The weeks of the school year were racing on, and Watford's year 11 class was rapidly hurtling towards HSC. Dom stretched his legs out on the floor of Em's art class, watching her find the right light for her composition. On Wednesdays, he enjoyed a rare free period before his advanced mathematics class, which he liked to spend with Em. He didn't take art and sometimes felt he was missing out. It seemed like all the kids had so much fun. The art teacher, Mr Lavigne, who was something of an ex-hippie, ran a relaxed ship and really didn't seem to care that he joined their class every week.

Today, Em had chosen to draw from the floor, so they could sit together. Her still-life assignment, an assortment of pods and grasses was balanced precariously on a platform of beer crates beneath a hessian cloth.

Em loved art, and she was good at it. Dom had even posed naked a couple of times for her to practice her craft, a past time that always ended up in the couple having sex.

A source of awkwardness, that they had to navigate, was that Izzy was part of the same class. On this day, and almost every other, she sat as far away from Em as it was physically possible to do. Zara provided a protective buffer between the two girls, ever ready to jump in to save Izzy whenever Em threw a barbed remark her way, which happened often.

It made Dom mad at himself that Zara had to do that, and that Izzy still didn't acknowledge him. It would be nice if they could at least talk, like they used to, as friends. It didn't escape his attention that Em couldn't care less that she'd put Zara in this awkward position. She wouldn't budge an inch on Dom having contact with Izzy.

When Mr. Lavigne left the room, the class started talking. Someone had caught a red-bellied black snake on school grounds. The snake could be seen in a snake tank from the science lab window. It was causing quite the fuss amongst the juniors who had all rushed to steaky beak at it. Dom was afraid of snakes and had no desire to see this one. They creeped him out. It wasn't something he liked to admit. He was contemplating how to avoid people detecting his weakness, when Cole offered up a distraction, muttering the word 'bugger' under his breath.

'You alright?' Em said, looking up from her artwork towards where Cole was sitting in the window seat.

'Nah...this is total shit...does anyone have an eraser?' Cole asked laughing at his attempt at the still life.

'There's one in my pencil case,' Izzy said, tilting her head towards her desk. 'Grab it.'

Cole crossed the room and unzipped the case. As he did so, a piece of paper popped out from beneath the zipper, the neat cursive handwriting immediately recognizable to Cole.

'Why do you have a note from Dom in your pencil case?' Cole asked Izzy.

Dom's eyes flew up from where they were settled on Em, meeting Cole's gaze with a cold stare. He sensed trouble.

Izzy got up from the floor hurriedly and crossed the room. Dom could tell she was embarrassed. 'It's nothing, it's none of your business,' Izzy said, attempting to grab the note from Cole's hand.

Cole laughed at her. He lifted the note above his head and pretended to open it.

'Please don't do that,' Izzy pleaded with him.

'Don't read that man, I'm warning you,' said Dom.

As soon as he said it, Dom regretted it. Cole might have listened to Izzy, but he wasn't about to do Dom any favours. He opened the note.

Em looked at Cole coldly. 'What does it say?'

Without hesitation, Cole read the words aloud for the entire class to hear.

IOU Isabella Storm. PS Nice to see you all grown up – seventeen looks good on you. XOXO

Izzy grabbed the note out of Cole's hand furiously. 'Mind your own business, dickwad!' she said, ripping up the paper into tiny shreds and throwing it in the bin.

Em stood up from the floor, glaring across the room at Izzy.

'Seriously?' she said, as if bracing for an argument. Then she swiveled and stormed out of the classroom abandoning her artwork. Dom tried to call after her.

'You're an asshole Sac....' Cole said.

'I'm gonna kill you, man!' Dom responded, shaking his head. He glanced at Izzy, but she'd dropped her eyes.

Fuck!

Dom stepped out of the classroom after Em. He caught up with her some meters down the path adjacent to the rose garden.

'Em! Wait up! Stop! It's nothing!' He said, reaching for her arm. Em violently shook his hand off her and kept walking.

'It doesn't mean anything!' Dom shouted after her.

Em stopped and rotated towards him. There was no mistaking that look. She was furious. Dom could understand her anger too, she'd been humiliated in front of the class. He pleaded with her to calm down and see reason.

'Fuck that little traitorous bitch!' Em yelled. 'Fuck her!'

Dom took her hand firmly. 'Em, calm down! You're being irrational. It's not Izzy's fault. Cole's a tosser.'

