"Estella." Someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned around to come face to face with a grinning Brice. "What's up?"

        "Brice!" I pulled him into a hug, and he chuckled as he held me. "Company practice?" I asked as we pulled back.

        He nodded right as Oliver and Jax came into my line of vision.

Jax. Things hadn't been the same between us lately. Ever since he dropped me off, I had been keeping my distance. It was pathetic to keep throwing myself at a person who didn't want to meet me halfway. We barely talked at lunch. I stopped asking him for rides, and we hardly got in trouble during French class, which was good because it meant we weren't talking much.

        "Hey, Estella," Oliver greeted, and I greeted him back.

        Jax didn't say anything, and usually, I would have scolded him for that, but not this time. I returned my attention to Brice.

        "What're you boys up to?" I asked with my arm interlocked with Brice's.

        "Nothing much," Brice said. "Oliver and I are heading to the library to meet up with Tyler while Velasco will probably head out or something."

        My gaze moved to Jax, and he sent me a small smile. I contemplated keeping my firm expression, but I chose to return his smile instead.

        I couldn't not return Jax's smile.

        "Go meet your boy," I said while pushing Brice away. "I have to talk to Jax anyway."

        Brice smirked. "Sacking me for Velasco?"

        "Maybe."

        "You'll have to make it up to me later," he said, and I giggled.

        "I will."

        He better not have hoped he would be getting anything sexual from me. I liked Brice, but I wasn't crossing that line for him.

        "I'll hold you up to that," Brice said, and from my peripheral I didn't miss Jax rolling his eyes.

        "Let's go." Oliver placed his hand onto Brice's shoulder, and he pulled him away. "Later guys."

        They waved, and I waved back. I liked where Brice and I were going. It was playful and flirty, but sometimes, I wondered if that was all I would get.

        When I noticed someone staring, I faced Jax. "What's going on?"

        "What's going on?" he asked in confusion. "I should be asking you that. Why're you being so distant with me?"

        He actually noticed.

        I crossed my arms with a scowl on my face. "Doesn't feel good, does it? That's how you treat me all the time."

        "That's not true," he said. "I talk to you. I don't ignore you."

        "But you don't let me in." I uncrossed my arms and took a step forward. He took one back. Wow. "My point exactly. You keep me at an arms-length emotionally and physically."

        "It's not personal, Estella," he made sure to remind me. "I'm like that with everyone. I'm actually better with you."

        "Then that's sad, Jax," I said. "If you're better with me, then you're really bad with everyone else. What are you so afraid of?"

        No normal person was this distant with people without having a good reason. What happened to Jax to make him this way?

        "I'm not afraid," he said. "This isn't about fear. It's just who I am."

        "Who you are because of fear."

        He groaned. "Estella, stop overthinking this."

        "I'm not overthinking anything," I said. "You're the one overthinking everything, and you're the one restricting yourself. We could be really good friends, Jax. Better friends than we are now, but you're holding yourself back. I feel like I don't really know you, but I keep thinking, does anyone really know you? Brice? Oliver? Tyler? Does Ximena know you?"

        He glanced away.

        "Exactly," I continued, "they probably don't, and that makes me sad because you seem like an amazing guy, Jax."

        Jax was a sweetheart. I liked Brice and all, but the person I trusted the most out of the four boys was Jax. I would never go to a party alone with Brice, but I would with Jax.

        "How would you know if you don't know me?" he asked.

        I smiled and took a step forward. He didn't back away this time. "Stop overthinking," I said. "Let me be the judge of that by giving me the chance to get to know the real Jax. Don't be afraid."

        "I'm not afraid," he muttered.

        "Then prove it." I smirked. "Show me you're not afraid today."

        "By doing what?"

        "Anything."

        I would have preferred to learn something about him. Where did he live? What were his plans for the future? What was he most afraid of? Anything. Anything that reminded me that we were friends and that he trusted me. I wouldn't mind doing the same in return.

        "Okay, let's go on a drive," he requested, and I squealed.

        "Yay!" I clapped in excitement. "I've missed our drives."

        I honestly did. I missed riding in a car, especially with Jax. Our car rides felt different than regular car rides. Those drives didn't compare to ours.

        He playfully frowned as I wrapped my arm around his. "Let's go."

