Alexa Javier was already at Starbucks when I got there. She was waiting outside, at one of those tables with the giant umbrellas. She didn't see me right away, as she seemed engrossed in some type of reading material.

I smiled; just seeing my gorgeous friend a few feet away, idly playing with her high auburn ponytail as she continued to leaf through whatever it was that held her attention so, made me feel like things were starting to return to normal. Like I was returning to normal. She had always had that effect on me. When I was with her, I didn't feel nearly as out of place as I usually did.

As I had mentioned, she moved here in fifth grade and, next to Seth, had been my closest friend ever since. She couldn't have come at a better time. Before she came along, I primarily hung out with boys, and, at that age, didn't really have much use for them—not that I had much use for them, now.

Alex taught me how to dress, how to party, how to be around people and basically, how not to be a freak. It worked most of the time. Thanks to her, I learned that—even though I wasn't among the lucky ones who turned hot overnight—I could manage to clean up nicely.

It was better than nothing, and besides, I had bigger problems than my appearance. There were a million things I would change about myself, and the way I looked was way down in my list of priorities.

I made my way toward her and, when I got there, placed a hand on the back of a chair beside hers so I could pull it out. She looked up, saw me and smiled.

"Hey, been waiting long?" I asked. This seemed to puzzle her until I directed her eyes to the almost empty drink in her hand.

"Oh, I got this on the way," she replied, shrugging. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Seriously? "Beth and Erin are inside, placing our orders."

"Oh, okay. Let me just..." I trailed off and reached into my purse to get some money, but she stopped me and said it had been taken care of. I arched an eyebrow at this.

"Why do you look so surprised?" She asked, tilting her head sideways. I started to deny it and she laughed. "Relax. If it makes you feel better, I paid with a gift card someone gave me." She turned to the direction of the coffeehouse's entrance. "Here they are, now."

I followed her gaze and saw the other two girls in my immediate circle of friends: straw-haired, ladylike Beth Dawson and dark-haired, semi-Goth Erin Warner. I waved to them, all excited, and they did the same. They both carried two drinks each.

Among the three of them, I had known Beth the longest—maybe as long as the boys of Off-Kilter. We had been going to the same school for as long as I could remember but she was one of those really dainty little girls who took ballet lessons, had tea parties in the garden, and hung out exclusively with other girls who were like her. Before Alex, I just didn't make the cut and so, we weren't really friends until middle school.

Nowadays, she was still like that, but her main interests were photography and film. She watched a lot of movies, and almost as much TV as I did—common ground. I could almost always get her references, and vice-versa, and so, a bond was formed.

Erin was a grade above us and we met her at the start of our freshman year. She and Beth were both in the school paper staff; Beth took pictures and Erin was a writer. Despite their personalities being as different as night and day, they naturally just hit it off and—even though I first found it strange that she would rather mainly hang with us than other kids in her grade—we welcomed Erin into our fold with open arms.

Erin, smiling, handed me a cup with my name scrawled on the side. I eyed it tentatively. Usually, I was a huge fan of anything super-sweet and loaded with caffeine, but I always ordered the same thing from Starbucks and liked it a very specific way. I lifted the straw to my lips and gave a delighted sound. It was exactly what I wanted. I couldn't even remember what I was so worried about; both of them were smart cookies, after all.

"I'm so glad to see you guys," I said, getting a bit emotional. I missed them so much. I turned to Alex. "How was your trip?"

"Oh, you know." she trailed off and gave me a once over. "You look great. Doesn't she look great, guys? Beth? Erin?"

Beth, Erin, and I exchanged looks before they responded. They looked as puzzled as I felt, but they both shrugged and nodded, anyway.

"Been training hard?" Alex persisted. I narrowed my eyes and gave her a sideways glance.

"You know I haven't," I said. "So, what are you up to, Alex?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"First, you pay for my drink and now you're showering me with compliments."

Alex pouted. "First of all, I paid for everyone's drinks. Like I said, someone gave me a gift card. I can't drink all that coffee by myself. It's bad for the teeth and skin." Everyone else at the table rolled their eyes. "Second, what? I don't give enough compliments? I'll do it now; you look great, all of you."

Beth turned to me, right after looking at Alex. "I see your point, Adrian."

