The Forever Crush Read Online Free

But then, instead of meeting my gaze, he looked over my left shoulder.
    â€œMcCann! McCann!” squealed Charlotte Bouchard as she came winging by. She casually rested her elbow on Forrest’s shoulder and looked into his eyes.
    â€œI do believe you have something of mine,” she said, grabbing the notebook. “Gotta go, but keep in touch.”
    We both watched her run down the hall.
    â€œI guess that’s that,” I said.
    Just as I was about to search my brain for a new topic, Bet arrived.
    â€œHello to you both. Did I just see you with the Fat or Not notebook?”
    â€œYou did, but Charlotte took it,” I said.
    â€œShoot,” Bet said. “I’m working on a broadcast about it and I just can’t seem to get my hands on it.”
    Bet was always working on a broadcast. She’s the anchorperson for Margaret Simon Middle School’s only TV show, You Bet! It isn’t exactly real TV. Bet produces her video reports and the principal broadcasts them on the school’s TV network every Friday afternoon.
    â€œIf I see it again, I’ll grab it for you,” I said.
    â€œThank you, Jemma. You’re the best.”
    Bet squeezed my arm gently, in a conspiratorial way, and left. Bet knew how much I liked Forrest and for how long. That squeeze was her way of congratulating me. I looked at Forrest to see if he caught this girl-to-girl signal.
    â€œJemma,” Forrest said, “I have to ask you something.”
    I swallowed and waited.
    Please God, don’t let him break up with me already.
    So many girls liked him, and it seemed like it would be just a matter of time until he’d like one of them in a real way. And then I’d just be a failed experiment for him, something he might joke with me about at our high school graduation.
    â€œThere’s this movie thing that I’m invited to this weekend, the day after Thanksgiving. People are bringing girlfriends, so it would be weird if you didn’t come.”
    â€œOh.”
    â€œUnless you have something else to do. I guess I could say you have to go visit your grandmother or something.”
    â€œMy grandmother lives in Florida. It takes, like, eighteen hours to drive there.”
    â€œSo you want to go to this thing?”
    â€œUm, sure. Why not? Might as well keep up the act, right?” I said this to check if this was him asking me out on a real date, or a date to keep up appearances for our pretend relationship.
    â€œYeah. I think everyone is convinced,” Forrest said.

Nine
    I waited, like lots of other girls, for the Pink Locker Society to answer my question. We were getting so many messages from girls wanting help that I had to pull my question from the very deep inbox and ask that we take it on.
    â€œWhat about this one who says she’s got a pretend boyfriend?” I asked Piper and Kate during a PLS meeting.
    â€œYeah, I saw that one,” Piper said. “But do you think it’s even real? Who has a pretend boyfriend?”
    It took all my strength not to answer, “It’s me! It’s me! And it’s driving me crazy.”
    Kate swooped in, so naturally helpful.
    â€œI think it could be true. And she says she really likes our Web site. Why not?” she said.
    â€œOkay, Jemma. That falls into the topic of embarrassing things, so I think it’s yours.”
    â€œWhy is that so embarrassing?” I asked Piper, hoping it wouldn’t blow my cover.
    â€œAn imaginary boyfriend? It’s like she’s going around introducing everyone to her invisible friend Harvey, a six-foot-tall bunny rabbit,” Piper said.
    I stayed quiet and let Kate defend me.
    â€œWell, if you look again at the message, it’s not that she invented a boyfriend out of thin air,” Kate said. “She and this real guy are pretending to go out. Seems different than a completely invented boyfriend. I’ll take this one.”
    Hurray! I was going to get