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sat in the passenger seat of Tiana's car with exhaustion taking over her body.

"What did she say to you?"

Shaking her head, she motioned for Tiana to repeat her question seeing as she was too lost in thought to listen to the statement.

"What did she say to you?"

Evelyn's breath hitched and she shook her head, signaling for Tiana to let it go, "Nothing that really matters."

"Bullshit," Tiana challenged with one eyebrow raised, "you were crying Evelyn."

Evelyn reached up to feel her slightly damn cheeks and she blushed realizing that not only had Tiana seen, but most likely the rest of the student population as well.

"Oh," she quietly mumbled.

Staying quiet for a few more minutes, she wondered if she could tell Tiana. What would it matter? The girl had helped her out after all so it's clear she means no harm.

"Uh just that she couldn't believe he managed to keep me around so long and that I must've been um well a good lay then," she nervously said fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.

Tiana paused her actions for a minute before resuming to turn the car left.

"She says shit like that," Tiana said glancing at Evelyn with a small, comforting smile.

Evelyn smiled back before turning her head to face the window, watching the buildings pass by as she wondered where Tiana was taking her.

"You and Maddox will work it out you know?"

Evelyn wanted to believe the girl beside her, but how could she put all the faith left in her, in some stranger who she hadn't known for so long?

"He's an asshat."

Tiana stifled a quiet laugh, "Yeah he can be. But Evelyn, he's really trying with you. He's happy around you. I mean you should see the smile on his face whenever you're around. It's the kind of smile every girl wishes to be the reason for."

Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows before looking over at Tiana for a split second. The way she spoke, the way she almost dreamily sighed, Evelyn knew Tiana liked Maddox in more than just a friends-with-benefits kind of way. She couldn't help herself for speaking out about it.

"Why are you trying to reassure me? Why are you being nice? I know you like Maddox so why are you trying to encourage him and me?"

Tiana stayed quiet for a few seconds, trying to find the right words to use to explain why she did what she did.

"I just..." she sighed a little, "I'm not going to be a bitch just because you're the girl who makes him feel whole and I'm not. Yeah am I bitter about it? For sure. But I can't stand by and watch them hurt you just because he wants you over me. That's just selfish thinking and it's one of the qualities I never want to possess."

"But he doesn't want me," Evelyn tried to explain, "I told him how I felt and he threw my confession back in my face. He said that he's had other girls, that he's had you, that he's had better and I'll never be one of his options."

Tiana shook her head as if ignoring Evelyn's words. She quickly turned into a gated community that eerily resembled Maddox's. Soon enough, she took a turn into a driveway that led to Maddox's house.

So this is where she brought me, Evelyn thought.

"He said that?"

Evelyn nodded with confidence as if she had convinced Tiana that Maddox indeed felt nothing towards her.

Rolling her eyes, Tiana angrily got out of the car before slamming the door shut. It all happened so fast, Evelyn struggled to keep up as she quickened her pace to stay in line with Tiana.

"You're right," Tiana mumbled under her breath in annoyance, "that boy deserves the title of asshat."

Evelyn expected Tiana to stop to ring the doorbell, but instead, she barged through the already unlocked doors as if she owned the place. Eyes wide in surprise, Evelyn followed her as she stomped towards the noise coming from Maddox's room.

They entered Maddox's room and Evelyn surveyed the scene in front of her. Maddox sat lazily on his bed as him and another boy intensely battled each other in some violent video game.

Tiana had other plans however and quickly pulled the wires connecting the TV to the outlet before she stood in front of the screen tapping her foot. She grabbed one of the remotes sitting on the TV stand before chucking it at Maddox's head.

"You are an absolute asshat. You're a fucktard. A douche. A jerk. A man-whore and any other word I can think of!"

Evelyn was taken aback by the loud voice of the furious girl standing in front of her. It seemed everyone in the room was. Luckily, no one had noticed her particular presence so she stood leaning against the door way watching the exchange.

"You told her that you could do better?! Are you kidding? She's the best there is Maddox. What the actual fuck is wrong with you?"

Realizing Tiana might actually murder Maddox, Evelyn quickly stepped between them just as Tiana picked up another solid object to throw at Maddox.