        We walked to Verda, and we got settled in with Jax playing his rock playlist this time. I didn't complain because I actually enjoyed most of his music. I found out that his favorite band was Avenged Sevenfold, and I liked their sound.

        "Did you not have band practice today?" he asked me as we drove with all the windows down. "It's Tuesday."

        "Marching band season is over," I said. "We had competition late October, and the football season ended. I just stayed after school for some extra studying."

        Our band did well in competition, and I missed marching band already, but this reprieve was much needed. It meant I had more time for other extracurricular activities and for schoolwork. Also, my skin could use this time to return to its original color. No more sock tans for this girl.

        Plus, I still had wind ensemble to worry about.

        "Lucky for you," Jax said. "I still have company practice." He hesitated before uttering his next words. "You should come to our next show. You'll like it."

        "I'll definitely be there." I leaned back in the chair with my arm out the window. Jax was right. The feeling of the wind going through my fingers was amazing. "Brice invited me, actually."

        Jax cleared his throat. "Brice, huh?"

        I nodded. "It's nice that he did. I want him to open up more, too."

        "But you only choose to avoid me, not him." He frowned slightly.

        "No," I said. "I confronted you about it, but I haven't confronted him."

        "Why not?"

        That was a good question. I couldn't confront Brice. I didn't have the guts to do it.

        "Are you scared?" he asked, almost reading my mind.

        "Maybe," I mumbled.

        He chuckled. "Are you afraid of Brice?"

       "No."

        "But you're afraid of confronting him."

        "Yes."

        He sent me a weird look, but me not wanting to confront Brice wasn't that bizarre.

        "I'm not that comfortable with Brice yet," I said.

        "But you're comfortable with me?" he said. "Comfortable enough to confront me?" I nodded. "That's ridiculous since you've been really comfortable with Brice lately."

        "What do you mean?"

        He sent me a look. "Don't pretend. You barely talk to me at lunch because all of your focus and energy is on Brice. You said it yourself that you guys are always texting, and you're always flirting. Lately, it's always Brice, Brice, Brice."

        He gripped the steering wheel and stared ahead.

        I watched him. "Are you jealous?"

        "No."

        I leaned towards him with a grin. "You're jealous." I poked his cheek, and he swatted my hand away. "Jax is jealous because I'm not giving him enough attention."

        "I'm not jealous!" he hollered, and I snickered. "I'm just stating it like it is. It's like your whole world revolves around Brice now."

        I pouted. "I'll keep that in mind. I'll make sure to share the love, Jax."

        "That's not what I meant." He groaned, but I noticed the red creeping up his neck, and I chuckled harder.

        We stopped at a red light, and I watched Jax. "I do need to share the love." He rolled his eyes, but his lips curled at the corners. "I need to share because I can't have these moments with Brice."

        We held eye contact, me with a smile and him just watching, until a car blew its horn. The two of us jumped, and we looked away. The light was green.

        "H-how a-are..." He cleared his throat. "How are things between you and Mi Yun?"

        I wrinkled my nose, not wanting to be reminded of that. Things were still weird. We were still our trio, but Mi Yun and I hadn't spoken one-on-one since that fallout. It was like we needed Sadaf to be around for the two of us to tolerate each other's presence.

        "Not good," I said, "and it sucks because I feel like I'm losing my friend all because of Sabrina Fraser."

        There was tension in Jax's jaw. "Don't let that happen. Have you tried talking to her?"

        "No. I'm afraid to."

        Jax smirked. "Do everything that scares you." My expression dropped. "You want me to face my fear, so you should face yours."

        "This is different."

        "How?"

        I didn't know. Ugh.

        "Where does Mi Yun live?" he asked.

        "Jax, you can't be serious."

        "Where does Mi Yun live?" he repeated.

        This was actually happening, so I directed him where to go, and before I knew it, we were parked in front of the medium-sized brick house. The flowers growing in the front were Mi Yun's touch.

        I wanted my friend back, so I had to do this.

        "Okay." I breathed in and out. "Here I go."

        Jax rose a brow. "You're not going into battle, Estella. You're going to talk to your friend. Now, get a move on it." I slit my eyes at him, and he chuckled. "You'll be fine."

        I nodded, and I was out of the car and heading for the front door. As I waited for her to answer the door, that was when I noticed that there wasn't a car in the driveway. Was Jin Wook not home?

