A/N: We do not condone drinking. Look what it did to Lacey. She was very bad. Also, be nice to your friends. Some of them have issues you may or may not be aware about. It's not nice to say hurtful things. Love you guys and thank you for allowing us to keep this going strong. 3 and a special thank you to McFly for being so damn hot and the subject of my fantasies. ^ - ^

Chapter 25 – Linette

My face looked terrible. Sure, the makeup was covering my other bruise but I was beginning to get another one on my other cheek. My head was hurting where Lacey had pulled my hair. I placed a hand on it and wasn't surprised to see blood. Carefully I wet a paper towel and put it on my head. I looked at myself in the mirror. Staring back at me was a small ten year old girl, her cheeks stained with tears and bruises lining her body. I blinked and the image was gone.

"Linette, are you okay?" It was Tom outside of the bathroom.

"I think so..." I answered quietly.

"Can I come in?" I walked to the door and unlocked it. Tom entered the small one room washroom. He locked the door behind him and I resumed dabbing at the blood on my head. He leaned against the wall facing the mirror, right next to the toilet. I tried to ignore him and focussed more on checking to see if I had serious damage on my head.

After a few moments he spoke. "Why were you so mad when Lacey mentioned your father?" I didn't answer. Thanks to Lacey, everyone was going to ask me questions about my past. There were questions I didn't want to answer. "Linette, was he a drunk?" Still I remained silent. After a few minutes my hair was relatively blood free and I no longer had an excuse for not looking at Tom. I turned towards him and leaned against the sink. I couldn't meet his eyes so I stared at my red painted nails that peeked out of my black sandals. "Linette, did your father... hurt you?"

Tears started in my eyes. "I don't want to talk about it." Awkward silence filled the air. "I-I'm sorry. When I feel ready, I'll tell you all about my past."

"Okay." It was only one word but I read so much in it. Tom was sad I didn't trust him. I was breaking his heart by not telling him, acting like he wasn't really my friend. I sighed. Breaking innocent hearts seemed to be my specialty.

"I don't want to stay here." The words were quiet but hung in the air. I could almost see them. Tom nodded and opened the door, holding it so I could exit first. We slunk through the loud club towards the exit. I would only stay as long as I needed in places like that. I would much rather be outside enjoying the remnants of August before September.

Suddenly Tom stopped. "Go ahead to the taxi, Linette. I'll meet you there." I watched as he headed back through the crowd. Maybe he'd forgotten his mobile. I headed out of the club into the night air. I took a deep breath. It smelled like New York City, like hot dogs and coffee and car exhaust and night. Though the mix of smells was nauseating, it was also comforting. I got into the yellow taxi and avoided eye contact with the driver. I didn't feel like talking.

Then Tom came back, and to my dismay he held Lacey in his arms. I opened the door for him and he put her on the back seat. He leaned her head against the window.

"God, she smells terrible," I commented from my seat at the other window. Tom squeezed himself between the two of us.

"You would too if you drank that much. To The Muse hotel, please."

We sat in silence for a bit as the taxi slowly moved in the constant traffic that was New York. "Why did you bring her?"

"She was passed out, Linette. It was the decent thing to do." He was right, of course. It was decent of him to take her back to the hotel with us.

"I'm still angry with her though."

"You have a right to be," Tom said in his even-toned voice.

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "You're so nice, Tom. I wish I'd known guys like you and McFly before..."

"I'm not that nice. I can be mean too."

I shook my head slowly as my eyes began to droop. "No, Tom... you're the nicest boy I've ever met. You always try to get people to make up and your music speaks volumes about what you care for." I yawned. "And music... never lies..." Tom's shoulder was very warm and very soft. I must've fallen asleep because soon I was waking up and we were in front of the hotel.

"We're here," he said softly, lifting up my head to free his shoulder. I blinked a few times until the hotel focussed into my view.

"Oh... are you going to bring Lacey inside?" I asked, trying to mask the worry in my voice.

"Yeah."

"Um... may I sleep with you then? I... I want to give her the whole bed to herself."

"This isn't because you're mad at her?"

"I don't stay mad for longer than an hour, Tom. I can't be angry. Life is too short."

He smiled as he lifted Lacey out of the cab. "Glad to hear that. And yes you may." I blushed as he mocked my polite use of the word may.

I followed him to our hotel door and opened the room. Gently he placed Lacey on the bed. I took off her shoes and unzipped her dress so she wouldn't suffocate herself in the tight clothing. I took a cover and pulled it over her. When I was sure Tom had left the room I bent over her head and kissed her hair.

