“Maybe Hunter hadn’t told anyone yet,” I suggested. “Or maybe he’s bi? I don’t know.”

“I don’t know, either.” She sat up and sniffed. “Kyle’s mad at him, too.” She hugged her pillow to her chest. “We talked a little last night after rehearsal. I guess they’ve been seeing each other since just before Halloween, and Hunter still wants to keep it secret.”

“Wow.”

“I know, right? It’s way cruel. Like Kyle’s some dirty little secret. And he was totally using me, too.”

“Yeah, I can see why you’re so mad at Hunter.”

She flopped backward onto her bed again. “You have no idea.”

“You haven’t mentioned it in your blog or anything.”

Ally sat up straight, her face stricken. “Of course not!” she admonished me. “One does not write news about oneself, Talia.” She sighed. “And besides, the real story isn’t even mine to tell.” A pause. “If it’s even a story.”

“But Hunter and Kyle—“

“—aren’t a public item,” she finished for me as she lay back down. “If Hunter’s buried in whatever closet he’s in, that’s entirely his thing. Outing him would not be responsible journalism.”

Ally didn’t seem as angry, and I was glad she’d stopped crying. But I needed to change the subject before the waterworks started up again.

“If you want some good news,” I said, “Mrs. Riley approved the poster I was working on.” With everything going on with Hunter and Kyle, I hadn’t had a chance to tell her.

“That is good news.” She rolled onto her side to face me and sniffed again. “Any comments?”

“Mr. Collins said it was smart to keep the faces blank in the vignettes. Riley said something about how removing the detail created an extra layer of interest.” I grinned. “I gave you all the credit for that.”

“Thanks,” she said with a small smile. For a split second, she seemed to be back to her normal self, but then her face fell, and she curled into the fetal position.

I sat there, frozen, wondering what I was supposed to do next. I’d never experienced a breakup before, and aside from my mom, I had zero experience dealing with stuff like this. A part of me wanted to pull her out of bed, slap some sense into her, and point out her breakup only proved Happily Ever After was a myth that only belonged in movies and fairy tales. But the bigger part of me — the part that wanted to be a good friend — wanted to help but had no idea how. After all, one of the best things about Ally was her unwavering optimism, especially concerning matters of the heart. I didn’t want to poison her with my hardened cynicism.

Gentle taps on the door startled, me, but Ally didn’t move. I opened the door, expecting to see Ally’s mom or maybe one of her brothers, but Bianca greeted me instead, her backpack slung on her shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” I said as I hugged her. “Why aren’t you with Tim?” As soon as I asked, I panicked. “Oh, no. You guys didn’t—”

“Relax, Talia,” she said, holding up a hand to stop me. “We’re fine.”

I stepped aside to let her into the room and breathed a sigh of relief. I barely knew what to do with one heartbroken friend. There was no way I’d have been able to handle them both.

Ally sat up when Bianca set down her stuff and sat beside her on the bed. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “You have a date tonight.”

“It was just some post-game party,” Bianca replied. “It’s not like it’s anything big. We didn’t even win.”

Ally looked despondent. “And you don’t think Tim’s at the party hooking up with someone else?”

Bianca paused for about half a second before she laughed. “And deal with the wrath of Brady? Ha!” She kicked off her shoes and added, “Anyway, I trust him. He’d never do that to me.”

“That must be nice,” Ally said with a pout. She started to whimper, a sure sign tears were close.

“Oh no.” I rushed to retrieve a box of tissues from the dresser, and Bianca wrapped her arms around Ally in a tight hug.

“Have I missed anything?” she said as Ally plucked tissues and sobbed into them.

I shook my head. “Not much. Just that it sounds like Hunter’s really messed up. He’s been stringing Kyle along for months.”

“Really?”

“Since before Halloween,” Ally said. “And no one knew. Hunter didn’t want anyone to know.”

I raised my eyebrows. “See? Totally messed up.”

“You’re blogging this, right?” Bianca said.

Ally blanched at the suggestion. “No,” she said emphatically. “Kyle told me all of this in confidence, which means this conversation doesn’t leave this room.”

“I already asked her why she’s kept quiet,” I said to Bianca. “She said it wouldn’t be responsible journalism.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be,” Ally said, “even if it would make my life easier. There’s all kinds of speculation about our breakup in the halls already, and I don’t have anything on the record to set anyone straight.” She fell backward on her bed again and wailed, “Why can’t I find a guy who honestly likes me and is upfront about everything and doesn’t play any games?” She blew her nose and sat up to fling her soggy tissue into the trash can in the corner. She missed.

I thought of Jake and Clover and frowned. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ve got nothing to complain about. You’ve got this amazing guy who’s been in love with you since, like, third grade.”

I checked my surroundings before I pointed to myself. “Me? Hardly.”

Ally rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’d see it if you weren’t so self-absorbed and clueless.”

Angry Ally was back, and for some reason, all her anger was directed at me. I steeled myself for a fight. I was sick of her drama and ready to lash out.

“‘Self-absorbed?’” I repeated. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you, Miss All-About-Me. The universe can’t function without Ally Katz in its center.”

She hopped out of bed and stood before me with her hands on her hips. “I, at least, put myself out there instead of hiding behind my insecurities, pretending I’m all emo and cool.”

“I don’t need people knowing every single detail about my life,” I retorted. “I don’t thrive on drama the way you do.”

Bianca put her hands on both our shoulders and separated us. “You guys, chill. Both of you.”

“She started it.” I knew I sounded like a two-year-old, but I didn’t care. I was tired of letting Ally take out her frustrations on me.

“Because I would do anything for someone to care about me the way Jake feels about you.” She threw herself back down onto her bed, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed.

“What are you talking about?” I turned to Bianca. “She’s completely delusional. Jake’s not interested in me. He’s with Clover.”

Ally lifted her head to glare at me. “He’s not with Clover, you stupid cow. Only you’re too dumb to realize it.”

I jumped up and grabbed my bag from the other side of the room. “You know what?” I said as I flung it onto my shoulder. “You can whine and mope about your pathetic breakup without me. I’m out.” I opened the door and stormed out. I was almost to the stairs when Bianca stopped me.

“Talia, wait!”

I whirled around. “I don’t know what her deal is. We were fine before you got here, and then all of a sudden—” I waved my arms to demonstrate the chaos we’d descended into.

“She’s feeling sorry for herself.”

“Um, you think?”

Bianca pressed her lips into a tight line. “Look, I’m not defending her or anything. She was way harsh. And I don’t know what’s going on with you and Jake and Clover and whatever, and I don’t care,” she said, emphasizing her last few words when I opened my mouth to argue. “You guys are my best friends. I need you to get along. Period.”

“I know, but she’s—”

“She’s Ally,” Bianca finished for me. “And the crazy thing is, as self-centered as she is sometimes, she’s probably the most observant person I know.” She paused and added, “Well, aside from my mom.”