This is another long chapter. Y'all are gonna want to push me off the cliff I leave y'all at. But don't worry, once you guys reach 400 votes, y'all will get an update. Don't hate me; this chapter was getting too long so I had to cut it off somewhere :) Enjoyyyy

Kat and I are mid conversation when she suddenly ducks her head and shades her face. I look around the library plaza curiously. "Stop looking!" she hisses so I also hide my head and face her in a state of pure confusion. "One of my teammates from volleyball is here; she's looking for a place to sit but she's such a bitch. She thinks we're friends."

"Katherine?" a high pitched voice asks and Kat grimaces at me before putting on a fake smile.

"Hey, Taylor!" she greets the girl, who immediately helps herself to a chair at our table.

"I thought that was you; I couldn't see your face, though," Taylor, I'm assuming, explains. She puts her laptop on the table and opens it with her perfectly manicured fingers. She twirls a strand of her blond hair as it starts up. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is November," Kat introduces me.

"It's nice to meet you," she smiles. "Cute hair."

"Thank you, you too," I respond awkwardly. She doesn't seem too bad, just a little loud.

"Kat, did you hear?" she gasps loudly, gaining even more attention from onlookers. Though this isn't exactly a quiet floor, it's purpose isn't a conversation hub.

"No, what?" Kat replies, tilting her head.

"Maya, from the team- you know, Maya Walsh?" she asks and Kat nods. "She hooked up with Caroline's boyfriend. And get this-." She continues to gossip and I suddenly understand Kat's dislike for her. I'm pulled back to high school by her word vomit so I slowly tune her out. I turn my attention to my phone, which proves to be much more captivating than gossip about people I don't know.

The conversation drifts and I find myself listening to select parts of it. She talks about boys for a long period of time and Kat feigns interest. When she asks about Kat's love life, my friend quickly distinguishes any assumptions. She says she's not dating and I repress the urge to snort. It isn't until I hear her make a noise of delight that Kat decides to drag me back into the conversation. She delivers a sharp kick to my ankle and I let out a muffled whimper.

"Who is he?" Taylor asks, completely oblivious to the assault that took place beneath the table. I look up and see Taylor's eyes trailing a familiar figure. Of all people, it has to be Dominic. Of every single person in this library right now, she has to lay her eyes on Dominic. I look at Kat, expecting her to tell her friend to back off. Instead, she lightly touches my hand and leans in to Taylor.

"I had a few classes with him. He's really nice," she explains as she keeps her gaze on Dominic. She turns her attention back to the blonde beside us, who's eyeing him like he's a steak and she's a hungry wolf. "You should go talk to him."

"I may as well. I'll probably never see him around again," she agrees confidently. I stare at Kat in pure shock.

"What the hell?" I blurt once Taylor stands up and starts across the library. His eyes are locked on his laptop as he bobs his head to the music playing through his earbuds.

"He's going to reject her; I'll bet money on it," Kat retorts dismissively. "Maybe then she'll leave out of embarrassment."

I stare with my arms crossed tightly over my chest and a sour look on my face. Dominic doesn't look up until she's standing at the other side of the table gripping one of the chairs. He takes out one earbud and peers up at her with a curious look on her face. She opens her mouth and talks to him, giggling girlishly. He offers her an apologetic smile as he replies to her in a short sentence. She nods before turning and heading back towards us. I keep my eyes locked on him, watching as he puts the earbud back in and returns to his work as if he was never disrupted in the first place.

"How'd it go?" Kat asks, pretending as though she hadn't watched the entire thing.

"He has a girlfriend," Taylor reveals as she drops in her seat. I sit forward a bit as I stare at her with furrowed eyebrows. Excuse me? Kat also looks a little shocked. "I'm not surprised. You can't look like that and not have a girlfriend. Whoever she is, she's lucky."

"I was not aware of that," Kat says, slightly apologetic.

"It's whatever," Taylor says. "I can still admire him from afar." I stare at Dominic and contemplate approaching him. Taylor would probably be surprised, not that it matters much to me.

Dominic and I have been good these past few days. The hooking up has lessened to once a day but I think it's for a couple reasons. The first being that I'm still a little nervous about the whole 'I love you' scenario. He makes jokes about it now and clearly wasn't too affected by it. I can't help but remember the look on his face when I said it. It makes me wonder what was going on in his mind. Not to mention, midterms are approaching and we've decided to study separately seeing as every time we study together, it becomes a heated make-out session, which usually gets cut short by Jack walking in. We usually pretend to be napping or cuddling in Dominic's bed but we've almost been caught a couple times. Thankfully Jack is clueless enough not to notice.

