TORRENTIAL RAIN ARRIVES in Pender Falls on the same night as Zoe's party.

It comes down in sheets, soaking everything in sight, making for low visibility and blurred headlights, especially with the added cover of nightfall. However, this does not deter what seems like the entire high school population from making an appearance at JP's Roller Rink.

As it turns out, the Hendriks family has quite a bit of money in their hot little hands, and Zoe thought nothing of dipping into their savings and extracting enough to rent out the rink for the evening. It seems she really is damn good at throwing parties, despite my numerous attempts to derail her from following through with her plans.

The place is decked out in balloons, several of them shaped as letters to spell out Welcome Back, and a whole lot of glitter, as far as the eye can see. From the vases filled with flowers on the food table, to the bowls filled with party snacks, everything sparkles.

She even went so far as to adorn both of our faces with a spattering of glitter beneath our eyes, making us look ethereal and otherworldly. The moving strobe lights also contribute to this, and the whole night feels somewhat like a hazy dream.

As I follow Zoe, I can't stop my eyes from drifting in Parker's direction every once in a while, seeing him standing and chatting with Audrey, a glass of punch in his hand. Zoe thought it would be a good idea to invite my family, and Sofia and Clark are milling about somewhere as well.

This particular time that my eyes happen to wander over to Parker, he pulls his gaze from Audrey, and it lands squarely on me. We haven't spoken properly since he bandaged my hand last week. I believe what he told me. And there's a large part of me that wants to put the past behind us, and accept his friendship, but I don't know if that's possible.

"Allie."

Zoe's sharp voice snaps me out of my trance, along with her hand gripping my arm, pulling me to an abrupt halt. I flinch, looking straight ahead of me to narrowly avoid colliding with another skater.

I look at her sheepishly, grateful she prevented the accident from happening. "Thanks."

"You've been spacing out a lot tonight," she replies, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry," I say. "I'm not sure where my head is." But even as I say it, my eyes jump over to the spot I last saw Parker, only to find that he's vacated the area.

"Right here." I hear a low voice behind me as hands are placed on my skull suddenly, gently pressing in, causing me to startle once more, and kicking up my heart rate. "And looking lovely as ever."

I duck slightly, slipping out of James' grasp, turning around to glare at his face as he grins down at me. "That hurt," I mutter. "Also, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, doll," he chirps brightly, folding his arms. "I got a little carried away."

"You're telling me," Dylan mumbles angrily, giving James a shove on the shoulder.

A long distance behind him, I spot Mason Byrne, standing alone among the crowd, as usual. Surely Zoe wouldn't have invited him. Dylan continues to blabber on about something, but I fail to pay attention, watching the way Mason's eyes do a scan of the room as he takes a sip from his drink. It feels like he's waiting for something. His eyes jump to mine and I freeze, unable to look away until a hand is waved in front of my face.

"I told you," Zoe is saying when I tune back into their conversation, blinking at Dylan even after he lowers his hand. Her arms are folded over her chest. "It's like she's not even here."

"Allie," Dylan says, his eyebrows pulling together despite the tight smile on his face. "Something wrong?"

"Not at all," I say smoothly, giving him a strained smile of my own. "I'm having a good time."

He studies me a moment more, a calculating look on his face, before slowly turning around in Mason's direction. Mason either doesn't notice his gaze or pretends not to, but I notice Dylan's jaw tighten at the sight of the other boy. I prepare to tell him to calm down, sure he's going to approach him the way he did at the fair, but he simply presses his lips together tightly, breathing out through his nose harshly. He's changed from a puppy to a bull.

Turning back to me, he takes my hand in his. He gives me another false smile. "Let's do a few loops. Come on."

Without giving me the chance to respond, he gives my hand a tug, and I glide along behind him, the skates doing all the work.

Glancing down, I notice he's still got a tight hold on my fingers, and it makes me feel a bit squirmy. "You can let go of my hand now, you know," I tell him teasingly, trying to lighten the mood but also get him to release me.

He glances down as well, his face clearing a little. After a few moments he meets my eyes cautiously. "Do you want me to?" he asks, and his words have an edge to them, causing me to bristle.

There's a pause, and I know my hesitancy is obvious. Laughing shortly, I make a face. "What kind of question is that?"

He doesn't like this answer, his face seeming to darken again, and looks away. "It shouldn't be that hard to answer."

I remain silent as we skate around, considering. He pulls me through the crowd, and against my better judgment, I decide to be honest. I have to keep my eyes on the floor as I say, "I want you to let go." My voice is quiet, but firm, and it causes him to stop short.

He looks down at me, his expression a challenge, and I don't shy away from his gaze. Finally, he lets go, inching back. We stay rooted in place, letting everyone else weave around us, locked in a staring contest. He folds his arms after a while, rolling his lips in and looking down. When he brings his eyes up to mine, his eyebrows are tilted upward, and the puppy version of Dylan is back.

"Why are you being like this?" he asks, shaking his head.

I blink, before frowning. "Like what?"

"You're making it seem like you don't enjoy being around me," he continues, looking dejected, and I'm slightly blown away by his transformation, floored by how he can change from angry to rolling in the pits of despair within a few seconds.

