"Excuse me?" I snapped, a flash a red appearing before my eyes. "You have got to be kidding me! You can't seriously think that."

"How can I not?" Alex exclaimed. "In the week that I was gone, you went from being scared of him to acting like old friends! You have to see this through my point of view!"

"He was there for me when you couldn't be!" I yelled. "You know, when you were suspended!"

"I don't understand why you told him in the first place," he said. "Why you went to someone you hardly know when your two best friends were there."

"Does it really matter?" I asked. "The main point is that you don't trust me!"

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and remained silent. Just like I thought, he really didn't trust me.

"First you don't tell me about the fight, then you accuse me of cheating with your best fucking friend! But what I don't understand is why?"

"I was trying to protect you," Alex said, his voice noticeably gentler than before, "and can you really blame me for being jealous? Josh is a great guy... better than me..." He put his hand on my thigh and smiled weakly.

I pushed his hand away and stood up, out of his lap. "Don't do that," I said sternly, taking a few steps backward.

"Do what, baby?" he asked, standing up also. "Tell you the truth?"

"That! Stop doing that!" I yelled. "Stop making yourself out as the victim, Alex! I know your ego is way too big for you to think that!"

He stayed quiet for a minute. "How can I make it better, angel?" he asked, completely ignoring my previous comment, proving to me it really was all just bullshit.

I sighed. "At this point, I don't know. All I wanted was the truth, but I'm just finding out what type of person you really are."

"Jack," he said, almost seeming frantic, "what are you saying?"

"I'm saying this is it," I said with a heavy heart. "I'm breaking up with you."

"Angel," he whispered, a look of grief and desperation on his face, "give me a chance to fix this."

I inhaled deeply. "I don't think you can."

He started to say something else, but I blocked it out and turned around, starting to walk away. It took a lot of willpower for me to not turn around and run back into his arms, but I had to stand my ground on this one. I couldn't just accept the fact that he lied to me and then tried to manipulate me out of being angry. It's not okay, and he has to know that.

I took out my phone as I walked and called Rian.

"Hey, Jacko," he greeted.

"A-are you still at school?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Yeah, Zack and I are at my car," he answered, sounding concerned. "Are you okay?"

"No, not really," I said. "Can you take me home?"

"Of course," he replied immediately. "What's wrong, what happened? I thought you were hanging out with Alex."

"We—I—" I sighed. "I'll tell you in the car."

"Yeah, sure," he responded. "Zack and I were gonna hang out, so is it okay if he's there, too?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, "I have a lot to fill you guys in on."

"You do," Rian agreed. "I feel like I haven't spoken to you since you and Gaskarth started dating."

I sighed, feeling quite like a deflating balloon at the mere mention of his name. "Don't worry. It's not gonna be like that anymore."

"I'm glad," he said. "I miss you, bro."

"Yeah, you, too," I said truthfully. While it was nice to at least experience what it felt like to be popular for a few weeks, I really did miss my two best friends. "I’m practically at the parking lot, so I'll talk to you in a second."

"Yeah, okay. Bye," Rian said cheerfully before hanging up.

I sighed before putting my phone back in my pocket. Rian's sunny disposition hasn't always been my favorite of his qualities, but at that moment, I really wasn’t liking it. I was almost angry that he was so happy while I wasn’t. I'd never felt like that before, and I was almost scared by how exasperated I was feeling.

As I headed towards the front door, I heard someone that I really didn't want to talk to call out my name. "Hey, Barakat! Wait up, man!"

I sighed again and yelled back at him without turning around, "Not in the mood, Franceschi!"

"Why not?" he called back, laughter lacing his voice. "Gaskarth's dick up your ass?"

I turned around and gave him the biggest glare I could muster. "Oh, bite me, Joshua!"

He looked taken aback at my outburst and didn't respond right away. I took that as my chance to escape the situation and finally leave the school building.

