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And then I heard the sound of my trapdoor opening.

“Go away,” I said. I couldn’t talk to anyone right now.

“Scarlett?”

I lifted my head to see Jacob standing there. Which just made me cry more. “You really didn’t show up after that party because you were talking to Axel?”

Jacob nodded. “I promised him I wouldn’t say anything.” He grabbed a tissue from my nightstand and handed it to me.

I blotted at my eyes. “I thought you hated me.”

“I could never hate you.” He sat down next to me. “I was in an impossible situation. And I’m sorry that I handled it the way I did. I just didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t mean anything I said when I broke up with you.”

I shook my head. “I think maybe you did. At least a little.”

Jacob sighed. He reached out and grabbed my hand. “It would have been hard for anyone to lose a little confidence with that shit show out there.”

I laughed.

He squeezed my hand.

I looked down at our intertwined fingers.

Jacob quickly dropped my hand. “But Axel has loved every side of you.”

I nodded. “And you haven’t.”

“I do love you, Scarlett. I never stopped. But as soon as Axel told me the truth, I knew it would change everything.”

“It wouldn’t...”

“I never wanted to be second. I told you that from the beginning. I want to be someone’s first choice. And even if you said I was, I’d always wonder.”

Jacob hadn’t come in here to fight for me. He’d just come in to check on me. As a friend. For a while, I wasn’t sure we’d ever get back to that place. But it seemed like we somehow had.

“So...Olivia?” I asked. “Is that real?”

Jacob shrugged. “She asked me to the dance and I was just trying to make you get over me. So you could see what was right in front of you.”

I knew he was talking about Axel. But all I’d seen was him. I’d never meant to hurt him either. “But you do like her?”

“She’s not you.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m so sorry, Jacob.”

He shook his head. “I should have known Axel liked you. I mean, I guess I did have some suspicions. I knew he did when we were all kids. Maybe I just wished it wasn’t true anymore, you know? Since I liked you too.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. So I just said the same thing again. “I’m so sorry, Jacob.”

He slowly stood back up. “Axel wanted to follow you, but I told him I needed to talk to you first. He’s going to be waiting for you at the dance. I know all of this is...well...a lot. But you’ve always loved him. And you loved your kiss thief too. I know you did.”

“Wait, did you know that Axel was my kiss thief?”

Jacob shook his head. “Not until that night after the party. When he confessed everything. I almost came back and picked you up. It took everything in my power to walk away, Scarlett. But we were never meant to be.”

I understood everything Jacob said. Maybe he was right. Maybe we weren’t meant to be. But...what if he was wrong? What if it was supposed to be me and him? It had been real for me. It still was. “Wait.” I stood up too. “My feelings for you haven’t changed,” I said. “I...”

“Have you seen your coding project that you and Axel are working on together?”