THERE WAS A bruise on Cami's neck.

  My eyes narrowed as I studied her, innocently laying down on her sofa, staring back at me with those large, sweet eyes. "How'd you get that?"

  "Get what?" she asked, tilting her head.

  "That bruise on your neck."

  Her hand went to her neck, rubbing the spot subconsciously, before shrugging. "Don't know. Probably bumped into something."

  "Like someone's lips?"

  "Salome Lam!" Cami shot upright. "I cannot believe you're suggesting that."

  "Yesterday was Valentine's Day," I pointed out with a shrug. "You didn't come to find me, so I assume you spent it with someone. And there is a boy with whom you are somewhat romantically entangled with right now, who I know you've been physically intimate with, so the bruise is very likely a—"

  "Salome!" Cami positively squeaked. "Oh my god, you don't need to give a full analysis of it!"

  "So I'm correct? Dean Hui? After you apparently rejected him?"

  She pouted. "Hey, he came to me, not the other way around."

  "That was what I was expecting. And you accepted?"

   "Well, I was bored. And I was curious to see what he had planned."

  "And that led to the hickey?"

  "Oh, don't put it that way," she said, rolling her eyes. "We got a bit carried away."

  "Uh-huh. Sure."

  "What, like you were so chaste with Orion?"

  "Surprisingly, yes. Wait, how do you know about that?"

  "Dean," she flashed a smile. "I wrung it out of him."

  "Wrung?"

  "Sort of forced him into admitting it. They kind of discussed it beforehand, apparently. Made a whole plan for Valentine's Day."

  "Well."

  "Well." Cami tilted her head. "I don't know what to feel about all this."

  "If you already accepted his invitation for Valentine's Day, why are you still saying no to him?"

  To that, she raised a brow. "The same question could be asked of you. You accepted his invite, but you haven't said yes yet either, have you?"

  "My situation is a bit different than yours," I pointed out. "I've known him for years. I can have my reservations about his sudden change of heart."

  "I haven't known Dean for long either, I'm allowed to have my worries on starting a relationship."

  "You've known him since Arrington," I huffed. "And you knew him before we came to Redchester, certainly."

  "Not well."

  "If you knew him that well, then you'd be in my situation. Two sides of the same coin." But then I paused, realising that was the exact analogy Orion had used yesterday, one I'd fiercely denied. Well. Perhaps I was being a bit of a hypocrite. Or perhaps I was just trying to annoy my loved ones.

  Not that Orion was a loved one.

  Or maybe he was.

  Maybe?

  I was just confusing myself now. Which wasn't very good either.

  She sighed. "No need to overcomplicate it. Feelings are completely irrational and there isn't much we can do about it."

  "That's annoying."

  "For you," she said wryly. "Most of us don't really care. Stop acting like you can control everything you feel, Salome, especially when it comes to love. If that was the case, you'd have stopped your crush on Orion years ago. Or never had it in the first place."

  "That's the one thing," I protested, "that I can't control."

  "Too sad for you, then."

  "You're being very sassy today."

  "I'm always sassy." Cami flipped her hair over her shoulders, sending me a cool look before instantly bursting into laughter. I rolled my eyes, chuckling. Well, it was classic Cami.

  If she wasn't like this, I'd be far more concerned.

  "What are we going to do?" I wondered aloud, leaning back. "We can't go on like this forever, you know. Like eventually, we'll have to make that choice."

  "We'll cross that bridge when we reach it."

  "I don't think a decision like this can be procrastinated for so long."

  "Well," Cami drawled, "if I keep thinking about it, my head might explode, so I simply won't."

"Seriously?"

  "Fucking hell, feelings are complicated, you know?"

  "Yeah, but it's not like we can just drag this on for the rest of eternity. It's not good for us or them."

  "Well, you're the one who's dragged this on for thirteen years, so you tell me."

  I pursed my lips. "Almost fourteen now, actually."

  "Jesus Christ."

  "How long for you, huh? I know you don't like, like like him or whatever the hell you say, but you are definitely attracted to him, don't lie."

  She didn't answer, fidgeting around with a crystal figurine on a shelf.

  "Cami?"

  She pouted, spinning around, arms on her hips. "You don't want to know."

  "Now I'm curious." I sat up straight, eyes narrowing. "Don't tell me it was before September this year. If it was, I'd be very angry you didn't tell me earlier."

  "Like you could say anything about that?" She questioned, sticking her tongue out. "But whatever. No point lying about it. I thought he was hot as fuck in Lower Fifth. Like, it wasn't a crush, but I thought he was insanely hot."

  "Wait, how did you know him in Lower Fifth...?"

  She shrugged nonchalantly. "It was the third week of Lower Fifth, I think, when I first noticed him. Like, I'd seen him around before but didn't take much notice. He was in charge of the book review that week, and my god, he was so hot. And then afterwards in Upper Fifth we were in Psychology Club together, remember when I'd go every week?"

  I huffed. "I remember that. The Book Club had a clash with Psychology Club and you refused to go to the Book Club with me every week. I was wondering about that."

  "Yeah, well," she said with a grin, "he was head of Psychology Club at that point—surprised he's not studying Psychology now, honestly, he was really into it, and I just couldn't resist. It wasn't really a crush, you know, I just like looking at hot people. Makes me feel better."

