"What are we in here for?" Danny nags.

"I'm looking for something," I say as I move through the aisles, scanning over the shelves.

"Something?" He questions as he leans up against one of the bookcases.

"Mhm," I nod and keep searching.

"...Her?"

I look over to see who he's referring to.

"...no," I turn away quickly when I spot Heather sitting alone at a table, writing in her notebook.

"Still not talking, huh?" I hear the amusement in his voice.

"I haven't even seen her in a week."

"She's here now..." Danny says suggestively.

"Yeah but-" I glance over at her again, "it doesn't matter. I'm not going to push her."

"...what happened anyway?" He finally asks.

Danny's been great about letting me keep this to myself for the most part.

I hesitate before shrugging, "she asked me to kiss her."

"What?" Danny says loudly as he turns to face me, accidentally causing the books he was leaning on to crash down onto the other side.

It felt like everyone in the library stopped to stare at us.

"Shit...sorry," we dove to the floor to pick up the books, but my eyes shifted up for a moment to see if we caught her attention as well.

We did.

She saw me and gasped a bit before quickly looking away. Her entire body language changed like she wanted to take up less space...like suddenly she was uncomfortable.

"Why didn't you say something before?" He said in surprise.

"Huh?" I say unfocused until I pull my attention away from Heather. "Oh," I breathe out when I realize what he's asking, "it wasn't a big deal really...she was drunk so I didn't do it."

"But you would've if she wasn't?"

I give him a look that says 'do you even have to ask?'

"Let's just get out of here," I pick up a VHS tape of Gone with the Wind.

"...that's what we were here for?"

"I've got a book report, and if this is based on the book, then it's the same," I shrug.

"There's probably one that's less boring," he gazed down at the shelf of tapes.

"Yeah, I just want to get out of here sooner rather than later, okay?" I say rhetorically and head over to the librarian.

Danny nods and trails behind me.

"You know..." he starts again, "I can talk to her for you. If you care that much."

"Just forget it, man...I'll forget about her."

"Are you kidding me?"

I stop halfway down the stairs at the sound of shouting.

"Oh," I say in annoyance when I see who the voice belongs to, "Ethan."

"What the hell, Audrey?" He angrily comes walking toward me, but I don't falter. "You got me disqualified from my finance internship!"

I sigh, "what are you going on about?" My eyes practically roll to the back of my head....though I know exactly what he's talking about, and yes I did.

"That program would've been huge for me, Audrey! I would have been the only student in those meetings! Seeing private equity deals happen right in front of my face! It would've been a shoo-in for any business I wanted a position at! And you fucked it up for me."

"How do you suppose I did that?" I purse my lips at him.

"Oh, I don't know," He holds up the paper in his hand, "does this look familiar to you?" Of course, it does, babe. I wrote it. "According to the 'mayor of New York,' I am incompetent, unmotivated, and unreliable."

"Well..." I smirk, "if that's what daddy thinks."

"How could you do this to me?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "Now every business from here to Newark thinks I'm a liability."

"Don't be dramatic, darling, their opinions will change after you graduate from college," I blow him a kiss and then continue my descent down the stairs.

"All this is because of what?" He shouts. "I didn't take you to the dance? I didn't call after the last time we hooked up? I preferred your friend over you?"

I turn to him and scowl, my eyes narrowing at how clueless he is. "You broke my heart, Ethan."

He scoffs through laughter, "come on, Audrey."

"Come on?" I said in astonishment, "I loved you..." He stared back at me, impassive. "And you felt nothing for me...you didn't even give me a second thought...or maybe a warning before moving on to someone else."

"We were never together...I never promised you anything," Ethan shrugged in contempt.

"No..." I laugh to keep from showing any other emotion that would make me seem weak, "you didn't. And I was foolish for thinking you didn't have to...that you would come around and possibly even care when I showed up at your door at night just wanting to be near you."

He sighed and looked away from me.

"I thought we both understood, no strings attached."

"You never said that, Ethan!" I huff and cross my arms, "what makes her so special? What makes you want a second chance with her? Tell me...what did I do wrong?"

He finally looks up at me again...his eyes unreadable.

"I'm sorry, Audrey." Ethan shrugs, "You shouldn't have fallen for me."

I nod and laugh lightly at his response.

We both can agree on that, at least.

"You know...sometimes you'd look at me like I had stars in my eyes," I send him a sad smile, "it took me a while to realize, you only did that when I was naked."

"If it isn't obvious...we don't have practice today," Jace says as he walks across the field to meet me, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Don't worry, it's obvious," I respond plainly.

"Why'd you ask me to meet you here?" He sits next to me on the bleachers, "weren't your exact words: 'I don't want to speak to you again, and I mean it, Jace.'"

"We have to be friends, for the sake of our families, at least."

He chuckles in amusement, "but not because you want us to be?" I give him an annoyed expression. "Yeah...I get it."

"I'm going to tell my parents we broke up. I want you to be there when I do it...to show that we don't have to date to have a relationship with each other."

He nods and looks over at me with a false smile. "This is really it then?"

"It's for the best...we've outgrown each other. You're no longer the guy who walked me to school every morning just to spend time with me..."

Jace sighs, "and you're not the girl cheering loudest for me in the stands."

"I never liked lacrosse."

A wave of silence hits us for a moment...and then Jace starts to laugh.

