Lend Me Your Heart

Seventeen

Two months later, Joey and I were sitting in my room and I started randomly crying like I always did when I heard music blasting from Zach’s room. Zach never blasted music before we started dating. He couldn’t stand it, so the fact that he liked to play loud music now baffled me. I felt like he was growing and changing and I didn’t know why or how and I just wanted to talk to him and make sure he was still as sweet as he’d been before.

“You’re a mess, Layne,” Joey sighed, running a hand down his face.

“I know,” I sobbed into my bed sheets, throwing my favorite book on the ground. He stayed silent for a moment before his head perked up in excitement.

“What is it?” I muttered with my cheek squished against my pillow.

“I have an idea,” he said, standing up and sitting on the edge of my bed.

“I’m not going to try and talk him out of it,” I said. “And I’m not going to ‘show him what he’s missing’ by wearing sexy clothes.”

That was Casey’s idea a few weeks ago.

“No, no,” said Joey. “This idea is the best one yet.”

“Hit me.”

“Jake Campiello.”

Jake Campiello was one of those stereotypical, bad-boy seniors with scary clothes, a motorcycle, and a buzz cut. “What about him?”

“He brings girls to college parties all the time. Flirt with him and convince him to take you to one.”

“What kind of idea is that?”

“A good one.”

“What’s so good about it? Why would going to a college party with Jake Campiello solve any of my hopeless problems?”

“Well, if you wear something dramatic and we somehow get Zach to see you leaving with Jake on his motorcycle, maybe he’ll try to stop you or something.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Then you’ll go to a really awesome college party, have a good time, and make him jealous.”

“He’s not going to be jealous if I have a good time with another boy, Joey. That’s exactly what he wants. He wants me to move on and meet someone else.”

“Yeah, but if that someone else puts you in danger…” Joey started, smirking deviously. “I mean, come on, Layne. Jake has danger written all over him. If Zach really cared about you, he wouldn’t let you go anywhere near that freak.”

“So you’re saying I should put myself in danger to get Zach back?”

“What I’m saying is, I’d rather see you be put in danger and rescued by your kind-of-boyfriend than see you sit here and sulk all day, reading your favorite book over and over and over and over-”

“Okay. I get it.”

“So, what then? You think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s the only thing that’ll work, if that’s what you mean.”

“Good. Now, let’s go find Jake, shall we?”

“Thanks, Joey.”

“That’s what I’m here for, Layne.”

“So here’s the plan,” Joey said as we walked towards the cafeteria. “We’ll go in for dinner and pretend like we’re in a rush to eat and start studying because we have a big test tomorrow. Jake sits with the football team and we both know that’s where Zach has been sitting lately, so he’ll probably be there. I’ll pretend to be getting food while you flirt it up, alright?”