Although now that I think about it, he didn’t really do anything. Jace did.

No. Oakley’s not exactly free of fault. Jace had to have gotten the information to use against me from someone.

I grind my molars. Oakley could have stopped the rumors and refused to feed Jace my secrets, but he didn’t.

He gloated and made everything worse.

I can tell he’s trying to choose his next words carefully. “I already let you kick my ass in front of everyone, isn’t that en—”

“You’re unbelievable.”

I swing the door open, but he lugs me back inside and stands in front of it.

“Dylan, please.” His expression is solemn. “I’m sorry, okay? I was mean to you and you didn’t deserve it. But my grades are shit and if I don’t pull my act together, I might not graduate. I really need you to have my back out there.”

I snort. “Like all the times you had mine these last few days?”

He opens his mouth and then clamps it shut.

I jab his chest with my finger. “Do you have any idea how much I dreaded coming back to Royal Manor?” My throat thickens. “I know how these people can be, and I hated the idea of returning to the place where people like Britney and her crew of mean girls reign, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter.” I shrug helplessly. “I figured maybe, just maybe, things wouldn’t be so bad at RHA, because I’d have a friend—no, family—here and we could look out for each other. I didn’t expect to be super close or anything, and I didn’t want to insert myself into your circle of friends—but I definitely didn’t anticipate coming back to everything being a complete one-eighty from the way it was when I left. Or that you’d be helping my childhood best friend destroy my life because he insists on holding a grudge against me for some unknown reason.”

He exhales sharply. “I didn’t know you guys were so close. He never once mentioned you over the years. Not even after my dad married Crystal.”

It’s like a kick straight to the heart. Jace Covington isn’t the boy I knew.

“Yeah, well. There are probably lots of things you don’t know about him. He keeps almost everyone at arm’s length.”

“Truth.” He leans against the door. “Then again, we all have our secrets.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?”

I shift uncomfortably. “If this is another trick, I’d rather just lie to my aunt than fall for it.”

“It’s not a trick,” he insists. “I mean it.”

“Well, forgive me for not trusting you, but just yesterday you called me a skank and said you could have me and my aunt tossed out on our asses like—” I snap my fingers like he did. “That.”

“I say a lot of shit I don’t mean when I’m angry. A lot.”

“Understandable, I do it too, but let’s get one thing straight. My mom’s dead and my dad’s in the slammer. The only person I have in my corner is my aunt. She’s been the most stable, solid person in my life and the only one who’s never let me down. So if you think I’m going to let you threaten her marriage and happiness—”

“I’m not. I wouldn’t.” A flicker of sadness passes in his gaze. “I’m not my father.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Forget it.” He holds out his fist. “Friends?”

“Even when Jace and your harem of Britney followers are around?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? Won’t it cause issues with you and Jace?”

He shrugs. “Probably. But he doesn’t control me. He’ll be mad at first, but eventually he’ll get over it. No one understands the value of family more than he does, so even though he won’t like it, he’ll deal.”

Despite my apprehension, I give him a fist bump. “Don’t pull the wool over my eyes, Oak. I’ll kick your ass ten times worse than I did today.”

“I won’t fuck you over. But for the record? You only kicked my ass because I don’t believe in laying my hands on a female.” Grinning, he puts an arm around my shoulder. “Now, when Principal Ryan asks us what happened, don’t say anything.” He slaps a hand over his heart. “Take it from the kid of a district attorney, cous. Silence is your friend. If neither of us says a word, it’s like it never happened.”

I’m almost positive that’s not the way it works, but I give him a thumbs up anyway. “Got it.”

He looks at me, but then quickly averts his gaze. “You’re gonna need to fix the situation you’ve got going on before we walk out.”

I look down and curse. “I can’t. Jace ripped all the buttons off.”

He holds a hand in front of his face. “TMI, Dylan. Just put your blazer on…backward.”

“I can’t. I left it in Crystal’s car this morning.”

He frowns. “I don’t have mine either. I’m pretty sure Hayley’s making a voodoo doll out of it.”

I make a mental note to ask him about their relationship later.

I almost do a happy dance when it occurs to me. “I need you to find Sawyer. She’ll give me a shirt.”

“Consider it done.” His movements come to a halt. “I have no idea who this Sawyer girl is. What does she look like?”

“She short and curvy, has waist-length dark hair and wears black-rimmed glasses. Oh, and she’s a junior, not a senior.”

He makes a face. “Yeah, sorry, doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t hang out with losers.”

I pinch him and he yelps.

“She’s not a loser. She’s awesome. Go find her for me.”

He raises his arms. “How am I supposed to find some girl I’ve never met—”

The sound of the second-period bell ringing cuts him off.

I shove him out the door. “Go. Try and catch her before her next class.”

“Sawyer,” I hear him yell as he ventures down the hall, clapping his hands. “Okay, here’s the deal, fuckers. If anyone sees a chick named Sawyer, I need to speak with her immediately. We got a family emergency happening here.”

I rub my temples and groan. If nothing else, being friends with Oakley will never be boring.

When he’s not stoned out of his mind, he’s kind of…

The sound of scuffling interrupts my thoughts.

“Let go of me,” Sawyer shrieks as Oakley wrangles her through the door. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Oakley pushes her toward me. “Take off your shirt and give it to her.”

Sawyer’s mouth drops open. “Are you crazy?”

I press the heels of my palms to my eyes. “Yes. Yes, he is.”

A normal person would have told her the situation and asked if she had a spare shirt.

But not Oakley. He drags the poor girl to a closet for a shakedown instead.

Oakley snaps his fingers. “Chop, chop, short stack. We’re on a deadline here.”

Jesus. He’s about to ruin the only friendship I have. “Sawyer keep your clothes on. Oakley stop badgering her.” I motion to what’s left of my uniform. “He means well, he’s just trying to help me.”