Demetri groaned.

“What?”

“Evan’s gonna be pissed.”

“Evan will deal with it.” I nudged him. “Plus, it’s nothing you can’t fix with free concert tickets.”

“Aw, there’s my little manipulator.” He got up and dusted his jeans off.

My eyes followed his hands as he shoved them into his pocket. I didn’t want to admit that I was worried about him going to L.A. without Big Brother watching over him. My doubts were unfounded though. I mean, he’d been doing nothing but proving to me he was trustworthy. “I promise I’ll call you when I can, okay? I’m flying out of Portland in a few hours, so I’ll let you drink your awesome coffee and read the amazing song I wrote you.” He looked like he was going to say something and cleared his throat. “I, um, I’ll miss you, Nat.”

My heart nearly broke. He was so good. I didn’t deserve him. “I’ll miss you too, Demetri.” I got up and kissed him. “Now go pack, and try to behave when you’re away.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a Boy Scout.”

“I would have been an awesome Boy Scout,” he argued.

“Just go.” I pushed him down the hall and joined him in laughter as he waved goodbye.

I walked back to my seat and glanced at the song Demetri had written.

Brown eyes, blond hair, I can’t help but stare. She’s got me hypnotized. I need her, like oxygen, I can’t explain the way she makes me feel inside. Like rain, washing my fears away, she makes me feel like I can say all those things I’m too scared to say.

Breathe in, breathe out, sometimes you just gotta shout your love. Shout your love. Inhale, exhale, the beauty of your love will always be enough. Enough.

Lost, the feeling I have without you. Like I can’t function and don’t know what to do. It’s like I’m dreaming while I’m waking. Like I’m suffocating. Being with her is my addiction, and I don’t want to have to stop. No, I never want to stop. Like rain, washing my fears away, she makes me feel like I can say all those things I’m too scared to say.

Come back to me. Come back to me. I swear I won’t ever leave. I don’t think I have it in me. I can’t fight, I can’t fight. If I did, I would lose, if only it meant I could have you. Cause I need you.

Like rain.

Like rain.

Like rain, washing my fears away.

I stared at the song. Tears welled in my eyes. I knew exactly the part that Alec had written. It was the bridge. I could almost hear his voice singing it.

I quickly texted Demetri and said thank you.

A smiley face was his reply.

Carefully, I folded the song and put it in my pocket then trudged to class. It was my last final before the long weekend and the Homecoming game.

The coffee helped me get through the first hour.

By two I still had a few questions left.

Whoever said that school wasn’t torture was clearly homeschooled, or didn’t attend public high school.

“Ugh,” I moaned, then realized it was out loud. Evan snickered behind me. I was surprised he was still there, all things considering. His tactic during tests usually had to do with him filling in the circles in as many designs as possible.

“Five minutes,” Mr. Meservy announced.

I looked behind me. Alec was hovering over his paper like it was life or death. I quickly filled in the last few circles, because I was clueless about the answers, and brought my test to the front.

“Thank you.” Mr. Meservy took my test.

Done. I was done!

I ran out into the hall and had the ridiculous notion to throw my fist in the air and start belting Zac Efron from High School Musical. Clearly, I was losing my mind. Demetri would be so disappointed. Both he and Alec had been dead set against me listening to anyone that they deemed threatening in the music world.

Goodbye, Neo, both Justins, Drake, Hunter Hayes — so basically, they just disapproved of the males.

I did a little dance in the hall anyway.

“Is that from High School Musical?” A familiar voice said behind me.

I froze, my hand mid-air as if I was doing the clock move, and turned. Alec’s grin was so wide it looked like it hurt his face.

He also had his phone out.

“Please tell me you didn’t take a picture.”

“I didn’t take a picture,” he confirmed.

I exhaled.

“I recorded it and just uploaded to Youtube.”

“No!” I gasped.

“Nah.” Alec shrugged. “But I did send it to Demetri.”

I glowered at him as he chuckled and put his phone in his pocket. This was the most we had talked in weeks. I tried to extinguish the memory of his lips on mine, but it was pointless.

I exhaled and put my hands on my hips. “What do you want?”

“Don’t ask a question you don’t want the answer to,” he said darkly.

“Sorry.”

He shrugged. “Demetri wants me to take you to Homecoming.”

“Demetri is very trusting.” I glanced at Alec’s reaction to my comment, but he feigned indifference.

“Demetri knows where my loyalty lies.”

“So do I.”

We stood there glaring at one another for what seemed like hours.

“Look…” Alec cursed and walked toward me. He always scratched the back of his head when he was nervous, and I always stared as his shirt barely rose, giving me a small glimpse of his stomach and part of his tattoo. “We’re friends. Let me take you. It would suck to go by yourself.”