Rebecca hid aside, watching Blake and Silvia have one of their secret discussions. What would they possibly be talking about? Everyone was keeping secrets from her as if she was a child. They acted like nothing was going on, but she knew. Francis had broken up with Elizabeth, which obviously had something to do with Lucita.

But now they were hanging out with Olivia, who just happened to be a part of Tiffany’s old clique.

Seriously, what was going on?

“Hey, you guys!” she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. Blake and Silvia jumped apart.

“Shit, Becs, don’t do that.”

“Girl just popped out of nowhere like a ninja,” joked Silvia. But Rebecca could see the worry behind the smile, the quick exchange between her and Blake.

“I really don’t see how that’s funny.” Becca didn’t mean to sound so cold, but she was angry. She was tired of people keeping secrets from her.

“It’s—”

“Just ignore Vee; you know she’s the only person who thinks she’s funny. Anyway, what’s up, babe.” He tried to put her arm around her, but she stepped aside.

“Nothing, I’m just trying to figure out why two people who can’t stand each other keep hanging out.”

There it was again, that silent exchange between the two of them. “Becca,” began Silvia, “we’re not spending any more time with one another than usual. In fact, we promised each other we would do better to tolerate one another for you. This, we just had to talk about some homework.”

“What homework? Hmm? I’m glad you two finally decided to be friends, for my sake, but you know what? How about you guys be a friend to me. You two are hiding something, and I want to know what.”

Silvia stared at her wide-eyed, gripping the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. “Becca, this has nothing to do with you. This has to do with Luci and Tiffany. It’s nothing.”

“Tiffany is gone. This shouldn’t have anything to do with her.”

“Becca, babe,” began Blake, stepping up, “it’s complicated, okay. It’s just…it’s very complicated.”

“Okay, so uncomplicate it. Tell me something!”

“Becca, you have to trust me!” he snapped at her. Rebecca recoiled, taking a step back from him. She looked at Silvia, who had just stood there, slightly sympathetic yet unwilling to meet her gaze.

“I don’t have to trust you.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t have to trust me?”

“Blake,” began Silvia, taking a step forward, “relax, okay—”

“I don’t need you to defend me!” shouted Rebecca.

Silvia stared at her like she had never seen Rebecca before, eyebrows scrunched up. “I wasn’t defending you. I’m trying to calm your boyfriend down so that you can talk. He has every reason to be upset.”

“Oh screw you. You just want him because I have him!”

“Wow, do you hear yourself? How wacked are you,” hissed Silvia.

Rebecca couldn’t stand this, couldn’t stand them. “Fuck you. You expect me to trust you when you’re hanging out with your ex-girlfriend, keeping secrets with her?”

Blake scoffed at her, but she could see the storm brewing in his blue eyes. “You’re the one who asked us to get along. Now that we are, it’s a problem for you. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Becca.”

“Shit is going on, Becca,” began Silvia looking around cautiously. “We’re just trying to figure out how to deal with the fallout.”

“Then tell me!”

“Rebecca,” began Blake, taking a deep breath, “it’s really simple. You either trust me or you don’t. I’ve done nothing, nothing to warrant your distrust.” He shot Silvia a sideways glare. She looked away. “Please, I shouldn’t have to beg you to trust me. I’m not doing this again. You either trust me, or there is no relationship.”

Silence fell between the three of them. Rebecca looked back and forth between them. Between her boyfriend, Blake, and her best friend, his ex-girlfriend. Her eyes stung at the realization.

Eyes brimming with tears, she looked at him. “No, Blake, I don’t trust you. I never did.”

Blake’s eyes widened, first with shock, then with a bitter sadness.

“Never huh. Yeah, okay. Bye.” Snatching his bag from the ground, he stormed off. Silvia stood there for a moment, looking at Becca sadly.

“It had nothing to do with you, Becs. It was all about Luci and Liz …we just didn’t want you to get involved. It’s just a mess. You should have trusted us. You should have trusted me.”

Silvia ran off after Blake, and Rebecca let her, trying to think about how it made her feel. She always knew it had been too good to be true.

Blake slammed the door to the hallway open, aware that Silvia was following him.

“Blake!”

“Leave me alone, Vee.”

She grabbed his arm, pulling him back, wrapping her arm around him. He was stunned. She was hugging him. He tried not to think about how it made him feel.

“I’m sorry.”

“Fuck,” he said, trying to bite back the tears. “I wanted this to work with Becca. I really did.” He pulled away, slumping against the floor. Silvia dropped her bag and sat down next to him.

“I didn’t—I didn’t know you cared about her this much.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I know. I really liked her, ya know. It was…I don’t know. It was easy being with her. It was fun, it was…I liked being with her. I didn’t think for a moment that she didn’t trust me. It never even crossed my mind.”

“I know.” Silvia leaned her head on his shoulder. “Maybe we should have told her everything.”

“Yeah, except she can’t keep a secret to save her life. And, after everything with Liz and Jason, there’s no way she would even listen to Luci’s side. I was hoping…I was hoping I could get her to see the truth, ya know. The fallout.”

The fallout. It was just a matter of time now. Every text was a picture waiting to be sent around school. A lie to turn everyone against Luci.

“I’m sorry, Blake. Not just for Becca, but for, you know, everything before.”

Blake laughed and did something that surprised them both. He held her hand, lacing his fingers between hers. Silvia tried not to think about how it made her feel. “I know. It’s okay. I was a dick. But I was trying to be better.”

“You were better.”

They sat silently until the bell rang, pulling them in different directions.