As the days rolled by, we inched closer to Christmas.

I didn't speak to Bas nor Tyler for a total of two days before one of them approached me and asked me what was wrong. It was Bas.

It was a sunny morning and outside it was freezing. The roads were glazed in slippery ice due to the freezing rain from the night before, and I had to slide my way to school, carefully placing one foot in front of the other while gliding a little and trying not to fall.

It was the first day Skylar fell sick. She stayed in bed that morning, groaning and muttering things under her breath. Mom kept her home from school, pressing a hand to Sky's sweaty forehead and saying she had a fever. I didn't doubt it. Her cheeks were flushed and sticky, and her eyes seemed a little more tired than usual. I left that morning after saying goodbye to her.

By the time I finally made it to school, my fingers felt raw and my ears were numb. Bas came waltzing down the hallway with his new girlfriend before he glanced at me and stopped in his tracks. He gestured for her to wait, then made his way towards me. "Ky?" he said.

When I didn't respond to him and tried to walk away, he grabbed my arm, spun me around and looked me directly in the eye without saying anything. I felt a little uncomfortable. "What?" I murmured.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You look a little tired."

"I'm fine, Bas." I said. "It's nothing new."

His expression hardened. "You're lying to me. Wes told me everything."

"Care to elaborate?"

"He said you saw me and Alexis through my window. He also said that you found out Tyler cheated on you with Summer."

"And?"

He pulled me a little further away from Alexis, deeper into the hall. "Does me being with Alexis really bother you?" he asked.

"No," I frowned.

"That's not what Wesley told me."

"Yeah, well, Wes doesn't know, okay? He can make assumptions for all he wants but he doesn't know me. I know me. I mean really, why would I be jealous of Alexis? I'm not in love with you."

Bas sighed. "Why haven't you been talking to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. You've been ignoring me for the past couple of days. You even blocked me on all of your social media accounts. Seriously, what's your deal?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered. "I'll see you later, I guess."

With that, Bas turned around and walked away, his bag hanging from one shoulder. With his free arm, he wrapped it around Alexis' waist and whispered something into her ear. She turned her head a little and glanced at me, then quickly looked away once she realized I saw her.

Once they were fully out of sight, I opened my locker and stacked a pile of books on the floor. I sighed, feeling a prickle of anger in my chest. I wished Wes could keep secrets. I wished Bas didn't care. Angry thoughts spiralled through my mind, fury rose in my throat, and if I was in a cartoon, smoke would probably fuming out of my ears and nose. I kicked my locker out of frustration before a voice made me flinch.

"What did the locker ever do to you?" Tyler said.

Seeing him only made me more angry, but I managed to inhale and exhale just like Mrs. Hemsworth had taught us to do in order to suppress it and calm down. "Nothing," I said. "I was just having trouble closing it."

Sweet, sweet lies.

"Ah," he replied. "Well, you wanna hang after school?"

"No," I said almost immediately, but then I reminded myself that I needed to remain calm if I was going to execute my plan properly, so I did. "Skylar's sick and I'd prefer not to leave her alone."

With this, I added a smile, and he smiled back. So far, everything was falling into place perfectly. He wouldn't suspect me if I was nice to him, or if he assumed I didn't know what he'd done behind my back. I was going to get back at Tyler Silverman for hurting me -- for cheating on me with Summer.

I started off with telling Bas.

Basil Brooks -- despite his intimidating demeanor -- had a very soft side, and I knew exactly how to bring it out. I told him my plan, told him what Tyler had done with Summer and how he'd ruined Wes' relationship with her. At first, Bas was a little hesitant, telling me that we were going to get caught and that what we were doing was cruel. But when I proceeded to tell him how much Tyler had hurt me, Bas' expression softened, and suddenly he was in on it.

"Okay," he said. "I'll help you."

"Thank you, Bas. Just promise me one thing, okay?"

"Okay. What is it?"

"This is our little secret. Don't tell anyone, ever."

--

I went home that evening, happy that Bas and I were friends again and happy that my plan was going well. For a split second, I found myself worrying that Bas would spill to someone else, but then I remembered that he was an honest person, and no matter what, he would never break a promise.

Skylar was still really sick when I got home. She hadn't gotten any better -- if anything, she'd only gotten worse. She was laying on the couch with a bucket of vomit sitting next to her, clutching her stomach and complaining that she was in pain.

"I rather like that couch," I joked. "Get off it. I don't want to get sick too."

"I'm not in the mood for witty today, Ky," she grumbled.

"Understandable," I said, handing her a glass of water. "Stay hydrated, okay?"

She willingly took the glass, took a short sip and set it down. "Thanks,"

"The waitress is always glad to help," I said. "Just don't die or anything."

With that, I turned around and made my way towards my room, anticipating what would come in the next couple of days. Tyler Silverman was going to get what he'd long deserved, and I was going to love every second of it.