That said, the differences between them are striking.

Just like Morgan, Hayley is tall, pale, and blonde, while Bianca is brunette, naturally tan due to being half-Indian, and only two or three inches taller than I am, which puts her on the shorter side.

There’s also the unmistakable fact that Oakley hasn’t even so much as acknowledged Bianca’s existence since she’s been here, but his eyes have been glued to Hayley since the moment she sauntered over to him.

His blue orbs continue soaking her in from head to toe. “Wow…you look hot.”

Hayley giggles, pushing her breasts together. “You like?”

Oak nods so hard he resembles a bobblehead on a dashboard.

Placing her palms together, Hayley brings them over her ample chest like she’s about to pray. “I’m a genie.”

“Belly dancer, you dumb bitch,” Bianca grits under her breath, but I think I’m the only one who hears her.

Hayley bats her eyelashes at him. “Have any wishes you want me to grant?”

Morgan—appearing to finally be clueing in to the fact that her hookup is looking at his ex like she’s a tall glass of water in a desert—unhinges her teeth from his earlobe. “Yeah, how about you go away?”

Oh. Shit.

Hayley shoots her a dirty look. “Hey, Morgan. Since you’re hanging on to my ex-boyfriend like a tree in the middle of a hurricane, you must really like the taste of my pussy.”

Shots fired.

“Really?” Morgan’s nostrils flare. “Last I checked, he grew tired of your boring ass and dumped you right before prom last year.” She walks her fingers up his arm. “Don’t be salty because he upgraded. Who could blame him?”

Hurt flashes across Hayley’s face. “I didn’t realize you moved on so quickly, Oak.”

Bless her heart. Oakley moved on from their relationship long before it was over. I’m guessing it was around the time he started sticking his dick in his stepmom.

Frowning, Oakley opens his mouth to say something, but Bianca intervenes.

“He didn’t move on,” she tells Hayley. “His cock did.” She shoots Morgan a shit-eating grin. “Too bad Morgan here hasn’t caught on yet.”

Morgan’s visibly outraged. “You little bitch.” She takes a step toward Bianca. “Newsflash, jailbait. Casey’s been looking for a reason to kick your sorry ass off the squad now that she and Cole broke up. So I suggest you learn to mind your business and behave like a good little girl before I give her one.”

“Whoa—” Oakley starts to interject, but Bianca shoves Morgan.

“And I suggest you learn to keep your legs shut and stay the fuck away from men who don’t belong to you, or I’ll rip that loose, STD infested, flabby flap of skin you call a vagina off and feed it to you.”

Good Lord. She went straight for the jugular.

“Yeah,” Hayley sneers in agreement.

“Hey!” Oakley shouts. “How about we all chill the fuck out and smoke a blunt?”

Bless him. There’s only one thing these girls are interested in right now.

Winning.

I attempt to wedge myself between Bianca and Morgan before it turns into a bloodbath.

“Get your fat friend out of my face before she eats me,” Morgan whines.

My elbow accidentally makes contact with her nose as I break them apart.

“Oh, my God,” Morgan gasps. “I think I’m bleeding.”

“Whoops.” I feign innocence. “My bad.”

Bianca waggles her eyebrows at me. “Atta girl.”

Oak slings an arm around Morgan’s shoulders. “Let’s find you a bathroom.”

I’m not sure if he’s steering her away in order to separate them, or because he still wants to play doctor with her.

Knowing Oakley, probably both.

Hayley’s lower lip trembles as he walks off. She looks like a lost puppy who just got abandoned by her owner.

It’s utterly heart wrenching.

“Don’t chase after him,” Bianca says through clenched teeth. “You’re better than that. Leave him with his trash.”

Her advice works because Hayley beams like she just had an epiphany. “You know what? You’re right.” She tugs on Bianca’s hand. “Screw him. Let’s go have fun.”

“Wait,” I hiss to Bianca. “What are you doing?”

It’s not like Bianca to be nice or befriend someone. Not unless she has ulterior motives.

For the life of me, I can’t think of a single thing she’d want from Hayley of all people.

Leaning down, she whispers, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Seeing as Bianca claims to not have any friends, her statement can only mean one thing.

She sized them up and concluded Hayley was the bigger threat standing in the way of what—or rather who—she wants.

I say a silent prayer for the poor girl as I watch them run to the dancefloor.

Bianca’s been dancing with Hayley, and Oakley’s been off doing God knows what with Morgan for the last hour...which means I’ve been wandering around aimlessly.

It’s eerie how you can be in a house full of people and feel so alone.

Like you don’t belong.

Wanting some fresh air, I slip out to the patio and dial Dylan’s number for the second time tonight. Just like the first time, it goes straight to voicemail.

In all fairness, she did tell me her midterms were this week and she’s picking up extra shifts at the bakery.

It just sucks when you’re sad and the one person in the world who really gets you is busy living her life.

If I was smart, I’d go home and start my admissions essay. The cut off is next week and if I’m not careful, I’m going to blow my chance.

Would that be such a bad thing?

For the last seventeen years, I’ve been dependable, reliable…and predictable.

Failing to submit my essay on time would certainly be a change of pace.

Not to mention…stupid.

I’ve wanted to go to Duke’s Heart for as long as I can remember. I’m not going to ruin my shot because I’m feeling sorry for myself.

That’s not who I am.

I need to pull on my big girl panties and tackle this.

I need to stop being scared of the unknown.

If they don’t accept me, it’s their loss.

Panic lodges in my throat. Oh, God. What if they don’t accept me?

Or worse? What if they do accept me, but don’t offer me a scholarship and free housing?

They accepted Dylan—and technically, her grades were worse than mine since she ended up with a B+ in social studies—but that was last year.

Things change.

Stop it, Sawyer.

There are people in the world who have no food, no place to live, and no family—in other words, real world problems—and I’m acting like my life will be over if I don’t get to go to my dream college on a free ride.

Like my father always tells me—entitlement is laziness wrapped up in selfishness. If you really want something, you have to work for it. Earn it.

And if you start losing faith…pray for it, because God will provide.

He may not give you exactly what you want, but he’ll always give you what you need.