"Sweet dreams, Lacey, but I hope you know I am going to kick your ass tomorrow morning."

I closed the door as quietly as I could behind me, took my nightdress in hand and followed Tom to his room. It was smaller than ours with an open bathroom and bedroom. Embarrassed he stood in the doorway. "I can... um... I can leave while you get ready for bed."

"It's okay," I answered quietly. I was very tired. "Just turn around so I can change. I'll shower tomorrow." I waited as Tom turned around. Silently I took off the jeans and tank top I was wearing and let the clothing fall to the ground. As quickly as I could I took off my red lacy bra and put on my nightgown. It was only standing in front of the mirror that I realized that Tom and I might have a problem.

"Um... Tom?" I said quietly.

"Yes?" he answered.

"How comfortable are you if my nightdress is red, lacy, not too see-through and only goes to my mid-thigh?"

Tom started laughing and turning around. "What are you-" He stopped midsentence when he caught glimpse of me. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Tom's mouth hung slightly open.

"Earth to Tom? Are you OK that I'm wearing this into a bed with you?" Tom shook his head and began to turn red.

"OK... I mean, yeah, it's fine. Why wouldn't it be? Of course it's fine. It's not like it means anything. Okay, everything's okay," he stumbled over his words.

I walked to the bed and sidled under the covers. This seemed to help Tom relax. "Well, it's your turn now. Don't worry; I'm really tired. I won't peek."

I turned on my side away from Tom and waited for him to crawl into the bed beside me. There was a long, awkward silence. I couldn't take it anymore. I turned on my side to face Tom and his eyes widened slightly at my sudden movement.

I smiled at him as best I could without blushing. I always forgot that Tom wore only sweatpants to bed. I was faced with his toned chest and I couldn't help but stare at the star tattoo on his chest.

"Are you excited for Miami?" Anything to talk to him.

"I've been there before."

"Oh."

"But I love seeing the ocean." I perked up a little.

"Really? I love the ocean!"

Tom smiled. "Do you promise me one thing?" His voice was low and conspiring.

"Anything," I smiled back.

"I want a midnight walk on the beach with you." He spoke the words so quietly I thought he hadn't said them at first. Once I'd fully understood he had, I nodded. "Great, because when the moon reflects off the water just right, you can hear the sky and ocean sing."

"Is the music beautiful?"

"Like angels' voices. If we're lucky, the waves might harmonize with the stars too."

I studied Tom's face. His brown eyes were soft and caring, wrapping me in his gaze. His blond hair was close enough I could feel it tickling my nose. And then there was that dimple. Again I longed to kiss it. I wanted to be held in Tom's strong arms, to have that star against my chest, to kiss his dimple, to kiss his lips, to have him kiss me... I began to blush at my thoughts.

Trying not to seem obvious, I scooted back a little. I hated how much I wanted Tom. It was beginning to consume me. "Can we write a song too?" I asked quietly.

"Sure, I'll bring one of my guitars to the beach."

I smiled to myself. "And together we'll make beautiful music."

The plane ride was starting very awkwardly. It was only a short flight, but I already knew it was going to be unbearable. Dougie had moved back to sit with Sarah in economy which had led to Lacey sulking around on her own up in first class. Danny had fallen asleep to his iPod since he'd probably stayed up late partying and I had no idea where Harry was. I was sitting beside the sulking Lacey, watching the clouds go by.

I've always wondered just how birds feel. To soar up here in the cold and the wet. I bet they don't mind. I bet they feel exhilaration every time they dive towards the ocean and how free they must feel as they glide on a warm summer breeze. I wish life could be care free.

Lacey turned to me but quickly turned back to the aisle. She'd been doing that all morning. I had a feeling she wanted to apologize, but couldn't admit she was wrong. I didn't really care if I said something first.

"Lacey, it's okay. Only Tom heard and he's letting me tell him on my own time." Lacey was quiet and her back was still facing me. "My face isn't that sore, either. Give it a few days and the bruises will be gone." Finally Lacey turned to me.

"It's just... I..." She took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have said anything. I know I was drunk and all but that's no excuse. I totally brought back bad memories for you and deserved that slap..."

I felt tears well up in my eyes a bit. "Lacey, it was pretty low. I had just been punched by Dougie two days before after sticking up for you. That already brought back some bad memories. It doesn't help with my nightmares and everything else. I broke up with Harry and he hasn't been on very good speaking terms with me and you're all sulky because of a stupid fight with Dougie."

