Dawn

19

The rest of the school week was torture.

I was at school alone- alone being the term to describe how I felt without Hayden by my side. I had my friends surrounding me, but there was no denying the elephant in the room. My newly-developed sixth-sense could literally detect the waves of suspicion and jealousy rolling off of Caitlyn, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I had to address the situation. Indie was proving to be more of a friend than I'd ever asked of her, and with her on my side of the secrecy, I didn't feel completely lost without Hayden.

"So, Dawn," started Caitlyn. Here we go, the confrontation. We were sitting outside, taking advantage of the rare spout of sunshine. Indie was doing some extra work on her photography assignment, and only Amy, Macy and Caitlyn were with us, leaving me in a deer-in-headlights circumstance.

"I went to your house to hang out a few days ago, because you weren't answering your phone." Oops. "You're dad told me you were out, so I went home. But I've been back every day this week, and it's Friday. Every time, you were 'out'. So where have you been?"

Crap.

I didn't know what expression to wear on my blank face, "Oh, um, the thing is...I've been staying staying at..." Quick, Dawn think fast! Caitlyn raised her eyebrow questioningly. "...my auntie's!" I blurted.

"What?"

I sighed dramatically. "Well- technically, she's my great-aunt. And she's lonely. I didn't want to tell you because...it's kind of embarrassing, you know? She's all alone in her cottage and my family's been getting worried about her. So I moved in. I-uh, I help with, um, the laundry, and I....I even read to her before bed! I'm just keeping her company until my, uh, second cousin comes home from her holiday." I was aware that my confession has stumbled into the rambling zone, but I didn't know how to be more convincing.

Truthfully, I was fairly proud of myself for thinking up an excuse on the spot in the first place. I hated lying to people- really, really hated it -but I had no choice. What would people think: a sixteen year-old living with her boyfriend? What would Caitlyn think: her supposed best friend moving in with the guy she called dibs on? An outspoken part of me wanted to sit down with Caitlyn, and throw the weight on my shoulders on her lap so she could sift through it and I'd be guilt-free. But then again, how would she feel to know that I had piled up such a huge mass of secrets that I had excused with pathetic lies?

My thoughts sent a fleeting grimace to my lips as my friends mulled over my admission. Surprisingly, Amy reached over and patted my arm comfortingly.

"Next time, tell us, Dawn. You know we will only ever support you," she said. And- even more shockingly -she winked mischievously at me when Caitlyn wasn't looking.

Oh my God.

She thought I was going out with Hayden every night! That's why she was being so 'understanding'. Well, technically, I was with Hayden all week, but we weren't going on dates every night. Because that makes it so much better: instead of dating him, I was living with him.

From the corner of my eye, I spied Macy's eye twinkling knowingly.

Darn friends.

Finally looking up from her lap, Caitlyn shot me a forced smile.

"I guess everything's fine then," she said, and stood up before walking away in the direction of the main school doors. But I could still tell that she was growing increasingly more upset about my relationship with Hayden- I knew that, to her, it was moving out of the friend zone.

Everything was definitely not fine.

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