The Clique (11 page)

              Kate giggles. “But that one doesn’t have any vocals!”

              “Exactly.”

              They play for a while, until the dance is only fifteen minutes away. “You know we’re still gonna be like the first ones there?” Gabe points out.

              “Yeah, well, we can kick things off.” Aude rubs a hand along Gabe’s arm. “Plus, that means we can be the first ones to Nate’s party too. We can help set up.”

              “Yay... Fine babe, we can go if you want.”

              Aude pauses as the four leave, taking a moment to enjoy the fact that her shoes aren’t cutting off any circulation.

             
Sure enough, when Gabe pulls into the George Washington lot, it’s nearly empty. They get out of the car and follow a series of signs to the secondary gymnasium; the doors have been propped open and a couple of teachers are checking tickets.

              “It’s Mr. Silveris!” Aude squeals, pointing to their English teacher.

              “Yeah, I saw,” Kate says. “By the way, I have the best story…“

              “Hey kiddos.” Mr. Silveris smiles brightly at the two girls. “Are you having a good night?”

              “Mhm,” Audrey replies. “Are you gonna come dance with us?”

              Mr. Silveris chuckles. “No, I don’t think so. You gals have fun, though.” To their right, Gabe and Sean hand over four tickets to the other teacher.

             
The secondary gymnasium serves as a sort of coat-check room, with a few fans set up for any students who need to cool off. From there, a thin hallway connects to the main gym. The lights from the DJ booth fill the gym with alternating flashes of purple, blue, and yellow.

              “Wow, there’s like no one here!” Audrey exclaims.

              Gabe laughs. “Told you. Now come here.” He holds out a hand.

              Aude takes it and lets Gabe spin her in close. “That was fun!”

              “Wanna do it again?” Gabe asks. Aude lets him spin her several more times. “One more?”

              “No, no, I’m too dizzy.” The gym is quickly filling with students, and teachers patrolling the outskirts of the “dance floor,” a large brown tarp spread over the gym floor.

              “Okay.” Gabe pulls Aude in close. “You smell great, babe.”

              “Thanks. It’s my conditioner. Mango.”

              “Mmm.” Gabe takes an exaggerated whiff. “You wanna just dance here for a while?”

              “Sure.” Aude turns to face the DJ, and Gabe sets both arms around her waist. They shift back and forth to the music.

              “Aude!” Hannah practically sprints over. “Hey! Wow, you look so beautiful!”

              “So do you!” Aude flashes a grin. “Where’s Nate?”

              “He’s coming!” Hannah shouts over the music. “He had to go to the bathroom.” She smiles and then runs off, almost as fast as she appeared.

              Aude sways with Gabe; she can feel him against her. “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to—“

              “What!” Gabe yells.

              Audrey repeats louder, “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

              “I still can’t hear you!” The music is reaching a crescendo, and it’s making it hard to hear anything.

              “I said, is that—a—gun—in—your—pocket! Or are you just happy to see me!”

              Gabe frowns, “No thanks.”

             
Aude’s Stat teacher marches up to the pair. “Not so close, please.” The last song’s finished, and the next one is much quieter.

              “Huh?” Aude stops moving.

              He holds his hands about a foot apart. “I’m sorry, but there are rules against dancing too close together.”

              “Oh, sorry.” Audrey takes a step away from Gabe.

              “Much better.” The teacher returns to his patrol.

              “Well that sucks,” Gabe says. “I was having fun.”

              “I know, me too. Did you hear what I said?”

              Gabe shakes his head. “Something about gum.”

              “Unh uh. I said, is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” Audrey repeats, for about the fourth time.

              “Oh. Well I’d be happy to show you.” Gabe winks.

              “Ew. Gabe!”

              “Haha, you started it. You shouldn’t use pickup lines if you don’t wanna, you know…“

              “I was just trying to be funny.”

              “And you were, babe. Very funny. Well, since we can’t grind, you wanna…“ he trails off.

              “What?”

              “Get out of here. I’ve had enough dancing for the night.”

              Aude squints at him. “But we just got here. I haven’t even seen Maddie.”

              “Did she get a date?”

              “Um, no. I don’t think so.”

              “Well, maybe she didn’t come. Can’t you text her and find out?”

              “Yeah, I could,” Aude says. She doesn’t want to leave so soon, though. “Can we at least dance for like another hour?”

              Gabe groans. “But I’m so bored, babe.”

              Aude’s immediate desire is to kick him, say something to the effect of “I put up with your crap last week, so you can put up with mine” and force him to stay. But instead, she bargains. “A half hour?”

              “Okay. I can do a half hour.”

              They sway for another seven songs, hands around each other’s hips. Aude can see Gabe counting down the minutes. “Fine,” she relents. “Let’s go.”

              “Oh, thank god.”

              Aude sighs, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at his reaction. “Just let me find Kate, and tell her we’re leaving. We’ll be back to give them a ride to Nate’s party, right?”

              Gabe smirks. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

              “Yes we will. Okay, wait for me here.” Aude presses into the group of bodies closer to the booth, searching for her best friends. A hand gropes her, but she ignores it. “Kate! There you are!”

              “Hey, Aude!” Kate smiles. Aude notices that no one made
her
stop grinding. “What’s up?”

              “Gabe wants to leave. So I guess we’re going.”

              “What? Why?”

              Aude shrugs. “I dunno. He says he’s bored. We’ll come back, though, for Nate’s party.”

              Kate holds out her arms. “You could stay and dance with us. Sean wouldn’t mind. Right, Sean?”