Lacey bit her lip. I knew she was going to say nothing back. "You're right."

"Of course I am. And you know Sarah's just a cheap rebound girl for him anyways! If you would just go and apologize-"

"I am NOT going to apologize."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Just trust me: you two will get back together and be so obnoxiously into each other and I will eventually tell McFly about my family and what-not so we can stop keeping it a secret." Lacey smiled a bit. "There, that's better. Now could you move so I can go pee?"

I walked down the narrow aisle to the bathroom. Unluckily for me the bathroom was already occupied. I bounced a little in front of it. I really had to go but this person was taking too long. Suddenly Tom was at my side. "Oh God. Someone's in there?" he asked.

"You think?" I replied, a little meanly.

"Hey, I tried economy but they have longer lines than here." Thankfully a very obese woman finally got out of the bathroom after a little bit of struggle. "After you," Tom laughed as I slammed the bathroom door shut.

After relieving myself and being scared by the stupid automatic flushing toilets I exited the bathroom but there was a slight bump so it was more I walked into Tom and had to be caught. He laughed as he steadied me. "You okay?"

Suddenly there was a big round of turbulence and the seat belt sign went on. Unluckily for me, I fell onto Tom. He pulled me in close to him and held onto the side of the wall to steady us. After a few seconds the turbulence finished. I was leaning into Tom's chest, breathing in his scent. He smelled of citrus mixed with what I assumed was a deodorant of some sort. He stroked my head.

"You okay? You should go back to your seat before turbulence kicks up again." I nodded and walked back to my seat, flustered and sure my face was pink. Lacey started giggling as soon as I had resumed staring out the window from my seat.

"What?" I glared at her but she continued to giggle. "Seriously, what?" Lacey began to full out laugh. Now I was getting annoyed. "Tell me already!" I whined.

Lacey stopped laughing and leaned her head over to me. "Linette, in spite of how awesome and amazing it must have been for you and Tom to share that moment, I will not let you be his rebound girl."

"That made you laugh?"

"No, but the fact that Tom had to step on toilet paper stuck to your shoe did!"

My face turned bright red. Well that totally ruined what I thought was an intimate moment. I turned back to the window embarrassed as Lacey continued to laugh hysterically behind me.

"Lacey, shut up. You sound like a hyena."

Lacey lightly smacked my turned shoulder. "Lighten up, Linette. At least Tom's nice enough to do that for you." But that was my new problem. Tom was nice. He cared for Ashley even when she was mean. Lacey dissed me and her friends badly and he still carried her to her hotel room. Maybe all Tom was being to me was... nice.

I sighed and leaned my head against the plane window. The glass vibrated against my forehead. A static crackle was heard and then suddenly the intercom system was in full use.

"We're sorry for the delays. Miami is experiencing a major thunder storm. We are going to circle above the airport until the storm lightens. Sorry for any inconveniences." Oh joy of joys, a longer flight.

Perhaps I fell asleep. All I know is that time passed very slowly. Lacey definitely fell asleep beside me. I was becoming anxious and bored. There was nothing to do and I'd forgotten my notebook of lyrics and music in my check luggage. Suddenly I felt sick. That could not be good.

I rushed to the front of the plane to the bathrooms and opened the door quickly. I didn't even bother closing it. I leant over the toilet and retched. Hair pulled back from my face as I gave another heave. The door softly clicked closed and I knew there had to be someone else in the bathroom. Too bad my vomiting prevented me from seeing.

When I had successfully finished emptying the contents of my stomach I turned to see who had helped me. There stood Tom, water bottle in one hand and packet of mints in the other. I smiled weakly and took the outstretched water bottle. I washed down the taste of puke but my mouth was still disgusting. I reached out and took the mints. I popped three in my mouth before opening it to speak.

"Thank you, Tom."

Tom smiled and brushed back a strand of my hair. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and instantly regretted it. I looked terrible: pale with red-rimmed eyes. My breath must be terrible too.

"Are you always this prepared?" I joked with Tom as I popped another mint into my still acid-tasting mouth.

"Always. I vomit during turbulence usually. It's no big deal." I nodded and sucked slowly on the mint. We were kind of awkwardly standing in the small space. Slowly I edge around him to the sink where I washed my hands. Tom had had to reposition himself so he ended up right behind me. I could feel the heat of his body we were so close. Taking a bit of water I splashed my face. When I looked up Tom already had a paper towel out so I could dry my face. I did and then threw it away and turned back to him.

