Rebecca waited for Blake while he grabbed a soda from the vending machine. She turned on her heel to look around, only to have someone run into her.

“Oof, sorry—Jason! Hey, where’s Elizabeth,” she asked, peering over his shoulder. Liz was usually with him.

He looked down at her, confused, before scanning the area. Weird.

“We, uh…Elizabeth and I broke up.”

The words took the breath right out of her. Liz hadn’t said anything. As far as she knew, she hadn’t called or texted anyone.

“What? Why? What happened?”

“Yeah, Becs, I really don’t want to talk about it, okay? Later.” He moved around her, running off in the opposite direction of where they all typically meet up.

“Alright, babe, here’s your Pepsi?”

Becca jumped, not seeing Blake pop up behind her. He scrunched up his eyes, holding out her drink to her.

“You okay?”

Becca nodded, taking her drink. “Yeah, sorry, distracted.” She popped the bottle open. “Hey, did you know Jason and Liz broke up?”

“No, can’t say I’m surprised though. They’ve been a bit rocky.”

This caught her by surprise. They had seemed fine to her. What was she missing? Why was she out of the loop? Why was she always out of the loop?

“What? No, they’ve been fine.”

Blake just stared at her. “You’re kidding, right? Haven’t you seen the way she’s been blowing him off?”

“Liz is always like that.”

Blake shook his head. “Dude, you gotta pay attention more. She may be aloof, but it was something else entirely.” He sighed and took a sip of his Dr. Pepper. “You know, I bet he finally came clean to her.”

“Came clean about what?”

Blake just stared at her. “Becca…he cheated on her at Amelia’s party…with Amelia.”

It was like a punch to her gut. “No, Jason wouldn’t do that.”

“Becca, he did. He’s been cheating on her. I told him he needed to stop, that he needed to be honest with Liz. He told me he would. So I’m guessing he finally did.”

Rebecca just stared at her boyfriend. “You knew?”

“Yeah,” he said, dragging out the word, “he told me a couple of weeks ago.”

“You knew this whole time and didn’t say anything?” Rebecca stared at Blake, confused, anger simmering within her. Why did he think this was okay?

“It wasn’t my place to say anything. It’s none of my business. Come on, Becca, don’t be so naïve.”

That was like a slap to the face. “Excuse me? I am not naïve. I just clearly have a higher opinion of friendship than you do.”

“You really think so, huh? Okay, how do you think Liz would have felt had you told her? Better yet, had I told her, do you even think she would have believed me? I don’t really have a great track record.”

“You’re right, you don’t. But you know what, Liz would have believed me, and then she would have thanked me.”

“Liz would not thank you; her pride is too big. You know her. She’d get angry at you, she’d believe you, but she would still call you a crappy friend because Liz doesn’t know how to treat people. Take it from me: no one wants to hear their partner is cheating on them from anyone except their partner.”

“You obviously don’t know Liz.”

“I know her, Becs. You just see the best in her, and that’s great and all, but Liz isn’t the best person around. Liz can be shitty and prideful. Look back at last year when she got mad at you and decided to parade me around with her and Luci. It was shitty. Liz is a shitty person who does not know how to treat people. It’s no wonder Jason cheated on her to begin with. What he really should have done was break up with her.”

The words hurt. Becca felt her cheeks burn, her eyes beginning to sting at the truth behind them, but still, Liz was her friend.

“Liz is my friend—”

“I’m not saying she isn’t! I’m just saying you aren’t seeing everything because you don’t want to.” He threw his hands up, exasperated. “You know what, I really don’t want to fight with you over this. I’m gonna go. I’ll see you later, Becca.”

Becca watched him run off in the same direction as Jason, trying to keep the tears at bay. She just couldn’t understand why her boyfriend had kept this a secret from her, why he thought she was so naïve. Who else knew? Why was she the one left in the dark?

Making her way to the carpool area, she stopped when she heard Lucita’s voice.

“Francis, look, I’m sorry—”

“You’re sorry? It’s our two-month anniversary!”

“Okay, see, that’s the problem. I didn’t know that I didn’t care to know that. Look, you say you love me, but Francis, I just don’t feel the same way. I’m sorry, I really am sorry.”

“Sure, you are.” He walked off, and Rebecca spun on her heel, pressing herself against the wall. He just walked right past her. He looked so heartbroken; it made Becca hate Lucita a little bit. She knew Francis better than most, knew that his home life was hard, that he was considered an outcast.

But Beeca also couldn’t blame Lucita. She knew exactly who Luci loved, and Becca should have known that no one would distract her from him.

