Time seemed to have stopped, and Kay was painfully aware of everything around her. Since it was the end of classes, the crowd was huge. She could see Sonia smiling satisfied, Joey and Kelly looking worried, Erin with an animalistic eager smile on her face, just waiting for the drama to happen. Lucy and Mia appeared behind Cecily together with Darla and two more girls Kay didn't know.

They were all watching, waiting for Cecily to blow fire and turn her and Kyle to ashes. Kay wasn't even sure if she was scared, annoyed or morbidly fascinated by what was about to happen. And there was only one thing that truly mattered now.

"Did you tell her?" she whispered to Kyle.

"I totally forgot," he whispered back and tightened his hold on her waist.

"You have some nerve," Cecily spat and Kay wasn't sure if she was talking to Kyle or to her. "Humiliating me like that. You devious, backstabbing, bitch!"

Okay, so she was talking to her. Kyle took his hand off her and made to step forward, but Kay touched his chest to stop him. She wouldn't hide behind him. If Cecily wanted a war, she'd get one.

"Me being a backstabber would actually require us to be friends. Which we're not."

"Oh, so that makes it okay to get him to cheat on his girlfriend," Cecily spat.

Kay bit her tongue, reminding herself that she hadn't actually done anything wrong, so she shouldn't feel guilty, but she couldn't help but put herself in Cecily's shoes. Though, to be completely honest, Kyle should be hearing the worst of it from both of them. If he'd actually done anything wrong.

"Him cheating or not has nothing to do with me and everything to do with your relationship." Exactly like it had been for her and Donnie, only she'd been too stupid to see it. Now she was giving Cecily sound relationship advice.

"It's little skanks like you that destroy relationships," Cecily said between her teeth.

The crowd murmured in agreement. Kyle tried to go around her again, but Kay pushed him back. It was skanks like Darla, not her.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, but your relationship is something else, isn't it? You don't love Kyle, so stop being so dramatic."

The muttering in the crowd died down. Cecily's eyes widened and shot towards Kyle, giving him a look that would cripple a lesser man. Kyle glared back, looking annoyed rather than sheepish or embarrassed.

"You don't know that," Cecily whispered.

"Yes, I do. I know how your relationship works. You don't love him and he doesn't love you. I wouldn't have come between you if it were any other way. I couldn't have come between you."

Kay had no idea why she felt the need to justify herself. She shouldn't care what everyone thought, but a part of her wanted to show she wasn't even a pretend-home-wrecker, that she respected love. But even after everything that had happened with Donnie, she still craved it, wanted her happily ever after

Cecily let out a cruel laugh. "I'll say he doesn't love me. Isn't it just too obvious? But do you think he loves you? News flash, sugar. Kyle Grant doesn't love anyone but himself."

Kay's chest tightened as Cecily used the pet name Donnie had for her. She'd done it on purpose, Kay could tell by the way her eyes flashed with satisfaction. Cecily would surely start using Donnie against her and she wasn't sure she was ready.

"Cecily, that's enough," Kyle said, pushing Kay behind him. "This is between you and me. Kay, go home. And the rest of you," he said to the crowd. "Don't you have something better to do?"

The crowd grumbled and most of them started shuffling away. Kyle took Cecily's hand and the two of them hurried away. Joey and Kelly stopped next to Kay, watching the falling king and queen departing.

"Come on, we'll take you home," Kelly said quietly.

"No, I'm good." Kay craned her neck to see where Kyle and Cecily were going.

They seemed to be going to the art department again. She wasn't going to leave him alone to face the monster, because she'd had a hand in this, too. Agreed to spread the lie.

"Are you sure?" Kelly asked, worried.

Kay turned to her and realized that things were much worse than she thought. "I'm not sleeping with Kyle, you do know that, right?"

Kelly blushed and looked away. "Joey told me what happened in the lockers and said Kyle lied to protect you."

Kay frowned. Then why did she look so embarrassed?

"But," Kelly said in the tiniest of voices. "I hoped it wasn't a lie."

Kay's jaw dropped. "Why?"

"I don't know. You two just look so perfect together, I can't help but ship you. But I know it's soon, I know you need time to get over Donnie and I also know Kyle's going out with Cecily, though, God, I hope they break up."

Speaking of which. "Look, I gotta go. Talk to you later." And she hurried towards the art department.

Fortunately, most of the students were heading for the exits, sharing gossip and wondering what would happen next. By the time she reached the door that lead backstage, the corridor was empty.

Kay stopped to catch her breath then pushed the door open as quietly as possible. She could immediately hear Cecily's voice.

"You lied?"

