A Guide To The Opposite Sex (Discontinued)

Secrets

Riley POV

"What the hell was that?" I whisper-shouted under my breath as soon as Abby and I were out of the rest's earshot. 

She turned away and stared straight ahead to my house. Shrugging, she kept silent as we trotted up the platform staircase to the patio lounge area. 

A nagging feeling crept into the pit of my stomach then. What weren't they telling me?

Abby sat down on the kitchen island and rested her elbows on the spotless granite counter, starring out the patio doors thoughtfully while I rummaged through the refrigerator until I found a pitcher of iced green-tea. "God, I finally got rid of him!" Stacy said as she barged into my kitchen.

"Of who?" I asked as I poured the delicious drink into a crystal glass.

"Josh. He thinks that because he saved me from that crazy emo-looking chick that I'll suddenly forgive his sorry ass. Think again, buddy," Stacy said as she took the glass of iced tea from my hands and took a huge gulp.

"Don't worry, it's not like that was for me or anything," I muttered under my breath and busied myself with serving another glass.

"Why don't you forgive him, Stace? He's really sweet and--never mind..." Delaney cut off when she saw the glare Stacy sent her way.

"Hell no. He's a player and a jerk."

"Wow. You just described the male version of yourself," Anna said from behind us. She gave a little wave as she let herself in and sat down next to Abby. 

"We figured you'd want to hang out with lover-boy," Stacy said with a teasing grin.

"Yeah, why are you here?" Abby asked as she reached over to steal my iced-tea. Repressing the urge to sigh, I got up again to pour myself another glass.

"Not that you're not welcomed," I added as I stood off to the side in a pathetic attempt to protect my precious drink.

"Seth can wait. I wanted to see how you were, Stace." Stacy rolled her eyes and jumped up on the counter. "How do you think I feel? I was just attacked by a psycho."

"She's not a psycho," I heard myself say. Everyone turned to look at me at the same time with raised eyebrows.

"What? Stop looking at me like that. She reacted like any other person would under the circumstances."

"What circumstances? Being outside of their piece-of-crap-neighborhood?" I locked my jaw and pushed off the refrigerator to come stand in front of Stacy.

"See? And you wonder why she attacked you." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a hint of irritation.

"It means that she was angry because you insulted where she lives. You called her a Townie." [A/N: Further explanation to come.]

"So what? Those people practically take pride in being known to us as that."

"And how would you know, Stacy Lovelace? Have you ever had a civil conversation with someone that lives around there?" taking her silence as an utter 'no', I continued. "Our views of others based solely on their economic status is skewed. Just because she lives in the poorest side of town doesn't mean that she's not a good person. Maybe she just reacted that way to you because she's been judged one too many times by wealthy ignorant girls like us."

"A good person? Are you listening to yourself, Riley?! God, if you knew. If you knew." A silence fell between us then. 

Anna, Abby, and Delaney sat frozen, unsure of how to handle the situation. Meanwhile I was just thoughtful. What the hell are they hidding?

"If there's something you need to say, Stacy, just spit it the fuck out." From the corner of my eye I saw Anna and Delaney exchange anxious looks. Stacy turned to look at them and I didn't miss the slight shake of head Anna gave her. 

By the time Stacy returned her gaze to mine, it was calmer. She picked up her beach bag and swung it over her shoulder. "I'll see you guys later."

I let out a frustrating groan when my front door closed a few moments later and I heard the purr of an engine come to life. Turning back to look at the guilty-stricken faces of my friends, I stared them down angrily. "Is someone going to say something or are you all going to pretend you don't know what Stacy was about to blurt out?"

Abby avoided my gaze and fidgeted with her hands while Anna and Delaney simply sat pin-straight. I let out a sigh and turned to walk up the kitchen staircase to my room. 

I guess I wasn't going to get the answers I wanted today. It wasn't until my door was firmly locked that I realized I forgot my iced tea on the kitcen countertop. Just my fucking luck.

A/N: ERMERGERD!! So I reached over 1K votes the other day, guys! I swear, I peed myself a little when I saw that...well not really. I just let out a really embarassing squeal. So I decided to post this early as a little taste of what's coming next.

I'm sure we all think that the news somehow revolve around the Townies and Grant's recent involvement with them. But what is it? What happened? Why don't they want Riley to know? Comment and let me know what you think is the big secret!