“I’m going to tell him,” I said confidently.

                I frowned. “But what if he doesn’t believe me?”

                My expression hardened. “Of course he’ll believe me. I’m his best friend!”

                “Benji? Are you talking to yourself?” my mom asked, peeking into my bedroom.

                “Yes because I don’t know if I should tell Gideon that the guy he wants to date is an evil genius!” I cried in frustration.

                “Uh…why wouldn’t you tell him?” she asked in confusion.

                “Because what if he doesn’t believe me? He’s head over heels for this guy, and the guy is a conniving little bastard,” I grumbled.

                ‘Well I say you should tell him. It’s better to warn him than to keep quiet,” she said with a shrug.

                “Why can’t Gideon just love me? I’m lovable, aren’t I mom?” I asked desperately.

                “I think you’re lovable,” she said.

                “OH GOD I’M SUCH A LOSER. THE ONLY PERSON WHO LOVES ME IS ALMOST 50,”I cried miserably.

                “You just became a lot less lovable,” she said with a pout.

                “This sucks. I just want Gideon to return my love!” I fell back against my bed and let out a helpless sigh. “But he’s going to end up with Jude and they’re going to fall in love and get married and defy all logic by having three beautiful children!”

                “Benji, just talk to Gideon. If this kid he likes really is bad, you need to warn him. Not because you’re infatuated with him, but because he’s your best friend and he would do it for you,” my mom said.

                “Okay mom,” I said, sitting back up and running a hand through my hair. “But it would be a lot easier if Jude wasn’t always playing a nice guy in front of Gideon. The kid is seriously the spawn of Satan.”

                “Well, dinner is ready, so come on,” she said.

                I got up and followed her out to the dining room. I sat down with her and my dad and we talked as we ate. When we were done, I got ready for bed, anxious for tomorrow.

                                                                                                ***

                I took a deep breath. “Today is the day I tell Gideon the truth about Jude.”

                “Good luck with that,” Sonnet said, rolling her eyes. “He’s probably at his locker.”

                I nodded. “I’ll go tell him now,” I said, clenching and unclenching my fists slowly. It was how I calmed down.

                “I would go with you, but I have to go talk to my math teacher,” Sonnet said with a sigh, pulling me into a one-armed hug. “So good luck Benji.”

                She walked away and I turned and started towards the senior hallway. Spotting Gideon, I started walking towards him.

                But then I saw Jude heading towards him as well, and ducked behind a set of lockers close to Gideon. I couldn’t tell him about Jude when Jude was right freaking there!

                “Hey Gideon,” Jude greeted with that smile that transformed his whole face. “Yesterday was nice.”

                “Jude, we fell asleep on your trampoline for three hours,” Gideon said, laughing.

                “Yea, but it was still nice,” Jude said with a shrug. “I like just being with you.”

                Gideon blushed. “I like being with you too, Jude. We should hang out again soon. Only this time we can actually be awake.”

                “Yea,” Jude said, laughing a little. The smile slid off his face and the smug look reentered his eyes. “Did you ever find out what happened to Benji at the party?”

                Gideon frowned and shook his head. “No. I wish I knew what happened, but I don’t think Greyson even remembers.”

                “Shame,” Jude said with false concern in his voice. “I was worried when I saw him nearly unconscious in your arms.”

                “You don’t know how much that means to me, Jude. Greyson is my best friend. Most other people would be jealous of how close we are. I’m glad you and him get along. It means so much,” Gideon said sincerely.

                “Anything for you, Gideon. Hey, my parents are taking me out to eat tonight since they just got back from their business trip, and they said I can bring you. Do you want to come?” he asked.

                “Sure! I would love to Jude!” Gideon said, smiling.

                Jude leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Good. I’ll see you later Gideon,” he said before turning and walking away.

                Gideon watched him go, his eyes shining. I gulped and slowly left my place behind the lockers, approaching Gideon.

                “Gideon?”

                Gideon jumped and spun to face me. “Oh, hey Greyson! You scared me!” he said, laughing.

                “Uh…I need to talk to you about Jude,” I said, trying to hold onto my confidence.

                “Wait, let me talk first,” he said, holding up his hand. His smile grew wider. “I just talked to Jude. I’m going out to dinner with him afterschool, actually. I want to thank you so much, Grey. A lot of people don’t like Jude. But you’ve never been mean to him before. You don’t know how happy I am that you and him get along. I’ve never had such strong feelings for someone before, and I don’t know what I would have done if you guys hadn’t gotten along. It would kill me inside to date someone who didn’t like my best friend, or who my best friend didn’t like. I’ve never been so happy in my entire life!”

                He paused. “Okay, that’s all I had to say,” he said, hugging me. “Now you talk.” He nodded at me to continue as he released me from the hug.

                “I, uh…” I mentally sighed. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m happy for you. Jude makes you happy.”

                BENJI YOU’RE A LYING, PATHETIC BITCH AND I HATE YOU, my heart screamed. Or maybe that was my inner Sonnet. Either way, it was 100% correct.

