tonight, but it was very clear that his mind was made up.”

“So why didn't you want me to ask him about the concert?” asked Rachel.

“Because I knew that he was going to say no,” Grandma Nellie said. “You know he doesn't like to change his mind once he's made a decision. He's stubborn that way . . . like me. And, frankly, Rachel, I think you should go to the concert. So I'd rather you
not
ask and
not
get a firm no from your dad.”

“That makes me feel worse,” Rachel said quietly. “I don't want to lie to Dad.”

“Look at it this way,” Grandma Nellie said. “Whenever your dad isn't home, I'm the one who's responsible for you. And
I
would give you permission to go. Okay?”

“I still feel like a liar.”

“Oh, sweetie,
don't
,” Grandma Nellie said at once.
“I'll try to find a time to talk to him privately this week and see if I can't convince him to give you a little more freedom. You know, it's not always easy to watch your children grow up. Take it from me, I know. And your father might just need a little help with it.”

“If you could talk to him, that would be great,” Rachel said. “I just . . . I don't want to go behind his back or anything. I guess I should just be grateful that he said I could go to the dance.”

“And I'm going to do my best to get you to that concert, too,” promised Grandma Nellie. She stood up and walked over to the door. “Hang in there, peach pie. Nobody said that growing up would be easy.”

“Yeah . . . but don't you think it could be
easier
?” Rachel asked.

Grandma Nellie laughed as she left the room, making Rachel smile. But once Rachel was alone again, the smile disappeared from her face. What Grandma Nellie had said made sense to Rachel . . . kind of. But there was still a deep, unsettled feeling nagging at her. It was the same kind of feeling she sometimes got when she knew she wasn't making the right decision—like that time in sixth grade when a bunch of Rachel's friends had started
shutting out Jenna Ferguson, and Rachel had just gone along with it. Then, in church one Sunday, Rachel had listened to a sermon about loving thy neighbor, and everything just
clicked
. Suddenly, Rachel realized that even though she hadn't done anything mean to Jenna, she hadn't exactly been nice to her either. And that was just as bad. Tonight, sitting alone in her bedroom, Rachel felt that squirming discomfort again. It was the knowledge that she had a clear choice to make . . . and she was tempted to make the wrong one.

Lying to my dad is not how I want to go to the concert,
she thought.
It would only prove that I'm really not mature.

Rachel knew, without a doubt, that she had to tell her dad about the concert. And she also knew that if she did that, she would need to convince him to let her go.

The only question was: how?

RACHEL HAD A LOT OF
trouble concentrating at school the following week. Every time her friends mentioned Brody's upcoming party at the Chocolate Bar, she had to force a smile so nobody could tell how disappointed she was. Rachel wasn't alone—lots of kids who didn't know Brody hadn't been invited—but that didn't make it any easier for Rachel to know that she
could've
gone to the party.

But Rachel wasn't entirely miserable. By Thursday, the day of the party, Rachel found herself caught up in all the excitement anyway. After all, even though she wouldn't be seeing Brody tonight, she'd be seeing him soon enough! As she sat in math class after lunch, Rachel wondered,
Is Brody still on the plane? Has the plane landed yet? Will he go straight to his old house? Or check out the arena? Or maybe he'll even surprise
everybody by coming to school!

That didn't happen, but Rachel didn't really expect it to. After all, Brody couldn't exactly walk anywhere anymore without being mobbed by crazy fans. While Rachel and Taylor walked home from school, Rachel kept scanning the cars that passed them, just in case Brody happened to be in one. Somehow just knowing that he was back in Archer made Rachel feel tingly all over. It had been a long time since she had daydreamed about running into Brody around town—and now the possibility that she might see him at any moment made living in Archer a lot more exciting than it had been just a day ago.

That afternoon, even though Rachel hadn't quite finished her homework, Grandma Nellie gave her permission to go over to Taylor's house. Rachel had never seen Taylor look quite so excited. Her cheeks were pink before she put on any makeup, and even her eyes seemed more sparkly than usual.

