“You’re not going to believe this,” Angus said, drawing up a chair and sitting beside me.

I was barely listening though. My eyes were searching the cafeteria for Madi, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. Even Hayley was nowhere to be found. The two of them hadn’t been sitting at our table at lunch since Madi and Jake broke things off. They’d spent most of their lunch breaks with Teagan and some of the other drama kids, but today they were notably absent.

I suspected it had something to do with the insults that had been written across Madi’s locker. My teeth clenched as I tried to control the rage that boiled up inside me as I remembered the words. Madi was none of the things that had been written there, but I’d seen how quickly she believed them. How fast she’d begun to pull inside her shell again.

I’d only had two classes with her today, but it made me sick to see how much she had changed in the few hours since the start of the day. I’d seen her arrive at school, and she’d been smiling as people congratulated her for the ice skating episode. She’d practically received a hero’s welcome as she’d walked down the corridor. Everyone who watched the show loved her. And so they should; she was the best thing about True Love.

Watching the episode had made my heart beat faster and put a stupid grin on my face. I’d replayed the moment when Madi crashed into me and we fell onto the ice several times. The camera had zoomed in on our faces as she lay on me, and the way she had looked at me was so intense that it made my stomach clench tightly as I relived it. I could still remember the way she’d felt in my arms. The moment had felt magical. Watching it back made me so excited to see her again, and I was certain that anyone watching the episode could only love Madi more as it progressed.

Then those words had appeared on her locker. Those stupid words. And it was like a dark shadow had been cast across Madi’s light. By fourth period, she was hunched over her desk and not responding to any questions. Her hair had been draped over her face, and the bright girl I knew had disappeared.

She’d reacted in a similar way last year when the hot list came out. I’d watched, unable to do anything as she’d changed herself so that no one would pay her any attention. It had broken my heart to see her do that to herself once. I wasn't going to let it happen again.

“Cole?” Angus said, jerking my attention back to him.

“What is it?” My voice sounded every ounce as grumpy as I felt.

“We had nearly fifty thousand views last night,” he replied.

“What?” I shook my head, my focus now entirely on Angus.

“We had fifty thousand views. Our charity show has gone viral.” Angus was grinning from ear to ear. “The local news even contacted the school this morning about doing a piece on it.”

I frowned. All I could think about was how this would affect Madi. Would it upset her further knowing how many people had been watching us?

“Cole?” Angus snapped his fingers in front of my face.

“Sorry, what?”

“I said you’re famous, man.”

“Right.” Like I cared about that.

“We’re going to need to meet after school to discuss tonight.”

“What about it?”

Angus’ enthusiasm waned. It seemed like he was only just beginning to get that I wasn’t as happy as he was about the show’s success. “We need to come up with a game plan to keep people watching. We’ll have to be smart about who you eliminate from now on.”

“I thought I got to choose,” I replied.

“Well, you do,” Angus said. “But we should still talk about it. We don’t want you getting rid of anyone who has high entertainment value.” Angus’ eyes flicked in Laurie’s direction and I sighed. She was the last person I wanted to keep around after the stunt she had pulled on Friday night.

“I’m not keeping her,” I hissed, only loud enough for Angus to hear.

“Look, she doesn’t need to be your final choice,” Angus said. “But she’s one of the most interesting people to watch.”

“So?”

“So, I thought you were doing this to help raise money for the fire victims. The more entertaining the show, the more donations we receive.”

I scowled at Angus. We’d always gotten along fine, but right now he was pushing me close to the edge. “I’ll think about it,” I said.

Angus grinned and slapped me on the shoulder, like he’d gotten what he wanted. “You do that,” he said. He stood from his chair and looked down at me. “I’ll be at your house early tonight to discuss the ceremony and the dates for this week.”

“Whatever.” I turned from him and scanned the room to see if Madi had appeared while I’d been distracted. She still wasn’t in the cafeteria though, and the longer I went without seeing her, the angrier I became. I was going to kill whoever was behind the graffiti on her locker.

My gaze flickered to Jake. He was eating his lunch; or trying to. It looked a little tricky as Laurie threw herself at him. She was currently pawing at his arm and looking up at him like he was the only guy in the world. At least, she was until she caught me watching and sent a wink my way.

I ignored her, but Jake didn’t seem to mind her attention. He actually looked like he was enjoying it, and I was somewhat glad that Madi wasn’t around to see her ex-boyfriend behaving that way.

I watched Jake, hoping to see any hint of guilt or remorse, but he seemed completely at ease as he sat at the table. I wanted it to be him. I wanted an excuse to prove to Madi that Jake wasn’t good enough for her. I couldn’t imagine him writing those things on her locker though. He was an idiot, and Madi could do better, but he wasn’t that vindictive or cruel.

“What’s crawled up your ass?” Tanner asked, taking a seat next to me. “I haven’t seen you look this pissed since we lost that game to Westbrook last season.”

“I’m fine,” I said bluntly, not wanting to admit the reasons I was in such a bad mood. Tanner was still watching me closely though so I stuffed another forkful of food in my mouth in the hopes he’d leave me alone.

“You’re angry about Madi’s locker this morning, right?” he asked. Clearly, he didn’t get the hint that I didn’t want to talk. Although he was probably just too stubborn to care.

