Whoa, I never meant to brag

But I got him where I want him now

Whoa, it was never my intention to brag

To steal it all away from you now

But God does it feel so good

'Cause I got him where I want him now

And if you could then you know you would

'Cause God does it feel so...

"Hey, let's go see a movie!" I can't do it. I can't walk up there and pretend that everything is fine, because it's not. I turn around; turn away from the sight of Rico's, which looks crowded. "I'll pay!"

Miley sighs, and grabs onto the hood of my jacket, stopping me from walking away. "Lilly, we're going to Rico's. You're going to see if Oliver's there. If he is, smile. Wave. Act normal. You can be slightly creeped out by the fact that he's going out with Amber, because anybody would be. Hello, she's evil. But other than being slightly creeped out by his decision, you're fine. Okay?"

"How can I pretend to be fine when I'm not?" I ask her, slowly turning back around to face Rico's.

She raises her eyebrows. "It's called acting, Lilly. You got a good grade for it, so I know you can do it. Now come on."

I begrudgingly follow Miley, as she navigates her way through the crowd, and snags two seats. Then she scans the faces that are at the counter, ordering drinks.

"I see him," she mutters, as I sit opposite her, facing away from the counter. At least my back is to Oliver. "He's with her."

"Obviously. We saw them walking here together," I mutter, not daring to look behind me. If I look behind, I'll see him. And if I see him before I'm ready, I'm highly likely to stop acting before I even started.

"Ugh," Miley scowls. "She's feeding him. How desperate is that?"

I resist the urge to turn. "It's not desperate Miles. She has him. She's not in desperate need of getting him. She has him. He's hers."

"He is not hers," Miley says. "Oliver does not have her name on him. He does not belong to her. He can do whatever the hell he likes, and Amber cannot stop him."

I sigh, and rest my elbow on the table, and my head on the palm of my hand. "He may as well be hers. She won't let him hang out with us. She'll order him to go to the mall, and carry her shopping bags, and blow on her nails when she's just had a manicure."

"Lilly! Stop this!" Miley clapped her hands in front of my face. "Snap out of it!"

"Sorry. I can't help it. Miley, this was a bad idea. Can't we just go to the movies? Or somewhere? I'll talk to Oliver, I will. I just don't want to do it when she's with him," I say, almost begging.

Miley sighs, but nods. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We'll go to the cinema. What'd you want to go and see?"

I smile. "Thanks Miles."

We get up, and Miley begins to lead the way back through the crowd of people. I don't have to speak to Oliver. Not yet anyway. Boy, is that a relief.

"Lilly!" Two hands clap onto my shoulders, making me jump. I screw my eyes shut, praying that it isn't him. He hasn't found me. I can wait to speak to him.

Slowly I turn around, making sure my face isn't in a twisted expression.

Damn it.

"Lilly! Are you okay? You guys only just got here," Oliver says, a smile on his face, like nothing whatsoever is different. Like he isn't going out with Amber, Queen of Evil. Like he didn't crush my heart under his Converse sneakers yesterday.

Well, he doesn't know about that last part.

"Uhh... yeah. But it was too crowded, and both me and Miley wanted to go to the movies, to see that new... Adam Brody movie," I improvise, praying that there actually is an Adam Brody movie playing at cinemas.

Miley, who obviously realised that I was no longer following her, appears by my side. "Hey Oliver."

"Hi Miley. Uh, look. I wanted to talk to you guys about something," Oliver says, looking nervous.

Miley looks at me, and I silently beg her to say something. Just so that I don't open my mouth, and put my foot in it.

"Really?" Miley says, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, we wanted to talk to you about something too, right Lilly?"

I look at her, my nose wrinkled. "We did?" She nudges me with her elbow. "I mean... yeah."

"We wanted to ask you what you were doing with Amber last night," Miley raises her eyebrows. "I mean the whole school saw her kiss you. And then you were inseparable for the rest of the night. But on the way home, you said nothing. What was all that about?"

Oliver sighs. "Well, that was what I wanted to talk to you about. Me and Amber... we're sort of dating now."

"What?" Miley cries. I have to hand it to her. She's pretty damn good at acting surprised.

She nudges me with her elbow again, and I write a look of shock over my face. "What?"

"I know, I know. It's Amber, and she's never really liked us. But she's really nice. She's just misunderstood. And I think that you guys could all be really good friends." Oliver is kidding himself. Us, and Amber? Friends? Good friends?

I obviously don't hide the 'yeah, right' look very well, because Oliver looks at me and sighs.

"Lilly... seriously. I like her. And I'd appreciate it if you guys just tried to get along with her," he says, looking at us pleadingly.

God. If he knew how much this was killing me. If he knew how he was twisting the knife, again, and again in my heart. Stab. Stab. Stab.

I look over to where Amber is perched daintily on a stool outside Rico's. She's sipping a berry smoothie, twirling the straw beneath her perfect fingernails. Her hair is scrunched back in a ponytail, and she's wearing a denim mini and pink top.

She's not the girl for Oliver.

Oliver needs a surfer. Skateboard chick. Someone who likes the same things as him, and doesn't stress over something as petty as a broken fingernail, or a hair out of place.

But he chose her. He chose her, and he's my friend. What sort of friend would I be if I didn't accept that?

"I'll try," I mutter, just loud enough for him to hear me.

Oliver grins. "Really? Lilly, you're the best!"

He hugs me, and wraps his arms around me. But I stay still. I don't react.

Over his shoulder, I see Amber, smirking at me. She knows. The bitch knows, and is doing this on purpose. She twirls the straw, almost menacingly. Her upper lip curls, and her eyes narrow. She wants me to cry. She wants me to break down. She wants me to give in.

Well screw her.

Oliver pulls back. "Lilly, you're awesome. Can I buy you a smoothie? First bonding session?"

I shake my head. "No. The movie starts soon."

And I need to get out of here before I burst into tears.

"Okay," Oliver says. "I'll see you later? Seriously, you rock Lilly."

I nod, unable to open my mouth for fear of saying something stupid. He grins at us one more time, before bounding back over to Amber, probably to tell her the amazing news.

I turn around, and fight my way through the crowd, until I'm out of sight of Oliver and Amber. Miley follows me.

"Are you okay?" she mumbles, as we get to the edge of the beach.

I shake my head, wordlessly. "I hate her. So much."

"Tell me about it," Miley sighs, and looks at me sympathetically. "If it's any consolation, you handled it pretty well."

I must be a damn good actress then. Because I'm crying uncontrollably inside.

"So. Movie?" I ask, taking a deep breath. My voice sounds all croaky, and weird.

Miley nods. "After one thing. I need to give my broken-hearted friend a hug."

And, as she wraps her arms around me, I let a single tear slide down my cheek. The only tear. Because I'll never let Amber get to me. Never let her see me cry.