I wake up to hear rocks being thrown at my bedroom window. I groan and check the digital alarm clock. Why must something always wake me up at 3 in the morning? At least now it's not in my imagination.

I wrap my blanket around me and rub my eyes as I trudge to the window. We definitely didn't plan a trip to Skull Banger on a Sunday night, did we?

I pull the curtains open to see Sloane dressed in an oversized black T-shirt with ripped sheer leggings and a distressed denim jacket. Hm, she wouldn't have dressed that plainly for a mosh pit.

"Rain! Get down here," she waves and motions me down while doing an excited little hop.

"Give me a minute!" I mouth while holding up a finger. I whirl around to find my trusty knit green sweater and throw on some sneakers.

***

"Oh... I really hope we're not going to the mosh pit. I'm way too tired for that tonight. Also it's Sunday for crying out loud!" I mutter after climbing out my window.

"No shit. I didn't wake you up for the mosh pit. Now come!" Sloane pulls my arm towards the limo enthusiastically.

My stomach sinks. "Is Joel there?"

"No, why?"

"Who drove you then?"

"One of the actual chauffeurs, duh," she scoffs while shutting the door behind me.

"Is he not suspicious..?"

"Rain, Daddy pays him a lot of money to hide certain secrets. Driving his daughter to go visit her friend isn't that big a deal."

"It's the middle of the night," I mutter while glancing around. I see she's finally hung up the lunar embellished tapestry I bought her for birthday. Sloane can't live without her mystic charms.

"So? He's not supposed to ask questions. Anyway, that's besides the point. I brought you here because there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while," Sloane scoots closer.

I glance around again and notice the limo isn't moving. I suppose we're just going to stay here while she delivers her news.

"What's that?"

"You see, I wasn't sure how you'd react so I had to think about it for a while but—"

"No, what's THAT?" I point at a lipstick stain on the seat between us.

Sloane blushes. "About that..."

"And lord, there's another one there too," I point at the window behind us.

Sloane smacks my hand away playfully and laughs. "Ok ok stop you dweeb! Let me talk."

"I'm listening," I raise my eyebrows attentively and stare.

Sloane takes a deep breath before saying, "I made out with Holly Jones that night at the fair."

"Oh.. is that so?" I stammer. "Um, how did that happen?"

Sloane leans back and looks up dreamily while she recounts the night. "We made a bet about which one of us would crash the most times at the mirror maze and decided to test it out. We kept teasing each other... and I guess it escalated because next thing we knew, we were kissing. I never saw it coming."

Neither did I, I think quietly.

"How did you end up in the limo?"

"Remember when you guys went to ride on the swings again? Holly said those rides made her too dizzy, but I think she was just saying that. While we were in line, I told her about my tarot card collection. Can you believe she wanted me to read them for her? Anyway, I invited her to the limo to read her fortune. We did that, but then one thing led to another... Rain?" she says softly and looks at me worriedly. "I think I like her. Like, really really like her. I've never met anyone like that. Hell, I've never met anyone else who likes girls at our school. Besides the guys, y'know."

I sigh softly and lay my hand on hers. "Listen Sloane... I'm happy for you. I really am. I know none of your other crushes have worked before, so I'm happy to see one of them reciprocate your feelings. But..." I squint my eyes and tighten my lips hesitantly.

Sloane looks at me curiously, like she doesn't have a clue about what I'm getting at. Do I really have to say it?

"What about Joel?" I say sympathetically.

"What about him?" She shrugs.

My eyes nearly bulge out. "He's had the biggest crush on her since forever!"

"So? Holly chose ME. There's more fish out in the sea, he could literally have any other girl he wants. I would be a fool to give up someone as genuine and cool as Holly, especially when she already likes me too. You understand, don't you?"

"No, not really. Can't you understand that you're hurting Joel? What's he going to do when he finds out? He'll be devastated."

