By lunch break I was still half convinced this whole thing was just one big prank, but by now I knew better than to evade Felicia again.

Sunday had gone through the whole spectrum of human emotion when I told her about our run-in between classes. From shock she had switched to outrage, then hysterical laughter, then concern for my safety, and finally anger again, muttering something about manipulative liars. Dan had taken the whole thing in stride; he had told me to just hear Felicia out and then decide the rest for myself. Sunday, meanwhile, swore up and down that anything coming out of Felicia's mouth could only be a lie.

To be honest, I still didn't know what to think. Sure, Felicia was saying she had good intentions; but two out of the three people I trusted at this school were saying something different. I knew people could be wrong about people, of course. But wasn't it telling that even her friends had assumed she was up to no good with me?

Squaring my shoulders, I stood in line, wondering what to get for lunch. I was hungry, and today's food all looked really good…but I would also eat lunch with Felicia and her friends, three gorgeous, skinny girls who looked like supermodels. Girls who probably ate like supermodels too. And the last thing I wanted was to give them another excuse to make fun of my weight.

So, with a heavy heart, I stayed away from all the nice things I wanted and made my way to Felicia's table with only a small salad on my tray.

"Hey!" Felicia greeted me with a smile, taking my wrist and pulling me into the seat across from her as soon as I'd set down my tray. "You really showed up! I was kind of worried I'd have to get you from the other side of the cafeteria again."

I smiled politely. "I mean, this time I know you invited me."

"Great! You're learning." Felicia's smile widened with a flash of raised eyebrows. "So, you're probably wondering why I'm all up in your business about Brandon, right?"

Stiffly, I nodded.

"Okay. Just so you know, it's literally the dumbest thing ever and it's really embarrassing, but, like, you need to know so whatever." She gestured loosely, the rings on her graceful fingers flashing where they caught the light. "So, you know how Brandon's my ex?"

I nodded again.

"Ugh, I can't believe the whole school knows about it. It's so embarrassing." Felicia rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we got together back in freshman year when I was still dumb and awkward, and he was this super hot guy who was totally into me so I was literally on cloud nine." Felicia took a bite out of her sandwich. "And at first I thought he was so swoony and protective, but then he just started getting all up in my business? Like, 'Oh no, Felicia, you can't go to that party 'cause the world is full of creeps and someone will hurt you. You can't wear that, all the guys will stare at you. You can't hang out with that guy 'cause he's totally into you and you don't wanna get his hopes up!'" She rolled her eyes again. "It was so annoying!"

I pondered her words, wondering what was so bad about that behavior. "Wasn't he just looking out for you?"

"Girl, he was acting like a mom. That's not how boyfriends work." Felicia put her sandwich back down. "Actually, not even my mom is that strict. He wanted to know everything about me. 'Where have you been? What are you doing? Who are you with?' And as soon as you don't respond for, like, twenty minutes, he blows up your phone!"

"He was getting between Felicia's old friendships too," Chelsea piped in. "She lost all of them."

Felicia groaned. "Don't remind me," she said. "He kept going on and on about how my friends weren't good for me and they were trying to ruin our relationship, and I actually listened 'cause I was, like, fifteen and stupid. I'm never getting some of those people back, ever!"

I frowned. Felicia was treating all of Brandon's actions as horrible, unforgivable crimes, but I honestly couldn't see what he had done wrong. All I saw here was a guy who had cared a lot about his girlfriend, as well as a girlfriend who couldn't appreciate that at all.

"Maybe they weren't actually that good," I replied.

Felicia shook her head. "Some of them were my friends since I was a kid. But nope, I couldn't hang out with them anymore 'cause my stupid boyfriend wanted me to himself."

"Okay…" I said quietly, even though I understood absolutely nothing. Everything Felicia had described sounded so…romantic to me. Protective. I could only dream of the guy who cared enough about me to do all of these things; and here Felicia was, treating them as unforgivable crimes.

Must be nice, being so beautiful and popular that everyone loves you.

The thought stabbed through me, sharp and resentful. Of course Felicia didn't appreciate these sorts of things. Felicia was gorgeous; of course she was so used to positive attention that it turned into a chore. But to an ordinary person like me, all these things felt like an unattainable dream.

