"How bad did Sasha make things on Saturday?" Chelsea asked the following Monday morning as we walked into the coffee shop.
Sparing a little extra time, we stopped to pick up a quick cup of coffee before heading to school for the day.
"At the fundraiser?" I asked her as we stepped in line.
She nodded.
"Hayden's not too worried about it . . ." I sighed before turning to face her. "What if we talked to her?"
"To Sasha? Won't that make it worst?"
"It kinda feels like this is worst. She's already done enough damage. What else can she do?"
Chelsea quirked an eyebrow at me. "Uh, get him fired."
I gave her a look. "That would be my fault."
"That would not be your fault." She quickly shook her head.
"I'm in the one in a relationship with him."
"He's the one in a position of authority with a degree of professionalism to maintain. He's the one overstepping boundaries. He's the one breaking codes of conduct."
I took in a shaky breath, moving my hair away from my face and shifting my gaze to the menu. "Look. Can we just not talk about this here?"
"Fine. But just . . . don't blame yourself for any of this, okay? No matter what happens."
I swallowed hard, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "Now you're scaring me."
"Well, I'm scared for you so that makes two of us."
I looked up to see her brown eyes filled with concern, tugging on my heart strings. I leaned my head on her shoulder and she wrapped her arm around me.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. The sharp ring of a bell rang through the air, forcing Chelsea and me to pull away.
I looked up to see Tom standing at the front of the line by the counter. He wore a wide smile as he rang a bell in his hand, looking around at everyone excitedly.
Ben stepped up to him, smacking the bell out of his hand, causing the ringing to halt.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Tom chuckled, bringing his hand down. "Hey!" he called out, his blue eyes scanning the small coffee shop as his smile grew. "Today's coffee is on me!! Order whatever you want! We're going to the championships, baby!!" he cheered, pumping a fist in the air.
More cheers filled the air as everyone clapped their hands.
Chelsea and I exchanged looks.
"Are they paying you now or something?" Chelsea asked as Tom walked by us.
"Not yet!" He laughed, running his hand through his long dark hair.
"Well, thank you," I told him sincerely.
"Yeah, my treat. Just don't buy the whole menu." He chuckled, before joining the rest of the hockey team at the back of the line.
Ben followed, his eyes meeting mine briefly. He adjusted his red cap to sit backwards on top of his brown hair as he walked past us.
"What was that?" Chelsea asked.
"What was what?" I turned to her.
"Why did he just give you that look?"
I simply shrugged, turning toward the menu hanging at the front. "What are you getting?"
Chelsea turned around to look at Ben and Tom at the end of the line.
"Chels . . ."I sighed. "We're getting free coffee and there's freshly baked muffins over there." I nodded to the pastry display on the other side. "Why do we care about anything else?"
"Because it's Ben and Tom! Nothing good ever comes from those two." She shook her head, crossing her arms.
"Alice is dating Ben."
"Yeah, and he's friends with Tom."
"But--"
"And don't you dare defend Tom either." She held a stern finger up at me. "Just because you two have matching bracelets now doesn't mean you're besties."
I gave her a flat look as the line moved along, prompting us to step forward. "I was just going to say that Alice trusts Ben. If she trusts him, so can we."
"Well, I don't."
"You're letting them buy you coffee," I pointed out.
Her eyebrows lowered as she thought for a moment.
"Don't think so much about it." I nudged her with a teasing smile. "It's just coffee."
"It's not just coffee." She shook her head. "This is the same guy that lied to you, used you, hurt you, and who knows what else!!" she listed off on her fingers before throwing her hands in the air.
"Sasha made him do, like, half of those things!" I countered. "It's not like he's still hurting me. He's been nicer to me more than he's been mean."
"So, if you could be friends with him after he hurt you--"
"We're not friends," I told her firmly.
"Well, if you could be on good terms with him after he hurt you, are you going to try to be on good terms with Sasha too?"
"That's kinda what I'm hoping for . . ." I admitting quietly.
"What?!" she burst out.