“What should we do first?” Rachel asked. “Hair or nails?”

Taylor bit her lip as she thought about it. “Nails, I guess,” she replied. “But only if you'll do my hair. Then my nails can dry before I have to get dressed.”

“Of course I'll do your hair!” Rachel said with a laugh.
“That's why I'm here. So what color nail polish are you thinking about?” Rachel didn't know a whole lot about makeup, since she wasn't allowed to wear any, but when she'd turned twelve her dad gave her permission to start wearing nail polish. She had quite a collection of polishes now, and she had brought some of her favorites over in case Taylor wanted to borrow any of them. “I've narrowed it down to these two,” Taylor said, showing Rachel a midnight-blue polish and a sparkly gold one. “What do you think?”

“I like the sparkles,” Rachel said. “But I think the blue will look better with your top. Oh, I know!”

Rachel dug around in her bag and pulled out a clear polish with specks of silver glitter. “How about the blue polish with a coat of this on top?”

“Perfect!” Taylor squealed. “Thanks, Rach!” She laid her hands flat on the desk as Rachel shook the blue polish in her palm. When she started painting Taylor's nails, Rachel concentrated so hard that she forgot to talk.

“So . . . ,” Taylor began. “Something kind of exciting happened last night.”

The way that Taylor's voice trembled a little made Rachel look up right away. “Tell me,” she ordered.

“Shane texted me!” Taylor exclaimed. “He's never done that before!”

That's the exciting news?
Rachel thought. A text message didn't seem like a huge deal to her . . . unless there was something special
about
the message. “What did he say?”

“He asked me to go to the party with him tonight!”

There was something surprising about Taylor's reaction—something that Rachel hadn't expected. She'd been sitting right there when Shane and Taylor agreed to go to the dance together as friends. It had been as basic and boring as asking somebody when the history project was due. But this . . . this was different.

“So you guys are going to the party together too?” Rachel asked.

Taylor nodded as the smile on her face grew even larger.

“Taylor! You
like
him!” Rachel exclaimed. “Why didn't you tell me? Aaaah! I'm so excited for you! You and Shane—I can't believe it!”

“I can't either!” Taylor shrieked. “It's just . . . we've kind of been talking more since last week, and you know, Rach, he's really funny.”

“I know.”

“No, I mean, like,
really
funny,” Taylor emphasized. “And he's really into computers and technology, which is so cool. He knows a ton about websites and is even writing his own app.”

“Seriously?” Rachel asked, impressed.

“I know!” Taylor gushed. “And I can't believe I didn't realize this before, but Rach . . . isn't he so incredibly cute?”

Shane? Incredibly cute?
Rachel thought about it for a moment. Shane was a pretty good-looking guy, with dark brown hair that perfectly matched his eyes, and a quick, sly smile. But if Brody set the bar for “incredibly cute,” then no, Shane wouldn't qualify.
But it doesn't matter if
you
think he's cute,
Rachel reminded herself. So instead, she grinned at Taylor and said, “Oh, definitely. In fact, I think you guys are going to make a perfect couple! You'll be so great together.”

“So you think he . . .
likes
me?” Taylor asked. “Really?”

“Are you kidding? Of
course
he likes you!” Rachel exclaimed. “Why else would Shane ask you to go to the party tonight? It's not like the dance. I didn't hear about
anybody else who's going together.”

“It's just hard to believe, you know?” Taylor said. “I'm so used to boys ignoring me. Nobody has ever
liked
me . . . not
like
-liked me, I mean. And all this time Shane has been right there, and then . . . suddenly . . . it happened. Just like that. And he's so sweet, Rach! Do you know what I saw him do the other day? Our English class was doing buddy reading at the elementary school, and he noticed that one of the little kids' shoelaces were untied. Shane sat right down on the floor and tied them!”

“Shane is
such
a nice guy,” Rachel said approvingly.

