Author's Note: I can't believe it's been nearly 6 years since this story was last updated. I decided to reread some of my old work earlier tonight and felt compelled to continue this story. I remember being excited about where this was going to go, and I'm excited to get it going again. I hope that all of my old readers are still out there, and that my new readers can forgive the mechanics of the first few chapters! Happy reading! -MJ


It was nearly 6 in the morning when I finally pulled into my driveway. As I was pulling in, my dad was leaving for work. I took a deep breath as I climbed out of my car. What had Vanessa told them? Should I have texted her to make sure the coast was clear?

"Hi, Daddy," I squeaked, as we met on the sidewalk.

"Hey there, Princess."

I squinted at him. So far, so good. I cleared my throat. I wasn't quite sure how to proceed. Luckily, I didn't have to.

"I'm surprised to see you here this morning. Vanessa said you guys were up late working on your AP History timeline and that you'd probably just leave for school straight from the Pike house."

Good 'ole Vanessa. She was always able to pull out some of the best excuses for me. Me, on the other hand? I'm a terrible liar.

"Yeah, I just needed to come back here and get my books," I lied.

"Your books aren't in the backpack that you're carrying?"

See? Terrible liar. Think fast, Rebecca.

Daddy eyed me suspiciously. Just then, the front door opened. My mother stepped out to retrieve the morning paper. "Morning, Becca!"

I walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Mom," I said, trying to hide the relief in my voice. "I have to go change for school. Bye Daddy!" I ran into the house without looking back.

I didn't stop running until I reached my room at the top of the stairs. I plopped down on my bed and pulled out my cell phone. I started to call Vanessa and quickly changed my mind. If I called her, she'd want answers. I wasn't ready to start giving answers. Instead, I sent her a quick text. "Hey Nessa, thanks soooo much for covering for me. You saved my butt! See you in homeroom."

I changed my clothes and brushed my teeth. Looking at the clock, I saw that I still had 30 minutes before I had to be in homeroom. Usually, I would take advantage of the extra time and meet up with Vanessa at Starbucks before school. Today though, I wasn't in any kind of hurry to speak to her. I'd told Adam that I would PROBABLY tell her the truth….but I still hadn't come to terms with that yet. I knew that if I didn't tell her, Adam would be mad at me. But I also knew that if I did tell her, I was probably going to lose my best friend. How did I get myself into such a big predicament?


When I got to school, I made sure to wait in my car until the warning bell rang. I knew that I'd have just enough time to slink into my seat without having to answer any of Vanessa's questions. When the warning bell rang, I made my way into the building. I walked quickly, keeping my eyes peeled. My heart raced as I neared my classroom. If she didn't cut me off, I'd have exactly 20 minutes before I had to speak to her. "Rebecca!" Crap. I pretended I didn't hear her as I quickened my pace. I could hear her footsteps behind me, picking up as well.

I made a sharp turn into the classroom and got into my seat just as the bell rang. Ms. Anderson, our homeroom teacher smiled. "Nice of you to join us on time today, Rebecca."

Vanessa came into the room a second later. "Rebecca, didn't you hear me calling you?" Before she could sit down, Ms. Anderson tapped her on the shoulder.

"You know the rules, Ms. Pike. This is your third tardy, you need to go get a pass."

Vanessa rolled her eyes as she left the room. Ms. Anderson is an extremely young and cool teacher, but she has a lot of people watching her because she's new. She's a stickler for the rules.

I pulled out my biology book and started on the assignment that was due in 3rd hour. I'd meant to work hard the night before, but obviously I'd had a few distractions. My grades were quickly slipping because of the time spent balancing the Pikes in my life, and I was determined to get them back to their previous glory.

Vanessa returned to the room a few minutes before homeroom ended and slapped the tardy slip on Ms. Anderson's desk with a hint of attitude. She sat down in her seat next to mine. "So, what's the big secret?"

"What big secret?" Playing dumb seemed to be my strong suit lately.

Vanessa looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, I don't know? You rush out of my house after dinner last night and then you text me at midnight asking me to cover for you? You don't think there's a story there?"

"There's no story….I just needed to buy some time."

She just looked at me, expecting me to say more. I told Adam that I'd probably tell the truth. Likely, perhaps, possibly, maybe. None of those words are definite.

When I didn't continue, she pried a little more. "Where were you last night, Rebecca? Who were you with? What were you doing? And why were you so upset when you left my house last night?"

When Vanessa wants to know something, she asks a million questions in a row. That makes it impossible to tell a good lie because you have to think of many lies at once. I felt my phone vibrate underneath my book. I glanced at it. It was a message from Adam. "Is she upset? I miss you already."

I pushed my phone back under my book before Vanessa saw the name attached to the text.

"Who is that?"

"It's just my mom," I lied.

The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. I gathered my things and left the room, hoping that Vanessa wouldn't catch up. I could already tell that I was going to spend the day avoiding her. I ducked into the bathroom. She caught up with me before I could hide in a stall to catch my breath.

"Rebecca! What is your deal today? Why do you keep avoiding me?" For the first time that day, I looked into her eyes. Usually she looked annoyed when I kept things from her, but today she looked different. She looked hurt. And scared. "I'm serious," she continued. "What aren't you telling me? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

I gave her a hug. "I swear I'm not in any kind of trouble. I was just….with someone last night. That's all."

Her eyes lit up. The warning bell rang. "Who were you with? Do I know him? OHMYGOSH, you spent the night with a boy!" By now she was squealing.

I grabbed her arm and ushered her out of the bathroom. We couldn't afford another tardy to Neumann's class. We got to class and took our seats next to each other.

"So," she leaned over and whispered with a sly grin. "Who were you with?"

Mr. Neumann came into the room and shut the door. He dimmed the lights for the PowerPoint notes. Vanessa was still waiting for an answer.

"I was with Adam," I said as the bell rang. I could only hope that it drowned his name out.

As she leaned back over to her own desk, I knew by the look on her face that she'd heard me loud and clear.