A/N: Get the popcorn ready and settle down, guys... you'll see why as you keep reading.

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Chapter 26

I still couldn't get Blake to tell me what he was planning. I didn't think he'd do anything terribly over the top, but with him – and Tori – behind the plot, I couldn't be sure. I just hoped whatever it was wouldn't get me in trouble with Sophia.

Sophia, Blake and I had a few more scenes to shoot that day, so Blake and I took some ridiculously staged pictures with Tori in between shooting. But that was about it. I kept waiting for something to happen but nothing did. Shooting for the movie was almost done with just some of the trickier scenes left to do. Maybe that would include a sex scene, maybe not. I was just kind of bummed that my time with Sophia was almost up and I had a feeling she wouldn't want anything to do with me after this if she didn't have to be near me.

I was about to leave my trailer for the day when Blake barged in and stop me. "Stay here for a few more minutes. Actually, don't leave until it's 9:45, okay? Just trust me on this one."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

He didn't answer my question, evading it like he'd been doing all day instead. "Just stay in here until then, okay?"

Against my better judgment, I agreed, only because I was out of ideas on how to approach this thing with Sophia and worse, I was running out of time, too. If I couldn't think of a way to get her to keep talking to me after this movie, maybe Blake could.

I left my trailer right at 9:45 pm, heading towards the exit all while carefully examining my surroundings. I had no idea what to expect. But what I saw was the last thing I would've expected to see.

Sophia was standing by the exit, most likely waiting for Tori so they could go home together. I didn't see Tori at first, but I was still pretty far away at this point. I only recognized Sophia because I would know that ass from a mile away. It was the kind of ass you just didn't forget.

Tori appeared out of nowhere with Blake in tow. Whatever it was they were talking about, they seemed like they were getting pretty into it. Tori ran ahead of him and straight past Sophia, screaming, "Wait for me! I need to use the bathroom!"

She was loud enough that I could hear her from where I was at that moment, which was still pretty far away. But that was Tori for you.

Sophia turned and watched her run in the direction of the main building where the bathrooms were at. I never went in there since I had a bathroom in my trailer, but it was where everyone else went unless they wanted to use a Porta Potty, and no one wanted to use a Porta Potty.

Blake kept walking towards Sophia and stopped when he was right in front of her. I stopped in my tracks, too nervous to keep walking. He was going to fuck this up. He was definitely going to fuck this up. Oh, God, why had I agreed to let him help me? I didn't need help. I was Christian Ryder, for fuck's sake.

I couldn't hear what he was saying. Whatever it was, he must have whispered it. Sophia said something in response, and I started getting closer again without really realizing it.

And then he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her closer, and leaned down and kissed her. He fucking kissed her. After all of that talk of hooking us up and helping me out, he fucking took the moment for himself and kissed her.

Before I knew it, I had reached them and was pushing Blake off of her. I guess seeing your best friend making out with the girl you were falling in love with really made you move.

"Blake, what the hell are you doing?" I flung him further away with me, my fists clenching in anger without my knowledge or approval. I knew how this must have looked to Sophia, but I didn't care. She may not have been my girl, but Blake knew damn well I wanted her to be, more than I'd ever wanted any other girl. And this was how he "helped" me? By trying to seduce her?

"Chris," Blake said, holding his hands up defensively.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia trying to mediate the situation, but I didn't care at that moment. I was too busy seeing red to care. "Guys – "

"Chris –"

"How could you?" I didn't even wait for an answer. I didn't want to hear it. All I wanted to do was punch his traitorous bitch-ass self in the face – so I did. I pulled my fist back and punched him right in the nose, hoping it was enough to break it.

Blake cursed, grabbing onto his nose. The sight would've made me laugh if I didn't still feel a strong desire to strangle him. "Fuck! Ow! Dude! You're paying for my medical bill! Fuck!"

"I should kill you." I didn't care about his fucking nose. I cared about what the hell he was doing trying to shove his tongue down Sophia's throat.

"Guys!" Sophia screamed the word at the top of her lungs. We finally looked over at her long enough to stop fighting. "What are you doing? You're best friends! What the hell is going on here?"

