Pouring myself a cup of punch, I grin, looking around the Annex building. Wow. I can't believe it all came together. After hours of stress and planning and directing the event crew, I'm so fucking thrilled with how everything's turned out. The fog machine is working. The strobe lights are on and synced to the pop music blaring from the surround sound speakers. Every carnival booth is up and running. People are laughing, dancing, eating, and God, it feels good. I'm done. Finally, I can relax.

I check my phone, rereading a text from Oliver.

"Kenny!" Felicity, Leon, and Maxine scream in unison as they run through the orange and black balloons decorating the floor. "Ah!"

"You're here!" I exclaim, holding out my arms as we collide into a group hug. I pull back, scanning their costumes. A white bodysuit hugs Felicity in all the right places, a fluffy set of angel wings flowing out of her back. Draped over Leon's drawn-in hoodie is a sign that reads 'she doesn't even go here'. Nice. And, Max, well- I narrow my eyes, Max is dressed in an inflatable blue sumo suit. "Maxie, what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Violet!" she says, her jaw dropping. "From Willy Wonka? You know, the bitch that turned into a fucking blueberry! Violet!"

"Told you know one would get it," Leon laughs, popping a few chips into his mouth. "It's too obscure."

"It's a damn classic!" Maxine protests, flapping her arms...barely. Not a lot of give. "Don't make me burn book you."

Leon snorts, adjusting his sunglasses. "She's cranky 'cause she keeps deflating."

"But look at you!" Felicity coos, grabbing my hand and giving me a little twirl, my white halter dress flowing as I spin. "We need to find you a man-hole to stand over. You look hot!"

"Yeah? I look like Marilyn?" I ask, fixing my hair. "I was going to wear a wig but it was too itchy."

"Fuck wigs, we going au natural this year!" Maxine sings. "Let's go dance!"

I snort. "Can you even move in that?"

"Only one way to find out!" she exclaims, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the dance floor. "Leggo!"

For the next thirty minutes, I decide to be in the present and enjoy myself. At this moment, there are no deadlines, no homework, no pressure, nothing. Just me, my friends, and shitty top 40's music.

"Oh my God!" I laugh, my phone vibrating in my hand as Max attempts the electric slide. I glance at the caller ID. Blocked number. Strange. "I'll be back in a sec."

"We shall miss you!" Felicity calls out.

I jog towards the exits, answering the call once I'm in the quiet empty hallway. "Hello?" Muffled static. "Hello?" Quiet breathing. "Who is this?" The line goes dead.

I frown, staring at the screen.

Not creepy at all.

"Hey."

I gasp, spinning around to find Sawyer standing behind me, a Purge mask hanging around his neck. How creative.

"Shit, you scared me."

"Sorry," he says with a weak chuckle. "Didn't mean to."

"It's fine," I mutter, gripping my phone as I walk past him. "I'm gonna go now."

"KC, wait!" Sawyer calls out, grabbing my wrist. "I wanna talk to you."

"About what?" I frown, shaking off his gentle grip as my stomach churns.

God, what a mood killer.

"I didn't see you at the game yesterday," he says in a hushed tone, running his hand through his hair as he averts my puzzled gaze.

"That's 'cause I didn't go," I say slowly.

He noticed?

"Oh," he hums, nodding his head. He takes a step closer to me, his pungent honey-spice cologne wafting up my nose. It's almost sickening. "Listen, I wanted to apologize to you for what Corrine said at the fundraiser, you know, about your mom-" He pauses, scanning my face with softened eyes. "That wasn't cool."

"You're apologizing for her?" I scoff, irritation flaring. "That's rich. Well thanks, Sawyer. I really appreciate it."

"Don't be like that, KC, I'm trying okay?" Sawyer sighs. "I know this whole situation is a bit fucked but I don't want us to become strangers."

I blink. "You don't want us to become strangers? Really? What do you want us to be? Huh? Friends? Because that is very unlikely."

"We've known each other forever, KC, so yeah, I want us to be friends," he says, a hint of sadness flashing across his face. "What do you say?" He smiles. "Truce?"

My eyes bug out of their sockets.

"You must be fucking high right now if you think that's even a possibility," I say, crossing my arms. "You broke up with me, Sawyer. You did that. So no we can't be friends. You lost that right when you dumped me for Corrine! Friends? Funny."

Sawyer swallows. "KC..."

"No! Don't KC me!" I state, my voice rising. "I'm not doing this with you right now. You made your choice, and you chose-" I let out a cynical laugh. "You chose Corrine, so go and be her friend, okay? She can clearly offer you way more than I ever could. I'm honestly surprised you didn't dump me sooner, little poor you had to go two whole years without sex!"

"Are you kidding me?" Sawyer asks, his jaw clenching. "Do you honestly think I broke up with you because you wouldn't have sex with me?"

