"You going to Nathan's party tonight?" Jake asked one afternoon while tending to Graycie, as it seemed like he was always happy to.

It'd been a couple of weeks, and Rose still hadn't decided whether or not she was going to grow some testicles and tell the man that she loved that she loved him. Nathan's throwing a party for the senior class at the Scott house, and Rose thought at this rate she might not get up the courage by graduation. She scoffed. "Right, because you know I love partying with these people."

"Come on, you like them. It'll be fun," Jake said, trying to convince her.

"The last party I went to involving these people, someone died," Rose responded. "It could be me this time."

Jake sighed. "What's really going on, Rosaline?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Did you just call me by my government name, Jacob?"

Jake laughed. "I did. You're doing your whole avoidant thing where you make on-the-surface great excuses to not do something when really there's a whole real reason that you don't want me to know."

Rose pouted. "Stop knowing me so well." But she liked that he knew her so well. He was the only one in a while that had taken the time to learn her past the spoiled and pretty girl from New York.

"No," he said, and kissed her forehead. "Now, what is it? What's the reason?"

Rose sighed. "Jake, I'm just…I'm exhausted. I'm eighteen years old with a child in school. I can't truly relate to my friends. And even if it weren't for that, I'm not from here. I'm not used to being somewhere that everyone knows everybody because where I'm from has a population of 7 million people. I'm not used to being somewhere that everyone is so bored that all they can do is either go to the beach or gossip about each other. I'm tired of the drama and unfamiliarity. Don't get me wrong because aside from that, this is a very nice place but these people are so draining. I would rather just stay in tonight."

Jake nodded. "Well, darling, you've contributed to the drama to some degree."

"I know, that's part of why I'm so exhausted," she said, chuckling a little at his audacity to call her out. He was getting really good at that, she thought. "But I'm trying to do better, and I think the only way I can do that is to stop participating for a second."

Jake nodded again in understanding. "So, do you just want to stay in tonight, then? Watch a movie, or something?"

Rose smiled. "Yes, I'd like that very much."

Jake smiled back. "Okay, then. That's what we'll do."

The whole night, Rose's phone, which she has strategically placed out of sight and earshot, is buzzing with texts and calls from everyone. One, if they were paying attention, would have thought that something horrible and life-changing was happening. But Rose wasn't paying attention.

The next day, after being caught up on everything that happened at the party, she sat on her bed, contemplating. She was exhausted, that was true. However, she could not shake the feeling that maybe these small-towners needed to be babysat. She glanced at Graycie. Isn't one kid enough? I don't have to mother everyone, right? I don't have to be responsible for everyone. But you come off as aloof if you just sit on the sidelines and watch everything. And kind of as a bad friend. Graycie smiled as she noticed her mother looking at her. Rose moves over to Graycie and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Hello, honey," she said. "Mommy's going to prom today, are you gonna be good for Mrs. Jagielski?"

"Yes," the nearly three year old says, but then throws her juice bottle.

"Girl," Rose said. "You're not proving your point like this." She chuckled and handed the child her bottle again. Graycie threw it again. Rose sighs. I truly never learn. Neither does anyone else.

Jake chuckled. "She's just like you, you know."

Rose squints at him. "I be throwin' my juice bottles all over creation?"

"In your own way," he teased. "But just like you keep giving Graycie that bottle and she keeps throwing it, life keeps giving you opportunities to grow and you keep throwing them as if you're scared of them."

Rose glanced at Graycie and then back at Jake. She points at her daughter. "Is she scared of the bottle? It is kind of big."

Jake's lips formed into a line and he stared at his girlfriend with a bit of amusement in his eyes. "Rose."

Rose sighed. "I get it. Kind of. Actually, no I don't. What the hell are you talking about?"

"You seem set on suddenly not being there for your friends," Jake said. "That's going to hurt in the long run."

"I know that, I know that. Maybe I'm just self-sabotaging."

"There is no maybe. You are."

Rose looked at her phone. "Looks like Nathan sent me a message. A few. Like 30."

"I guess something happened," Jake said. "I think you had better go and check on it."

Rose grabs her jacket. "Yeah. You and Grayc gonna be okay?"

"You know we're besties at this point, right? I might as well have birthed that child," Jake joked, knowing he would get a rise out of Rose.

"Watch it, buddy, I birthed that baby," she kissed him on the lips. "Bye," she says as she heads out the door. "I love you."

It wasn't until she closed the door and was halfway to her car that she realized what she said. "Oh my god," she said to herself. She got in the car quickly and drove off, not even looking at the door to see if he'd come out.

Inside, Jake was looking at the door with a shocked and perplexed expression. After a minute, he turned to the toddler who was playing with a toy. "Did you hear that, Graycie?"

The toddler laughed and threw the toy at him in response. "Thank you, Graycie. Thank you. Let's get you some breakfast."

At the Scott house, Nathan was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

"Why do I always find you like this?"

Nathan looks up to see Rose. "Hey," he said.

"So, can you tell me why you've been harassing me?" Rose asked. She wasn't going to read all of those messages.

"Harassing you? No. Did you not read my messages?"

Caught. "It was like 100 messages."

"I know I did not send you 100 messages."

"No, but it was like 38 and that is close enough to me."

"How are you a senior in high school?"

"Oh, owie. Now talk. What is going on?"

"Haley found out I slept with Brooke a couple years ago."

Rose's jaw dropped. "And now I'm finding out. What the hell? Weren't you dating Peyton at the time?"

"Look, Peyton and I had a very unstable, on and off thing. And we were off at the time. She had said so, but last night at the party you didn't come to, we were watching my game tapes but then it changed up and showed-"

"Don't need to hear anymore, bro, thanks," Rose said. "So, why did you come to me for help?"

"I was hoping that you could talk to everyone for me since you're new enough that you have nothing to do with this situation at all so there's no bias," Nathan answers.

"$100," Rose said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"$100, I'm not fighting your battles for you for free," Rose replies, holding her hand out.

Nathan scoffed. "Forget it. I'm not paying you."

"Handle your own problems," Rose said. "That's my point. I really do not want to be the person that everyone comes to and hides behind. We are about to graduate high school. Handle your own problems. That's my final take."

"Fine. Can't you at least give me some guidance?"

"Okay. How about instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you talk this out with Haley and get back to me?" Rose said, sounding a lot harsher than she realized.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "What is your deal, man?"

Rose thought for a second. "Everything is very stressful for me recently. Just, leave me out of your thing, okay? This is your whole marital issue, not mine."

Rose left without another word or giving Nathan the chance to argue with her.

Everyone had always given Rose grief for being selfish and now she had to make the choice: be selfish and save herself, or drown in other people's problems for the rest of her life. She found herself unable to imagine herself doing the latter, as she got in her car and drove off.