"We're done," she murmured, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

"Okay, then. I'll be happy to honor your request, Ms. Manning-but I'd advise you to remember what I said here."

Beth nodded, and Mr. Powell strode out of the room. As soon as he was gone, the last of Beth's energy disappeared, and she sagged against the wall.

"What was all that about?" Kane asked, hurrying over to her. He put an arm around her and guided her to a chair. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she whispered, as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye and spattered on the table.

"Okay, that's obviously a lie, but we all know I don't feel all that strongly about the truth," he said gently. "So I can deal with that."

In spite of herself, Beth smiled. "What are you doing here?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't notice her surrept.i.tiously wiping her nose with the edge of her sleeve. She brushed another tear away.

"Looking for you, actually. Swim practice let out early, so I thought I'd come see if I could bully you into another study session. I know we weren't due to meet until tomorrow, but ..." He grinned and pulled a brown paper bag out of his backpack. "I even brought a bribe."

She looked inside and gasped in delight.

"For me?"

"Chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk-that's right, isn't it?"

"That's perfect."

"Somehow, I think the vending machine cookies will be slightly less satisfying than Auntie Bourquin's fresh-baked best, but I figured-"

"No, Kane, it's perfect, really. It's incredibly sweet of you to remember."

She breathed in sharply and shook herself, trying to shrug off the dark fog that had come over her. She gave him her best attempt at a smile, and pulled out a notebook, opening it up to a blank page.

"The bribe worked-let's get to it. How about we start with geometry?"

Another tear spattered onto the page, and Kane put a tentative hand on her shoulder, dropping it quickly as she instinctively jerked away.

"Beth, stop for a second."

Reluctantly, she looked up from the page, where she'd already started drawing a series of triangles.

"Are you really okay?" he asked gently. "We don't need to do this now, if you re not up for it. I can go, if you want. Or I can stay, and we can just talk."

She didn't say anything, just looked at him, wondering how she'd missed it all these years, the sweet, sensitive look in his eyes, the soft, unquestioning openness. She'd always thought Kane was just-well, to be honest, a heartless b.a.s.t.a.r.d who cared only about himself. But this wasn't the face of someone who didn't care.

"Or we could just sit here and stare at each other in silence," Kane finally added. "I'm okay with that, too." He grinned. "Girls are often struck dumb by my wit and impeccable physique. It's okay, no need to be embarra.s.sed."

She burst into laughter, and this time, she was the one to put a hand on his arm.

"It's okay," she told him. "We can do some work. I want to."

"Are you sure?" he asked, covering her hand with his. "Whatever it is, I just want to help."

Beth sighed, remembering the relief that had swept through her when she'd looked up to see him in the doorway, rescuing her.

"Trust me," she a.s.sured him. "You already have."

Adam froze in the doorway and just watched. Their heads bent together, his hand on hers, the grateful smile on her face.

He watched-and then he crept out as quietly as he had crept in.

Practice had let out early, and he'd thought Beth could use a pick-me-up. She'd been working so hard lately, and he knew she'd been planning to barricade herself in the newspaper office until nightfall. Poor Beth, he'd thought. My poor, overworked, overstressed girlfriend. Wouldn't it be nice to surprise her with an unexpected treat. So stupid.

He'd bought some cookies and chocolate milk from the vending machine by the gym-her favorite.

He'd rushed down the hall toward the office, already imagining the smile on her face when she saw him walk through the door, the squeal of delight at the guaranteed sugar rush. He loved to see her happy.

He'd tiptoed to the door of the office, oh-so-gently and oh-so-quietly turned the handle, eased the door open-and there they were. Kane and Beth, bent over their work together-though they obviously weren't working.

Kane was munching on a cookie, Beth was giggling-they looked comfortable together, like friends. Like more than friends.

Like they didn't want to be interrupted.

Adam hated himself for the tendrils of jealousy creeping through him and for the fact that he couldn't drive Kaia's mocking warnings out of his mind. He had nothing to worry about. He knew that. Knew that he could just say her name, or clear his throat, and they would look up and welcome him to the table, and together, they would eat cookies and slurp chocolate milk and complain about the SATs or their a.s.shole swim coach or whatever. He could and he should, he knew that. And yet- He didn't. He stepped backward, silently, away from them, and eased the door shut behind him. He walked a few paces down the hall, then slammed a fist into a locker in frustration. It didn't help. So he kept going, down the hall, out of the building, back home. Alone.

