Chapter 2

Lucas, younger and smaller, would plant himself in front of me, serious as a knight. "Olivia," he'd say, "I'll protect you forever."

Turns out, "forever" had an expiration date.

Chloe transferred to our school senior year, and suddenly Ryan and Lucas switched allegiances, each vying for her attention.

Now, to win her smile, they used the very words that hurt me most.

After class, I slipped into the bathroom to wash my puffy face.

When I stepped out, they were both waiting by the door, looking uneasy.

I acted like they weren't even there and walked right past them.

Ryan frowned instantly. "Hey, don't take it so seriously, okay? It was just a joke."

I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms. The tears I'd finally managed to hold back were threatening to spill out again.

"You both know I hate it when people body-shame me. Why do you always have to joke about that?" I snapped.

He sighed, annoyed. "It's just words, Olivia. It doesn't actually hurt you. Chloe doesn't like that we have history, so we had to—"

"Fine," I cut him off, voice shaking. "From now on, we're just classmates." I wiped my tears and pushed past them.

Ryan's face instantly darkened.

Behind me, Lucas laughed lightly. "Who else is gonna pay attention to her? She's been following us for years. Just wait. She'll come crawling back like always."

I bit down hard on my lip, refusing to let myself break.

Ryan was always bossy, and Lucas had a sharp tongue. We'd gotten into plenty of arguments over the years, some big, some small.

Because I was always trying to keep the peace, I was always the one to reach out first and make up.

Not this time. I was done being the one who caved in.

I didn't try to make up, and neither of them would ever swallow their pride and apologize first.

So we ended up giving each other the silent treatment.

When the school celebration rolled around, our class was assigned partner waltzes.

There were just enough guys and girls, but when it came time to team up, something unexpected happened.

By the time everyone paired up, only four of us remained: me, Ryan, Lucas, and Chloe.

Ryan and Lucas were both crowding around Chloe, practically fighting over who got to be her partner.

Chloe giggled, glancing my way. "Isn't Olivia your childhood friend? Why don't you dance with her?"

Ryan's voice was flat. "I only want you. If I can't have you, I'm not dancing."

Lucas threw his hands up. "Who wants Chloe? Not me."

I stood there feeling totally out of place, catching all those looks. Some people were giving me pity, others were waiting for the drama to unfold.

Finally, Chloe gave me a triumphant look and took Ryan's hand.

Lucas's face dropped, and he made a show of asking the other guys, "Anyone wanna trade? I'll take literally anyone else."

I dug my nails so deep into my palms I nearly broke the skin, fighting back tears so I wouldn't embarrass myself.

"Can I sit this one out?" I mumbled to the teacher, head down, voice barely above a whisper.

The teacher didn't even look up from her clipboard. "Don't be difficult. Teams are set. If you drop out, who's going to fill in? Kids these days only think about themselves."

My face went pale. I closed my mouth, too tired to say another word.

After everyone got into pairs, we all had to practice the dance together in our spare time.

I couldn't tell if Lucas had just given up or if he realized he'd been way out of line before, but during practice, he finally stopped messing around and actually worked with me for once.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief.