Kiersten's alleged jealousy does not last long. Whatever fleeting feelings she had about me and Olivia are quickly overshadowed by Whitney's dramatic entrance. Looking like a Barbie Dream House explosion in rhinestone cowboy boots, she clings tight to the arm of some guy I've never seen in my life. She gives us a big wave but stops at every table to pose pictures before she actually joins us.

"Hi, y'all! So, this is Brandon," she says and strokes his arm like he's a prized show horse. "He's from London."

"Kentucky," he interjects with an accent that's more backwoods than Big Ben. "London, Kentucky. I moved to Hutton when I was twelve."

I can practically see Whitney's eye twitching as she gives him a forced smile. I can already hear her chewing him out later for not protecting her little white lie. Poor guy has no idea what he got himself into.

"Anyway," Whitney says and quickly changes the subject. "Bridgette said she'll be here shortly. Her heel broke, so she's trying to figure out how to fix it."

"Oh, that's easy," Teddy says. "Get a little super glue and pop that sucker back on."

"Well, Teddy, she's not a hardware store, so she doesn't have any."

To my surprise, Teddy doesn't get the least bit defensive at Whitney's comment. He doesn't talk back or roll his eyes like he usually would. It's like he's so focused on something else that he doesn't even hear it.

"I got some in my locker. Tell her I'll be right there."

Before any of us can say anything, Teddy darts up from the table and takes off like a white knight. Watching him swoop to the rescue really has me thinking. I don't know if it's just me, but ever since that sleepover, Teddy's been acting kinda strange. Every time Bridgette is mentioned, he gets jumpier than a jackrabbit. I can't tell if it's because he's nervous or excited or what, but I know something's not right.

As I'm thinking it through, I catch Kiersten's eye. She doesn't have to say a word, but I know she's thinking the exact same thing. I can see it in the little upturned corners of her mouth and the mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes. With a gentle nod of her head, she signals that she wants to talk.

"Kiersten and I are going to get some punch, you guys want any?" I say.

Completely giddy, Kiersten gets up from the table and meets me at the punch bowl.

"Omg," she gushes. "What was that?"

"So it's not just me, I'm not crazy?"

"No, no, no," she says and then quiets her voice to a whisper. "You know what, I have this theory. It's gonna sound insane, but hear me out, okay?"

I can barely hear Kiersten talking, so I take a step closer. My heart skips a beat when she does the same and I feel her body brush against mine. The warmth of her breath blows against my neck and ties up my insides. I have to make a real conscious effort to push the warm fuzzy feelings aside and listen to what she's saying.

"I think Bridgette is Teddy's secret girlfriend."

"What?" I balk.

The suggestion alone is enough to snap me out of my daze. Teddy and Bridgette? There's no way in hell. They've known each other for years. If there was something going on between them, we would've figured it out. And Teddy's not exactly into the whole girly-girl, cheerleader type. At least I don't think he is. I don't know why, but I always pictured him with some ATV driving, beer-drinking, shotgun shooting tomboy. Not a fluffy-haired, Pink Drink princess. But I guess they do say opposites attract. I mean maybe there is something about her unapologetic femininity that he finds....appealing. Maybe he's that kind of guy. Wait. What the hell am I saying? Now I'm the one that's talking crazy. Unapologetic femininity? Where did that come from? I've been listening to Kiersten way too much.

"Kiersten, come on, you can't be serious."

"I know, I know," she giggles. "It's totally crazy. But think about it. Teddy is adamant about not telling us who it is. Why? Why won't he tell us? He has nothing to lose. Unless, unless it's someone in our friend circle. We know it's not me and we know it's not Whitney. So, it has to be Bridgette."

"He's a private guy, that's all."

"That's not it. We're his friends. Why would he want to hide her from us?"

"I dunno, maybe she's ugly. Ever think of that?"

Kiersten rolls her eyes, but she can't hide the smile on her face. She laughs in that way you do when you know you shouldn't laugh, but you can't hold it back.

"Omg, Matty, I can't believe you said that."

"What?" I laugh along. Now that I've got her laughing, I have a compulsive need to keep the joke going. I need to hear that laugh. I don't ever want to stop hearing that laugh. "It's a valid theory. More so than yours, I would say. Honestly, what's more likely?"

"I swear to God," Kiersten says, trying to stop herself from laughing. "You need to stop. It's Bridgette. I know it's Bridgette and I'll prove it to you."

"Oh, yeah?" I say egging her on. "How ya gonna do that?"

Kiersten's eyes shift around the room as if she's trying not to get caught.

"Come with me," she whispers.

The seductive words sliver into my ear and send shivers down my spine. Now I'm the one that looks around the room. My gaze stops abruptly when it lands on our table. My stomach drops a little when I see Olivia sitting there without me. A pang of guilt hits me, but then I feel Kiersten's fingers lace around mine and every ounce of intelligent thought flies right out of my head. With her hand in mine, the only thing I know is that I'll follow her wherever she leads.

Kiersten takes me out of the gym and into the hallway. She creeps around slowly, searching for clues of Teddy and Bridgette. I try to say something to her but she shushes me immediately. I don't know what's going on in Kiersten's head, but I don't care. Being with her is enough.

"Look over there," she whispers suddenly and points towards the nurse's office.

It takes me a second, but after some thought, I remember what we're doing here. Spying on Teddy and Bridgette. I still don't think we're gonna uncover some deep dark secret. Chances are they're probably doing exactly what they said they were doing, fixing Bridgette's shoe. But Kiersten sure seems convinced that she's an undercover journalist on the verge of some hard-hitting breaking news story.

"What about it?"

"Every single door in the hallway is closed, except that one. That one's cracked open."

"Okay, and?"

"You don't think that's suspicious?"

"No, not really," I shrug, but Kiersten barrels on anyway.

"I bet they're in there."

"So what if they are," I say, still not convinced. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Oh, so they just happened to have snuck in the only room in the entire school that has a bed in it?"

I let out a scoff. I think the world of Kiersten, but man, can she go overboard sometimes.

"You're being ridiculous. They probably needed a bandaid or somethin'."

"A likely story," Kiersten says.

I figured she would leave it at that, but oh no, she does not. She turns on her heel and power walks right over there.

"Kiersten! Wait. Kiersten," I whisper-scream as I chase behind her.

I know that me trying to stop her from going in there proves that I think something is going on, but I don't care at this point. If there's even the tiniest chance that Bridgette and Teddy are in there doing God knows what, the last thing I want to do is barge in on them. Kiersten, though, she has no qualms. She grabs the doorknob and pushes herself right through. The second she walks through the doorway, she stops cold in her tracks, causing me to bump into her. Sure enough, there's Teddy with Bridgette wrapped in his arms and red lipstick smudged all over his face.