"Yes, I lied," Kyle said exasperated. "And even if it were true, what does it matter anyway?"

"Of course if matters, Kyle. This has to stop. You haven't spoken to me in over a week."

"You're the one who told me to drop dead, remember?"

Kay sneaked inside and hid behind an old dresser. She could barely see the two. Kyle looked more annoyed than she'd ever seen him, while Cecily was somewhere between exasperated and relieved.

"And you decided that was a good enough reason to stop calling."

"Yes, it was. I'm tired of games, Cecily. What happened to just saying what we want? Isn't that what this relationship is all about? Now you started this whole on-a-break-not-on-a-break thing and I'm not even sure what we're supposed to be."

A break? Kay's interest grew even more. Since when had Kyle and Cecily been on a break? Something like that would be huge news.

Cecily snarled. "Cheater or not, you humiliated me in front of everyone."

"Yes, because we both know your reputation always comes before me."

"You knew that," she hissed. "You knew that from the moment we decided to become a couple."

Kyle gritted his teeth, but took a deep breath. "Fine, what do you want? A public apology? Roses and me on my knees?" He now sounded tired.

"Yes, all that. And I want you to admit that you've lied," Cecily said, putting her hands on her hips.

"No. I've already done enough by keeping the break a secret. But if you want to keep lying, then I'm sticking with my own lie."

Cecily shook her head in frustration. "Why?"

"Because Kay doesn't need this shit right now."

"Who cares what she needs? Those guys are actually doing her a favor. Someone should pop her cherry."

Maybe this was a good moment to step out and punch Cecily in the face.

"That's Kay's choice, not yours or mine," Kyle said, his tone final. "She's my friend and I'm not going to let a bunch of horny pricks harass her."

"Your friend?" Cecily let out a cold, cruel laugh. "Open your eyes, Kyle. She's in love with you."

"I'm not having this conversation."

"I don't want you to see her anymore."

No, this was the perfect moment to step out and punch her in the face. This wasn't fair. Even if she hated Jackson and Pete, Kay had never asked Donnie to choose between her and his friends. If you loved someone, you didn't do that. But, then again, maybe Cecily really didn't love Kyle.

"Seriously? We are where we are and you're telling me what to do?" Kyle said, the warning in his voice so obvious, but Cecily plunged on with crazy confidence.

"I mean it, Kyle. It's either me or her."

In the silence that followed, Kay held her breath. She could see Kyle had balled his fists and his shoulders were tense. He watched Cecily with an intensity that was scary and fascinating at the same time.

Then he relaxed and smiled. "Easy. Her."

Cecily's jaw dropped. Kay bit her fist not to laugh, trying to control the euphoria filling her chest. This was too good to be true.

"Say that again," Cecily demanded.

"Yes, Cecily, I'm choosing Kay over you. And not because you can't be honest about what you want or because you're sleeping with Pierce, though that was a nasty punch in the gut, but because you actually had the nerve to make me choose." Kyle's tone was relaxed, almost joyful.

"I... I'm not... " Cecily spluttered.

"Don't bother lying. I could always tell when you did it."

"It only happened once, while you were away. We were both drunk," Cecily said desperately. "I'm telling the truth!"

Kyle froze, and for a moment, Kay was sure he would break into pieces. "Wait," he asked, his tone quiet. "It was while we were actually together? Not on the break?"

Cecily froze too, her eyes wide. "I'm really sorry," she squeaked.

He kept his gaze on her, looking confused and somehow, vulnerable. Then, his entire frame tesned and he turned away. "It doesn't matter. Because that's not the reason I'm walking away. We're done." And he stepped out.

Kay broke into a silent happy dance, but froze after only a few wiggles. Cecily wasn't storming out like she'd expected, planning how to murder her. Instead, the queen bee dropped on a chair, pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, staring absently at the closed door. And to Kay's utter shock, fat tears started rolling down her cheeks.

She wasn't doing this for show. Kyle was not there to see her and neither was anyone who might feel sympathetic towards her. Cecily was really hurting. Soft sobs were coming from her, her shoulders started shaking, and before Kay could pull herself together, Cecily burst out into full blown crying.

And at that moment, damning all sense and reason, Kay stepped out from behind the dresser and walked over to Cecily. She didn't even raise her face from her knees and kept on crying. Kay put her hand on Cecily's shoulder and squeezed.

Cecily jumped and looked up. Her eyeliner and mascara left dramatic stains on her cheeks. The moment she saw Kay, she pulled out of her reach and stood, pulling her rose skirt down and smudging it with black.

