Catalyst (The Best Days #1) (3 page)

Carson
stopped rummaging through his locker and turned around to look at Rory.  His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, Rory noted giddily.  “I’d just assumed you two were a couple since I always see you together.  My bad...so um, are you still dating that other guy you were with last year?”

Rory raised an eyebrow.  “Oh, him…I wouldn’t say we dated.  We only went out once or twice,” she said dismissively. 
“I’m not dating anyone.” 

Immediately she regretted announcing that last part.  Did it sound like an invitation for him to change
her single status?  It was, of course, but she didn’t want him to think she was desperate. 

All of the women’s magazines Rory had read recommended acting coy and playing a bit hard-to-get.  She wasn’t sure that was the way to snag a guy but what did she know? 
She hadn’t dated much before – at least not seriously, and never anyone she truly liked.  She was willing to try anything if it meant having a chance with Carson.

“I see,” Carson said, his blue eyes twinkling. 
He reached out and brushed his hand over the top of Rory’s head and she looked up at him in surprise.  Immediately, he looked embarrassed.  “Sorry,” he chuckled sheepishly.  “Your hair was sticking up and I have this weird thing about wanting to fix everything.”

“Oh.”  She reached up and self-consciously touched her hair.

“You look great,” he assured her, his eyes locking with hers for longer than necessary.

She bl
ushed and averted her eyes.  She never knew how to respond to compliments, especially considering how critical she was of herself.  She reflexively always wanted to argue, pointing out her flaws.  She knew that was just plain weird so instead she tried to bite her tongue. 

“So I hear that new girl, Grace, is having a party on Friday.  Are you going to be there?”

People were already talking about Grace Myers’ upcoming party.  Hilary worked fast.  Rory wondered if Grace herself even knew she was having a party yet.  It would be so like Hilary to not even bother running it past Grace until the wheels had already been set in motion.

The
pretty seventeen year old tugged at the bottom of her pink t-shirt, cursing herself for not wearing black instead.  Black was slimming and she felt like she needed all the slimming she could get.   As she tried to subtly suck in her stomach she nodded dumbly, not trusting herself to say anything lest it come out wrong again.  She’d already embarrassed herself enough for one day.

“Good.  I’ll see you there.
  Anyway, I’d better get to football practice.  Bye, Rory.”  Carson gave her a long, lingering, not-so-subtle look before he shut his locker and casually strolled away.

Rory’s legs nearly gave out
.  Carson not only knew her name, but had flirted with her! 

Rory actually
had a shot with him, despite her pasty complexion and inability to stick with the stupid diet her infuriatingly skinny friends raved about!   Suddenly she felt much, much more excited about the party!  Rory had a feeling that Hilary was right:  it was going to be an unforgettable night!

* * * * *

Dinner at the O’Neil house was a strange affair.  In the past, the family would always eat dinner together every single night.  Sheck would often join them as he was at the house so much that he practically lived there.  Everyone would talk about their day and joke around.  Sometimes Rory thought it felt like she lived in a cheesy 1950s sitcom, at least at mealtime.

She’d complained about it at the time but now she missed it.

In recent years, the dinnertime ritual had changed.  There wasn’t much of a ritual these days, actually.  It had started when Rory’s brother went away to college three years ago.  Rory’s mother Nancy had taken it hard even though the university was only a few hours away. 

Rory figured her mother couldn’t
handle staring at Justin’s empty place at the table, so before long, she started finding excuses to miss dinner.  Pretty soon Rory’s father, Tom, began working longer hours, often getting home late in the evening. 

Rory and her sister, Rebecca, found that they didn’t have much to say to each other
anymore.  They hadn’t since…well, since the beginning of high school.  It was sad but true.  They took to eating in the living room with the TV blaring, drowning out the deafening, awkward silence.

It bothered Rory that she and Rebecca weren’t close anym
ore, though she’d never told Rebecca that.  Rory was not quite a year older than her sister and because they were so close in age, they’d done everything together as children.  It had been like having a built in best friend. 

In fact
, when Rebecca was in grade one it became apparent that she was more advanced than her peers so she was skipped ahead a grade.  As a result, the girls had ended up in the same grade at school.  Sheck, an only child, enviously told Rory she practically had a twin. 

When they were younger,
Rory and Rebecca had been inseparable.  They rode the bus to school together, sat beside each other in class and ate lunch together every day.  Although they’d had very different personalities right from birth – Rebecca was a content, easy baby while Rory was fussy and demanding – their differences had never been an issue between them.  They’d complemented each other.  In a way, they almost
were
like twins, their bond was that strong.

