I'm so sorry for the late update! I really am.

Previously on Everything Has Changed…

Grace's POV

As I cross the cafeteria, a petite brown-haired girl in a bright green cardigan bumps into me, making me drop my phone. It skitters away from us, stopping a few feet away. Apologizing profusely, she picks it up for me.

"No scratches." She observes, handing it back to me. "Phew."

"Thanks." I smile warmly at her.

"I'm really so sorry." She seems to have some sort of accent, but I'm unable to place it. "Umm.. hello?" She waves her hand in front of my face, and I realize I've been staring into space.

"Oh. Yeah. It's all right, really." I assure her.

"Okay. Good." She grins prettily. My eyes follow her as she walks over to a nearby table and sits across from a dark haired latino. My heart skips a beat as I realize who it is.

It never affected me when he hit on girls after we broke up, so why do I suddenly feel like running over there and punching the girl in the face? I exit the cafeteria feeling a little flustered. Whoopee.


Grace's POV, after school that day

I make my way to the basketball courts behind the school. Kelsey, Nikki, and Heather have headed off to some posh nail salon across town, and I bailed because frankly, I don't feel like sitting in a room with them for hours while they gossip about anything and everything. The last time I went along with them, the lady doing my nails insisted I get this hideous purplish brown that's apparently 'all the rage' in Hollywood. It was gross, and refused to come off even when I used remover on it.

So I'm hoping that Kim will walk home as she usually does, and if she is, maybe she'll let me come over and do homework at her house, so my mom will think I went to the nail salon with the girls.

I drop my denim messenger bag on the grass beside the crosswalk and take out a book. I glance at my watch. It's 2:39; Kim should be here soon.

I lose myself in the book, entranced as the heroine fights monsters, explores treacherous places, and saves the people she loves. I really love reading; too bad I haven't been able to read as much lately. Senior year is so busy… I used to think eleventh grade was difficult. But the homework load we're getting this year… plus stress about picking a college…

I'm just getting to the best part- when the heroine rescues her little sister from a murderous ghost- when I feel a light tap on my shoulder. "What?" I snap. Kim's huge brown eyes stare at me, a little startled. "Oops. Sorry."

"What are you doing?" She asks, clearly wondering why I'm sitting by the side of the street with my nose in a book.

"Oh, I was waiting for you." I say, shoving my book into my bag and getting up. That's when I see her, standing right behind Kim. The girl who was with Jerry during lunch today. My right fist clenches, and I look away before I can do something as stupid as punch her in the face.

She catches me looking at her. "Oh, hello again. I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Mika."

"I'm Grace." I reply, forcing a smile. She smiles back.

"Kim, we'd better get going. We have to finish our project by 6 o'clock, because I must be home by 6:15 or my uncle Phil will be very mad." Mika turns her attention back to Kim.

I slowly let out a breath. Guess I won't be going to Kim's today.

Kim nods. "Okay. See you, Grace."

I smile wistfully. "Later."

Kim's POV, later that night

I roll up the detailed black poster Mika and I spent the last few hours making, then slip a rubber band over the top and prop it up next to my backpack. Grabbing a cookie and a glass of milk from the kitchen, I jog up the stairs, into my room, and sit down at my desk.

As I wait for my laptop to boot, I take a bite out of the hard cookie and heave a sigh. I miss the days when my mom had the time to make cookies from scratch, because now all I've got are the gross, tasteless ones from the new grocery store. I make a mental note to drop by a bakery sometime, though with the strip mall gone I'm not sure where else to find one.

Once the laptop's on, I send a quick IM to Jack before starting my homework:

TheKimCrawford: Karate at mine tomorrow, remember? Still remember where my house is?

Next, I open my email account and scroll through the inbox. Just some stuff from my friends back in New York. Near the bottom I find a message from a name I don't recognize- Isabelle Diamond. Intrigued, I open it.

Stay away from Jack.

Well, that's super friendly of her. Who is she, anyways, to tell me to stay away from my best friend? Isabelle Diamond… I've never heard of her before a day in my life.

I type out a quick reply, fingers skimming the keyboard nervously as I search for words to say to this complete stranger.

Thanks, hon, but I think I'm good. Why is it your business whether I talk to him or not, anyways?

-Kim

I send the message, and the reply is instantaneous.

Oh, I'm so sorry. Jack didn't mention anything? Yeah, well, he's my boyfriend. Jealous?

I stare at Isabelle's message blankly. Jack's not going out with anyone! Yeah, this is probably some sort of trick. Well, I'm not going to fall for it.

Very funny. You and I both know Jack's not going out with anyone right now. So shut it.

-Kim

If you're so sure I'm lying, why don't you ask him yourself?