              Sean gulps. “No, of course not.”

              “See, Aude? You should stay here, with us.”

              “I know. But if Gabe wants to go—“ she frowns “—I don’t wanna make him stay. See you in like an hour or so.”

              “Okay.”

              Aude crosses the press of bodies again. Gabe’s standing in the exact same position as when she left. “Hey baby,” she says. “I’m ready to go.”

              “Good.” Gabe takes Aude by the hand and leads the way out, into the hallway and the secondary gym.
His clipped response and quick steps make her wonder if he’s mad at her.

             
Wait a second...
Aude nearly passes by a beautiful girl in a slim pink dress without recognizing Maddie. “Whoa, Maddie! Hey! How are you?”

              Maddie smiles. “I’m good. How about—wait, are you leaving?”

              Aude nods. “Yeah, Gabe was getting bored.”

              “Really?” Maddie turns to Gabe. “Why were you getting bored?”

              Gabe crosses his arms. “The music’s lame.”

              “Oh… Well, before you go, there’s someone I want you to meet.” Maddie steps back to put a hand on her date, a boy with short black hair and an angular jaw. “Aude, this is Jonah. Jonah, this is Audrey. She’s like one of my best friends.”

              “Nice to meet you!”

              Maddie grins at Aude. “Well, I’ll see you at Nate’s party.”

              “Yup.” Aude runs into another girl she knows, right behind Maddie. The girl starts to strike up a conversation, but Gabe insists that they have to leave, right at that moment.

              He’s definitely mad. Gabe walks ahead of her, without even bothering to look back. They reach his Porsche, and Aude climbs in. “What did I do wrong?” she asks.

              Gabe takes a deep breath. “I told you I wanted to leave an hour ago.” He points at the car’s clock. “It’s nine-thirty, and I wanted to leave at eight-thirty.”

              “Oh, sorry.” Aude traces the outline of the glove box. “But you said we could stay for a half hour.”

              “But I didn’t want to. I only did it for you. And then you took twice that time.”

              “I—I had to say bye to Kate. And then I ran into Maddie.” Something about Gabe’s tone of voice, the barely-controlled anger, reminds her of her father. “Why did you wanna leave, anyway?”

              “Because, I wanted to—I just wanted to be alone with you.”

              “Well, we can be alone now. Can’t we?” Aude rubs his back, hoping to calm him down.

              “No, we can’t! We don’t have enough time!”

              “Excuse me? Enough time for what?”

              Wordlessly, Gabe reaches into his pocket and pulls out a square-shaped wrapper.

              Aude stares at it, her own ire rising. She can feel her hands shake as she swallows back disgust. “I told you I wanted to wait! You said you were okay with that!”

              “I’ve waited, Aude! For two years! I’ve been sooo fucking patient!”

              Aude can feel tears coming to her perfectly wing-tipped eyes. “I didn’t know it was so hard for you.”

              Gabe presses a rough hand to her face. “It is, babe. You have no idea. No idea how much I—“ he takes another deep breath “—how much I want you. I just—please. I need you.”

             
No. I won’t ever be pressured into sex.
It’s a promise Audrey made to her mother in seventh grade, and one of only a few she hasn’t broken. “I’m sorry, but I’m just not ready yet.”

              Gabe sucks in air. “Fine. I’ve waited two years. I can wait a little longer.” He sneaks the condom back into his pocket. “I hate what you do to me. I hate it, but I love you. Do you understand?”

              No, not really.
“Of course I understand.” Aude leans over for a hug.

              “It’s time for Nate’s party. Almost ten. If we leave now, we’ll be the first ones there. Just like you wanted.”

              “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” After what just happened, Aude isn’t quite sure whether
she
even wants to go. But they wait for Kate and Sean, and then drive over.

              “Hey, um… Aude, right? And Kate?” Nate’s tie looks a little crooked, but his grin reveals a set of perfect white teeth. “Glad you made it!”

              “We were figuring we could help set up,” Aude says.

              “Uh, yeah, sure. Okay. I guess, could you guys—“ he points at Sean and Gabe “—move the furniture out of the way? Not all of it, just the expensive stuff. And could you two—“ Aude and Kate “—please put the paintings in my mom’s room? Most of them are shit, but a few are genuine Renaissance.”

              “Okay.” Audrey steps into the house and has to suppress a whistle. It’s even bigger than hers. The main entryway leads to a spiral staircase and a balcony overlooking a spacious lower floor. “Wait, where’s your mom’s room?”

              Nate points upstairs. “First one on your left.” Aude, Kate, Gabe, and Sean set to work. Aude picks out the smaller paintings and brings those first. After her fifth trip to Nate’s mother’s room, she lets herself take a break, falling backward onto the mattress.

              “Oh, hey.” Sean backs into the room, carrying a white porcelain lamp. “Taking a break, Aude?”

              “Yeah. Sorry. I’m just so tired.”

              Sean sets the lamp down with a grunt. “Yeah, me too. So, listen…“ He crosses to the door and closes it. “I wanted to talk about Hannah’s party a couple weeks ago.”

              With a start, Aude watches him turn the lock.
“Um, okay?” She stands up and works her way to a huge bay window overlooking Nate’s front driveway. Sean has a wild look in his eye and, although she doesn’t plan on it, visions of having to fling herself out to avoid a rape fill Audrey’s head.

              But that’s ridiculous. This is Sean. He’s nice. He’d never do anything like that.

              Sean clenches and unclenches his hand several times. “When I told you I loved you, I meant it.”