A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get this out! I've been taking a ridiculously fast-paced summer class, working, writing for a newspaper and a magazine, and redoing my room this past month, but my class is over and my room is done, so updates will come more often from now on.

Next update will be up after I get back from my mini-vacation next week!

SORRY GUYS! I've pasted the actual chapter to this part twice now and it won't publish the changes but it should be up now!

Edit: I'm not sure why some people are still having problems seeing the chapter, but my best advice would be to update your library/update the app and see if that works, or try viewing it online either on your mobile browser or a laptop browser if all else fails.

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Chapter 29

I spent that night lying awake in my bed, replaying last night's events over and over again, hating myself more and more each time it played in my head. Hating myself for the guy I'd been and hating myself for not realizing who Sophia was sooner. I'd thought she seemed familiar from the start but never made the connection. How could I have been so stupid?

The fact that I hadn't even recognized her had to have added to the sting of having to work with the asshole who bullied her and then took her virginity when he thought she was hot enough.

I turned to the side and grabbed my phone, my fingers hovering over Sophia's contact. There was so much I wanted to say to her, but I didn't even know where to begin. I hadn't even apologized for my behavior. Not really. I think it was more me feeling sorry for myself and the situation I found myself in than actually taking the time to apologize for who I'd been and pledge to be better.

I sighed and locked my phone again. Whatever it was that I said to her, it couldn't be over text. For one, that made it too easy for her to ignore me or delete the message without even reading it. But most importantly, it was the cowardly way out of giving a real apology. And a real apology was what she deserved.

But when I arrived on set the next morning, my plan to apologize took a detour and my cowardice set in. I didn't even have to come in until lunchtime, but I'd gone in earlier to try to talk to Sophia before she went to go shoot her scenes. Instead, I hid in my trailer until I got hungry enough to go get some lunch.

As soon as I left my trailer and passed a few people, I realized the tension on set was at an all-time high, even higher than during the time Sophia and I had it out for each other. I guess I couldn't blame them. I mean, what a plot twist: it turned out we actually had a history no one else knew about – until now.

All eyes were on me as I walked over to get some pizza. It was mostly just stares and hushed whispers that followed me, but I could sometimes hear what they were saying. It wasn't good. They either painted Sophia as a "slut" for sleeping with me – never mind the fact that I was damn sure I'd slept with more people than her – or me as a jackass for taking advantage of her. I'd take the second one over the first any day. At least that one had some truth to it.

I didn't see her at first. I grabbed my lunch and sat down at a table by myself. I usually sat with either Blake or Sophia. Sitting with her was obviously out of the question, and I didn't know where Blake was but wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, anyway.

I ate my food slowly, staring at the ground because it was the only thing left to stare at that wouldn't stare at me in return. Okay, I guess there were plenty of other inanimate objects to stare at that were incapable of staring back at me, but that was beside the point. The point was the only company I wanted was company that couldn't talk, stare, point or breathe.

A figure passed by my table and I instinctively glanced up. When my mind registered who it was, my eyes immediately turned back to the ground. I wanted to hit myself for doing it but I couldn't even bring myself to look her in the eye at that point. I'd fucked up plenty of times before, but never this badly. Never with someone who I actually gave a shit about.

I didn't see her again for the rest of the day. I was pretty sure we were both avoiding each other. I wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to me again outside of the remaining scenes we had together. Maybe this was it for us.

But maybe it didn't have to be.

I grabbed my phone from the table it was sitting on and pulled up Tori's contact. Can you come to my trailer?

She took a few minutes to reply. Why the hell would I come to your trailer?

This was going to be a little harder than I thought. Just come. Please. I need your help.

Her reply was immediate this time. Only thing you'll get from me if I come over is the can of whoop ass you deserve. Pendejo

I wasn't sure what that meant since I wasn't fluent in Spanish, but I was just going to assume it wasn't good. Tori please. I know I fucked up but I'm trying to fix things. I'm trying here.

It took her so long to reply that I was about to give up and just go home when she finally replied. Fine. Be there in 15.