I twirl my phone in my hands as I gaze at my best friend. I decide to text him and ask if he wants to get dinner. I send the message and watch as he glances at his phone. He lifts the device, smiles at the screen, and hastily types a reply. It takes a few seconds for it to reach my inbox and when it does, I skim it. Yeah, when? I suggest now just to see what he'll say. I expect him to put it off for a half hour or so seeing as he just sat down five minutes ago. I keep my eyes on him as he stares at his phone, patiently waiting for my response. When it goes through, he quickly types up a message before unzipping his bag and closing his laptop.

"I'm going to go," I tell Kat and she gives me a pleading look as Taylor talks her ears off. "Bye, Taylor. It was nice meeting you."

"You, too," she says before offering me a smile. She turns back to Kat to engage her in conversation.

"I'll see you," my friend whispers with begging eyes.

"Sorry," I mouth as I grab my bag and rush to the lobby. I lean against the wall in an attempt to look cool but I mostly just scratch the back of my arms on the brick surface.

Dominic emerges a second later with his earbuds playing loudly. He shuffles right past me and I duck behind him, looping my finger into his hood. He halts in his stride when he notices my grip and turns around to see the culprit. His eyes settle on me and he tilts his head curiously and I can already tell what he's thinking. I tug his earbuds from his ears and lightly swing them in my hands.

"Hey," I greet him.

"How'd you know I was here?" he asks with a small smile.

"I saw you," I reply and his eyebrows knit together in confusion. I drop his earbuds into his pocket before leading the way to the exit. "I was with Kat and...her friend."

"Interesting," he responds.

"I have a question," I blurt as we exit the library into the cool courtyard. I'd thank Mother Nature for the nice late February weather but I have a feeling it's not her doing.

"Ask away," he encourages as he matches my stride.

"What do you say when girls approach you?" I inquire as I gaze up at him.

"What do you mean?" he requests clarification.

"Like if a girl comes up to you and calls you cute; what would you say back?" I specify.

"I'd say thanks and then politely reject her," he answers with a nod. "Why? Have guys been approaching you?"

"No..." I trail, unsure of how to ask if he's been telling girls he has a girlfriend. I decide to stop beating around the bush and just go in for the kill. "Have you been telling girls you have a girlfriend?"

He seems a little taken back but wears his bright grin regardless. "Have you been sending girls to talk to me?" he counters as he tugs his brows together. The narrow of his eyes tells me he's entertained by this topic of conversation and I feel a little embarrassed for reading so much into it. It's just that he can say a multitude of things: I'm not interested; I'm not dating at the moment. He could even accept their number and not bother texting them.

"No," I answer with a shake of my head. "Kat sort of did."

"Sort of?" he asks.

"We were sitting in the library and her friend Taylor joined us. She saw you and said you were cute and Kat encouraged her to go talk to you. I was not on board with the entire situation, for your information. But Kat said you'd reject her and you did. She came back, sat down, and said you had a girlfriend," I explain. "She could've been lying to save face but she seemed genuine."

"She wasn't lying," he answers with a shrug. "I did tell her that I have a girlfriend."

"Okay," I answer.

"It's just something I say," he clarifies. "I'm not calling you my girlfriend. It's just an easier way to turn girls down than to just tell them I'm not interested."

I suddenly feel stupid for asking. Now I feel like an idiot for reading so much into it. "Makes sense," I reply awkwardly. I really put myself on the spot by deciding to have this conversation in person.

"What do you say when guys approach you?" he asks as he holds open the door to the dining hall. We make a beeline for an empty table across the room.

"They don't," I tell him bluntly.

"Don't feel bad. It's because you're too pretty," he explains, which gets a scoff from me. I narrow my eyes at him as I put my bag down in the chair.

"Okay Dominic," I say dubiously.

"I'm serious. It intimidates guys," he continues. I roll my eyes at him as I fight off a blush. "You're the kind of pretty that, when guys see you, they automatically overlook you because they just know that getting rejected by you would hurt too damn much." My face reddens as I sigh loudly and walk towards the food. "I mean it, Nova!"

