I didn't leave my room till eleven. I snuck out and scrolled down my contact list. I had contacts from Kindergarden--well, I'd known since Kindergarden. I had no idea if they still liked me or even remembered me. I called Jessica.

"Hello?" she answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Jessica? It's Maddison," I said.

"Barns?" she asked shocked.

"Uh, yeah. Maddison Barns. From Kindergarden," I bit my lip.

"Oh, um, hi," she said a little unenthusiastically. "What's up?"

"Um, where do you live?" I asked.

"South Point, why?" she asked.

"Can you come pick me up? I need a friend right now."

"Um, sure. Still live in the same place?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm standing in my driveway."

"Okay. I'll be there in, like, ten or fifteen minutes."

"Kay, thanks," I sighed.

"Sure," she said and hung up.

I waited. She had a good estimate. She got here quick. Jessica was a cool person. Nice. Preppy. Very girlie. Maybe I could find myself while hanging out with her.

"So how are you?" I asked when she pulled up.

"I'm good. Surprised you called--or still even had my number. You?" she asked.

I sighed. "Fine."

"How's your brother?" she asked.

"Same."

She sighed. "Where you wanna go?"

"Anywhere," I said without missing a beat. I probably sounded desperate.

She gave me a look and put her eyes back on the road. "Okay, then. Let's hit the mall."

"Perfect."

"Is there a reason for all of this? I mean, you haven't talked to me in a really long time and now it's all...you know. Like nothing even happened."

"Um..." What was I supposed to say? "I just need a girl to talk to."

"About?" she raised an eyebrow.

I sighed. It felt stupid to say this, but I said it. "Boys."

Immediately, the Jessica I'd met returned and she begged for details and who I liked.

"Well, they're Ryder's friends. Garrett and Jake. They're really nice guys. They both like me, but I don't know which one I like," I said.

"Okay, which one seems nicer?" she asked.

"Um... Well Garrett talks more than Jake. So I can't tell really. I never know what Jake wants to say."

"Jake sounds mysterious."

"He kinda is. But Garrett is an open minded, fearless person."

"So two complete opposites, both really nice and cute... They are cute, right?" she looked at me as we pulled in the parking lot.

"Yes," I laughed.

"Hmm," she leaned her head back. "I don't know... I need to meet them first."

"We can do that later," I said, "Right now, I want to just shop and catch up."

Truth be told, I hated shopping. My concern was being distracted from the boys and my dad. I needed to be happy and figure out who the hell I was.

Jessica pulled me into ten million different dressing rooms to try on different things. A lot of them showed my figure. I showed Jessica and she just loved it. I wasn't so sure I looked good. Jess got some stuff, too. She made me try on every item of clothing you could think of. Dresses, skirts, spaghetti straps, strapless, high heels, boots, skinny jeans.... EVERYTHING! It became exhausting after a while. She must've noticed, because she finally suggested a movie.

Two hours of sitting in silence sounded like a good idea for me.

We found the theater and got two tickets for Beauty and the Beast 3D. Jess bought some popcorn, candy, and two large drinks. We went and sat in the middle and I let my mind focus on the advertisements. Movies never really started at the times you see online. They usually start a few minutes after. Except the midnight showings.

Jess gawked over the amazing movies she wanted to see. There was an advertisement for this movie called Abduction with Taylor Lautner in it. Jess said she liked Taylor, but she prefered Robert Pattison--can't say I blame her there.

The movie started and we all put on our 3D glasses. I ate my candy first and then ate the popcorn slowly. As very few things "jumped out" at us, I tried my hardest not to think about the boys. Maybe silence wasn't what I needed. I needed dialouge to keep myself distracted from Garrett's and Jake's images in my head.

"Psst. Jess," I whispered.

"Shh," she said lost in the movie.

I sighed and let it go. This was what I got for agreeing to a movie. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but honestly, I was bored. My phone vibrated. Mom.

I took it out in the hall and answered.

"Hi, Mom," I said.

"Where are you?" she demanded.

"With Jessica," I said.

"Your friend from middle school?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes."

"Next time let me know," she said.

"Okay. Sorry. Love you," I said.

"Love you, too," she said and hung up.

People filed out of the theater and Jess grabbed my arm.

"What happened?!" she asked.

"Mom called. I failed to mention where I was to her," I shrugged.

"Oh. Well, the ending was SO GOOD!" she said.

"I was only out here for, like, barely a minute," I said.

