END ACT ONE

Entering third period Algebra class, I feel dread for the first time. All year long, this has been my favorite class, but today is different. Eric and I fought this morning. We’ve never argued before, but this morning, I felt so hurt and angry, I couldn’t hold back my feelings. Things have been leading up to this for a while now. For me, it started months ago.

After the night I went to his house to watch a movie, things shifted between us. He’d chosen Notting Hill—a romance, of all things—then sat so close to me on the couch, we were touching. It seemed like so much more than an innocent movie night, and like a fool, I thought we were finally starting to move past friendship.

Until the night of my Halloween party, which I’d thrown as an excuse to spend my favorite holiday with him. Not only did he not show after promising he would, he spent his night with Rachel—the girlfriend he tells me daily he can’t stand and wants to break up with. At the time, I was mad at myself more than anything for only seeing what I wanted to.

By Christmas break, just when I was starting to accept we’d never be anything more than friends, things got even more confusing. We’d almost shared a kiss that day in my bedroom. When he called a few days later, I had butterflies in my stomach, sure he was finally going to ask me out—that he’d broken up with Rachel like he’d been saying he was going to do for months. But I was wrong again.

When school started back after Christmas break, I heard Rachel talking to one of her friends about me in the girl’s bathroom. It hadn’t been a pleasant conversation to hear. She was talking about how pathetic I was for being in love with her boyfriend, how I was ugly and fat, how Eric would never want me. Hurt and embarrassed, I never had any intention of telling Eric about it. She hadn’t been completely wrong. No matter how many times I told myself not to fall in love with Eric, I had. Rachel must not have believed me when I told her I wasn’t going to tell him about the nasty comments because she ended up telling him herself.

Eric apologized a thousand times for Rachel’s catty behavior, told me he was furious with her, but it wasn’t enough. There was only one thing that would make that right: him breaking up with her—which he still hasn’t done. If what he says is true and he really doesn’t want to date her, you’d think it would’ve given him the perfect excuse to end things. Perhaps he cares more for her than he leads on, or, worse yet, he doesn’t care as much about me as I thought he did. Instead, he suggested Rachel and I try to get to know each other, that we become friends. As if that was ever going to happen. It’ll be a cold day in hell.

Yesterday afternoon, I told Eric I couldn’t take him to school this morning. I made up some lame excuse about not having the time, but the truth was, I needed some space to clear my head and figure out how to handle the hurt I’m feeling. Our friendship seems to be causing me more heartache than anything these days.

But Eric couldn’t even respect me enough to give me that. Right as I was getting ready to walk out the door, I got a call from him saying he “missed” the bus and needed me to come get him, knowing I wouldn’t say no.

Before we got our driver’s licenses, Eric and I made an agreement. If one of us got a car before the other, we’d give the other a ride so they wouldn’t have to ride the bus alone. That ended up being me, and for the most part, it hasn’t been a problem. Until now. We both know he missed the bus on purpose, and it made me feel like he cared more about having to ride the bus than respecting me. I felt used, and that hurt boiled in my gut, eventually bubbling out into anger.

For a while now, I’ve felt like his consolation prize—like he gets to have his cake and eat it too. He prefers my company over Rachel’s, he’s told me as much. But she’s the one who gets to hold his hand as they walk down the hall. She’s the one he takes on dates and kisses goodnight.

So, as much as it’s going to kill me. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to end my friendship with Eric. If I don’t act now, I’ll lose my nerve, and if I wait, I’ll end up broken hearted for sure.

“Is this seat taken?” I ask Tiffany, who looks up at me in annoyed disgust. The first step in severing my friendship with Eric: moving where he can’t sit next to me. So, while I don’t want to sit next to her any more than she does me, it’s my only option.

“No,” she drawls, narrowing her eyes.

“Great!” With a smile on my face, I plop down in the seat next to her, pretending to be unfazed by her obvious irritation.

