I turned to leave, reaching for the doorknob.
"Silver." Heather's voice stopped me.
I turned around. "What?"
She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Don't pretend you don't know what, Silver."
I swallowed. "I-I really don't know what, Heather."
Heather rolled her eyes. "Typical Silver. You know exactly what; you just don't want to admit it. Not even to yourself, I bet."
"What are you talking about?!"

Heather took a step toward me, her blue eyes steady on mine. Her voice had gone soft, almost gentle. "I'm not blind, Sasha. I've seen the way you look at me, kind of like how you look at Jacob. You really like me, don't you?"
My brain was busy trying to process that she'd called me Sasha. "Of course I like you. As a friend."
She shook her head at me. "Don't become a compulsive liar, Silver. It doesn't suit you. And lying to yourself is especially unhealthy."
"I'm not lying!"
"Are you sure?" Heather's hand went around the back of my head, her fingers twining in my hair. "Because I like you, too."

That made me stop and think. If I was totally honest with myself, it was true that Heather was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. And now that I thought about it, I felt an odd fluttering in my chest whenever she was around. I'd just chosen to ignore it.
"I think..." My voice was a squeak. "I think you're right."
Heather smirked at me. "I'm always right, Silver. You should know that by now. And there's only one way to find out for sure, isn't there?"
"But...I'm with Jacob. And you're with Troy."
"What they don't know won't hurt them."

I reached up and touched her face. Her skin was like silk. "Let's find out, then."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Heather's face came closer to mine...closer, closer...and we kissed.
I felt warm all over, like I was taking a hot shower, but on the inside, especially in my chest. Her mouth was so soft against mine, even softer than Jacob's or Eric's. When the kiss ended, Heather pulled back and smiled at me-a nice smile, not her usual snarky one. "I was right, huh?"
I smiled back. "You were. That was even better than I expected."

"Same here." She twirled her hair around her finger. "I feel bad for you, Sasha. First Callie steals Jacob from you, then Jasmine comes to Canterwood, then you make up with Callie, then Jacob confesses that he wants you back just when everything's going fine with Eric, then you lose both Eric and Callie when Jacob tries to kiss you and you don't want him to, then Paige stabs you in the back. You didn't deserve any of that."
"Well, you don't deserve your parents, either."
"Probably not." Heather was quiet. "I guess everyone has things happen to them that they don't deserve."

I nodded. "But that doesn't matter as long as there are people who love you, right?"
"Right." Heather smiled, her old self reemerging just a little. "See you tomorrow, Silver. You won't tell anyone, right?"
"Of course not. Not even Brit." As the door closed on Heather, I leaned against the wall and smiled so hard my face hurt. I'd seen a side of Heather that I doubted she showed often, even to her best friends. It felt good, knowing she trusted me like that.
No, I wouldn't tell anyone. It would be our little secret. She would be mine, and I would be hers. And for some reason, that made me feel better than I had in a really, really long time.