Dribbling the ball down the court, I passed the ball between my legs to confuse Brandon, but he didn't fall for it.

Easily, he grabbed the ball from me, took his shot, and made it.

"Yes!" he cheered. Usually it's me who always shoots on him, but today is just not my day.

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath, annoyed that I haven't been able to make any of the shots I've taken.

Brandon held the ball against his side and looked at me with concern. "What's up with you?"

"When I look at you, all I see is what happend that night, Ryder. All I see is you kissing Heather!"

"I still love you, but I wish I didn't."

I shivered and shut my eyes tightly, trying to forget what Autumn said to me the other night.

I've been waiting for Autumn to finally allow me to speak to her and tell her the truth. It's been a week and a half since I talked to her in the kitchen at night and that was the last time we talked. I thought after that night for sure she would talk to me, but I was wrong.

"Is the reason you're failing miserably have to do with a special someone?" Brandon asked, reading my mind.

I nodded.

He sighed and tossed the basketball to the ground.

I balled my hands into fist, trying to hold back tears. "She...she said she wish she didn't love me." Damn, I feel like a total loser. Usually it's the girl who cries over the guy but here I am, crying over her.

"I understand why she's been holding off on talking to you. She's hurt, Ryder. You know that it wasn't your fault, and that Heather came onto you. But what she saw is different. Autumn saw you kissing not only the biggest slut at our school, but the girl that hates her. You can't blame her for misunderstanding what she saw. And of course she wasn't going to believe you when it happened because of all the emotions she felt. But when the time comes, she will be ready to talk," Brandon told me and I listened to every word. He was really good at getting through to me.

I wiped a tear away and brushed away the hairs that fell in front of my eyes. "O-Ok. You're right."

Giving her time is what really stresses me out. Our whole twelth grade is dependent on our project, and if we don't make up before then, then I don't know how we're going to present it.

And also because college is around the corner. I can't have things left unsaid. I just really wish Autumn will come around sooner rather than later. But if Brandon says I should give her time then I probably should.

He smirked. "Pfft. I'm always right."

I laughed. "Don't get too cocky. Watch this dilemma happen to you when you start dating."

"Easy way to avoid that my friend: I don't date."

"That's not what you will say when you meet the perfect girl."

Brandon winked. "We'll see about that."

He passed me the ball, and I was back in the game.

I looked at the clock. We only had five minutes left in math class, but it felt like just five minutes ago we were starting the class.

Time felt like it was going by way faster than usual, and I was aware of that now.

I was just about to pack up my things when my phone buzzed.

Picking it up, I looked at the name of the person who texted me.

Curious as to what he wanted to talk about, I responded almost immediately.

I frowned at his response. What did he need to tell me, something top secret that could ruin life on earth as we know it?

Ok, maybe not that extreme. I shrugged and texted him back, saying that I would meet him by my locker. It's probably about history homework or something stupid.

Four minutes later, the bell rang and I walked over to my locker while the rest of the school went to go eat lunch.

Derek was already waiting with his hands in his pockets and his head down. He looked very lonely as a matter of fact.

"You wanted to talk?" I said.

His head jerked up. "Hey. Thanks for coming."

"Yeah, it's no big deal."

Derek took a deep breath. "Remember the night of prom?"

A flashback of one of the worst nights of my life flashed in my mind. A bad memory indeed.

"Did Ryder pay you to come and talk to me about this?" I glared at him.

Derek looked at me like I was crazy. "Seriously? You think out of everyone in the world, Ryder would ask me to come and talk to you about something that has to do with him? Really?"

Oh. Well now that he said that, I guess I was being a little paranoid.

"Never mind. That does sound absurd," I admitted.

"Look," he got straight to the point. "I came here to tell you that what you saw that night isn't what really happened."

I crossed my arms. "Oh really? And how would you know? You were with me the entire time it happened."

"I saw you come into the ballroom with tears in your eyes as you pulled Grace off the dance floor and into the corner of the room. After you came in, Heather walked in with a triumphant smirk on her face. I asked her what happened and she boasted that she told Ryder she liked him to catch him off guard. And then when the time was right, she kissed him. She had a feeling that eventually you would come outside, and she wanted you to be there for the kiss because she knew it would make you upset."

"She did that just because she was jealous that you won prom queen and she didn't," he told me.

I stared at him wide-eyed. "So Ryder never wanted to kiss her? It was all her doing?"

Derek nodded.

"Wait. Why would you tell me this?" I asked with confusion. I thought Derek hated Ryder?

He sighed. "Because no matter how much I hate Ryder and even though I've done pretty fucked up stuff to him, what Heather did was petty. Even I wouldn't do something like that."

Pfft. Yeah you probably would, Derek.

"Why are you helping Ryder?"

"Because I know how much he loves you. Hell, I barely notice that kid when he's around but when I do notice, I always see him ogling and smiling brighter than he ever has in his life when he's around you."

I stayed silent, not knowing what on earth to say. I couldn't speak as a matter of fact because I was surprised that even Ryder's enemy paid attention to the way he loved me.

He looked down in guilt. "And for all the shit I've put him through, this is the least I can do."

Wow. Maybe Derek does have a good side to him after all.

"T-Thank you for telling me, Derek. You really helped," I murmured, still taken back by what he said a second ago.

"Yeah, you're welcome. But don't tell Ryder you heard this from me, you got that?" And Derek was back to his cold self.

I nodded and Derek walked away.

I could feel my heart squeeze with love but mostly guilt.

My problem is that even when I hate Ryder, I still love him.

And when I love him, oh god I absolutely love him with everything I can.

So I felt very guilty; I felt guilty for not listening to Ryder sooner, and rather holding it off and letting my emotions take control. I fell guilty for making him feel so distraught.

So after realizing it was time, I pulled out my phone and made the move I should have made months ago.

I pressed my phone up to my ear. Every time I heard it ring, I could feel my heart beat quicken and sweat trickle down my forehead.

After about five rings, he finally picked up.

"Autumn?" Ryder's voice squeaked like it was a miracle for him for me to call.

"Hey, Ryder. I'm ready to talk."