Another sleepless weekend left me an exhausted mess Monday morning. My parents had fought all of Friday night and early into Saturday morning. The little sleep I managed to catch was plagued by nightmares that had me waking up in cold sweats, shaking despite it being unnaturally hot in my bedroom. I was able to crash at the Waters' Saturday night, but I'd tossed and turned all night and been out the door before Mrs. Waters could talk me into joining them for Church.

Insomnia had been my friend for the last six months. When it wasn't night terrors keeping me up in the latest hours of the night, it was my thoughts, so overwhelming that they felt like a heavy weight on my chest, suffocating me

"I can't believe Homecoming is Friday." Brianna spoke for the first time since walking into school, running a hand through her straightened hair. "I can't believe I actually have a date to Homecoming!"

Bryan, who looked to be as irritable as me do to our lack of coffee this morning, sneered at the exclamation. "He touches you the wrong way I'll break every bone in his body."

"Bry," Brianna shot him a cold glare. "you don't have to be so dramatic all the damn time. You act like Reese and I can't handle ourselves. We're seventeen, not seven."

The twins exchanged a look that even made me recede and head for my locker down the hallway. I had only been caught in the crossfire of their arguments once, but it was enough of a lesson for me to never attempt to play middleman again. It had been over something so petty I couldn't even recall it if I tried, but had nearly ended eleven years of friendship with Bryan. He had wanted so desperately for me to side with him and I didn't. It had left us with a very emotionless Bryan for a large majority of sixth grade.

"Hey, Reese!" Liam's call cut the little but of sanity I was holding on to. There was no way in hell I was in any mood to deal with him today. "Well, you look like shit."

I slammed my locker a little harder than needed and turned around to face him. Brianna and Bryan had wandered over to me and were staring at the jock just as curiously.

"Do you need something?" I questioned through a yawn. "You already forget about the second play?"

He grinned, eyes glistening. He had way too much energy for seven thirty in the morning. I need some of whatever it was that he ate to make him so alert and hyped this early.

"Actually, that's why I'm over here. Your little play said I should be a normal student for a week." I knew by the direction the conversation was going that I wouldn't like what he was about to say next. "And I thought, who's more average then Reese and her friends?"

Ouch.

I clenched my hand into a tight fist at my side and tried to remain neutral. "Funny coming from someone that said I wasn't a nobody Friday afternoon."

"You're not a nobody." He shook his head, a strand of his dark hair falling into his eye. "But you are average. It's not an insult, Reese."

Maybe not to you. It would hardly put a dent in your ego.

"So you think hanging with us is going to help you get through this week?" Bryan said when I didn't respond. Liam, who for whatever God forsaken reason seemed to hate my best friend, grew tense beside me.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. So how about it, Reese?"

I didn't have to look up to know all three pairs of eyes were on me expectantly. Unfurling my fist, I nodded curtly, and without meeting any of their curious eyes said, "Yeah, sure. It'll help me keep better tabs on you."

*

Though I was in desperate need of a coffee, I refused to ask Bryan to drive me across the street to grab one. After Friday's fiasco, the last thing I wanted to do was draw more attention to my friends and me.

Unfortunately for us, the attention Gods decided we needed to be graced with every pair of eyes in the cafeteria on us only five minutes into lunch. I'd expected Liam to throw himself down at the table my friends and I usually took in the middle of the room, maybe even Andy, but not the entire clique of popular kids. Even Nicola and Shay dropped their trays at the end of the table, looking very much like they wanted to protest and demand answers to why they were sitting with us. Our moment in the bathroom seemed to have only existed in my paradigm, because as soon as Nicola's eyes fell on me she snorted and turned her full attention to Shay beside her.

Liam sat on my left and Jay on my right, Andy opposite of me next to Brianna. Bryan was on his sister's left, eyes taking in all the jocks and cheerleaders that now sat at our table.

"Can we help you?" Bryan said through his teeth, jaw clenched. A second later he jerked forward, reaching under the table, likely to rub his leg. Brianna had probably kicked him or stepped on his foot.

"Reese invited us to sit with you guys." Liam lied with a sly wink in my direction.

I fought the urge to flip him off and stared hard at the lid of my iced tea. "You invited yourself, Liam. And apparently your entire table."

"Wherever Liam goes, I go." Andy piped in, then reached across the table to fist bump Liam. "Think that goes for all of us."

My eyes found Bryan as soon as the words left Andy's mouth. He turned his head away, shaking it as he tried to ignore all the eyes on us.

"Maybe Liam should go back to his table then." I dropped my gaze back to the table, barely able to hold my eyes open.

"You should feel honored we're sitting here, you know." Nicola decided to interject with her two cents. "You seriously need some concealer, Reese. You look like crap."

The jocks on either side of me grew still at the comment. Sadly Nicola had chosen the wrong day to try and ridicule me.

"Or maybe you need a little less." I snapped, lifting my head up so I was glaring into her wide green eyes. "You know, since clearly all of that is absorbing the little brain cells you have left."

