DIGGY's POV

As soon as the bell rang, I grabbed my backpack and flew out the door to my locker. Khalil was waiting for me. The expression on his face matched mine: disgust.

"Yo... what the hell is this?!" I show him my Facebook page.

"Man, someone is spreading some crap and they're believing it," he replies.

"Who would've started it?"

Khalil shrugs and flares his nostrils, "Some punk."

I look at my phone and read over the comments again. Then it hit me.

"Yo... today I saw Chris, and he was talking about how he thought I was getting back together with Julie. He must've heard something. Imma have to talk to him..." I grind my teeth and stare down the hallway.

"Maybe at lunch, man. Come on, we gotta get to class... ignore this mess for now, okay?" Khalil pats my shoulder and looks at me.

I nod my head with a sigh. "Okay... at lunch."

SAM's POV

Our class was in the library getting books to read for SSR, or silent sustained reading as the teachers like to call it. We could check out any book from the given reading list and at the end of the term, we have to write a book report on it. I'm just glad to be out of the classroom for once. I'm glancing through People magazine at a table with Becca, who is reading a very thick book... her nose is practically in it.

I tap the table in front of her and whisper her name. "Becca."

"What?" She looks up.

"Look..." I show her a page in the magazine of this celebrity couple who is going through a divorce because of infidelity in their marriage.

"Cool." She looks down at her book again.

"You're no fun. Celebrity divorce is a very serious matter..." I say sarcastically, but with a pout on my face.

"Sam, you're supposed to be finding a book, not reading gossip magazines."

I roll my eyes. "Be glad I'm actually reading something."

"You're right... you want a cookie?"

I scoff and continue flipping through the magazine pages. "Speaking of gossip... what did you think of that thing yesterday with Julie? Those boys and the girls at lunch? That was so random."

"Yeah it was... they were so rude." Becca looks up from her book.

"If that was me... ha! All of them would've gotten a beat down."

Becca shakes her head. "Just some petty drama."

"Definitely trying to avoid that," I say.

My phone vibrates: It's a text from Jake... he wants me to meet him by the stairway nearest to the library. Luckily, I'm in the library, so that would be no problem.

"I'll be right back." I get up and hide my smirk, looking towards the exit doors.

"Where are you going?" Becca eyes me.

"Bathroom," I simply say.

I go and ask our teacher if I can use the restroom - he says yes - and I walk out of the library and into the halls where I find Jake patiently waiting by the stairway. He grins at me and I return the expression.

"What's up? I only have a few minutes - I told my teacher I'm in the restroom."

"It won't take long. Come with me." Jake grabs my hand as we go up the flight of stairs all the way to the top floor of the school building. I follow him through the halls... then we go into this room that says 'personnel only' and there's another set of stairs leading up to what looks like the rooftop. He leads me up the stairs that I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to be on and make it to the last step in no time. He opens the door and a chilly gust of wind welcomes us. On the rooftop, I see lots of patio chairs and dead plants covered with snow. Looking out across the horizon, I could see the surrounding neighborhoods and the downtown skyscrapers as well as the student parking lot. The view was... alright.

"Um... is there a reason we're outside in 20-degree weather?" I slip my hands into the pockets of my sweatshirt.

Jake stands behind me and wraps his arms around my neck, leaning on me and keeping me warmer. He walks us to the edge of the rooftop.

"I always think New York City looks so cool during the winter..." Jake's voice vibrates through my whole body.

"It looks even cooler from the inside," I say.

"Make fun of me all you want... it's beautiful."

"It's nice, but did you really text me to look at some buildings that have been here for the last 50 years? I'm freezing, let's go inside!" I start to sniffle and Jake turns me around to face him.

"I just wanted to spend time with you... but okay. Let's go back," he replies, looking concerned at my sniffling.

We exit the rooftop, walking back down the stairs we came from and through the 'personnel only' door. We step into the school hallway and there's no one in sight. I'm surprised nobody caught us, but everyone's supposed to be in class anyway. I'm a little disappointed about this little trip... I thought Jake had something to really show me or tell me. He can be unpredictable sometimes. Now I'm cold for no reason with a slight attitude. With a sigh, I begin walking down the staircase to go back to the library, but Jake's hands pull me back by my waist and he gently leans me against the wall and kisses me. My stomach fills with butterflies like the first time he did this to me. My body suddenly felt hot. As our lips parted, I looked into his eyes and smiled like a big geek.