Leaning forward, Felicia studied my expression closely, and I squirmed. I had never been very good at hiding my thoughts and feelings.

"You still don't get it," she concluded. "It's about trust and respect. A good partner would've—is that all you're eating?"

Following her gaze, I looked down at the small bowl of salad that I still hadn't touched. "I'm not hungry," I lied. "Plus…" Laughing nervously, I looked down along my body. "I've got reserves?"

"You are literally not gonna make it through the afternoon."

Before I could protest, Felicia took one of the sandwiches on her plate and placed it on top of my salad. "Girl, your body needs nutrients," she said. "You're growing, do you seriously think you can focus on class on a tiny bowl of salad?"

I looked away. "That's…"

"I'm serious. No diets before you're an adult, or you will actually screw up your body." Felicia took another bite from her own sandwich. "You're cute enough anyway, why are you starving yourself?"

I almost choked on my salad. My face heated up. "What?"

"It's true. You're really cute," Felicia replied, getting all up in my space as she smiled, blue eyes locking with mine with an almost unnerving intensity. "You know that, right?"

A compliment. From the prettiest, most popular girl of the school.

I had seen enough movies to know this was a trap.

"I'm really not," I said with a smile. "But thank y—"

The look on Felicia's face was enough to shut me up mid-sentence.

"What?" I asked with a nervous giggle.

Felicia narrowed her eyes. "Don't you know it's rude to not accept compliments?"

Okay, I thought as the gears in my brain sputtered in a panicked attempt to process this new development. That was definitely not how it went in the movies.

"Uhm…really?" I said while still searching for a more clever response. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…mean…something mean. That didn't make sense, right?"

Felicia shrugged. "Not less than Louie on an average Tuesday," she said. Louie smiled and nodded enthusiastically, either not realizing or not caring that her friend had just insulted her.

"Okay then," I replied. "I'm…glad?"

"Great! I'm just gonna repeat it. You're really cute." Felicia crossed her arms, smiling winningly. "Now what do you say?"

I squirmed, feeling silly and put on the spot and also a bit like a badly-behaved child getting lectured by her mother. All the same I couldn't help cracking a tiny smile. Even if it wasn't genuine, even if it was a joke—the most popular girl of the school had just complimented me. And she was telling me to accept it…like she had actually meant it.

"Thank you?" I tried, and her face lit up like I was the one who had complimented her.

"See? It's not that hard." Satisfied, she reached for her water bottle, then paused like she'd been interrupted by a sudden thought. "By the way!" she said and motioned Louie and Chelsea closer to her. "Don't mind us, we need to discuss something for a second."

Understanding the hint, I backed away as the girls whispered among themselves. I couldn't catch what they were saying, but whatever it was, Louie seemed enthusiastic about it while Chelsea looked skeptical and kept shooting icy looks in my direction.

"Okay," Felicia declared at last, turning back to me. "We've decided."

I sat up straighter. "…Okay?"

Felicia gave a nod to Chelsea, who squirmed miserably but caved under her expectant gaze. "We want to invite you," she said without looking at me, "to keep hanging out with us at lunch."

The gears in my brain stopped turning.

"…Sorry, what?"

"You heard us," Felicia replied. "You're part of the group now!"

"Wait." I furrowed my brow. "I…thanks, but I…I barely know you guys…I mean, you barely know me. And, and…"

It's obvious I look out of place. I didn't say that, but the thought had to show on my face anyway.

"And…I already have a group to eat lunch with," I said instead.

"You can still hang out with them, don't worry!" Felicia answered at once. "We just wanna get to know you better. Can we do that?"

I hesitated.

Was this a trap? I couldn't see a single reason why Felicia would be interested in me as a person. She just wanted to keep an eye on me because of Brandon, didn't she? Yeah, that had to be it. But in that case, if I turned down her invitation, wouldn't I just make it worse?

Wasn't it better to play along for now, win her favor, until she lost interest in the whole Brandon thing?

Okay. Fine. Sunday probably wouldn't like it, but if I explained it to her, hopefully she'd understand.

Putting on a smile, I offered an awkward nod.

"Sure," I said. "Thank you?"

The look on Felicia's face was one of complete and utter delight.

"Perfect!" she said, placing her hand on top of mine. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

I left my lunch table with a lot of mixed feelings and not the faintest clue what I had gotten myself into.