High
school had changed everything. 

Rory didn’t know exactly when things had changed, but it soon became apparent that she and Rebecca ran in completely different cliques. 

Rory was friends with the popular kids.  She wasn’t sure how that had happened, but it was a great thing because it meant she was invited to sleepovers and house parties and got to sit at the “cool” table in the cafeteria.  It sounded foolish when Rory tried to explain it, but there was a certain social status that made putting up with Hilary’s cutting remarks and Jeremy’s boorishness worthwhile. 

Besides, popularity
was all Rory had going for her.  She wasn’t smart like Rebecca.

Rebecca was good at everything she did.  She was a huge bookworm an
d an excellent student, getting nearly perfect grades without much effort.  Between Justin’s athletic talents and Rebecca’s academic achievements, sometimes Rory felt like a big fat failure. 

But at least she ran with the cool kids
.  Popularity was the one thing that Rebecca
didn’t
have.

It wasn’
t that Rebecca was unpopular…it was just that she was kind of a nerd.  Being annoyingly smart and painfully shy, it wasn’t long before she earned herself geek status.  She wasn’t really picked on, maybe because Rory was her sister, but some of the kids she hung around with were bullied pretty regularly. 

Rory felt bad about it but wasn’t sure why her sister would choose to as
sociate with those people in the first place.  They may as well have been walking around with big red bulls eyes on their backs.  Hanging around with them was practically like asking to be bullied and Rory was constantly in fear of that happening to her sister.

Even though they weren’t close anymore, Rebecca was still Rory’s sister.  Rory didn’t want to see her get hurt.
  If someone like Jeremy Beal was to harass Rory’s sister, Rory didn’t know what she’d do.  It would put her in the awkward position of no longer being able to ignore his boorishness…but calling him out on his behavior could cause a rift in Rory’s clique. 

Thankfully, Rebecca didn’t seem to be on Jeremy or anyone else’s radar.  Rory ju
st hoped it would stay that way.

The only thing Rory knew for sure was that she couldn’t risk being lumped in with the nerds.  It would be social suicide.  Maybe that was superficial, but to Rory, it was a matter of survival. 
So, she did what she had to.

If Rebecca had been hurt when Rory stopped eating lunch with her in the school cafeteria, she hadn’t let on. 
The thought of taking the bus made Rory cringe.  Despite the strong family resemblance, Rory suspected a fair number of the self-absorbed high school students didn’t know Rebecca was her sister.  She preferred to keep it that way. 

Her cover would be blown if they saw her get off at the same stop as
Rebecca. 

At first,
Rory started getting off a stop early so as to avoid being found out.  The look of confusion on her sister’s face the first time she did it killed Rory.  Rory wasn’t heartless; she really did feel bad.  In fact, she’d had trouble getting the expression on her sister’s face out of her head after that. 

Rebecca was smart.  It would only be a matter of time before she figured out that Rory was embarrassed to be seen with her.

Rory had been relieved when Sheck got his driver’s license and offered to drive her to and from school, thereby saving her from the horror of the bus and the cruel task of ditching her sister.  Technically Sheck had offered to drive both girls to school, but following a stern look from Rory, Rebecca had politely declined.

The
girls’ relationship hadn’t just changed at school.  It had also changed at home. 

Rebecca began spending more time in her room reading and writing in her journal.  Rory began spending more time out with her new friends. 
By the time Rory noticed the distance between her and Rebecca, it felt like they were light years apart. 

When the
sisters
did
spend time together it was just...weird.  It didn’t feel like they were confidantes anymore.  Now they were strangers who just happened to live in the same house.  Rory didn’t like it one bit, but didn’t know how to fix it.

She wished
her brother would come home for the summer to help ease the tension.

“Hey,” Rory greeted her sister as she traipsed through the kitchen to see what her mother had left for them in the slow cooker.  She lifted the lid gingerly and inhaled the
delicious aroma of beef stew approvingly. 

“Hey.”  Rebecca was sitting at the kitchen
table reading a book.  She barely even glanced up.

Rory paused, trying to think of something to say. 
Anything would do.  She just wanted to somehow fill the awkward silence.  But try as she might, she had nothing.  Thankfully, she was saved by her mother bursting in the front door.

“Hi girls, how was your day?”  Nancy kicked off her hig
h heels and winced, rubbing her left foot.   “I have to dash – pottery class tonight,” Nancy continued before either girl had a chance to answer.  “Your dad said he’ll be home late, so go ahead and eat without him.” 

