Chapter Thirty-Eight #2
“Not that you were surprised, huh?” Raven asks.
“No, we were not surprised at all. When people are meant to be together, they have this aura around them.”
Raven and I exchange another glance.
“If you say so,” I say. “I also asked her to go to the dance with me.”
“Oh, a dance. My, that’s very romantic.”
I hold Raven close. “Did I tell you guys how special this girl is?”
“More than once,” Grandpa says with a chuckle. “But you don’t need to convince us. We’ve seen it for ourselves.”
“And you write lovely music, dear.”
Raven told me it was okay that I tell my grandparents she’s our songwriter.
“Thanks so much,” Raven gushes. “But it’s nothing without Kylen’s band.”
They nod in agreement.
We talk for another twenty minutes before Grandma says, “Well, we don’t want to take up more of your time, kids. Take care of each other.”
Raven and I nod with a smile. “We will,” I say.
Grandma blows us kisses, which we return, Grandpa tells me to call him if I need help finding a suit for the dance, then we wish each other goodbye and hang up.
Raven lays her head on my shoulder. “I really love your grandparents.”
“And they love you. Now it’s time to call your parents?”
“If you don’t mind.”
I bend to kiss her forehead. “Of course not.”
She starts a video call and we spend a few minutes telling them the good news. Like with my grandparents, they’re very happy for us. And they demand we send them pictures from the dance. We also tell them about the fun weekend we had, minus the kissing. Then we ask them to put Robin on.
“Robin! There’s someone who wants to talk to you!” her dad calls.
Robin groans like she’s too busy and wishes not to be bothered, but when she sees it’s us, she grabs her mom’s phone.
“Raven! Kylen! Hi.” Her eyes narrow. “Why are you sitting so close together?” Her eyes widen. “Are you, like, together?”
We smile at each other, then at her. “We are,” Raven tells her.
She cheers as she makes her way to her room and drops down on her bed. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”
“I think everyone expected it,” I admit.
“Duh. You two are destiny.”
“Thanks,” Raven says. “But enough about us. How are you doing, little bug?”
“I’m good. Sorry I’ve kept so much from you, like what happened at Parents’ Day.”
Raven shakes her head. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I guess I was embarrassed and didn’t want you to worry about me, but I don’t want to keep secrets from you anymore.”
She tells her sister about what upset her and why she ran off. Raven suspected it was because of the kids from her class, but she didn’t want to push.
“Don’t feel bad about it, Robbie,” Raven says. “All that matters is that you’re okay.”
“And are things getting better now?” I ask her.
Robin beams. “They sure are. I took your advice and spoke to Jamie. I didn’t care that everyone was staring and whispering.
I knew she needed a friend and I wanted to be that person.
It turns out we have a lot in common. She likes stuffed animals like I do and we have the same taste in music and we like the same TV shows.
And we both aren’t afraid to dress in unique colors. ”
“Robin, I’m so happy for you,” Raven says. “Giving you a virtual hug.”
“Thanks. Valerie and her friends gave us a hard time in the beginning, but we totally ignored her and she eventually got the message and buzzed off. It was so cool how we didn’t let her get to us.
I think Jamie will be my best friend now.
And maybe if Olivia comes back, all three of us will be best friends.
And maybe we’ll all go to HBA together, just like you, Raven, and I’ll have a friend group, too. ”
Raven smiles. “You never know. Keep your chin up and your grades up and be your awesome self and everything will turn out the way it’s meant to.”
Robin nods, then gives us a cheeky grin. “Like you and Kylen? Did you guys kiss yet?”
Raven and I exchange a look. She says, “Is that any of your business?”
Robin lifts her chin. “Of course it is.”
I bend close. “Want to hear a secret?”
She bends close, too. “Yeah.”
“You have an amazing sister.”
“I know that. Tell me something new. Did you kiss or not?”
Raven sighs. “Are you going to pester us until we give you an answer?”
“Duh.”
“Okay, we did.”
“Yay! How many times?”
Raven’s finger hovers over the end call button. “Goodbye, Robin.”
She pouts. “Aw, okay. Don’t hang up yet. Don’t you want to hear something funny Jamie and I did yesterday?”
We listen intently as she talks. It’s great to see her eyes shining like that. Just a few weeks ago, she was despondent and distant, but now she’s come alive. And that’s all because she had the confidence to be herself and make friends with a girl who needed one as well.
We spend a few minutes talking about the ski lodge and we’re forced to tell her we kissed on the ice. She finds it all romantic and wishes to have something similar one day. Raven tells her she definitely will.
“Okay, Mom!” Robin calls. “Ugh. She’s making me study for my test.”
“Grades are super important if you want to get into HBA on scholarship,” Raven tells her.
Robin rolls her eyes, then playfully sticks out her tongue. “Okay, okay. Promise to call me again, too. Both of you.”
I salute. “You got it, little miss,” I say with my British accent.
Robin twists her mouth. “What was that?”
“Just Kylen being his dorky self,” Raven teases, then rubs my nose with hers.
“Robin!” her mom calls.
“Ugh. I’ve got to go. Talk to you guys later.”
“Bye.” Raven blows her a kiss while I wave, and then we end the call.
Raven takes my arm and wraps it around her. “I’m so happy she’s doing well. I was so worried about her.” She snuggles closer to me. “Thanks for helping her.”
I lower my head to kiss her cheek. “Of course. She’s a good kid and deserves all the good things.”
“She definitely does.”