"So..." I said, embarrassed by the entire situation. I suddenly felt so awkward.

"So... um... maybe we should leave the bathroom."

I nodded my agreement and felt heat rush to my face. I tried to move past Tom but it was just too awkward. Then I tried to move back but I tripped and Tom caught me and then somehow we ended up with my back against the door and him leaning into me.

His face was close to mine as he steadied himself against the door. I could feel the blood pooling in my cheeks. I could already smell Tom. Demurely I looked at Tom through my lashes. His brown eyes were looking back at me. Tom hadn't pulled back yet and he still leaned closely into my body. I lifted my chin up a bit to meet his eyes better. I could see my reflection in them: a tiny blonde girl who was completely melting in the arms of a gorgeous boy. Tom took one hand and caressed my cheek. I felt my breathing speed up.

What was happening? Was he going to kiss me? He couldn't kiss me. My breath was too bad for that. Besides, Tom was just being nice... wasn't he?

Tom's face began to move closer, closing the space between us achingly slow. His hair brushed my nose, my cheek... I could feel his breath against my lips already. It took all my strength not to wrap my arms around him and kiss him with all the strength in my body. I took one last look into his eyes before I closed my own, ready for the inevitable kiss-

"WHOEVER'S IN THERE GET A MOVE ON!" That was Danny's yell and I made a mental note to kick his ass later. Tom pulled back from me and smiled.

"After you," he said, indicating the door. I smiled tightly back and left the washroom. I pushed past Danny and back to my seat. Lacey wasn't there. I sat down miffed and ready to strangle the next person who interrupted my moments with Tom. There had to be something there; we just weren't getting a chance to put it out in the open.

Suddenly Lacey was back in her seat. I glared at her as she sat down. She took a water bottle from her backpack and began to drink. I glared at her as she drunk. She took out a compact and touched up her lip gloss. I glared at her as she did her makeup. She snapped her compact close and glared back at me.

We sat there silently glaring at each other. Finally Lacey sighed. "You know it was for the better."

"Why is Danny agreeing to help you?"

"I really don't think it's a good time for you to be getting into anything with Tom. I mean, he just broke up with a girl he was in love with." I glared at her. "Okay, but I don't want you to be the rebound girl."

"When will I not be considered the rebound girl?"

"After he has a rebound girl."

"So I have to wait until Tom has been on a short fling with a girl and be the rebound girl after that?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

"You make no sense," I complained.

"Shut up!" I smiled. What a Lacey thing to say. "Anyways, we'll wait. If he picks up a girl within the next few days, she's the rebound girl. If he doesn't, you can be your beautiful self and he will fall for you. How does that sound?"

I frowned. "Three days?" That sounded impossibly long, even though we were in Miami for the first whole week of September. I glared at Lacey. She was not winning. "Sure, that sounds fine."

"Pinkie swear?" And so I pinkie swore that I would wait to make sure I wasn't the rebound girl.

The hotel was rather luxurious, but I was annoyed that Lacey hadn't bothered to change the bookings. We still only had three rooms between the six of us. Lacey called sleeping with me, Dougie with Harry, and Danny with Tom. (I had no idea how Dougie forgave Harry and not Lacey. Maybe they had a talk before the cheating? You know what, the day I learn how men think I'm becoming a lesbian.) The bell boy dragged my suitcases up Lacey's and my suitcases to our room. The others were 201 and 205, but we were on the other end of the hall in 237.

The room was pretty. It had a dark brown queen sized bed framed by two night stands. There was a table and two chairs that faced a plasma screen television. The bathroom had a large Jacuzzi with separate shower and toilet stalls. The balcony had a wonderful view onto the restaurant below which led out to the beach.

I opened the door and closed it behind me as Lacey began to unpack her laptop. She had some work to do and I didn't want to disturb her. I leaned against the balcony, my head on my arms, and stared out into the ocean. It looked so serene and calm, a stark contrast to the rain that had been pouring down only half an hour earlier. The air smelled heavily of rain and salt and fish. I loved it. Sometimes I missed the ocean.

My thoughts were interrupted by noise below. I could see four distinct male outlines heading to the beach and over the closed sign. It didn't take a genius to figure out which four males it was. I smirked to myself. They were probably going skinny dipping. Did I feel like crashing their party? Yes, yes I did.