I dump food on my plate, glaring at it quietly. He says things like that but wore a look of terror when I told him I loved him. But then, he teases me for my slip--up, making it sound like he wanted me to mean it. Not to mention, he was quick to remind me that I'm not his girlfriend, as if I didn't already know that. I know he doesn't want a relationship but he shut down that idea before it could even form. I don't understand why he's so confusing. I fill up my cup with juice and head in the direction of our table. He's already sitting down with a large amount of fries and steak.

I shake off the irritation and pick up my pace. I come up behind him and notice that he's typing a hefty paragraph on his phone. "Who ya texting?" I question as I brush past him. He jumps a little and locks his phone. As I take a seat, he hurriedly places his device screen down on the table. I'm completely thrown off by his behavior that I can only stare with a curious look on my face.

"No one," he answers dismissively before cringing slightly. "That was really suspicious, wasn't it?"

I shrug it off and take a bite of my lasagna, feeling my previous irritation returning. Again with the mixed signals; I'm beautiful one minute and the next he's practically slamming his phone down to keep me from seeing his messages. "It's none of my business either way," I respond dismissively.

"It's just the group chat; the guys are being dumb," he clarifies and I slowly nod, not quite believing him. If it's the group chat then why didn't he say that in the first place? And why did he freak out like that?

"Cool," I answer just as a weight settles in my stomach. The conversation is awkwardly changed yet I can't help but feel like he's hiding something from me.

+++

"I think he's slowly setting boundaries with me," I tell my sister over the phone as I walk back from Eli's apartment. He insisted on driving me but the weather's nice and I needed to talk to Mari so I told him I'd walk. "I could be over exaggerating though."

"Let me hear it," my sister responds.

"This may be a stretch but he basically told me that he doesn't call me his girlfriend. I obviously know that and everything but I feel like he said it a little...harsh. He'd usually backtrack and explain himself more but he didn't. It was cut and dry," I tell her. "And the other day at dinner, I came up behind him when he was on his phone. He completely freaked out when I asked who he was texting. He locked it, put it face down, said 'no one,' and then tried to claim that it was the group chat."

"That does sound a little suspicious," she mumbles in thought. "Maybe try asking him about it again."

"I don't know..." I trail. "If it happens again, I will but I'm not going to go out of my way to bring it up."

"Are you guys hanging out tonight?" she asks and I sigh noisily.

"We're going to a party," I inform her and she groans.

"You're kidding me, right? Every party you guys have ever gone to together has resulted in arguing," she snaps. "You guys are going through a rocky patch and going to a party definitely isn't going to help."

"It's West's birthday and he wants to go out. I told Dominic to go enjoy the night with his friends but he wants me there," I tell her.

"Ridiculous," she grumbles.

I hang up with her once I get back to my dorm. I hurriedly get ready when I see that it's already 8 o'clock. Dominic said he'll be here at 8:30 to get me so when I get his text at 8:25, I'm not too surprised. I rush downstairs and get into the car, hearing a low whistle from him. "You look good," he compliments.

"Thanks," I smile in response.

"Let's get going," he urges as he quickly pulls onto the road. He heads towards the house and I turn up the music to avoid talking. We're driving for twenty minutes before he lets out a frustrated sigh. He cuts off the song playing and stares at me in defeat. "Can you pull up a GPS?" he asks. I reach for his phone, seeing as mine is nearly dead. When he notices me reaching, he jumps nervously.

"What?" I hesitate before I narrow my eyes at him. He bites his lip nervously and I sigh and sit back in my seat, turning my attention out the window. I cross my arms tightly and roll my eyes, feeling frustration and sadness growing in my chest. So I wasn't overreacting before when he freaked out about his phone. "Then I guess we're just going to stay lost."

"You can do it; just...don't look at my messages," he says and my head snaps in his direction. "I know it sounds bad! But the group-chat-."

"How about you pull over and do it yourself?" I reply in an eerily calm manner, which gets an anxious glance from him.

"Nova, just use my phone," he insists. He grabs it from his lap and hands it to me. I stare at the device and contemplate whether or not I should take it. The last thing I want is to see something that will hurt my feelings, especially not when I'm supposed to be spending the next couple hours with him. I grit my teeth and accept it, putting my thumb on the home button. As soon as I unlock it, a message comes in. Unintentionally, my eyes skim over it and my stomach turns sour.

Jack: No Dom, I'm talking about the whole thing with Raven the last time you were home.

