Luke and Jake were surprised to see the rest of us walk out of the crowded cafeteria behind them. The hallway was not busy during lunchtime and we appreciated the privacy it gave us. Luke saw me. He walked towards me and memories of last night flashed before me. I felt the butterflies rise in my stomach again, as his hands touched my arms. His left hand squeezed mine and he leant down to kiss me. All I wanted to do was kiss back. "In here!" Austin said, walking into an empty classroom and waving everyone in behind him. He gave Luke a sharp look. I tried to decipher what it meant. Austin and Luke had been friends for so long, that so much could be communicated unspoken between them. "He doesn't want me to kiss you in front of Jake," Luke explained, knowing exactly what I was thinking. Austin wanted us to be respectful in front of Jake. I glanced over. Bianca was busy complimenting him, "That was an unbelievable performance last night, Jake. I didn't know you could sing like that." "Thanks, I've been working on that song for a couple months now," he answered, and his eyes flickered over mine. I blushed. Come clean, my conscience said. But not like I did back at the Dawson house. My confession had caused a total meltdown there. "He can't shut his mouth," Luke muttered, noticing the look Jake gave me and was not pleased by it. "You've got something to say to my face?" They were head-to-head in a way that immediately reminded me of the last fight. Thankfully, Austin wriggled in between them and shoved them apart. Luke got straight to the point now, not wanting to hang around any longer than he needed to. "I heard you've been talking sh*t about me," he said, "to her." He gave me a look. He knew I didn't like when he swears. Jake fired back, "So insecure that you're spying on us." Luke glanced in my direction and winked. "See, I'm not overconfident." It's true. I call him cocky all the time. I tried not to laugh. I didn't want to undermine Jake. "Anyway Jakey, thank you for that, but no," Luke said, "People like to tell me things. Be careful what you say in class. You should stick to your Shakespeare." My mouth dropped open. Who is listening to us in English Lit? "I don't know what's going on anymore," I stepped up to the conversation. It was a sticky, ugly one but we needed to have it. All three of us. And despite the romantic moments Luke and I have had... there was still something on the back of my mind... "You're both calling each other insincere," I declared, "Saying that your motives for liking me are deceitful. Imagine how much more insecure that makes me. One of you is lying. Or both of you." Eenie, minnie, miney, mo... I've been cheated on before. I've been lied to before. And I've been told I'm not worth much by most of the people around me. Sue me for being cautious. "Jake noticed you because I noticed you," Luke said, "Simple." "Don't even try that, Luke. I met her in a class. I didn't run her down the street-" "No you didn't," Luke objected. "That's our story." When I ran over his laptop in my car. Seems like ages ago now. "I moved here a couple months ago and you haven't shown her kindness in the seventeen years before that." "Jake's been a good friend when I didn't have any," I conceded. It was the truth. "What the hell?" Luke protested, "It didn't take Jake coming here for me to notice anything. Haven't you met me by now? I do my own thing on my own time." "OK, but you took a really long time," I said, a little quieter since I was embarrassed to admit it. "That's true," Bianca remarked. Austin nudged her, but she stuck to her comment, "What? It is true." "I didn't ignore you," Luke sighed, "I didn't know you existed." "That makes it much better," Jake smirked sarcastically, "Dig your own grave, brother." "We are in different years at school! We have completely different friends and hobbies. When was I supposed to have noticed you?" "We're neighbors," I said, "You used to throw your basketball into our front lawn. We've been in the same math class and... I don't know. Sometimes I think you don't really acknowledge people around you. Do you remember my sister's name?" There was a very long silence. No one wanted to fill the quiet I left, which made my last words hang in the air. Suddenly, someone at the door interrupted us. A tall, lanky teacher with an arm full of papers. "Can you wrap this rehearsal up? I have a class here in five." He must've thought we were drama club. We are drama. I suddenly remembered that Luke, Jake and I weren't the only people in the room. Chad, Austin, Bianca and Cearra had all taken seats in the front of the class to watch us. Virtual popcorn being passed around. Cearra exclaimed, "Now that was a performance. Is it awkward if I clap?" "Very," Bianca answered. Chad grabbed his bag and headed to the door. "Y'all have issues," he commented, "but remember my charity event this Saturday. Even you're invited, Millie. I already told you about it." Bianca delayed her own exit by telling Luke, "I know how you can end all this drama. You end it." End it with me. That's what she meant. I glanced back at Luke and Jake. I felt like we hadn't made things better between us. I was bringing my own insecurities into this, which may or may not be fair depending on whether one of these boys is playing me. Cearra and I left them behind, Jake and Bianca walked off until it was only Austin and Luke left. Austin whispered, "You're trying to remember her sister's name, aren't you?" Luke didn't respond. "It's Julia," Austin helped out. "No, that's her friend," Luke shook his head, "Damn. It started with an F." Roland Chadwick II hosts his annual charity event at his mansion in Tarlsdale. Chad sent me the invite via text and told me it was circus themed. Normally, my Saturdays begin with a morning in bed, because I'm productive like that. This time, I woke up to both my sister and mother at my door. "I have a date today with a guy I met at the grotto party," Flora announced, shoving my foot away so she could sit on my bed. My mother chucked my clothes off my red chair and sat down as well. They made themselves comfortable. I yawned and sat up, "What time is it?" "Now I can cancel my date to come to Chad's charity event or I can bring the guy with me," Flora suggested. "I don't know," I answered truthfully, "I can ask Chad. I'll text him." Flora grabbed my phone off my bedside table and handed it to me. I poked my hand out from under the warm covers and accepted it. "When did you and Luke become friends?" Flora asked me. "This summer." "Why does he like you?" "I don't know." "Do you know anything?" My mother intervened at that point, "That's enough, Flora. You should get ready for your date and enjoy some one-on-one time with this new boy. There will be many more parties in the future." I lowered my phone, realizing that I didn't have to text Chad after all. My mother then did something none of us expected. She pulled out a small purple box and offered it to me, "Tarlsdale is a very posh neighborhood. I don't want you to stick out like a sore thumb, which you tend to do." The box opened with a satisfying pop. And a beautiful silver necklace was inside, glinting in the dim light of my room. It rested on a soft satin base.