I went back into the room, grabbed my new red bikini and changed in the backroom. I pulled a black sundress over top. As I was leaving Lacey called out to me.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Linette, where are you going?"

"I am not letting Tom have my virginity."

"Or kisses?"

"Or kisses."

"How far are you letting him go?"

"Is a hug acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Farther than that." Lacey glared at me. "Okay, hug is the furthest. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I pinkie swore."

Finally my paranoid pseudo-mother let me go out of the hotel. I practically skipped down the hall towards the restaurant. I would exit through the doors there. I couldn't wait to see the boys' faces when I came up on the beach.

"The world would be a lonely place
Without the one who puts a smile on your face
So hold me till the sun goes down..."

I was so immersed in singing I've Got You by McFly I completely ran into someone in the hall. We both fell sprawled onto the ground and purses were everywhere.

"I'm so sorry!" I gushed. I quickly gathered as many as I could. After gathering as many as I could I looked at the person I had hit. She was shorter than me, but then again I was tall. She was still picking up purses so she didn't notice me staring at her.

"You're really pretty," I complimented.

The girl looked up in surprise and then cast her eyes back to the floor where she resumed picking up purses. "Not really."

"No you really are!" I insisted. The girl had beautiful even dark skin and large chocolate eyes. Her hair hung straight and framed defined jaw bones. She had beautiful structure and I could already tell her voice was soft and gentle, like a breeze. Once she stood up I had no idea how I was going to give her all the purses. "How about I help you bring these to wherever you were going?" I volunteered. The boys could wait.

"Thanks, I'd really appreciate that." I followed her as she led me down a series of halls until we came to one I was familiar with.

"OH! You work for the fashions of the McFly World Tour 2008?" I asked, genuinely surprised. "I've never seen you around."

"I only started working on this tour in their last city, New York," she explained. She directed me on where to put the numerous bags. Once we'd unloaded our arms she reached out a hand to me. "I'm Lily, the next great and wonderful stylist of stars everywhere." I smiled. I already liked her.

"I'm Linette, the next bombshell singer to rock this planet," I said as I shook her hand.

"YOU'RE LINETTE?" Lily asked.

"Yeah..." I was very confused. It was okay if she didn't know my name.

"I am SO sorry. You just... I mean..."

"I'm not wearing a signature dress and tons of makeup and have a microphone in front of me. A lot of people wouldn't recognize me."

Lily gave a sigh of relief. "I was so scared you'd fire me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I didn't recognize you."

"That makes no sense."

Lily started laughing. "I guess so. I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Don't be. I don't bite. Except McFly. I bite them." Lily gave me a scared look. "Don't worry; I'm kidding. I'm very weird."

Lily started laughing. "Well, sorry for having kept you. I'll let you go back to wherever you were heading."

"Oh yeah!" I had forgotten about my escapade out to the beach. "Well, I'll catch you later Lily!" I gave her a friendly wave as I ran out the door.

On the beach I checked over my shoulder before crossing the chain barrier. I walked down the beach enjoying the wet sand between my toes. I shivered slightly as the water lapped around my feet. A light wind had picked up. It was chilly but it felt good to have my hair flying around. After a fair walk there was a rocky outcropping. I could hear light laughter. I could recognize one of the laughs anywhere.

Crawling over the rocks I kept as low as I could. There was a bunch of clothing all over it. I gathered it in my arms and placed it behind a rock. The guys could not run from me. I was evil. I crawled back to the top and sat down. The guys continued swimming and splashing each other. Finally I couldn't take it anymore.

"Hello boys!" I called.

"SHIT!" I heard Tom call out. All the guys stopped playing around and looked up at me.

"Oh my God, Linette, how long have you been there?" Harry asked.

"Long enough that I have a fair idea of what guys I would and would not do. The tabloids would love this information."

There was absolutely no laughter and I then started laughing. "I'm kidding guys! It's way too dark for me to make out that much. Though, Dougie..."

This set off a round of laughter. I had broken the tension they'd felt on a girl breaking up their fun. I stood up on the rock. Moonlight played off the water as I pulled off my dress.

"Whoah, Linette, it's one thing for us guys to strip but have decency!" Danny called.

"Shut up! I'm wearing a bikini!" I dove into the water near them. The cool water felt good against my skin. I shot up for air when I had to and breathed in the fresh night air.

I turned to the guys. "Oh boys, don't be shy. It's not the size of the boat that matters; it's the motion in the ocean. Except for you Danny. For you it matters."

