Hey guys, here's another update. Enjoy :)

On Friday, my plans to hang out with Diana fall through because she gets called into work. So I stay home and hang out with Nate and Benji, who have picked out a movie for us to watch. As I'm making popcorn in the kitchen, my phone rings and when I see that it's Sage, I contemplate not answering it. I give in at the last second and swipe to accept.

"Hello?" I greet her as I rest my back against the counter.

"Hi, you're on speaker and everyone is in the car," she informs me in a warning tone. I furrow my eyebrows before opening my mouth again.

"Okay," I say slowly. "Hello, everyone."

I hear a chorus of greetings back before Sage hushes them to speak. "We were wondering if you wanted to go see 50 Fallen Trees with us. Diego says you like romance books."

"I, uh, already saw it," I admit as I stare at the bright microwave. I hear hushed conversation and try my best to listen in but I can't make out what they're saying.

"W-With who?" Sage interrogates in a hesitant tone.

"Roman," I answer before listening to the silence that fills the car. I feel the awkwardness emanating through the phone so I decide to keep talking. "It was good." I put my forehead in my hand as I cringe. Why'd I say that? "The movie, not the...hangout." I cringe even harder. "I mean, the hangout was fun, too." I press my forefinger and thumb to my nose and sigh. "I'm going to stop talking."

"We can do something after if you want..." Sage trails, trying to lighten up the conversation.

"No, it's cool. I'm hanging out with my brothers. We can do something tomorrow," I counter in a quiet voice.

Silence ensues.

"Yeah, that works. I'll find something," she replies in an attempt to be upbeat.

"Okay, enjoy the movie," I tell them. We hang up and I stare at the microwave, which stopped halfway through the conversation. I dump the popcorn into the bowl while shaking my head. I'm an idiot.

I return to the living room to find Ben and Nate looking at me. "Are you and Diego still dating?" Nate blurts and I squint at him as I shove a piece of popcorn into my mouth.

"We were never dating," I inform my brother as I pass him the popcorn.

"You know what I mean..." he corrects as he takes a handful of his own.

"No..." I answer as I look at the paused movie on the screen.

"What happened?" Benji queries after analyzing my blank expression.

"His dad got into his head," I reply with a dismissive head shake. "So now he's insecure and doesn't feel like he's good enough for me."

They wait for me to say more and when I don't, Nate speaks up. "And that was that?" he replies with a confused expression scribbled across his face.

"Yeah," I confirm with a weak nod.

"You just let him leave?" Nate asks in an even more confused sate.

"What am I supposed to do? Stand outside of his window with a radio?" I retort as I glare back at Nate. "If he wanted to stay with me, he could've. He didn't have to listen to his dad."

"Maybe you should do a grand gesture," Nate replies with a raise of his hands.

"It'll go viral, I bet," Ben mumbles with his eyes locked on the television screen.

"If he likes you and you like him, I don't see why you guys are making things so difficult," Nate responds before grabbing the remote. "But then again, what do I know? I'm just the younger brother."

Nate's words follow me until Saturday when I'm sitting in the car with Sage on my way to her house. Diego is trailing us on his bike but he's going to take a left soon to go back to his house. Sage managed to find a party for us to go to, except this one is smaller and was described as more of a kickback. I stare at him in the rear view mirror as we come to a stop and he surprises me by waving. I narrow my gaze at him and he shakes his head and returns his grip onto the bike.

"Should I say something?" I break the silence as I turn to Sage.

"Uh, you just did?" she replies in confusion.

"To him," I clarify as the light turns green.

"What do you mean?" she asks for more information and I sigh in frustration as I watch him turn in the mirror.

"Should I try to get him back?" I wonder. "As his friend, do you think it's worth it?"

"Honestly?" she asks as she risks a glance at me before returning her gaze to the road.

"Yes," I press with a strong urge to know her thoughts.

"I think he needs to see what he's missing first. You can get back with him and he'll get insecure and retract again eventually. He needs to realize that he's good enough for you," she responds.

"And how can I do that? This friend thing isn't working out," I elaborate.

"I'm not advising you to, nor am I condoning it, but I think getting closer to Roman may be helping," she discloses hesitantly. "But maybe let him know that you still like him so all hope isn't lost, you know."

I stare ahead and sigh. "Why does he have to be so confusing?" I exhale in exasperation.

"I don't know," she admits with a quiet huff.

'+++

We arrive at the party and I already feel exhausted. Trying to come up with a good plan to get Diego back on top of helping Sage through a midlife crisis while getting dressed was not easy. We find Quincy, Webster, and Diego waiting outside for us and I want to sigh. I'd much rather be at Sage's house or even Diego's so I'd be able to talk to him without the pressure of a party. Regardless, we enter the house together. Within the first twenty minutes, Quincy darts off in the direction of a girl he's been flirting with and Sage excuses herself to talk to a girl that winked at her.

