Peppermint Kiss (13 page)

“There's a cinema here too, and they have a theatre,” Ben told me as we walked up to the entrance.

“We'll have to go and see something soon,” said Summer.

We all went in and got drinks from the trestle table they'd set up at the back and after a while Marco came over. I was a bit surprised that he just said hey to all of us and didn't say a special hello to me or give me a hug. And he didn't even mention my outfit. But then, he did look a bit stressed, and he soon rushed off to sort some band stuff out, so I decided we'd probably just hang out properly (you know, on our D.A.T.E.) after their set.

We said hi to loads of other people from our class and Summer introduced me to some girls who were in our year that she used to do netball club with. By the time things got started it felt like most of the upper school was there, plus Marco's brigade of Year Eight female fans, of course.
Oh, well,
I thought,
they can enjoy it for one last night until me and him are together for good
.

Headrush were on first and they were really good – after all Ben and Summer's teasing, I'd kind of expected them not to be. It was brilliant, dancing along in the crowd, and I loved watching Marco play (I'd been right – total licence to stare!). He was so into it and just seemed completely lost in what he was doing, like I get when I'm inventing beauty recipes (except that I don't mosh about and end up dripping with sweat!).

When he came straight over to us after their set (and the two extra songs the crowd made them do) he winked at me and I thought everything was going to be fine after all. But no – he just hung around long enough for me to tell him how good it was, and then he was off, flirting with the Year Eights. Then the whole band came over to him and they were all chatting and joking about with the girls and he stayed put even when the next band came on, like he wasn't
with
me at all. I tried to pretend that I was too busy listening to the music to care
what
he was doing, but it obviously didn't work because Summer nudged me and said, “Why don't you go and hang out with them?”

“But I don't know them,” I said lamely.

“You've talked to Declan in the lunch hall, and we always say hi to Tay and Chaz when we see them round school,” she countered.

So I took a deep breath, and pulled on a smile, and went over. I was standing right beside Marco but apart from a quick glance, he acted like I wasn't there! I said hi to Declan and introduced myself properly to Tay and Chaz. We chatted a bit and I thought Marco would join in and mention that I was there with him, but he didn't, so they probably thought I was just some random fan.

I wanted to start up a proper conversation with them but I was SO annoyed with Marco by then that my brain went completely blank, and in the end I was just standing there in silence like a total idiot. My mind went into overdrive then, thinking,
What's up with him? Aren't I cool enough for him? If he changed his mind, why didn't he have the guts to say so at school? I got all excited, told my family, dressed up…

Honestly, I felt so stupid, especially because I knew my friends were watching me (oh, as well as – did I mention? –
half the school
). What would Summer say? I couldn't stand the thought of her and Ben feeling sorry for me.

Eventually though, the embarrassment of standing there like a lemon got so bad that I had to go back over to Summer and Ben. Yes, they
did
look gutted for me – how cringe-making! “I think I'm going to head off,” I said, as casually as I could.

I started to walk away, but, “Hang on,” said Summer, “how will you get home?”

I shrugged. “I'll be fine. It's light till ten, and it's only a couple of miles along the river path.” Then I added, “So you don't have to worry about me getting run over,” trying to sound all jokey, like I was fine.

“Don't be silly, you're not walking back on your own,” said Ben, going all macho on me. “I'll come with you.”

“We'll all go,” said Summer. “I'll ring my dad to pick us up now.”

“No, you two are having a good time,” I said. “I'll be fine.” But they were both just giving me stern looks and I realized they weren't going to back down. I was quite relieved, actually – I didn't really fancy walking all that way on my own, in a place I didn't know, without a phone or Mum knowing where I was. “Okay, look, I'll stay,” I said, “but I'm going to have a walk around outside, get some air.”

Ben and Summer looked at each other. “Fine, then we'll come with you,” Ben said. “I'll show you the cool Zen Garden.”

