“How did you figure it out?” I ask.

I sit down on the edge of the bed and watch him walk back and forth around the room. He looks at me, but I can’t read his expression. I can tell that he’s really fucking angry with me, though. My intention was never to make him look like an idiot. It was just a joke, a joke he thought he was playing on me. I never once thought he’d react like this.

“I saw a message from Mack on your phone when it came up on your lock screen,” he says. “So, I called Mack and made it sound like you’d already told me everything,” he explains. “It took about a minute to bluff the truth out of him.” He laughs bitterly. “I guess the joke is on me, huh?”

I frown at him. “Why are you so angry at me? This was your joke, remember.”

“I know that,” he snaps. “I’m just…” He sighs. “I thought we were done with the games.”

“You mean the game you were still playing?” I ask with a laugh. “You thought that I believed you were into crossdressing,” I say. “Explain to me, which game did you think was over?”

“I wanted to tell you the truth about that so many times,” he mutters.

“You can’t be mad at me for doing something that you were doing too,” I insist.

“Fine, just forget about it, okay?” He runs his hand through his hair, not meeting my eyes. “Maybe we should just head back home.”

Forget what, exactly?

Does he mean this argument or us? Or maybe everything?

I shake my head, because I can’t understand where all this anger is stemming from.

“Can we talk about this?” I plead with him. “Can we forget all the games and just be honest with how we feel?” I ask. “Don’t shut me out and treat me like the bad guy, because I’m not,” I growl.

“You’re right,” he sighs. “I’m the bad guy. I accept this is my fault, okay? It’s got nothing to do with you, so just...”

He shakes his head and picks up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder.

“Are you leaving with me?” he asks. “If you want to stay, fine. I’ll find my own way home.”

I stare at him, upset with the way he’s acting. How can he be angry at me, when all I did was exactly what he did to me? Is he that insecure that he can dish it out but not take it?

“Fine.” I snap, stalking past him and out the door. “Let’s go.”

If this is how he wants it, then that’s fine with me.

The drive home it feels like the longest half hour of my life. Cam barely says a word to me the whole way. Instead, he just grips the wheel with both hands and stares straight ahead, that same intense look in his eyes. Even when he pulls up outside his apartment building, he doesn’t say anything to me.

Angry, I get out the moment he does and walk around the car. I get in and slam the door shut, then wait for him to grab his bag from the trunk. The moment he closes it, I drive off, without so much as a goodbye. I take off down the street, waiting until I’m around the corner, before I pull over. I take a minute to get my shit together.

“Fuck,” I hiss, slamming my hands down against the wheel.

I shake my head and laugh, because he’s frustrating the fuck out of me. All I wanted to do was beat him at his own game, and I did. But was it worth it if it meant losing him in the process?

This is the first time I’ve admitted to myself that I feel something for him. Between all these pranks and getting to know him, something has shifted in the way I feel about him. The question is, do I really want to be with someone who can’t admit he’s just as in the wrong as I am?

I walk inside, relieved that nobody is home. The last thing I feel like doing is talking to anyone, especially Mom. All she would have to do is look at me to know something was wrong and I don’t trust myself not to tell her everything. I trudge upstairs to my room and climb onto my bed, curling up under the covers. I can’t relax though, because Mom will also know something is wrong if she finds me in bed this early, when I was supposed to be spending the night away.

God, I really need to sort out a place of my own soon.

I must have fallen asleep, because I wake up early Saturday morning. I glance at my clock and laugh, because it’s not even six. I don't have to work today, either, which makes being awake this early even less fun. I reach over and switch on the lamp, then I check my phone.

There are a couple of messages from Sasha, one from Katie, but there’s nothing from the person I was hoping to hear from. I jump when someone raps softly on my door and sit up. My first thought is Cameron, which is ridiculous, because he doesn’t live here and it’s six in the morning. But then again, who the hell else would knock on my door so early?

“Yes?” I say.

My voice croaks out, because it’s the first time I’ve spoken since yesterday.

“It's Mack.” He pauses. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” I say, sitting up in my bed.

He pushes the door open and walks in, giving me an awkward smile.

“Sorry, I was walking past and I saw your light was on…” He sounds embarrassed.

“I’m guessing that Cam told you what happened?” I ask.

He nods, even though his expression gives away the answer.

“He more yelled it,” he says, making a face. “Several times. He’s really angry at me.” He pauses. “But he’s even angrier at you.”