Stepping out from her hiding spot, she bumped into Lucita’s side playfully, acting as if she hadn’t heard anything.

“Oh! Hey Becs.” Her eyeliner was thicker today, her eyes a little sadder.

“Hey, wanna go meet up with Liz and Vee?”

“Yeah, that’s where I was headed.” The smile she gave her was a little strained. What secrets was she keeping, Becca wondered? She thought they were past all that.

“Cool, cool, let’s go then.” She smiled down at her, taller in her three-inch high wedge sandals. As always, she wore jeans and a tank top underneath a sweater. She had no idea how she could wear a sweater in this heat.

“Oh, I saw Francis. He looked really depressed. Everything okay?”

Lucita winced. “I broke up with him.”

“Really? Why?”

Lucita rolled her eyes, throwing his hands up in frustration. “Because he told me he loved me, and we’ve, what, only been dating for like two months. Like, no, I liked him, but…I only love one person and it wasn’t fair to keep dating someone when I have feelings for someone else. It felt wrong. So I ended things.” She sighed. “He didn’t take it well.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lucita waved her hands in the air. “It’s whatever. I can’t commit to anyone other than…well, you know. It’s pretty pathetic, I’m pathetic. Like, ugh.” Lucita laughed. “Cyrus makes me so mad and so frustrated! He gets jealous when I’m dating, but when he dates, I’m supposed to be okay with it. You know what I need? I just need a fling. A casual fling, no commitment.”

“Luci!” Laughed Becca.

“What?” She grinned, draping her arm over her shoulders as they walked. “Not all of us can be so lucky and snag the guy of our dreams.” She winked at her, and Becca laughed.

They were silent momentarily, walking together to meet the rest of their friends.

“I feel bad for him.”

Lucita removed her arm from her shoulders, shoving her hands into the pockets of her sweater. “Yeah, I do, too.” They slowly approached Liz and Silvia, both of whom looked grim. Scratch that, thought Becca. Vee looked grim. Liz looked pissed.

“What’s going on,” asked Luci hesitantly. She looked around. “Where are Blake and Jason?”

Silvia sighed, and Becca looked away. Liz looked like she was about to blow.

“Um, okay? Did I miss something?” asked Lucita, looking around confused. Becca had to admit it was nice for once to be in the know instead of the last person to know.

“I broke up with Jason,” began Liz, her body trembling. “Turns out he was cheating on me.”

Becca watched Luci reel as if she’d been slapped, her skin growing pale. “What? No, Jason wouldn’t—”

“I saw his phone!” Her screech made them all flinch. Maybe Blake had been right. “It was with that stupid girl Amelia. He lost his virginity to her.”

This time, Rebecca reeled, stepping back into Luci, who gently put a hand on her back without breaking eye contact with Liz, face deathly pale. Rebecca knew what Luci was thinking, what they all were thinking. The way Liz stared at Luci, they wondered if Liz blamed her.

“Liz…I’m sorry. How…how did you find out?”

She scoffed, crossing her arms, finally looking away, pinching her eyes shut. “I told Jason I loved him, and he said it back…except Jason said her name.” She took a deep breath, finally looking around. “So no, Jason isn’t coming.” Her eyes landed on Becca, nailing her to the spot. “But where is Blake? For that matter, where is Francis?”

Luci looked away, shoving her hands back into her sweater pockets. “I broke up with him.”

“Isn’t it your monthiversary or whatever?”

“Does everyone know that except me? Jesus, I should have never dated the dude.”

“And you? Where’s Blake?”

Liz’s eyes were searing, forcing Becca to look away.

“He’s probably consoling Jason,” muttered Silvia, making everything worse. Becca could tell she regretted the comment the moment she made it.

“He is not! We’re not speaking right now…I just found out he knew and didn’t say anything to you or me about it. So I told him off.”

“He knew!” They all flinched, drawing eyes from other people walking by. “Did you? Did any of you know?”

“No, Liz, I literally just found—”

“I can’t believe this.” Liz stormed off, leaving the three of them behind.

“I’ll go after her,” said Luci. “See you guys later.” Rebecca watched Luci run off after her.

“Did you know?” asked Rebecca, staring at Silvia.

“Nope,” said Vee, pulling a lollipop from her bag. “Can’t say I’m surprised though. She’s been such a bitch to him lately, what did she think was going to happen?”

“Vee! She’s our friend. Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Hey, it’s the truth.” The bell rang, and Vee sighed. “Talk about a way to start the day.” She grabbed Becca’s arm and dragged her towards class.

