"Don't worry about it," he waves it off. Leaving class together gives me the urge to tell him about what Jacob says, but I keep my mouth shut. He doesn't care about Jacob. He just wants Jacob to get out of his face. "See you later," he says before walking off. I wonder where Dylan wants to take me on Wednesday. His vague answers make me slightly nervous, but weirdly enough I trust him. Once I'm in journalism, Jacob is sitting at the computers already with Will. Vicky is missing. Will smiles when he sees me. "Hey, Lacey. How was your weekend?" "It was okay. How was the football game?" I don't want to go into detail about the party. I'll save myself from reliving the embarrassment. "Sucked. My friends and I didn't even get good seats in the student section, plus we lost." He logs into his computer then sighs. "Were you busy Friday night?" "Just hung out with some friends at a party," I say. Jacob leans towards me when I say it. "So you are friends with Dylan Parker." "Yes, we're friends." I shift so I'm facing him completely. He wants to be friends, so I'm going to ask friendly questions. "What about you? You don't like him, but you were at his party?" "I don't have to explain myself." I want to push his buttons. "You know, Dylan doesn't appreciate the dirty looks you give him in the halls." He smirks. "Dirty looks? Is he scared, or what?" "I highly doubt he's scared." "Well if he's intimidated, tell him to talk to me about it. Not use you as a messenger." Mrs. Thomas starts talking then. Vicky is already sitting next to Will and I realize I hadn't even heard her sit down. Mrs. Thomas talks about the photography group and how she wants everyone to be somewhat trained in taking photos relevant to the articles. She then tells Seth to take people out in groups to teach them how to use the cameras. She ends up sending Will and Vicky with the first group, leaving me and Jacob alone. When they leave, Jacob speaks up again. "How did you and Dylan even start hanging out?" "Why does it bother you that we're friends?" "Because he's not good for you." That gets my blood boiling. "And you are?" He shuts up and I continue working on my computer. He stays silent until Will, Vicky, and the rest of the group comes back. Mrs. Thomas then sends out the next group, which includes me and Jacob. We take some cameras and follow Seth. Instead of walking with Jacob, I fall in line with Seth. "How's it going so far?" I ask him. "There are a couple people who've been really good. The others might need more help," he chuckles. "What about your group?" "We're getting there," I say. "I just want this issue to turn out okay." He nudges my arm. "Don't worry. It will be." We arrive at the main hall and Seth announces that he wants us to partner up and take pictures of the things around us for five minutes. "Partners?" Jacob asks. The word seems like it belongs to Dylan, and not Jacob. "Sure." Jacob takes pictures of the posters on the walls, only pointing and shooting without actually taking the time to get a good photo. I'm trying to take an artsy picture of the vending machine when Jacob motions to a specific poster on the wall. "Homecoming is coming up already?" "Guess so." Jacob and I had gone to the homecoming dance together our freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I have no intention of going with him for my senior year. I don't even know if I'm going at all, but if Casey wants to go, I'll go. "You going with Dylan?" "Are you obsessed with Dylan? You can't seem to go five minutes without talking about him." Friendship with Jacob isn't going to work well if he's constantly asking about Dylan. He doesn't get to answer. Seth brings the group back together and tells us to delete all the photos we took except for our favorite two to save them. Jacob keeps his distance as we walk back to the classroom. Once we're back inside, we get back to work on the computers. Jacob ignores me, putting in his earphones, and Will and Vicky seem to understand the sections they're working on in the program book. My mind drifts to a friendship with Jacob. Maybe becoming friends with him is what I need for closure. Or not. Becoming friends with him could also lead to unearthing feelings I had buried over the summer. I know if I don't try to be friendly with him, he'll never leave me completely alone. Strict boundaries need to be set in place if this friendship is going to work After class, I catch Jacob's arm. "Let's talk." We walk out of the class together and he puts his earphones away. "What's up?" "Because of our past, us being friends will only work if we set boundaries." I know I'm not going to get back together with him, but I have to clear the air in case he gets any ideas. He wears a skeptical look. "What boundaries then?" "I'm making it crystal clear right now that we are not getting back together," I stress the last few words. "I'm not in this to be your girlfriend again. You need a friend to talk to while you're dealing with whatever, and I'll be that friend." "Okay," he says, nodding quickly. "Understood." "Good. Just please understand I don't want to hear about anything else other than what's going on with your parents. And this friendship will only work if we let go of everything in the past. I'm trying to move on and I can't do that if you're constantly bringing up old memories. Let's start fresh." "Start fresh," he nods slowly. "I can do that." I'm going to finish with that, but one more thought comes to mind. "And leave Dylan alone. We're only friends." He doesn't look happy about it, but he says, "Fine." "It's settled then. I'll see you tomorrow." He steps in front of me. "One more thing." What can he possibly say now? "What's that?" If it's something about Lauren, I don't care. As much as I dislike her for going after my boyfriend, I can't do anything to stop them from getting together again. We're broken up so I can't say a damn thing about it. Jacob's mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He shakes his head instead. "Nothing, never mind. Thanks for clearing up the boundaries."