"I never said that," I stammer, laughing uncomfortably.

"Yeah, well, you didn't have to." His frown deepens as he thinks, and I wait for him to speak, feeling lost for words. "All I'm trying to do is keep us together. Why is that so bad?"

His words cause a wave of guilt to stir in my chest, no matter how much I try to fight it. I'm tired of feeling this way. I shake my head, sighing. "It's not."

"Am I not enough for you?" His brown eyes have become shiny, and wide, and it makes me groan internally.

"Dylan," I say, my tone sounding as tired as I feel. "Stop."

"I wanna know why you won't give me a chance."

My own eyes widen at his statement. "I am giving you a chance."

"Sure doesn't feel like it," he remarks.

The whole situation makes me want to pull my hair out and scream, but I stay calm, slowing down my breathing and closing my eyes momentarily. The party continues on around us, the majority oblivious to our conversation, though we seem to be earning a few curious looks. Of course we are.

I think we should break up is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't find it in me to say it. It doesn't seem like a very good time, though I don't know that there will ever be a good time. So I sigh, crossing my arms over my chest as he avoids looking at me directly. "Can we not do this now?" I plead, my voice gentle. "This is a party. We're supposed to be having fun."

He's quiet for a few moments, staring at the floor. "Fine." He brings his eyes back up to mine. "I hope you enjoy yourself."

Leaving without another word, he skates away from me, clearly upset. I know it must be hard for him to give up on our long-time relationship, but I wish he was able to see that what we have right now isn't good for any of us. It feels toxic, and we're not happy. He should understand that now is not a good time for us to be together.

Though I shouldn't speak on his behalf, because I have no idea what it feels like for someone you love to lose all of their memories of you. He must feel equally frustrated, and heartbroken. But if I were in his situation, I'd hope that I'd love the person enough to let them go. I'm getting tired of all these expectations of how I'm supposed to be, and how I'm supposed to feel.

I step out of the ring, unlacing my skates and slipping out of them. I've nearly made it to the snack table when I hear someone behind me.

"Hey."

The familiar low voice causes my heart to clench as I freeze. Turning around, I find Parker, his ball cap pulled low, one hand still clutching a red solo cup, the other stuck into the pocket of his jeans. A tentative half-smile holds his lips as he regards me.

"Hi," I return quietly.

He does a brief scan of the room before returning his gaze back to me. "Having a good time?"

I lift a shoulder timidly, giving him a small smile. "Not really," I say honestly.

His smile spreads a little, though it remains rueful and cautious. "Yeah, me neither."

A heavy silence falls over us, and I feel like there's so much I want to say, but I have no idea how to say it. Neither of us make any attempt to address the elephant in the room. And maybe that's a good thing, maybe it's the first step in moving forward.

"There you are," Audrey's voice is suddenly loud, and present, as she joins us, smiling brightly at her boyfriend. "You wandered off."

"Sorry," he apologizes quietly, though he offers no explanation.

"Hey, Al," she greets me, turning in my direction, her grin intact. "I haven't seen you all night. Are you enjoying your party?"

It's the same question Parker asked me only moments ago, but this time, I lie, nodding, and doing my best to return her smile. "Yeah. Zoe really went all out." I ignore his glance at my statement, keeping my eyes riveted to my sister.

"I'm surprised she invited us," she comments, raising her eyebrows. "I wouldn't think she'd want us hanging around all of your friends."

I press my lips together in a stiff smile. "Well, most of them aren't my friends, so it's okay," I tell her.

She frowns slightly, processing my words and the tone with which I said them. Before she can say anything, I raise my eyebrows, lifting both of my shoulders. "Anyway, you guys have fun. I shouldn't stay in one place for too long. I am the guest of honour, after all," I say lightly.

"If you say so," Audrey says reluctantly, seeming a bit worried.

I make sure to avoid looking in Parker's direction as I turn away from them, forgetting about the snack table and heading back onto the rink, after putting on my skates. As I skate around by myself, I struggle to spot Dylan, James, or Zoe, and there's a niggling fear in my chest that Dylan might've told them about our little argument. Maybe they thought I was being a bitch and decided to skip out on the remainder of the evening, leaving me alone.

Watching the people pass by, I note that all of them seem happy, and like they're enjoying themselves, none of them even casting a glance in my direction. I'm not foolish, I know none of them truly came for me, but it still stings a little.

But just when I'm about to wallow in a selfish pit of self-pity, I spot my so-called friends, all the way across the room, making them hard to see through the crowd. Feeling a bit relieved, I begin to head in their direction. As I get closer, I realize that it's not just the three of them, there's someone else too. A frown settles on my face as I squint, trying to see who it is, until recognizing the familiar face.

Mason.

I stop short, the sight of them all talking throwing me off guard. They're in the corner of the room, like they want to be out of sight, and they're gathered in a tight circle, clearly wanting to keep others out. I'm a great deal out of earshot, but judging by their body language, they all look upset.