Nancy slipped her feet into a pair of
ballet flats and then hesitated before running out the door.  “How about we go into the city after school on Friday?  Dad will have to work, but the three of us could stay over and go to the spa and have a girls’ day.  Then on Saturday we can surprise Justin at college.”

“Sure,” Rebecca replied, tearing her gaze away from her book momentarily.

Rory froze.  “This Friday?” she asked, looking panic-stricken.  “I can’t.  There’s a party.”

“Oh?  Who
se party is it?”  Nancy asked innocently with all the cluelessness one might expect from one’s mother.  “Is it someone’s birthday?”

“No,” Rory hesitated, trying to decide how muc
h information to give her mom.  “It’s a party at Grace Myers’ house.  You know, that new girl who transferred from Stoneybrooke High?  Yeah, well she’s...trying to make new friends...so she’s having a party to get to know everyone.”

“Is she the one whose parents are going to be out of town?” Rebecca piped up, nose still in her book.  “I overheard some of those idiot footba
ll players talking about what an ‘epic party’ it’s going to be, whatever that means.”

Rory spun around and glared at her sister, but it was too late. 
The damage was done.

“Parents out of town,” Nancy repeated worriedly.  “I don’t like the sound of that.” 

“It will be fine, Mom,” Rory quickly tried to assure her, but it was no use. 

“No, I don’t want you going to a party that
doesn’t have parental supervision,” Nancy replied.  “It’s just not a good idea.  I’m sorry honey, but there will be other parties.  Anyway, I’m going to be late for pottery class – have a good evening you two!” 

As soon as Nancy shut the door, Rory turned on her sister.  “I can’t believe you said that!” she shouted, her face flushing.  “If you’d just kept your big mouth shut it would
have been fine, but noooo, you just
had
to butt in!  You’re such a bitch!” 

With that,
Rory spun on her heel and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door as loudly as she could.  She’d always been the high strung sister, but she wasn’t normally prone to calling Rebecca names. 

It wasn’t until much later when she’d begun to calm down that Rory felt a twinge of guilt.

All day Tuesday, the high school was abuzz with excited whispers about the party at Grace Myers’ house.  It didn’t matter that Grace, having transferred mid-semester from another high school, wasn’t very well known.  No one cared who she was.  All they cared about was that she was giving them a place to party. 

Grace was an unremarkable girl.  She had mid-length brown hair, brow
n eyes and an average figure.  She wore all the right clothes and listened to the right music, which gave her a bit of credibility with the popular clique.  Even so, Grace wasn’t particularly memorable and had yet to become a real part of the group. 

Rory couldn’t recall Grace ever being invited to sit at her
cheerleaders’ lunch table until news of the available house surfaced.  Then, suddenly, Hilary and the others were fawning all over her, acting like they were best buddies.  Rory wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

Sometimes
Hilary could be self-serving...superficial, even.  She certainly had her flaws and in fact, they seemed to make an appearance on a fairly regular basis.  During those times, Rory was a little ashamed to be friends with Hilary.  But what could she do?  When Grace joined the girls at lunch on Tuesday afternoon, Rory simply smiled and offered her a carrot stick. 

“I love carrot
s,” Grace said shyly as she accepted one and took a bite of it.

Rory smiled wryly.  “Please,
take them all.” 

“
So I’m really excited.  I’ve sent out like a hundred invites to the party,” Hilary announced proudly, flipping her hair as she stared at her phone.  “It’s going to be so crazy!  Mark my words:  people are going to be talking about this party
forever
.”

Grace paled a little.  “A hundred
invites?  You’re joking, right?” she asked, sounding apprehensive. “I mean, we’re just keeping this thing small, right?  I don’t think my parents’ house can even hold a hundred people!” 

Hilary
laughed, unconcerned.  “A hundred might be a bit of an exaggeration,” she conceded, stifling a yawn.  The expensive-looking silver bracelet she wore on her delicate wrist caught the light and shimmered brilliantly.  “Don’t worry, it will be great.” 

Hilary
pursed her lips when she saw Rory’s face.  “What’s with you?”

Rory scowled.  “I might not be able to make it to the party.  My mom’s being ridiculous.” 

Hilary gasped.  “But you
have
to come to the party!  Everyone’s going to be there. 
Carson
is going to be there!  Seriously, Rory, if you miss this you’re going to regret it forever.  Can’t you just, like, sneak out or something?”

Rory considered the suggestion
.  “I guess,” she replied uncertainly. “I mean...I’ll try.” 

Even as Rory was talking, the wheels were
turning.  As shitty as she felt when she did things she knew she wasn’t supposed to, desperate times called for desperate measures.  Could she sneak out and get away with it? 

