Jamie looked back and forth between the two guys. She didn't understand what happened. Juice had talked to her for a while, until he mentioned he felt warm. She'd followed him to the balcony — and there she had been a witness of how her boyfriend was strangling Daphne! And now... now he claimed that Juice had wanted Esai to cheat on her right before her eyes.

"Is that true?" she asked Juice eventually. She'd wanted to sound shrill, but it was a broken whisper which left her lips. "Did you ask Daphne to do this?"

"Of course not," Juice answered. He avoided her glance.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "You suck at lying, Juice. You told me to wear this dress and to seduce your rival. It was my duty, as an old lady, you told me."

She turned her face back to Juice. He bent his head and stared at the floor, ashamed. "I'm sorry Jamie," he muttered.

Jamie felt the tears sting in her eyes. Immediately she was no longer in the mood to party, and she turned around and rushed to her bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, she wrapped a blanket around herself. Right through the walls she could hear Juice and Esai scream at each other. She wrapped her hands in front of her face. How could Juice do something so mean? Why couldn't he accept Esai as her boyfriend?

She flinched when someone knocked at the door. She didn't respond. Juice was the last person on earth she wanted to see right now and Esai... Esai was probably very pissed.

It however was a soft, female voice calling her name. Shanty.

"Jamie? Can I come in?"

She sniffled quietly. Whether the confirmation really passed her lips, was hard to tell. Nevertheless, the door opened. The moment Shanty saw her, she slipped into the room, closed the door and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"What's going on?"

Jamie wiped her eyes, telling her softly what had happened. "And I — I just don't understand why Juice would do such a thing," she ended her story, sobbing. "I thought we were friends. Why can't he be happy for me? Esai never did anything wrong, it's all because of their stupid clubs."

Shanty took her hand and waited until Jamie had blinked away enough tears to look her in the eye. "Juice is love with you, Jamie," she said quietly. "I heard them scream. He's jealous. And people do stupid things when they're jealous."

Jamie wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. A while back she might have laughed about the suggestion, but now Juice had kissed her a couple hours ago, she wondered if it could be really true.

"I don't know what to do," she muttered.

"I'm afraid there isn't much you can do. Juice will have to accept that you can't return his feelings and that Esai can make you happy. At first, I also had my doubts about Esai, but I've seen how he looks at you. Like you're the most beautiful being on earth."

Jamie blushed. Then, she got up. "I need to talk to Juice. Before they bash each other's head open."

As Jamie returned to the living room, Esai was behind the sink, washing the blood off his face. Juice was nowhere to be seen. The other guests looked a bit awkwardly at her. Jamie wrapped her arms around herself. She had expected her birthday to be so different. Walking over to Esai, she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

As he turned his face aside, she saw that his lip was split. His eye was swollen too. "I will be," he muttered. "But I think I can better go home. You should talk to Juice and explain to him that you don't feel the same way about him as he feels about you." He hesitated. "Or maybe you do — then I wish you'd just tell me."

She slipped her arms around him. He was the one making her heart beat faster, not Juice. He looked more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him. "I will talk to him." She looked up, very gently she pressed a kiss to his hurt lips. "You're the one I'm in love with, Esai. I will tell it to him once more. But please, don't go home. This birthday sucks without you."

He sighed. "Okay, fine. Although I'm afraid the mood is ruined."

Jamie turned her head aside. Two girls from the excavation were whispering; their shocked faces telling her they had been spooked by the fight between the two boys. The two prospects didn't look at each other either, as if they were supposed to hate each other now.

"Did he leave the house?"

Esai shrugged his shoulders. "I guess."

Jamie pecked his lips once more, then she gave the others an apologetic look and left the apartment. She hated arguing. There was no point in postponing a conversation, it would only eat her from the inside. She found Juice outside. He was sitting on the curb, a cigarette between his lips while he stared forward. Through his shirt she could see how tense he was. Hesitantly, she sat down next to him.

Peeking aside, he heaved a sigh. He said nothing.

Jamie wrapped her arms around her knees. "Is it true?" she asked quietly. "Are you in love with me?"

