Ivy’s teeth clenched together. ‘That’s it. I’m going to take care of this once and for all!’
Before either of her friends could stop her, she marched down the hall. Bunnies scattered out of her way, clearing a path, and she had to admit . . . it felt good.
Not that she would ever scatter bunnies on purpose.
‘Hey!’ she snarled, as she reached Finn and his crew. ‘I need to talk to you.’
Standing in the middle of the skater crowd, Finn looked nervous. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘In private,’ Ivy said, and gave Finn’s snickering friends a death-squint. They turned pale, and edged away.
Sneering at them, Ivy pulled Finn away with her. ‘Look,’ she said in a fierce undertone. ‘I know you’re not the brightest crayon in the box –’
‘Sorry?’ His face creased into a frown. ‘Have we actually met?’
Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘The point is, though, I didn’t think you were a total jerk.’
‘What?’ He flinched as if he’d been slapped. ‘I’m not. Why would you think I am?’
Ivy pointed at the skater group waiting for him. ‘Can’t you see how cruel your friends are being to Sophia? Why don’t you stop them?’
His frown deepened. ‘Well . . .’
Ivy lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘And, anyway, what are you doing, giving Sophia skateboards to borrow? Can’t you see she’s crushing on you? Are you actually trying to lead her on, or do you just not care about her feelings?’
‘I’m not trying to lead her on,’ he said. His frown had eased, but he was flushed now with what looked like embarrassment. ‘I wouldn’t do that. It’s not my style.’
‘Hmm,’ Ivy said sceptically.
‘And as for my friends . . .’ Finn sighed, tapping his skateboard against his side. ‘I’m sorry they’ve been uncool. I’ll talk to them, though. I will.’ He squared his shoulders. ‘I’ll make it clear that they need to leave Sophia alone. She’s a nice girl, and she doesn’t deserve to be unhappy.’
Finn’s voice softened as he seemed to catch sight of someone over Ivy’s shoulder. His eyes turned dreamy. ‘Believe me,’ he finished in a whisper. ‘I know how she feels. Crushing on someone who doesn’t feel the same . . . it’s rough.’
Ivy twisted around to follow his gaze – and had to snap her mouth shut to hold back a gasp.
Amelia was sauntering into Homeroom, tall and arrogant in full goth-splendour . . . and Finn was gazing after her wistfully!
Ivy suddenly felt dizzy. The skater boy has a thing for the Goth Queen? High school is even weirder than I’d thought!
She forced herself to think through what Finn had just told her. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I accept that you’re not actually trying to hurt Sophia. But . . .’ She narrowed her eyes in a medium-level death-squint. ‘Promise me you’ll be more sensitive in the future.’
‘Absolutely,’ Finn said. He raised one hand to high-five her.
Grimacing, Ivy accepted the high-five. As he went back to the crowd of skater guys and SkaterGirl 2.0 clones, she walked slowly back to her own group. Sophia was watching her carefully.
‘What did he say?’ she asked, the moment Ivy caught up with her.
Ivy shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that Finn is going to be nice to you from now on, and his friends won’t tease you any more.’
‘Finn’s always been nice to me!’ Sophia protested. Ivy could hear the desperation in her friend’s voice.
Gently, she put her arm around Sophia’s shoulders. ‘Yes, but he’s not . . . right for you.’ These were hard words to say out loud and Ivy didn’t like hurting Sophia’s feelings, but she knew it was time for this madness to end. Things could have been worse. At least Finn wasn’t a complete jerk. It turned out Sophia had good taste – even if it was misplaced.
‘Don’t forget the Second Law,’ Ivy mumbled to Sophia, out of anyone else’s hearing. ‘“No vampire should fall in –”’
‘I know,’ Sophia interrupted her, nodding sadly. ‘Being with Finn was just a silly fantasy.’
Ivy felt a twist of pain at the wrecked look on her friend’s face. First crushes are never easy!
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘And I’m really sorry if I’ve been annoying you this last week. I was only trying to help.’
‘I know.’ Sophia’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘Starting a new school is just so confusing. I’m going to need my sidekick.’
‘No doubt,’ said Ivy, feeling the sting of tears in her own eyes. ‘But, wait . . . when did I become the sidekick?’
Sophia laughed, and pulled Ivy into a hug. Just then, someone walked up to them. It was a tall goth-boy Ivy hadn’t seen before, dressed in a black Pall Bearers T-shirt and ripped black jeans. But it wasn’t his clothing that caught Ivy’s eye, it was his hair – his bleached blond hair.
He stopped beside them, looked Sophia up and down . . . and gave her a nod of deep respect.
Sophia’s mouth dropped open as he walked away.
‘See?’ Ivy whispered. Grinning, she poked Sophia’s arm. ‘I’m not the only one who thinks so!’
But there was no time for Sophia to reply. Suddenly, they were being swarmed by goths.
‘Oh, my Goooood!’ A pale, black-haired goth-girl clutched at her heart. ‘Baxter actually acknowledged you!’
‘He nodded right at you,’ agreed a skinny goth-boy beside her. He gazed at Sophia in worshipful awe. ‘Do you have any idea how cool you must be?’
Grinning, Ivy stepped back, letting Sophia be the centre of attention. Goths on all sides were inviting her to parties, asking her advice . . . and completely ignoring Ivy. This was just the way she liked it. She watched as Sophia answered question after question, clearly thriving under all the attention. At one moment, she caught Ivy’s eye and the two of them shared a secret glance of pleasure. It was so nice for Ivy to see her friend looking happy again.
‘Excuse me,’ a student said, squeezing past Ivy to get closer to Sophia. ‘I just want to get to the popular girl.’
Ivy made a show of stepping aside. ‘Be my guest,’ she said, with a proud smile.