“He really is,” said Taylor. “And he
likes
me. Me! This has got to be the craziest thing that has ever happened at Archer Middle School.”

“Oh, come on!” Rachel teased her friend. “Shane is
lucky
, T. You're the best!”

“No, you are,” Taylor said as she admired her perfect manicure. “My nails look great, Rachel. Thanks.”

“
Don't
fidget while I do your hair,” Rachel said firmly. “Otherwise, they'll get all smudged.”

“I know, I know,” Taylor replied. She sat very still as Rachel started pinning back small sections of her hair with sparkly star-shaped clips. “I really, really wish you
were going to the party tonight. It's not going to be any fun without you.”

“Whatever,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes. “You're going with
Shane
. You're going to have the best time!”

“Well, it won't be the same,” Taylor replied.

“I'd give
anything
to be there tonight,” Rachel said wistfully. “I mean, to
talk
to Brody in person again after all these months . . . and even just to
see
him . . .”

Suddenly, Taylor's eyes brightened. She tried to jump up, but Rachel pushed her back into the chair. “Don't move until your nails are dry!” Rachel scolded.

“Sorry, sorry—but I just had the best idea!” Taylor said. “So maybe you can't go to the party, but that doesn't mean you have to miss it!”

“Huh?”

“I'll have my cell,” Taylor continued. “So I can text you the whole time to tell you everything that's happening. And I can send pics! Maybe even a pic of Brody! It will be just like you're there!”

“Really?” Rachel asked. “You don't mind?”

“Of course not,” Taylor replied right away. “I was probably going to take a bunch of pictures anyway.”

“Then I'd love it!” Rachel exclaimed. “Now I won't
sit alone all night feeling totally left out. Thank you so much.”

Taylor waved her blue-nailed hand in the air. “Please. Forget it. It's nothing. All I can say is thank goodness you'll be at the dance on Saturday. Did you talk to your dad about the concert yet?”

Rachel shook her head. “No.”

“Rach! The concert is in forty-eight hours. What are you waiting for?”

“Ugh, I don't know,” Rachel replied. “I guess if I haven't asked him yet, he hasn't said no yet—and there's still a chance I can go. But if he
does
say no, it's over. And I just don't want to face that. Not yet.”

“I get that, but you're running out of time,” replied Taylor. Then she glanced at her cell. “And so am I. My mom said I have to eat dinner here before the party, or else she won't let me go. You want to stay? I think we're having something boring like sandwiches since I have to eat fast.”

“What, unlimited chocolate fountain isn't good enough for dinner?” Rachel laughed as she reached for her coat. “I have to go, anyway. We're having family dinner tonight. But you look so, so pretty, T. You're going
to be the prettiest girl there. Shane is going to lose his mind when he sees you.”

“Shut up. You're so nice,” Taylor replied, looking pleased. “I will text you the minute I get there. Promise.”

“I'll be waiting!” Rachel replied.

The sun was setting in a frosty sky as Rachel walked home. With every step away from Taylor's house, Rachel left a little of her enthusiasm behind. There was a hollow sort of ache in her chest as she wondered if Taylor realized how lucky she was. Sure, Taylor's parents had plenty of rules for her, too, but they weren't nearly as strict as Rachel's dad. And Taylor liked a boy who actually liked her back! For a moment, Rachel wished that her dad was like Taylor's parents. And she wished that Brody was like Shane—just a regular guy at their school, a guy who might actually like her, instead of a superstar who could go out with any girl on the planet.

Then Rachel saw her dad pull into the driveway. He got out of the car, carrying a steaming pizza box. Normally he would only bring home pizza for dinner on somebody's birthday, or if Grandma Nellie was too busy to cook. Pizza was one of Rachel's favorites, and she had to wonder if her dad was making a special effort for their family
dinner. Did he remember that tonight was the party at the Chocolate Bar—and remember how much Rachel wanted to go? Was he trying to make it up to her?