"Shhh!" I shushed, glancing around the bustling coffee shop with wide eyes. "Look. I know things were weird at the fundraiser on Saturday. But when we got coffee, it was actually kinda fun."
Chelsea knitted her eyebrows at me. "When did you get coffee with Sasha?"
"Last week. We ditched and went to get coffee with Sophia."
"Wait. You ditched?!"
"Yes." I sighed, suddenly regretting my words.
"And you didn't sneak off with Hayden?!" A smile grew on her face.
I paused. ". . . No."
"Huh." She tilted her head as she smiled at me. "Maybe Sasha isn't so bad after all."
"Next in line!" the barista called out, prompting Chelsea and I to step up to the counter.
"So, you seriously chose to hang out with Sasha over Hayden?" Chelsea asked after we ordered our coffees and headed over to the pastry display.
I stopped, thinking for a moment before shaking my head. "Okay, Hayden wasn't even an option. He's being monitored."
"Isn't it nice to hang out people actually your own age though?" She reached for a neatly wrapped bear claw.
"It's not like he's way older." I laughed.
"He's still older. Your lives are in two completely different places."
I adjusted my bag on my shoulder as I bit the inside of my cheek. "Yeah, but we're working it out." I picked up a cinnamon roll in a small box.
"But when you're with someone your own age you don't have to 'work that out'. It's one less thing to worry about. Right, Alice?" She nodded to Alice walking up to us.
Alice gave me a warm smile, pulling me into a hug before turning to Chelsea. "What?"
"Do you and Ben have a lot to worry about?"
"Uh . . ." She tightened her messy bun. "He might be drafted to a team out of town in a couple of weeks but I'm trying not to freak out about that."
"But no one's job is on the line, right?"
"No . . ." Alice scrunched her face up in confusion. "I still babysit."
I sighed. "Chelsea's trying to convince me that my age is what's causing so many problems for Hayden and me," I told her.
"Not your age." Chelsea shakes her head. "His age. He's the older one here. He should know better. And if he doesn't . . . than there really isn't much of a difference between him and other guys our age."
I glance toward the other side of the coffee shop where Tom and Ben were gathered at a table with the rest of the hockey team.
Chelsea sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Not those guys."
I watched as Tom grinned widely, exchanging high-fives with a few other guys.
"Do you think senior year would be any different if we weren't together?" I turned to Chelsea and Alice.
Alice tilted her head. "You and . . . ?"
"Hayden. Would that have changed anything?"
"We probably would hang out more . . ." Chelsea began. "Like, all of us together." She nodded to Alice and me.
A pang of guilt stung my heart.
"You probably would remember tests because you wouldn't be so distracted."
I gave her a look. "I'm not distracted."
"Then why don't we study together like we used to anymore? Because you're out doing charity work or because you were with him?"
My chest tightened.
"Come on, Maddie. Look at you . . . this isn't you! Forgetting tests . . . not studying . . . You would freak out the day of tests and now you barely even remember when we have one. What is he doing to you?"
"He's not doing anything," I denied, shaking my head. "I'm still going to graduate."
"Because he's making the tests open-note for you!"
"That's not why I'm with him!" I snapped.
"Maybe it's not why you're with him, but you can't deny that he wouldn't have made it open-note if it wasn't for you. Just like how we would've all studied together if it wasn't for him."
"We could still be friends!" I insisted, looking at her and Alice. "He's not going to come between us."
"Then why weren't you at prom with us?" Chelsea crossed her arms.
I swallowed hard, a bigger twinge of pain shooting through my heart. "I'm sorry," I whispered, lifting my gaze to my two best friends.
"You shouldn't have to apologize for being in a relationship, Mads." Chelsea shook her head.
"This is not just any relationship though. After graduation, it'll be normal and we could all hang out more."
"That's not the point!" Chelsea said. "This is our senior year. We only get it once and he's taking it from you. You can't do your senior prom again."
I chewed on my lip for a moment. "Or my dance performance," I added quietly.
