It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Alex Ryan when she finds herself falling head over heels for Connie O’Reilly. How could she not? There isn’t a person alive who wouldn’t be drawn to the irresistibly beautiful and charming Connie. It seems impossible she could reciprocate -- not when Alex is so awkward, so timid, so very much a girl -- until what starts as a sweet friendship blossoms into something so much more than Alex could have dreamed of. Alex knows what they have is a momentary thing, not enough to be called forever. Connie’s the most popular girl in the school, wealthy and admired. She’s going to go to Trinity, maybe marry a lawyer. She’s going to have everything Alex could never give her. She isn’t stupid, after all. Status and reputation might mean nothing to Alex, but to Connie they are everything. The only out-lesbian they know is ridiculed by everyone she meets, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before Connie lets that be her. But when rumours spark and new faces enter the picture, they’re both set to discover that, while it may be easy to walk away, it’s a lot harder to move on.

The Night Belongs to Us

Of course, Connie changed all that. When I saw my old acquaintances in the hall, girls I sat with for three whole years, I was still polite enough to say hello. I knew my absence at their lunch table certainly wasn’t missed but they would smile in my direction nonetheless. I didn’t give much thought to what they must have thought of me; meek, unassuming Alex, flying with the eagles. I figured that since they never entered my mind, I wasn’t entering theirs either.


As it turns out, I was wrong. I underestimated just how enviable of a position I was in, as the best friend of the most popular girl in Halford. Even the likes of Niamh and Lauren, as much wallflowers and nobodies as I once was, craved such attention, such notice.


Chapter 9