"What the hell are you doing here? Came to laugh in my face?" Cecily probably tried to sound secure and disdainful, but her voice came out like a desperate squeak.

"No, I just thought you could use somebody," Kay answered.

Maybe it was weird and crazy, but at that moment, she saw herself in Cecily. Except in Cecily's case it was even worse, because she was the reason her relationship fell apart.

"I don't need you." Cecily sniffed and wiped her eyes. She glared at the mascara stain on her hand, then gave up on cleaning her face. "What were you doing anyway? Spying on us?"

Kay squirmed a little at being caught, but decided now was the worst moment to show any kind of weakness, so she just shrugged. "I actually wanted to tell you that Kyle's not lying and we're just friends, but I didn't want to interrupt.  It seems like that didn't matter much to you anyway."

"Shut up! You're not friends! I see the way you look at him. The way he looks at you."

Poor Cecily and her imagination. She only saw what she wanted, a reason to blame someone else for the breakup. Kay gave her a weak smile.

"I thought you said Kyle can't love."

Cecily glared at her, but it was hard to look menacing when tears were still pouring down her cheeks and her nose was stuffy. "I'll get you for this."

"No, you won't," Kay said calmly. "Because I saw through your mask. As much as you try to hide it, to seem perfect, you have feelings and you messed up. But you can do better. We can both do better."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Cecily said between gritted teeth. "Now get out of here and leave me the hell alone!"

Kay complied. Once outside, she leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. She still couldn't believe she'd confronted Cecily like that. Well, not like she'd done anything to make her pay for being a bully, but at that moment, Kay felt like her pain was punishment enough. Whether or not Cecily actually loved Kyle, she couldn't tell, but she'd obviously cared about him enough to shed tears.

Kyle. Where was he? He hadn't looked fine when he'd left, and whether he loved Cecily or not, being cheated on was no something easy to fave. She knew that first hand.

So Kay hurried towards the exit and drove home as fast as she could, thinking that he might have gone there as planned. She texted him, but he didn't answer. Once she reached home, it was obvious that he wasn't there.

Biting back the worry, she tried to go on with her normal routine, so she changed out of her school clothes, had something to eat, then went into the yard to work on the truck like she'd planned.

After taking a mechanics book from the library, she'd finally figured out what parts she needed to replace to get the engine to work, and she was still dismantling it and making a list.

Her heart wasn't in it this time. She kept checking her phone, hoping Kyle would answer, but nothing. She considered calling, but he might not want to talk to anyone. Even if he'd seemed calm enough as he walked out, maybe he really didn't want to discuss Cecily cheating on him with a guy who was supposed to be his teammate and friend.

After a half an hour of fidgeting, dropping her tools on her feet, checking her phone every two seconds, and an unanswered call, Kay decided she'd just head over to his place and see if he'd reached it safely. If he wasn't there, she could at least tell Max what had happened and they could go look for him.

On her way to the kitchen, she stopped. She had no idea what lie to feed her mother as to why she'd be going out at this hour. Feeling particularly brave, she headed for the garage instead. She'd be back soon enough and maybe no one would find out she even left. She was supposed to be busy with homework anyway, and they'd already had a semblance of dinner. So running off it was.

The drive to the ranch was way too long for Kay's nerves, and once she got there, as she watched the gates open, a sudden chill washed over her. She parked the car in front of the garage then raced to the front door and rang the doorbell. She shifted her weight from on foot to the other, waiting for someone to answer.

The door opened, but it wasn't Max. Of course it wasn't Max, he was a bigshot oil tycoon. It was a pretty Mexican girl who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. She looked strangely harassed and was toying with the top button of her uniform.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked with a thick accent.

"Um, hi, I'm Kyle's friend and I was wondering if he's home," Kay said, frowning slightly.

"Kay?" Max came up behind the house keeper, his hair tousled and clothes rumpled as if he'd just woken up from a nap on the couch.

"Hi, Max. Sorry to barge in like this, but I haven't heard from Kyle..." Her words faded as Max raised a hand.

He stretched, ran his hand through his hair, dismissed his housekeeper with a nod, then focused his attention on her. "Kyle's here. He's in the gym. You can go see him."

"Oh." Now that she knew he was okay, she wasn't sure if she should bother him. "It's okay, I just wanted to make sure he was fine..."

"He's not," Max said bluntly. "That's why I think you should go see him."

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Hi everyone.

So... Yes, this chapter. What did you think? I'm especially curious what you think about Cecily. Also about Kay's reactions. I have a feeling I might've done that wrong.

And yes, the ending is cliffhanger-ish again. Can't you just wait to see what happens next?

Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote and comment;)