* * * * *

Rory arrived home after school with a plan.  She was going to guilt her sister into helping her sneak out on Friday night.  She had her speech all planned out.  First, she was going to apologize for calling Rebecca a bitch.  Then she was going to explain why this party was so important to her.  She wasn’t sure Rebecca would understand why it was so imperative Rory see Carson on Friday night as Rebecca didn’t seem to have much interest in dating herself, but it was worth a shot. 

Rory figured that with enough gentle prodding (some would call it manipulation), Rebecca would eventually come around and agree to help.

As Rory slipped in the front door, she heard voices coming from the kitchen.  It was her mother and sister.  Rory was about to burst into the kitchen to survey the meal options as she did every day, but something made her stop.  Rebecca’s tone sounded distressed, and then Rory heard her name.  She quietly shut the front door behind her and crept toward the kitchen.

Nancy stood at the island chopping vegetables for a salad.  Rebe
cca was sitting on a stool holding a vegetable peeler in one hand.  “Mom, you don’t get it,” she said sadly.  “Rory pretty much hates me for ruining this for her.  She really, really wants to go to the party.  All the kids at school are talking about it.  I think you should let her go – it kind of sounds like it’s going to be a big deal.” 

Nancy contemplated Rebecca’s plea as she scooped diced peppers and sliced mushrooms into a large glass bowl.  “If this party is such a big deal, why aren’t
you
going?”

Rebecca hesitated, and Rory knew why.  Her sister hated parties – or claimed to hate them, anyway.  Rory wasn’t sure how Rebecca could know that she didn’t like them since she never went to any.  “I’m not really interested,” Rebecca answered quietly.

Nancy looked concerned.  “I think you need to make more of an effort to socialize,” she said gently.  “I know it’s been tough since Mya moved away, but you need to make new friends.” 

Mya Baker, Rebecca’s best friend
, had moved away over the summer.  Because Rebecca was the type of person who had a few close friends rather than a bunch of acquaintances, it had been a big loss.  Now, Rebecca was sort of floundering socially, unable to find her place.  That much was plain to see.

“I also think,” Nancy continued, “that it would be good for you and Rory to do more together.  You two haven’t seemed as close lately...maybe you ought to spend some time together.”

Rory’s breath caught in her throat.  Her mom just didn’t get it.  Rory couldn’t hang out with her sister at the party – Rory’s friends and her sister were like night and day.  She didn’t know how to reconcile those two worlds, probably because it wasn’t possible. 

Besides, Rebe
cca didn’t like Hilary.  There was no way things could end well.  It would be an absolute, complete disaster.

Steeling herself, Rory walked into the kitchen.  “Hey,” she said, trying to sound casual, like she hadn’t been eavesdropping in the next room for the past several minutes.  “What’s to eat?”

“Good news, honey!”  Nancy chirped.  “Dad and I have decided you can go to that party on Friday night after all, since it apparently means so much to you.  Besides,” she said, looking pointedly at Rebecca, “your sister needs to get out of the house more. It will be good for the two of you to spend some time together.”

Rory had to force herself not to make a face.  “Great,” she replied, her voice void of any and all enthusiasm.  Rebecca didn’t look particularly thrilled, either. 

* * * * *

Late that night after the rest of the family had gone to bed, Rory sat sulking in her bedroom.  Why was her mother so clueless? 

Back when Rory and her siblings were kids, Nancy had been the coolest mom on the block.  She loved to bake and always had fresh cookies or other goodies waiting for her kids and their friends after school.  All the kids in the neighborhood loved her.

Being a
n elementary school teacher, Nancy instinctively knew how to relate to young children.  In the summers when she was on holidays, she’d take the kids on exciting excursions to the city to visit the zoo, museum or aquarium.  She’d also organize elaborate scavenger hunts for all the kids in the neighbourhood and they’d spend hot summer evenings searching for goodies under rocks and behind shrubs while the boys played street hockey out front.

Rory had nothing but fond memories of her childhood.

The problem, she supposed, was that teenagers puzzled her mother.  While Nancy was great with younger children, she seemed to be baffled by adolescents.  So, while she clearly meant well when she did insane things like force Rory to babysit Rebecca to house parties, Nancy had no idea what she was doing. 

Suddenly Rory’s cell phone, which was never far from her reach, began to buzz.  She grabbed for it and saw an unknown number. 

“Hello?”

“Rory, is that you?”

Her heart skipped a beat.  She’d know that voice anywhere!  It was Carson! 