I sighed in relief. I didn't expect Tori to be on my side after what had just happened, but she knew Sophia better than anyone else. With Tori's help, maybe winning Sophia's trust wasn't so implausible after that.

There was a knock on my door not too long after, right around when Tori had said she'd show up. I opened the door and immediately received a shoe to the head. Tori had actually taken off her fucking shoe and thrown it at my head.

"Tori, what the hell?"

"What the hell? What the hell? I should be asking you the same thing," she yelled, slamming the door behind her and immediately inciting regret in me. I shouldn't have asked her to come over. This was a bad idea.

"Tori—"

"You took her virginity and just left her there in some rando's house?" She grabbed the nearest object – a remote control – and chucked it at me. I barely ducked in time. "And sent her a text – that text – the next morning? She was fifteen, pinche mujeriego!"

"I was seventeen, okay? I was an immature idiot," I said, feeling the need to defend myself if only to get her to stop throwing things at me.

"And what about the torment you put her through for years?" She looked around for something else to throw and settled on a can of Pringles that was sitting on the table. She made sure to take off the lid so that chips flew everywhere as the can hit me in the gut. "Sounds to me like it's less about age and more about you being an absolutely dickhead crotchety wanker."

Dickhead crotchety wanker. I can't say I'd ever been called that before.

"I know," I said, holding my hands up defensively. "I know, okay? I was an asshole. I was a dickhead crotchety wanker. I was every name in the book. But that's not who I am anymore. At least, it's not who I'm trying to be. I don't want to be that guy anymore. I don't want to be the guy who walks all over people to get what he wants. I don't want to be the guy who people secretly think is a dick. I don't want to be him anymore."

Tori had grabbed another object to throw at me but started to lower it at my words. She pursed her lips and stared at me for the longest time before saying, "Okay. Last one." And there went the decorative little thing she'd found somewhere, right at my head again. I just let it hit me.

I rubbed the spot she'd hit on my head. "Are you done yet?"

She paused. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess. Unless you want me to throw this lamp at you."

"Please don't."

"So... what is it that you need my help with then?" When I was about to speak, she held up a finger and added, "And this isn't me saying I'll help you. I'm just asking. I reserve the right to tell you to go to hell and walk out."

"I want to make things right with Sophia. I want to apologize. I want her to see me as more than that asshole from her past. But I don't know how. I don't know where to start."

She put her hand to her chin and stroked it like she was stroking a beard. I wasn't going to ask questions at that point. "Why? So you can stroke your ego by making amends and then go off to the Bahamas with some runway model?"

Um... "Not exactly."

"Why should I help you?"

Here went nothing. I was literally laying it all out, giving her the potential to stomp all over me when I was really down. But I had a feeling being painfully open was the only way to get her to help me. And I couldn't do this on my own.

"Because I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with your best friend. And it's pretty shitty knowing you don't stand a chance because you fucked up in the past."

Tori's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. I didn't know why she'd never considered acting with her dramatic personality. "Did I just hear the word love come out of your mouth?"

I could feel my face turning red. My. Face. Turned. Red. What the hell was happening to me? "I mean, I said falling in love, and I said pretty sure, but –"

Her eyes continued to widen. I wasn't even sure how. "You love her."

"I—"

A sly smile spread over her face and she began to sing, "You love her, you want to date her, you want to kisssss her."

"Where have I heard that?"

"Miss Congeniality," she said. She looked me over once more before nodding. "Okay. Okay, I'll do it. I'll help you win her back. But I swear to God, if it turns out that this is some more of your crap, I'll do more than just throw a few things at your head. I'll kill you. I know people."

That girl honestly worried me sometimes. "Er... That won't be necessary. This isn't more of my 'crap.'"

She nodded decisively. "Okay. Good. First things first, and I can't believe you haven't thought of it already, but it's every man's go-to when he screws up and if you don't get these, are you even trying to apologize?"

"Tori. What?"

"Flowers, you idiot," she said. "You need flowers, apologies, and tears. Get her some lilies. They're her favorite."

Lilies, apologies, and tears. Operation Chicken – we really needed a new name for this – was back on.