"Oh please," I sneer. "That's obviously the reason. I thought you were better than that, Sawyer, but I guess I was wrong."

"Holy shit," he says, letting out an exasperated laugh. "You're so fucking delusional, KC."

"Excuse me?!"

He shakes his head, glaring at me with hooded eyes. "I didn't break up with you because you wouldn't fuck me," he spits. "I didn't even break up with you because I stopped caring about you." He takes a step forward, looming over me. "I broke up with you because you didn't give a shit about me!"

My jaw drops. "Didn't give a shit about you?! What- what the fuck are you talking about? I loved you, Sawyer! How can you say that?"

He scoffs. "You loved me? Really? Because I never felt that. For two fucking years, Kenny, you put me second. Second to everything else in your life. How many times did you cancel plans, huh? How many games did you miss' cause you had tutoring or extra credit work?"

"Oh my God," I whimper, losing my damn mind. "You're kidding, right? You dumped me 'cause I missed a couple of your football games? Seriously? I tried to go to every game, Sawyer, I did. Sorry, my life didn't revolve around you, I had other priorities that were a bit more important than fucking football!"

"Yeah, I know!" he growls. "And your priorities broke my fucking heart, KC. No matter what I did or said, you never put me first. Ever!"

"I tried!" I yell, clenching my fists. "I fucking tried!"

"Really? You tried?" he asks, his face falling. "Where were you when my grandpa died, huh? Where were you, Kennedy? I called you so many times! I called you and told you that I needed to see you, that I needed you!" He sucks in a long shaky breath. "And you didn't come."

"I came as soon as I could, Sawyer," I whisper, hot tears collecting in my eyes as I dig my nails into my palm. "We had SATs the next day... I had to-"

"My grandpa died, Kennedy," Sawyer breathes, shaking his head. "He died! You should've dropped everything, fucking everything, but you didn't. You never did."

"You don't think I wanted to? You don't think I wanted to be there for you?" I cry, unable to catch my breath. "I did, Sawyer, I did but I couldn't! You have no idea the amount of pressure I was under, no idea!"

"Yes, Kennedy, you could have," he says, his voice low. "You could've come to see me but you chose not to. That was your choice." He expels an incredulous laugh. "Honestly, I probably should've ended things that night but like an idiot, I decided to be understanding, I tried to rationalize, you know. I figured once exams were over things would get better. I even got us a room for prom hoping that we could finally spend some time alone together. Just one night together where you're not constantly checking your phone or your emails or stressing about school." He scans my weeping face. "But you fucking shot me down, you-"

"No," I whimper, my heart on the verge of total destruction. "I thought you got us that room because you wanted to have sex, and I wasn't ready...I wasn't-"

"What?" He runs a hand over his face. "We dated for two years, KC. Two! You think I didn't know where you stood? Have I ever pressured you? Ever?"

"No, you didn't, I admit in a whisper, my temples pulsing with dull pain. This is so fucked. Everything is fucked. "You- you said you didn't stop caring about me right? That wasn't why you broke up with me?"

"No, it wasn't," Sawyer admits.

Anger spikes.

"Okay, so tell me this then." I take a step closer to him, my blood thrumming with confusion. "How was it so easy for you to jump into a relationship with Corrine then? Huh? After everything that went down with us, how could you do that to me? If you truly cared about me, you wouldn't have done that."

Sawyer shrugs, his tone defeated. "She was there for me. When my grandpa died she was there. She came to my house, she took the time to check in on me, to talk to me. She- she cared about me. She put me first and we weren't even fucking dating."

"She's not a good person, Sawyer," I croak, my chest tightening. Not anymore. "How can you not see that?"

"Corrine can be a little mean, I know that, but do you know why she is the way she is? 'Cause she's insecure, Kennedy, everyone can see that." He pauses. "What's your excuse?"

I blink. "What?"

"You're no fucking saint, KC, you're just as bad as she is. So yeah, Corrine might have a lot of faults, but she has one thing that you will never have-" His icy gaze kills me when he says, "A fucking heart."

No heart? I have no heart? That's not true. It's not. I have a heart. I can feel it. I can feel it shattering into a million fucking pieces. He's felt like this the whole time? Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he say something? I would've tried harder. I would've given him more time, more love, more whatever he wanted.

I wasn't enough for him.

Footsteps approach from down the hall as I try to formulate a sentence but I can't.

I can't talk. I can't breathe. I can't see.

"Oi, what the fuck is going on here?" Oliver asks. "What did you say to her?"

"The fucking truth," Sawyer says and walks away.

The truth.

Is it?

Is he right?

"Kennedy, are you okay? What did he say to you?"

"No, I'm not okay!" I sob, pushing past him and running down the hall.

I need air.

_______________________

DANNNNGG...Kenny's version of the past was uhh...inaccurate.

THOUGHTS?

Sawyer to Kenny...