"I know," she shrugged.

"What'd I miss?" I asked.

I let her ramble about how Belle and Beast hooked up and how he became--in Jess's words--so hot! I laughed at her. Jess was always the mood-lightener.

I didn't regret calling Jess.

"Wanna come to my house?" she asked.

"Sure," I shrugged.

We got in her little car and road to her house. I remember her mom loved me. Her dad died a while back. I had no idea if her mom had moved on yet or not. We pulled into a familiar house and got out. I walked in behind Jess and stood there no knowing what to do.

"Hey, Mom, look who I picked up!" Jess yelled.

Her mom came around the corner and smiled. "Maddy!"

She ambushed me in a hug.

"Mom, don't kill her! Goodness, let her breathe!" Jess laughed.

"Hi, Ms. White," I laughed.

"How've you been, Maddy?" she looked at me.

"Fine," I shrugged one shoulder.

"That's good. You girls hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jess said.

"Sure," I said. I didn't want to be rude.

Jess's mom made chocolate chip muffins. I took one and nibbled around the edges. They were good muffins.

"So, Maddy, what have you been up to?" Jess's mom asked.

"Um, not much. Just...gettin' through the day," I smiled.

"Made any new friends?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that," I laughed.

"How's your parents and your brother?"

"Fine. My dad just came home yesterday from some big project in California," I shrugged.

"What made you want to call Jess?"

"Just needed to get out."

"She wanted to talk about boys! She's in a love triangle!" Jess squealed.

Jess's mom raised an eyebrow at me. I looked down and nibbled at my muffin.

"I thought you were with Zack or whatever his name was," Jess's mom said.

"Yeah, me too," Jess looked at me.

The mention of Zack's name brought back the terrible memory.

"Um... We broke up," I said.

"Why?" they asked in unison.

I gulped. "Things just weren't working out."

"So what's this 'love triangle'?" Jess's mom asked.

I explained everything to her. How many times was I gonna tell the story?

"Well, good luck on deciding," Jess's mom said.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Oh gosh, it's so late!" Jess gasped. She looked at me. "Do you just wanna stay the night and wear some of my clothes to school tomorrow?"

"Um, sure. Let me ask my mom," I pulled out my phone and walked in the other room.

"Hey, Maddy," Mom said.

"Hey, Mom, I know it's late, so can I just stay with Jess tonight and come home tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure. Tell her mom I said hi," Mom said.

"Sure thing. Love you."

"Love you too."

I went back to Jess and her mom.

"She said yes," I announced.

"Awesome!" Jess dragged me to her room.

We stood up and I did her hair and nails. When she wanted to do me, I said no.

"PLEEEAAASE?!?!?!?!?!" she begged.

I shook my head.

"WHY NOT?!" she pouted.

"I just... What if I look awful?" I asked.

"I'm doing it. You'll look GREAT!!" she winked.

I sighed and let her do my hair. She curled it. When she finished, she did my nails. When she finished those, she studied my face.

"Makeup!" she said and attacked me with all the makeup supplies.

When she finished, she handed me her mirror.

I didn't look half-bad. She took a picture and immediately turned to her computer.

"What are you doing...?" I asked.

"Nothing..." she said innocently.

"Jess..." I warned.

"Done!" she squealed.

"What?" I asked her.

"Now all of my friends will see just how much prettier you could be!" she giggled.

"Wha--?" I looked at the screen and she'd posted the picture on her Facebook page.

"Jess!" I yellled.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Why...? Everyone's gonna laugh at me!" I yelled.

"No, they won't," she said in a promising tone.

I sighed and let my eyes drift to a close.

The memory of Zack entered my dreams and turned it into a nightmare. In my nightmare, he did it to me again. I screamed louder than ever. My throat hurt when I jolted awake. Jess was leaning over me. My cheeks were wet. I hated reliving that traumatic experience.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Bad dream," I said. I cleared my throat.

"Did Zack do something? You kept yelling for him to get off and go away," she said.

I sat up and put my face in my hands.

"What did he do to you, Maddy?" she asked.

I wiped my tears and told her everything. I broke at almost every sentence, but managed to get the story out.

"You can't tell anybody," I pleaded.

She shook her head. "I-I won't."

I hugged her tightly. I finally had a friend.

I pulled away and wiped away a few extra tears.

Jess laughed at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Your makeup looks awful now," she said.

Jessica White was my best friend and I knew I could trust her with any secret.