Studying Boys (18 page)

My mom eyed me. "Even teachers?"

"Yes, Mom. Even teachers."

"Huh."

"Imagine what that will do to my college application, to be able to say that as a freshman I was a key figure in changing the administration policy of two schools."

My dad grinned, and even my mom looked thoughtful.

"Think what I could accomplish in the next three years, if you give me the chance."

My mom looked at my dad, who nodded. Go, Dad! Mom turned to me. "Frances, you're right. You can do the newspaper next year."

"Really?" Sweet! "There's a meeting tomorrow night. Can I go?" I wanted to hear all the comments about my article. Tomorrow night I wouldn't be a loser sitting alone against the wall. Tomorrow night, I'd be in. And then after that, going the next time would be so much easier. I hadn't had the courage to return since that first meeting, but if I could go as the superstar, it would be different. I had to take advantage of it!

"Of course you can," my dad said. "Go. Do it."

I grinned. "And can I go to my friends' houses again?" I saw my mom falter, and I jumped in. "You have to give me a chance to prove myself. I hated lying to you, but I need my friends. Base it on my grades. If they go down, then you can stop me."

My dad nodded, and my mom sort of rolled her eyes. "Fine. But if those grades go down ..."

"They won't!" I jumped up. I was so going over to Blue's house to tell her.

Blue's house.

Which was also Theo's house.

I thought of how Allie and Blue had told me that Theo hadn't gone out even once since we'd had our fight. I thought of how he'd sat there at my kitchen table for three weeks, because that was the only way he could see me. I thought of how he'd brought twenty friends to the Homework Club and made it work for me. I thought of the look on his face that night in the backyard when he'd accused me of not fighting for him, and I realized he'd been right.

I hadn't fought for anything my whole life, until these last five minutes. My parents might not think Theo was studious or serious enough for me, but he was. I knew the real Theo, but I'd never totally trusted him, despite all the things he'd done to show me that he cared. He deserved to be fought for.

So I sat back down and clenched my hands in my lap. "What about Theo?"

"No." My mom sat back in her chair. "No dating until you're eighteen."

"Eighteen," my dad repeated.

Clearly non-negotiable. Except I couldn't walk away. Not from Theo. "I'm a teenager."

They both eyed me.

"Do you really think you can make me not be interested in boys for my entire high school career?"

"You can be interested in them," my mom said, "but you can't date them."

I gritted my teeth. "I'm going to date Theo."

"Frances!"

"I'm sick of lying to you guys, so I won't do it anymore. But you have to understand that I'm going to date him. I'd rather have your approval, and that way we would hang out here and you could get to know him and keep an eye on us. But if you refuse to let me, I'll do it anyway." My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. It was one thing to ask my parents to let me be on the newspaper or hang with my friends, but to openly defy them? '

It was exhilarating!

And terrifying.

Because Theo was at stake.

My dad was eyeing me, and again, it really looked like pride in his eyes. "Since when did you grow up?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You're not a kid anymore, are you?"

"No."

He nodded. "You're doing well, Frances. Good job on the article."

I grinned. "Thanks."

My mom cleared her throat. "You aren't thinking of letting her date, are you?"

Dad shook his head. "No."

Oh.

"But it looks to me like she's going to hang out with Theo. I'd rather have her hanging out here where I can watch them. It's not dating, though." He shook his head at me. "No dating."

A glimmer of hope flickered inside me. "No dating," I agreed.

My mom sighed. "No dating."

"And if you're at Blue's house and he's there too, their parents have to be home."

"Agreed." But it would hardly be my fault if I went over there to see Blue and discovered her parents weren't home but Theo was.

I grinned. Okay, so I wasn't the perfect Frances I used to be. It was a good compromise.

"So, can I go?"

"Where?"

"To Blue's house. To tell her about the article."

My dad narrowed his eyes. "Is Theo going to be there?"

"I have no idea." I hoped so. Unless it was too late for us. I stood up. "I have to go."

"Is your homework done?"

"Not yet, but I'll do it over there." I grabbed my book bag.

"Frances!"

I stopped and looked at my parents. "My homework will be done. I swear."

After a long moment, my dad looked at his watch. "I want you home by eight."

Eight? That was a little early.

Then again, it was better than being grounded.

"Fine. Eight."

He nodded.

I nodded.

Small steps, but huge progress.

One more hurdle to go, and his name was Theo.

* * *

I ran out the front door and down the steps, and had just turned right to head to Blue's house when a voice stopped me. "Frances."

I spun around. There was Theo, leaning against his car, which was parked in front of my house. He looked so good, with his black jeans, his hair blowing in the breeze, his arms folded as if he didn't care about anything.

"Theo!" Oh my God, I was so happy to see him! But I was suddenly nervous, too. I hadn't heard from him in two weeks. I wasn't sure what to say, or how to act. Did he still like me?

"Heard about the article," he said. "Good job."

I grinned, hope flirting in my chest. "Thanks. Did you see your name in the article?"

"Yeah. You didn't need to do that. I didn't need credit. It was your deal."

I shook my head. "No, way. You deserved to be called out. I couldn't have done it without you."

He shifted. "You didn't make me sound like a jerk. You left out the first meeting I went to."