"Ahem. I think you two need to be somewhere?"

We looked toward the hallway where a security guard with a walkie-talkie in his hands was watching us with a stern look. He was buff as I don't know what!

"Yeah, we were just saying goodbye," Jake smirks.

"Mhm, right. Go on. Get to class," the unamused security guard barks at us.

Blushing a little, I run down the stairs with Jake behind me and go back to the library. Hmm... maybe that trip wasn't bad after all.

***

DIGGY's POV

~Lunchtime~

Walking towards the cafeteria, I was looking around the crowded hallways for Chris. I gotta ask him if he knows anything about these Facebook comments and all these rumors. I wanna know what he knows and hopefully squash all this drama.

Me and Khalil spotted him talking with these two guys by his locker. As we approached them, the guys locked eyes with me and started chuckling as they tapped Chris on the arm. He turns his head and sees us coming. The two guys walk away after giving each other some dap.

"Yo, Diggy, my main man! What's up?" Chris smiles.

"Hey, Chris."

"What's good, Khalil?" Chris nods to him.

Khalil nods back and says, "Hey."

"You heading to lunch?" Chris asks, looking between us.

"Yeah... but I actually wanted to ask you about something," I say.

"Okay. Shoot."

I move in a little closer, looking around making sure nobody's eavesdropping. Chris chuckles.

"I was wondering... have you heard anything about Julie?"

"Like what?"

"I heard some rumors going around." Chris gives me a blank face. "Also... people been writing some petty comments on my Facebook page. Do you know anything about it?"

"What kind of things were they writing, Dig?"

I pull out my phone and open my social media page, showing him the comments. He raises his eyebrows and says 'Wow'.

"That's crazy, man. People are so ignorant these days... but I don't know anything about that. Sorry." He says, pathetically.

"You sure? I mean, this morning when you saw me and Julie walking from class, why did you assume we were together? You didn't hear anything?"

Chris looks to the left then back at me. "Well, I just figured y'all might've made up or something. After the whole Jake incident..."

I look at Khalil beside me; he looks skeptical, wrinkling his eyebrows.

"Uh... how did you know about that?" I ask.

"Dude, word gets around quick. I'm not the one to spread rumors, I'm just stating facts. But, uh... maybe you should talk to Jake. He slept with your girlfriend and was supposed to be your boy. Who knows what else he might do?"

Khalil sucks his teeth. "Man, Jake is cool people. I don't think he would start some rumors."

"I'm just saying," Chris shrugs. "If you asking me, then I can't see why you wouldn't ask your other homies..."

I think about this for a minute, then sigh, knowing Chris has said everything he knows.

"Alright. Thanks for the info, Chris."

"No prob. Check y'all later!" Chris throws up the deuces and leaves down the hall.

"I guess I gotta find Jake..." I say.

***

Me and Khalil walk to the cafeteria for lunch. We get our tray of food and find our usual table, seeing that Becca and Sam are already eating. We sit down across from them.

"What's up?" Becca asks with a smile.

Khalil responds, "Hey, babe. Hey, Sam."

"'Sup," Sam responds.

Me and her are still not on talking terms. I don't know if we'll ever be. I don't know if I forgive her yet... but we'll see, I guess.

"Where's Julie today?" Khalil asks.

"Oh, I don't know. I haven't seen her at all today," Becca says.

"I only saw her in Spanish class this morning. Maybe she went home sick? There's a bug going around," Sam says.

"Nah, she was in my writing class today..." I speak up.

"Oh, really? How you like it? Well, like, are you and Julie on good terms yet?" Becca asks, looking interested.

I look at her and respond. "Not really... but the class is alright, I guess. Did you know Dana had a younger sister?"

"Dana on the cheer squad? No, I didn't."

"Yeah. Her sister's in that class, too."