"You got a text," I inform him as I toss his phone back at him. He struggles to catch it with the hand that's not gripping the steering wheel. He quickly reads the message and sighs.

"Nova, let me explain," he starts and by the tone of his voice, I can tell it's not going to be a sufficient explanation. I feel my chest start to ache so I bite my tongue. My eyes are locked ahead and he drives further down the desolate road.

"There it is," I comment when I see a house surrounded by a multitude of cars. As soon as he parks, I get out of the car. I listen as he swears under his breath and wastes no time in following me.

"Nova," he calls as he lightly grabs my wrist. "Can I at least explain myself?"

"Go ahead," I encourage when I turn around and face him. He purses his lips and bounces back and forth on his feet. When he doesn't make a move to speak, I shake my head and turn back around. "Whatever, Dominic."

I enter the party and leave him in the yard, which is already littered with drunk college students. I look around until I find West and Jack, who are both competing in their favorite game: beer pong. Jack, however, gives all the beer filled cups to West, who downs them with ease. I stand and watch, ignoring Dominic's presence when he arrives. West, who's already hit with the alcohol he's consumed, turns to me.

"There's a girl out there that I want to dance with so I'm just going to use you for a minute," he informs me.

"Okay," I agree. "You wouldn't be the first person to use me." I shoot a petty glare towards Dominic, who opens his mouth in slight shock. Jack cringes, muttering a hushed 'what was that about?' I don't stick around to hear Dominic's response and instead, let West lead me to the dance floor.

Barely two minutes in, West slickly moves in on the girl he was mentioning before and she grins at him. He gives me a brief thumbs up and I give him a forced smile. I head in the direction of the guys but a boy cuts in front of me, which only fuels my irritation more. When I look up at him, I feel my anger slightly dissipate. The tall, dark skinned boy offers me a wide grin, which I hesitantly return. "Do you want to dance?" he inquires and I look from him to Dominic, who's sizing up the guy in front of me with a threatened look on his face.

"No but I wouldn't mind having a conversation," I respond with a small smile. "Let's get out of their way."

I turn and head in Dominic's direction and his shoulders slump in relief. When his eyes fall on the guy behind me, his alleviation turns to confusion. I stand a few feet away from Jack and Dominic and engage the boy trailing me. "So what's your name?" he asks.

"November," I reply. "Everyone calls me Nova."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," he compliments, allowing his large lips to pull back into a flirtatious smile.

"Thanks," I reply dryly. "What's your name?"

"Xavier," he answers. "Sometimes people call me X."

"I like that name," I assure him. "You go to Lewiston?"

"Yeah, can you guess my major?" he inquires. I notice Dominic standing a few feet behind Xavier with an irritated look on his face. He's stand with his hands on his hips as if silently asking if I'm seriously doing this.

"Biology?" I guess when I break my gaze from Dominic. He tosses his head back and laughs noisily.

"Oh no, never that," he says with a shake of his head. "I'm engineering."

"I can see that," I nod slowly as I tilt my head at him. I feel Dominic's hard gaze on me as I continue to converse with this boy. "Guess my major now."

He licks his lips and assesses me. I pretend not to notice the way his eye work up my body. However, Dominic notices and gives him a dirty look. Xavier moves a short dread from in front of his face and lets out an inquisitorial 'hmph.' "My first guess would be modeling if we had that," he informs me in his deep voice. I almost let out a laugh when I see Dominic's eyebrows shoot up. "But I'm going to go with nursing."

"Nope," I retort with a laugh. "What makes you think that?"

"You look like you could take care of me," he responds suggestively and Dominic's head snaps from me to Xavier with an expression of pure shock on his face. Jack, who's standing beside him, watches as if it's a sitcom.

I decide that this conversation is taking a turn I don't want to entertain. Sure I'll have an innocent conversation to irritate Dominic but I'm not going to actively flirt with this kid, especially not when it's riddled with sexual innuendos. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," I inform him.

"Can I go with you?" he asks evocatively and Dominic's eyes practically bulge out of his head.

I laugh and slowly shake my head. "No, thanks," I answer before turning and heading in the direction of the main hallway. I manage to slip into the bathroom just before a group of girls can navigate their way in. I wait expectantly for Dominic, who appears with an exasperated look on his face. I open the door wider and he slips around me.

"What the hell was that, Nova?" he hisses as I close and lock the door.