"Okay okay he gets it!" Evelyn nervously yelled trying to stop hell from unleashing.

She turned around and made eye contact with Maddox and she knew the blush on her cheeks was more prominent than ever before. Her eyes drifted to the boy beside him and she took a double take. The boy obviously remembered her too because he sat up a little straighter before exclaiming dramatically, "You!"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes before saying the exact same word back to him, "You?"

He looked between her and Maddox before realization hit him and a smirk made its way across his face, "Ohhhhhh so he's my competition huh?"

Evelyn gasped as he wiggled his eyebrows at her and before she knew, she was grabbing the object out of Tiana's hand and chucking it at him.

"Shut up!" she shrieked.

The boy dodged the object before falling back in a fit of laughter.

Maddox glared coldly at the boy, "You know her?"

"Met her this morning in school."

He nodded his head before turning back to look at Evelyn. He assessed her flushed features before his eyes settled on her red-rimmed eyes and the cotton pad sealed with a bandaid on her temple.

Immediately he jumped up before making his way towards her. She stood incredibly still as he surveyed her body to see if there was any other damage done. He brushed her long hair away from the front of her neck and to the back to examine any marks on her collarbone. Once he was sure that there was nothing else, he took an awkward step back realizing how close he had gotten to her.

Ignoring the fight between them a week before, he turned to Tiana with his eyes narrowed and arms crossed, "What happened to her?"

Tiana opened her mouth to speak, but Evelyn quickly cut her off. Maddox didn't deserve to know anything.

"Nothing happened," she said with a certain amount of anger in her tone. She looked over at Tiana with set eyes letting her know to keep quiet.

"Well obviously something did."

"So I have to fill you in now do I?" she sassily commented, "I don't owe you any kind of explanation so sit back down bitter boy cause you're not getting any kind of answer from her or me."

She was livid. Honestly who would've thought her mood to change from nervous to furious within a span of a few seconds? Maddox sure knew how to get to her. The tension in the room could be cut by a knife and the only one brave enough to cut it seemed to be the nameless boy whose name Evelyn was now quite aware of.

The boy casually glanced Tiana's way and she immediately started blushing. Evelyn suppressed a chuckle as well as Maddox.

"Well I can't have your girl so I mean she's another option right?"

"You know you're a weird guy right?" Evelyn innocently stated trying to ignore how he said that she was Maddox's girl.

He scoffed rolling his eyes, "Oh little one, things can get a lot more weirder if you know what I mean."

He winked at her causing her to flush with subtle embarrassment. Without thinking, she shuffled closer to Maddox on instinct.

"I don't even know your name," he said curiously.

"Her name is Evelyn," Maddox said cutting their conversation a little short, "stop fucking flirting with her man."

Evelyn shot daggers at the back of Maddox's beautiful head before she peeled around him to look at the nameless boy a little longer, "And your name is Reese."

"And how do you know that?" he questioned with an eyebrow raised.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Well I know that Maverly has a picture of her son in her office and you look very similar to him and then again you're Maddox's best friend who tried to make it as an actor and you were supposed to return around this time."

"My mom is your therapist," he mused a little loudly, obviously meaning to not say it out loud.

Maddox narrowed his eyes at him, "Is there a problem with that?"

Reese shook his head rolling his eyes, "You think I care that she sees a therapist? I have to deal with you. I think I can handle her."

Maddox gave him a pointed look before turning to look back at Evelyn, "Can we talk in private?"

As the words left his mouth, she wasn't sure about talking at all. Did she really want to just have him tell her again that she'll never be good enough for him?

But of course she needed some sort of explanation, "Okay," she mumbled with a nod.

He started walking out of the room and she followed as Tiana shot her a subtle thumbs up and encouraging smile. Before Evelyn left, she mouthed a 'you got this'. Nodding her head, she took a deep breath.

It's about time she faced something head on.

awkwardly stood near the TV, not knowing what to do. She just convinced the guy she's undeniably in love with, to get the girl he likes, which everyone knows isn't her. She glanced back at the boy, Reese, on the bed and she quickly looked away realizing he had caught her stare.

She was not good with people.

Everyone thought she was, everyone thought she was some girl who slept around, but in reality, she had only ever been with two guys.