“Yeah,” I finally caved. “Any chance you know who did it?”

“Nah, I’ve got no idea,” Tanner said, leaning back in his chair. “Not cool, though. Not cool.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, scowling down into my bowl of spaghetti.

Tanner patted me on the back. “I’ll ask around; see if we can find the culprit.”

“Thanks, man,” I said, looking over at him. Knowing Tanner, he’d probably have it figured out by the end of the day. As I looked at him, I noticed Teagan get up from her table on the other side of the cafeteria. She looked like she was on a mission as she hurried to the exit.

“I’ll catch you later, Tanner,” I said, before pushing up from my chair and taking off after Teagan.

“Hey,” I called, catching up with her.

“Oh, hey Cole,” she replied, smiling at me. She always looked angelic, but her smile was what really knocked guys out.

“I was hoping you might know where Madi is. I didn’t see her at lunch,” I said.

She gave a small and genuine laugh. “I thought that might be why you couldn’t keep your eyes off our table today. Evan was convinced that maybe his charms were starting to work on you.”

“Ah, I might have to have a talk with Evan. I don’t want to break his heart.”

“I’m fairly certain he knows you’re only into girls; he just likes a challenge,” she said. “Besides, you’re not really his type.”

“Well, now I’m the one who’s heartbroken,” I replied.

She shook her head, a smile still on her lips.

“So, do you know where Madi is?” I asked.

“I think she went to the art room to work on her project.”

I let out a breath of relief. “Thanks, Teagan,” I replied, already walking off in the direction of the art room. “I’ll see you tonight,” I shouted back over my shoulder as I left the cafeteria.

The art room was at the far side of the building. I’d never taken any art classes, and it took me a couple of tries before I found the right room. The lights were off and the room was dim, with only sunlight streaming in through the far window.

There were easels with large paintings scattered around the place, and it took me a moment before I spotted Madi in the corner of the room. She was seated with her back to the door, working a brush over her painting. I slowly made my way toward her and stopped when I caught sight of the piece she was working on.

It was incredible. The canvas was a wash of blues and whites with a lone hockey player in the center of it. Madi had somehow managed to capture the player’s movement perfectly as they went to take a shot.

“That looks awesome,” I said softly.

Madi jumped from her stool, her paintbrush dropping to the ground. She had her hands pressed to her chest as she turned around to face me. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to sneak up on people!” she exclaimed.

“I was hardly sneaking,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

She shook her head. “No, I’m pretty certain that since you haven’t managed to annoy me to death yet, now you’re working on scaring me.”

I smiled. “Nah, I need you around to keep my big ego in check.”

“True,” she replied, with a smile that matched mine. It didn’t quite reach her eyes though, and I knew she was still upset after this morning.

“I wanted to check on you,” I said, pulling a stool up next to hers.

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine,” she replied, turning back to her work.

She didn’t look fine. Not one bit. Her face was paler than usual, and there was an emptiness to her eyes that even her smiles couldn’t erase. I reached out and took her hand in mine.

“You can’t let those words on your locker get to you,” I said.

“I’m not,” she replied.

I waved my free hand around the art room. “You never come in here at lunch.”

She shrugged. “Is it so bad I wanted some time to myself today?”

“No, I’m just worried. I don’t like seeing you upset.”

She nodded, her eyes focused on her canvas. “I’m trying not to be.”

We both knew she was failing.

She let out a breath and faced me once more. “I don’t think I can be a part of the competition anymore.”

My insides clenched and I tried to remain calm. “Why not?”

“I just don’t want all this drama in my life. I talked to Angus today, and he said that after last night we’ve already raised triple our goal for the charity. You guys don’t need me.”

“I need you,” I said without thought. It was the truth.

She swallowed, and her teeth took hold of her lower lip as she returned my gaze. “You don’t need me,” she finally said.

“What if I do?”

“I’m sure you can handle a couple of dates without me there to hold your hand.”

I let out a sigh. She didn’t get it. Either that or she didn’t feel the same. She just wanted to be friends and nothing more.

“You really don’t want to be a part of the competition anymore?” I asked.

She nodded, and I sighed again. It was hard to hide my disappointment. “Okay, if the audience doesn’t vote for you, I’ll eliminate you tonight if that’s what you want.”

“It’s what I want,” she said.

I slowly stood to leave but paused. “Just so you know, I think you’re making the wrong decision. People are always going to find someone to talk about, but what they say are just their opinions, not fact. We both know those things that were written on your locker weren’t true. You can’t keep allowing other people’s opinions to influence how you feel about yourself.”

I took a deep breath before I continued. “You’re beautiful inside and out, Madi. I just wish you could see it for yourself.”

She wasn’t looking at me. Her eyes were on her canvas, and it was impossible to know what she was thinking. She let out a breath and faced me, but her eyes still didn’t meet mine.

“It’s easier to believe the bad stuff than the good,” she murmured. She turned back to her canvas once more, and I knew that was my cue to leave.

It broke my heart to see her so sad though. I wanted to fix things for her so badly. The problem was, I couldn’t miraculously make her feel better. She needed to be the one to realize that she was worth so much more than the nasty things that people said. She needed to start believing in herself, but she was the only one who could do that. I just wondered if there was something I could do to help kick start it.