And inside the newspaper office, Beth looked at Kane, Kane looked at Beth, and, engrossed in the conversation, engrossed in each other, they never noticed a thing.

CHAPTER.

6.

It had taken Harper about twenty-four hours to notice that Miranda wasn't speaking to her-unanswered calls, unreturned messages, a cold shoulder in the hallway and an empty seat in the cafeteria. By Tuesday night it had become pretty clear to Harper that she'd somehow screwed up. She knew it would take less than ten minutes to get Miranda-the ultimate pushover, at least when it came to Harper-to forgive her for it. Too bad she didn't have the slightest clue what "it" was.

But maybe she could bluff it out.

After countless unreturned messages ("Rand, come on, call me back-I'm sorry, I totally screwed up. Call me!"), the phone finally rang.

"Do you even know what you're apologizing for?" Miranda asked as soon as Harper picked up the phone.

Harper squirmed. Sometimes she was sorry Miranda knew her so well.

"Of course I do," she said indignantly. "And I'm sorry-I swear, I'll never do it again."

"What?"

"I said, I'll never do it again, I promise."

Miranda sucked in a sharp, exasperated breath. "No, I heard you. I mean, what will you never do again?"

Harper paused. "Well, I'll never do anything like this again, I'll tell you that much."

Miranda snorted. "You're unbelievable-you really have no idea, do you?"

Harper crumbled under the pressure. "Okay, you got me. No, I don't. But I'm sorry, I swear--just tell me what I'm supposed to be sorry about."

"Well, if you only had a brain, maybe you could figure it out," Miranda said cryptically.

"If I only had a-oh G.o.d, The Wizard of Oz. s.h.i.t, Miranda, I totally forgot!"

"Uh, yeah."

"I really am sorry." And she was. Harper wasn't a slave to tradition the way Miranda was, but she looked forward to their Wizard of Oz trip each year. It was a chance to blow off steam, to pretend they were kids again, to gorge themselves on candy. Plus, she had to admit ... she really liked the movie. "I totally suck," she admitted. "Let's go tomorrow, okay?"

"Harper, it closed," Miranda said harshly. "That's kind of the point, remember? We always go on the last day. We've only been doing it for like, five years?"

"Okay, I suck. I completely and totally suck. Is this it? Are you done with me? You are, aren't you?" Harper affected a voice of exaggerated desperation. When in doubt, make 'em laugh. "You're getting rid of me and finding a new best friend. Who is it, Katie? Eloise? You know she's a shrew, so I'd advise against her. Tara? You always liked her better anyway, didn't you? And why not? I'm a horrible, terrible person...."

"Quit the melodrama, Harper. You're not funny."

"Not even a little?"

She was rewarded by a m.u.f.fled laugh on the other end of the phone-and Harper knew she'd got her.

"Not even a little," Miranda confirmed, unconvincingly. "In fact, you're right. You do totally suck. I should just find a new best friend." But Miranda's familiar playful sarcasm had replaced her tone of bitter anger.

"Yeah, it would probably be good for you-but when is something good for you ever any fun?" Harper asked.

"Point taken."

"So we're okay?" Harper abandoned the comedy for a second. Miranda had to know she was sincere. "I really am sorry."

"You should be-but yes, we're okay."

"I knew it. You can't live without me!"

"Don't press your luck," Miranda cautioned her. "So where were you, anyway?"

There was a pause-since she hadn't realized that she'd ditched Miranda, Harper hadn't bothered to come up with a good excuse. But what was she supposed to say, "I was out with our worst enemy, plotting a way to set up the guy you're crushing on with another girl"? In this case, it didn't seem likely that honesty would be the best policy.

"I was ... at the dentist. It was an emergency."

"A tooth emergency?" Miranda asked dubiously.

"Yeah, I chipped a molar, and I managed to get the guy to see me right away. Thank G.o.d."

"It hurt a lot, huh?"