Once I was outside, a quick scan of the parking lot showed me where Rian's car was. I saw that both he and Zack were leaned against the hood, waiting for me. I walked over there quickly before Josh could come outside and ask me what had happened. I really didn't think I could deal with him.

On the way over there, I passed a group of people surrounding some car. I noticed Oli was sitting on the hood, looking rather disinterested at the conversation going on with the others. The only other person I recognized from the group was Oli's brother. I think his name was Tim or Toby... Something like that.

When I walked past, Oli looked up and met my eyes. He smiled fondly for a moment, before his expression changed. He frowned slightly and cocked his head to the side, almost like he was asking me what was wrong. I shook my head and shrugged; he nodded like he already knew what happened.

"Sorry," he mouthed, biting his lip slightly.

I shook my head again. "Not your fault," I mouthed back before continuing to Rian's car.

When I got over to them the first thing I heard was, "Geez, you look like shit," from Zack.

"Thanks," I deadpanned.

Rian winced. "He kind of has a point, bro. You look like you're either about to bite someone's head off or start crying. What's wrong?"

I sighed. "Asking me what's right might be easier for me to answer."

They both frowned. "Get in," Rian instructed. "I'm taking you to McDonald’s where you’re gonna tell us what happened over milkshakes."

Somehow, Rian has always known what to say to make me smile.

---

I took a sip of my chocolate milkshake and shrunk back into the booth. Even though I said I'd tell them everything, I didn't know where to start or even how to tell them. I knew I shouldn't have been nervous, considering they're my best friends, but I just couldn't make myself speak. I could tell that they were both getting antsy; Rian's gaze kept moving from his own milkshake to me, and Zack just looked worried.

I sighed. "I feel like I've been blocking you guys lately, and I'm sorry for that," I started out with.

"Don't sweat it, bro," Zack said, smiling at me. "We understand that you're in a new relationship."

I sighed again and buried my head in my hands. "Not anymore," I mumbled. "We broke up today."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, but when Rian finally did speak up he said, "I'm sorry. Is that why you looked so upset earlier?"

I nodded. "That, and Franceschi pissed me off right before I came outside."

They both looked puzzled, so I elaborated. "He was just being his normal self, but I'm mad at him for a different reason, so I was more annoyed than usual."

"You want to tell us what happened?" Rian said, reaching over to pat my shoulder.

"Well, it's a really long story, but if you guys want to hear it..."

"You look like you could really use a good venting session." Zack shrugged. "So if you want to tell us, go right ahead."

"He lied to me," I admitted. "He and Josh both did. They told me he was sick last week when he was really suspended. Which, I mean, wouldn't be such a huge deal if he didn't lie directly to my face after promising not to."

"Ouch." Zack winced.

"Then when we fought about it, he accused me of cheating on him with Josh," I continued, "which is really unbelievable."

"Why would he think that in the first place?" Rian asked. "That's a little out there, even for Gaskarth to think..."

"When he was suspended I needed advice on something," I explained, "so I went to Josh about it, and he really helped me out."

Rian frowned. "Isn't Josh straight?"

I shrugged. "I think so. I think he was just pissed that I was right and needed some kind of retort."

"You seem pretty calm about the whole thing," Zack pointed out. "I would've expected you to be more upset or something. You’re had a crush on this guy forever, and when you finally get him, it doesn’t even last."

"I am upset," I said. "It's just... he tried to manipulate me into thinking he was the victim. That's not the type of person I thought he was, and that's not the type of person I want to be in a relationship with, no matter how much I liked him."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." Rian smiled. "You seemed really upset earlier."

"I don't know if I'm okay." I sighed. "I feel like I've been deceived and like I wasn't really worth the trouble for him to be genuine to me."

Now it was Rian's turn to sigh. "You can't think like that. Gaskarth's just an asshole for doing that to you. You deserve better than that, and I think you know it."

"You think so?" I smiled.

"Of course," he replied, smiling back. "And when you're ready, Zack and I are going to find you someone worth your time."

Notes