I race past her, cutting her off, my heart already soaring at the thought of seeing Dylan.

Only it’s not Dylan.

It’s his friend Jake.

My footsteps slow, my mind does the opposite. “Hey Riley,” he says, eyeing Dylan’s house quickly before returning to me.

My heart races as I step outside, closing the door behind me. “Hi,” I whisper.

I know why he’s here.

I hate that he’s here.

He clears his throat and shoves his hands in his pockets, looking down his nose at me. “Are you going to tell him or should I?”

Dylan

Apparently the whole bucket and feathers mayhem wasn’t enough. While I was at the cages with the guys, the girls were here—in my house, and with the help of Eric and Dad, they managed to turn my bedroom into a My Little Pony shrine. I’m not just talking about a few figures in there. No. That would’ve been too easy. I’m talking at least a hundred of them. And glitter. Every-fucking-where. And pink and purple streamers stapled to my goddamn ceiling. It was the first thing I noticed when I walked in. Followed closely by the full-length wall decal. A silver, glittery unicorn. And if that wasn’t bad enough… the unicorn had Logan’s face, while Jake and Cameron rode it. I would’ve beaten their asses had I seen the room while they were all still here, but I didn’t come in here until now… an hour after they’d left.

“I think it suits you,” Dad says from behind me.

Eric laughs, his head popping up over Dad’s shoulder. “So worth it just for the look on your face.”

I slump down on the mattress and rub the back of neck, ideas of retaliation already coming to mind. “I’m going to fucking kill ’em.”

Dad joins in on Eric’s laughter. “Those boys ain’t right,” he says shaking his head. “Sleep well, Princess.” He closes the door after him and I let out a frustrated groan when I see the giant High School Musical poster taped to the back of the door. And more glitter.

I reach for my laptop and open it. Then pull all those fuckers’ names into a group message.

Dylan: You know the rules of mayhem, right?

Logan: Retaliation. Fight or die, brother.

Lucy: Every little girl wishes for a pony. You got eleventy-three of them. What’s the big deal?

Cam: LOL.

Jake: Just so we’re clear, I knew nothing about this.

Amanda: LIES!

Mikayla: LIES!

Logan: Jake supplied us with the glitter and High School Musical poster. He won’t say how he got it, though.

Jake: Shut up.

Mikayla: Jake stopped liking Zac Efron after 17 Again.

Jake: Wow, babe. There’s a bus. Just throw me under it.

Lucy: Lol. It’s okay, Jake. Amanda told me she thinks about him when Logan’s on the bottom.

Logan: WTF!

Amanda: LIES!

Dylan: Yo, Luce.

Lucy: Yeah?

Dylan: I got Riley this book. She said it ends in a cliffhanger and wants to know when the next one’s out.

Lucy: You got a girl a book? Mother fucking swoon.

Cam: I’m right here.

Dylan: So it’s a romance book, I guess.

Lucy: OMG. She reads romance? Wtf! Totes my new bff. Does she have a fave bbf?

Dylan: I don’t know what any of that means.

Lucy: Title? Author?

Dylan: No idea.

Lucy: ?

Dylan: The cover’s blue.

Lucy: Seriously?

Dylan: Yeah. Like a light blue.

Lucy: You’re a shit kid, Banks.

Amanda: He seems happy, Heidi. I’d leave it alone.

Amanda: Crap.

Amanda: Wrong chat.

Amanda: Ignore that.

Logan: I shouldn’t let her out of the house.

Dylan: I’ll see you guys soon.

I close out of the screen, ignoring Amanda’s comment. It’s irrelevant. And if Heidi wants to know how I am, she knows where I fucking live.

Dylan: Message me as soon as your mom leaves tomorrow. I’ll be waiting. I can’t wait to see you.

Riley: K.

Dylan: You good?

Riley: :(

Dylan: ?

Riley: Hang on. I know you hate seeing those dots so I’m just warning you that the next one will be a long message.

Dylan: K.

Riley: I wanted to wait until I told you in person, but I don’t think I can. I know it’s been less than a month since we’ve really known each other, but what’s time, right? Because in that short time you’ve become the most important person in my life, Dylan. You’re the reason I actually get out of bed in the morning, the reason I haven’t had anything to drink all weekend—no matter how badly I wanted to. You’re the reason I want to face reality head on and not just float through it. There are going to be things that happen, things we’ll probably share that’ll change the way we think or feel about each other, or at least the way you feel about me… but I just wanted you to know that you matter. You matter so much to me. And regardless of how things will end up between us, that’s never going to change. You’ll always be the boy who changed my course in life. The one who changed ME. The one who gave me a reason to look for something more than just the “enough” I was struggling to get through. I’m grateful you showed up on my doorstep that day—pissed off and angry at the world. Because if you hadn’t… I wouldn’t be here. And I don’t just mean here, writing to you. I mean here, in this world.

Twenty-One

Riley

I spend the entire night wide-awake, tossing and turning, and then tossing and turning some more. Before I know it, the birds are chirping, the clock is ticking, the sun is rising, and my heart… it’s sinking.