Famous (10 page)

TAYLOR WAS ALREADY WAITING FOR
me when I reached the courtyard. He was on his BlackBerry, but he looked up when my sneakers crunched a leaf on the sidewalk.

He smiled. “Hey, LT,” he called.

I didn't answer.

As I walked toward him, I realized I couldn't tell anything was wrong. If I said nothing, if Brielle didn't tell him, Taylor and I could go on like
this
. With him giving me giant smiles, us running into each other in the hallways, me resisting fixing his collar, or noticing that he was wearing a new pair of jeans. Not noticing him in a boyfriend way, but a friend way. A
close
friend way. My “close” friend was just an illusion. Taylor wasn't that at all.

My chest swelled with anger the closer I got. Any
sadness I'd felt seconds ago was gone. He had lied to me, and I wanted to know why.

“Hey,” I said, my tone short.

His green eyes, the ones I'd fallen for when we'd started dating, darted across my face.

“What's wrong?” he asked. “You've been crying.”

“That's putting it mildly,” I said, staring at him with my jaw set.

Taylor's lips parted a little. “Talk to me. Something happened. I'm sure I can help.”

I didn't answer. I stood, my feet rooted to the cobblestones. A cluster of laughing students passed behind me and I waited until they were down the sidewalk before opening my mouth.

“Actually, Taylor,
you
can't help.”

I let the sentence hang in the air.

“You're the reason why I'm upset. The reason why I spent the past couple of hours crying.
You
. So thanks for your offer of ‘help,' but I'll pass.”

His head jerked back. “What are you talking about? Lauren, I didn't do—”

I couldn't hold it in for another second.

“Stop lying to me!” I screamed.

Taylor stepped back. Birds flew out of nearby trees,
and I wondered if a teacher was going to come looking for the source of the scream. I was too angry to care.

“Lying to you about
what
?” Taylor asked. His face was red, and he adjusted his gray beanie, pulling it tighter over his ears.

“Taylor Frost, I swear, if you make me tell you and you don't come clean, I'm
never
speaking to you again.” I paused, my chest heaving. “You. Know. What. You. Did.”

The red in his face slipped away. I was barely able to look at him as he stared into my eyes, not blinking or moving.

“Please,” I said. It took everything I had to speak. My body already felt as though I'd run the New York City Marathon after my talk with Bri. Now I just wanted to crumple up in a ball. “If you care about me like you claim to, if you care even a
little
, just tell me.”

“I dated Brielle this summer.”

Taylor didn't hesitate. The words came out of his mouth, and by the look in his eyes and the twist of his mouth, I knew he hated himself right now. He had said the words, though, and the truth about our sort of lopsided dating triangle was out in the open.

“Thank you,” I said. My voice was void of emotion. “That's all I wanted to hear.”

I spun away from him, ignoring his calls after me.

I HUNCHED AGAINST THE COLD
as I walked to Hawthorne. I didn't need to stick around and hear Taylor's excuses about why he had dated my best friend. The simple truth from both of them was what I wanted. Now that I had it, there was no reason for me to be friends with either of them again.

Back in my room, I slid off my shoes and plopped into my desk chair. Khloe was at her desk, lamp on, doing homework. She put down her purple pen and spun her chair to face me.

“Um, did Taylor ditch you?” she asked. “That was awfully fast. Unless you've already disposed of his body and came back for my help concealing any and all evidence to save you from a life in an ugly orange jumpsuit behind bars.”

I had to smile. Khloe was really trying to make me feel better.

“He's still breathing,” I said. “He didn't bail. I asked him for the straight-up truth, and he gave it to me. One sentence was all I needed to hear. After that, I left.”

“I don't know how you did that, but I'm proud of you,” Khloe said, spinning her chair in a circle. “I would have pushed him into the fountain—still might on your behalf—or yelled at him until midnight.”

I took my books from my bag and lined them up on my desk. “Believe me, it's not that I didn't want to do those things. I screamed at him a little before he would tell me. But I'm exhausted. There's no reason to ever talk to Taylor or Brielle again.”

I opened my laptop and moved the wireless mouse to wake up the computer.

“You're totally done, huh?” Khloe asked.

“Forever and totally done.”

“Good for you, Lauren. We're going to get you through this. I didn't text or call anyone while you were gone. I figured it's your business to tell people, and you can do that when you're ready.”

“I have someone to talk to, and then I'll do homework to distract me,” I said.

I pulled up instant messenger and logged on.

“Who are you talking to?” Khloe asked.

An icon was lit up, and the message “available” was next to her name.

“Ana,” I said.

Khloe's eyes widened as she brought the tip of her pen to her mouth. “Oh, no. I forgot all about Ana. Do you think she . . .
knew
?”

“I don't know anything for sure anymore.” I shook my head. “Everything I thought about two of the people closest to me was wrong. I'm not just going to assume Ana didn't know. I have to ask.”

My palm sweated on the mouse. I hovered above Ana's icon. Ana wouldn't lie to me. I was either about to lose another best friend or keep one, all with one simple question.

Before I could chicken out, I double-clicked on Ana's name.

LaurBell:

Hi, Ana.

