"Hey." Cale's voice filled with energy as he slid across from me at lunch.

Since I had figured out that Sophie Kim was the mystery girl, we had been sitting together a couple of times a week. No one suspected anything since Cale was my capstone partner, and Sophie and I were friends.

"Hello." My greeting was closed, as I knew what was bursting in his mind, and I was unsure if I wanted to discuss it.

"So..." He prodded.

"So, that math quiz was tricky," I tried to divert.

Cale's face dropped in shock. "Math quiz? Are we just ignoring the epic relationship destruction in the parking lot this morning?"

"What's that now?" I knew exactly what he was talking about, but as the memory returned, I didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it.

"Delly, come on; Chris is still your best friend, even if things have been off the past month," Cale prodded.

"Are we still best friends?" My tone hit the word best harder than I intended. "Wouldn't he have told his best friend when he got a girlfriend? Wouldn't best friends answer each other's calls and texts? Aren't those best friend things to do?"

"Delly, come on. The situation is..." Cale's mind struggled to find the right words before he shook off the attempt. "He's your best friend. You can't write that off because of one, albeit lengthy, transgression."

"Transgression? Transgression! Cale Benton, you're so..."

"Uh-oh, what did he do now?" Sophie said in her calm, pleasant voice as she slid in next to me.

"What did I do again? I did nothing," Cale protested.

"He called the whole Chris-Bella thing a transgression," I explained, relieved to have a sympathetic ear.

"Well, I mean, with how it ended..." Sophie was trying to remain impartial, but it was clear where her loyalties lay.

"Et tu, Brute?" I murmured.

"Okay, I think we might be a little dramatic here." She tried again to defuse the situation. "Cale, I think we can all agree that Chris hasn't had a gold-star month in the best friend department. And, Dee, I think we can also agree that his betrayal was not Greek tragedy status."

"Fine," Cale and I said in unison.

"You have to find him, though," Cale added.

"Why? He clearly never wanted to talk to me about Bella. Why would he want to talk about it now that it's over?" I shrugged, still feeling a little defensive.

"Delly, he must be upset. I mean, that fight in the parking lot. I don't even know where to begin. It was so...."

"Public," Sophie finished with a knowing look.

Cale's shoulders slumped as he added, "yes," with a sigh. The display between Bella and Chris was why Sophie wanted to keep her relationship with Cale private.

"Cale is right, Dee. I saw Chris after third period, and he looked terrible. He could use a friend right now, his best friend."

"It's Chris, Delly," Cale added with his puppy dog eyes in full effect. "You know you want to be there for him."

"You're right, both of you," I sighed.

"I'm sorry, I know this isn't the time, but is there any chance I could get you to jot that down?" Cale teased.

Sophie kicked him under the table before adding, "acknowledging the bad timing doesn't absolve you of having the bad timing."

Cale winced as he rubbed his shin and added a "sorry" in a mutter.

"I'll see you guys later. I should go find Chris."

Cale was right. I'd regret not being there for Chris, but my mind struggled with how to be a good friend. I wasn't fond of Bella, and I liked her even less when she was with Chris. I didn't know if that was because I had feelings for him or just because my protective friend bone was kicking into high gear. And then there was the possible crush. I didn't even know how I felt about him. Did I still like him, or had his dismissal of me for his brief girlfriend tarnish both the crush and the friendship? My head was still swimming as I pushed into the library.

I knew exactly where to find him. There was a library section where they kept all the ancient film strips and projectors that no one ever went near. Whenever Chris or I wanted to hide, this was where we went. Sure enough, as I turned the corner to the space, Chris was sitting on the floor with his eyes trained on the wheels of an old projector stand.

"Hey," I whispered as I slumped to the floor beside him.

"I didn't think you'd come," he murmured without adjusting his gaze.

"I didn't know if I'd come either," I admitted.

"I deserve that." His head gave a slight nod, but his eyes stayed on the wheels.

"You didn't deserve what happened in the parking lot this morning," I offered.

"How do you know? We haven't spoken in weeks." His tone was still flat.

"I'm sorry." I dropped my gaze from him as I spoke.

"Why are you sorry?" Chris had finally switched his gaze to me.

"I don't know, but I feel sorry. I should've been..."

"What? I didn't return your calls and texts."

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I guess I knew you'd be you about the whole thing."

"What does that mean?" A defensive tone flooded my words before I could stop them.

"Just, you know, kind of supportive, but also kind of judgy."

"Excuse me?" I said in shock.

"Oh, you know how you are. Remember when I told you I wanted to take up snowboarding, and you were all like, 'yeah, yeah, yeah; that's a good idea'? But really, you meant you're going to hurt yourself."

"You did hurt yourself! You broke your wrist. I had to open your sodas for weeks!"

"Had to? Helping me was a chore?"

Our eyes met then, and it felt right, the bickering, the memories, the proximity. My Chris was back.

"Why didn't you return my messages?"

"I think I was still mad about the Cale thing," he sighed.

"What Cale thing? There's no Cale thing! He's seeing someone!"

"I know, but it felt like I was being replaced as your best friend. You guys spend all this time together and have all these little jokes and stuff."

"Jokes and stuff?"