Alex raised both hands, palms forward. "Oh my God. I can be generous when I want to be." She gave me a pointed look. "And super-understanding. That's why I accept your apology."

"Apology?" I asked, taken aback. I glanced at the other two, wordlessly asking for an explanation.

"For keeping a huge, major, arena-sized, front page-worthy secret from me." Alex spoke in a lighthearted, yet unsettling tone. "Just give me the deets and all will be forgiven."

At first, I had no idea what she was talking about, but then, her choice of words clued me in, and my eyes widened. "The concert?" I asked. She tilted her head, as if to say, duh.

"Tell me what you know, Adrian St. Clair!" She demanded, making me jump back a bit.

"You have all those boys' numbers; ask them yourself!" I shot back. Alex looked momentarily stunned, and a thought occurred to me. "In fact, you should have asked them that very night. You were right there, weren't you?"

"I would never call or text a boy first," she said, appalled. "Not even those boys."

Fantastic, I thought, shoulders slumping. Another thing I did wrong, according to the supreme authority on all things boy-related. It was only a small consolation that Erin deemed that policy a bit backward and promptly began to scold and lecture her. I barely heard their argument as I had other things on my mind.

"Have you forgotten who told me all about it? I still have your messages on my phone if you need reminding," I cut in.

Alex folded her arms across her chest. Her expression was dead serious, and she continued to speak in a level tone. "Imagine how dumb I felt, immediately after sending them."

"Trust me, I know how that feels." My heartbeat quickened and my stomach started to churn. Normally, Alex would have been right. If this had happened to the guys anytime before the last night of tenth grade, I would not have been the last to know, and I wouldn't be this blindsided, or feel this shut out. That made her accusation hurt a lot more.

I tried a different approach: turning the tables on my accuser.

"You're the one who just happened to magically be in New York, at that very concert, on their big night. Maybe you're the one who was holding out on all of us. Maybe the free coffee and the flattery is how you're dealing with the guilt." I fired off the accusations in rapid succession, eyes flashing, and with a defiant lift of my chin.

"Adrian, chill." Beth reached across the table to try and calm me down. I gestured for her to stop and she understood, backing off. She covered the slight smile forming on her glossy lips with her perfectly manicured hand. "Whoops. Forgot you had none."

"Neither of them does," Erin agreed, watching us with an amused expression. She turned to Beth and whispered, loud enough for me to hear, "I think, next time, we'll insist on meeting them someplace that doesn't serve coffee."

"Agreed," Beth said, laughing.

Alex, meanwhile, stared at me, her mouth agape. "Seriously, you had no idea?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

Alex's eyes shifted heavenward. "Uh, I don't know, because Seth's involved?"

"I am not Seth Frasier's keeper," I said, huffing.

"Wait, you're not?" Erin asked, fake-confused, like this was news. My jaw dropped and I would have protested, only I couldn't think of a response. And then, she looked at our other friends with a quizzical expression. "The way she bosses him around, I thought she was."

Beth let out a shocked laugh and nudged Erin with her elbow. "Now I know something's up, Adrian. You've started getting biblical."

I shrugged and made a conscious effort to keep my voice neutral. "You have your allusions, Beth; I have mine."

"I see what's going on." Alex turned in her seat to face me, and studied my face. "Are you and Seth fighting again?"

"No. And what do you mean again? When did we ever fight?" I asked, which caused everyone else at the table to roll their eyes.

"Only all the time, over the most ridiculous things, and you make everyone around you miserable, until it blows over," Alex insisted, annoyed. I scoffed and continued to feign innocence; I knew exactly what she meant but good luck trying to get me to admit anything I didn't want to.

"And when it does, you act like nothing happened." Beth added.

"Just like my parents." This was Erin. Beth turned to her with a knowing expression and nodded.

"You know what? They are exactly like your parents," she agreed.

"I can't wait 'til the divorce is final. I'm like, seriously, go ahead, we're all old enough to handle it," Erin said. The two of them started cracking up, while Alex and I stared at them, completely lost. Sometimes it seemed like they spoke some sort of secret language only the two of them understood.

How could they laugh about something like that? My parents could be a pain when they ganged up on me, but I would still rather have them together than not.

