“I have a friend who’s hosting a night out in the woods for the Fourth. It’ll be super cool.”

I wince, the picture-perfect image of us feeling more like cracked glass.

“Is that a no?” Drew asks.

I shake my head. “No, it’s not a no, it’s just—Devin’s parents are having a party and I promised em I’d go.”

Drew groans. “Devin again? Really?”

“What does that mean?” I ask, shoulders tense. “E’s my friend, and I already missed eir last party.”

“It just seems like you two are getting awfully close. Were you with em today? When I came by your apartment?”

I roll my eyes. “What difference does it make?”

“Look, I don’t care who you hang out with, all right? But when you’re constantly trying to bail on me for the same person, it’s hard not to be a little jealous.”

“Bail on you? We agreed to go to the party together, and today, you showed up without telling me you were coming,” I say. “None of that’s my fault.”

Drew sighs. “Just, tell me something. Did you tell em about the Diary?”

I pause, an eyebrow raised. “And if I did?”

“God, Noah, the Diary’s supposed to be our thing. Now you’re just sharing it with anybody?”

“I made the Diary,” I say. “It’s my thing. I can choose who I tell about it.”

Drew pauses like he’s digging for the right words. Finally, he says, “I know, and I don’t want to fight with you. It’s just . . . After everything that’s been happening lately, I just want to be able to spend time with you. You know, without Devin coming between us.”

“E’s not coming between us,” I say. “I’m going to Devin’s party for the Fourth. We can do something afterward if you want. I’ll be free after seven.”

I freeze once the words are out of my mouth, expecting him to fight back—to say that’s just not acceptable. His face is scrunched, his eyebrows pulled taut like he can’t possibly relax them, and he’s obviously pissed at me, but I came all the way out here for an apology, and it barely feels like I got one. Hell, it feels like this whole thing got flipped around, and now I’m supposed to feel sorry for something I didn’t do.

And I hate knowing that if he tells me I can’t go to Devin’s, I won’t. Nothing’s changed, and if he insists the only thing holding our relationship together is his friend’s terrible nature gathering, I won’t have a choice in the matter. Because I can’t lose the Diary, and right now, the only thing keeping my followers around is their love for Drew.

My love for Drew. Because we love each other, right? That’s the whole point.