"You worked hard on that choreography too," Alice said as she grabbed two blueberry muffins.
"And ended up babysitting and being stuck at the hospital instead . . ." I mumbled as the wheels in my head began to spin.
Chelsea's expression dropped. "Seriously?"
"That's where you were??" Alice's eyebrows shot up.
"Yeah but . . ." I quickly shook my head. "It's not as bad as it sounds."
"Mads, the hospital?" Chelsea exclaimed.
"Yeah but--"
"The hospital?!"
I sighed.
"Because of him?"
"His relative."
Chelsea sighed, turning away.
"Chels, I--I had to be there for him, okay?" I turned to Alice. "What else was I supposed to do?"
"Um, enjoy your senior prom like the rest of us?" Chelsea spun around to face me. "Babysitting and being at the hospital are adult responsibilities, Mads! This is, like, our last year of freedom as teens before we have to face reality and he's making you skip it! He's making you go from childhood straight into adulthood."
"He's not making me do anything." I shook my head.
"Yes, he is because he's the older one. He's the one in a position of authority. Even if it doesn't feel that way. At the end of the day, he knows better between the two of you and he's making you go through all of this."
"He's not making me," I pressed.
"Well, he's not stopping you!" She threw her hands in the air.
"I wanted to, okay?" I raised my eyebrows at her. "Me. It was my choice to be with him. It always has been."
"Are you happy with that choice?"
I chewed on my lip as my chest grew even tighter. I loved being with Daniel. I really did. But I couldn't deny the pain that shot through my chest at just the thought of missing my dance performance. And although I had been ignoring since, every mention of prom and the performance made my heart weigh heavier and heavier, wondering how much I really did miss.
"Things really would've been a lot different . . ." I whispered, looking up at my friends. "Wouldn't they?"
Alice gave me a sympathetic look.
"Sasha and I could've still been friends--"
"Whoa. Okay," Chelsea cut me off, holding her hand out. "Maybe not that different."
"Okay, well, at least things wouldn't have gotten so awkward at the fundraiser," I pointed out.
"She used you, remember?"
"That was once. Everything else since then has been related to Hayden and it's just made things more complicated," I said, slowly coming to realization.
Alice's eyes widened at me.
My hands flew to my mouth. "I--I mean--"
"Mads, come on." Chelsea gave me a look. "You can keep lying to me and Alice and say everything is fine. You can lie to him that it's all your choice. But you can't lie to yourself."
"I'm not. I--" I paused, looking down at the cinnamon roll in my hands. I liked being with Daniel. I couldn't imagine not being with him. As much troubles we've been through, I knew they wouldn't last. After graduation, it would be easier. It wouldn't be perfect. But there would be less things to worry about.
At least that's what I kept telling myself.
I couldn't break up with him. Not now. We were so close.
Chelsea let out a sigh, running a hand through her short blonde hair. "I'm just saying that we're all going to have to grow up and face reality at some point or another. But we can't get our youth or freedom back. He knows that, and he's robbing that from you."
My chest clenched at her words. He wouldn't do that to me . . . would he?
"Hey," a new voice spoke up and we all turned to see Ben walking up to us, but his eyes were on me. "Can I talk to you?"
I glanced at Alice before looking back at him, but his gaze stayed on me. "Me?"
He nodded. "Yeah.
I turned to my friends who simply gave me a shrug before setting the cinnamon roll down and following Ben outside the coffee shop, my mind reeling with confusion.
"Hey." I gave him a small smile as we stopped by a table outside.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I gave him a confused look. "Yeah. Why?" I glanced at the few members of the marching band entering the coffee shop. "What's going on?"
"Because it's okay if you're not," he continued.
I blinked at him. "Ben, what's going on?"
"Nothing that's good!" he exclaimed. "Was that some part of the senior project that I missed?"
"What--"
"What did he promise you to get you to be there at the hospital with him? Is he hurting you?" He looked around the coffee shop before stepping up to me and lowering his voice. "I'll go with you to the principal."
"Principal?" My eyebrows shot up.
