"So, the sex was unbelievable?" Holland Rivers asked, turning around in her seat in front of me. Her incredible peripheral vision had clocked my greeting wave as Hartley strolled into English class, which contained far more enthusiasm then my usual greeting. Which usually included profanity, and only one finger rather than five.

"Um, uh, what?" I spluttered.

She shook her phone at me. "I saw Kaelin's story. And now you're smiling at him, all mushy-like."

I had completely forgotten about the poll Kaelin had uploaded to her Instagram story. "Do Jace and Lena want to bang?" with the only available options being yes or yes. From her seat next to me, Kaelin grinned lazily. I glared back at her.

And for god's sake, I couldn't even vehemently assert my protest to such a statement, because my own brother had decided that torturing his favourite sister was a fun project.

"I did not have sex with Hartley," I proclaimed hotly. I was also distinctly aware of McKenna, Jace's ex-girlfriend, who was sitting on Kaelin's other side. She was having a bit of a fling with Brittany Ford now, but Daria, who adored McKenna and was a relatively close friend, had told me that it wasn't serious. According to Daria, McKenna was still a little hung up on Jace. I got the sense that this was a faraway, wistful kind of admiration. McKenna wasn't the type of girl to chase a guy.

Besides, she was far better off without him.

But McKenna didn't seem too cut by the rumour that I was sleeping with Jace. She just looked faintly amused, and peeked up at Jace, who was talking to Mr Prendler at the front of the class. "You probably should," McKenna said lightly. "I recommend it."

I gaped openly at her. McKenna was of a similar temperament to Daria—sweet, unassuming—and this was uncharacteristic of her. I was rendered speechless. Plus, the unwelcome vision of McKenna and Jace sleeping together was so profoundly disgusting that I couldn't speak, otherwise I would probably puke. Holland and Kaelin were grinning.

"You know, I always got that vibe from him," Holland raked Hartley's form appreciatively, with an almost predatory eye. It was the kind of look that, from a girl who looked like Holland, who was perhaps the hottest girl I'd ever seen, seemed borderline inappropriate for school grounds. "I tried to tap that once or twice, you know, a couple months ago. But he was always so caught up in Daria and Lena." She eyed McKenna. "And you, of course."

McKenna didn't seem to devastated about being an afterthought in Jace Hartley's list of relevant women, according to Holland. The best friend first, followed by the enemy, and the girlfriend a pitiful third place. "I came to know where I sat with him," she said. Then she smiled at me, and while I could see the lines of hurt and sadness in her face, there was no jealousy or ill-feeling. "Nice picture, by the way. It certainly looked, uh, cozy."

"It was a tackle," I protested. "We don't, uh—" I struggled to think of a way to phrase my response without breaking the rules of my bet with Austin "—get along, Jace and I. It's not like we're hooking up."

Kaelin looked up from her iBooks app idly. She didn't bother to address me. "I got a resounding 100% agreement that Jace and Lena want to bang. You can't argue with stats."

"Yeah, I can. Yes was the only option."

McKenna shrugged. "It was the only one needed."

I dropped my head to my desk in exasperation. But I didn't need to, because the girls had fallen silent.

"Hey, Elle," Jace said warmly. It was a foreign tone, one he used with Daria, or had once used with McKenna. And that name, Elle. I had only heard him say it like this once before, when I'd returned to school. The softness of that name, usually harshened by taunts or mocking, was unfamiliar.

"Hey," I said back. My expression was also soft. This was the dumbest blackmail ever. I was going to kill Austin.

I saw Holland's eyes bouncing between us. "I mean, it had to have been mind-blowing, right?" she said to Kaelin, in a tone that was not as hushed as she evidently thought.

Kaelin was watching us as if we were a particularly fascinating movie, her unnervingly fixated gaze unmoving. "Uh huh."

McKenna was giggling.

Jace fell into the seat beside him. "Are you guys talking about Kaelin's poll?"

