As much as I don’t want to lose Rose or Eleanor as friends, I can’t help feeling like a bit of space from Rose might not be the worst thing in the world for me, too. Maybe if I take some time to hang with just Molly for a few weeks, it’ll give Molly a chance to cool down, and I’ll be able to kick this stupid little crush. I know from past experience it’s not easy to shut feelings down if you’re spending time with the person every day. And the last thing I need is to be pining after a taken girl for the next year.

Nip it in the bud, right?

“If you want to hang out one-on-one for a while, I’m fine with that,” I say.

Molly looks like she could kiss me. Not her, too. I really am seeing it everywhere. “Really?”

“Sure. You said you don’t want me to pick sides, right? Like, this isn’t going to be a declaration of war or anything?”

“No,” Molly says firmly. “Definitely not. You’re free to do anything you want. If you want to talk to Rose, or hang out with her, go for it. But I won’t be joining for a while. And I’d … honestly, I’d love to still be able to spend time with just you, if you’re up for it.”

The more I think about this, the more it sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a while. “Totally,” I say. “Let’s do it. I’m down.”

Molly actually claps her hands together. This must have really been eating her up. I think she must have been expecting me to say I’d miss her, and good luck. And, I guess, I can see why. If she’d asked me this two days ago, I don’t know if I’d have been able to offer to ditch the group with her quite as fast.

But that was two days ago, and this is now.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” she asks. I’m glad she asked again, because my stomach’s started rumbling over the last couple of minutes. Maybe a distraction from this morning’s news story is all I really needed.

“Fine, I’ll come,” I say, closing the lid of the piano. We walk across the ballroom together, and then out into the freezing night. “What about Eleanor?” I ask as we go.

“What about her?”

“Do you need space from her? Or can she join us?”

Molly laughs, but it’s a sort of bitter one. “She can join us. She won’t, though.”

“No?”

“She’ll stick with Rose, no matter what.”

“Really?” I ask. “I kind of thought she was friends with both of you.”

“She is. But it’s different with her and Rose.”