I don't know what you do
but you do it well
I'm under your spell
You got me begging you for mercy—

"WTF ALICIA."

"I'm asking myself the same question," Alicia sighed over the phone, and Massie found herself softening slightly. But only slightly. She was still of half a mind to promptly hit the 'End' button and go back to sleep.

"Okay, but did you have to call me at two in the morning? You woke me up." Cradling her LG Shine with her shoulder, Massie sat up in bed and clapped her hands together, flooding the room with light. Bean raised her tiny head in confusion at the sudden brightness and jumped off the bed in search of a dark corner to curl up in.

"Sorry, Mass, but I couldn't sleep. Please tell me that I did nawt make out with Kemp at the resturaunt."

"I could, but I'd be lying." Massie stood up and wandered over to her walk-in closet to survey its contents. If she picked out her outfit now, she might be able to sleep in a few extra minutes in the morning.

"Gawd I can NAWT buh-lieve myself sometimes. I can be such a, such a…"

"Jealous whore?" Massie supplied, fingering the fabric of a crisp white cashmere sweater.

"Yeah. That," Alicia agreed miserably. "I just can't stand it when Josh flirts with other girls, you know? Especially when it's Kristen, who is suh-posed to be my friend."

"I get that. But the whole making out with Kemp to make Josh jealous thing? It's not working."

"So what are you saying?"

Massie's lips turned up into her signature half-smile. "What I'm saying is, it's time for Plan B."

--

ClaireBear: it's 2 in the morning. u think maybe we should go 2 sleep now?

Even as she typed the IM, however, Claire was secretly thrilled by the idea of staying up all night talking to Cam. Even if she had to go to school red-eyed and desperate for caffeine, it would be worth it.

FISHER2: mite b a good idea :P

ClaireBear: so… nite then?

Claire held her breath, hoping Cam would stop her from signing off.

FISHER2: w8. b4 u go i have 2 tell u somethin

Claire bit her lip to keep from screaming out loud. This was it, the moment that Cam was finally going to tell her—

FISHER2: i like massie

Claire gaped at the screen. Had she read that correctly? Maybe it was some sort of typo. There was no way Cam liked Massie… was there?

ClaireBear: like… like-like?
FISHER2: yeah
ClaireBear: ? about plovert
ClaireBear: he made it kind of obv he liked her 2day
FISHER2: that's y i need ur help
FISHER2: ur her bff rite?

FISHER2: so could u convince her 2 pick me over plovert?

Claire paused to weigh her options. If she told Cam no, he would realize that she liked him and the friendship she had worked so hard to build would be destroyed. On the other hand, if she told him yes, she would have to help Cam get Massie, and she didn't think she could bear seeing Cam with anyone else. Claire sighed. It was a lose-lose situation.

ClaireBear: i guess i could try
FISHER2: ur the best claire :)
FISHER2 has signed off.

Normally, such a statement coming from Cam would thrill Claire to no end. Tonight, however, all Claire felt was lonely.

--

The next morning Claire woke up to the sound of rain pounding on her window. As cliché as it might sound, the gray, dreary skies matched her gray, dreary mood. As Claire thought back to the IM conversation of the night before, she scolded herself for being so stupid. Of course Cam liked Massie. It made perfect sense, considering how distracted he had been acting the entire time Plovert had flirted with Massie. She had just been too blinded by her own infatuation with Cam to see it.

Despite Massie's recent decision that being hauled around everywhere by the family driver was much too childish for mature almost-sixteen-year-olds such as themselves, not even Massie was willing to risk ruining her prized designer clothing by walking to school in the drizzling rain. As such, she decided that, if only for today, they would go back to using their carpool.

"Thanks again for the last-minute ride, Isaac," Massie said sweetly as she slid into the backseat of the Range Rover, careful not to wrinkle the navy Marc by Marc Jacobs blouse she had paired with her white bubble skirt. Bright red tights, a matching headband, and vintage white Chanel ballet flats added a Blair Waldorf-esque touch to the ensemble. In comparison, Claire knew her Westchester High emblazoned sweatshirt and last season's Sevens looked positively bum-y. No wonder Cam chose Massie over would choose Massie over herself.

"Anytime, Massie," Isaac replied as he backed out of the driveway.

As they started in the direction of Alicia's house, Massie turned to face Claire.

"Why are you being so mopey?"

"What do you mean?" Claire asked, widening her eyes in what she hoped looked like confusion.

"I mean the fact that you've barely said two words all morning, you're slumping in your seat staring miserably out the window, and you're dressed like you just rolled out of bed and threw something on because you were too depressed to care what you looked like."

"Oh, that. I'm just, um, tired," Claire lied, yawning for effect.

"Ehmagawd, if anyone should be tired, it should be me. Alicia called me at effing two in the morning last night," Massie complained. Grateful for the change in subject, Claire feigned sympathy, though in all actuality Claire knew Massie couldn't have gotten any less sleep than she had.

"Really? What about?"

"Does it matter?" Massie rolled her eyes, deliberately keeping the details of the phone conversation to herself. "The point is, I hardly got any sleep last night and I am barely awake now."

"Maybe we should stop at Starbucks for coffee on the way to school," Claire suggested.

"Good idea," Massie agreed. "I would have thought of that myself if I weren't so sleep-deprived. Isaac?"

"Sure thing, provided you're not late to school."

"Puh-lease," Massie scoffed. "Since when do I care about being late to school?"

Thirty minutes later the Pretty Committee arrived at Westchester High, each girl clutching a frappucino in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

"I hate rainy days," Dylan grumbled as they walked side-by-side across the parking lot.

"Your rainboots are cute, though," Claire offered.

"I hope soccer practice is canceled," Kristen commented.

"What, do you have plans with one of the guys?" Alicia sneered.

"Noo, I just don't like practicing in the rain," Kristen replied, shooting Massie a what's-up-with-her? look. Massie shrugged and mouthed 'PMS,' and Kristen's mouth formed an understanding 'oh.'

When they entered the building, the boys were waiting for them by their usual hang out spot at the picnic tables in the courtyard.

"Hey," Josh greeted them, catching Kristen's eye. Kristen smiled shyly in return before taking a seat in the vacant spot next to him.

Alicia's first response was to immediately plop herself down next to Kemp, but Massie caught her eye and discreetly shook her head no. Instead, Alicia pasted a smile on her face.

"So…what's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Not much," Plovert answered. "That was an insane hot tub party last night," he added, smiling at Massie.

"Too bad my mom came in and ended it, right?" Massie replied, returning the smile. Claire glanced nervously at Cam as everyone except him murmured their agreement.

The bell rang and everybody gathered up their stuff and departed for their first period class. Cam grabbed Claire's arm, and the two of them hung back until everyone else was out of earshot.

"Did you talk to her?" he asked.

"No, not yet."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"Of course! I said I would, didn't I?"

"Okay," Cam relented. "I just can't stand the idea of Massie and Plovert together."

And I can't stand the idea of Massie and you together, Claire replied silently.

"I guess I'll see you at lunch, then," Cam said, giving Claire a brief hug goodbye.

"Yeah," Claire echoed sadly. "See you at lunch."