Jacob
“I renounced the crown, remember?” Rory said.
“Yeah, well, because that was a completely insane thing to do, no one stepped up to take it, so you’re still queen,” Tucker
said.
“It’s one dance, Rory. Come on. Everyone’s watching,” Tucker said.
Jacob swallowed hard as Rory turned her eyes up to him. “I’m gonna get this over with, okay? Like he said. It’s just once
dance.”
Unable to speak, Jacob nodded mutely. But when Rory took Tucker’s hand, something inside of him died.
Hope, maybe? She didn’t even look back at him as she walked away with Tucker.
The crowd applauded, watching them move to the middle of the floor with smiles and choruses of “Awwww!” It was so odd, the way people just went with whatever happened.
Hadn’t they all watched Rory basically deck Tucker earlier today and loved every minute of it?
Now there they were, looking like a couple again, and the crowd was also loving every minute of that.
Jacob felt like he should do something, but he had no idea what. She was obviously only doing this because she felt like she
had to. So should he . . . rescue her? Rory was the last person who needed rescuing. She’d proved that this afternoon. But
he had to do something.
Maybe he should pull a fire alarm. Or dump that giant bowl of fruit punch onto the dance floor so people would start slipping
on ice cubes. Could he possibly figure out how to cut the power?
“So. What’s this all about?”
Jacob was so in his own mind that he startled at the sound of Layla’s voice. She was standing next to him with Stuart on her
other side, leaning into his crutches. Layla wore a short black dress, and Stuart’s crutches had been decorated with red and
gold garland for the occasion. A guy with very spiky hair and serious eyeliner stood to Stuart’s left.
Layla nudged Jacob with her elbow. “You make nice with Rory after leaving us high and dry for halftime?”
“I didn’t—” Jacob paused and bit down on his bottom lip. “You know what? I’m kind of distracted by my brain exploding right now, so can we have this conversation later?”
“Fair,” Stuart said, smoothing down his red-and-gold-striped tie. “So what’re you gonna do about that travesty?” He chucked
his chin toward the dance floor.
The music swelled to full volume as Tucker slipped his arms around Rory’s waist. Jacob held his breath.
“She said she was just going to get it over with,” Jacob said. “I don’t know if she wants me to do something.”
“Look at them!” Spiky Hair Guy said. “You could throw a basketball between the two of them. She is not enjoying this.”
Tucker was leaned down to whisper something in Rory’s ear, and she turned her head away, wincing. That was all Jacob needed.
He stepped out into the open space the crowd had created between them and the king and queen. He heard a few gasps of surprise
but didn’t pay them any mind. Rory looked up at him, noting the movement, and they locked eyes as he approached.
I got this, he told her silently.
At least he hoped that was what he was communicating. And not something else, like I really want a cheeseburger.
He reached up and tapped Tucker on the shoulder. Tucker froze, then slowly, slowly turned to look at him. His expression was
pure disgust.
“What?” he snapped.
“I’m cutting in,” Jacob said.
“Like hell you are.” Tucker tightened his grip on Rory, and Jacob saw her pull back.
“I don’t think she wants to dance with you, man,” Jacob said.
“This is the king-and-queen dance,” Tucker shot back. “Not the king-and-queen-and-joker dance.”
“Clever,” Jacob said. “Surprised you had that in you.”
“Eff you, dude,” Tucker said. He finally released Rory and turned to face off with Jacob. Rory hovered off to the side, not
walking away. “I don’t understand how we were ever friends.”
“I’m starting to wonder that myself,” Jacob told him. “And besides, last I heard, Rory gave up the crown.”
“You can’t just give up the crown,” Tucker said. “The people voted. You gotta give the people what they want.”
Jacob turned to look Rory in the eye. “Rory, do you want to dance with Tucker right now?”
“You know . . . I really don’t,” Rory replied.
Jacob smiled and held out his hand to her. “Let’s go get some of that punch.”
Rory smiled right back. She took his hand. “Let’s.”
Together they strolled off the dance floor toward the refreshment table, leaving Tucker staring after them.
“Thank you,” Rory said, letting out a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I could have faked that any longer.”
“Anytime.” Jacob used the ladle to serve up a glass of punch and handed it to her. “Are we done with homecoming yet?”
“Not yet.” Carlos came up behind them. Jacob turned and saw half the squad had lined up around them. Carlos, Layla, Gwen,
Stuart, Dahlia, and Maya, plus the kid with the spiky hair who he now assumed was Stuart’s date, as he was standing as close
as Stuart’s crutches would allow.
“Why do I feel like you guys are about to break out into some kind of West Side Story number?” Jacob joked.
“What do you know about West Side Story?” Maya asked.
“My sister Laura starred in it when she went here, so . . . pretty much every word of every song?” Jacob replied. Rory laughed
and reached for his hand, entwining their fingers. At that moment Jacob felt like he could take on the Sharks and the Jets
and the entire varsity cheer squad. Rory was holding his hand. By choice. He could do anything.
“We’re not letting you leave the dance until you tell us whether or not we’re going to regionals tomorrow,” Carlos said. He
tipped his head back, trying to look tough, which he couldn’t quite pull off in a suit that looked like he’d outgrown it last
year.
“Yeah, because if we’re not, then I could really use a sleep-in day,” Layla said.
“And I’m gonna go get a manicure,” Gwen added, holding her hand up and make a show of inspecting her fingers. “These nail beds are atrocious.” As far as Jacob could tell, her nails looked perfect.
Jacob looked at Rory. She tilted her head at him like, You go ahead.
“We’re going to regionals,” Jacob told the squad. “And we’re going to kick ass.”