Maddox was obviously one of them, but he wasn't the one to take her virginity away. He was a guy who came along to help her up. Of course he didn't notice, but she was thankful. He had enough on his plate and maybe him not knowing that she was drowning beside him was fine.

Her first time was with the boy in front of her.

She had a feeling he didn't remember, considering that it was a little over a year ago and she was considerably different appearance wise. She knew she wasn't the most desirable girl some time before, but she wasn't going to lie and say she wasn't pretty now. She had changed and time certainly loved her.

One thing she disliked though was that being pretty was all she really was.

People called her names, people envied her, but they never really liked her. They were jealous of her looks, but she wished that her personality was something everyone would notice too. That's why she never wanted to be the bitch. She knew it was the role everyone wanted her to step into, but she didn't want to and she wasn't going to.

Pretty was all she was and she was afraid that's all she'd ever be.

"Do I know you?"

Her eyes flicked back to Reese once he spoke up. Her eyes widened instinctively and she laced her hands together in front of her, "Uh probably not."

He gave her a suspicious look before laying back down on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he thought about asking his next question.

"So you're the girl Maddox fucks huh?"

She crinkled her nose, hating that that's what she was. It was true. She was the slut who Maddox fucks. She just hated that she couldn't be someone else.

She shrugged walking over to the bed cautiously before taking a seat at the very edge of the mattress with a comforter draped over.

Why'd she sit down? She had no clue. Honestly she didn't want to stick around for Maddox and Evelyn to make up and finally be together. They've been going back and forth for five months and by now, she knew they'd end up together.

"And you're the girl I got first. The one I fucked first."

Her shoulders stiffened and she felt the tears prick her eyes. She didn't want to be that. She didn't want that title. She wanted to be the girl with the nice smile. Or the girl with the kind eyes. The girl with the generous heart. The girl with an admirable laugh.

But to everyone in town, she'd be the girl who slept around. The title wasn't going to change. Her parents hated her reputation, they hated her. Why else would her father leave and her mother result to unhealthy amounts of drinking.

Clearing her throat, she subtly wiped at her eyes before replying, "So you remember."

Before she knew it, he had pulled her arm so she was laying down with him hovering on top, "Well you were pretty good," he mumbled seductively in her ear.

She blushed before pushing him off her, "Jeez give a girl a warning."

The small smile on her face was noticeable however and he chuckled before lying down beside her, "Well I made you smile didn't I?"

"Is that was you were trying to do?" she sarcastically asked.

"You had an expressionless face and sad eyes when sad girl left with sad boy," he commented gesturing with his thumbs behind him.

She furrowed her eyebrows, how quickly he was to notice such little things.

"You saw that huh," she awkwardly mumbled nervously laughing.

He turned towards her leaning on his elbow, "I won't tell," he whispered dramatically with a finger to his lips, "it's your secret after all."

She gave him a thankful smile, enjoying their small talk. She never got much small talk done with anyone nowadays. Usually Maddox and her would talk and talk for hours on end, but ever since she shoved him towards Evelyn at the gala a while ago, it seemed he'd forgotten all about the girl who was there before.

Of course she didn't want to mention anything, she might come off obnoxious and self-centered. She didn't mind being a back up. It was better than being nothing.

She had the urge to speak and say something very blunt to the boy beside her, but she wasn't entirely sure if her personality went so far as to be so straight-forward. Clearing her throat, she prepared herself for an embarrassment of a lifetime.

"Hey," she softly piped up, glancing over at him before looking back up at the ceiling.

He made a sound for her to continue and so she did, "Would you like to be friends?"

He furrowed his eyebrows a little, taking his time to assess the shy yet serious expression on her face. She knew it was a very awkward question, but she needed someone to talk to and at this point, it was better to befriend someone new- or somewhat new- than someone she'd known for too long.

Knowing someone too long gives them the opportunity to figure out all her secrets. And she was only a 17 year-old girl who planned to save her secrets for a while.

"Uh sure?" he answered, but he was unsure of himself, and also her to be frank.

She raised her hand with all her fingers curled together besides her pinky one, "Promise we'll be friends?"

He stared at the child-like innocence in her eyes, something about her that intrigued him. And so with a small smile planted on his lips, he interlinked their pinkies.

"Promise."

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