Oliver enters the kitchen with a smirk. "Good morning." He holds his arms out dramatically before making his way to the fridge.

I shoot him an irritated look. "What are you in such a good mood for?"

He shrugs before taking a large bite of an apple and speaking with his mouth full. "Can't a person be genuinely happy?" I narrow my eyes at him, and he laughs. "Apparently not." He makes his way to the table with a handful of questionable breakfast choices. "Did you get your car back from the shop yet?"

"No, it won't be done until tomorrow. Why?"

"I have to leave early today so if you need a ride, you'll have to get one with Hunter."

He says this casually while browsing the paper. I'm thankful he's not looking at me because I can't keep the disgust from my face. Goosebumps prickle down my spine when he says his name.

"I'd rather fucking walk," I mutter under my breath.

He lets out a whistle, looking up at me. "Whoa. What'd he do to you?"

My cheeks flush. I can't believe I said that out loud. "Nothing," I say quickly. "I'm just feeling off today, I guess."

Oliver laughs. "That's funny because he said the same thing. Maybe you two can go be miserable together."

I pour myself a much needed cup of coffee and ignore his comment. He looks over at me and grins again.

"What?" I ask, my frustration peaking.

"Well, we went out Saturday night so he might be feeling a little better now if you know what I mean." He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I think I may be sick. I know exactly what happened during their guy's night out. The only problem is—I have no right to be upset about it.

"Oliver, I don't fucking care. I'll get a ride with Cameron."

He shakes his head. "Geez, Elle. You're so moody lately. I can tell you're back together with Judah."

My mouth drops open. "I'm not back with Judah. Who told you that?"

"Um, Judah basically did. He said he was coming home next weekend to take you to that dance when me and Hunter were playing basketball."

That explains why Hunter went out with Ollie. I guess that means he tagged himself back into the game.

***

Cameron stands beside my locker shifting around on her feet. Knowing her, it's because she has something to say that she doesn't think I will like. It's nothing new, but I don't have time for her drama right now. I have more important things to worry about.

"What's up?" I ask as I dig around for my notebook.

She shakes her head, staring down at the strands of hair she has pulled between her fingers. "Nothing."

"It's not nothing. Just tell me."

I hear her sigh. "Well, since you're not going to Fall Festival with Dylan anymore I was thinking—"

Her voice trails off and I laugh, standing up and closing my locker. "You can go with him, Cam. I don't care."

Her eyes widen when they meet mine. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, why would I?"

"Because you two just broke up."

I laugh again, although none of this is amusing to me. "It's not a big deal. I don't even want to really go with Judah, but his impromptu appearance at my party left me with few options."

Cameron lowers her eyes again, and I'm seriously starting to get a migraine. "Did you tell Judah I was having a party?"

She doesn't look up at me.

I throw my hands up. "Cam! Why would you do that? You know how he is."

"I'm sorry, okay." Her pale green eyes are pleading when she finally looks at me. "He was on the group text I sent. It was too late by the time I realized."

Honestly, I don't really believe her. It makes sense that she would want to sabotage me and Dylan after the comment she made before the party. What she doesn't realize, is that it caused this war between me and Hunter to escalate further. I'm not even sure what we're fighting about at this point, but I refuse to let him win.

I take a breath. "All right. I don't care how it happened, it's done, and there's nothing we can do about it now." I throw my bag over my shoulder and turn to walk to class.

She doesn't follow me, and I'm glad because I'm on my way to sit through forty-five minutes worth of glares from Hunter. Not how I wanted to start my Monday.

That's a lie. I already miss his face so much I can barely stand it.

By the time I walk into the room most of the people are already there. Hunter is standing at the front talking to one of my classmates with a smile on his face. He doesn't turn to look at me, and it strikes me as odd. He always does.

I don't realize how long I'm standing here, and not moving, until his voice snaps me back to reality. "Elliot, is there something you need?" The bored tone of his voice makes my stomach flip—and not in a good way.

I look up at his expectant expression and everyone else's as well. My eyes meet his briefly before I shake my head and walk back to my seat. He remains casual as he walks around his desk to grab a paper, like he didn't even notice me.

"Okay, I was very pleased by everyone's essays from last week," he begins. I watch him walk back to the front of his desk and lean against it. "It seems you've all got a good understanding of the important plot points. That will serve you well for the midterm in a couple weeks."

A series of groans goes around the room, and he laughs. I hate the way his stupid, perfect hair falls into his eyes when he laughs.

He continues speaking but I can't hear him anymore. It would appear I'm paying attention to every word of his lecture, but I'm just watching him. I watch the way his eyes light up when he gets excited about a certain topic. The way I can still see the outline of his perfectly sculpted biceps when he bends his arm to write something on the board. Most importantly, I watch the way he never looks at me.

Not even once.

***

Typically, I'm not the type of girl who sits around and cries, but tonight I can't help it. I've been curled up on the couch since practice let out watching sappy chick flicks while spontaneously bursting into tears. My parents are working late as usual, so I don't need to worry about controlling my sadness from anyone—except for Ollie, but I haven't seen him either.

I'm in the middle of a particularly emotional outburst when Oliver strolls in out of nowhere. He's wearing an old T-shirt and jeans, which makes me think he wasn't out doing anything too important. His face shifts from the typical mildly amused expression he walks through life with, to distressed as soon as he sees me. "Elle? Are you okay?"

He quickens his pace over to me and takes in the balled-up tissues thrown around. "Jesus, are you having some sort of breakdown?"

I shake my head but don't answer when another sob threatens to escape.

His expression remains skeptical. He stares down at me until recognition crosses his face. "Oh! Do you like need some chocolate or something? Would that make you feel better?"

I roll my eyes and throw a tissue at him. His face scrunches up in disgust and he dodges it. "No, that's not why I'm crying."

He runs his hand along his jaw for a second and then shifts to anger. "Did Judah do something? Do I need to drive down to Ithaca and break his legs?"

"No, it's not Judah," I choke out.

He throws his arms up and then plants then on hips. "I'm running out of ideas, Elle. You're going to have to help me out here."

I shift on the couch, drawing my legs in closer to me. "It's nothing, Ollie. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. I've never seen you like this, and it's freaking me the fuck out." He bends down closer. "You have to tell me so I can fix it."

"You can't fix it," I say in a whisper.

Oliver scoffs at me. "Elle, did you forget who you're talking to? I can fix anything."

I almost smile a little as I shake my head. "Not this."

He lets out a sigh before grabbing a throw pillow and flopping down on the chair beside me.

I raise an eyebrow and sniff once. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm going to sit here and watch this stupid movie with you until you either feel better or decide to talk to me." He turns to me with a serious expression. "—and you know how much I hate The Notebook so I'm hoping that happens sometime soon."

I start to laugh, and he smiles. "I'm just kidding, Elle. Take your time. Rachel McAdams is fucking hot."

As much as I still feel like crying, Ollie always has a weird way of making me feel better. There's no way I could ever tell him about Hunter. He would probably kill him if he knew that's why I was so upset. Even though that would be an easy way to end the game, it;s not what I really want.

Being ignored today by Hunter hurt worse than anything up until this point. A part of me thinks he knows that. The only thing worse than not being wanted, is not being thought of at all.