"Bay, we have to go to school. GET UP!" Zoe yells and shakes me harder.

"Go away!" I yell and cover my face with my pillow and hide under the covers.

How can I go to school and face Issac?

"I will destroy all your stuff you got from Emory." she says and I shoot out of bed.

"Touch it and I will chop off your fingers one by one and shove them down your throat." I seethe and go to the bathroom to shower. I am 10 minutes behind schedule. Once I'm out the shower, I quickly put on my clothes that I picked out for today and then rush back to my room to grab my bag and phone and run downstairs.

"Did we miss the bus?" I ask Zoe.

"Yes, but luckily, I was smart and phoned a friend." she says and walks outside. I follow her and Issac's car is outside our house.

"You mean Issac? You know things are tense between us right now."

"I know, but I won't be late to school, so you either get in the car or walk to school and get a late slip. Pick your poison."she says and walks away and to the car. I drag myself to follow her and I sit in the passenger seat of the car with Zoe in the back.

"Thanks Issac" Zoe says to him, but Issac is looking at me and I at him.

"Hey."

"Hi." I say unable to stop looking away from his eyes.

"Listen we have 15 minutes to get to school. Can you guys communicate through eyes later?"

Issac's lips twitch upward and he turns away from me and begins driving down the street.

We reach to school in 7 minutes giving us an okay amount time to get ready for class. As soon as the car is parked Zoe and I get out the car and rush right into school. I head straight for my locker and quickly stuff my stuff in my locker and get out my books.

"Planning on avoiding me?" a voice asks and I look to my left to see Brett Cruz.

"Wh-Why would I be ignoring you?"

"Just kidding Bay, so coffee?"

"I am free today." I respond with a small smile on my face. A locker opening beside me catches my attention and I look back at Issac opening his locker. I turn back to Brett and I realize he is wearing an 'Imagine Dragons' shirt.

"Imagine Dragons? You listen to them?"

"Yeah, they are really good. I met Dan Reynolds, one of the guitarists, in the band last summer at a concert."

"Oh cool! Actually, the week I was gone, I went to Alaska to go to a concert they played at."

"Alaska? Do you have pneumonia?" he says and steps back.

"Stupid. I don't have pneumonia" I say and laugh with him. The bell rings signalling that it's time to head to class.

"So where do you want me to meet you then?"

"Uh we can just go together, if that's okay with you."

"Sure. I will be waiting outside when classes are finished."

"OK, see you later Bay." Brett says and hands me his signature smile and walks away. I turn around to close my locker. Issac is gone and a part of me wishes I could have talked to him today, but the other part is saying 'What would I say anyway?'. I can't give him what he wants.

....

"Really?"

"Yes. "

"So you wanted to die." I ask and his chuckles can be heard throughout the hallway.

"I thought we were supposed to be catching up after school not after lunch when I should be going to class"

"Well I guess I am just eager to talk to you, will that be a problem?"

"No. I don't think so." I say with a smile on my face and open my locker. A ping comes from Brett's phone and he looks down at it.

"I have to go. See you after school" he says and goes in the direction of the north wing. I take out my books for my next few classes and when I close my locker, Issac is leaning against the lockers causing me to shriek and nearly drop my books.

"Geez Issac. Did you have to sneak up on me?"

"Brett Cruz, really?" he asks with stormy grey eyes.

"What about him?"

"So you avoid me all day and don't talk to me after YOU turn ME down after the equally wanted kiss and now you are making plans with Brett and hanging around Brett. Oh, and eating lunch with Brett."

"So I am talking to someone else and that's a problem."

"I never said it was. I am just saying that you haven't talked to me all day and instead you are using all this talk time with Brett Cruz. You said you wanted to go back to how it was before everything, so why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you Issac, you're my best friend." I say and look down at my shoes.

"Stop lying Bay. I am done with you constantly lying!"

"Lying about what! What are you talking about?"

"Lying about your feelings. You act like what happened meant nothing to you and you think we could just go back to everything. You are the one who is making everything weird. You keep denying your feelings and now you are lying about avoiding me. You have barely said a word to me and I am done with it."

"Issac, what are you saying?" I ask feeling a lump form in my throat.

"I am saying that you obviously don't want to be friends anymore. You have ignored me for 4 days straight. 4 days we came back from Alaska. If it wasn't for Zoe asking to give you two a ride this morning to school, you probably wouldn't have talked to me. You can't call us best friends when you won't talk to me. So go ahead. Have fun with Brett because it looks likes I am already replaced." He says and then walks away.

"Issac!" I yell after him. He doesn't look back. He just keeps walking.

I feel the eyes of the students in the hallways on me and my it's making me feel uncomfortable under their hard stares. I walk away and off to my class avoiding the feeling to cry.

...

"What's an aff..or.gato?"