"What do you mean?" I reply as I lean against the sink, turning a curious eye on him.

"You just flirted with that guy," he responds.

"I wasn't flirting," I rebut with a shrug.

"You entertained him," Dominic clarifies.

"Am I not allowed to?" I reply calmly and he blinks in confusion. "Because last time I checked, I'm not dating anyone. Yeah, you're my friend with benefits but you're not my boyfriend. You made that very clear the other day, remember?"

His jaw drops in surprise as he stares at me. He opens his mouth to speak but only manages to say "I..." before breaking off into a series of incoherent mumbling. I watch as he works to find a reason as to why it's not okay for me to flirt with other guys. He eventually stops rambling so I decide to speak again.

"I'm allowed to flirt with whoever I want. If you'd prefer, I won't do it in front of you," I say and he knits his eyebrows together as he searches my face for a few seconds. "Would you prefer if I do it elsewhere? Like maybe on my phone? A 'group chat' perhaps?" I use the air quotations and his mouth falls open once more.

He gives me a slow, long blink. "Are we really doing this right now?" he asks in slight shock.

"We can do it in a 'group chat' if you'd prefer," I answer in my abnormally natural tone. His phone lights up in his hand and he quickly glances at it, which gets a scoff from me as I cross my arms. "The 'group chat?'"

"It's West, actually. He wants to take a birthday shot with us," Dominic says and I glare at him for a second. He extends his hand and I read the message. It is in fact West but from the broken English, I'm not sure what he's trying to ask.

"Fine, let's not ruin his day, too," I reply dismissively.

"We'll talk later," he insists. I kick off the counter and pull open the door.

We head in the direction of the kitchen where West has two shot glasses filled up. I quirk an eyebrow at them and he pushes one towards me. "They're driving," he explains before shoving it a little closer. A few drops splash over the side. "But you're not."

I sigh as I stare at it. "I hate shots," I confess.

"It's just one," West insists with a puckered lower lip. "Please."

"Yeah, just one," Dominic reiterates pointedly, which earns a narrowed gaze from me. I grab the shot and quickly down it before placing it back onto the table.

"We were supposed to do it in unison!" West complains.

"Then I guess I'll have to take another one," I reply, which earns a flat look from Dominic.

West shakily pours it, spilling it onto the table as he does. "Okay, on three..." he says. Dominic crosses his arms so I grab the small cup and down it again. "Nova! Wait, please!"

Dominic sucks his teeth and I turn my attention to West, deciding to cut myself off at three. "Sorry," I say before letting him struggle to pour another shot.

"On three...1...2...3..." he finishes and we both slam back the small cups. I wrinkle my face once again and shake my head.

"You're ridiculous," Dominic huffs at me as West raises his hands happily.

"You're ridiculous," I mock him.

"You're acting like a child," he whispers to me.

I ignore him and attempt to sneak off to the living room. Dominic doesn't leave me alone and practically steps on my heels as he follows behind me, which only irritates me more. I take a seat on the couch and he drops in the spot right beside me, leaning back in a relaxed position. I stay at the edge of the cushion, glaring at my dead phone.

"What? Do you want to call Eli to come pick you up or something?" he questions bitterly.

"I want to call my sister," I retort. "I'd ask to use your phone if I didn't think you'd have a heart attack at the suggestion."

We go back and forth for fifteen excruciatingly long minutes before I stand up to use the bathroom. I wobble a little and his hand is on my waist before I can regain my balance. "Are you okay?" he asks, which earns a scoff from me.

"I'm fine," I dismiss him before heading in the direction of the bathroom. As expected, he follows me and waits outside for me to finish. I attempt to shake him once more by heading to the basement but I may as well be giving him a piggyback ride. I squeeze through a couple people and find Jack watching West make a fool of himself on the dance floor. Jack cringes when Dominic appears beside me and I absentmindedly roll my eyes.

"Someone give me a knife so I can cut this tension," Jack comments as he looks between the two of us. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing," Dominic dismisses.

"So what's going on in the group chat?" I ask Jack, who wears a surprised expression. He looks from Dominic to me and back.

"N-nothing, why? What do you think is going on in the group chat?" Jack answers suspiciously.

"I don't know," I retort as I glare at Dominic, who's delivering a sharp look to Jack, which only fuels my anger more. I'd snatch Dominic's phone and call Kat if I didn't think Dominic would come after me. The last thing I want to do is ruin West's night with something so outrageous; he's too drunk to feel the tension but he'd notice Dominic chasing me around the house for his phone. "But I know that you do."