"They're already onto him. I'll help you report him and whatever else needs to get done. We can take him down together, Maddie," he told me, genuine concern written all over his face.
I looked at him for a moment before it all began to click. Seeing him this weekend. The hospital. Daniel.
"He'll go to the jail for what he did to you."
My heart dropped. My blood went cold.
"Or if you're scared, I'll get some of the guys from the team to--"
Handcuffs. Police cars. Orange jumpsuits-- "Ben, wait," I cut in, holding my hand up. "What are you talking about?"
"This weekend. You and Mr. Hayden at the hospital."
I dug my nails into my palm as I looked around before shifting my gaze to him. "Me and . . . ?"
"Hayden." He nodded firmly.
I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "I was at the hospital but not with him." I shook my head.
"But I saw--"
"I was with my sister." My pulse quickened as my chest grew tight. "Her coach has been in the hospital and we went to visit." It wasn't entirely a lie . . .
"Then what was Hayden doing there?"
I shrugged. "He's, like, related to the coach or something . . . I don't know." I waved my hand dismissively. "It was kinda weird."
"Yeah, it was kinda awkward, not gonna lie." He chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his neck.
"You're sister is so sweet though," I told him with a small smile.
"Yeah, she is." A small smile made its way onto his own face as he nodded. "Is he telling you to lie for him?"
My stomach plummeted along with my smile.
"Maddie, it's okay. You don't have to protect him."
My throat went dry.
"I'll go to the principal with you," he said. "You don't have to do this alone."
My heart beat faster and faster as I looked at him. How did he know? Could he see right through me? Was I that obvious?
"He can't keep doing this to you, Maddie. You're making up lies for him now. He's a coward."
His words shot right through my heart. Heaviness weighed down on my chest making it hard to breathe.
He shifted on his feet, glancing toward the doors before looking at me. "Give it some thought, okay?"
I folded my arms across my chest in attempt to warm myself up. The sun shone brightly above us but goosebumps ran down my spine as I stood here across from Ben.
"I'll help you out whenever you wanna go to the office, okay?" he promised before heading toward the door.
My heart crumbled at his kindness. "Ben," I called quietly.
He turned around.
"Don't tell anyone."
His hazel eyes went wide as he stepped up to me. "Maddie, this is dangerous--"
"Please," I insisted, crossing my arms tighter around me. "I'll handle it. Just--Please. Don't tell anything to anyone."
He searched my face.
"Please."
He thought for a moment. "I want to destroy his career."
My jaw dropped. "Ben!"
"I don't care. I'll destroy my own grades if I have to. Maddie, this is wrong!"
I inhaled deeply, swallowing hard. "It's not like that. He's not hurting me."
"That doesn't make it right."
I took in a shaky breath. "Just please don't tell anyone."
"Okay. I won't. Promise." He nodded, sincerity evident in his eyes. "But tell me when you want to go to the principal."
I let out a long sigh. "I will. Thank you."
He nodded. "Come on. Let's go see if your coffee is ready."
Distraught sat heavily in my chest. Coffee was the last thing on my mind right now. I couldn't even think about eating. Was Daniel really making me lie for him? But he wouldn't . . . How close was he to losing his career now? Could we really lose everything?
"You okay?" Chelsea asked as I reached her and Alice in the same spot by the pastries.
"Yeah . . ." I said faintly, staring at the cinnamon rolls. The same pastry Daniel always made . . . except he'd never make them again if--
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Alice said.
"What happened?"
"Um, nothing. Nothing." I shook my head, brushing my hair away from my face.
"What happened with Ben?" Chelsea questioned.
I picked up the cinnamon roll I had left behind, fiddling with it. "He knows . . . about Hayden and me."
Chelsea's eyes went wide. "He knows?"
I nodded. "And now he wants to take Hayden down." I clicked my tongue, looking up at my friends.
Alice gasped.
"It's fine." I shook my head. "I'm not mad at him or anything. I mean, I get it. It looks wrong--"
"It is," Chelsea cut in.
