PoV: RORY

Annabelle cups my phone in her hands like it's a precious artifact. "Girls, inside this tiny mobile device is the PERSONAL cell number of Jake Harrison himself!" she squeals. "Oh, the things we could do with this power."

Sari looks like she might actually pass out right here in my backyard. "Rory, you are without a doubt the luckiest girl in the world!"

I roll my eyes. "Where was all that luck two weeks ago?"

Sari laughs once, swirling her grape juice around in its glass. "Does it matter? It showed up right on time!" She wiggles her eyebrows obnoxiously. "Why else would Jake give you his phone number, hmm?"

"I already told you, it's not like that! We're just friends—and he expects the both of you to be his 'just-friends' too," I remind them pointedly. Annabelle and Sari's smiles fall in unison.

"Come on, Rory, don't sell yourself short," says Annabelle, with a pleading in her voice and eyes that I can't bring myself to ignore. "If he does like you, are you going to let that chance slip away?"

"What chance? I'm only twelve! It makes no difference if Jake Harrison likes me, or the kid next door." This is all happening too fast. I want to be eleven again, I think anxiously to myself.

"Except it does! It makes a huge difference, because one is JAKE HARRISON. Seriously, Rory, what is the 'bad' thing you see in this situation that the rest of us don't?" Annabelle asks, crossing her arms.

Her words make me stop. Actually stop, and reassess. What is the bad thing that I see?

You won't get what you want, until you see what you need.

All of a sudden, the missing piece of this bizarre puzzle falls into place, dislodging itself from the back of my mind and staging itself front and center. "That's it," I mumble.

"What's it?" Sari asks.

I've got to call Amanda. "Oh, nothing. Come inside, that math homework isn't going to do itself."


I call Amanda around nine that night. She picks up on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Amanda you were right about what you said to me, at Natalie's birthday party. That I see things instead of just looking at them. And I think I know now why this whole Jake Harrison situation has me on edge so bad.

"When I first met Angelina, she told me I wouldn't get what I want until I saw what I needed. And that actually applies here, but not to me—to Jake. I know when people are lying, and I know that he isn't. He's not playing games with me or using me for some elaborate prank. I'm not disposable to him, Amanda! And all that's good and commendable for him, but I think it goes deeper than that. Jake wants a friend, but he also needs one. Those two things actually coincide for him, and the reason I'm so scared of being part of this is because I don't think I can do it. Amanda, I don't think I can be the person he's looking for. The person he wants and needs. But I don't know how to tell him that. So what do I do?"

For many moments, Amanda is silent on the other line. I'm about to ask if she's still there when she finally speaks. "Wow. Okay, um…it sounds to me like you're not all that confident in yourself. But we can fix that."

"How?"

"Let's start by remembering what Sari said in the ice cream parlor yesterday."

"What Sari said…" I trail off, because I actually do remember. Those words hit me hard, but in a good way, because I wasn't expecting them. And I didn't expect Annabelle's confession to be what it was when I asked her why she was my friend. She told me she liked herself better when she was around me.

Maybe that's all Jake wants. Someone to make him feel that way. And if I could do it for Annabelle, without even trying…could I do it for him too?

"Rory?" Amanda says, jarring me out of my thoughts. "Rory, listen to me. What Sari said was all true. And I know I haven't been your friend for as long as she has, but I agree with her one-hundred percent. Angelina's lesson brought out the best in you. The fact that you're able to assess Jake's needs without him telling you is already an extraordinary gift, meaning he probably chose wisely. You can do this. Jake must not meet very many genuine people, but he can tell that you're one of them. So don't think of him as a famous Hollywood movie star. Don't psych yourself out thinking he's expecting certain things from you. Just think of him as...someone who needs your help. You're good at helping people, you know."

I smile. "So I've been told," I reply casually, and Amanda laughs. And just like that, all the trepidation surrounding Jake and his extension of friendship is gone. "Amanda? Thank you."

"Anytime."