"Are you insane?" Danny asked incredulously, finally finding his voice after staring at his sister in dumbfounded silence for what felt like several hours.

"Can we not do this?" Alex asked listlessly. "I'm really not in the mood to dissect my life choices right now." She kicked off her high heels and flopped back on her bed, not caring if she wrinkled her dress.

Danny ignored her pleas. "Al, what were you thinking?" He paced back and forth at the foot of her bed as if physically perturbed by the confession that she'd broken up with Emily.

"I wasn't, okay? Obviously..."

"Three hours ago, you were going to risk everything and come out to Mom and Dad and now you broke up with her?" He couldn't seem to temper his high-pitched incredulity. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know, okay!? One minute everything was fine, the next it just...wasn't."

"But...I thought you loved her?" he said quietly. He stopped pacing, resting his hands on the wrought iron footboard to fix her with a look that was a combination of pity and disbelief.

"I did. I do," she corrected herself. "It's not about that. Besides – we're not really broken up. We're just taking a little break from each other. I just need some time to clear my head."

"Does she know that?" he asked.

"Know what?"

"That's it's just a temporary pause?" he pressed.

Pursing her lips, she insisted, "Of course she knows."

He shrugged. "I'm just saying... Emily's a catch. If she thinks you're done with her for good, she might move on faster than you think."

Fully glaring at him now, she demanded, "Leave, Danny. I'm done talking about this."

"I'm just..."

"Get out," she repeated, leaving no room for argument.

"Sorry," he mumbled, ducking his head guiltily as she slammed the door behind him.

"I have the best idea," Emily said by way of greeting when Beth answered the phone. It was probably a little too early to be calling, Emily had been feeling rather manic of late as she tried to fill her time with anything and everything that might divert her attention from the feelings of abandonment and loss that had taken up residence in her chest.

"Okay?" Beth said slowly, hesitantly. She yawned, stretched, trying to seem more awake than she really was. "What is this brilliant new thought?"

"We're getting our hair dyed," she announced gleefully. She stared into the mirror as she spoke, playing with her dark locks, trying to decide how best to change up her look.

Beth laughed, apparently waiting for a punchline. When none seemed forthcoming, she said, "No, really?"

"I'm fucking serious," she insisted. "I've already made the appointments."

Beth hummed a note of thoughtfulness for a moment, then declared, "I'm in. Just don't get bangs..."

With a snort of laughter, Emily replied, "What am I, a sociopath?"

Alex's plan to avoid Emily at all costs was subverted almost immediately the next day at school. Namely because their lockers were across the hall from each other...

It wasn't that she didn't want to see Emily – in fact, that was all she wanted – but she knew that being close to her would weaken her resolve and she was trying to remain steadfast in her insistence that they take some time apart. (Even if the more time that passed, the worse of an idea it seemed...)

Her first instinct was to turn on her heel and run the other way, pretending she hadn't seen her...but then she remembered that they weren't broken up and they certainly hadn't ended their friendship. So, swallowing her pride and the lump of anxiety in her throat, she approached beside her with a tentative smile. "Hey..." she mumbled, stomach churning in spite of her best efforts to remain calm.

Emily's head whipped around as if startled. "Oh..." she said listlessly. "Hey." She turned back to her locker, rearranging her textbooks for something to do that didn't require meeting Alex's eyes, afraid of what she might see there...afraid she might see none of the feelings she'd once had for her, afraid she might see nothing at all.

"I, umm, I like your hair," Alex said, awkwardly stumbling over her words in a way she wasn't used to doing. "The red streaks really suit you." She reached out as if to play with a stray lock that had fallen out of place before stopping, dropping her hand as if realizing that it probably wasn't appropriate any longer.

"Thanks," she said with a lackadaisical shrug. "I thought it was time for a change. I was going to go blue, but Beth convinced me that red was a better colour for me."

"Who's Beth?" Alex asked, trying not to let the combination of suspicion and hurt wash across her face. Maybe Danny was right – maybe Emily had misunderstood and moved on already. The idea made Alex feel like she might throw up.

"A friend," Emily answered vaguely. "Derek introduced us."

"Oh. Okay." She bit down on her lip to keep all the other words (or possibly bile) that threatened to come bubbling up from bursting forth and creating a scene there in the crowded hallway. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to their relationship now after they'd been so careful for so long.

"Anyway..." Emily said slowly. "If you don't mind, I've got to get to class." She tapped pointedly on her textbook. "Normally, I'd skip it, but I guess I don't have cause to do that anymore..." Her expression remained neutral, but her words made it abundantly clear that she was still feeling bitter.

"You could... I mean, if you wanted... I wouldn't hate it if you kept me company in study hall," she mumbled, feeling a tangle of emotions lodging in her chest between her lungs, making it hard to breathe.

"I wouldn't want to distract you," Emily said almost immediately. "I've gotta go." And, with that, she slammed her locker shut and stalked off, leaving Alex standing there feeling – if possible – even worse than before.