Free Something True by Kieran Scott

care what people think?” Darla asked.
    I blinked. “Um, no. Not really.”
    “Excuse me, you two.” The white-haired guy in charge of security came up behind us and cleared his throat. “Would you mind moving this a bit farther inside? We want to keep all entries and exits clear.”
    Darla and I moved closer to the wall, away from the door to the lobby. The guy continued into the cafeteria, his head swiveling left and right methodically. He looked like a robot.
    “It’s so weird, having them here,” Darla said, rubbing her arms like she’d gotten a chill. “I feel like I’m living in a TV movie.”
    “I know, but if it keeps everyone safe . . .” I looked over at True again.
    I hadn’t told anyone what I knew about those people being after True and why, or that I was there for the big attack. I just didn’t feel like talking about it 24-7, which was what would happen if I spilled. But the gangsters, or whatever they were called, had shown True’s picture to enough people yesterday that everyone knew she was somehow involved.
    Darla followed my gaze, then gave me an irritated look. “What’s Veronica gonna say if you go out there?”
    I sighed. This was pretty much the only thing I didn’t like about Darla. Veronica’s opinion meant everything to her. I’d watched her wait to order food until Veronica ordered hers, then copy Veronica’s order. I’d seen them wear almost the same outfit to school half a dozen times. If Veronica hated a movie, Darla hated that movie. If Veronica liked a song, Darla liked the same song. It was borderline scary.
    “I don’t care about Veronica,” I told her, rubbing the sides of her arms. “I care about you.”
    “Well, I think you should sit with me.” She shook her chestnut-brown hair behind her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Homecoming is in less than two weeks. Perception matters. You can’t be hanging out with some gangbanger.”
    “She’s not a gangbanger.” I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “It’s one lunch!” I wrapped my arms around Darla’s waist and pulled her to me, so close that she had to put her hands on my shoulders. “Besides, don’t the seniors usually win these things?”
    “You’d think so, but there was this one year that a junior won. Her name was Ruma Sen. But she was Miss Teen New Jersey and she was going out with the senior captain of the basketball team, so . . .” Darla shook her head, like she was clearing away an unpleasant smell. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is you’re my boyfriend. A fact she seems to keep forgetting.”
    I chuckled. “True and I are just friends.”
    “Please. That girl has ‘I want to be Orion’s girlfriend’ stamped on her forehead,” Darla said.
    I glanced at True. Really? Did she actually like me like me?
    “Orion?”
    Right. So not what I was supposed to be thinking about.
    “That would be one big forehead,” I joked, and Darla laughed. “Look, it’s one lunch,” I said again. “And I promise that tonight I will come over with Chinese food and watch as many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress as you want.”
    “Really?”
    “I’ll even pretend I understand the difference between princess and . . . what’s the other one that you like?”
    “A-line.”
    “Right. A-line.”
    Darla leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. My heart did the crazy swelling thing it did every time we kissed, like it practically couldn’t take it. She tasted like cherries and sugar, and her body was soft and hard at the same time. I would never understand how this girl was single when I moved here. Did the guys in Lake Carmody not have eyes?
    “You have a deal, Mr. Floros,” she said, looking at me through her thick lashes.
    “Can’t wait,” I replied truthfully.
    Darla turned and sauntered off slowly, knowing exactly how awesome her ass looked in her jeans, and tossed me a smile over one shoulder. As I walked away, one of the youngish security dudes who was stationed near the door shot