"Yeah, well, you redeemed yourself." I took a few steps toward him, stopping just out of his reach. "Why'd you come over here today?" I had to know. I couldn't stand not knowing anymore.

"To tell you good job." His eyes were wary, his face reserved. Sort of how I felt. We hadn't exactly parted on good terms.

"So, I'm not grounded anymore," I said.

He nodded. "Good."

"I can do the paper and hang with my friends."

He lifted a brow.

"No dating, though."

He shrugged. "I don't care."

I took a deep breath. Just say it, Frances. "I asked them about you."

His eyes softened for one second and his lips twitched in surprise. "You did?"

"Uh huh. They said I couldn't date you."

His face became cool again. "Not a surprise."

"I told them I'd do it anyway."

He didn't say anything. Just looked at me, but the wariness was gone from his face, replaced by a softness that made my heart speed up. "And what did they say?"

"They agreed we could hang out at your house or mine. But no dating." I grinned nervously. "I think it's a good start."

He nodded, and didn't say anything. Didn't reach out for me.

Hope began to fade. It was too late. Too little, too late.

"About The Homework Club," he said.

I sighed. "What about it?"

"I kept it going."

Really? I frowned, trying to figure out his point. "Why?"

"Because you started it, and I figured you'd want it to keep going. And it was a good thing."

I smiled, a warm feeling building in my chest. "You did it for me?" That was the sweetest thing he'd ever done. He'd kept it going, for me. That was better than flowers or a date. That said everything I needed to hear.

He shrugged. "Maybe a little."

I dropped my backpack on the sidewalk and walked over to him. "You did it for me."

He set his hands on my hips and pulled me against him. "I'd never do anything for a girl."

"Liar."

He grinned.

And then he kissed me.

"Frances Spinelli!" My mom hollered from the front porch.

Theo cursed under his breath and pushed me away from him, and I grimaced. Sunk, already? This totally sucked.

"Frances!"

I sighed and turned toward the porch. "What?"

"Don't you and Theo need to come inside the house to do homework?"

"She's not sending me home?" Theo whispered.

Yes. I tried to look smug. "I told you I fought for you."

He looked impressed. "I guess."

"Inside. Homework. Both of you. Now!" My mom stood on the porch and waited.

I picked up my backpack and looked at Theo. "So? Can you take it?"

"Take what?"

"Hanging with a girl who can't go clubbing every night?"

He grinned and grabbed his own bag from his backseat. "I think I can manage."

I smiled and started walking toward the house, only to have Theo catch my arm. "Frances?"

"What?"

"The Homework Club thing? When I kept it going?"

"Yeah?"

"It might have been for you."

I smiled. "I know."

He grinned, and I knew it wouldn't be too long before I found a way to go out dancing with him again. Because he'd turned me into a new person who I was beginning to like very much.

For a jerk, Theo was turning out to be quite the guy.

It's Allie's turn now!

Tad and I went for a midnight swim to cool off my bee stings again. We swam out pretty far, and then Tad stopped and treaded water. "Can you float on your back?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Do it, and look at the sky."

I glanced up and realized the black sky was dotted with more stars than I'd ever seen in my entire life. I immediately rolled onto my back and puffed up my chest so I didn't sink. The dark night stretched endlessly above my head, a blackness illuminated with glittering diamonds as far as I could see. Millions and millions of dots of light. It was incredible, daunting, and the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. I felt tiny, but at the same time, I felt drawn into the magnificence of the sky, as if it were a part of me, and I was a part of it. "It's incredible," I whispered.

"I know. I could stay out for hours," Tad said, floating so close that his shoulder brushed into mine. "Did you see that?" Tad asked.

"See what?" I was too busy thinking about the tingling in my arm from touching Tad to be paying attention to anything else.

He pointed off to the right, his hand coming across my field of vision. "The shooting star. Off toward shore."

"No, darn it. I've never seen one." I turned so I could study the sky over the land. "What am I looking for?"

"A streak of light." Tad bumped against my leg. "Sorry."

"No problem." Really. It was no problem. I was beginning to be fond of him touching me, though it had only been to tackle me into the water in a bee rescue and to hold ice on my arm. I wondered what it would be like if he held my hand, just to hold it.

I saw a streak of light and shrieked. "Was that one?"

"Yeah. Cool, huh?"

"Incredible." The most incredible thing I'd ever seen. It was like the universe was lighting up just for us.

We stayed floating forever, and I saw eight shooting stars. It was, quite possibly, the most amazing night I had ever had.

* * *

"One shooting star for each bee sting," Tad said later as we were slogging through the water back to shore.

"Don't remind me." I hugged my arms against the shivers that had finally set in. We'd floated for so long that the night had cooled off and the water had felt cold.

"Want to sit for a minute?" He nodded at a flat rock on the shore.

My stomach jiggled, and suddenly I wasn't cold anymore. "Definitely."

He spread out his towel and we sat next to each other. Not touching. Normally, I'd have no qualms about leaning against him and giving him some broad hints, but I didn't. I had no idea what he was thinking about me. Or why I was having guy/girl thoughts about him.

So we simply sat in silence for a while, listening to the water lapping at the shore.

"Can I ask you something, Allie?" he said.

"Of course." I crossed my fingers behind my back and hoped it was something good.