                “Yea he does. Everyone says he’s such a bad person, but I’ve never seen Jude being anything but nice,” he said. “I think it’s Jude’s face. He almost always looks like he’s smug. But he’s such a nice, caring guy.”

                “I bet,” I mumbled. The bell rang and I silently thanked all religious figures. This conversation was getting too uncomfortable for me.

                “Let’s go to class!” Gideon said, taking my hand in his and pulling me down the hallway towards class.

                When it was lunch time, Sonnet came and sat next to me. She shot me a questioning look and waited until Gideon had left the table before speaking.

                “Well? How did it go? Gideon seems to be in a good mood,” she said.

                “I didn’t tell him,” I said with a sigh. I explained what happened this morning, and Sonnet groaned.

                “Benji, you’re a lying, pathetic bitch,” she said with a sigh.

                “I knew it wasn’t just my heart!” I said triumphantly. But then I frowned. “Sonnet, get out of my head!”

                “What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

                “Never mind. I’m crazy, just ignore me. What are we going to do now?” I asked.

                “We’re going to have to get proof that Jude is an evil little bitch. We can’t let Gideon date the devil,” Sonnet said.

                “How are we supposed to prove that?” I asked hopelessly.

                “I’ll think of something. I always do,” Sonnet said confidently.

                I sighed and nodded, deciding to trust her. Sonnet was good as coming up with sneaky plans. Her evil wit probably matched Jude’s.

                Gideon came back and sat down with us. He was in a better mood than I had ever seen him in before. It broke my heart, but also made me glad to see.

                I did want the best for Gideon. I wanted him to be happy. But Jude just wasn’t a good person for him. He should know the real Jude before he deiced whether or not to date the guy.

                “Why are you guys so quiet?” Gideon asked.

                “Because I’m saving my energy for soccer practice,” I lied.

                “Greyson, we don’t even have soccer practice today,” Gideon pointed out.

                “We don’t?” I asked in surprise.

                “Weren’t you paying attention to Coach yesterday?” he asked.

                Well, considering the fact that Nate and Landon, the star defenders, had been taking turns elbowing me in the stomach to see who could hurt me the most without getting Coach’s attention, no. I hadn’t been paying attention to Coach.

                “I must have zoned out,” I said.

                “Oh. Well, he has an appointment today, so we don’t have practice,” Gideon said.

                “Thank god,” I said in relief. I didn’t feel like being Nate and Landon’s punching bag today.

                “I’m actually happy about it too. It means I get to hang out with Jude a little before we go to dinner,” Gideon said happily.

                “Yea and I get to hang out with Sonnet,” I said, deciding to act like I had a social life too.

                “No you don’t. Sonnet has to babysit afterschool,” Sonnet said. “Sorry Benji boy. You’re on your own today.”

                “Oh,” I said, forcing a smile. “Okay. Yea, I have stuff to do today anyways.”

                “You’re a terrible liar,” Sonnet said, slinging an arm around my shoulders and kissing my cheek. “But I think you have certain plans to be figuring out.”

                “Yea, yea, yea. I’ll give it some thought,” I said, sighing.

                “Or do what you usually do and go home crying your eyes out while you watch The Fox and The Hound,” she said.

                “Hey! It’s a sad movie!” I said defensively.

                “No, it’s a little kid movie. But whatever helps you sleep at night Benji,” Sonnet said.

                The bell rang and I grumbled out cuss words at her as we got up. We went off to class and I suffered through the rest of the day until the final bell rang.

                I went and hid behind the same set of lockers as this morning. Alright, I was eavesdropping on Gideon and Jude. Friggin’ sue me for it.

                “Ready to go Gideon?” Jude asked, stepping up to Gideon and holding out his hand.

                Gideon took his hand and nodded, his eyes bright with joy. “Yep! I’m ready to go Jude,” he said. But then he frowned. “I tried to find Greyson, but he wasn’t at his locker. I was going to see if you all wanted to hang out this weekend at my house.”

                “I’m sure he’ll come. And I would love to,” Jude said.

                I clenched my fists. Great, stuck at Gideon’s house with him, Jude, and Sonnet. If I didn’t rip my eyes out by the end of that night, it’d be a miracle.

                “Great! I thought we could do a sleepover Friday night after mine and Greyson’s practice. You, me, him, and Sonnet,” Gideon said.

                “Your parents would let Sonnet sleepover?” Jude asked curiously.

                “Jude, in case you forgot, she’d be sleeping in a room with three gay guys. My parents aren’t exactly worried about it,” Gideon said, laughing.

                “Well, it sounds like a good time. I would love to get to know Benji and Sonnet better,” Jude said with a charming smile. But I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t sincere about it at all.

                “Great!” Gideon cried. “Now, let’s go. I want to hang out with you a little before we go out to dinner.”

                Jude smirked and led Gideon down the hallway and out of sight. I emerged from my hiding spot and shook my head, wishing I could just punch Jude in the face.

                I went to my locker and gathered my stuff, looking at the nearly deserted hallway. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left the school, noticing that the parking lot was also practically deserted.

