If I could remove one word from existence, it would be the word UGLY. Because I have never heard more of a lie in my life

ENJOY!

Feelings she thought had died a long time ago and bubbled back to the surface. She had never thought she would like Jerome like that ever again, but then it was Jerome. And when was Jerome ever straight forward? There was a small part of her that wanted to believe the Joy thing, it would give her reason to dump Mick. But the larger part of her, fought, chiming over and over again in her mind, that Mick was simply too kind to cheat on her, and that Joy was one of her closest friends in the world.

"Joy?" asked Mara, looking up at her friend "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying,"

"Nothing," Joy shrugged, managing a smile "More Fabian drama," Mara nodded, and she truly did feel bad for Joy. Fabian and her had been close, now she hardly ever saw the two of them together.

"I'm sure it'll get better," Mara placed her hand on Joy's shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

"Oh Mara, forever the optimist, little Joy over there already has someone else in mind. Isn't that right Joy?" Jerome raised his eye brows at her expectantly, Joy starred at him in shock for about half a second, before glaring at him

"What are you talking about?" Joy asked, looking back down at her work

"More like, what were you talking about yesterday with 'Fabes'?" Jerome pulled a chair out from the desk in front of them and turned it round and sat down. So he was facing the both of them, a constant smile playing on his lips.

"We were just talking," Joy arched an eye brow

"What do you mean talking? Is that why you were late to drama?" Mara cut in, "Joy you shouldn't skip class, I mean you're already a year behind on everything…"

"Relax Mara," Joy soothed "It was nothing,"

"It's almost disgusting." Jerome stated, both the girls turned to him "It's disgusting Joy, how you can act so natural when you're going off behind her back to see her boy-"

"Shut it Jerome!" Joy growled. Mara's eyes widened at the reaction, did this mean Jerome was right? "You don't know anything!" Jerome simply smirked at her, and this made Joy angry "I am not! I am not seeing Mick! I am not! Fabian got it wrong! He doesn't know what he saw!" the rest of the class turned at her outburst, and Mick just happened to walk in at that moment. Everyone turned to him

"Joy, you said you wouldn't tell anyone!" Mick cried, that was it. The confirmation.

"So it's true?" Mara stood up crying quietly "You were seeing her behind my back? Why? Was I not good enough?"

"Mara," Mick shook his head, dropping his bag and stepping forward "No, that's not it. I love you," Jerome watched with interested eyes as Mara winced at the word, what was it that she hated about it so much?

"Then why?" Mara chocked "I t-tried so hard,"

"Mara," Mick sounded like he was crying "It wasn't you, I swear. I still want to be with you, please, please forgive me,"

"Why?" It didn't help that everyone was watching them, it just added pressure, but right now Mara didn't care.

"I- She's just…a bit of fun," he finished lamely. Joy gasped

"A bit of fun? You said you loved me! You promised you would break it off with her!"

"Joy! Not now!" Mick growled

"Promised you would break it off with me?" Mara repeated, not quite understanding the words "You…planned this? You want me to dump you? Because you didn't have the guts to do it yourself?"

"Mars…"

Line break

"Please," Jerome knocked on the door once more, waiting patiently to open up "Please talk to me Mara, you're killing me,"

"You recked everything!" she cried through the door, Jerome sighed. She as in the faze were everything was wrong. Tiring sometimes.

"No I didn't," he sighed "Now open the door," he kept his composure, head held high.

"No!"

"Mara, I'm coming in, don't be doing anything…weird." And with that he stepped inside. Mara was sat there on her bed, curled up, crying. "Mara," he sighed, moving to sit beside her "Don't cry,"

"Was I really that bad?" she wept, leaning into Jerome

"No, he was stupid for doing that to you,"

"How long do you think he'd been planning it?"

"Mara, I don't think it would be best if I-"

"How long?" she demanded

"Two months," he flinched at her sharp intake of breath. She was hurt, she was truly hurt. Jerome didn't like to see her hurt, it made him hurt. Mara just cried harder. "Mara," he didn't say 'I told you so' the thought didn't even occur to him as he held her. He would never rub something like this in her face. He felt bad though, while he hugged her, what he had wanted, was for her to dump him and run into his arms, but she was crying. True she was in his arms, but she was crying.

"Mara." Came a voice, they both looked up to see Joy standing in the doorway "I feel terrible," she didn't even seem surprised that Jerome was in there comforting her "I wanna make it up to you, maybe we should go to this place I know tomorrow, just the two of us?"

"I don't know," Mara sniffed, turning to Jerome

"I think you should go," he nodded "Go have fun," secretly Jerome was thankful Joy had done what she did, it had done nothing but help him.

"I'd love to then," Mara smiled

"Great, I really am sorry Mara," Joy added, Mara just waved it off. Truth be told, Mara didn't blame Joy at all for anything, she blamed Mick and Mick only. It wasn't that Mara was actually hurt by anything that happened, it was just she was hurt by what had been said.

"You know what I just realised?" Jerome whispered into her ear after Joy left

"What?"

"You're hugging me," Mara giggled, unwrapping herself from around him, Jerome laughed too "I never said stop,"