AnaArtiste:

Laur! Hey! I'm so glad ur online! *does a dorky excited dance in her seat*

LaurBell:

Yeah, I had some time and I wanted to talk 2 u.

AnaArtiste:

*scrambles 2 stay upright* I almost fell off my chair. You have time? Whoa. Did the Canterwood science lab explode or did all of your teachers get the flu or something? U never have free time.

LaurBell:

Sci bldg is still standing last time I checked. And I have hmwk, but I really needed to talk to you.

AnaArtiste:

*makes worried face* Is something wrong?

I took a deep breath and wished a cup of Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer tea would appear in front of me.

“Laur?”

I looked over my shoulder at Khloe. “Yeah?”

“I know you're super stressed right now. I can't do anything, but if you want, I
could
make you a cup of tea.”

“Khloe Kinsella, I think we're psychically linked. I
just
thought about tea. That would be amazing. Thank you so much.”

Khloe stood. “At your service, mademoiselle. What kind would you like?”

I told Khloe the tea I was craving, and she slipped out of the room. I turned back to my screen.

LaurBell:

Sorry I disappeared, A. Khloe just offered 2 make me tea.

AnaArtiste:

It's OK. What kind? That will tell me everything I need to know abt how ur feeling.

LaurBell:

Cel. Sea. Tension Tamer.

AnaArtiste:

Uh-oh. Okay. Breathe. What's up?

This was it. The next words Ana and I would exchange would change our friendship forever. Would a friendship even exist after our IM session ended? If Ana said she knew about Brielle and Taylor, I wasn't sure.

LaurBell:

4 the past couple of days, Brielle's roommate had been telling me that something was up w/B.

AnaArtiste:

Clare thought something was wrong? Like what?

LaurBell:

She didn't know 4 sure. Just felt like B was off.

AnaArtiste:

Did u hang out w/ B? Notice anything?

LaurBell:

Yeah, we had riding together & classes. Didn't pick up on anything.

AnaArtiste:

Hummm.

LaurBell:

Finally, I had 2 meet w Brielle and flat-out ask her if everything was OK, bc Clare convinced Khloe that something was wrong. . . .

AnaArtiste:

And let me guess . . . they both ganged up on you abt B.

LaurBell:

Exactly.

AnaArtiste:

What a rough spot to be in. I'm sorry, L. *hugs*

LaurBell:

It's much, much worse. Turns out, there was something V wrong with Brielle.

I paused, my fingers hovering over the keys.

LaurBell:

Ana, I found out something abt Brielle. Do u have ANY idea what I might be talking abt?

I watched the screen. Nothing. I dropped my head in my hands as I waited for Ana to reply. Every passing second screamed that if Ana was going to say “no,” it would have already been on my screen.

AnaArtiste:

Lauren, I think this is a better phone conversation than IM. Can I call you?

She knew. Ana knew.

LaurBell:

Yeah. I'm here.

AnaArtiste:

Give me 5 mins 2 plug in my phone.

I pushed down my laptop lid as our doorknob twisted and Khloe walked into the room.

“Here you go,” she said. “I added a few extra things just in case.”

She slid a Tiffany-blue circle tray onto my desk. On a small plate next to my steaming mug of tea was an assortment of cookies—Milanos, coconut-flake-topped cookies, sugar cookies, and cookies with assorted jam in the middle.

“Khloe, did I mention that you are the definition of ‘best friend'? Thank you so much.” I smiled up at her and picked up the plate, offering her first pick at the cookies.

Khloe picked up a sugar cookie and bit into it. “I try,” she said, smiling. “Plus, it's only fair that
I
make the tea sometimes. You always make it for us.”

Her eyes swept across my desk and fell on my closed laptop.

“Everything okay with Ana?” Khloe asked, her tone soft.

“No,” I said. “She's calling me any minute. She wouldn't answer me over IM. It's bad news.”

Khloe reached over and squeezed my shoulder. “Whatever she says, Laur, remember all of the friends you have here. So many people care about you.”

I picked up the
GO CCA!
mug and took a sip of the delicious tea. “I haven't forgotten for a second. You, Lex, and the rest of my friends are the only reason I'm not buried under a pile of blankets sobbing right now.”

Riiing! Riiing!

I looked at my BlackBerry. A smiling Ana flashed on the screen.

Then I glanced back at Khloe.

Then back to my phone.

And again at my best friend.

“You've got this,” Khloe said. “I'm right here.”

Pressing my lips together, I picked up my phone and turned it on. “Hey,” I said. I almost didn't recognize my own voice. It was chilly, raw from screaming, strained from crying, and tight from nerves.

“Hey,” Ana said.

There was something wrong in her tone. She sounded scared and like she might start to cry at any second.

“Ana, I don't want to drag this out,” I said. “I know your answer already. You knew about Taylor and Brielle, didn't you?”

“I . . . I am so sorry,” Ana said in a whisper. “Oh my God, Lauren, I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I was trying to protect everyone and instead, I only ended up making things worse and hurting you.”

“Ana, you don't have to explain. You chose Bri over me. Damage done.”

With that, I hung up.