  "Well, look in the mirror more, then."

  She gasped. "Salome! That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me!"

  "Clearly, then, I haven't been nice enough," I cooed. "Come here, give me a hug."

  She skipped over, and we wrapped our arms around each other, pulling tight before releasing. "Well," she drawled slowly, "I guess in a way, we both got the boy."

  "And then decided to reject them both. Why did we do that?"

  "I don't know," she said honestly. "Pride?"

  "Stubbornness."

  "Wanting to see them suffer," she said with a shrug. "Dean is so cute when he cries."

  "He's cried?"

  "Once." She bit her lower lip. "I felt kind of bad. But at the same time he looked so cute doing it I didn't even know what I was supposed to say. Just sort of stood there dumbstruck."

  "Dean Hui cries? Like, I can see, I don't know, Orion crying, but Dean? Leather jacket, buzzcut Dean?"

  "Yep," she grinned. "Dean Hui. Dean Hui cried."

  "Jesus Christ. He's the last person on earth I ever imagined crying."

  "Don't," she mocked, "don't imagine it, only I can."

  "Wow. Possessive much?"

  She shot me a wink, turning to stroll over to pick up her phone from the dining table. "You have your Orion Ip, I have my Dean Hui. One for each."

  "They're not technically ours."

  "I mean," she sighed, "let's be real here, we'll both give in eventually, right? In a way, we're kind of just waiting for them to grovel. Me because I'm a sadistic bitch, you because, well, it took you fourteen years, it isn't right for him to just get it so easily either, yeah? And by not making it as easy, they'll treasure us a bit more."

  "I didn't think you were so... calculating with this sort of stuff. I don't think I even thought that far."

  "I've dated and flirted with far more boys than you," she said wryly. "I know how they work. Most of them are the same at heart, you know, it's just about how you treat them."

  "That is cold. And very pessimistic. Never thought you were the pessimistic one."

  "Just with this." She shook her head. "You'll realise what I mean. But not with Orion, I think. Not with Orion. I think he's a good one. One of the rare good ones."

  "And Dean?"

  "Still deciding."

  "Seriously?"

  "Why wouldn't I say yes otherwise? You've known Orion for fourteen years, you know you can trust him. I've known Dean for almost five, but I've only been close to him for one."

  "He's been friends with Orion for longer than that, and I trust Orion's judgement."

  "I trust Orion's judgement with most things, but people tend to have filters when it comes to their long-time friends. I like to be careful."

  "Well, that's not a bad thing, I suppose. Why did I ever think you'd get your heart broken? I should have been worried for him from the very start."

  "He'll be fine. He's a strong one."

  "Uh-huh. Sure."

  Cami batted her eyes innocently. "Don't you believe me?"

  "Of course I do, my sweetest Cami."

  That brought a smile to her face. "Yes, keep praising me, it's excellent for my ego."

  "I don't think feeding your ego is a good idea," I murmured, tilting my head. "Seems like I'm setting myself for disaster."

  "Disaster? I cannot believe what you're saying."

  I let out a loud snort. "You know exactly what I'm saying. Oh, whatever. Do you have any plans this weekend? I was thinking we could go out to the town centre. I could use a new pair of trousers. I had to throw away a pair the other day."

  She tilted her head. "I have to use my Sunday for a project, but I'm free on Saturday. We can go out for either lunch or dinner, I don't really mind."

  "Lunch, I think. I really don't feel like being out in the dark."

  "Fair enough. Leave at eleven thirty?"

  "Sounds good to me."

  I grinned. "Nice. Right. I'm going to head back to my place now—text me if you need me?"

  "Shall do. I always need you and you know it, Salome."

  "What would you do without me?"

  She winked. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a single thing. See ya, babe."

  It was when I was taking the elevator I realised Orion had sent me a message almost half an hour ago. Must have missed it while I was talking to Cami.

  Are you free this Sat?

  No.

  Not a lie. I'd literally just invited Cami out, and it wasn't like I did it just to avoid going out with him.

  To my surprise, he replied almost instantaneously. I would have thought he'd gone off to do something else. Okok. too bad.

  I squinted.

  He was starting to get a bit too comfortable with this.

  Was that a bad thing, though?

  I was just this close to saying yes, in all honesty.

  So close.

  He just needed to take one more step.

  And I just had to stop myself from shrinking back.

  It wasn't just in his hands anymore, it was in mine now. And I didn't think I'd fully grasped how our situations had flipped yet. A part of me was still wondering if he was going to back off the moment I said yes, even though I knew it wasn't in his character. A tiny part of me was still scared this was some cruel joke the world was playing on me, and that the moment I truly fell for it, it would all be ripped away from right underneath me.

  I was usually a fairly confident person. It was what most of my friends said about me. I was rarely anxious about my looks, my ability, or my way of viewing life.

  But then again, Orion Ip just seemed to be an exception for me in everything. An anomaly in this life of mine that was usually so carefully and meticulously planned out without the slightest bit of straying from the path I'd decided on. But every time he got involved, it started going into directions I didn't know what to do with.

  And the scariest thing was, most of the time, I was more than happy for it to do so.

  And I usually hated it when my plans were changed.

  Maybe that was love?

  Maybe.

  Just maybe.

  Oh, who was I kidding?

  I knew exactly what it was. I'd always known exactly what it was.