One of the most vivid senses of deja vu Emberlynn had ever felt washed over her as she passed by the familiar rows of trees on her way to the park. How many times had she walked these exact same streets in the cover of darkness? She remembered it so clearly now, even though it had already been more than five months since those late nights she’d spent with Mason.

And it wasn’t just the trees that felt familiar — so did the feeling of guilt and dread that welled up inside of her, knowing that she had betrayed her parents’ trust. And she’d been doing so well too, being honest and open with them about where she was going and what she was doing. But she simply couldn’t bring herself to tell them she was sneaking off to meet a boy. Again.

And she was certain that no matter what she said, they’d never believe that they were meeting up just to talk. Ugh. Parents.

“Hey.” Jace smiled softly as she approached the bench on which he was sitting. The sight sent a small rush of warmth through her chest (for which she was grateful, given how chilly it was that evening). “Glad you finally showed up.” He teased.

“Sorry… Had to sneak past my parents.” Emberlynn replied with a shrug, resisting the urge to make a joke about a Stealth roll. Something told her Jace wouldn’t quite get it.

“I was just kidding.” He assured her. “Anyway, I’m glad you could make it. I just thought it’d be easier to talk in person… But not when she’s around.”

“Serenity?”

“Who else?”

Emberlynn bit her lip. It already made her uncomfortable to be talking about Serenity when she wasn’t around… Which was ridiculous, Emberlynn knew. How many times had she herself talked about Serenity and her clique behind THEIR backs? But that was before she’d started sitting with them on a regular basis. They still weren’t friends, exactly. But friendly. And it felt so strange being caught between two of them now.

“What happened?” She asked. Despite her discomfort, she was still unable to contain her curiosity. “You guys seemed so happy…”

Jace laughed humorlessly. “I must be a pretty good actor then… She was driving me crazy. I just got so fucking sick of her and her shit.” He shook his head slowly. “I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Emberlynn. You’ve met her.” Jace sighed for a moment. “Serenity is the most manipulative, controlling person I’ve ever met in my entire life. And for me, that’s saying something.” He smiled softly as he spoke, though Emberlynn wasn’t sure she understood what was so amusing.

“I guess I can see that…” Emberlynn admitted. She knew Serenity wasn’t exactly what you could call a nice person. “What did she do though?”

Jace seemed to consider her question for a moment. “Alright, I’ll give you an example. I saw you watching me in the cafeteria yesterday. Feeling sorry for me ‘cause I was sitting all alone… Do you know WHY I don’t have any other friends I can sit with now?” He asked.

Emberlynn shook her head, already nervous for the answer.

“Once we started dating, Serenity FLIPPED if I ever hung out with anybody else. She’d cry and throw a fucking fit and tell me I was abandoning her. And like an idiot, I listened to her. I let her guilt trip me into pushing the rest of my friends away… Guess I was thinking with the wrong head.” Jace let out a low chuckle as he spoke.

“Wow…” If what Jace was telling her was true, then things were even worse than she’d thought. I KNEW relationships were a trap. What a fucking mess… Emberlynn sighed softly at the thought. “What about Trent though? I know Serenity’s his sister, but I can’t believe he totally abandoned you…”

Jace raised an eyebrow at her. “Really? ‘Cause I can.” When Emberlynn said nothing, he continued. “Look, Trent’s a fun guy. And I know you’ve had your eye on him or whatever, but you’ve gotta be careful. He’s more like his sister than you think…”

She eyed him uncertainty for a moment. “What are you saying?”

“Just watch yourself around him, okay? You’re a nice girl, Emberlynn. And you can do a hell of a lot better than Trent Ziegler, trust me.”

Was that jealousy she detected in his voice? Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part… Emberlynn couldn’t help but notice how adorable Jace’s freckles looked in the moonlight. “Okay, define ‘better’.” She replied teasingly. “Wait, lemme guess… Some guy with blonde hair? Freckles? A sweet leather jacket?”

