But it was what she saw outside of these moments that began to trouble her.

On a Tuesday afternoon, Lena was walking to the library when she spotted Aaron by the gymnasium. He was talking to Sarah, a senior girl from her chemistry class. Sarah was laughing and touching his arm, clearly smitten. But when Aaron noticed Lena approaching, his whole demeanor changed.

"Look, I really have to go," he said to Sarah, his voice suddenly cold and dismissive. "You're being a bit too forward, don't you think?"

Sarah's face crumbled with embarrassment. "I... I thought we were having a nice conversation."

"Well you thought wrong," Aaron replied harshly, then walked away, leaving Sarah standing there looking hurt and confused.

Lena was shocked by the cruelty in his voice - so different from the warm, gentle way he spoke to her.

"Hi Lena," Aaron said as he approached, his tone completely changed, warm and friendly again. "How was chemistry class?"

"Fine," she replied, but she kept glancing back at Sarah, who was walking away with tears in her eyes.

A similar thing happened the following week with Jaden. Lena was leaving the cafeteria when she saw him talking to Rebecca, a girl from the drama club. Rebecca was clearly flirting, playing with her hair and giggling at everything he said. But the moment Jaden spotted Lena, he stepped away from Rebecca quickly.

"God, you're so clingy," he said loudly enough for others to hear. "I was just being polite. Don't read more into it than there is."

Rebecca looked shocked as people turned to stare. "Jaden, I didn't mean to—"

"Whatever," he cut her off, then jogged over to Lena with a bright smile. "Hey beautiful, perfect timing. Want to walk with me?"

Lena was disturbed by how quickly he'd switched from cruel to charming. "That was mean," she said quietly.

"What was mean?"

"The way you spoke to Rebecca."

Jaden shrugged. "She was throwing herself at me. I was just making it clear I wasn't interested. Some girls don't understand subtle hints."

But Lena had seen Rebecca's face. She hadn't been throwing herself at anyone - she'd just been talking and laughing. Jaden had been encouraging her right up until he saw Lena.

At home that evening, Lena confided in her mother while they prepared dinner.

"Mom, how do you tell if someone really likes you or if they're just playing games?"

Her mother looked up from chopping vegetables. "That's a very mature question for someone your age. What brought this on?"

"There are these boys at school..." Lena began hesitantly.

"Boys plural?" Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Lena, you're only thirteen. Don't you think you should focus on your studies?"

"I am focusing on my studies. But they keep talking to me, and I don't know what to think."

Her mother set down her knife and looked at her seriously. "Listen to me, sweetheart. When someone truly cares about you, they treat everyone with kindness, not just you. If a boy is only nice to you but cruel to others, that tells you who he really is inside."

That night, Lena lay in bed thinking about her mother's words. Both Aaron and Jaden were kind to her, but she'd seen them be unnecessarily harsh to other girls. What did that say about their true character?

The next day at school, she decided to test her theory. During English class, she intentionally stayed after to ask Aaron a question, but she stayed longer than usual, watching how he interacted with other students who came by.

When Jennifer, a quiet girl from her class, approached to ask about a makeup assignment, Aaron was impatient and dismissive. "Figure it out yourself. The instructions are clear enough."

But the moment Jennifer left and they were alone again, his voice became warm and encouraging as he turned back to Lena.

It was the same pattern with Jaden. She began to notice how he would be laughing and flirting with other girls, but the second he saw her, he would become cold to them and sweet to her.

They were both putting on an act, she realized. But why? And more importantly - if they were such good friends, did they know they were both pursuing her?

One afternoon, her question was answered. She was walking past the parking lot when she heard familiar voices. Hiding behind a car, she listened as Aaron and Jaden talked.

"So how's it going with the little freshman?" Aaron asked with a laugh.

"Slowly," Jaden replied. "She's not like the others. Smarter. More careful."

"Makes it more interesting though, doesn't it? The challenge?"

Lena's heart sank as she realized they both knew exactly what they were doing. They were friends, they were both pursuing her, and they thought it was some kind of game.

She crept away before they could see her, her mind made up.

If they wanted to play games, they could play them without her