My forehead creased with worry and I reached across the table and placed my hand beside where one of Erin's was. "Are your parents getting divorced?"

"They keep saying that when they fight, but those two are gonna be together forever." She said the last part in a singsong voice, while making a face. "They don't know any better."

Beth flashed me a grin and piped in, also in a singsong voice. "See what I mean? Exactly like you and Se—"

"Don't compare us to Erin's weirdo parents," I protested before she could finish. "No offense," I cast a quick glance at Erin, who waved me off, and then turned back to Beth. "What is that supposed to mean, anyway?"

"Just...there's no divorce for friends."

I stared at her, puzzled by the comment. A moment later, I lowered my head and fixed my gaze on the drink in my hand. "Well, yeah. There's no official way to end a friendship," I said in a low voice, not looking at any of them. "Sometimes, it's just over."

"No, no, no, no!" Alex cried. We all turned to her, shocked. "Nothing is over, do you hear me? Not when we're just about to have our best year ever."

More shock, more confusion followed her outburst and she pulled out a rolled up magazine that was sticking out of her purse. She unfurled it to reveal that it was a teen/tween magazine and it occurred to me that this was what had her full attention when I first spotted her.

"Wow, this is fast, right? It's only been days..." I heard Erin say. Wondering what she meant, I looked at the magazine more closely.

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to a bunch of guys on the cover.

"You're joking, right?" Alex's reaction was hilarious. She held the cover up to my face and tapped a slender finger on the bold caption underneath the picture. "It says Off-Kilter."

"I can read, duh," I replied, shrugging. I took the magazine from her and let out a laugh. "It's just... look how bronze Seth looks here. Why doesn't he look half-drowned, as he does in real life?

"Uh, Photoshop?"

I scanned the table of contents and quickly flipped to the significant pages. The whole magazine, as far as I could tell, had weird color tone. My gaze fell on a particular image on one page and I squinted, in search for something, and failed miserably. "Where are his birthmarks?"

"They airbrushed them into oblivion!" Beth laughed. I rolled my eyes, and yet, could not help mentally identifying the comedy series she had just quoted.

"Why?" I asked, getting disproportionately upset about the fake-flawless face I was staring at. I longed to take a marker and fill in the missing details, like in one of those kids' coloring activity books. "That's dishonest."

"In my expert opinion, while Photoshop is sometimes a necessary evil, it is best used with a light hand." Beth stated. "Then again, what can we really expect from these cheap-ass publications?" She turned to a page that had a group picture and gave a delighted laugh. "See? They even beefed up Tristan in this one."

"Huh," I said, my voice flat, as I followed the direction of where she pointed. She was right; I hadn't noticed.

"Ethan looks the same, though—except for the haircut and the clothes," Beth added. She studied the picture for a moment longer. "Guess the camera loves him."

"Who cares?" Alex said, huffing. She snatched the magazine from my hands and tossed it aside like the rag that it was. "The point is, if they continue to get big, we could get invited to all kinds of great events—VIP parties, concerts, maybe even the Grammys!"

"Those clowns," I bit out, pointing at the discarded magazine, "Are not getting into the Grammys!"

I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. My friends stared at me like I had grown a second head. Where was all this negativity coming from once again? Had I not decided that I was happy for them and would be supportive?

"Maybe not this year, at least," Erin amended. Arching an eyebrow, she turned to me. "This doesn't sound like you, Adrian. Haven't you always been Off-Kilter's number one fan?"

"Correction, she's Seth Frasier's biggest fan," Beth clarified with an authoritative air. Like I said, she had known me a long time. After a pause, she added, "And his biggest critic. Those other two are just dead weight." Alex and Erin gasped and Beth gave me a sideways glance. "Her words, not mine."

"I would never say that about any of my friends," I protested, widening my eyes at Beth. "It hurts that you would think that of me."

"Were you thinking it?"

"Aren't we all?" I blurted out. "Nothing against Off-Kilter, we're all happy things worked out the way it did, but we all know where the bulk of the talent rests on that trio."

Beth gave a knowing smirk, while Erin and Alex stared at me, open-mouthed. I winced and reddened at their reaction; I guess we weren't all thinking it.