"It still does." Why had she said that? Now she was going to have to fake a toothache for the rest of the week. First rule of successful lying: Keep it simple, and never offer more information than necessary. She'd had a lot of practice.

"Must have been horrible," Miranda said sympathetically. "We're talking acute, throbbing, knives-digging-into-you pain?"

"Uh-huh." It was sort of true, if you counted the pain of having to lie to Miranda 24/7-and having to rely on Kaia, of all people.

"Brutal, agonizing pain?"

"Yeah."

Miranda laughed. "Good."

Payback came on Friday night. As the wounded party, Miranda got to pick the activity, and after a few days of careful thought, she'd settled on the perfect punishment. Karaoke. Both girls were equally averse to the torture and public humiliation that Karaoke Night at the La.s.so Lounge represented, but Miranda figured it was worth sitting through an hour of off-key crooning to see Harper make a fool of herself in public. She'd been right.

"You aren't really going to make me do this," Harper complained, as a hefty man crooned Clay Aiken's latest "hit" up on the makeshift stage.

"Oh, I so am," Miranda replied with an evil laugh.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment, you know," Harper pointed out.

Miranda smiled sweetly. "What are friends for?" She pointed to the short line of would-be American Idols who had a.s.sembled by the stage. "Now get over there and show 'em what you're made of."

Harper glared at her, gulped down the last of her drink, and stalked off toward the line. "I hate you," she tossed over her shoulder.

Miranda just raised her drink in a one-sided toast. "Don't forget to smile!"

Then she leaned back in her chair and waited for the fun to start. This was going to be good.

Too many hours and too many drinks later, Harper and Miranda stumbled out of the bar on a karaoke high. Midway through her Cyndi Lauper spectacular, Harper had abandoned her embarra.s.sment and belted out "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" at the top of her lungs. She'd scored a round of thunderous applause and returned to the table flushed and ready for more. And after another margarita, Miranda had conceded to go with her, kicking off a marathon sing-along that took them back to the endless afternoons they'd spent as kids, ch.o.r.eographing dance moves to the latest on MTV. The humiliation factor was through the roof-but there was no one there to see them, and by that point in the night, they didn't even care. After a rousing, girl-power version of "I Will Survive," the karaoke machine had finally shut down, the lights went out, and Harper and Miranda were forced to seek a new adventure.

So phase two of the night was planned during the tail end of phase one, which meant that clear, sober thinking had been left far behind by the time Harper suggested they stop off for supplies.

The result of their giggly stumble through the twenty-four-hour convenience store?

A two-pound bag of Mike and Ikes (on sale for Halloween), a two-gallon bottle of Diet c.o.ke and another of Hawaiian Punch (mixers), a six-pack of Jell-O pudding (because, well, just because-thanks to the two pitchers of margaritas back at the La.s.so Lounge, they no longer needed a reason). And the piece de resistance: a box of hair dye that promised to "change your color-and your life-in three easy steps." It was time for Miranda to become a bottle blonde.

"You said you wanted a change, right?" Harper asked, tossing the box into their shopping basket, despite Miranda's halfhearted protests.

They stumbled back to Harper's house with the goods-her parents were off in Ludlow for the weekend, visiting her great-uncle in his nursing home, a trip that Harper had easily resisted being guilted into. Great Uncle Horace had no idea who she was and last time had insisted on referring to her as f.a.n.n.y, apparently the name of a British nurse who'd been "kind" to him during the war.

Harper's parents didn't mind her staying home alone, as long as she had "that responsible Miranda" around to keep an eye on things. If they only knew.

One very messy and wet shampoo later, Miranda's hair was thoroughly coated with dye, and the two of them had nothing left to do but wait for it to dry. They fidgeted impatiently, leafing through magazines and flipping through the TV channels-Friday night was pretty much a home entertainment dead zone.

Miranda refused to look in a mirror until it was perfectly dry-she said she wanted to wait to get the full effect. And, as Harper watched with horror as Miranda's hair dried and the final color emerged, she concluded that postponing the inevitable could only be a good thing. But finally they could wait no longer.

"Okay, I can't stand it anymore," Miranda said. "How does it look?"