I gave her a look. "I told him it's nothing to worry about though. I just don't think he really buys it . . . but I trust him. It was nice of him to check in like that."
A smile grew on Alice's face. "He's the sweetest."
"He is." I nodded. "I'm happy for you two."
"He may not like you and Hayden, but I'm rooting for you guys," she gushed, reaching for my hand.
Chelsea sent her a glare.
I gave Alice's hand a squeeze. "Thank you."
"One vanilla chai," a familiar voice spoke up.
We turned around to see Tom and Ben walking up to us, holding our drinks.
"Vanilla Chai?" Tom held out my drink.
"Thanks," I mumbled, reaching for it.
"Oh, wait. Did you want a straw?" Ben stretched his arm out, knocking the drink down.
We all gasped, jumping away as it spilled all over on the ground.
Tom cursed under his breath. "My bad."
"Sorry." Ben apologized quickly, grabbing some napkins and cleaning the mess.
"No, I'm sorry." I picked up the empty coffee cup. "You guys paid for it."
"I'll buy you another one," Tom offered.
I tossed the cup away and shook my head. "I'm good, thanks. We better be getting to school anyway."
"No, come on," Ben insisted, shaking his head. "You guys are buying those anyway, right?" He nodded to the pastries in our hands.
"Yeah . . ."
"We'll just add in another coffee."
"Yeah, my treat." Tom nodded, reaching for his wallet as the five of us made our way to the line again.
"No." Ben held his hand out. "You're not holding anyone's drink anymore."
"I'll just pay for it, Loughts." Tom chuckled.
"I got it," Ben said firmly, keeping his gaze ahead.
"What are those called?" Tom asked, nodding to cinnamon roll in my hand.
"A cinnamon roll?" I raised an eyebrow at him, holding it up.
"Oh, right!" He smacked his forehead. "Too many blows to the head." He pointed to his head, rolling his eyes.
I laughed, looking down at the cinnamon roll. If I wouldn't have known better, I would've guessed Daniel made these himself. They looked exactly like his. From the way the frosting was spread to amount of cinnamon in the center.
I always thought Daniel's pastries were special, but it seemed like they look just like all the other pastries here.
"Yo, Willy!" a few guys called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Tom's head perked up and he headed to the other side of the small coffee shop where the rest of the hockey team were huddled.
Once he left, I turned to Ben in complete confusion. "What was that about?"
He crossed his arms, straightening up. "What?"
"You know what." I glanced over at Tom. "Knocking my drink over . . . ? "
He shifted on his feet next to Alice, drifting his gaze around. "Look. You have to be careful, okay?" His eyes met mine.
I gave him a confused look. "Is this still about . . . ?"
"Tom," he said.
"What?" I paused before it hit me. "Did . . . Sasha tell you something?"
Ben looked at me, puzzled. "What?"
I sighed, shaking my head. "Don't worry about it--"
"Can I talk to you?" a new voice spoke up.
We looked up to see Sasha herself marching right up to us. She clutched onto her bag on her shoulder as her gaze grew intense, lowering at Ben.
He glanced over at Chelsea, Alice, and me before turning to Sasha. "Uh, right now?"
Sasha tightened her grip on her bag. "Please," her tone was firm, yet wavered slightly, revealing something else in her voice.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah." He nodded, reaching in his pocket and handing a few bills to Alice before stepping out of line.
Chelsea, Alice, and I watched in silence as Sasha walked out of the coffee shop, Ben following.
"What was that about?" I turned to my friends.
"This day keeps getting more weird and weird and school hasn't even started yet." Alice scratched her head, scrunching her face up in confusion.
"When the day starts with Tom Williams offering to pay for everyone's coffee, you know it's going downhill from there," Chelsea mumbled, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. "Should've known."
I gave her a look. "It's just coffee." I stepped forward as the line moved along. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Easy to say when he's flirting with you."
I knitted my eyebrows at her. "He was not flirting with me. We were just talking about cinnamon rolls."