"Really?" He says in genuine surprise.

"Not even a little bit," I admit and laugh with him.

"I'm sorry you sat through all of those games," he smiles.

"Don't be," I shake my head, "I wanted to...I really loved you."

He stares at me endearingly before looking down at the ground.

"I always will love you, Heather. I didn't tell you that enough when I had you," he spoke sincerely. "And I never cheated on you with Alison, you know? Not even once. I wouldn't do that."

"That's nice to hear...I'm sorry that I doubted you."

"I shouldn't have given you a reason to," Jace presses his lips into a thin line. "It's going to be hard to see you with anyone else..."

"I won't go for any of your friends, if that's what you're worried about," I tease.

"Don't let me stop you. You know them almost as well as I do...it's your call," he says slyly. "Just stay away from those Brownstone guys."

"Ugh," I jokingly complain, "there goes my weekend."

"Yeah, no sleeping with the enemy," Jace puts his arm around me and hugs me close.

"Deal," I agree and lean my head against his shoulder.

"My my my, look what the cat dragged in," says Colleen Titamen, past hookup.

Some might say she's the closest thing I've ever had to a girlfriend...and they'd be right. Colleen understood me and where I stood on "relationships." She'd come over but never ask to stay...we'd have fun...we'd hang out...we'd do everything couples did...but I didn't have to go out of my way to please her. And, she didn't complain when I wanted to please another girl.

"Don't be silly, Coll," I chuckle, "we all know I come in a Porsche."

She playfully rolled her eyes, "Sarah said you weren't coming at all."

"I'm not here for her or her sad excuse for a party. I just want a drink and nothing more."

"Sure," Colleen smirks, and I respond with a devious look.

"Do you still have that boyfriend?" Or, as I like to call him, that reason we stopped fucking.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." her smirk stays.

"I would," I agree, "because I want to play," I say seductively as my eyes rake over her body. There's a reason I kept her around for so long...

She laughs lightly, "so this is what you came for?"

"Not yet..."

"Well..." she drags on, "we should get started then."

I let her lead me away from prying eyes until we're stood under the glow of neon blue lights. She leans against the wall and pulls me onto her using my tie. I hold her close to me as my hands move past her waist to rest on her ass. She stares longingly at my lips as they linger over hers but I pull back teasingly when she tries to kiss me.

I love doing that.

I grab her face in my hand, lifting her head up so that she's looking into my eyes...watching me refuse her.

I smirk at how desperate I have her...

Finally, I move in and satisfy her craving. Her lips move against mine like she's starving. Her grip on me tightens, her hands running through and tugging on my hair. I hook my hand around one of her legs and hold it at my side. Her short dress rides up and she pulls me closer, the friction creating a delicious feeling between us.

"Tell me what you want..." I say softly into her ear.

"I want you," Colleen says without hesitation, her voice sultry as she leaves a trail of kisses up my neck. "Touch me, Trevor..." she gently bites my ear, "please."

Oh, what a sweet sound...to hear them beg.

And I couldn't imagine saying 'no' to her when I've got her so turned on.

But I see Alison. Her head rested in her hand as if she's had too much. A practically empty martini on the table in front of her...two guys at her side...

"...Colleen," I try to pull away from her, but she doesn't shift. "Colleen, stop," I say more assertively.

"What's wrong?" She says breathlessly.

"There's something I have to do," I say apologetically, "Call me...I'll make it up to you." And maybe I will. Oddly enough, I enjoy being friends with her.

"Fine," Colleen huffed and pulled her dress back down. "Goodbye, Trevor, always a pleasure," she waved, "Well- usually."

I chuckle and shake my head as she disappears from my sight.

When I emerge from the darkness myself, I take my time walking over to where Alison is seated.

She looks wasted, but I try to stealthily get closer to her for a feel of the situation.

"Want to finish your drink, huh?" I hear one of the guys speak quietly to Alison. She simply whimpers in response. "No? Want to get out of here, babe?" He asks another question she's too intoxicated to answer. She shifts positions and her head falls onto his lap.

"Want to come with us, Ali?" The second guy chimes in, his fingers brushing up her arm.

That's not right.

"Alison," I fully approach her. Her eyes barely open enough to see me. "It's time to go home, okay?"

"Hey— we've got her, man. We're taking her home."

"Like hell you are. How much has she drank?" I glared at them in disgust.

"She can't handle her alcohol, so what? We're her friends."

I glance at them and then at the single drink on the table. The lipstick print on the glass matched Alison's.

I picked up the martini and brought the glass up to my nose. "Funny," I said sarcastically, "I've been drinking these since I was 10...and yet, it's never smelled like this." I took a small sip and clenched my jaw when the faint salty taste hit my tongue, "didn't taste like this either..."

"I don't know what you're getting at-"

"If you're still here in ten seconds, I'm calling the police," I say as calmly as possible, though the only thing keeping me from launching across this table and snapping their necks is the fact that Alison would be left at the mercy of whoever is still in here when I'm thrown out for fighting.

They both scowl at me, scoffing and cursing as they get up to leave. One even purposely bumping into me as he walked past. I'd hurt you so badly if it wasn't for her.

Alison's body was limp against the seat, but I put her arm around my shoulder and raised her to her feet.

"Mm," she whined, "I don't feel good..."

"I know, love..." I lifted her into my arms, "I'm sorry."