12Saturday—I was sitting in my empty house, watching the news in the living room because I was too lazy to find the remote. The doorbell rang. I thought it was a package delivery because my dad loved wasting his money on old vinyl records or first edition books. When I opened the front door, my head tilted quizzically. "Miller? What are you doing at my house?"Zac grinned at me, amusement washing over his features. "Nice to see you too, Bloom." He allowed himself into my house, walking right past me. I gaped at him. "What—what are you doing here?" "Nice home," he glanced around. "Very—homey."I narrowed my eyes, baffled.What the hell was he doing here? "Zac." I grabbed his arm, pulling him to stop wandering around like an elf and look at me. "What are you doing here?" "Here I thought you'd be happy to see me. You're already breaking my heart, Bloom." He placed a hand on top of his heart, pouting out his bottom lip like a child.I rolled my eyes and swatted his arm. "Seriously

14"Come on Jas—are you really not going to talk to me now?" Evan groaned, following me down the hallway as I tried to get to class. I hadn't talked to him since I confronted him. It was just not okay that he went after Zac—especially over something as stupid as being jealous? I was tutoring Zac, we were friends—I was dating Evan. I couldn't see what there was for him to be so jealous or threatened by. Evan went too far, getting Zac hurt like that. "Jas—" Evan grabbed my arm and halted me to a stop. "Are you going to be mad at me over Miller? Seriously?" He spat out Zac's name with disgust. I was baffled. I laughed humourlessly. "This isn't because of Zac. This is because of you. Frankly, you not being able to see that is what makes this even worse."Evan rolled his eyes, scoffing. "I understand that you're mad at me but I told you, I didn—""Stop." I pulled my arm away and took a step away from Evan. "I don't want to hear your excuses. I know you did this, Evan. Stop lying to me."

16I stared between my friends, at a loss. I looked at them intently, hoping they would help me—just tell me what to do. "What—what do I do?" Bea scoffed, her head tilting back as she laughed. "You're asking me? Dude—you know I'm going to tell you to break up with him. It's not like you need him."I pouted like a child, whining. I was just—so utterly confused. "Is it really justified to break up with him because he went after Zac? I mean—we've never had any fights or disagreements—or anything before this."Jade narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Well—are you doing it because you're seeing Evan's true colours and don't like what you're seeing? Or is it because of Zac?""Zac?"Jade nodded firmly. "Yes. Because you don't like that Zac got hurt because of you. Because you worry about Zac instead of Evan. Because what Zac wants is more important to you than what Evan wants."I blinked.Well—I don't know.Of course I cared about Zac.But Evan... I still held feelings for him, I just didn't

18When I woke up the next morning, there was a weight over me. I blinked my eyes open, squinting. Zac was peacefully asleep, his head on my chest and arm slung over my waist. He looked like an adorable little child—his face relaxed, no tension hiding behind his features. From this up close, I could see the faint freckles that spotted over his nose. Memories from the previous night flooded my mind.Guilt coursed through my body. I hadn't meant to fall asleep. I was going to wait for Zac to doze off and then spend the night in the recliner if I had to. Evan. This was—wrong. I felt sick at myself. Zac and I were friends and I did adore and care for him but this wasn't honourable—I had a boyfriend. I analyzed every line and dot on Zac's face. He looked so tranquil and calm—I didn't want to wake him up. His eyelashes were long enough to brush against the top of his cheek. His jawline was carved perfectly like a sculpture. There was a slight stubble forming on across his jaw. His lips

20I was sitting outside on the bleachers by myself at lunch—when Zac came over to me. He didn't say anything. He walked up the bleachers and sat down beside me, silently. After a moment, he spoke quietly. "It's cold outside, you shouldn't sit here. You're going to get sick." He took off his coat and placed it over my shoulders.I looked at him flatly. "I don't care if I get sick, Zac.""I do." He just looked at me. Both his gaze and voice were gentle. I ran a hand down my face sighed. "I'm—I'm sorry I lost it this morning."Zac shook his head frantically, his eyebrows pulling together. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Bloom. I'm the one who—well, I apologize for Shane being a dumbass.""He didn't know." I shrugged. "Not his fault. It's not anyones—I just don't like my birthday."Zac turned to look out at the empty field. "I hate Christmas." I looked at him. "It just reminds me of how fucked up my family is—reminds me how much my family isn't even really a family." He chuckled d