I raise my eyebrows. She has a point. But then again, wouldn't Jack have told me if he was dating someone else? I mean, long before we even began dating, we were friends. Friends who trusted each other with everything, no matter what. Now, I don't even know what he does anymore when he's not with me. And there's the whole thing with the gang, too. There's a lot I don't know about Jack anymore- more than I'd like to admit. For all I know, this Isabelle could be telling the truth.

So I text Jack and ask him to meet me at the new mall, then shut off my computer and grab my stuff. Hopefully… Hopefully that Isabelle girl is lying. If she's not, I don't know what I'm gonna do. She's got to be lying.

Jack's POV

Starbucks is pretty empty today, I observe. Maybe because it's getting late- the mall's gonna close at eleven, which is in an hour. It's kind of weird, though.

Kim sees me before I see her, sliding into the seat across from me and smelling faintly of vanilla and cherries. She flicks a lock of curled blonde hair out of her face then notices the steaming coffee cup in front of her. Glancing at me questioningly, she points a manicured finger at the cup.

"Yeah, it's for you. Caffè Misto with a shot of caramel, just the way you like it." I look at her nervously, waiting for her reaction. Biting her lip, she pushes the cup away.

"Sorry, Jack." She smiles apologetically. "I don't drink coffee anymore. It was sweet of you, though. Really."

"Oh, okay," I nod. "So why'd you ask to meet me here? It sounded important."

She winces. "Okay, so this is going to sound really weird, but, um.." She looks down.

"It's okay. Whatever you want to say, go ahead and say it."

"So, there's this girl.." Kim starts uncertainly. I nod. "Areyoudatinganyone?" She blurts.

Her question catches me completely off guard. "What? Why?" I try my best not to look panicked, but it's obvious Kim doesn't buy it.

"Spill, Jack. Now." It's obvious from her tone that she's not kidding.

So I tell her everything. Once I'm done, I instantly regret not sugarcoating it at all, because the look on Kim's face is a mixture of hurt, disbelief, and anger.

"Really, Jack, really? This explains so much- why you kept on disappearing with no reasons, why you always seem so distracted, and- ugh. You've been leading me on all this time-"

"Whoa, wait." I cut in. "Leading you on?"

"Yeah, Jack. Leading me on. All this time, I thought you- no, I thought we-" She breaks off suddenly. "Never mind."

"What is it? We what?" It's not fair for her to leave me hanging like that.

"It's not important anymore." Her eyes shine with unshed tears.

"I-"

"Drop it, Jack."

"Please, let me explain." I plead. "Please." For a moment, it looks as if she might say yes. But then she sighs and gets up, and there's no more arguing with her anymore.

"What's left for you to explain? It's pretty clear. You've been lying to me. Maybe not outright lying, but saying nothing is just as bad. How do I know this isn't the first time? How can I trust you again?"

Trust.

The word hangs in the air for a moment, and that's when I realize that this is about so much more than what I thought it was about. Maybe Grace was right; maybe Kim still does have feelings for me. But, more importantly, I broke her trust. Kim doesn't trust many people- once she told me that Grace and I were the only people she's ever really trusted. Now, I've broken that trust.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly. "I really am." But I can tell it's not enough; the apology sounds lame even to my own ears.

"I don't want to hear it. I'll see you around- or not." She gets up to leave, but doesn't notice that her mint green scarf is snagged on the chair's arm. There's only time for me to think, Hey, I gave her that scarf and she still has it, before the scarf tears. Kim doesn't even notice, just walks away and out the door.

I bury my head in my hands and stay like that for a while.

"Hey, son, you all right?" The speaker is a middle-aged man sipping a coffee at the table next to mine.

"Yeah, thanks." I fake a smile, then get up and leave.

Kim's POV

I walk along the sidewalk, still trying hard not to cry. Isabelle was right- Jack is dating her. And he didn't even tell me. It shouldn't matter so much to me- it shouldn't hurt- but it does, and I can't figure out why. All I know is that I'm mad at him.

Why did this have to get so complicated? He could've told me ages ago, and I wouldn't have to be angry at him now. Sure, I'd be hurt, but I'd stuff that hurt far down inside and pretend I didn't really care. I swipe my sleeve along my face to catch any tears. I absolutely hate fighting with Jack, it's the worst feeling in the world.

My phone buzzes in the pocket of my jacket. I take it out.

Ha. Told you. – Isabelle

Those three words send me over the edge. With a cry of rage, I toss my phone at a nearby telephone pole, and surprisingly don't miss. It hits with a sickening crack and falls to the ground.

I gasp, running over to retrieve it, all anger from a few moments ago replaced by concern. The screen has cracked, and it won't turn on. I swear under my breath. Why, Kim, why?

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