Em looked at him in disbelief. 'Oh yeah? She's got nothing to do with it?' she said sarcastically. 'Wake up, Dom! She's carrying around a note in her pencil case, from my boyfriend! It's pathetic!'

Dom sighed. 'Em, you're making a big deal about nothing. It's not a "note",' he said. 'Besides, it was from a long time ago. You know that. You remember that IOU. You were there. I'm not hiding anything. A lot has happened since then.'

'She still has the thing, doesn't she?' Em confronted him. 'Could have thrown it out, but no! She can't get a boyfriend of her own, so must obsess over mine...' Em paused and then as if something suddenly dawned on her, she said: 'and what the actual fuck...did you two know each other before we met?'

Ignoring the question, Dom said: 'Em, I don't think you're being fair. Izzy's not "obsessing" over anybody. She's not exactly in the right frame of mind for any of this. You need to go easy on her.'

Em rubbed her forehead. 'Why are you taking her side?' she asked pointedly.

'Babe, her Mum just died!' Dom said, hoping to ground Em's rage. 'I think you could cut her a bit of slack. Don't you think her life is hard enough as it is without having to deal with her best friend's petty jealousy?'

Em looked at him with fury in her eyes. 'Not gonna lie, I knew it was only a matter of time before you played the dead mother card.'

'Well, it's true!' Dom said, shocked at Em's crass response. 'If you'd just think about someone else for a moment, you'd see that maybe right now Izzy needs her friend! Nothing else matters.'

'Her friend? I'm not her fucking friend Dom!' screamed Em. 'Don't you get it? She betrayed our friendship! She did this!'

For the hundredth time, Dom wondered why Em couldn't just let it go. He'd done everything she asked of him. He hadn't spoken to Izzy in forever, which was pretty, bloody awkward when they moved in the same circle. And now here they were, yet again, having a public argument about the same old thing. It was beyond frustrating.

'No, actually, I don't see that,' he said. 'Izzy's been through a lot. She's been trying. She's told you she was sorry, and that's that.'

'That's that, is it?' Em glared at him. The air was thick with unresolved anger.

'Listen, I'm truthfully sick of this!' Dom said.

'Sick of what, exactly? You're not without fault, y'know.' Em was in a savage mood. Dom was wary of saying anything more, but he couldn't let it go.

'All of it,' he said. 'I'm sick of us always fighting about this. I'm sick of having to apologise to you a thousand times. We agreed to stay together and work this out. You and me. We made a pact not to let what happened with Izzy come between us. Remember?'

'I do remember!' Em said arching her back and lifting her chin in the air. 'And it would have worked too if you didn't feel the need to defend her all the time.'

Dom held her glare. He was angry now too. 'But don't you see? You're being such a bitch, Em!' he said. 'She's in our lives, whether you like it or not. She's friends with all of our friends. We can't just ignore her.'

Em shifted, as though she planned to walk away again. 'I can,' she said. 'I don't see why it should be so difficult for you.'

Dom didn't want to let it go now. This had gone on long enough. 'Seriously, Em, I'm so over this,' he said shaking his head. 'I think we should take a break from each other. I've been thinking that for a while.'

Em stepped closer and lowered her voice. 'What are you talking about?' she hissed. 'Don't be such a coward. We're not taking a "break."

'That's not your call,' Dom said.

Tears sprung to Em's eyes. 'At least call it what it is—we're breaking up! Have the courage to say it. You just want to be with her.'

Dom moved away from her. He didn't see the need to speak softly now that she'd made such a drama out of this already. 'I'm saying what I'm saying, Em' he said. I'm done with this right now. You and me. This is not fun anymore.'

The tears fell from Em's eyes dampening her cheeks. Dom couldn't tell if it was because she was angry or sad. 'You're crazy!' she said miserably.

'I'll speak to you when you calm down,' Dom responded, finally walking away from her. He'd left his bag in her class and now had to go back for it.

'Babe! We're just fighting,' Em called behind him. 'You can't pull the plug over a petty fight.'

Dom continued walking. Adrenaline was pulsing through his veins, and he need to put distance between them. Em had pushed him over the line. He walked to the door of the classroom and then at the last moment changed his mind. He could get his bag later. Besides, he really didn't want to see Cole right now. He didn't know what he'd do to him. Instead, Dom stalked to his dorm room right up to his bed and smashed his fists into his pillow.