Nicola looked to Shay for back up, but she'd dropped her head, trying hard to contain a smile. When she saw her friend wasn't going to jump to her defense she stood and stalked out of the room and into the hallway. I caught the fiery wisp of red hair through the small window in the door before she disappeared from view completely.

"Sick burn, Reese." Jay commented, nudging me with his elbow playfully. Even half asleep I could hear my twelve-year-old self squealing at the sole fact that he'd said my name. As close as I was, if I turned the right way I caught a strong whiff of his cologne, an outdoorsy forest after a downpour kind of scent. It made me want to lean in closer to see if his hair smelt the same.

But that was creepy as hell. Instead I offered him a one shouldered shrug and a weak smile.

"Why have we never talked before?" Jay questioned, reaching for his Coke on the table beside my tray. His knuckles brushed mine and I had to look toward Brianna to make sure I wasn't just imaging his subtle flirting. She was so obvious I felt secondhand embarrassment from where I sat across the table. She was grinning from ear to ear, moving from one side to the other to try and keep from jumping up and squealing the same way my inner self was. "I know we have a few classes together."

"I just don't really socialize a lot." I found the courage to muster up a response once I looked away from my friend. "I'm either studying or falling asleep in class, or at lunch, as you've seen."

"Yeah, you definitely know how to make an impression." Jay chuckled, setting his soda back down, but this time his index finger trailed down the top of my hand lightly, a featherlike sensation that sent a tingling throughout my entire body. "And you're not scared of Nic, which makes you a whole lot sexier."

A snicker tore me out of my lovestruck little girl daze and I immediately looked to Bryan, but he held his hands up in surrender, his own eyes shooting over my shoulder. I slowly turned to look at Liam. He wasn't even looking at me, but at his teammate with a quizzical look. I'd seen it on Bryan hundreds of times, it appeared when he was trying to figure out what a guy's motives were with Brianna or me.

"Did I stutter?" Jay asked his friend with a raised brow, running a hand through his hair to prevent it from falling into his eyes. "Because there was nothing remotely funny about what I just said."

"Its funny because you're not even trying to be chill about it, bro." Liam said, but he looked anything but amused himself. "Like you might as well just as her to hop on your di—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll punch yours." I interrupted, feeling warmth in my cheeks. Andy laughed, and after a few seconds of recollection, Jay joined in.

Liam made a clicking noise with his tongue. "I doubt that would be what you wanted to do to them, Reese."

"Eww!" I gagged on my iced tea, shoving his shoulder. He grinned, and when his eyes met mine, I saw just how exhausted he looked. The same permanent dark bags that were under my eyes, the half open lids, he had them too. It was hard to imagine that someone as confident and energetic as Liam could possibly be as tired as I was.

"Oh you're one of those girls." Andy drew out every word as he spoke, trying to lighten the mood and clear the tension. "You know, the ones who freak out when the word penis or vagina are mentioned."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I have no issue with medical terms, Andrew."

"She's weird about sex." Bryan whispered, then a little louder, added, "She covers her eyes during sex scenes in movies. And if she happens to walk in during one she blushes and walks out."

Everyone erupted into laughter as I wrapped my arms around myself, mentally noting to strangle Bryan in his car after school.

"Why?" Jay wondered.

I swallowed, averting my eyes to my iced tear in fear someone would catch them and hold my gaze until I caved. "No reason."

"Oh, come on." Jay touched his open palm to the top of my hand. "Nobody just does that for no reason."

To my surprise Liam spoke up before I could. "Clearly it makes her uncomfortable. As much as I'd like to know, I don't think she wants to talk about it."

My head whipped in his direction, lips parting in surprise at the calm deflection of the subject. He tore his eyes from his friends and looked down to me, reaching out to shut my open mouth the same way he had last week.

"You're welcome."

*

"Jay is totally into you!" Brianna cried as soon as we were in the safe haven that was her brother's car. "Did you see the way he kept touching you? How he kept flirting?"

"You're imagining things." I said softly, but my voice wavered.

Truth was, I had noticed the little things he'd been doing. His leg had even brushed against mine a few times under the table too. It was like boy crazy thirteen-year-old Reese Taylor's dream coming to life. Jason McDermott, the boy who was always way out of her league, was accepting her and acting as if she very much were.

"No, she's not." Bryan cut in. "He was definitely trying. That's why Liam made the comment. He was being crazy obvious."

"Well, I guess the next play may need to be altered if you guys are right." I said, sighing. "It's for Liam to help you find a Prom date."

"Prom date?" Bryan and Brianna said at once. Then Brianna reached between the seats and touched my shoulder. "You're asking the biggest player in school to help you find a Prom date?"

I nodded. "He know everyone. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Regardless," she slumped back in her seat. "it doesn't seem like he's going to need to do much considering Jay is totally going to ask you."

I rested my head against the window, my breath causing a spot of condensation against it. I felt a hand lace through mine and turned to find Bryan still staring straight ahead, but his hand intertwined with mine. It was crazy how the same gesture from another guy could make me feel so flustered. With Bryan it was a comfort, a love, a protection of sorts. As I looked at him, then back to his sister scrolling through her phone in the back seat, I could feel the big ball of worry in my stomach starting to close.