"Yeah, like he calls you Delly, and you guys are always whispering to each other. And..." his fingers tapped the plastic charm bracelet Cale had given me.

"We're friends," I said, but it sounded more like an apology.

"I know. I mean, the entire school knows that he and Sophie have something going on, even if they want to pretend they don't."

"Ugh, it's so annoying. I don't even know what's going on there."

"Mmhmm, unfortunately, after my morning parking lot experience, I know exactly what's going on there."

"Sorry," I said with a wince.

"It's fine. I'm honestly a little relieved. I felt like a jerk the whole time we were together."

"What? Why?"

"Because I didn't really like her. I think I was with her to get back at you, and I'm pretty sure she knew it."

"Ouch, maybe you deserved the parking lot explosion."

"See, I told you." He sighed and let his head fall back to the wall behind him. "I was jealous that you had another friend and thought I'd lose you. So, I pushed you away entirely in the most obvious of flawed plans."

"You know that makes no sense at all."

"Yes, I'm very well aware of the shortfalls in my plans. Unfortunately, I didn't have my scheming partner or my organizational companion. I really missed you and Cami."

"Everyone loves Cami. I'm beginning to feel like you and Cale are just friends with me for my sister."

"Oh no; I've lost Cami to Cale, too?"

"Oh, yeah, about that... you have a long road ahead of you there. Cale brings her flowers and shakes. I don't know if you can ever win her back."

"Ugh, why is that guy so perfect?"

"Trust me; he's not perfect. But I think you may like him if you got to know him."

"Doubtful." He flipped his gaze back to the wheels of the projector cart.

"Well, either way, you have no excuse to avoid me anymore. So, movie at my place this afternoon. I'll even let you pick."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Be prepared to be scared." Chris smiled as his gaze met mine.

"I'm looking forward to it!"

The bell rang around us, and we parted ways after Chris gave me a side hug. I was relieved to have my friend back, but I couldn't ignore the surge that even a side hug sent through me.

I rushed home after school and started preparing a batch of peanut butter blossoms for Chris. When he arrived, I was putting the last of the chocolate kisses on them. He didn't bother ringing the bell; he just came in like always.

"Do I smell cookies?" His eyes gleamed as he entered the kitchen.

"Maybe." I smiled.

"I've missed you so much," he said as he surveyed the baked goods.

"Are you talking to me or the cookies?"

"At that moment, the cookies, but I missed you, too!"

"Wow, I'm an afterthought to a dessert," I said as I shook my head at him.

"Hey," he shot as he circled the island. "You're never an afterthought." He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug as he spoke.

My head fell on his chest as I relaxed into him. "I missed you so much. I don't even think I realized how much I missed you," I admitted.

"Well, that sounds better than me; I knew exactly how much I missed you every second of the last month."

I lifted my face to his. There was a moment when our eyes met, and a flash surged through me that I thought he might kiss me, but it quickly passed, and he pulled away.

"Ready for the movie? I was thinking Scream."

"Okay, I like that one," I agreed as I picked up the plate of cookies.

"I know; it's why I picked it. Given how things unfolded over the last few weeks, I figured I should compromise on my movie choice." He shrugged.

"You didn't have to; all is forgiven. But I'll take it, so I don't have to watch Halloween again. That music still haunts me!"

We settled onto the couch and began the movie. Before Drew Barrymore even died, Cami had joined us. I was honestly relieved to have her around. My proximity to Chris was making my skin buzz with a weird tingle. My chest almost exploded when he slung an arm around me and tucked me into his side.

"You must be getting better at slasher movies," Chris murmured after another teenager got sliced and diced.

"Mmhmm," I mumbled, but didn't lift my face to his.

I wasn't used to slasher movies; I didn't even see the film. All my focus was on every brief touch from Chris and the energy they sent through me.

"Hey, are you asleep?" Chris whispered when the movie was over.

I wasn't asleep. I had just clenched my eyes shut as I clung to Chris, trying to resist the temptation of his proximity. Was that what it had been like when he had a crush on me? And if it was, how on earth had I not noticed?

"Hey," he coaxed again. This time he added a gentle kiss to the crown of my head. My mind whirled over it. He had done it before when I didn't know he had a crush on me. Was it possible that he still did? Even if he did, it was entirely inappropriate to be thinking about the possibilities of us mere hours after he broke up with his girlfriend.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I was a little sleepy." I faked a yawn.

"It's fine," he said with a pleasant smile on his face. "I kind of missed you falling asleep on me."

I pulled away from him and let out a big stretch.

"Thanks for today, Dee. I needed it. It felt good to get back to how things were."

"How things were?"

"Yeah, you know, friends," he offered.

"Right, yeah, friends." I tried to hide how painful the word friends suddenly felt.

"Well," he said as he pulled himself up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll walk you out," I offered.

"Oh, okay," he said in surprise. I never walked Chris out. More often than not, I had barely said bye when he was leaving.

"So," he said half a minute later as we stood in front of my door. "Thanks again." There was an odd pause as he lingered.

"Yeah, I missed you," I mumbled again.

He could tell. It was unmistakable that I was pathetically in love with him. He had to tell.

"Me too." His eyes scanned over my face. Then, quickly, he dipped his face and kissed my forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered before heading out the door.