                I squinted as I got closer to the parking lot. It looked like there were a few people down there still.

                But then my eyes widened as I realized it was Nate and Landon, and they were attacking some kid. Landon was restraining the kid’s arms while Nate punched him in the stomach a couple of times.

                Due to my recently proven lack of brain cells, I rushed down to the parking lot without an regard to my own safety. As I got closer, I could see the smirks on Nate and Landon’s faces.

                “Hey! Let him go!” I cried, having the intelligence to stop a few feet away from them. I could probably lock myself in my car if they came after me.

                The kid Landon was holding looked up at me weakly. The look in his eyes told me to run for my freaking life.

                “Benji Bryant,” Nate said. “Did you want to join this loser?”

                He turned and punched the kid in the stomach. The kid coughed weakly and groaned, spitting on the ground.

                “Come on Nate. That’s so unpleasant,” he moaned.

                Ignoring him, Nate looked up at me, his smirk growing wider. “Well? Care to join him?”

                “Let him go,” I repeated, trying to sound confident. In reality, I was five seconds away from pissing my pants and running away crying for my mommy (who, by the way, would save me because she thought I was lovable).

                “Let him go Landon. I think we found a new target,” Nate said.

                Landon threw the kid to the ground and kicked him twice, hard. He and Nate turned and began to advance at me.

                “Hey! Come back! I was having fun! Nate, I lied. Nothing makes me happier than you punching me in the stomach!” the kid cried, his hands pressed against his side where Landon had just kicked him.

                Seeing that they were going to ignore him and keep going after me, the kid cussed and picked up a rock off the ground. He looked down at it and sighed.

                “I lived a good life,” he said before chucking it at Nate’s head.

                The rock hit Nate in the back of the head and he winced in pain. He stopped walking and slowly turned to face the kid, fury in his eyes.

                “You,” he said, pointing at him, “are so fucking dead.”

                “Oh balls,” the kid hissed, scrambling off of the ground and taking off at a run. Nate and Landon sprinted after him, and I hurried to my car.

                I got in my car and drove out of the fence’s open spot as I saw the kid climbing over it a few feet away. He jumped to the ground and I parked my car, motioning at him to get in as Nate and Landon started climbing over the fence to chance him.

                The kid sprinted to the car and got in the passenger seat, and I pulled away from the school as fast as I could, glad that my windows were up so I couldn’t hear their death threats.

                “Why were they attacking you?” I asked the kid, glancing at him.

                “What? You could at least buy me a drink before you start questioning me,” he said, raising an eyebrow at me.

                Seeing the look I was giving him, he sighed. “Fine, fine, fine. They were attacking me because I have a big mouth, and they caught me alone. Happy?”

                “No, I’m not happy. Because now they’re really going to try to kill you. You should’ve just let them come after me,” I said.

                “What, and ruin your pretty face? Not a chance. Thanks for saving me, by the way. What’s your name?” he asked.

                “I’m Benji,” I said. “Who are you?”

                “Oh yea! Nate said your name. Duh. Well, my name is Ethan,” he said, giving a little bow. “Nice to meet you Benji.”

                “Uh…so, where am I taking you?” I asked.

                “Your bed,” Ethan said with a wink, eyeing me eagerly.

                “Ethan!” I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to turn this car around and hand you over to Nate and Landon.”

                “Aw Benji! Don’t betray me like that!” he whined. “Fine, Mr. Fun-Killer.” He rattled off his address to me.

                “Wow, you only live about a five minute drive from me!” I said in surprise.

                “Oh, do I?” He grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes and whacked his arm.

                “Oh, hey, are you okay? Nate and Landon looked like they were making a mess of you,” I said.

                Ethan pulled his shirt up, inspecting the bruises on his stomach and side. “Nah, not that bad. They’ve done worse.” He let his shirt drop back down, covering the bruises. “They hate me. I once jokingly hit on Landon, so he literally hit on me.” He pointed to a scar under his eye. “He wears his dad’s class ring, but the way. Watch out when he starts throwing punches.”

                “Man, that looks painful,” I said, frowning. I pulled into Ethan’s driveway and shifted the car into park.

                “Well, thanks for saving my booty and giving me a ride home, Benji,” he said, opening the car door. He paused thoughtfully. “Also, if I were you, I wouldn’t go wandering around alone until they calm down.”

                With that, he shut the car door and went up his driveway, disappearing through his front door. I pulled out of his driveway and made my way home.

                I went inside and to my bedroom, sitting down and pulling up Facebook on my iPod. I made a face as a picture of Gideon and Jude together at dinner popped up on my newsfeed. They were sitting next to each other, both looking happy to be together.

                Ethan’s face flashed through my mind, and I shook my head. He was such a weird kid. Cute, no doubt, but weird.

                I laid down on my bed, folding my hands behind my head. Pushing Ethan out of my mind, I focused on Gideon. God, I just hoped that Jude hadn’t asked him to dinner so he could ask him out. I just don’t think my heart could handle that.

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A.N.- What do you guys think of Ethan? c;