I always liked crowds and parties. A combination of two things that would provide me with fun times and keep me high-spirited. I enjoyed being in the environment and being connected with the guests; especially when they all showered me with praise and appreciation.

If it was up to me, I would have never-ending parties but as with most good things in life, they had to come to an end. People went home, the house would be empty and I would be in my own space to feel the feelings I felt when I was alone.

Dad was a tech entrepreneur so he was often traveling. He worked a lot post Mom's death and with time, that tendency got worse. I couldn't recall the last time we sat down together and had a proper father-daughter conversation as our interaction was always over short calls.

I had a few friends, mostly male. To girls, I was more like a threat or a prop for their aesthetic friend group Instagram posts which was why I befriended Andrew and Charlie. Both were soft boys and very courteous with everyone, unlike the other guys I had met who were absolute dicks.

And as hard as it was for me to admit it, the list included Ethan. The school's heartthrob whom I thought was my knight in shining armor -- who turned out to have a few issues to unpack. Why couldn't I have a normal boyfriend? Just a regular boyfriend, not one that insecure, not someone who tended to be indecisive in many situations.

I was in the bathroom checking to see if my mascara had run from the tears when my bedroom door was once again flung open. With a groan of protest, I made my way inside to speak with the person who I thought was Ethan.

"I told you to go find Andy. The party should've started long ago," I muttered before I halted in my tracks, realizing Kaleb was in my room.

"That's quite bossy," he teased me.

I glowered at him. "Are you here to steal my panties?"

"I'd rather not catch a disease," he shot back in a bored voice, walking towards the bed. "I'm here to have a chat with you."

The bastard had the nerve to insult me and then make himself comfortable on my bed without my permission.

I kept my calm despite him riling me up. "What makes you think I would entertain someone wearing an H&M suit?"

Kaleb forced a smile as he shook his head, his cold blue eyes filling with irritation. "Don't be a fucking snob."

"Look, if you don't want to steal anything then go away," I ordered, pointing my finger at the door.

"Are you deaf or are you just slow?" Kaleb snarled at me, his face crumpling in rage.

"Can you even spell those words?" I quipped making his scowl more livid.

His frown didn't stay for long, as it was replaced by a smug smile when he chuckled. It seemed reasonable to think Kaleb might be bipolar.

"Insufferable bitch." I heard him mumble to himself. I didn't mind at all as I had been called worse than that.

Kaleb fetched out his phone and began flicking through his gallery, undoubtedly searching for something and when he finally did, he handed it over to me.

"You might want to see this," he indicated to a picture in his phone.

I snatched the device from him and tried to brace myself but nothing could prepare me for what I was about to discover. The hair on my neck instantly stood up and I could feel goosebumps rising. It was shocking enough that I had to sit down and catch my breath.

My forehead creased while gawking at the image on the screen. It was a picture of Andy and my chemistry teacher talking, standing extremely close. I wasn't sure if 'talking' was an accurate term since it looked like they were doing more than that.

Andy was standing in the hallway with a box in his hand and had Mr. Gilinsky's face buried in his neck. I couldn't process what I was seeing but one thing was clear. It was a nauseous, stomach-dropping sight.

"There's more," Kaleb added, a smirk stretching on his lips.

I swiped to the next picture and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. It showed Andy in Mr. Gilinsky's office with the grown man giving him a shoulder massage from behind.

Judging by Andy's expression, he liked it. He liked being inappropriately physical with our chemistry teacher.

I drew in a quick breath, facing Kaleb. "Where did you get all these?"

"Does it matter?" he asked back.

Kaleb took back his phone and scrolled down a little more. I was too afraid to peek. While he was busy, I tried to figure out how possibly could he have these pictures. Kaleb could be a stalker for all I know. Besides, pictures could be altered to look like something else. I wonder if there was a possibility these images were fake.

My doubt was put to rest after Kaleb clicked on a video and showed it to me. I was once again shaken to the core watching my butt-naked teacher holding Andy down on his office table as he pumped into the young from the back.

I couldn't bear to wait until the end. It was a horrid thing to endure. My heart already threatened to jump out of my rib cage. Returning the phone to Kaleb, the goosebumps on my skin remained even after the lewd noises from the video had faded.

"I really don't know what to think of that," I told him, standing up from the bed.

"I know," he replied. "Andrew is not a bringer of joy like everyone thinks. He's chaos incarnate. A fucking gay slut."

I rubbed my face attempting to clear away the image of Andy being plowed by our teacher. "What was he thinking?"

"You really are surprised by this, aren't you?" Kaleb remarked.

"What do you mean by that, Kaleb? Jesus!" I shouted at him. "Of course, I am shocked."

He cocked his head to the side and the right corner of his lips tugged upwards. "Come on, denial doesn't help you."

I stared at him, bemused.

"Andrew might've fooled everybody with his two-goody-shoe act but I know deep down you knew the real Andrew," Kaleb said after my pause.

I glared at the smirk he gave me. "Don't put ideas in my head, asshole."

He raised his hands in a feigned defensive posture. "Alright, I guess nothing is going on between him and your boyfriend then."

For the first time, I didn't feel like punching Kaleb in the face for simply existing, but because much of what he said was right. My relationship started to fall apart when Ethan confessed that he was seeing another person. It hurt me knowing he would be leaving me like the rest of the people I cared about.

I sought Andy's help. I figured he might have some insight into what I was going through. I was right except he didn't have my back. He chose to protect Ethan, his preferred best friend. That was his first betrayal. Realizing I was going to lose Andy as well, I became depressed. I went into silence by keeping myself occupied with the birthday preparation.

I had accepted that I would be celebrating the worst birthday until Ethan and Andy showed up tonight. It was funny because I was already willing to put everything past me even before they apologized. For me, their presence was more important than their apology. I was gratified to have my boyfriend and my best friend back.

But of course, guys being guys, they couldn't be entirely honest. Ethan might desperately want everything to be the way it was, but I had a feeling Andy was not comfortable with it. During the whole situation, he was holding back on saying something, and when he dramatically stomped out of the room, it all made sense to me — he was the other person.

"Look Elle, you and I both care about Ethan. We couldn't let Andrew manipulate him for long. The two-timer fag needs to be stopped," Kaleb said making me realize he was still in the room with me.

I whipped around and faced him. "Why did you come to me? Why not Ethan himself?"

"Are you serious?" He laughed like I had said the most ridiculous thing ever. "Ethan's too whipped to notice he was being played. He doesn't even know what's right or wrong anymore. You of all people should know that."

I threw the beret I was wearing on the bed in frustration. "And I thought I was being merciful."

"Merciful?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's none of your fucking concern."

Kaleb stared back with a blank expression. "Whatever. The million-dollar question here is; what are you gonna do now?"