“Uh, don’t you sit up there?” Tiffany’s friend Raven chimes in, rolling her eyes as she points to the front of the room where I normally sit with Eric. I’m not sure what I’ve done to these girls, but they clearly don’t care much for me. I’m not asking if they want to be BFFs, all I want to do is sit here. Geez.

“I did, but now I want to sit here.” Ignoring their hateful glares, I begin unpacking my things and placing them on the table in front of me.

“Did you and Eric break up or something?” Tiffany pries, chuckling as my body stiffens.

She isn’t the first person to assume Eric and I were dating. It’s not a farfetched assumption, I suppose. We are together all day. We walk to class together, sit together, eat lunch together, and ride together—at least, we did.

“Yeah,” Raven chimes in again. “You’re going to break the poor boy’s heart.”

My eyes snap in their direction as they both begin to snicker, my jaw ticking as I work to keep my temper at bay. I’m having a shitty day and don’t need these two adding to it.

“Eric and I aren’t a couple,” I force out between clenched teeth. “He’ll be fine, I assure you. He has a girlfriend.”

The girls exchange a look, their eyes widening before turning back to me.

“What?” they cry out in unison.

“But…he’s so obviously into you,” Tiffany says, her features drawing in.

“Yeah, the guy is like obsessed or something,” Raven adds. “His girlfriend must really hate you.”

They have that part right. Rachel hates my guts. She made that clear from the start. They’re delusional if they think Eric has feelings for me, though. Obsessed? Where the hell did they get that?

“I promise,” I sulk. “You’re wrong. Eric isn’t interested in me like that. As for his girlfriend hating me, I’m taking care of that for her.”

Tiffany and Raven exchange another look before going back to ignoring me, and I move my attention to the door. When Eric walks in the room, I stop breathing. Taking his seat, he regards the empty one next to him, surprised concern flashing on his face. His eyes move from the door to the clock a hundred times over the next sixty seconds, not once thinking to look at the back of the room. Why would he? It’s not as if he’s expecting me to end our friendship today. Guilt gnaws at my gut causing bile to rise in my throat, but I need to see this through.

The bell rings, and our Algebra teacher walks in. Almost immediately, Coach Hester notices I’m not in my usual seat. His eyes scan over the room and stop on me moments later before making his way over. Being his best student, I’ve talked to him a lot over the year. We’re more like friends than student and teacher.

“What are you doing?” he whispers, trying not to draw anyone’s attention.

“Nothing,” I shrug. “I needed a change of scenery.”

“Did you two break up or something?” He nods toward Eric, then looks around to see if anyone is listening, his cheeks pinkening a little.

What is with everyone? Have they all missed out on Eric’s make-out sessions with Rachel every damn day? I sure as hell haven’t.

“No. We weren’t a couple.”

“Really?” His voice rises to a higher octave as the same confused expression Tiffany and Raven had only a moment ago contorts his features. Shaking his head, he eyes Eric before looking down at me again. “You know he’s going to freak when he figures out you moved away from him, right?”

Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “I assure you, he’ll be fine. Don’t you need to teach the class?”

My tone makes his eyes narrow, but he doesn’t comment any further before making his way back to the front of the class.

Eric’s eyes are still glued on the door, and my heart beats against my ribcage so hard, I fear everyone in the room can hear it. Knots twist my stomach, anticipating the moment he realizes what’s happening. Maybe I didn’t think this through. What if they’re right? What if Eric does get upset? I can’t handle seeing hurt in his eyes.

But I’m doing this for me. I can’t keep playing his second string.

Coach Hester calls my name for attendance and my head snaps up as I hesitate for a moment. Everyone except Eric has taken note of my move, and the room is starting to erupt with snickers and whispered gossip.

When I finally say, “Here,” Eric’s head whips back to find me. Averting my eyes, I try to ignore his glare and pain-filled expression as laughter fills the room.

No turning back now.