Tori pushes Toby into the dining room for privacy, but she’s practically screaming, so it’s pointless. “What the hell? Meredith is a mega bitch! Why would you get back together with her? My God, you have the worst taste in girls!” She storms out of the dining room, not even giving him a chance to explain, and takes Ryder’s hand, pulling him upstairs.

“That went well,” Meredith says.

“Get out.” I’ve had enough. I’m having a hard enough time dealing with my feelings for Toby and what that will mean for my friendship with Tori. I don’t need Meredith’s crap right now.

Toby steps out of the dining room and shrugs at me.

“I don’t think so, Becca. Toby and I have a date tonight. Isn’t that right, Toby?”

He shakes his head. “I’ll keep up appearances at school, but I’m not hanging out with you on weekends.”

“And how would that look? Weekends are for dating. So. Let’s. Go.” She says the words slowly, making sure Toby hears them loud and clear.

I look at Toby. I get that he wants to take a stand against Meredith¸ but I can’t lose him like this—even if it’s going to tear me apart inside to watch him pretend to be Meredith’s boyfriend. “Go to a movie. You won’t even have to talk to her.”

“What about—?”

I hold my hand up to stop him. Our date today is already ruined. “The sooner you start dating her again, the sooner this can all end.” I grab my jacket and walk to the door because my heart can’t handle any more today.

“Becca,” Toby calls after me.

I open the door and turn back to him, which is a huge mistake because the look in his eyes makes my insides ache.

“I know this is all Hollywood movie cliché, but will you wait for me?”

I manage a small smile and nod. I’ve waited for him for three years. What’s a few more weeks?

***

I don’t get out of bed for the rest of the weekend. Mom asks if I’m sick again. Yeah, sick of lying, sick of sneaking around, sick of not being able to tell the world that I like Toby Michaels. I’m not looking forward to school on Monday and the big reunion between Toby and Meredith. Even though I know it’s not real, it’s still going to be painful to watch. With how popular they are, it will be all anyone is talking about. It’s not fair that a bitch like Meredith is getting exactly what she wants.

Monday morning my alarm goes off for the third time and Mom walks in.

“What’s going on? You never hit the snooze button.” She sits down on my bed and puts her hand on my forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Didn’t sleep well?”

“Not really.” It’s hard to sleep when I picture Meredith draped over Toby every time I close my eyes.

“You want to stay home today?”

So tempting, but I can’t stay home for weeks, and that’s how long Toby is going to have to pretend to date Meredith. I might as well get used to it now. Drive the knife straight through my heart rather than ease it in inch by inch. “No. I’m getting up.” I take a quick shower because it’s all I have time for and grab a granola bar to eat on the way to school. Tori isn’t at my locker waiting for me. Guess she’s at Ryder’s locker, or he’s at hers. She finally got the guy she was pining over. I guess things do work out for some people. Apparently I’m just not one of them.

The crowd is gathering at the other end of the hall, and Meredith’s shrieky voice carries to me. I slam my locker shut and turn away before I have to witness the reunion. I hope Toby can get through this, but I also hope he’s miserable doing it. I don’t want him to enjoy any part of being with Meredith. I know it’s selfish and I should want these next few weeks to be as painless as possible for him, but he’s supposed to be with me. I don’t want him to forget that.

I barely see Tori all day, and that sucks because we really need to talk about the crappy way she cut Allison out of my life. She and Ryder even sit together at lunch, which is weird since Ryder sits with Toby—and Meredith. They’re an awkward foursome, but I can’t help thinking that Tori is enjoying being in the popular crowd for once. Maybe she and Toby will actually start getting along and sharing friends. That might make her more open to Toby and me dating…when this is all over.

Mr. Rollar passes out a quiz in trig, and I’m surprised when I actually know all the answers. I’d be happy, but my heart is too crushed to feel anything but hurt. No, that’s not true. I also feel jealousy and self-pity. I hand in my quiz when the bell rings. Mr. Rollar scans it and smiles at me.

“Nice work, Miss Daniels. I see the extra tutoring sessions with Mr. Michaels are paying off. Seems like you two make a good pair.”

If only he knew.

The rest of my week is more of the same torture. I can’t avoid Meredith and Toby all the time, so I’m forced to watch them hold hands and walk to every class together. I even catch a few kisses in the halls. Even though Toby is always tight-lipped, my heart tears. Our evening study sessions are few and far between because Meredith is filling Toby’s schedule. She doesn’t want people to know he’s tutoring me, so whenever they get invited to a movie or after-school meal, she makes Toby take her.

By Friday, I’m officially done. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t do anything about the Toby-Meredith situation but I can do something about Tori. She owes me an explanation for the Allison thing. I show up at her house unannounced and find her in her room.

“Tell me why you thought it was okay to end my friendship with Allison without even talking to me about it,” I demand, stepping into her room and crossing my arms.

She raises a brow at me. “Are you seriously still mad about that?”

“Yes!” Why doesn’t she see it’s totally crappy of her to pick my friends for me? “It wasn’t your decision—”

“I know.” Her voice softens, and she suddenly looks on the verge of tears. “I thought I was doing you a favor, protecting you from someone who’d toss you aside for a guy. Why would you want to be friends with someone like that anyway?”

“That’s not the point. Maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with Allison anymore, but it was my decision to make, not yours.”

She nods. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just got so mad that she chose Toby over me, you know? A real friend wouldn’t have done that.”

Crap. This was supposed to make her see that she was wrong. Instead, I feel awful because I’m sneaking around behind her back. I’m no better than Allison. All I can do is nod, which she takes as an acceptance of her apology.

“So are you and Toby finished planning my surprise party?” she asks, spinning in her desk chair as if we never fought.

“Sort of.” Her birthday is next Saturday, and I don’t even know where this party is taking place. I haven’t gotten her a gift yet or sent out invites.

“I haven’t seen you two study much. Did you grow out of your tutor?”

I shrug and keep my eyes down so she can’t see the tears forming in them. “He’s busy with Meredith. Can we talk about something else?”

“Sure. I know Toby isn’t exactly an interesting topic. Sorry to bore you.”

Up until last weekend, he was my favorite topic. I take a deep breath and blink back my tears. “How are things with Ryder?”

She stops spinning and gives me a huge smile. “So good.” She drags the words out.

I force a smile. “That’s great. And you guys are spending a lot of time with Toby and Meredith.” Damn it. Why can’t I stop thinking about them?

“I know. It was totally weird at first, but Meredith isn’t all bad.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

She picks up a pen from her desk and chucks it at me. “Yes! She’s awful. But Ryder likes her and Toby, so I get through it.”

“You really like him, huh?”

She nods. “More than I thought I would.”

“I’m really happy for you, Tori.”

“I know you are, because you’re my best friend.” She’s right. So maybe she would’ve been happy for me if I was honest with her about my feelings for Toby. Maybe I created this mess for no reason. Tori and I are better friends than she and Allison were, aren’t we?