"You guys are missing the point completely!" Alex wailed. Glad for someone to take the focus off me, I shoved my drink's straw in my mouth and let her have the floor. "If we play our cards right, we could be the top bitches in school, thanks to those guys."

"That would make them the top bitches. Not us," Erin said. I almost did a spit-take but I choked my iced latte down and kept silent. I still felt guilty about what I said and did not trust myself to say anything else. Alex ignored her and kept right on talking.

"If we play our cards right, everyone who isn't us will be choking on their own spit wishing they could be."

"What, enough people don't hate you already?" Beth muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. I shot her a warning look and, laughing, she put her hands up.

"Oh my God. People don't hate me. They merely fear me and are envious of me," Alex said, flashing a smug grin.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Beth said, still laughing.

"Even more so this year, what with all the red carpet events, after-parties, and A-Listers hitting on me and then proposing to me on their yachts," she finished, smiling so triumphantly that I had to chuckle. Seeing her way in, she turned to me and in an exaggerated manner, hissed, "Don't take that away from me."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her, but I could also no longer hide my smile. Alex had a way of infecting others with her enthusiasm. I knew she was getting carried away but even just talking about the possibilities with her was a lot of fun.

I also knew that she made these kinds of plans with us in mind, as well. I had no doubt that, by this time, she already had a bunch of new clothes for fall. This was more for the rest of us. She wanted to do something fun together, and she wanted good luck for all of us. And she wanted all of us—not just herself—to have the best year ever.

Just like she wanted to share her experience of her Jordan Castle, however limited her access or ability to do so was. That was the great thing about Alex; whatever she had going on, she included her friends as much as possible—unlike some other people I might mention.

I remembered my reaction to Jordan Castle and Conner Grey's rumored breakup and decided that this was my chance to do something nice for her in return and also to prove a point. Maybe I could put my personal feelings about everything that happened aside so Alex could have what she wanted. I wouldn't be doing it for a buttload of money, but making her happy seemed worth at least that much, anyway.

And who knows, I thought. My music career did not pan out, but maybe acting was more my speed.

I gave in. "Fine. I'll play along," I said, swallowing hard. Alex squealed and reached over to hug me, but I held out a hand to keep her from getting closer. And then, muttering, I added, "If they come back, I'll make nice."

In a flash, Alex's pretty smile was replaced with a look of horror. "You mean they might not come back? Is that why you're being so weird?"

Incredulous, I cocked my head to one side. "Why do people keep saying that?" I asked. Alex looked about to answer that but I cut her off with a wave. "I'm just saying, it wouldn't be the first time Seth disappeared without saying goodbye." It wouldn't even be the second, third or fourth time, I added silently. This was nothing new, no cause for alarm. "One time he did that, he was gone for over a year."

That had been the first time.

And then I thought, maybe what I said was not entirely accurate. Maybe Seth did say goodbye this time, in his own way. I just didn't know that he was doing it, back then. I felt a slight pang of regret, realizing my mistake.

I should have heard him out. Maybe I wouldn't be feeling like this if I had.

"He wasn't breaking into the music biz back then, Adrian; his family was going through divorce. It's not the same thing," Beth, ever the voice of reason, pointed out.

Even though we weren't officially friends until recent years, it still felt like she knew too damn much, sometimes. So, hopefully, she was right about this, and that it was not too late. Seth did promise we would talk soon. I wasn't sure how much a teenaged boy's promise was worth, but it was something to hold onto. It would have to do, for now.

"We'll wait until we know more. " Alex dismissed the subject with a wave of her hands. She then got on her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Whatever, this will still be our best year ever, with or without those guys. Let's go shopping!"

Beth and I got up to follow her but Erin stayed seated. She was busy tearing out a couple of pages from Alex's magazine; a mischievous smile played on her wine-colored lips.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked.

"In case playing nice doesn't work, there's always blackmail," she replied, her heavily lined eyes glittering. She held up one of the pages she had torn off and waved it around. It was a two-page picture of Off-Kilter in matching outfits, striking cheesy poses. "If they do make it to the Grammys, we'll tell them to take us or this goes on the yearbook."

We all burst out laughing and didn't stop until we reached the mall.

***

A/N: Hi guys! As usual, thanks for reading. Vote, Comment, PM, Add to your reading list if you haven't already. ILY all! <3