I sigh and rub my head. I was hoping after he had time to think about it, he’d calm down, but I’m beginning to doubt that. If I knew why he was so angry, then maybe I could do something to fix it, but right now, I don’t even know what to say.

“Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I totally didn't mean to rat you out,” he mutters. “He made it sound like you two had had a big argument about it and you told him everything.”

“I know you didn’t mean it,” I assure him. “It’s fine. Really.”

Mack can be annoying, but I don’t doubt for a second that he’s loyal. I know he would never have told Cam anything if he thought I for a moment I hadn’t already told him.

Mack frowns. “Do you think you guys can work it out?” he asks. “For what it's worth, I thought you were good together.”

“Thanks,” I say, smiling at him. “But I don't think Cameron and I are going to happen.”

“Well, if you need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on, you know where to find me.” He smirks at me. “Or if you’re looking for an easy rebound—”

“Mack. You are a minor, so it’s illegal,” I yell with a smirk. “But I might try and get some more sleep.”

“I’d offer to help you with that, but I’ll be late for hockey practice,” he grins.

“You play hockey?” I laugh.

I’m not sure why I find that so funny. He looks wounded, but then he sighs.

“Okay so it might have something to do with the coach being hot,” he confesses.

“He must be really cute,” I giggle.

He narrows his eyes at me. “I see what you did there.”

“Get out of here,” I say, still chuckling.

He backs out of the room, closing the door behind him, while I lay back down and close my eyes. I’m not expecting to get anymore sleep, but I just can’t be bothered being awake anymore. The next thing I know, Mom is gently shaking me. I glance at the clock.

How the hell did it get to be two in the afternoon?

I sit up in bed and smile sheepishly at her.

“In twenty-three years, I’ve never known you to mope around in bed,” she comments.

“Sorry,” I sigh and rub my head. “I’m just having a shit day.”

“And I'm getting married tomorrow, so pull yourself together. Come out with me. It will at least take your mind off whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

I reluctantly drag myself out of bed, have a shower, and then get dressed. For the next couple of hours, I drive around with Mom while she does a few last-minute things for the reception. I’m not sure I’m moping any less than I was before, but I guess the change in scenery is nice.

I don’t even look at Mom when she gets back into the car after paying the final deposit on the wedding cake. She sighs.

“Darcy?” She says. I look at her. “Are you going to tell me what's going on with you?” And don’t tell me it’s nothing,” she adds.

“Technically, I didn’t say anything,” I point out.

I wince under the weight of her disapproving frown and then I sigh.

Okay, so she’s not in the mood for my humor.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, but the story isn’t that interesting. Trust me,” I grumble. “I was sort of seeing this guy. He played a joke on me, I played one back, he found out and now I’m not seeing him anymore.”

“He’s annoyed at you because you played a joke back on him?” she asks, looking confused.

I nod. “The worst thing was, I was really starting to like him.”

“Could he possibly be thinking that these feelings are just part of the joke too?” she asks.

“You think he might be thinking I never really liked him?” I murmur.

“You obviously like him,” Mom says.

I shrug again. It doesn't matter now.

“What happened?” she asks.

“He played a joke on me, I did one back. He got upset. End of story,” I explain.

“Sounds like he needs to dislodge the stick from his ass,” Mom comments.

I snort. Would she be saying that if she knew who he was?

“No, I think we’re just too similar,” I finally say, managing a smile. “We’re both competitive, like to win arguments, and it’s been suggested we can be immature.”

“You?” she gasps, then smiles at me. “You’re a good person, Darcy. Those aren’t reasons to keep you from being with him. They’re excuses. If you like this boy, then decide if he’s worth growing up a little bit for. You know I mean that in the nicest possible way,” she adds.

“Are you telling me to put my big girl panties on?” I tease.

She nods. “Talk to him. Be straightforward about what you want, and then leave it up to him.”

Her advice makes a lot of sense, although she might not be offering it if she knew who I was talking about. That's the whole other complication with starting something with Cameron. These last two weeks is the first time we’ve really taken the time to get to know each other, but it doesn’t change the fact that after this weekend, we’ll be stepsiblings. I have no idea how Mom and Jim would react to us being together.

She drops me at home, before she heads out for drinks with a friend. I let myself inside, still thinking about what she said. She's right. I can either accept that it ends like this, or I can do something about it. They’re my two options. Being the one to make that first move might hurt, especially if he rejects me, but not seeing if we can work this out might end up hurting a lot more.