"Some best friend," I said. My voice escalated with every word that followed, until the word everything was nothing but a poignant scream. "I fucking told you everything – everything!"

I was about to go for Blake again, but a small arm stopped me. Sophia had placed her hand and arm on my abdomen and stood in between us to stop us from going at each other's throats. Physically, it wasn't enough to stop me. But because it was her and I wouldn't dream of hurting her, I stopped. "Stop it, guys! What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"Dude, I'm fixing the problem," Blake said in a low voice. His words were clearly aimed towards me since he was staring directly at me, but with Sophia in the way the intent got muddled a little and she looked more confused than ever. "I'm aiding the chicken."

And then it hit me. This was his fucking plan. This was what he and Tori had been planning. What I didn't get was how the hell this was supposed to help me get Sophia to give me a chance.

"You're aiding the chicken?" My resolve to murder him began to dwindle as I processed his words. "Wait. How the hell is this aiding the chicken?"

"What are you two talking about?" Sophia asked. If she hadn't been confused before – which now I was sure she had been – she definitely was now. "If you're gonna aid something, Blake, make it your face. You're bleeding."

Blake reached down to touch his nose and winced, probably because it hurt to touch and probably because his fingers were covered in blood from the hit I'd given him. Whoops. In my defense, I wouldn't have fucking hit him if he'd let me in on the plan ahead of time instead of kissing Sophia right in front of me with no explanation. What was I supposed to think after seeing that with no outside help to aid my understanding? I'd thought he was a traitor.

"Right," he finally muttered. He looked between Sophia and me a couple times before nodding eccentrically. "Right, right. I'll go fix my face."

He held a hand over his bloody nose as he jogged over in the direction Tori had gone, presumably to the bathrooms. Maybe Tori would nurse him back to health and he'd leave Sophia alone. Even if I kind of understood the intent behind it now, the mental image still pissed me off.

Sophia and I both watched Blake disappear into the building. Once he was gone, Sophia turned back to face me. I tried not to look so pissed off because I didn't want her to think my anger was directed towards her in any way – although I had a feeling it was pretty obvious who it was directed at – but I couldn't help it.

"What was that all about?" she finally asked after another few moments of awkward silence. "Are you... are you jealous?"

"What?" I snapped out of whatever angry trance I'd been in and looked at her, probably with a terrified expression on my face. This was the perfect opportunity to tell her how I felt – where how I felt was fucking obvious – yet I chose the easy way out and denied it all. "No!"

"Really?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Then what the hell was that all about? That isn't normal. That isn't how we act around each other."

What could I say to that? She had me there. Even if I denied it, she wasn't stupid. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that that wasn't normal behavior. It was jealousy, plain and simple. What mattered now was how she would take it. So far, it didn't look good for me.

"I—"

She cut me off, pointing towards the building where Tori and Blake were probably peering through a window trying to watch us rather than attending to Blake's nose. "That's your best friend right there," she said. "And you just punched him in the face because he kissed me, which was completely out of the blue, by the way. He said something about trusting him and then kissed me. So are you really gonna stand here and tell me that nothing is going on?"

I didn't say anything. I couldn't think of anything good to say. I could've refuted her claims further, but like I said earlier, she wasn't stupid. It didn't take a genius to know there was a story behind all of this. I just didn't know if I was ready to tell her that story. Something told me I no longer had a choice. Blake's rash plan and my hasty reaction had made my choice for me.

Instead of attempting to defend myself, I just shifted my weight from foot to foot and stared at her, hoping she would come to the conclusion on her own so I wouldn't have to say it. Why was I being such a pussy? What the fuck was wrong with me?

"It's true, isn't it?" she said. She wasn't looking directly at me anymore. She was staring at a spot on the ground with a look that told me she was trying to wrap her head around all of this. She still looked too surprised and semi-confused to know whether she was leaning towards 'this is good' or 'this is terrible.' "You're jealous."

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. Here went nothing. "Well... maybe."

She shook her head, finally lifting her eyes so they met mine once again. Her eyes were hypnotizing, even under the fluorescent parking lots. She was hypnotizing. "But... why?" she asked.

"Because somehow, my annoyance with you turned into something else," I blurted out. And there was no going back anymore.