A/N : Hey again! Please leave a vote and comment if you're liking the story :D Happy reading!

PLAYLIST :

     I had to tell Derek that it was me. The guilt was eating me up. I could never look him in the eye and talk to him if I kept it a secret. I also had a feeling that he'd find out it was me. He was good at finding out things.

     Will he hate me for doing that? Will he be mad? The last time he found out something about me, he came speeding at me in a car. But that was just a joke. This was serious. Would this be worse?

     Damn. I'd never get myself to confess if I kept thinking about his reaction. I'd just have to do it. I'd tell him tonight at Nate's grad party.

     Wow, way to spoil a party.

     But I knew, the more I avoided it, the less inclination I'd have to tell the truth.

     I arrived with Tiffany and Shayna at Nate's house. Coming here reminded me of the last time I was here - after prom. Everything was so much less complicated back then.

     Tiffany's words pulled my out of my thoughts. "You know, I'm feeling so moody about Nate going off to college in a few months. And I'm still stuck here in high school."

     "But he's not that far from home, right," Shayna said. "That's some consolation. He's not traveling across the country or something."

     "I know. You're right. What do you think, Viv?"

     "Umhm? Yeah, whatever you say," I replied.

     "What's on your mind? You look so lost," Shayna asked me.

     "Nothing." I shrugged. "What would be on my mind?"

     Nate's house was close to the beach, so he was having a beach party. We found Nate, Derek and a couple other guys hanging around a bonfire. We started walking towards the bonfire. They were talking and laughing about something and Derek looked to be in a good mood, like his usual self.

     "Did you guys, um, see those pics?" I asked Tiffany and Shayna.

     "Suzy's journal about Derek? Yeah, don't talk about it in front of Derek though," Tiffany said as we got closer to where the guys were.

     "Um . . .?" I said, hoping to get more information out of Tiffany.

     "He doesn't like talking about his family. So don't say anything. Pretend like you don't know nothing about it," she said simply.

     "Got it," I said bleakly.

     Looking at Derek, it didn't look like he was even thinking about it. Tiffany was right, I can't say anything tonight. I also saw Suzy with her friends at some distance. Great, she's here too. She appeared normal too. Well, what was I expecting to see? It's not like people's thoughts would be written on their faces.

     I knew that almost everyone who was at this party had read the diary yesterday. I'd seen their comments, a lot of which were not really friendly. But no one was talking about it. Maybe everyone forgot about it.

     "Is that all true?" I asked. Tiffany was friends with Derek for a long time. So if someone knew the truth, it'd be her.

     "I don't know exactly. Like I said, he doesn't talk about it."

     "Maybe Suzy did it to grab attention. Who knows," Shayna said.

     Everybody thought it was Suzy's doing. I had to tell Tiffany and Shayna the truth too, but I had to say it to Derek first.

~~~

     "Happy graduation, Nate," I said when we reached the bonfire. Nate smiled and nodded a thanks. Shayna wished him too and then Tiffany pulled him into a hug.

     "Happy grad, baby. I'm gonna miss you so much when you leave for college."

     Nate kissed her and stroked her cheek. "We're still going to see each other all the time, love."

     They made such a cute couple. I turned around to say hi to Derek when I noticed him walking away. My gaze followed him to see him going towards Suzy.

     Shit!

     Suzy was surprised to see him come to her. He smiled at her friends and said something. Suzy nodded and excused herself from her friends and went with Derek.

     Derek's expression was unreadable. They were walking further away from the party. If like Tiffany and Shayna, Derek too thought Suzy posted the pics, this wasn't going to turn out well. I had to follow them.

     "Vivian, did you listen to what I just said?" Shayna asked.

     "Later, Shayna," I said hurriedly. "I need to go."

     "Wait, where are you going?"

     I didn't reply and walked off at a brisk pace. Walking in the sand with my sandals on was slowing me down. Derek and Suzy had already rounded some rocks near the shore and I couldn't see them anymore. Large rocks were blocking my view. I unbuckled my sandals and left them on the sand and hurried towards them.

     "Vivian, wait for me-"

     Shayna was still behind me. I glanced back at her. "Walk faster," I shouted out.

     She caught up to me. "What's wrong?" She asked out of breath.

     "Derek just went there with Suzy," I said pointing to the rocks. "And I think he's angry. At Suzy."

     "So?"

     I stared at her. "You don't get it."

     "Let him deal with Suzy. She made a bitch move doing that to him. He just wants to clear things up with her, wants to know why she did that. It's not our place to interfere."

     Clearly, Derek had talked to Shayna about it. I felt a pang of jealousy that he didn't say anything to me when I called him yesterday. Not the time, Vivian, I thought to myself. I seriously needed to sort out my emotions.

     "Come on. Let's go back," Shayna said.

     I ignored her and went ahead. From a distance, I could make out there voices. Definitely fighting.

     "I'm asking you a simple question. I want to know why you did it," came Derek's voice. I'd never heard him so angry.

     "I'm tired of repeating the same thing again and again. I didn't do it," Suzy yelled back at him.

     I rounded the rocks and saw them. They didn't see me yet. Shayna was a few steps behind me.

     "Stop lying. I don't understand what's your beef. We were over a long time ago."

     "You're an asshole! You deserve this," she spat at him.

     I froze seeing the look on Derek's face. His face was contorted with anger. He grabbed Suzy by the top of her arm in a vise grip. "Don't talk to me like that!"

     "Leave my hand!" Suzy shouted with equal anger in her eyes.

     I unfroze from my spot. "Derek, stop it!"

     He looked at me with wide eyes. He left Suzy's arm and took a step back, but the anger didn't leave his eyes.

     I stood beside him. "Derek," I said softly. He didn't meet my eyes, they were directed at Suzy.

     "Is he your boyfriend now?" Suzy asked. "You'd do better off without the jerk. Or maybe, he'd be better off without you. Who cares? You're both like social outcasts," she said maliciously.

     Neither Derek nor I said anything. When Suzy realized she wasn't getting any reaction from anyone, she stomped off back to the party.

     Derek faced me. "What do you want?" he asked agitated.

     This was the moment of truth. By now, Shayna had joined us too and she was standing back, just watching. "Suzy didn't do it," I whispered and my eyes stung.

     He cocked his head. "I know her, Vivian. That's exactly the kind of thing she'd do."

     "No! I . . . I . . ."

     He shook his head with impatience. "I what?"

     "I . . . I heard her talking to her friend yesterday that she lost her diary. Someone else found it."

     He looked at me doubtfully. "Don't lie to me."

     "No. I swear. She really lost her diary."

     Derek was silent. He looked at me like he didn't know what to believe. It was like he was so sure about Suzy, that the thought of someone else being involved never crossed his mind. Without saying anything, he turned back and walked away. I closed my eyes and exhaled sharply.

      I didn't move from my spot. Shayna came where Derek was standing earlier and looked at me strangely. "Why did you cover for Suzy? I know you didn't hear her talking to her friend. If you did, you'd have told Tiffany and me earlier when we were talking about it," Shayna said.

     "Suzy didn't do it."

     "Why are you lying for her?" Shayna asked perplexed. "What, are you two like friends now? She's a bitch. I feel like I should go and punch her."

     "No."

     "Why not?"

     "Because . . . it wasn't her."

     "Then who was it?"

     I looked at Shayna. "It was me."

A/N : Thanks for reading! If you like the story, please vote and comment! <3 One more chapter to go :)

# Would you rather find your true love or a suitcase with five million dollars inside?