He turned his face away. "Does it matter? Esai's the one you want to be with anyway. Believe me — I've tried to tolerate him but I just can't stand him. I still believe he's using you."

Bending her head, she stared at the paving beneath her, wondering if his jealousy made him suspicious or whether there was something else.

"You want me to start looking for another home?"

Juice snapped his head aside. "What? No... Unless... Unless you feel awkward around me now. Now you know how I feel about you." He bit his lip, his cheeks turning red.

Jamie couldn't help it; inside her stomach something was tingling. He really was sweet. But was he sweeter than Esai? She leaned with her chin on her knees. It would make her very sad if she could no longer see Esai, but the same went for Juice.

"If you'd never met Esai... You think you would have given me a chance?" he asked quietly.

Jamie thought about it. Probably. But she wondered if he would have made her feel the way Esai made her feel. "But I did meet him, Juice."

"Yeah." Sighing, he rubbed his face. "I'm sorry Jamie. It was a dirty trick, to ask Daphne to seduce Esai."

Jamie felt a pang in her chest. She didn't know what to answer.

"I think I'll stay in the clubhouse for a while," he said.

She gave it some thought. Maybe it was indeed better. But she didn't like to live alone, and the thought that she might lose a good friend hurt.

"You think it will make your feelings go away?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "At least I won't be confronted with them all day long." He sighed deeply. "I've never been in love. I don't know how to stop it. And I don't know how to act normal around your boyfriend."

Jamie sucked in her bottom lip. She would neither know how to stop her feelings for Esai. It would also hurt her to see him with another girl, so she understood why it was so hard for Juice. Maybe they indeed needed some distance.

"You rather stay in the clubhouse? I can look for another place to live..."

"I just need some time, I guess. I'll get over it." He looked aside, smiling sadly. "I'm sure every roommate will be a disappointment after you."

Jamie dropped her head to the side, until it rested against his shoulder. "I neither want a different roommate. You're the best friend I've had since a long time. Despite what you did today."

Not long after, Juice left. Jamie planned to start the Playstation and asked if he really wanted to go, but he thought it was wiser to leave. He felt ashamed. Not only towards Jamie, towards everyone who had been around. He must have looked terribly desperate...

And yet, Juice couldn't let go of it.

Yet, he was in a cafetaria next day, with Jamie's brother on the other side of the table. There were still a lot of things he wanted to know, even though he knew Roman wasn't going to tell them in a public place like this.

"I wanted to tell you something," Juice started when their coffee was served. All night long he had been tossing and turning, wondering if he should do this or not. Maybe she would consider this as troubling her relationship, but Juice was still worried about her. Admitted — Esai's feelings might be real. That however didn't mean that his father or the club had no plans with Jamie. And the tattoo he had seen, the knowledge that people were looking for her and the Mayan's symbol that belonged to the same style as the tattoo... There were too many coincidences.

Roman looked up. His blue eyes were sharp, there was a curious glistening in them. "Okay."

Juice took a deep breath. "Well — as you know, Jamie has a boyfriend. A Mayan — a biker from another club than mine. Since the beginning I have this feeling that Esai's interest in Jamie isn't exactly... pure. He admitted it himself. He might truly love her, but I just know that at least his father has a secret agenda." He paused, wondering how to put the rest of his thoughts into words. "I've seen the tattoo," he decided to simply tell him. "A Mayan design. Maybe it's a coincidence, that she's with someone who calls himself a Mayan... But I'm just worried about her. And since you're going to meet Esai's family tonight, I thought you might want to know this. Then you can judge him yourself. She won't listen to my warnings, but maybe she will listen to you."

Roman studied his face. "If there's a connection, I'll find out about it. And if I believe Esai is a threat to her, I will deal with him too."

His decisive words made Juice blink. Jamie's brother looked like a good student, but something told him he liked to fool others. It was definitely a man of secrets.

"Thanks," he said.

Guilt flared up at the hope that Roman would put an end to the relationship between Jamie and the Mayan. But he couldn't help it. He wanted her to himself. And his interest in her was pure. He would never use her like he knew Esai was going to do, sooner or later.