Brett bursts out laughing and shakes his head.

But that's what he said.

"It's an affogato. It's an Italian dessert. It's like ice cream with a shot of espresso. It's really good. Try it?"

"I signed up for coffee not ice cream." I say with my hands on my hips.

"You can have both." He says with a hopeful smile on his face.

"Fine. I will get the coffee ice cream."

"Yes" Brett fist pumps the air and then orders two...i forgot the name desserts and then he pays for it. He hands me the cup with the ice cream and we sit at a table that has a clear view of the street. I use my spoon and scoop out some of the ice cream and I put it in my mouth. I can already taste the chocolate and the coffee register in my system.

"The chocolate in here is so rich." I say and eat more of the tasty ice cream. "They really drowned this thing in coffee."

"So how has the past 7 years been?" he asks while eating his ice cream.

"That's a very broad question. Brett, can you minimize the question?"

"Are you still writing?"

"Uh. No not anymore."

"Why? I remember in 7th grade you wrote this poem about about a blackbird and I don't remember everything about it, but I remember how it made people feel. It was so deep and authentic. Why did you stop writing?"

"I guess, I grew out of it." I shrug my shoulders.

"Well you should get back into it. You are really talented."

"So when did you get into soccer?"

"When I started high school. I didn't like the other sports and the coach said it fits my physique and I had the talent for it. 4 years later and I am captain and have led my team to victories in state championships."

"Wow. I didn't even know that. I actually haven't done any sports. I have only been to lacrosse games recently."

"Lacrosse is cool" he says with a 'it really isn't' face. I try to hold in my snorts, but I can't when I look at his face.

"Fix your face!"

We both burst out laughing causing people around us to look at us weirdly.

"You are something else Brett Cruz"

"As are you Bay Stewart."

...

It's 4:30. Issac is at practice and I intend to confront him now. I just finished my coffee catch-up with Brett. I just had Brett drop me at the school and I am walking to the lacrosse field now. Practice should be ending right now.

I walk through the locker rooms and onto the field. Boys are already leaving the field and they pass by me. I spot Asher talking to Issac on the field as they walk in my direction. I push past the sweaty bodies near me and I stomp over to Issac. When Issac and Asher see me, Asher whispers something to Issac and then walks away avoiding any eye contact with me. I cross my arms over my chest as I stand in front of Issac. He bores some holes in the ground with his lacrosse stick.

"So how was coffee with Brett?" Issac asks in a blank tone, but I can sense a hint of anger in there.

"Save it Issac. What the hell was that earlier?"

"What, me telling the truth?"

"The truth?" I scoff. "You are an asshole. Just like how I thought you always were. So you are just what breaking up with me because of something stupid?"

"We would have to be a couple to have to break up and you don't want that."

"I didn't m-mean it like that and you know that."

"Of course you would think it was stupid." He says and shakes his head.

"Why are you being like this?"

"Why are you avoiding me!" He asks and his grey eyes look almost black with anger.

"Because I don't know how to feel about you!" I angrily blurt out.

Silence fills the space around us and I regret saying what I said, but when anger takes me over, anything comes out of my mouth, even the truth.

"I can. I like you more than a friend Bay. It's simple. The way I feel about you isn't how you should regard your best friend who should be like a sister to you. You make this all seem like you wish the kiss never happened or you just don't care. Bay, that kiss meant something to me. And I agreed to going back to friends because it's what YOU wanted, but now you are ignoring me. I have always thought about YOU and what YOU want and now you are avoiding ME!"

"Issac, of course I care and that's the problem. I am not used to caring. A month ago and I wouldn't care, but now I do. Of course I care about my first kiss and I willingly had it with you. Issac, I don't trust easily and I don't have a good history with men in my life and us being together like that would be hard for me. I don't know how to do relationships"

"You are right. We can't go into a relationship unless you are ready. You don't know what it is and I don't know how to describe it to you besides the fact that it requires trust, communication, respect, and honesty.

All things I have never seen in any relationship in my life.

Exhibit A: My mom was in a toxic relationship with a guy who didn't respect her and only cared about eating and sleeping and leaving. He wanted to uphold his double life and my mom didn't leave him until he nearly got busted by the cops for drug possession. No trust. No respect. No honesty.

Exhibit B: My dad left my family 2 weeks after my brother's birth. No respect.

Exhibit C: My grandfather has had so many wives and they all left him because of his harsh words and high expectations that ruined all his marriages. Oh, and add in the fact that he was a miserable old man. He would lie about a bunch of stuff in his marriages. No respect. No communication. No honesty.

Exhibit D: Zoe "dated" Asher. Asher cheated on her with our aunt and other girls. No respect. No communication. No honesty. No trust.

"So friends?" I ask.

"As long as you don't keep avoiding me."

"Deal"