The rest of the school day, Erica could think of nothing else. All that kept playing in her mind was who she should meet with.

She wished so badly that she could do both. But it was impossible, they had chosen the same time to stick into one another, and so that whoever she didn't choose would just become enraged. She didn't want to upset anyone though, and she wanted to hear both sides. There had to be a way around it, for sure.

At first she thought about juggling them both - see one, then the other, getting little pieces of the story from each. But there was two problems with that idea. The first was that one place was on the other side of town from the other...and the second was that hearing bits and pieces would confuse her and most likely end up with her getting mixed up.

There had to be another way.

She also thought about asking either one of them for a different time to meet. Though she highly doubted that either one would budge on that since it was clear to her that they seemed to be in some sort of competition.

Boys! She sighed as she fiddled with her pen, waiting to take notes in the final class of the day.

This was like her worst nightmare. The ultimate dilemma. Even worse was that she knew that would have to make a choice, and soon.

See one of them? Get one side of the story and miss out on the other.

See both of them? And try to balance her time equally, running halfway across town.

See neither of them? And don't get any answers at all.

Damn it! She hadn't been this frustrated in a long time. Not since her parents had split up and she'd had to choose between living with her mom or living with her dad.

This was quite different, but at the end of the day, she felt the same about it. Wishing that she didn't have to choose between them because she didn't want to hurt anyone.

No matter what she did, someone was bound to end up hurt or angry. It was the cost of them giving her that choice though.

Another thought nagged at the back of her mind though...

If either one of them were responsible for killing that Monica girl, then she didn't want to get caught up between them. She feared that whichever one she met would just want to silence her.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the bell rang to inform them that last period was over. Packing all her equipment away, she swung her bag over her shoulder and left the room.

She couldn't wait to get home after the long and stressful day that she'd had. It would give her chance for a breather and space to make her final decision.

The problem was that she didn't have the heart to upset either one of them. It wasn't in her nature to be cruel or judgemental unless she was pushed to her limits.

Hurrying out of the building and down the stairs, she moved faster than she ever had before to get into her mother's car. Before driving away though, Diane gave her daughter the look.

Erica knew instantly what the look meant. Her mom wouldn't start the car until she told her what was niggling at her mind.

"What's got you so frustrated?" Diane asked her daughter with concern.

"Long story. Today just...wasn't the greatest." She shrugged.

"How come?" Her mom asked, pushing for a proper answer.

"Just the usual teenage drama. Nothing to worry about." She informed her.

"Alright sweetie, just remember that you can ask me for advice about anything." Diane reminded her.

"I know. Thanks mom. But right now I wanna go home." She responded.

As her mom started the car, she rested her elbow on the window ledge and propped her head up with her hand that was bunched into a fist.

The journey home was a silent one - thankfully. She did not want to have to tell her mom anything about Dawson, Ryder and the rest of the sticky situation that she had managed to get herself into after only one week and a day.

Once home, she headed straight for her bedroom. Her mind had been racing with the same thoughts since lunch time and had showed no signs of slowing down. Sitting down, not on the bed but on the little window box that she was lucky enough to have, she stared blankly out of the window.

Part of her was tired of being the sweet girl that was too nice to tell people no, or to say what she wasn't comfortable with. She wished that she could be that other girl...

That confident girl. The one who told someone straight if she didn't like something, and the one who would come up with a sneaky plan to be able to meet both boys in this situation.

She wasn't stupid though, and she knew that the reality was that she would never be that girl. Of course, she had a wild side...but it rarely ever surfaced. In fact, there was only one time it had.

The last day that she had spent with her best friend. Shane.

Shane! She instantly remembered the letter that she had sent him and cheered up at the thought of getting a response from him. A talk with him would be just what she needed to get her mind straight.

The letter would take a few days to reach him, so rather than waiting for that long, she pulled her phone out of her bag and went through her contacts and lingered on the contact of her best friend.

Her finger hovered above the call button as she hesitated on whether or not she should press it.

Turning the screen off, she decided against calling and threw her phone down on the bed. Checking the time on the clock, she jumped up from the bed.

5:00pm.

She had only a couple of hours to make her choice, and to get ready to go out again. It was well and truly frustrating.

Picking up her handbag, rather than her backpack, and packed a few things inside.

Pepper spray.
Keys.
Scarf - not that she needed it in this heat.
Water bottle.
Compact mirror.
A Kitty Keychain that doubled up as a knuckle duster.

She wanted to be prepared for absolutely anything that could possibly go wrong. With that amount of items, they wouldn't dare to try anything.

Between packing her bag, taking a quick shower and getting dressed - a white camisole top with a pair blue ripped jeans and a blue denim jacket - she had managed to decide what to do.

First she would meet Dawson, since the cafe was closer to her home, and then afterwards she would race off to the beach to get there in time to catch Ryder.

By the time she had finished getting ready, it was time to get going if she were to make it to meet both of them. She was going to make sure that she got both sides since she was sick of all the vague explanations that she was being given.

Picking up her bag, she headed downstairs, not bothering to let her mom know where she was going, and out the door.

The air outside was hot and humid. A part of California that she had yet to get used to. Coming from such a rainy place to somewhere that barely ever rained at all wasn't the easiest change. Ignoring the blazing sun that refused to go down despite it being late afternoon, she headed in the direction that was starting to become familiar to her.

On her way there, she was able to think through everything that she had been told very clearly. It was relieving to know that she was only moments away from getting the answers that she wanted.

Although she couldn't deny that a small part of her was afraid to know. What they were going to tell her involved the death of a seemingly innocent girl, and most likely a lot of tragedy that would follow.

It made her nervous to think about what kind of situations she could end up in herself. That was a scary thought. One that she instantly shoved to the back of her mind. Right now her main focus should be on getting answers.

As she neared the cafe, she gave herself time to prepare mentally for whatever Dawson's side of the story may be. Though she knew that there would never be enough time to prepare herself to be alone again with the boy.

She hadn't been since Saturday and the thought alone made her anxious. Despite this she pushed herself to walk forwards.

One step...two steps....three steps....through the door.

Looking around she spotted him waving at her from a table in the far corner of the room.

Once again she forced herself over to the booth and sat down, tightening her grip on her bag.