That set off another round of laughter and the boys began to swim. Never too close to me but enough that I was included. After what did not feel long, but must've been, Danny, Dougie and Harry got out of the water to head back.

"Linette? Where did you hide OUR CLOTHES?" Harry whined.

"Walk back naked!" I cheered.

"Found them."

"Damn you Douglas Lee Poynter!" I called out.

"Next time hide them better, Linette!"

I sighed and looked up at the sky. Even here the stars weren't that bright. I gazed up at the moon and floated on my back. I was vaguely aware of Tom floating not that far from me.

"Tom?" I asked quietly.

"Mmmm?" he answered.

"Will we go on our midnight walk tomorrow?" I heard a bit of a splash and a pull on my leg. I changed position and treaded water face to face with Tom.

"Yeah, of course. But for now..." Then he splashed my face.

"HEY!" I called out. I splashed him back and then tried to swim away. He grabbed my leg and pulled me closer to him. I reached my hand around and suddenly gasped and pulled back. I was thankful for the darkness to hide my embarrassment.

"I- I'm sorry," I stammered. I had just touched somewhere I should not have unless we were dating.

"It's fine," he answered quietly. We treaded water for a while in awkward silence.

"If you want, you can touch my boob," I offered.

"Be careful; I might take you up on that."

"Well, I offered." Suddenly Tom moved closer to me.

"Are you sure?" he barely whispered the words but I still heard them over the gentle lap of the waves.

I nodded but realized he couldn't see that in the dark. "Yes," I answered breathlessly. I thought about what Lacey had said. Was I really his rebound girl?

I could feel the water moving as Tom reached his hand out and I stopped treading to float. But right as I felt the tips of his fingers brush my right breast, he pulled back.

"Maybe another time," he said gruffly before getting out of the water. I floated on my back in complete silence and shock. Had Tom Fletcher just decided he did not want to feel me up? Excuse me? After a moment of processing this information I got out of the water and pulled on my dress.

Tom was waiting for me at the bottom of the rock and held out a hand for me. I took it and jumped the little bit off the rock. He made a motion to catch me but I landed fine on my own. I didn't want to let go of his hand, but he did anyways. We walked in silence down the beach.

When we were in sight of the lights of the hotel, Tom stopped. "Is there something wrong?" I asked him as I turned to keep him within my sight.

"Um... Linette, I... uh... I have something to say."

"Go ahead," I answered. My heart rate sped up. Was Tom going to confess his love for me? Was he going to kiss me? Would I kiss him back?

"Linette, I know I've kind of been distant a little. And I've been meaning to tell you. But..."

"Yes?"

"There's this cute girl in set who asked me out when she heard Ashley and I broke up and... well..."

"You said yes."

"Yeah, basically. She's really nice and it's a good change from Ashley."

"Course it is. You gotta start on that dating scene again! Meet girls, kiss girls, sleep with girl..." I started to speed up as I talked.

"I'm glad you're cool with this." Tom sounded relieved.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I..."

"Oh no, you thought I liked you? Tom, you're cute, but not that cute."

He caught up to me and took my hand. "I'm glad you're fine with this."

I bit my lip to keep from crying. "Me too."

"You were going to let him touch you breast?"

"Did the end of my story not mean anything to you?" I shouted back at Lacey.

"Yes, but first of all you promised you wouldn't do more than hug!"

"We ended up not doing more than hug anyways!" I slumped back on the bed. "We fail at boys," I groaned.

Lacey slumped down beside me. "Yes, we do. I can't believe that, with all the work Danny and I have put in to making sure you're not the rebound girl he never wanted you in the first place."

"I know."

"I mean, wow, I always thought you'd be the girl he'd run to."

"I know."

"And that's basically like saying you're not pretty enough for him."

"I KNOW!" I shouted at Lacey to get her to shut up.

"So... what are we going to do?"

"Nothing," I replied and turned onto my side. I was staring at my notebook on my table. Yet another sad love song about how I fuck things up with every guy was bound to be coming up.

"Or we could make you so irresistibly hot he drops this rebound girl fast and goes for you?" I stopped thinking. I may have forgotten to breathe as well. I don't know. "Hello, Linette?"

I turned to face Lacey. "Let's do it. Let's make Thomas Michael Fletcher want me. And while we're at it, Douglas Lee Poynter shall want you too!"

We high fived and grinned at each other. "Now Linette..." she said in her voice which I could only describe as cunning and planning.

And suddenly I was scared.