Creeping closer to the edge of the rink, I try to get a better look, placing my hand on the sideboard. Dylan appears to be doing most of the talking, gesturing wildly, not unlike he did when we were at the fair. His expression is angry, while Mason listens to him, looking thoroughly unimpressed. I think of the photo I saw of the boys together.James' bulky arms are crossed over his chest, his eyebrows furrowed, though he doesn't look perturbed, mostly thoughtful. Zoe stands next to them, closing the circle, her arms also folded rigidly, and her lips are pulled in tightly as she listens.

I attempt to bring myself within earshot, close enough to eavesdrop, heading towards the exit to let myself out of the ring. The crowd seems to thicken then, everyone conspiring against me, making it difficult to get through.

By the time I get through the other people serving as obstacles, reaching the small swinging door, my friends are gone, and only Mason remains. Feeling annoyed, I look over my shoulder, trying to spot them somewhere behind me, but they seem to have totally disappeared. How convenient.

I look back at Mason, who hasn't noticed me yet, figuring this is my chance to finally talk to him, and maybe squeeze out a few answers for his odd behaviour. Taking a deep breath, I muster up all the courage I can find, walking quickly in his direction. His back is to the wall, cup in his hand, and his ice blue eyes jump to me when I'm a few feet away. His expression is unchanging as he watches me approach, and I try my best not to be intimidated.

Parking myself in front of him, I fold my arms, and he raises a thick eyebrow, looking mildly amused.

"Can I help you?" he asks finally.

"Yeah," I say, forcing my voice to sound strong. "You can tell me what the hell your deal is."

His other eyebrow shoots up to match its partner. "That's awfully bold."

"Are you stalking me or something?" I applaud myself internally for the steadiness of my voice, and the firmness of my tone.

Despite this, Mason is completely unfazed, acting as though I didn't speak and looking somewhere over my head surreptitiously. "You shouldn't be talking to me."

I feel a surge of annoyance, pursing my lips, waiting for his eyes to refocus on me. "Stop being so cryptic," I say flatly, before shifting my weight between my feet uncomfortably. "Were we..." I trail off, struggling for words, and he gives me a curious look, narrowing his eyes. "Involved?" My face burns in embarrassment for having to even ask the question, but it's something I've been wondering.

His instantaneous bark of laughter is enough of an answer. And it's strange to see him do something so normal. "Please don't flatter yourself," he says sardonically.

"It isn't out of the realm of possibility," I snap, wanting to wipe the smirk off his face. He only chuckles again as I glare at him. "Then why does Dylan dislike you so much? Were you friends before?"

"It's not important," he says simply, folding his own arms.

"Seems like it is."

He looks around cautiously, failing to answer me once more. I study his face, narrowing my own eyes, feeling my body tense up with anger. It's clear he's not taking me seriously. I decide to change the subject, thinking back to last week, of the way I caught a brief glimpse of his smirk before I was hauled away for a locker inspection.

"Was it you?" I ask bluntly, and he looks at me again, blinking. "Did you tell Principal Clayborn about the drugs in my locker?"

He doesn't say anything, holding my gaze steadily.

"It was, wasn't it?" I say incredulously, laughing briefly without humour. "Why?"

He takes a sip of his drink. "You should be grateful that I'm looking out for you."

I laugh bitterly again, shaking my head, forgetting any remaining feelings of intimidation. "Sorry, your thank you card must have gotten lost in the mail."

"It's better for you to stay away as much as possible," he presses on, not seeming to appreciate my joke.

"From you?" I ask, unable to resist the urge to be snarky. "I agree. I think I'll do just that."

His mouth pulls into a firm line, and he seems to up the intensity of his eyes, causing mine to widen marginally, forgetting my bratty attitude for a moment. "Alina, trust me. A lot of people don't have your best interests at heart."

I study his face again, noting the apparent sincerity of his words, my eyebrows furrowing as I frown. He maintains eye contact, wanting to convey the seriousness of his words. "What do you mean?" I ask, my voice calmer now, more subdued.

His gaze jumps to something over my shoulder, and his expression changes, becoming unreadable once more. I turn around, following his stare, seeing Zoe a short distance away, approaching us with an irritated look on her face. Facing him again, I wait for an answer, before realizing I'm not going to get one.

"Welcome back," he remarks, raising an eyebrow, before moving past me and disappearing into the crowd.

Zoe reaches me moments later, glaring in the direction he could last be seen. Then she turns to me, her expression unchanging. "What were you doing talking to Mason Byrne?"

I meet her eyes levelly. "The same thing you were doing."

She scoffs, looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

I pause for a few seconds, debating about whether or not I want to press the issue. I decide to refrain, deeming the evening exhausting enough already, and put it on hold. Instead, I sigh, shaking my head. "Forget it." Turning around, I make to walk away from her, but she follows, predictably.

"He's bad news, okay?" she urges, matching my pace and looking at me solemnly.

"Whatever," I reply, more than ready to just go home and retire to bed for the night.

My brain hurts from trying to figure out the meaning of Mason's cryptic answers, and understand our connection. More importantly, I puzzle over what he wants me to stay away from.

But on the other hand, I may not want to know.