"Of course," McKenna said mischievously.

Jace regarded McKenna with an admiring smile. It had been clear, since the moment the pair had split, that there was no ill feelings between them. They'd remained close friends, and the lingering love between them was obvious. It had been clear, from the moment McKenna had moved to the school in Year 10, that Jace loved her. It had been a dream romance, and tt had been a dream breakup—dignified, amicable. Sometimes, when they were talking, their dark heads pressed familiarly together, it was hard to tell they were n0 longer together.

I hated that.

Because McKenna deserved better, naturally.

Kaelin acknowledged Hartley with a sly smile. "Hey, Lena. You know Jace responded yes to my poll?"

Holland gasped.

"Plot twist!" McKenna announced cinematically.

I whirled on Jace with disbelieving accusation. "You what?"

Jace held his hands up. "I thought I was clicking the no. The second option is supposed to be no! It is always no! And there was no real option for me to pick."

The girls continued to look amused. If this was any other day, I would've reacted differently. Most likely with violence. But today was a rareity, an isolated moment. So all I said was, "Fair enough, I guess."

"The dick game," Holland whispered enigmatically. "It's made Lena reasonable towards him." She looked at Jace, her eyes wide. "It has superpowers."

Jace didn't look as if he knew how to respond to that. His look of bafflement would've been cute on any other guy, but Hartley couldn't pull it off. He looked at me. "Did she just say... that my penis has superpowers?"

I grinned and patted his arm. "Such power is a burden, Hartley. Use it wisely."

Well, I thought, he kind of had. McKenna was a close contender for Daria's position as primary ruler of my heart.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Hartley. "To... use my magical dong... with as much consideration as I can."

I laughed.

"Not a sentence I thought I'd be saying today," he said. "Although, a lot of things about today have been unexpected."

"If the lack of normalcy is too much, I promise to destroy heaps of your private property before you come into school tomorrow?" I offered.

"I read a quote once," said Jace, philosophically. "And I think this is the first time I've understood its meaning."

"Okay?" I replied, my brows furrowing with confusion.

"'Money is but one venue for generosity. Kindness is an even more valuable currency'." He smiled. "Just because, you know, with offering to destroy my private property, I think I've found the most selfless and generous act of all. A modern day Jesus."

"Oh, you ass," I said, shoving him good-naturedly in the arm. "That's so pretentious."

Jace was already snorting a laugh.

"Jace, Lena, I never thought I would have to say this," Mr Prendler said from the front of the room. "But would you mind suspending your, uh, seemingly amicable chatter until the end of class?"

Jace and I turned guiltily to face him.

Prendler looked down at his copy of the Crucible, then back up at us again. "They were chatting amicably, right?" he said, addressing Jessica Fountain at the front of the room. "I wasn't imagining it."

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Jessica said gleefully. "They're hooking up now."

The rest of the class was unashamedly giggling at me and Jace.

"Not true!" I exclaimed. I turned to my laughing classmates. "Very much not true."

Brian Jones made a kissy face at me.

A range of emotions passed Prendler's face in that single moment. Shock at the news, discomfort because it was probably not the most comfortable conversation to have with and about students, and, most prominent, amusement. "Wasn't expecting that," was all he said.

"Yeah, because it would be weird, because it isn't true."

Prendler shook his head. "It's none of my business. How about we move on to Proctor?"

"Sounds good to me," said Jace.

Prendler began to read from the text, his usually animated voice becoming monotone with the slog of hundreds of words.

And then, like he had all those weeks before, Hartley poked me with the end of his pen. This time, I didn't pretend to focus on my education. Instead I looked up at him.

"I need to come over to your place tonight," he whispered. "For the project."

This time, I didn't think about scaring him with spiders, or pranking him, or even excuses to avoid inviting him over. I didn't even think to invite Daria as a buffer, though no doubt she would be faithfully tethered to Jace's side.

Instead, I just said, "Okay."