On Saturday morning, I was severely unmotivated to get out of bed. I was just glad that I didn't have school. We had worked on the project all week after school and, by the weekend, we were done with it.

Ryo's soccer practice occupied a lot of his time but, on days that he had practice, the three of us went to the library during our shared free period.

After the assignment was over and done with, I had no inclination to see Julio Hernandez ever again, but there was still that still part of my brain that niggled at me, that had me considering what he'd said about not wanting to see him. I hadn't pushed it the next few days and I was in two minds about it, I just wanted to leave it alone but I also wanted to talk to him about it and understand what he meant. I was unsure, though, because curiosity killed the cat.

Finally, it was the weekend. I didn't have to leave my room and all that I was obligated to do was homework. Ally had called about a trip to the movies and then shopping, but I'd declined, lying and telling her that I was sick. I felt guilty about it until I'd heard that the trip had been Millie's idea and she and Tamsin would be going on it, too.

"Why are you at home?" My mother asked, standing in the doorway of the room, surveying me with disgust. How nice. "Shouldn't you be doing something with your life?"

"It's a Saturday." I answered, suddenly wishing that's I'd gone with the others. Putting up with Millie and Tamsin was better than putting up with my mother.

"So?" She asked, examining the room with displeasure, as if the small changes I'd made were bothering her. "Do you not have friends?"

"You know, Mom." I said, emphasising the word with obvious condescension, "For someone who warned me to stay away from her, you seem to be seeking me out a lot." I smirked, pleased with myself.

"Oh, I came here to warn you. Would there really be another reason for me to talk to you?"

"What could the great Tiffany Wentworth have to warn little old me about?"

"It's just something that you'd do well to remember. I don't care about what you do with your time as long as it doesn't ruin my reputation. It has come to my attention that you've had certain guests grace the halls of my home that I don't want around here. You cannot spend time with trash like that because it reflects badly on me. Are we clear?"

"No, we're not." I informed her, my voice steady, "I will hang out with whomever I want and you don't have a say in what I do and who I talk to. Please, leave my room because, in all honesty, you need me and I don't need you."

She harrumphed, seething. I could see the fire in her eyes. She turned around and walked out of the room, wearing her six inch heels as easily as I wear my Converse.

But, as I heard her receding footsteps, a sinking feeling dawned on me as I remembered the look in her eyes. Had I made a mistake? Because as much as I said that she needed me more than I needed her, she could ruin my life with a snap of her fingers.

My phone rang a while later, sending Hey Mama blaring through the otherwise silent house. Ally had stolen my phone from me a week before to put her number in, and had made that her personal ringtone.

"Hey Ally!" I answered, genuinely excited to talk to her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked, and it was then that I remembered the lie that I'd told her about being sick.

"I'm a lot better, actually. I guess I just needed some rest. How was your shopping trip?" I lied through my teeth, feeling guilt pinch at my conscience. I'd thrown her to the wolves earlier.

"After you backed out, I just joined them for the movie and left. I didn't think I could deal with their comments for an entire afternoon. I honestly don't remember how I managed before you came."

"Sorry! I'm fine now, so next time." I told her, hoping that I hadn't subjected her to anything too torturous.

"Good, because I'm outside your front door right now with two gallons of ice cream and at least six hours' worth of chick flicks." Sure enough, the doorbell rang not even two seconds later.

"I'll see you in ten seconds, then." I giggled, shaking my head. Ally was proving to be one of the best friends I'd ever had.

One of the maids opened the door for her, and she was led to my room. She was dressed in PINK sweatpants and a t-shirt with no makeup and this had to be the least glamorous I'd seen her. Her hands were loaded with a bunch of movies and two tubs of chocolate ice cream.

She gave me a quick hug and, as I pulled away, I asked her, "What movies did you bring? And, how has that ice cream not melted?"

"I live down the street, Tay. And I brought Clueless, Mean Girls, The Notebook, The Breakfast Club and Titanic. All classics." She promised, winking at me.

There was a flat screen TV in my room, on the wall across from my bed, so we sat on the floor in front of the bed with a blanket and ice cream as we watched movie after movie. Clueless and The Notebook were my absolute favorite and I could never get enough of either.

Ally decided to spend the night; my bed was big enough anyway. A phone call to her mother and a promise to be home before noon the next day later, the two of us settled into the covers and attempted to fall asleep.

Ally was knocked out within moments, and soft snores filled the air. I, however, couldn't sleep and it wasn't because of Ally's snoring.

