Jason sat with Blake at the skatepark, mulling over Lucita. Blake was leaning back on the cement stairs as people around them did trick after trick while the sun slid beneath the horizon. He thought about Lucita’s thoughts, her own worries, how her concerns over everyone else have been eating her up inside, darkening her eyes, and highlighting the hollows beneath them. Jason wondered if anyone else saw through her low-key tough-girl bravado. He wondered if any of them knew it was all a mask.

“You’re thinking about her again,” muttered Blake, digging into his Wendy’s bag for his spicy chicken sandwich.

“Thinking of who?”

“Lucita. Guess Amelia doesn’t quite float your boat, does she?”

“Amelia is fine.”

“That’s not really a word one should use to describe their girlfriend.”

“Describe Rebecca.”

“Cute. Adorable. Funny—”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re into her much either.”

“Hey, just because you’re unhappy with your relationship doesn’t mean you can project onto mine. I like Becca. I like being with her. She’s sweet, she’s good for me, and, I mean, she’s Becca.”

“But not Silvia.”

“Seriously, dude, I am over her. Officially over her.”

“Sure you are.”

Blake rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his sandwich. “And this conversation suddenly got boring. What is up with you and Amelia anyway?”

“She doesn’t like Liz or Lucita. She thinks I’m going to leave her—”

“Which a: you should, and b: you’re already thinking about doing. But continue.”

Jason glared at his friend. “Yeah, well, if I do leave her, it won’t be because of them.” Taking a deep breath, he looked over the crowd. “Amelia was a mistake. A horrible mistake.”

“Harsh,” said Blake, mouth full.

“But true.” Jason stole a fry from the bag, popping it into his mouth. “I just—I was angry, and she was there and I wanted—”

“Lucita. Yeah, I know. Can we go back to the days I was crushing on her, and you hated her? Those days seem like a freaking blessing now.”

Jason laughed. For all his failings, Blake was a good friend.

“Yeah, those days feel like a dream.”

“Complete with nightmarish villains like Tiffany. I still can’t believe how petty that girl is, going after Cyrus. Poor guy doesn’t know how poisonous she is.”

“That girl is a bitch. She’s doing it all just to mess with Lucita’s head.”

“It’s working though, isn’t it?”

“You were there when she first saw. You heard her scream.”

“Yeah, that was hilarious.”

“Don’t be a dick.” Jason ate another fry. “Anyway, now she’s apparently trying to get Matthew to help her torment Luci by driving a wedge between Cyrus and Luci. Thankfully, Matt doesn’t like her either.”

“Good news for Luci.”

“Dude, I don’t know what to do. I mean, about Amelia, Liz and Luci. And I’m worried about Luci and that guy. I mean, Matthew seems like a dick.”

“Dude, honestly, just talk to Lucita and tell her how you feel. That way, everything is out in the open. And if she likes you back, you guys can date, and if she doesn’t, you can stop pining over her and actually get over her.”

“I would have to break up with Amelia first.”

“Again, you should do that anyway.”

“Yeah…ugh, how did I get into this mess?”

“By being an idiot and dating Elizabeth when you didn’t want her.”

“That’s not true. I wanted her, I just, I don’t know, I started wanting Luci more. Besides, you were all telling me to go date Liz.”

Blake threw his crumbled wrapper into the bag and threw his hands up in defeat. “I will be the first person to admit that was stupid.”

“Everything was fine in the beginning.”

“Until you and Luci became closer. Lis knew that the pair of you were canoodling.”

“Really? Canoodling? That’s the word you’re going for?”

“Don’t change the subject. Anyway, how do you think she felt about that?”

Jason shrugged. “She said she was fine with it. She was the one who sent me to check up on her in the middle of the night, to begin with. I mean, so much shit went down with her family this summer that even her mother was okay with it when she came in the room and saw me sleeping there.”

“How have I not heard about this? Dude, what the fuck happened? Did her mother lose her shit?”

“Kinda? I was sleeping on top of the covers, fully clothed, so she was, I mean, it wasn’t that bad. It could have been worse. But I guess she knew about everything her daughter was going through, so she allowed it. She compared us to Dawson’s Creek.”

“Dude, that show is old.”

“Luci loves it.”

Blake laughed. “She would, seems like something right up her alley. Anyway, back on topic. So, Liz probably started guessing you were developing feelings for Luci. And honestly, dude, you couldn’t have been more obvious about it.”

“Gee thanks.”

They sat there, watching everyone skate on by. Blake offered him a sip of his soda. Taking it, Jason took a huge gulp, trying to figure out his feelings.

“So,” began Blake, sitting forward, “how are you going to do it? Break up with Amelia, I mean.”

“I have no freaking clue. We’re supposed to go out tomorrow night. So—”

“Just rip off the bandaid, dude. Take her for ice cream and just do it.”

“Harsh.”

“I tell it like it is.” He leaned back onto the stairs, stretching out his legs. “Look, you want to her with Luci, we all know it. So just try and be with her. If she doesn’t feel the same way, then that’s gonna suck, dude. But you know what? At least you’ll know, and you can start working on getting over her. But you gotta start doing what’s best for you. And you know something, I think she does like you. So there’s hope there.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah. But don’t go dating Lu right away. That would ruin shit between Luci and Liz.”

“Shit is already getting ruined between them.”

“Don’t tell that to them. Man, Liz dating Francis is weird. Didn’t think it would be possible, but that dude is even more in love with Luci than you are. And I can’t believe that Liz is that oblivious.”

Jason cringed at the thought. But then he remembered Blake’s advice, finishing off the soda. Time to rip off the bandaid.