"He'll have to get over it, just like the rest of us." Sloane extends her arms and slaps her legs. "They barely started talking this year anyway, so he can't be that in love with her. She's not interested in him like that, either. It's better this way."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I— I don't know. I need to figure out how things will go with Holly first. Just, promise you'll keep this a secret for me until I'm ready?"

I shift in my seat uncomfortably. What if she takes too long? What if Joel keeps wasting his effort to pursue someone who's not interested in him? What about Sloane, who's never had someone like her back before? Holly seems to genuinely be interested in her. Sloane deserves to be with someone, right? It's not like Joel was dating her. Can I really keep this secret from him?

"Rain. Please," Sloane repeats, clutching her hands together earnestly. "All I'm asking for is a little time."

"Alright," I sigh loudly. "I won't tell."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

***

The days march on, and I find myself covering for Sloane as often as she needs it. Which is pretty often, to say the least.

Joel still thinks I'm seeing ghosts. He likes to joke about me being so high that I miss out on the things he and Sloane say. The truth is, I'm just major uncomfortable being put in this position.

For this past week, I've seen Joel try amping up his flirting game. He surprises Holly with snacks from the red cart every other day and even let her borrow one of his favorite CD's. She takes everything happily, never letting on that she's not interested. At the same time, she doesn't make her own moves to show she's interested, either. Joel doesn't notice, of course.

I've also made up excuses every time Sloane doesn't show up for lunch. It feels so wrong lying to his face. I can hardly look him in the eyes with every fabrication Sloane urges me to spin. None of these excuses are remotely true. Joel doesn't notice, of course... Why wouldn't he trust his best friends, right?

"Rain."

I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear someone say my name in a low voice. I shut my locker to see who's behind it.

"Darren! You scared me," I gasp, holding my hand to my heart.

"Sorry about that, but you kinda deserved it," he smirks and looks away while leaning against the locker next to mine.

My heart starts beating fast. Deserve it? Does he know I'm covering for Sloane? Or... I feel the blood drain from my face. Is he mad I didn't go further with him?

"What do you mean?"

"For not talking to me this week. I've tried waving at you, calling out your name, and you've all but walked past me. I might as well be a ghost. What's eating you? If you're still bothered by what happened at the fair that night, you can say it. But please talk to me," he says softly. His gaze is kind and compassionate, but I can feel a distance between us. "I want us to work. I like you, Rain. Not just for those things."

I let out a breath of relief and smile gently before placing my hand on his chest. "I like you too, Darren, a lot," I confess with a blush warming my cheeks. "I'm really touched to hear you say all that. And.. I'm so sorry, I never meant to ignore you. There's been a lot on my mind recently, and it's been hard concentrating on anything."

Darren strokes my cheek and tucks a curl behind my ear. "You can talk to me about anything, you know. I'm here for you."

"Darren — I think I love you."

Holy crap, did I just say that?! Out loud?!

Darren looks down so I can't see his face. For what feels like a minute, I think my soul might leave my body. I want to run away and hide in a hole— I want to go back in time before I ruined everything.

But then, Darren does look up. He's grinning from ear to ear, a dimple on each side of his cheek. "I never thought I'd hear you say that, at least not this soon."

"Y-you don't have to say it back."

Darren holds my hands and squeezes them lightly before leaning in and whispering: "I think I love you too, Rain."

I close my eyes and revel in this dream come true. Darren Banks just confessed to being in love with me. Oh my gosh! I squeal and throw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest bashfully. He hugs me back tight and laughs happily, leaning his head against mine. I could stay in his arms all day.

From the corner of my field of view, I watch as Sloane walks ahead of Holly. Both are headed towards the restrooms, but they're keeping their distance from each other. Sloane glances back at Holly and smirks. Holly rolls her eyes and looks away with the hint of a smile lurking on her lips.

I finally pull away from Darren and we say our goodbyes.

"You guys are so disgusting," someone fake gags behind me.

I whirl around and widen my eyes. "Hey!"