"Really? Aw, that's cool. I've always wanted a little sister to bug. Instead, I got a little brother who annoys me every second of the day." Becca rolls her eyes as we chuckle.

"You have a little brother?" I ask, amused.

"Mhm. He's my dad's child with his current wife. That little booger's a cutie, but he can't fool me."

Khalil chuckles then asks, "How come I don't know about your brother? I thought you told me everything?"

"You guys tell each other everything?" Sam asks with a surprised look.

Becca looks at Sam and smirks. "Not everything, but almost. And Khalil, I didn't tell you because you didn't ask."

"But I'm your boyfriend. We're supposed to be like this." Khalil crosses his fingers and shows them.

Becca smiles. "Stop being silly. I only tell my best friend everything, anyway." She leans on Sam and smiles. Sam sticks her tongue out at Khalil.

"Okay, I see how it is," Khalil replies, acting mad.

Becca giggles. "But speaking of best friends and boyfriends... where's your shadow, Sam?"

"My what?"

"Your shadow! Your third arm, Jake!"

"Oh... why didn't you just say his name?" Sam laughs a little, not looking at Becca.

"Just answer my question."

There's a small pause.

"...I saw him when I was taking a bathroom break during last class. He surprised me." Sam starts to blush; I check her mannerisms.

"Ooh, a gift?!" Becca sings.

"Sure..." Sam peeps at Becca then continues eating with a smirk on her face.

"You saw Jake today?" I ask her.

Sam looks up, looking at me for the first time during lunch, her smirk gone away. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Nothing, I just haven't seen him today. Do you know where he might be?"

"In class right now. Maybe you should text him if you wanna meet up or something," she says, looking uninterested.

I nod. "Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks."

Awkward silence. We all continue eating until the bell rings for fourth period.

JULIE's POV

...I can't believe the stuff people are saying about me on my Facebook page. Calling me almost every word imaginable... spreading rumors about me and Diggy... saying I'm pregnant... even though that part is true. Still, it's nobody's business to know!

Guys are such douches; girls are even worse! I thought as girls, we were supposed to have each others' backs, but some of my best girlfriends are talking crap about me, too! I've tried to brush off the rumors ever since I saw them yesterday and smile through the pain but... I can't go out there and watch people looking at me and judging. I can't. I barely entered the cafeteria before I had this anxiety attack; my hands were shaking and my heart felt like it was gonna explode! Now look at me. I'm hiding in the bathroom stall on my hands and knees... crying my eyes out. This is stupid. I'm hungry but I can't get any food.

My eyes began to water again and I sob with my head next to the toilet. The girls' bathroom door opens and I hear footsteps outside the stall. The steps stop.

"Hello? Is everything alright?" A voice asks.

Shoot. Shut up, Julie. Stop crying...

"I heard you crying... open up."

The person knocks on the stall door then I see them crouch down to look under the stall at me. I cover my face and don't respond.

"Julie, open up. It's Dana."

I quickly grab some toilet paper and wipe my face, then reach up and unlock the stall door. It flings open and I see Dana looking down at me with her arms folded. She shakes her head.

"Unh, unh, unh... why are you crying in this stall, girl? Who did something to you?"

I exhale and get up to my feet, picking up my backpack. "I'm okay..."

"No, you're not. What's wrong?" She frowns.

"My, uh... my grandma died. I just found out," I lie.

"Oh, that's horrible..." Dana rubs my arm, then continues. "Why don't you just take the rest of the day off? I can go up to the office with you and tell 'em your situation."

I take a few seconds to contemplate this idea, then reply, "...uh, sure. Okay."

Dana grins. "Okay."

Before we make it out of the bathroom, she adds: "If you're still on bereavement, don't worry about coming to the cheer squad meeting or rehearsal tomorrow. We can just send you the notes about what you missed--"

"No! I-I think I can still make it. I wouldn't miss cheer practice for anything. I should be fine," I reply, attempting to pull myself out of this slump.

Dana raises an eyebrow and smirks, shaking her head. "You always were a hard worker, Julie. I'm gonna miss that on the team."

She leads me out of the bathroom...

What does she mean she's gonna miss that?