“Good idea. I bet you could do with a little Zen right now,” said Summer, throwing a poisonous look at Marco, which he didn't even notice because he was too wrapped up in his fan club. Argh! I wanted to just melt into a puddle on the floor and never be seen or heard of again. “I'm so sorry, hon,” Summer said then. “I really did hope he'd be different with you. But he's such an immature idiot, he just had to mess you around and ruin things.” Thank goodness she seemed to notice that I was
dying of embarrassment
then and stopped going on about it. “You two go,” she said. “I really need the loo. I'll catch you up in a sec.”

As soon as Ben and I were outside, I let all my frustration out. The Zen Garden was gorgeous, but it didn't stand a chance of making me feel chilled, not with the mood I was in.

“Seriously, tell me the truth,” I ranted at poor Ben as we walked along amongst the beautiful flowers, next to the tranquil pond. “Am I so hideous that you'd ask me on a date and then change your mind when I arrive?”

“Oh, there are some lovely koi carp in here,” he said.

“Ben! Focus!” I snapped. “Am I hideous? I mean,
look
at me!”

Reluctantly, he glanced up from the pond. “It's nothing to do with how you look—” he began, but, seeing my face cloud over, he added quickly, “Not that you don't look, you know…
well fit
.” He said that in a laddish way, trying to make me laugh, but I just glared at him, so he shrugged and went back to Fish Watch.

“So, why's he being like this then?” I demanded. “Does he think I'm not cool enough for him? He obviously doesn't like me if he's acting this way, so why did he even ask me out?”

“I don't know,” Ben muttered. “Because he's an idiot, probably. Abs, look at the relaxing fish.”

“What, you think he was an idiot to ask me out in the first place?”

Ben looked alarmed. “No, I didn't say that! I mean, he's an idiot to act like this. Oh look, a ghost carp. Quite a big one too.”

“So, do you think he never really liked me anyway?”

“
What?”
cried Ben, finally giving up on his fish therapy. “What are you
on
about? Bloody hell, girls can be proper mental sometimes.
Course
he likes you, Abs. He never asks anyone out – he lets the girls do the chasing – but he asked
you
. So he must like you, right?”

“Huh! That's what Summer said! Well, he's got a funny way of showing it!” I snarled. “Anyway, I don't care what he thinks any more because that's the end of it.
Finito
. I felt like such an idiot in there, with him ignoring me and flirting with all those girls. I can't be bothered with his stupid games. I've got far too much to deal with in my life already. I need to be with someone straightforward who's not going to mess me around… Actually I'll probably just go off boys altogether and become a nun. I've got three pairs of those disgusting tights left, shame to waste them.”

Ben smirked. “Do you reckon nuns are allowed to wear make-up, though?” he asked. “You don't want to be known as the headless nun of Totnes.”

I slapped him.

“Ow!” he cried. “Hey! You're
always
saying that!”

“Yeah, well, it's MY headlessness!” I fired back. “Doesn't mean
you
can comment on it,
bandy legs
!” I did an impression of him walking, swaying from side to side. Outraged, he nudged me into a bush, and I slapped him one again.

Thank goodness for good mates.

“Look, sorry for taking it out on you,” I said then. “I'm just so annoyed with myself. Summer did warn me about Marco – I should have listened.”

Ben shrugged. “Yeah, well, live and learn. Don't give up on blokes, though, will you? We're not all the same.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“I do.”

Just then I spotted Summer waving to us from the doorway. “Guys, the headliner's coming on!” she called.

“Thanks for coming outside with me, and cheering me up,” I said as Ben and I headed back into the hall. “Don't tell Marco I was annoyed though, will you? Just say I had a bad stomach—” I paused, realizing that whatever I thought of Marco, I didn't want him picturing me sat on the loo with exploding diarrhoea. “No, hang on, a headache, say a headache,” I said. “I don't want him thinking this bothered me. I feel enough of an idiot already.”

When we got back in, Marco did come and hang out with us, but I pretty much ignored him by pretending I was too into the music to notice him trying to catch my eye.