"Disgustingly adorable," Joel laughs as I playfully punch his shoulder.

"Bug off, geek."

"I'm joking! Gash. Honestly, I wish I could be like that with Holly," Joel crosses his arms and leans back against a locker hopelessly. "Unless..." he trails off while he straightens up and uncrosses his arms. "I can be like that with Holly. It's like Sloane said, she's just shy. Everything's been going good with us so far. I think now's the moment."

"N-now?" I stammer while biting my nails.

"Yes," Joel exclaims, slamming his fist on his palm confidently. "She digs me, I dig her, I just gotta pop the question and boom! I know she'll say yes."

"Joel..." I finally muster up the courage to interrupt, but he cuts me off right before I can say anything.

"I can already imagine our future together. We'll be rocking out to those CD's in my living room until we collapse onto each other and cuddle on the couch. Maybe one day I'll get to hear her sing, I bet she sounds like an angel."

"JOEL! Stop it, Holly doesn't like you the same way you do," I shout. Time freezes and I shut my mouth. This.. wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

Joel stops and stares at me with a face of deep hurt and betrayal. His eyes glisten and he finally scowls. "What did you say?"

"I said... Holly doesn't like you." It's too late, I can't stop the painful truth dripping out of my mouth. I stare at the floor and gulp down the fierce knot in my throat.

"Rain? What's making you say this? Tell me, tell me now dammit! Friends don't hide secrets from each other." Joel's standing directly in front of me now, grasping my shoulders firmly so I'm between him and the lockers.

"Holly and Sloane are seeing each other!" I blurt out.

"What?" He stares at me in disbelief. His gaze is somewhere far away.

"Y-you weren't supposed to find out this way, I'm sorry," I choke.

Joel lets go of my shoulders and slams the locker behind me. The sudden clash makes me jump. "Enlighten me. How else was I meant to find out?"

"Sloane wanted to see how things would go with Holly before telling you. I'm so sorry, I should have told you," I mumble and shake my head. I can't cry. I can't cry. I'm so scared right now. I've never seen him this angry, but there's no way Joel would hurt me.

Joel paces in front of me while burying his face in his hands. "Ghhhaa! Fucking bitch!"

He raises his fist and I flinch until I hear another voice.

"Whoa! What's all the commotion here?" Sloane yells. "Dude, what's wrong with you? What are you beating up those poor lockers for?"

"You! You're what's wrong with me," Joel bellows. "How could you! Seriously? You knew I liked Holly!"

"Keep your fucking voice down," Sloane hisses. "I was going to tell you sooner or later."

"Sooner or later? Are you fucking kidding me?" Joel scoffs.

"Guys please, don't do this here," I interject. I can feel everyone watching. It's none of their business, but we're causing too much of a scene.

"Don't do this here," Sloane mimics. "You're the one who started this, you narc. If only you hadn't opened your mouth."

"Hey! Don't bring Rain into this," Joel growls. "You're a shitty friend, making her cover up all your lies like that."

"This is stupid," Sloane mutters while shaking her head. "Holly likes me more than you, just fucking get over it!"

"No, I won't get over it. This isn't just about Holly. You stabbed me in the back while calling yourself my friend, Sloane. Do us all a favor and stay the hell away from me." Joel glares at her before stomping down the hall.

"Rain, I thought we had a promise," Sloane mutters when we're finally alone.

"It wasn't fair, I tried to tell you that. I tried to tell you I wasn't comfortable keeping that promise but you didn't listen!"

"You know what? Screw you, Wilson. None of this would have happened if it weren't for you."

"Sloane, please," I beg. My tears are on the verge of falling. I fucked up.

"No. You're a traitor. I can't ever trust you, not after this," Sloane backs away. "It's best if we stop talking."

She's trembling. I'm not sure if it's rage, despair, or both. She's standing all alone now in the middle of the hallway, clouded by a thick fog of darkness. Everyone's gone and left, except for her. And that person is me.