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"Are you deaf? What is this secret that you and Tyler are keeping from me, and who the hell are Zach and Chloe?" Lauren all but screamed at Charity. Whatever was going on between Tyler and Charity, given their history, was not good. Lauren wasn't sure if she was more upset at Tyler or Charity for hiding something from her, but Charity was right in front of her, so she was getting the brunt of Lauren's anger. She wasn't holding up well under it, either. Charity had gone white when she'd spun around and seen Lauren standing in the doorway. Her color had yet to improve and she was stammering like a fool.

"Lauren, I, well, we, um. See, you weren't supposed to hear that. I just, I, I don't want to give anything away, so lets just pretend that you didn't hear anything. Okay?" Charity asked hopefully. Lauren narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She mulled over her sisters words for a moment. She could press the issue, she sure as hell didn't believe anything coming out of Charity's mouth right now, or she could pretend that she did and find out what was going on. She opted for the latter.

"Okay. So who are Zach and Chloe?" Lauren asked, forcing herself to smile and appear calm. This was easier said then done. Her insides were quaking. She desperately wanted to put her fist through the wall and scream at the top of her lungs.

"Zach is my ex and Chloe is his sister. She and I were good friends for a long time. Well, we weren't when I left Raleigh, but we had been. I'm really nervous about seeing her again." Charity explained as she shakily sat down on the edge of the bed, facing away from Lauren. Peyton chose that moment to pop her head in.

"Girls, get your things out to the car. We're ready to head out." She said, eyeing the girls.

"Is something going on that I need to be aware of?" She asked suspiciously, coming into Lauren's room.

"Nope, everything is just peachy. Right Charity?" Lauren asked sweetly. Charity nodded as she stood up and grabbed her haphazardly packed bag.

"Yep, peachy." Charity chimed in weakly. Peyton narrowed her eyes at them, but let it slide. Lauren gave her mother a broad smile as they passed her and headed out to the car. Lauren recalled an old saying that she had once overheard: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. She intended to do just that.

The ride to Raleigh began in silence. Lauren had nothing to say to Charity and Peyton had already zoned out with her I-pod. Lauren decided to make Charity and Tyler sweat a little. She whipped out her phone and dialed Tyler's number.

"Hey Tyler." Lauren greeted him, loudly enough for Charity to hear her in the back seat.

"Hi. I wasn't expecting to hear from you again today." He replied, mildly surprised. Lauren usually wasn't one to call her boyfriends multiple times a day. In fact, she could go days without calling.

"I know. We're just headed to Raleigh and the drive sucks." Lauren explained lightly.

"Cool. Are you excited? Two whole weeks, surrounded by cheerleaders, man that sounds like heaven to me." Tyler joked. Lauren giggled.

"Oh yeah, ecstatic. So anyway, Charity let me in on a little secret." Lauren said with a devious smile, getting to the real reason she was calling.

"Okay. What secret was that?" Tyler asked, the laughter gone from his voice. Lauren was getting a perverse satisfaction from the fact that Charity had suddenly sat upright at her words and that Tyler had gotten so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"That her ex-best friend is going to be at cheer camp. What secret did you think I was talking about?" She asked innocently.

"Uh, none, I mean nothing, I didn't think there was any other secret." Tyler said quickly. He was stumbling over his words as badly as Charity had earlier in the day. If Lauren had any doubt that something was going on between the two of them, she didn't any longer.

"Okay, well I think we're going to be stopping soon, so I'll talk to you later." Lauren said quickly. Her anger was quickly dissipating and she didn't want to give Charity or Tyler the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She leaned down and grabbed her own I-pod out of her purse and pulled up an older song that her mother liked. It seemed to fit her current mood. She smiled as "I hate everything about you." By Three Days Grace, filled her ears.