An hour later, the silence that had brewed in the car came to a screeching halt. Liam Booker had taken an exit off the I-35 North to a nearby rest stop, tailgating a family van and his foot had slipped off the brake for a second before he slammed down on the pedal. Liam, Amy, and Shane lurched forward, before the laws of motion settled them back down in their seats.

"Close call," Shane gasped.

Amy and Shane had been texting each other, the former updating the latter on the fallout of Hester High's cutest couple.

"McDonald's anybody?" Liam croaked.

The three exited his beat-up, dark blue Mercedes and headed inside.

Shane attempted to be the mediator of communication between the two as they stood in line to order, with limited success. Liam was unsure of Amy's reservations on him, thus spoke very little to her. The three sat down at a round table with their trays in tow, and so by the pattern of geometry, Amy and Liam ended up beside each other.

"So Amy, how's Karma been doing?" Liam asked in a friendly manner.

Amy stared at Liam. Is he for real? She bit down on her burger and ignored the question in its entirety.

Liam cleared his throat awkwardly, and exchanged glances with Shane. Shane merely shrugged and sipped his McFlurry.

"Okay then," Liam muttered to himself.

"I'm going to go visit the little boy's room," Shane announced. "Don't miss me too much while I'm gone."

He winked and disappeared from view. Liam avoided all eye contact with Amy, picking at his fries with intense delicacy.

"So how was sex with Karma?" Amy suddenly asked.

Liam looked up, nearly choking on a lump of the burger he had been swallowing. He drank his root beer quickly to alleviate the tension in his throat.

"Uh," Liam began.

"I'm going to make this very easy for the both of us," Amy interjected. "Karma was mine first, but she chose you. So whatever happens on this trip, don't try to make friends with me. I'm not interested."

"She told me you two weren't really dating anymore."

"That doesn't mean that I loved her any less. You destroyed a ten-year-friendship, and I'm over it. But I will never let you forget what you did."

"I didn't want to get in the middle of anything! Karma told me you two were just best friends."

"And we were just best friends. How dense are you? Karma and I were never in a real relationship, it was a, what she would call, a publicity stunt."

"Then I don't understand why you're upset! You had nothing to lose!"

"That changed when I realized I wanted her, except she'd already fallen for you."

"I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but that wasn't my call or yours. Karma chose."

Amy's face instantly hardened.

"Hey guys," Shane bounced back in. "So, what were we talking about?"

The conversation immediately shut down. Their trays were empty now, and so the trio headed back to Liam's car.

They stopped for gas, and about a half hour into their return onto the interstate, Amy began to doze off. Her subconscious thoughts lately seemed to haunt her more than anything, as her mind played out another sexual fantasy with Karma.

A 3oh!3 song served as the melodic backdrop to this particular dream. The lyrics to Touchin' On My blasted from her iPod dock, stirring the air in Amy's bedroom. Karma stood at the foot of Amy's bed, dressed in thigh-high stockings, a short skirt and a see-through button-down layered by a thin camisole. Amy sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at Karma, who flipped her hair to the music. Karma leaned into Amy, and glided her fingernails down her thighs, blowing air into her ear.

"This is the perfect song to strip to, don't you think?" Karma's eyes twinkled.

Amy drew in a sharp breath and smiled. She rolled down Karma's stockings.

Karma backed away to a wall, toying with her button-down before it fell to the ground. Her eyes were locked on Amy's as she picked it up. She reached for Amy's wrists, and formed handcuffs with the fabric.

"So that your hands don't wander," Karma winked. She arched her back as she threw her camisole off, revealing a colourfully red bra. She caressed her breasts, then proceeded to strut towards Amy.

Amy undid the fabric handcuffs, rolled off her bed and pushed Karma against a wall with a passionate force.

"I can take it from here," Amy gleamed, as one of her hands crawled underneath Karma's skirt and she pushed down her panties.

"You're missing the rest of show," Karma pouted.

"I'll make it up to you," Amy breathed as their lips collided.

Amy's eyes opened in that instant. It was an hour later, meaning they were a little less than 40 minutes away from Arlington. Finally. She heard Liam and Shane talking in low whispers. They assumed she was still asleep. And so she listened quietly, with her eyes shut again.

"She's in love with Karma," Shane pressed.

"I know, but that's not fair. Karma's the first girl I've truly fallen for, and she comes with a complication that's beyond my territory of experience."

"I wanted to believe Karma and Amy could happen, but judging from their fight, I don't know if Karma will ever feel that way about Amy. And it sucks. But if it hadn't been you that got in between them, it would've been another guy."

"Do you think they'll make up?"

"Look at us, gossiping like a couple of freshmen girls," Shane chuckled. "I think eventually. But there's a lot of growth they both have to do, as do we. But that's part of high school."

"I hope you're right," Liam confided. "In a perfect world, I'd be with Karma, and Amy and I could be friends."

Amy chose that moment to yawn loudly. She stretched her arms out in an exaggerated manner.

"What time is it?" she asked.