"Hi... I know you're mad at me, but I have nobody else right now," I say quietly, looking at my feet, waiting for a reply.

"You found out I've been right this whole time?" Caleb asks, standing in his doorway with his arms crossed.

"Yes, I did," I nod. "I'm sorry."

"Come in," he says, moving out of the way so I can follow him inside. We walk up his stairs and to his bedroom, which I've known for years. I sit on his chair.

He's waiting for an explanation, I can see the curiosity in his eyes.

"They pretty much befriended me to tear me down in the end," I sum it all up in one sentence.

"What?" He tilts his head in confusion.

"They acted like they were the best friends I could have- no offense-"

"None taken-"

"-and I was so happy that they wanted to hang out with me and stuff. They invited me to help with a magazine article-"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, Brendan's mom is the editor of some super famous magazine and is doing an article... But anyways, I was all friends with them just like that it all ends because they teamed up and created that stupid video."

"That sure sounds pretty bad," Caleb nods, looking sorry.

"Oh, that's not even the worst part. I still have to help with the magazine because I signed a contract."

"That's unlucky."

"Unlucky? Yeah, get this. I'm being forced to fake-date Drew."

"Are you serious?" Caleb asks. He stares at me in shock, his mouth hanging open.

"Completely," I assure him.

"How? When did that happen?" He asks, drawing his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Just barely. Look, they know what they're doing. It all makes sense," I explain. I look over my shoulder to be positive that I'm not interrupted by any unwanted visitors.

"It makes absolutely no sense at all, none! Are you insane?" He asks.

"I am completely sane, thank you. It's not my idea."

"Your mom is going to kill you," he sighs, running a hand over his face tiredly.

"Only if she finds out. You see, this is the problem-"

"You're kidding me. This is crazy. They can't expect you to go along with that after everything that's happened!"

"I know, Caleb. I know, but there's no other option."

"There's got to be! I, as your best friend, can't let you go through that," Caleb declares.

"You've taken that role again? Am I cool enough for you now?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"I was just waiting for you to realize how stupid it was to trust the Cheddar Rolls. And look at that, you're back! So, so is our status," he nods.

"That makes no-"

"Stop trying to get off topic! I forbid you from fake-dating that guy," he says, looking concerned.

"I think the contract overrules anything you could say," I tell him, leaning back in my chair.

"Maybe not," he shrugs. "You may not know the power words have."

My phone goes off. I look down at it and see that it's a text from Drew.

'Hey, I'm at your house. Where are you?' -Drew

"Who's that?" Caleb asks, leaning over in an attempt to see my screen.

"Drew. He's at my house," I say with a sigh.

"Good! Let me talk to this guy, give him a piece of my mind," he says, looking determined.

"Ah, no offense, Caleb, you'd be squashed like a carrot if you tried to hurt him," I smile sadly. "But thank you for your concern."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, looking offended.

"Nothing. Look, I'd better go, but it was nice to talk to you again. See you later," I say with a smile, and stand up, ready to leave.

"Wait, Lili," Caleb says, standing up as well. "Be careful, okay? Around those guys..."

"I will. Thanks." I'm glad to have my best friend back.

*•*•*

"Lili! You're home, great. You've got a friend here," my mom calls from the living room. I throw down my bag and walk into the room glumly.

"He's not my friend," I mutter, irritated.

"Hey, Lili," Drew nods at me in greeting.

I don't bother to reply. I just start walking up the stairs and expect him to follow me. He does. When I get to my room, he comes in behind me.

"Where do you want to start with this?" Drew asks.

I let out a deep breath and close my eyes. I should never have agreed to do the article.

"Okay," he says, grabbing my wrist and turning me around to face him. "No more ignoring. Please. Just tell me what's wrong. Tell me, or nothing will ever get better."

"You know perfectly well," I narrow my eyes. "Don't play games. We both know, so now lets take some pictures of holding hands and crap, get this over with."

"Lili," Drew says, looking concerned. "What did I do?"

"I hate it! I hate that you act like you're innocent! I know you helped," I turn around and brush my hair out of my face.

But Drew grabs my wrist again and turns me around. "Helped? With what?"

"With the stupid video! I saw what you commented on Brendan's video, I know you've only been pretending to be my friend to sabotage me for your own amusement! Now let me go," I tug my wrist out of his grasp.

"Commented on Brendan's video? Neither of us have been on social media in years, Lili," Drew says slowly, looking confused.

"Hah. Funny." I roll my eyes.

"No, really, I'm not lying. Go look at my last post. It's over two years ago, I can guarantee. Let me see the video you're talking about," Drew says, nodding to my phone on my desk.

I pick it up and pull up Brendan's page before clicking on the video. I hand Drew the phone.

"This isn't me, Lili. I swear. I would never do anything like this," Drew looks genuinely upset by the sight. "I can't believe this."

"I don't understand," I tilt my head in confusion.

"I actually care about you. I befriended you because I wanted to. This is unbelievable. Someone hacked not only mine but Brendan's profile as well."

"If what you're saying is true, I've got a pretty good idea of who it was," I shake my head in frustration.

"I bet I do too."

"Shelby," I nod, feeling furious.

"I'm calling Brendan," Drew says, standing up abruptly and leaving the room.

I look at my phone again, reading the other comments on the video, agreeing with everything Shelby wrote disguised as Brendan and Drew. I cover my mouth in horror as I read some of the comments, seeing that people I've thought to be friends are ashamed to have associated with me in the past.

"Brendan's coming over here," Drew says, looking furious.

I nod, hand still over my mouth, holding in the screams that would come out if I let go.

"I'm so sorry, Lili," Drew says. "This is insane. I'm so sorry." He walks over to me and enfolds me in his arms. I take deep breaths and hold the back of his shirt in my fists, keeping the tears inside me. I let my head rest on his shoulder and my eyes close. I realize how much I've missed having him with me.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, his fingers pushing my hair behind my ears.

"I didn't give you a chance to explain," I whisper, angry at myself.

"I wouldn't expect you to," he assures me.

"I didn't even let you try to talk to me," I say, barely audible.

"It's okay, now," Drew sighs. "You don't even know how horrible not having you by me was, having you hate me. It's so great to have you back, Lili."

"Thank you, for being here," I whisper, feeling grateful.

"Um, I'm here, guys," a voice sounds from behind us. Drew and I immediately spring apart and I turn red.

Brendan is standing in the doorway wearing an unreadable expression. It's full of anger and fury and curiosity and relief all put in one.

"It's good to see you again," Brendan says to me.

I nod. "You too. I'm sorry, for not letting you explain."

"It's fine, really, Lili. I don't blame you," he says, shaking his head. "What's important is that we're not confused anymore. Neither of us."

"Okay, lets get real. What's going on with Shelby?" Drew asks.

"I'm pretty sure she's jealous of how close Lili is to our group so suddenly. She's so used to being under the spotlight that this came as a shock to her," Brendan suggests.

"Sounds about right," he nods, looking at me.

"I can't believe she'd go that far because of jealousy," I shake my head in disbelief.

"What are we going to do about it? Because we can't just sit and do nothing. What she did was insane," Drew says.

"I already told her she's not allowed back as a member in the article," Brendan says.

"That's good, at least. We have to update our profiles, though, I think," Drew narrows his eyes.

"You think?" Brendan asks.

"I do," Drew nods.

"What?" I ask, obviously not understanding what's going on.

"We have to let everyone know how this situation actually is. Oh, and we had better change our passcodes," Drew smirks.