Before Webster can pardon himself from the awkwardness, I spot Roman across the room playing beer pong with his friends. He seems to have noticed me, too, because he nods at me and waves me over. I turn to the two guys I'm with to tell them I'm going to go talk to him for a second. However, they're already eyeing Roman with slightly narrowed gazes.

"I'll be right back," I mutter before squeezing my way through some people to see him.

"Well, hello," he greets me with a large grin. "I see you over there with your boy."

I tilt my head back and sigh. "Awkward, everything is so awkward," I grumble with a disappointed head shake.

"He's glaring at me so hard that I feel it burning through my body," he tells me with the same large smile on his face. I peek back and find Diego staring at Roman with an irritated look on his face. "Come on. Let's go to the kitchen."

I follow behind him with hopes of obtaining a soda. As I push through people, I risk a glance at Diego to see him staring at me with a curious look on his face. I quickly turn away and trail closely after Roman. "Do you want something to drink?" Roman asks as he opens the fridge.

"Yeah, what do you have?" I question as I peek in behind him.

"Amsterdam, Malibu..." he lists as he searches the fridge.

"How about...Sprite?" I reply as I grip the door of the fridge. He laughs loudly and shakes his head.

"Sorry, kid, there is nothing nonalcoholic in here," he informs me. "I mean, we have these, which are basically juice with a hint of alcohol. It's not enough to get you drunk."

He holds up a glass bottle with pink liquid inside and I shrug. "Okay," I mumble as I accept it. I watch as he pours himself some fruit punch with a small glower. "I thought there was nothing non alcoholic."

"This has alcohol in it," he tells me and I purse my lips in disbelief. "Want to taste it?"

I bring the red drink to my lips and take too big of a sip. I force it down and immediately cringe away from it. "Are you sure that's not alcohol with food coloring?" I cough as I shake my head. He laughs before taking a sip.

"It's not too bad," he comments before closing the fridge. I sip from my bottle once we come a stop beside the pong table. He leans against the wall cooly and takes another swig of his strong drink. "So...come here often?"

"Actually, no," I reply with a small headshake. He peers over my shoulder briefly before returning his gaze to me. I note the slight discomfort on his face and immediately quirk a brow. "What?"

"Uh..." he starts but before he can even answer, I whip around and search for what made his demeanor change. My eyes settle on Diego, who is making conversation with a girl. She smiles up at him and he stares back at her as if amused, which makes my chest go cold. I turn back to Roman with pursed lips and offer a forced shrug in an attempt to play it off. He sees past it though as he frowns down at me.

"Whatever," I say as I take another sip of my drink.

"Are you okay?" Roman asks quietly and I roll my eyes and nod.

"Of course I am," I retort as I keep my eyes trained on the blonde boy in front of me.

"So...uh...how are your classes?" he attempts to change the subject and I go along with it, not exactly in the mood to discuss how upset I am.

"They're good," I answer in short. My classes are the only things going well in my life apparently. "How are yours?"

"I could be doing better," he says with a smile. We make small talk for a half hour and I eventually manage to shove Diego to the back of my mind. It isn't until we're walking back from the kitchen after getting more to drink that my eyes trail over to where he was. I stop dead in my tracks when I don't find him. Instead, I see Webster surrounded by a couple of people but none of them are Diego. My heart drops to my stomach as I consider the places he could be.

"Um, Roman," I start and he turns to look at me. He seems to catch on to my concerns because he looks at the place Diego once was and immediately cringes. "I'm going to go see where he went."

"Okay..." he mumbles hesitantly. "I'll be over by the pong table." I give him a nod before approaching Webster. I don't waste time trying to beat around the bush and be indiscreet.

"Where's Diego?" I ask as soon as I get within his hearing range. He looks away from a conversation he's having to quirk a brow at me.

"He's outside," he answers and I nod before walking towards the front door. I leave the house and scan the yard for him. Eventually, I find him leaning against Sage's car playing on his phone and I sigh in relief. I was worried he'd gone off with that girl and done who knows what.

"You okay?" I ask as I quietly approach him. I stop a few feet away and bounce on the balls of my feet.

"I'm fine," he assures me. He doesn't look too fine though.

"Are you sure?" I press as I take another step closer. He doesn't bother looking up at me.

"I'm positive," he insists. "Why are you out here?"

"I looked over and couldn't find you so I asked Webster where you were," I tell him as I continue to rock back and forth. "He said you were out here."

"I just needed some fresh air," he excuses with a shrug.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I reply before lightly kicking his foot. "I also wanted to make sure you didn't sneak off with that girl."

I see a smile on his lips as he stares down at his phone. I walk over and lean against the car beside him. He seems to acknowledge the drink in my hand. "You're drinking?" he questions and I look down at the bottle.

"They didn't have anything nonalcoholic," I explain vaguely. "This was better than the punch Roman was drinking."

He slowly nods. "Ah, so Roman gave that to you," he concludes and I roll my eyes.

"Only because I was thirsty," I say as I swish it around. "Why don't you like him?"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel like a jerk. That's like him asking me why I don't like Elena. He looks up at me for the first time and gives me a look of irritation. "You can probably guess why," he comments.

