Pretties

Sussy and Dex brought them to a clearing marked with slalom flags, and Tally felt a flush of recognition. 'This is one of Shay's favorite spots. She taught me to hoverboard here.'

'Shay?' Zane said. 'But she'd tell us if she was up to some kind of trick, wouldn't she?'

'Um, maybe not,' Tally said softly. No pings had come from Shay since the fight. 'I've been meaning to tell you, Zane: She's kind of pissed off at me right now.'

'Wow,' Sussy said. 'I thought pretties all liked each other.'

'Usually, they do.' Tally sighed. 'Welcome to the new world.'

Zane narrowed his eyes. 'I think Tally and I need to talk.' He glanced at the two uglies.

It took them a moment to realize what he meant, but then Sussy said, 'Oh, sure. We'll be going. But what if…?'

'If the New Smokies show up again, send me a ping,' Tally said.

'Doesn't the city read your mail?'

'Probably. Don't say anything except that you saw us on the feeds and you want to join the Crims when you turn sixteen. Leave the real message hidden under that recycler, and I'll send someone to pick it up. Got that?'

'Got it,' Sussy said with a gap-toothed smile. Tally figured the two would be headed out to the ruins every night now, rain or not, looking for the New Smokies, happy to have a mission.

She gave them a pretty smile. 'Thanks for everything.'

Tally and Zane sat in silence for a minute after the uglies had left, watching the clearing from a thick stand of trees. The plastic slalom flags drooped miserably in the rain, the wind barely lifting them. Rainwater gathered in spots, the shallow pools reflecting the gray sky like rippling mirrors. Tally remembered flying between the flags on her hover-board in ugly days, learning to bank and turn. Back when she and Shay were really friends…

It was impossible to guess why Shay would be visiting this spot. Maybe it was nothing but a few Crims practicing their hoverboarding, figuring it was a great way to stay bubbly. No big deal.

As they sat, Tally realized she was out of excuses for not telling Zane everything. It was time to admit what she'd done to the Smoke and how she'd told Shay about the cure, and past time to bring up what Dr. Cable had revealed about Zane. But Tally wasn't looking forward to the conversation, and being soaking wet and cold wasn't helping. Her coat's heating was already turned up to maximum. The bubbliness from hoverboarding had worn off, replaced by Tally's anger at herself for having waited this long. The always-listening cuffs made it too easy to avoid mentioning uncomfortable subjects.

'So what happened between you and Shay?' Zane said. His voice stayed soft, but carried an edge of frustration.

'Her memories are starting to come back.' Tally stared into a mud puddle before her, watching drops that had made their way down through the soaked pine trees distort its surface. 'On the night of the breakthrough, she got really mad at me. She blames me for the Specials finding the Smoke. Which, I guess, is pretty much what happened. I betrayed them.'

He nodded. 'I figured that. All the stories you two told — back before the cure — they had you rescuing her from the Smoke. That sounds like pretty-talk for betrayal.'

Tally looked up at him. 'So you knew?'

'That you'd gone undercover for Special Circumstances? I'd guessed it.'

'Oh.' Tally didn't know whether to feel relieved or ashamed. Of course, Zane had cooperated with Dr. Cable himself, so maybe he understood. 'I didn't want to do it, Zane. I mean, at first I went out there to bring Shay back, so they'd make me pretty, but then I changed my mind. I wanted to stay in the Smoke. I tried to destroy the tracker they'd given me, but I wound up setting it off. Even when I tried to do the right thing, I betrayed everyone.'

Zane faced her, his eyes intense under his hood. 'Tally, we're all manipulated by the people who run this city. Shay should know that.'

'I wish that was all,' Tally said. 'I also stole David from her. Back when we were in the Smoke.'

'Oh, him again.' Zane shook his head. 'Well, I guess she's pretty pissed off at you right now. At least that'll keep her bubbly.'

'Yeah, really bubbly.' Tally swallowed. 'And there's one more thing that's got her mad.'

He waited silently, rain dripping from his hood.

'I told her about the cure.'

'You what?' Zane's whisper cut through the rain like a hiss of steam.

'I had to.' Tally spread her hands imploringly. 'She had it halfway figured out already, Zane, and was thinking she could cure herself. She climbed the Valentino tower like we did, thinking that was what had changed us. But of course it didn't work, not like the pills. She kept asking me what happened to us. She said I owed her, after everything I did to her back in ugly days.'

Zane swore under his breath. 'So you told her about the pills? Great. That's one more thing that can go wrong.'

'But she's totally bubbly, Zane. I don't think she'll give us away,' Tally said, then shrugged. 'If anything, finding out about the pills made her furious enough to stay bubbly for life.'

'Furious? Because you're cured and she's not?'

'No.' Tally sighed. 'Because you are.'

'What?'

'I owed her, and you got the other pill.'

'But there wasn't time to—' 'I know that, Zane. But she doesn't. To her, it looks like …' She shook her head, feeling hot tears in her eyes. The rest of her was so cold, her fingers were slowly going numb. She began to tremble.

'It's okay, Tally.' Zane reached out and took her hand, squeezing hard through the thick glove.

'You should have heard her, Zane. She really hates me.'

'Listen, I'm sorry about that. But I'm glad it was me.'

She looked up, her vision blurring with tears. 'Yeah. Thanks for all the headaches, you mean.'

'Better than staying a pretty-brain,' he said. 'But that's not what I meant. That day was about more than just finding those pills. I'm glad about…you and me.'

She looked up and found him smiling. His fingers, still interlaced with hers, also trembled in the cold. Tally managed to smile back. 'Me too.'

'Don't let Shay make you feel bad about us, Tally.'

'Of course not.' She shook her head, realizing how much she meant it. Whatever Shay thought, Zane had been the right person to share the cure with. He had kept her bubbly, pushing her to pass the Smokies' tests, pressing her to dare the unproven pills. Tally had found more than a cure for pretty-headedness that day — she'd found someone to move forward with, past everything that had gone wrong last summer. It had been littlie days when Peris had promised to stay her best friend forever — but the day he'd turned sixteen, Peris had left her behind in Uglyville. Then Tally had lost Shay's friendship, betraying her to Special Circumstances and stealing David from her. Now even David was gone, missing somewhere in the wild and half-erased from her memories. He hadn't even bothered to bring her the pills— he'd left that job to Croy. Tally could guess what that meant. But Zane…

Tally stared into his golden, perfect eyes. He was here with her right now, in the flesh, and she'd been stupid to let what was between them get tangled up in her messy past. 'I should have told you about Shay earlier. But the smart walls …'

'It's okay. But you can trust me. Always.'

She pressed his hand in both of hers. 'I know.'

He reached up to touch her face. 'We didn't really know each other very well that day, did we?'

'We took a chance, I guess. Weird how that happened.'

He laughed. 'I think that's the way it always happens. Usually without mysterious pills or Special Circumstances pounding on the door. But it's always taking a risk, when you…kiss someone new.'

Tally nodded, and leaned forward. Their lips met, the kiss slow and intense in the chill of the rain. She could feel him trembling, and the muddy ground beneath them was cold, but their two hoods joined to block out the world, making a space that became warm from their mingling breath.

Tally whispered, 'I'm so glad it was you with me that day.'

'Me too.'