Becca sat at lunch with Silvia, waiting for Lucita and Liz to arrive. The whole situation made Becca feel sick, making her lose her appetite. She couldn’t believe that Jason had cheated on Liz. It was so out of character for him, not the boy she knew who had had a crush on Liz for years. Why did he do it?

Was she really that naïve? Had she really not seen the way Liz and Jason had been slowly falling apart?

A tray dropped on the table, startling her. Lucita sat down, handing her tray to Silvia, taking the milk for herself. Becca looked over her shoulder.

“She’s not coming,” said Lucita, sticking her straw into the milk carton. “Liz wants to be alone for a bit.”

“I can’t believe this.”

Luci stared at her. “Did you really not know?”

Becca shook her head. “I just found out this morning.”

“I can’t believe Blake didn’t tell you.” Lucita took a sip of her milk, pulling her book from her bag, crossing her legs beneath her.

“Wait? Did you know?”

Lucita sighed. “I suspected.”

“You lied to Liz.”

“No, I didn’t.” Lucita glared at her. “I honestly didn’t know. I…okay, look, I saw them kiss at the party, but he swore that was all that happened, and I told him to figure out his shit. I didn’t know he kept on with it. I didn’t…he didn’t tell me he was sleeping with her.”

She looked away as if he had hurt her, too.

“Why didn’t you say something? You lied to her—”

“No, I didn’t. What was I supposed to do? I thought it was a one-time thing …they looked so happy. I thought they were okay, ya know. I didn’t want to ruin it. I didn’t…” Luci sighed. “I should have said something about the kiss to her; I know I should have, but I didn’t know how okay.”

“You’re her best friend.”

She took a little satisfaction from her wincing.

“Oh, come off it already, jeez,” said Silvia. “Let’s say Blake had told you; would you have believed him? I know I probably wouldn’t. I know for a fact that Liz would have had the same reaction. Especially without proof, Liz would have told us off. So leave Luce alone; she didn’t have to say shit. And knowing Liz the way I do, I wouldn’t have said anything either.”

“Cyrus told me not to say anything either,” mumbled Luci, picking at the loose thread on her sweater.

“Yeah? How’s his relationship with Tiffany going anyway?” Silvia eyed her, changing the subject. Fine, they didn’t want to talk about it, then Becca wouldn’t talk at all.

Lucita dropped her head on the table. “Ugh, you wouldn’t believe what she did!”

Becca tuned them out. She didn’t care about Luci and her drama with Cyrus and Tiffany. Instead, she thought about Blake. He had said pretty much the same thing Silvia had just said. He had actually been in the same situation. Now that Becca thought about it, Blake’s situation had probably involved Tiffany.

She knew she was right, but she also was beginning to understand how hard it must be to say something that might hurt your friends.

“I have to go find Blake.” Both girls watched her go, but she didn’t care. Becca had a relationship of her own to fix. The last thing she wanted was to push him away.

As she walked through the school courtyard, she saw Jason with Amelia. Jason didn’t look too happy, but Amelia, god, she was beaming. Amelia was draped over him, chatting with her friends. This was completely different from how Liz always sat beside him, but still her own person.

Jason must have caught her staring as she walked on by, quickly looking away. It wasn’t like Blake was there with him anyway. She looked back at Jason, who smiled warily at Amelia, who was leaning up for a kiss. Becca was angry at him for what he had done, but she couldn’t hate him for it. And maybe, just maybe, Liz was partly to blame.

“Come on, Becca, it’s not nice to stare.” Rebecca turned around to see Blake standing behind her.

“Blake!” Becca threw her arms around him. “I’m so sorry about this morning.”

His arms slowly wrapped around her waist. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry, too. I was out of line, way out of line. I shouldn’t have called you naïve or insulted you or defended him.”

Becca pulled away to look at him, shaking her head. “No, he’s your friend. You had every right to defend him as much as I did defending Liz. But you were right. We both were right and wrong at the same time. I just…I don’t want us to end up like them.”

Blake just stared at her, confused. “Becs, we wouldn’t. As long as we continue to trust each other, we’ll be more than fine.”

“I know. I mean, I hope so. But I don’t want other people’s drama to affect us, ya know.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I don’t want that either. I…yeah, I’ve been there too, and I don’t want that to ruin this relationship.”

She tried not to think about how he said this relationship and wondered if he was referring to Silvia.

“Come on,” he said, “let’s hang out away from everyone’s drama.” She smiled at him, letting him drag her towards the library. But she couldn’t help herself. Becca took one last look at Jason. Jason may be smiling now, but Becca could see the shame and guilt he carried on his shoulders.