in the most bored voice I can muster.
âSo youâre not about to tell me to back off your man or something?â
âIâm not. Heâs your best friend. Wouldnât it look a little suspicious if you just suddenly stopped talking to him?â
âYes, it would.â He folds his arms and sits back in the chair. âI guess Iâm just not sure what the point of this conversation is.â
I probably should have had a better idea myself before I decided to challenge Gideon âKing of the Forensics Teamâ Berko to a debate.
âI wanted to make sure we were on the same page.â
âWhat page, Ruby?â he asks, obviously getting annoyed.
âYouâre going to make me spell it out to you?â
âAre you blackmailing me? I donât get it. So yeah, youâre going to have to spell it out to me. Because the way I see it, youâre backed into a corner. Iâm pretty sure you have it in you to tell the whole school that I like Kyle, but you realize that in doing so you would also out me. And Iâm pretty sure that youâre too good a person for that. So I donât know where that leaves us.â
Iâm not sure what to say in response. I was going to make a few more thinly veiled threats about showing Kyle the lists, but he hit the nail on the head: I would never out him.
âSo itâs not like either of us has any power in the situation,â he concludes as he stands up and collects his belongings.
âLet me know if you come up with some way to blackmail me,â he says as he walks out the door.
Iâm left sitting there with my jaw hanging open. I have no idea what I expected, but it was certainly not that.
Gideon
Iâm shaking as I walk out of the office and leave Ruby in my wake.
When she walked in, I was working on the logic of the situation and realized that basically as long as Iâm in the closet, I have all the power. Because thereâs no way sheâs going to out me. I believe that for a fact.
Itâs when I decide to come out that she could totally screw me. Those lists, particularly the one with all the mean things about Kyle, could really bite me in the ass. I would ask her to delete them, but Iâm not sure how she would react.
But hereâs what I know for sure: I should probably avoid both of them for a little while. At least when theyâre together. And I should definitely avoid Ruby as much as humanly possible. Itâs the only option I see.
Of course, this is the week that Kyle decides to really turn on the charm. Heâs there every time I turn a corner; heâs always saving the seat right next to him at lunch. I donât really know why heâs doing it or what changed, but it makes me feel conspicuous. Like he and Ruby are concocting a plan together.
But no, Kyle would never do that.
The worst is on Tuesday, when he leaves a note in Elvish in my locker asking me when we can get together about tutoring. Itâs like a stab in the heart. I promise myself that Iâll talk to him about it the next day.
By Friday at the latest.
Maybe I could go to his house this weekend when Iâm certain Rubyâs not around.
I wish I could understand when our friendship got so complicated.
Â
ten
Kyle
On Wednesday when Ruby finds me after school, I can tell sheâs in a panic.
âI really need a huge favor from you,â she says.
âWhatâs up?â I ask, putting my books in my locker.
âMy mom was supposed to pick up Diana from dance class, and I was supposed to go watch David move up a belt at karate. But now she canât make it and they wonât let the kids leave with just anyone after dance class. So would you maybe be willing to go watch David get his new belt while I run across town in the other direction to pick up Diana?â She says all this so fast that it actually takes me a good ten seconds to catch up with everything.
âYes. I