"Have you asked-?" Jack starts and I scoff loudly, cutting him off.

"I reached for his phone to use the GPS and he almost crashed the car," I exaggerate. Jack looks at Dominic, who closes his eyes and sighs. He knows better than to argue.

"I'm not getting involved in this," Jack insists and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Bullshit," I grumble with crossed arms.

Jack and Dominic stare at each other for a second before Jack clears his throat. "I think I'm going to bring West home. He's getting embarrassingly drunk now," he leads.

"That's a good idea," Dominic says as West nods at us and heads toward West. "We should head out too."

"Maybe not," I retort, which earns a confused look from him.

"If I round up a group of guys to make a group chat with, can you save their numbers until my phone is charged?" I inquire and Dominic groans loudly. I don't stick around to hear his complaints and instead, head up the steps and outside.

We're driving for ten minutes when Dominic glances at me. "Are you hungry? I know you get hungry when you're drunk," he comments.

"I'm not drunk," I tell him. "This would be a good buzz if I wasn't so mad at you."

"Do you want to talk about it now?" he presses.

"It's not like you're going to tell the truth," I retort childishly. I turn my gaze out the window and he sighs dramatically. We don't say much else until we reach my dorm building and he parks. "What are you doing?"

"I'm walking you inside," he responds. "And then we're going to talk about this."

I glare at him for a second but his expression doesn't waver. I huff in defeat and get out of the car, trudging to the door. I don't bother holding it for him and he rushes to grab it as to not get locked out. He follows closely behind me until I reach my dorm, where I unlock the door and attempt to slip inside. He grabs it and opens it wider, giving me a short glare.

"So let's talk about it," he insists as he props himself up against my desk.

"Have you had enough time to formulate a lie?" I inquire.

"I'm not going to lie, Nova," he responds.

"Okay, fine, what aren't you telling me?" I ask him and he opens and closes his mouth nervously. He bites his lip as he stares at me from his spot on my desk. When two long minutes pass, I sigh loudly. "You know what? I don't even care anymore." I give up on this conversation and decide to just get ready for bed. He exhales loudly as he stands behind me, watching as I scrub off my makeup in the mirror.

"I can explain. It's just a long story," he mumbles. I exchange my party shirt for an over-sized t-shirt. When I notice it's his, I repress the urge take it off. I slide off my pants, grab the pile of clothes, and toss them into my hamper.

"You tried to explain earlier but couldn't think of a lie. Now you have one?" I respond tiredly as I brush past him. I shove my feet into my slippers and grab my shower caddy. "When I get back, can you please not be here? I just want to be alone."

I don't bother waiting for him to say anything. Instead, I head to the bathroom and work through my nightly routine. I don't want to sit and listen to whatever bullshit excuse he's going to make about what's going on in the group-chat. I already saw Raven's name. I don't have the energy to argue tonight. All I want to do is crawl into bed and go to sleep. I return to my room and push open the door only to find that Dominic hasn't moved from his position on my desk.

"Why are you still here?" I ask in slight exasperation. I climb into my bed and stretch out on top of the blanket. I turn my glare to the ceiling as I wait for the light to flicker off and the door to open and close. "Why aren't you leaving?"

"Do you want to see the messages in the group chat?" he asks quietly, which throws me off.

I stare at him and swallow nervously. "No," I respond bluntly.

"Nova, just look at them," he insists.

"No," I say firmly. Guys can be crude. I don't want to see the kinds of things they say in there. "Either you tell me or come back when you get the nerve to."

"Nova just look at the messages," he presses as he tosses his phone onto my bed. It lands by my feet and I sit up to grab it.

"No," I say, now growing extremely irritated. I toss it back to him. He catches it and fluidly throws it back onto my bed.

"Why not?" he asks as I grab the phone.

"Because I'm just going to get my feelings hurt!" I bite back angrily.

"Why would you get your feelings hurt?" he questions in a state of confusion. I feel my anger intensify at his stupidity. Anger boils in my chest and I clench my jaw. Why would I get my feelings hurt? He stares at me curiously, waiting for the words to leave my mouth. Now's as good a time as any.

I swallow nervously before going for it. It's now or never. Here goes nothing. "Because I like you, you idiot!"