Jace burst into hearty laughter at her words. “Oh God, no way! You can do a hell of a lot better than ME too.”

Emberlynn raised an eyebrow at him, but was not sure how to respond. “Yeah, well… I’m pretty much done with relationships after what happened with Dominick anyway.” She replied at last, wondering whether it was possible to be ‘done’ with relationships when she’d never technically had one.

“Y’know, I think I might take a page out of your book…” Jace replied, his voice more serious this time. “I’m feeling pretty done with relationships too.” He smiled softly at her as he spoke, sending Emberlynn’s stomach into a series of somersaults.

“Guess we’re on the same page then.” She replied softly.

“Yeah…”

Emberlynn pulled away, her breaths coming in heavy gasps and her lips slick with saliva. “Woah… Uh… sorry.” She muttered uncomfortably, finally noticing that it had started to snow sometime during their makeout session.

“Why are you apologizing?” Jace laughed. “That was great.”

“I know.” Emberlynn couldn’t help a small laugh as well. “But… Jace, Serenity would lose her SHIT if she knew about this.”

He smiled widely at her. “Exactly… That’s part of what makes this so fun.”

She furrowed her brow at him. “Wait… Is THIS the real reason you invited me here tonight? You just wanted to hook up?!”

Jace hesitated for a moment. “Okay, I can’t lie. The thought DID cross my mind…” He admitted. “But I really did wanna talk to you! I knew I had to tell you all the stuff I couldn’t say at lunch the other day. I just really needed to talk to somebody. Because honestly, I could really use a friend right now, seeing as I just lost all of mine… If you could even call them ‘friends’ in the first place.” Jace added almost bitterly.

Despite everything, Emberlynn believed him. He sounded so sincere, and she knew he was probably feeling really lonely after breaking up with Serenity and getting ditched by Trent.

“I still wanna be your friend, Jace.” She replied seriously. “And… Okay, yeah, you’re pretty hot and a damn good kisser.” Emberlynn smiled playfully at him as she spoke.

“Not the only thing I’m good at…” He interjected with a wink.

Emberlynn did her best to ignore the comment as she continued. “But I dunno if this is a good idea. If Serenity finds out…”

“She won’t.” Jace replied confidently. “Not if we’re careful.”

“And what about me being able to ‘do better than you’?” She challenged him.

“For a boyfriend? Sure. But I’m talking ‘no strings’, Emberlynn. Same thing you want.”

God, why did this all have to sound so damn tempting? Emberlynn felt herself teetering on the edge. Jace was so fun and hot… And sneaking around with Mason had been so oddly thrilling… It was difficult to pass up the chance to feel that again.

“Alright, how about this?” Jace broke the silence that had fallen between them. “We’ll take sex stuff off the table for now. Just hang out, and see what happens.”

“Just as friends?”

He nodded. “Just friends, future benefits to be determined.” Jace added with a wink.

Emberlynn couldn’t help but laugh. How could she possibly say no? Aw, fuck it. What’s the worst that could happen? She wasn’t afraid of Serenity…

Okay, maybe a little. But not enough to pass up an opportunity like this.

“Alright, deal.” She replied at last. “But we’ve still gotta be careful… Whether we end up messing around or not, Serenity won’t like this. At all.”

“I know. But we’ll be fine.” He assured her yet again. “And it’ll be kinda fun, won’t it? Sneaking around and stuff. Like Romeo and Juliet or something.”

Emberlynn shook her head in amusement at his analogy. “But without any of the romance.” She reminded him.

Jace smiled, nodding in agreement. “And maybe twice the sex, if I’m lucky?” He added hopefully.

Emberlynn rolled her eyes, but giggled in reply. “Yeah, we’ll see about that, Romeo…”

Part of her almost wanted to remind him that Romeo and Juliet both wound up dead at the end of the story…

But she decided not to ruin the moment.