When the headline act finished their set, us four headed out on the stream of people and Summer spotted her dad's Land Rover. “Do you want a lift back?” she asked Marco, but he said he had to stay and help load the drum kit and stuff into Declan's dad's van. So us three said “See ya”, and he was kind of hovering around, but I didn't hug him or anything, I just got into the Land Rover and didn't look back.

Yes, Ben had cheered me up a bit, but it didn't last long. Because when I got in, I stupidly ended up telling Mum, Saff and Grace what had happened. Grace muttered gravely about how I shouldn't have got distracted from Rainbow Beauty and my schoolwork by a boy in the first place (yeah, thanks, really helpful, sis!). Even worse, Saff got all worked up on my behalf and wanted to go and have it out with Marco. I don't know what she was planning to do as we didn't own anything weapon-like. Maybe pelt him with wellies? And Mum decided that just because Marco and Dad have acted like idiots, All Men Are The Same.

I wanted to say “Ben's not” but I knew they'd take that to mean I fancied him, and ignore me saying we're just mates, so I kept my mouth shut. Then I went to take my make-up off, wondering how we'd all be able to hang out tomorrow at school as normal when I didn't feel like speaking to Marco ever again.

I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been, and that I'd ignored Summer's warnings. I should have been hearing warning bells – big, loud, clanging ones with a computerized voice like they have on delivery vans – saying, “Abbie Green! Step Away From The Egotistical Ratbag!”

What had I been thinking? Well, I hadn't been thinking at all, obviously. Instead I'd switched off my brain and been drawn in by a floppy black fringe, a slow, knowing smile, and the gorgeous warm, spicy smells of cinnamon and musk. Even now, after the Total Humiliation of being MDP (as me, Em and Zo used to call it – i.e. Massively Dissed in Public), I found myself staring in the mirror, thinking about being wrapped in his blazer that first day, our hands touching, that zap of electricity…

Argh! What was wrong with me?! Of
course
he was charming. That was the whole point. I rubbed hard at my layers of black-and-silver eye make-up with a cleansing wipe and disappeared once again into headlessness. Well, his charm might work on the rest of the girls at school – but not me.

Not any more.

I promised myself that the next day I'd be friendly and polite, of course – I didn't want to make things awkward for Summer and Ben. But apart from that, there would be nothing between us.
Nada
. No spark, no fizz, no secret smiles. There was no point being moody or sulky, I'd just make it clear in a massively mature way that I was SO over it with him. I'd be immune to his beautiful playful eyes and never again casually touch his hand or link arms with him. Ha! That'd teach him to mess with Abbie Green. I'd go in there with the strident feminist principles of Grace (and of course, the drop-dead gorgeous hair and make-up of Saff – no harm in showing him what he was missing!) and be such an ice queen he'd think the school boiler was broken.

Erm…yeah, right.

When I got in to school on Friday morning, I
was
all set up for my ice maiden routine, but I was really thrown because, weirdly, Marco seemed to be in a mood with
me
. I decided he was still playing his stupid games and I'd just have to rise even higher above it all.

Which was all good and fine – until Science.

OMG, it was SO cringe-making that I just wanted to get the sulphuric acid out and dissolve myself into a puddle on the floor. Us four were supposed to be working as a group, but Marco was acting like he was in charge and getting me to pass him stuff, as if I was some kind of lab assistant. That really annoyed me, and I guess I was passing the things quite
hard
, because the glass rod snapped in his hand.

“Ow!” he cried, nursing his palm.

“Oh, don't be such a baby,” I hissed.

“You did that on purpose,” he accused.

“Course I didn't,” I spat. “Not everything's about
you
, you know.”

We glared at each other as he rubbed his hand.

“Well, this isn't awkward at all, is it?” said Ben cheerily.

Then Marco noticed Summer glaring at him and turned on her. “Oi, don't give me the evils! What have
I
done?”

“As if you didn't know!” she muttered. She put her arm round me but I wriggled away and marched over to the shelves for a new glass rod.

Summer followed. “That boy – what a nightmare!” she grumbled. “It's time he learned he can't treat people like—”