She raised an eyebrow at me.
"It was just small talk, Chels." Alice laughed.
She scrunched her face up in confusion. "Tom Williams? Making small talk? Does he even know what that is?"
I simply shrugged as I watched Ben and Sasha walk outside and stop by the window.
"He only talks to whoever he wants to play with," Chelsea continued with a sigh. "Ben is right. You should be careful., Mads."
"I am," I argued, annoyance building within me by the second.
"He practically called himself dumb and you laughed."
"I just--" I huffed. "Whatever. He's not here anymore. He left. We're all fine."
"I don't know if we're all fine . . ." Alice began, nodding toward the window.
We followed her gaze to Ben and Sasha standing outside.
And now talking with them, was Tom.
"Now, what's going on?" Chelsea asked.
"Who cares?" I mumbled, reaching for my phone to check the time.
Chelsea and Alice turned to me with shocked expressions. "You don't think any of this is weird?!"
"I don't have time!" I held my phone up, displaying that we had less than five minutes before the first bell rang.
"Aren't they going to school too?" Chelsea shot a glance at Tom, Ben, and Sasha outside.
Sasha held up her phone toward Tom.
He took it, looking at the screen for a second before shaking his head and handing her phone back to her.
Although we were inside, the annoyance on Sasha's face was clear as she rolled her eyes before turning to Ben.
He also shook his head at her.
"What are they looking at?" Chelsea asked.
"The time," I said curtly. "And they're realizing how late they're going to be if they don't hurry up, just like we would be if we don't hurry up."
"Fine. Forget it. Let's go." Chelsea stepped out of line and returned her pastry to the pastry section.
Alice and I followed her actions before heading outside.
My heart grew heavier and heavier throughout the day and I couldn't figure out what was weighing it down more - guilt, regret, confusion, shame. Maybe it was all of them combined.
Our conversation replayed in my head all morning, hardly giving me time to pay attention to anything else. And by the time lunch rolled around, I was too buried in my thoughts to even add to the conversation. I was too absorbed by the possibility of how different everything could've been this year.
Like Chelsea said, I could've gone to prom.
I could've been in the dance performance. I helped choreograph it. We came to school early for weeks to rehearse. I should've been in the performance too.
Frustration began to build up within me.
Frustration towards myself. It was just one night. I could've told Daniel 'no' just that one time. But he needed me . . . I was the one he called.
Chelsea's words echoed through my head.
Was he robbing me of my high school experience? This is why we ended things the first time around . . .
Is this what it was like?
I looked at Chelsea, Alice, Ben, and Tyler at the table with me. Sure, I was sitting with them, but as they talked and laughed, I couldn't join in.
My mind was too clouded with the tangled webs of our relationship to spend time doing anything else.
If I wasn't with him, would I be laughing with them? I wouldn't be so caught up in my thoughts. I'd go to senior prom and enjoy it with them. I'd actually be able to keep up with their conversation. For so long, I always pictured having the best time in senior year with my friends.
And now that it was here, I had been slowly realizing that that would only existed in my mind.
But it wasn't until now that I finally realized, that was all completely my doing.
I was sabotaging it myself.
I wasn't enjoying senior year with my friends to the fullest because I wasn't spending time with them.
I spent more time with him.
They weren't the ones leaving me out.
I was leaving them out.
"Miss Parker?"
I looked up to see I was now in the history classroom.
Somewhere between getting lost in my thoughts and taking a deep dive into them, lunch ended and apparently, history class did too as everyone around me was now packing up and heading out.
"Miss Parker."
I lifted my eyes to the front.
Daniel took a step toward my row. "Can I speak to you for a moment please?"
Chelsea leaned over in her seat next to me. "You don't have to stay," she whispered, giving me a cautious look.
I let out a sigh, pressing my lips together. "Don't wait for me," I told her before slowly standing from my desk, picking my books up and making my way to the front.
He lingered by the desks in the front as he watched the last of the students walk out of the room.
