That stung. I sat back, a little stunned. "So you don’t think she could just like me? I mean…she did kiss me."

Caleb laughed—harder than I’d have liked. I grit my teeth.

"Dude, I love you, but you’re…not exactly her type. She kissed you because you were obviously freaking out. We all saw it." He had exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair. "I think she’s just being nice and I don’t want to see you get hurt. You deserve better."

What he said hurt more than I wanted to admit. I glanced around the table. Our “friends” all awkwardly avoided eye contact and shifted in their seats. No one told him to shut up. No one defended me. They must have thought it too.

"Wow, okay," I said with an awkward laugh. "I would’ve thought maybe you’d be happy for me, but it looks like only Caleb is allowed to get the girls."

"Come on, man. I’m just looking out for you."

"Sure," I spat. I snatched my books off the table and stuffed them into my bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Caleb jumped off the table in attempt to follow me.

I held out my hand to signal for him to stop. "I’m going to the library. I’ve got some stuff to work on for science. I’ll see you later," I muttered, pushing past him. I didn’t feel like explaining myself. Truthfully, I just wanted to get away. I didn’t know why his comment upset me so much. Even if he was just trying to look out for me… it hurt knowing he didn’t think someone like her could ever like someone like me. Am I not good enough? Is that really how he felt about me?

With my headphones blasting the loudest they could go, I stormed through the hallways and made my way up to the third-floor library. I was so lost in my own head, I hardly noticed when a small blonde walked through the doors at the same time I did.

We collided, and I shot my hands out to keep her from falling. Standing tall at 6'2", a hit from me would’ve been brutal to the small frame I collided with. My heart stopped when I realized who I’d run into.

Sarah Lockwood.

"Nathan!" she giggled, grabbing onto my forearms for balance. "You almost took me down there."

"So sorry." My face turned bright red. "I wasn’t thinking."

"Clearly. For a lab partner, though, I really hope you work on that." She winked. That made me laugh, too. She was so quick with her words, kind of like Caleb. And just like that, my smile faded.

"Where’s your shadow?" she asked, as if reading my mind.

"Caleb?" I asked, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Still in the caf, I think."

She gave me a confused look. "And here I thought you two were a package deal." She nudged me in the shoulder.

"Yeah," I breathed. "I don’t know why he likes me so much."