I couldn't help but feel this aching sensation of guilt and, slowly, I realized that it stemmed from the calories I'd consumed through almost the entire carton of ice cream.

Suddenly, I remembered all the Nutella and the popcorn and the pizza I'd eaten over the course of the last month and a half and there was nothing I could so do about it now. Compared to Ally, compared to my mother, compared to all my mother's models, I was huge. I could already feel the rolls forming. I had to lose weight.

****

The next morning, Ally left early and I went to the gym, filled with a sudden determination. Instead of the waffles that the chef offered me, I ate an apple.

I spent my Sunday with Ally, who had decided to make up for her missed shopping trip from the day before by going with me to the mall.

Luckily, Ally wasn't a snob and we even went into Urban Outfitters and American Eagle and stuff too, without sticking to all the designer crap.

I bought two new shirts, a new pair of jeans, a pair of shorts and some heels, but my favorite purchase of the day was a burgundy off-shoulder dress.

After shopping, we went to the food court to get some juice. Well, I got juice while Ally got herself nachos.

While we waited for her nachos, I saw two very familiar faces. One looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here and the other was as happy as always.

"Is that Julio Hernandez?" Ally asked, following the direction of my gaze. I nodded, more focused on who he was with than the guy himself.

"He has friends?" Ally asked, incredulously, making me giggle slightly because, honestly, the boy was so bipolar that I didn't think anyone would be in his presence voluntarily for long.

Okay, that was mean. Julio had been nice to me before and I'd resolved to get under his skin earlier, too, but I just hadn't had the courage to do it yet.

"You know what." I stated, causing Ally to tear her gaze away from the guy who was making her food and towards me, "I'm going over there."

Ally watched wide-eyed, as I walked over to the two boys, filled with newfound courage that I wasn't sure where I'd gotten.

"Hi." I said, smiling brightly at the two of them. Julio nodded and my smile widened— he'd acknowledged me and hadn't made a comment about me being a prissy princess yet!

"Taylor! Hey." Javier said, looking surprised to see me. "What's up?"

"I'm just hanging out with a friend." I replied, gesturing in the general direction in which Ally was standing. She was probably going to kill me later— Julio terrified her.

"Nice." He said, offering me some of his fries, which I declined with a shake of my head. Now that they were both together, they looked pretty similar. Were they related?

"You two know each other?" Julio asked, sounding slightly interested.

"Yeah, she ordered pizza almost every other day. I've got her order memorized by now." He joked, grinning easily at me, "Why, you know her, Lio?"

"We go to school together." I answered, when Julio made no move to. "How do you two know each other?" I asked, confused.

"We're brothers. He's younger than me by about three years, though." Javier said, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Speaking of, I haven't been to your place in a while. Are you cheating on Dominic's?" He asked, referring to the place where he worked.

"Nah, I ate so much pizza back then that I can't even look at it anymore." I lied, brushing it off.

"So, what are you guys up to?" I asked, glancing specifically at Julio.

"We're eating, princess. What does it look like we're doing?" His tone was annoyed, but he just seemed generally annoyed, like his annoyance wasn't directed at me in particular.

"I think we should head back now." Javier said, just as he polished off the last of his fries. Julio's tray was empty, too, so he just stood up without saying a word. The boy was a little too quiet.

"Bye Taylor." Javier said, and I gave him a quick hug. He was a really fun guy.

"I'll see you soon." I told him, unsure if that was true or not. I couldn't exactly afford to eat pizza at this stage.

"You better." He warned teasingly, his eyes glinting. The brothers were complete opposites, weren't they? Javier was always happy and joking around, but Julio was quiet and perpetually angry.

They were just beginning to walk away when I gathered up the courage to call, "Hey, Julio!"

He turned around and asked exasperatedly, "What, princess?"

"I'll see you tomorrow." I promised, meaning it. I was going to make good on my previous promise to myself of getting under his skin.

He was about to say something when I cut him off, "Don't worry, I want to."

He was surprised– I could see it in his eyes– and he stood stock still for a second, before clearing his throat and saying, "Okay."

Was that his way of saying that we were besties now? If it was, then that just made my job so much easier.

I grinned at him, before heading back to Ally, who immediately began quizzing me on who the other guy was and what exactly I'd talked to Julio Hernandez about that didn't leave him yelling at me.

Laughing, I told her to eat her nachos quietly before I did it for her. My empty threat apparently worked because she promptly began stuffing her face.

Lucky bitch.