"What do you think this boy is? Your Romeo?" Alicia emphasized the word 'Romeo', fake-swooning onto Massie's black leather living room couch. Massie had picked Alicia up after school, and drove them back to her house to prepare for when the other girls came by. Kristen had soccer practice and Dylan was 'busy' getting extra help from their very young (and handsome) physics teacher, while Claire went straight to her new boyfriend's house. He lived a few towns over from them, but this fling was so new, the girls didn't even know his first name.

So, that left Massie and Alicia. Massie was a bag of nerves, it was already Wednesday, and in two more days she'd either end up very broken-hearted, or very relieved. Quite frankly, she wasn't sure which she rathered at this point. She was sweating every time Derrick's name was brought up into conversation, half because of nerves, and half because of how exhausting keeping a secret was.

Since she was on scholarship at Westchester Academy (like all her friends were), her parents refused to give her permission to date. She needed to focus on her grades, because after her father's last stock-market tank, she knew without her scholarship she wouldn't be able to finish her junior or senior year at WA.

Her father never used to be so careless, not until Kendra's diagnosis when he realized not even all the money in the world could save them. He got riskier with his investments, which pissed Kendra off to no end. But, she was exhausted, and spent most of her energy fighting her hodgkin's lymphoma, so fighting with him was out of the question.

Massie thanked her lucky stars her mother was alive, and responding well to her treatments. But, she knew there was always a chance. One thing Kendra raised Massie with was the idea that you always needed a backup plan, you always needed a way out. What's her way out for Friday, though?

"Code words." Massie nodded, taking a seat on the ottoman across from where Alicia was sprawled out. "We need code words for Friday, in case something goes wrong."

"Got it, what should we use?"

"It has to be something natural, like something we can work into a sentence that wouldn't be obvious…"

"How about goal?" The raven-haired girl suggested, kicking her feet up in the air and pulling her tall socks further up her legs. "You know, because of soccer?"

Massie's eyebrows furrowed together. "We'd be saying it all night!" Massie giggled, shaking her head and letting her amber eyes dance round the living room. "What about…what about Diet Coke?"

"Why Diet Coke?"

"If one of us needs to leave, we'd be able to say it easily and without suspicion, and we can go off to the side somewhere and see what the problem is. Maybe it's just to have a side conversation, or maybe he turns out to be the Zodiac killer. Either way, Diet Coke will get us out."

"I heart that!" Alicia exclaimed, nodding her head and clapping her hands together. "Now, we really need to start planning out our outfits. We only have two days!"

"Claire, you're dead to me."

"What, why?"

"You disappear on our sleepover night, and tell us nothing about this boy?! We don't even know his name!" Massie cried, pointing her fork at the blonde. They were sitting at their usual lunch table, which had a central location to the cafeteria and a good vantage point on every other table. Westchester Academy was an all-girls school, with uniforms and everything. Which, while it meant that their outfit choices were nonexistent and flirting experience with the male species was non apparent, they did get catered lunch which was pretty good.

"His name is Cam," Claire blushed, her cheeks turning three shades of pink and creeping up her neck. "He's ah-dorable, he's super talented, he has an older bro-"

"Claire! Important details only!" Alicia snapped, rolling her dark brown eyes and taking a bite out of her Turkey, Tomato and Mozzarella panini.

"Important details…what do you mean?"

"Uhm, what does he look like? Pics or it didn't happen!" Dylan chided, sparing a glance at Massie who's eyes ducked at that last comment. "I mean, you two hung out, so surely you have a picture together, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, hold on." She held up her OPI bubble-bath colored index finger, checking behind her before slipping her cell phone out of her blazer pocket and thumbing at the screen a few times. "Here!" Claire smirked, putting the phone in the middle of the table for all the girls so fawn over.

Since Claire was the newest addition to their friend group (she had moved down from Vermont in her freshman year), she always felt like there was a certain level of competition between her and the other girls. Who kissed a boy first, who had their first real boyfriend, who got their driver's license first. It was always one of the other girls, but this, Claire had this going for her. She easily had the hottest boyfriend, a feat that she could read off of the other girl's faces.

The girls had been fawning over Massie's supposed-boyfriend for far too many months. They'd day-dream about what he looks like, how they have the fairytale relationship, how their first in-person meeting would go. She knew a quick google search would quickly end it, but for the first time, Massie seemed truly happy, and even Claire didn't want to burst her bubble. Plus, she knew Massie had more than one concern about meeting face to face. Namely, what if he isn't cute? What if he's a total LBR, and has been making up all these stories to impress her?

"Omg, how cuuute! His eyes are adorable!" Alicia blew a fake kiss to the photo on Claire's phone, making Claire yank it away while giggling and shoving it back into her pocket.

"Gross, now I'll have Alicia cooties on it!"

"Some people dream of that," she snided before blowing another kiss. "So, what's he like? Where does he go to school?"

"He actually goes to Rye Country Day."

"Oh my god," Massie's heart fluttered at that. "So does Derrick!"

"Maybe they know each other?" Kristen offered, scooping up a spoon full of mac and cheese. "It's probably a small school."

"I can ask!" Claire offered, giving Massie a patient smile before Massie began fake-texting with her fingertips, pushing Claire to do it and do it now.

A few minutes passed by, with the girls talking about their homework assignments due Friday and the timeline they're going to follow Friday night. The girls' parents would drop them off at Massie's for their typical Friday sleepover, Massie's dad would let her take the car and drive themselves to the soccer game, and as long as they were home before eleven p.m., her parents would have no problem. They wouldn't ask questions unless they came home later, and Massie would do everything in her power to avoid that at all costs.

"Uhm…you said we're going to the soccer game, right?" Claire asked, bringing her thumb to her lip and biting down on the cuticle.

"Ew! And yes, why?" Massie questioned, raising one eyebrow and bringing her plastic Perrier bottle to her lips.

"Because Cam's playing tomorrow…which means…"

"Teammates!"