"She had a ring on when she hit me." "Why did she hit you again?" I sigh. "She called Casey a bitch, so I called her a bitch too." "What does she have against Casey?" "She doesn't like that Xavier and Casey have history together. She also doesn't like that you're spending time with me." "She's all drama," he rolls his eyes. "This whole thing is turning into a shitshow because apparently everything has to revolve around her." I cap the peroxide and put it back in the cabinet. "What do you want to do?" "I don't know," he shakes his head. "I want Kay and Xavier to disappear so I can just be with you and have no issues." He stands behind me and stares at me through the mirror. "I thought your dickhead ex was going to be the only problem." "Me too," I say. I wish Jacob was the only issue we had to deal with. That would've been over with a long time ago. "Let's talk in the living room." Dylan sits in the middle of the couch and I sit against the couch's arm, ready to figure out how we are going to make everything work. Anthony doesn't think everyone will be happy in the end, but there's no harm in trying. "Did Kay tell you anything that could help us out somehow?" he asks. Two things stand out from that conversation. She knew where he was during lunch and I didn't. "Why weren't you in school earlier?" He hesitates before answering. "I was with Xavier." "Did you guys talk?" From the looks of him, they didn't fight. Or maybe they did and Xavier got the worst of it. He scratches the back of his neck. "I don't trust Xavier around you, okay? He's got a loose screw in the head and he's not someone to hang around with freely." "And that's why you were with him?" "I told him I'm still with Kay..." he trails off, and in the process leans away from me. "What? Why?" Why the hell would he do that? The expression on his face is unreadable, but I know he's trying to choose his words carefully. "He'll leave you alone if he thinks we're not together. As long as he thinks I'm with Kay, we'll be okay." I knit my brows together. "You convinced Kay that you still like her." It's more a statement than a question. That's why Kay was so confident that they are going to be together. "You really planned all of this behind my back." "To prevent you from getting hurt. The less you know, the better. And the less Xavier knows, the better," he snaps. "He'll do anything for Kay, and if that's getting you out of the picture he'll do it. I don't know how much Casey can help you, but I don't think it'll be a lot." He stares off for a second. "I don't want to make things worse, but I think Casey should really stay away from him." "What do you mean?" I sit upright. "He doesn't like Carlos as it is and I don't know how far he'll go to keep him away from her." If Casey is the slightest bit of danger, both her and Carlos need to know what they are getting themselves into. "I need to tell Casey." "Don't make her panic or anything. I don't think he'll hurt her physically." I put my head in my hands. "Why is this happening?" He's silent. After taking a deep breath, I look at him. "So, me and you still can't happen?" "It can. We just have to be sneaky about it," he says. "The only thing...I still have to keep up appearances with Kay, but I've got it all planned out." I urge him to go on. "I already know what annoys the shit out of her, so hopefully if I play my cards right I can get her to dump me. I can't go too far otherwise Xavier will still come after me." "This situation is so messed up," I shake my head. "Hey, we can make it work," he nudges me. "Just trust me." "I do," I nod. I've always trusted Dylan, which is why I've been so open with him since we first met. He doesn't seem like the double-crossing type. Which brings me to the second thing that I remember from my conversation with Kay. "I don't think Xavier knows that Kay doesn't like Casey. Maybe we can use that to our advantage." He taps his chin. "I'll keep that in mind." He hesitates before speaking again. "I know you don't like the idea of me and Kay being together and I promise things won't go far. If I really have to kiss her, it'll be a peck on the cheek and that's it. Nothing beyond that. I gotta save my best kisses for you." I can't stop a smile from spreading on my face. "Have our past kisses been your best kisses?" "Not even close," he teases. "You'll have to wait for the best ones."