Dylan's Point of View I'm sprawled out on my bed with my earphones blasting the loudest song I have on my phone. With my hands behind my head, I stare at the lights above me. I haven't changed them back to their original state. They still read Be Mine? I inhale a deep breath and roll over so I'm not staring at them anymore. I'll have to change them back eventually, but right now I don't feel like it. I was an asshole to Lacey at lunch today and she doesn't deserve it. There are quick footsteps down the stairs to my room. The lights flicker on and I shield my eyes from the brightness. Derrick says something to me, but my music is blocking him out. I pull one earphone out. "What?" He rolls his eyes. "Are you still moping?" "What do you want?" I ask instead of answering his question. So what if I'm moping? I'd rather mope for the night, then get my shit together tomorrow. "Get up," Derrick says. "Why?" "I'm sick of you not doing anything to help yourself. You've been like this since Reece's party and it's stupid," Derrick leans against the wall as he says it. "What the fuck do you know?" I ask. He crosses his arms. "You're a coward, you know that?" A coward? I immediately sit up. "How the hell am I a coward?" "We all told you from the beginning that getting involved with Xavier's shit would only ruin you. You said you weren't scared of him and you still went after Kay. Now he's ruining what you've got with Lacey and you're just letting him. It's bullshit." He's never cared this much about something involving me. I feel like I should be suspicious. "Do you have a thing for Lacey or something? You're caring too much about this." "That's fucking it, Dylan. You're not caring enough," he shouts at me. He walks over to the small table next to my bed and yanks out the school newspaper I hid under a pile of papers. He throws it at me. "Where's this Dylan? The one who was bragging to dad about what a great editor Lacey is for the paper? Lacey is probably the best thing to happen to you in a long time, and you're just willing to let her go," he says. "I know I haven't been there for you for everything, but I can't let this one slide." "She told me she doesn't want to be with me anymore," I shoot back. "What am I supposed to do? Force her to be with me?" "If you two really cared about each other, then you'd tell Xavier to fuck off or beat the fuck out of him." We're both silent. I know I can kick Xavier's ass, but would that make Lacey want to be with me? Would it be for nothing? "Come with me to Raven's," Derrick says finally. "I have to talk to Max." I'm getting tired of the same old routine. Waking up, going to school, and not seeing Lacey as much, but still seeing the girls like Zoey around. Not seeing the guys is even starting to get to me. All I have is Anthony and even he isn't showing his face. I told Zoey things weren't going to work out between us after I saw Lacey at Raven's the on Monday. Seeing her with Kay just confirmed how special she is. She managed to talk to Kay without getting slapped again and they were even going to call each other that night. What the fuck is going on in the world? When I get to school on Friday morning, I throw my backpack over my shoulder and saunter into the main building. As I'm walking to class, I see Jacob and Casey standing by a classroom, talking in hushed voices. The sight is strange to me. Lacey is usually around them and she isn't this time. I can't ask them where she is. As much as I'm curious about what she's up to, I don't want to invest myself even more. Admitting to myself that I love her is hard enough knowing it won't work out between us. It hurts too much, and I don't want to feel this pain. This is exactly what I was afraid of happening. After my morning classes, I head towards the parking lot. Skipping my next two classes to go home sounds more appealing than spending any more time in hell. I can't wait to graduate. After I walk out of the main building, I feel my arm being pulled back. I whip around and find Casey with worried eyes. "Have you seen Lacey?" she asks. I figure I'm the last person she's asked. "No, why?" "Dammit." She puts her hands on her hips. "She's not answering her phone." I glance toward her usual parking spot and it's empty. Lacey isn't one to just skip school for no reason. "Maybe she's sick at home." My suggestion sounds wrong as it comes out. I don't think she'd stay home sick and not let anyone know. I don't want to get involved if it's not a big deal, but something isn't right. I wonder if it has anything to do with Kay. Lacey's taken up a friendship or something with her. What if Kay double crossed her and something happened? "We can go see if she's at home," I suggest. Casey hesitates, like she doesn't want to work with me, but she nods. "Let's go." We're walking to my car when Jacob catches up with us. "Hey, have you guys heard from Lacey?" Jesus, can this guy be any more irritating? "We're going to her apartment right now to check on her," Casey answers before I can say anything. I wish she wouldn't have told him anything. He'll invite himself, which is the last thing I want. His eyes meet mine. "Mind if I tag along?" The urge to tell him to fuck off is playing on my tongue, but I bite down on it. This isn't about him. This is about Lacey. "Yeah, whatever." Lacey and Jacob, for some god forsaken reason, are still close. If I deny him in checking on her, I'll never hear the end of it. We all jump in my car and I speed to her apartment. Casey calls her again, but it goes straight to voicemail. "I have a bad feeling about this," she says. "Did you know she hung out with Kay the other day?" I ask her. She frowns. "Kay?" "I saw them together at Raven's on Monday." The fact that Casey doesn't know about her rendezvous with Kay makes me wonder what else she hasn't told Casey. What other secrets is Lacey keeping? "Who's Kay?" Jacob asks, leaning forward from the backseat. "It's a long story," Casey waves it off. I turn in to the parking lot of her apartment complex and drive around to her building. When her car comes into view, I don't know how to feel. "Maybe she's taking a day to herself," Jacob says. "I think she needed it."