"Sorry, that was insensitive," I reply before tossing the bottle into the yard. "There, all gone. Better?"

"It's like he never existed," he mumbles before taking a set of pink keys from his pocket. He twirls them around in his hand. "Are you still thirsty?"

Though the answer is no, I'm not going to pass up a chance at being able to spend some alone time with him. "Yeah," I lie. He stands up and extends his hand for me to take. Normally, I'd be petty and ignore it but I use him to hoist myself up before going around to the passenger side. We get into the car and drive in silence for the first ten minutes.

"Are you hungry, too?" he disrupts the peace that settled over the car.

"No," I reply in a hushed voice. He only nods in response and continues on to find the main road.

We eventually reach a gas station and he parks the car before going inside. He returns a few minutes later with a bottle of Sprite and a bag of chips for me. "Just in case," he mutters as I stare at the snack. I watch as he opens his bottle of soda and takes a sip.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I question when he keeps his gaze locked on the dark forest of trees in front of us. "You can talk to me, Diego."

"Honestly, if I told you, it'd make me seem like a shitty person," he confesses,which makes me furrow my brows.

"I doubt it," I assure him and he laughs and continues to roll his drink between his palms.

"I know I called everything off and you probably hate me for that, which you're obviously allowed to...and you're also allowed to date and talk to whoever you want..." he trails, "but I just wish it wasn't him. Obviously, I'm not allowed to have an opinion on the matter because I caused all of this and realistically speaking, I'd be upset if it was anyone who wasn't me, but I just don't like him. He's not good enough for you either."

"I'm not talking to him, Diego," I exhale as I stare at him. "He's my friend."

"The kind of friends that we were?" he wonders as he circles the cap of his soda.

"No," I answer, "the kind of friends you and Sage are."

"Platonic?" he concurs, which gets a nod from me.

"Yes," I reply. "But do you want to know something funny?"

"I have a feeling it's not going to be funny but okay," he agrees.

"It's been three weeks, you know? It's been a very confusing, messy, painful time, and you'd think that I'd hate you. I want to hate you. I sometimes try to make myself hate you but I just can't bring myself to. Even through all that confusion and mess, I still like you just as much as I did in the beginning. Does that make me stupid?" I ask as I turn to him. He's now staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. "I sure as hell feel stupid. You act like you don't care...like you never cared. Sometimes I question whether or not you really liked me or if you played me. Or maybe you're just good at hiding your feelings. Whichever it is, you're a good actor."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me," he starts, "of course I care about you, Orion. But it'd be selfish of me to mope and be upset when I made the decision I did. It wouldn't be fair to you so I pretend that I don't mind when you hang out with Roman or when you brush me off because I'm not allowed to be hurt. I made the decision to call things off. I'm not allowed to be sad or angry at decisions you make. Of course it hurts, though."

"I wish you saw how good of a person you are," I mumble quietly. "You're one of the nicest people I know."

"Again, Orion, look where we are. I feel like I've corrupted you," he notes in a sad voice.

"Did you forget that I wanted to do this stuff? I've always wanted to go to parties and be a teenager and you helped me do that," I explain with a shake of my head. "My grades are still fine. I'm still fine. Well...not really."

"You deserve a guy that's going to go to college and be a doctor or something," he rebuts as he fiddles with his hands..

"I'm not going to date a guy based on what his future profession is going to be, Diego," I retort in slight frustration. "And you act like you can't go to college. Your grades are good right now. If you keep them up, you won't have a problem getting into college. You're not supposed to have your life figured out yet."

"You do," he observes, which gets a scoff from me.

"Because I had no choice! You see how my parents treat me," I elucidate as I shift more in my seat to face him. "All A's, no boys, keep a job. I had no say in anything I did before I met you."

He turns to look at me with a sad smile. "But you deserve-," he begins only to be cut off. My hands dart out to the sides of his face and I move in a bit closer. His eyes search mine curiously as if wondering what I'm about to do. I stare back before sighing quietly.

"Don't say that, Diego," I reply in a voice barely above a whisper. "I could say the same thing about you, you know? You deserve a girl that knows how to have a good time and is the life of the party. You deserve a girl that has a motorcycle so you guys can ride together."

"But I don't want that," he denies as he stares at me through his lengthy lashes.

"Exactly," I conclude. I intend to let go of his face but his hand comes up to my wrist and holds it there. He blinks up at me and my heart only pounds faster in my chest. I open and close my mouth to say something but it doesn't come in. Instead, I lick my lips and mumble, "Is it bad that I want to kiss you right now?"

"Is it bad that I always want to kiss you?" he whispers as he inches closer to me. Just as he's about to close the gap, his phone starts ringing. He sighs quietly as I drop my hands from his face and tuck them away in my lap. He answers the phone and I listen as he talks for a few seconds. "Sage is ready to leave."

"Let's go get them then," I mumble and he glances at me once before sighing again. We drive in the direction of the party and I lose myself in thought. Where the hell do we stand now?