Thinking fast, Rory decided to play dumb.  She didn’t want to seem too eager, so she replied with, “Who is
this?”  It wasn’t that Rory wanted to pay mind games.  She didn’t.  But she’d die if he knew she was so completely and utterly infatuated she was with him that she could recognize his voice on the first syllable.

“It’s Carson…Carson Keller?” 
He phrased this as a question, almost as though he was asking Rory if that was, in fact, his name.  If she didn’t know better she’d think he was nervous, but she was sure Carson Keller didn’t get nervous.  Why would he?  He was, after all, the sexiest guy in the entire school…and her opinion was only slightly biased.

“Oh.  Hey!”

“Hey.  I hope you don’t mind me calling you.  I got your number from Hilary,” he explained.  There was a momentary, somewhat loaded pause.

“How are you?”

“I’m good.”  Her heart was pounding and her hands felt clammy.  No guy had ever had such an effect on her.  She wondered if their chemistry was truly that strong or if she’d just built him up in her mind so much that she overreacted at the drop of a hat.

“Good.”  He said nothing for a moment and Rory began to wonder if their connection had been dropped.  T
hen he asked, “You’re in my English class, right?”

Rory’s heart fell.  She spent every English class dreamily staring at the back of Carson’s head and finding every excuse she could to walk past his desk whenever the teacher stepped out.  And yet Carson wasn’t even sure if she was in that class with him.  That, Rory concluded sadly, spoke volumes about his interest – or lack thereof – in her.

“Yeah, we’re in the same English class.”

“Great.  Listen, I missed class on Friday because we had an away game,” the high school football player informed Rory even though she was already well aware of it.  “
Rumor has it there’s going to be a pop quiz later in the week, so do you think I could borrow your notes from Friday?”

“I, uh…”  Rory thought fast, feeling a bit panicky.  Finally she blurted out, “I don’t think I took any notes on Friday. 
I, er…wasn’t paying much attention.”

“Oh.”  Carson cleared his throat and then
rather stiffly said, “Okay.  Well sorry for bothering you…have a good night.”

“Bye!”

Rory hung up the phone and noticed her hands were clammy.  She muttered every curse word she knew under her breath.  She’d fantasized many times about Carson calling her out of the blue but reality certainly hadn’t lived up to the daydreams.  It just confirmed what she’d already feared:  she wasn’t pretty, interesting or memorable enough for Carson to notice.

To make matters worse, Rory had lied to him about not taking any notes in English class.  She didn’t know why she’d said it…to sound badass, she supposed, and to keep her pride intact.  It was okay to be a horrible student if you didn’t try.  There was no shame in that.  What was shameful was being hopeless even after putting in a decent effort.

The last thing Rory wanted was for Carson to think she was stupid.  If he read her disjointed and often confused English notes, he’d know at once the secret she fought so hard to keep under wraps.

A
loud noise at the window suddenly made Rory jump.  She hopped off her bed where she’d dramatically thrown herself in a fit of self-pity and peered out the window.  Sheck was sitting on a branch of the sturdy, ancient tree beside her bedroom window, throwing pebbles at the glass to get her attention.

Rory opened the window and leaned out, careful to keep her voice down so as to not wake her family.  “What are you
doing
?!” she hissed, secretly pleased that he was there.  “You’re going to break the window!”

Sheck shrugged and climbed in the window with ease
like he’d done many times before.  “You didn’t hear me at first,” he replied nonchalantly, “so I found some bigger rocks.”  He paused and studied Rory’s face intently.  “What’s wrong?”

Sheck and Rory had known each other for so long that he could read her like a book.  As he was an only child, Rory wasn’t sure he would be able to fully appreciate what she was about to tell
him…but she desperately needed to rant to someone. 

“You know Grace Myers is having a party next weekend, right?” she demanded, face flushed and eyes flashing
with anger.  “Well my mom will only let me go if I take
my sister
along.  Can you believe it?” 

Sheck looked confused.  “I’m surprised Rebecca would
even want to go,” he commented.  “But okay...so take her along.  I don’t see what the big deal is?” 

Rory threw up her hands in frustration.  “
Of course
you
wouldn’t.  You’re like, one of the only people at school who’s able to be friends with everyone.  But it doesn’t usually work like that,” she complained. 

“Is that so?”

“Hilary and Monica and the rest of them won’t want to hang out with my nerdy sister and it will probably hurt her feelings.  Also, Rebecca doesn’t know how to act at a party.  Knowing her, she’ll want to talk about chemistry homework or the chess club.  It will be so embarrassing.  My stupid sister is ruining my life!”