Sorry, for the wait, been really busy. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 24:

"I can't. I won't hurt her." Mike said desperately into his phone.

"You talk like you have a choice." the voice on the other end replied, laughing cruelly.

"But she's my sister! She's the most important person in my life!"

"I don't care. If you don't do it, I will." The phone clicked shut. Mike stood in his room for a moment, before throwing his phone at the wall in anger just as Aria walked in. She ducked, just barely missing it.

"What the-?"

"What ever happened to knocking?" Mike said, angrily.

Aria stepped back and raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry, I just needed to borrow your laptop, I forgot mine at Ezra's."

"Whatever, take it." Mike said, handing it to her and looking pointedly at the door.

"Mike, is everything okay?" Aria asked, cautiously.

Mike sighed and considered telling her what was going on but knew that he couldn't. "I'm sorry, I'm just...stressed right school and lacrosse and everything I barely have time to breathe." He felt awful lying to his sister, she was the only one who ever seemed to care about him. But he didn't really have a choice.

Aria put her hand on his shoulder. "If it helps, you can stop babysitting me. I think I'm capable of handling myself for a hour every now and then." she said, rolling her eyes. Mike and Ezra refused to leave her alone ever since she told them about A. She loved them both, and she appreciated their concern but sometimes she needed time for herself.

Mike forced a smile. "Nice try, but you're not getting off that easy."

"Mike, I'm 18. I can take care of myself." Aria said, rolling her eyes again.

"You know, if you keep rolling your eyes, they're going to get stuck that way." Mike laughed, imitating his mom.

Aria punched his shoulder. "It's scary how good you are at doing mom's voice. Anyways, I'm going out with the girls for a bit, I'll see you at dinner."

"Actually, I think I'm going to go out with some friends. I might be home a little late." Mike replied.

"Okay, I'll save you some pasta. Hey, is it cool if I take this with me and give it back to you later?" Aria asked, holding the laptop up.

"Yeah, sure." Mike said, silently willing her to leave.

"Thanks Mike!" Aria replied cheerfully as she walked away, laptop in hand. When he heard the front door close, Mike picked his phone up from the ground and dialed a number.

"Hello?" Ezra answered on the third ring.

"It's Mike. I need to talk to you."

LATER:

"So, um, do you want a soda or something?" Ezra said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between the two boys.

"Um, no I'm good." Mike said, staring at his feet.

"Okay...so what did you want to talk about? Is everything okay?" Ezra asked, getting to the point.

"There's something I need to tell you. But before I do, I need you to promise you won't say a word to Aria." Mike said, looking up at Ezra.

Ezra hesitated. He hated lying to Aria but he knew that Mike wouldn't tell him unless he promised. "Okay, fine. I won't say a word to her."

Mike stared at him for a moment, as though weighing the truth of Ezra's words, and finally spoke. "I know who A is."

Ezra stared at Mike. "What do you mean you know who A is? How long have you known? Why didn't you say anything to anyone? Wait, how do you know?" he

Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that he wasn't making a mistake telling Ezra. "I've known for about a week. And I couldn't say anything. If I did, A would've hurt Aria. That's why I came to you. You're the only one that I trust to help me keep this from her. Her friends would have gone straight to her as soon as I told them. Can I trust you?" Mike said, looking at Ezra with a mix of fear and desperation in his eyes.

Ezra nodded. "I won't say a word, not if it puts Aria in danger." he said, staring into Mike's eyes so he'd know he wasn't lying. Mike was so grateful that Aria had someone who cared so much for her and hoped that one day, he'd find a girl who he could do the same for.

"There's one more thing. I need you to swear to me that you won't act without thinking and you have to tell me before you do anything. I need you to be patient, no matter what." Mike said, adding emphasis on the last part.

"I swear I won't do anything before telling you first." Ezra promised.

Mike stared at him a little longer, searching for a hint of hesitation in Ezra's face. He saw none. He took a deep breath, counted to three and stared straight at Ezra as he said "Caleb's A."

PLOT TWIST! Sorry to everyone who loves Caleb. Don't forget to review, let me know what you think. The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post the next chapter. :)