She doesn't seem phased so I glance around and look for Dylan. He didn't talk to me during class the day before, and he's been ignoring my texts. The doors to the cafeteria open and the guys walked in. Carlos, Reece, and Anthony are joking around while Dylan trails behind them with his hands in his pockets. The other guys don't look our way, but Dylan happens to meet my gaze. We lock eyes and I try to silently plea to him that I'm sorry, but with a cold turn he brushes me off and keeps walking with the guys to a table in the corner. "Uh oh," Casey says, catching my attention. "What's up with you guys?" "Nothing." She scoffs. "Doesn't look like nothing." If I tell her I purposely kissed Jacob, I will never hear the end of it. She'll probably disown me as her best friend. All the hard work we put into me getting over him will be flushed down the toilet, if it isn't already. "I can always ask Carlos, you know." That's the last thing I want. "I made a mistake, Case," I give in. I hope she doesn't give up on me after I tell her what I did. I don't have anyone else to confide in. She raises her brow. "What happened?" She sits quietly as I tell her about what Dylan told me after leaving the diner, what I said to Jacob, and the kisses between us. I pull the neckline of my shirt and show her the hickey. I've mostly been hiding it with my hair, but I'm wearing a t-shirt with a higher neckline for good measure. "I see," she says in a monotone voice. "Dylan saw us and now he's pissed at me," I says. I completely betrayed our agreement. He's right. I just needed an excuse to run back to Jacob and I completely screwed myself over. I put my head in my hands and sigh. "I don't know what to do." Casey doesn't say anything, seeming deep in thought and it's making me nervous. "I don't know what to tell you, Lace." No scolding, no blowing up? "You aren't going to yell at me?" I ask. "Lace, you knew what you were doing. At this point, you're only doing it to yourself and you can't blame anyone else. Not me, not Dylan, and not Jacob. Jacob hadn't been bothering you and I think you missed him being in your life," she shrugs. "You initiated everything." Casey's carefree response is upsetting. Deep down I know it's all my fault, but hearing it from her makes it hurt more. "It's up to you what your next move is going to be," she says. "If I choose Jacob, then you and Dylan might cast me out of your lives. If I choose you guys over Jacob, it'll be like starting from square one all over again," I stress. It's an endless cycle. "I'm not going anywhere. I might be angry if you choose to go back with Jacob, but you're my best friend. I can't just leave you in the dust." She glances toward the table in the corner. "Now, I don't know about Dylan." Dylan said he doesn't want to watch me get hurt again if I get back together with Jacob, but does that mean he wouldn't want anything to do with me? The thought of never speaking to him again doesn't settle well with me. "I have to talk to him," I say. "You have to decide what's going to make you happy in the end, Lace. Just remember that," she says, giving me a small smile. "And I'm here whenever you need me." When I walk into English, Dylan isn't there yet. I sit in my seat and try to think of what I can say to him and if he'll even listen to me at all. He told me he cares about me. Does that mean he has feelings for me? Or is it caring on a friendship level? Right before the bell rings, Dylan stalks into class and hastily sits down behind me without even so much as a glance my way. I don't have time to talk to him because Mrs. Beattie starts the lesson. She wants us to do some silent reading for a few minutes so we all reach under our desks and pull out our textbooks. When I reach for mine, I can't feel it. I lean over and peer under me, and sure enough there isn't a book. Dylan has already put his on his desk. The empty desk behind him has a book so I take a chance. "Can you hand me the book from the desk behind you?" I ask him quietly since others are already reading. He gives me a blank stare. I try not to get flustered. "Please, Dylan." He sighs and turns to reach for the book. While handing it to me, I don't have a good grip on it and it slams on the ground with a hard thud. I whip around to find Mrs. Beattie giving me a death glare. I sheepishly pick up the book, set it on my desk, and quickly find the pages we are reading from. A couple lines in, I feel my desk start to shake. I glance under my desk and see Dylan's feet on the bars that hold the textbooks. He's shaking his leg, causing my desk to move. I try to ignore it as best as I can. It stops and I internally sigh in relief. I can focus on reading now. Something hits my desk and I look down again to see Dylan's foot repeatedly hitting the leg of my desk. "Stop," I whisper over my shoulder. I can't see his reaction, but the hitting doesn't stop. Then it starts to shake again. "Cut it out," I whisper harshly. The hitting and the shaking don't stop. It's irritating me to no end and I can't focus. I can't take it anymore. "Knock it off," I say loudly, twisting in my seat so I can see his reaction, which brings everyone's attention to me and Dylan. Great. I've caused a scene. I slowly turn back around and Mrs. Beattie is staring right at me. "Is there a problem, Ms. Reyes?" she asks, seeming unamused. I shake my head. "No."