I clutched my books close to my chest as I stopped in the center of the row, just a row of desks in between us. Ben's words suddenly floated to the front of my mind. Taking Daniel down . . . destroying his career . . . Going to jail. I sucked in a breath. My gaze darted toward the open door as I bit the inside of my cheek. "Is this smart?"
His gaze held mine for a moment as he paused, appearing slightly taken back.
"Mr. H!"
We both turned to see Tyler walking into the room, holding a few papers in his hand.
My eyes widened and I stepped back, even though there was a good amount of distance between us.
Daniel cleared his throat as he went back over to his desk. "If you have anymore questions about the fundraiser, let me know. But thank you for taking care of everything this weekend." His eyes lifted to meet mine.
A shot of pain stung my heart at his words, causing me to bite my lip hard. "Yeah, I will." I simply nodded before turning around and heading toward the door.
"Sorry." Tyler winced at me as I walked by him, yet his bright eyes danced with amusement as his gaze caught mine. "I have some questions about the fundraiser too actually." He looked up at Mr. Hayden.
"The one on Saturday?" Daniel asked him.
"Yeah. But we had a game that day so how do I make it up . . ." Tyler's voice faded as I walked out of the room and into the hallway.
A small sigh of relief left my lips as I headed toward my locker, grateful that I didn't have to be in there with him because from how our conversation had started . . . it couldn't have been going anywhere good.
Yet I couldn't get that look in his eyes out of my mind. My chest grew heavy.
Doing my best to push our moment out of my mind, I fumbled with my lock before footsteps echoed through the hall, causing me to look up.
"Miss Parker." Principal Blakely nodded at me.
I gave him a tight smile.
He continued and I held my breath as he turned the corner . . . right into Mr. Hayden's classroom.
My breath caught in my throat and I quickly turned back to my locker.
That was way too close.
If I had stayed in that classroom with him any longer, who knows what would've happened when Principal Blakely walked in?
Granted there were quite a few desks between us as we were careful to keep our distance but still . . . .
. . . the man was suspicious of everything.
"Did it work?"
I looked up to see Tyler bouncing up to me with a bright grin.
"Did what work?" I asked.
"My distraction."
"Your distraction?"
He nodded as he took a sip from his juice box.
I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "What--" I began before glancing at Daniel's classroom behind us where Principal Blakely's voice could be heard then turning back to my best friend. It all clicked. "You . . ."
He nodded, his smile growing wider. "Yep."
"You . . . knew?"
"I saw him heading to Mr. H's classroom."
"But you knew about . . . us?"
He tilted his head from side to side, his bright smile remaining on his lips as his bright eyes danced with amusement.
My eyebrows shot up. "You knew?! It's that obvious?!" I exclaimed, my voice rising.
"Shhh!" he urged me.
I closed my locker as my thoughts began to whirl at top speed. How did he know? I wasn't necessarily mad that he knew. He was my best friend. I trusted him. But how did he find out? My thoughts came to a screeching halt.
Did Ben tell him?
"It's not hard to tell when you're in love, Sonnie." Tyler chuckled, running his hand through his fiery red hair. "If I recall correctly, you used to look at me like that all the time," he said in a mockingly sophisticated tone, raising an eyebrow as he adjusted his red Hawks hoodie.
"Yeah, yeah," I laughed, waving him off as I swung my bag over my shoulder.
"Hey, it's not Tom, so it's cool." Tyler shrugged as we headed down the hallway. "You never looked at him like that, by the way."
I smile grew on my face as I lifted my eyes to my best friend next to me, in complete awe at how nonchalant he seemed to be taking all of this.
He wasn't freaking out about Daniel and I. He wasn't scolding me for being with him. Better yet, he was actually helping me protect my relationship.
Without me even saying a word.
"You're the best," I said. "You know that?"
He simply smiled back, his bright eyes dancing. "I know."
*********
thank you times a million for alllll of your incredible support !! you seriously surprise me every time. You are all so amazing and genuinely make me smile so. much. So thank you (: I appreciate all of you (:
Until the next update <3