Catherine's POV
I was halfway to my locker when someone called my name.
"Catherine!"
I turned and saw Collins behind me with his usual boyish grin in place.
"Hey," he said, pushing his scattered hair backwards. "Was hoping to see you before classes today. Glad I did."
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"Nope. Why would that be the first thing you think of?" His smile softened. "Thing is, I wanted to ask if we could hang out after school. Maybe grab coffee or something."
For a second, I almost said no, until Julian's smirk from this morning flashed through my mind, the way he'd taunted me last night and even this morning.
"Sure," I said, more quickly than I meant to. "After school's fine but we won't just grab coffee. You have to buy a burger for me."
Collins' grin widened. "Cool. I'll be waiting by the gate after school."
I nodded, pretending not to notice the flicker of satisfaction that came with it. If Julian saw me with Collins, it'd replace that stupid smug look off his face.