        The sound of the door opening made me turn around, and Mi Yun stared back at me with round eyes and what looked like bedhead. She wore an over-sized t-shirt with what looked like no pants. Mi Yun looked like she just rolled out of bed.

        It was in the evening, and we had school today.

        The two of us continued to stare at each other. "Estella," Mi Yun finally broke the silence, "what are you doing here?"

        "I—"

        "Mimi, who is it?" Sabrina emerged from the kitchen in what I recognized as Mi Yun's shorts and her tank top. She was also rocking bedhead, and she halted in her steps when she spotted me. "Oh..."

        Oh?

        Oh!

        I glanced between the two girls. Bedhead. Weird casual clothing during the evening. My jaw dropped as it hit me full force. Mi Yun and Sabrina Fraser hooked up.

        Based off of my expression, I knew Mi Yun caught onto my big epiphany. "Estella, come in."

        She stepped aside and I entered, still not knowing what to say or think. I removed my shoes at the entrance, and the three of us stood in the living, watching each other silently as I tried to process this information.

        Mi Yun finally rolled her eyes and said, "Estella, come on. Don't be dramatic."

        "Dramatic?" I was offended. "I'm not being dramatic, Mimi. I'm just thinking about you." I looked over at Sabrina. "Do you even like girls?"

        "Estella," Mi Yun scolded me.

        My attention returned to my friend. "You're not some experiment, Mi Yun."

        Mi Yun perked a brow, and Sabrina chuckled. "Who said she was?" Sabrina said. "Do you even know me, little girl?"

        Little girl?

        "I don't want to know you, bitch," I said as calmly as possible.

        I hated using the word "bitch," but this girl had it coming. I'd been wanting to call her that for so long.

        Sabrina continued to chuckle at my words while Mi Yun frowned. "That was uncalled for," she said. "You say you're looking out for me, but you're only causing unnecessary drama."

        I focused on my friend and moved towards her. Sabrina was irrelevant. "This girl is bad news, Mimi. I don't know what it is about her, but everything in my bones is telling me that she's bad news. She's only going to hurt you."

        "Like Brice could hurt you?" Mi Yun retorted.

        "This isn't about Brice."

        "It is," Mi Yun said. "It's about Brice and Sabrina, and it all connects. It's so easy for you to see that Sabrina is bad news, even though she isn't. Yet, you can't see the real bad news in front of you."

        "Stop bringing Brice into this."

        This was about me and her, not Brice.

        "You can't even see the good news in front of you." Mi Yun chuckled. "Isn't that something?"

        "Mi Yun..."

        She moved so close that only inches separated us, and she glared at me. "Before you go around shedding wisdom on me, Estella, why don't you shed some on yourself?"

        I shook my head. "She's only going to hurt you."

        I didn't know how I knew, but I knew it.

        "Hopefully the same thing wouldn't happen with Brice," she said.

        I was done, and I moved to the door to put my shoes on. "Do what you want, Mi Yun. You're a big girl, just remember this..." I stood up straight and looked directly at her. "... Don't come crying to me when she breaks your heart."

        "It wouldn't come to that," Mi Yun said with a shrug.

        "Let's hope it doesn't," was all I said before walking out.

        That was a waste of my time, and it only made things worse between us, not better. Why was I even here?

        Before I could reach Jax's pickup, a voice called out my name. I turned around to see Sabrina herself running to catch up to me.

        "Estella, wait." She stopped in front of me, and I crossed my arms. "What's your problem? That wasn't fair, what you did to Mi Yun."

        "I don't trust you," I said. "I know you're a snake, and I see through you." I took a step forward. "But if you hurt my friend, I'll destroy you."

        I kept my voice and demeanor as calm as possible. I was short and I didn't appear threatening, but I would do anything for my friends.

        Sabrina only smirked and said, "I'm already there, so good luck with that."

        She turned on her heels and walked away as I was seething on the inside.

        That bitch.

        I turned around and continued for Verda, and I slammed the door shut when I entered. Jax watched me.

        "That was quick. You good?"

        I shook my head. "Take me somewhere. I need to clear my head and distract myself from what just happened."

        "Okay." He brought the car to life. "I'll take us to Rowe Park, so you can tell me about it."

        "I faced my fear." And it bit me in the behind. "Time for you to face yours."

        He groaned. "To Rowe Park it is."

        Jax turned the car slightly to the side, and we were off to Rowe Park.