My throat constricted, and my tongue felt thick and useless. The heat in my cheeks was undeniable, a flush of embarrassment creeping up my neck. I'd spent the last two months navigating the complicated lives of Jess and Bastien, convinced I'd discovered every corner of their existence. Yet, here I was, shocked and disoriented, confronting the startling revelation that Bastien had a boyfriend. How many other truths had I missed? How much didn't I know?

Ace, oblivious to the earthquake rumbling within me, amiably cut through the sudden, suffocating silence. "I heard the song you posted," he began, his voice slightly calming my raw nerves. "I'm probably responsible for half the streams you have. It's great."

I tried to focus on his words, to the normalcy of the conversation, to anything but the swirling vortex of insecurities threatening to engulf me. "Thank you," I managed, the words feeling foreign on my tongue. "There are probably about ten streams total, so we need all the help we can get." My hand, seeking a familiar comfort, instinctively slipped into my pocket, my fingers closing around Dean's well-worn hackysack. The smooth, familiar texture offered a minute, although fleeting, sense of calm.

"You definitely have way more than that," Ace countered with a warm, encouraging smile playing on his lips. He moved with an easy familiarity toward the kitchen counter, placing the box of cupcakes down before casually picking up a chip and popping it into his mouth. "And if you want any help with promoting or how to broaden your reach, let me know."

"I'm going to have to take you up on that," I admitted with a genuine eagerness in my voice. "I don't know anything about the business side of it all." I paused, a new thought bubbling to the surface, and then continued, "I'm surprised Bastien and Jess didn't mention you before." My heart started beating faster, and despite the cool breeze from the living room fan, a flush of heat began to spread through my body.

"I've been away for school, so that makes sense," Ace responded, effortlessly pulling a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge, as if he owned the place. "They both talk about you a lot though. You pop up in half the texts they send me."

"Where are you going?" I asked, the only question my suddenly sluggish brain could form.

"Haverford," he answered with a hint of pride in his voice. "Got really lucky with a scholarship I couldn't give up, or I'd still be here with these two."

"Haverford? That's awesome," I exclaimed, genuine surprise coloring my tone. "Didn't think I'd ever meet anyone that would be able to go there." Haverford was a mythical place in my mind, a sanctuary for legacy kids or valedictorians of elite prep schools, a world away from the dusty, rural high school I'd attended.

"Jess was accepted, too, but she ditched me to stay with Bastien. And they didn't have the major she really wanted. Are they still getting ready?" Ace asked with a knowing grin on his face.

I simply nodded, too stunned to speak. Ace, with a fond twinkle in his eye, mouthed, "Typical."

Jess gave up going to Haverford? She was accepted to Haverford? Bastien has a boyfriend? The revelations cascaded, each one a fresh blow, shaking the foundations of what I thought I knew. The living room, moments ago so open and inviting, now seemed to shrink around me, its walls closing in. The vibrant thrum of the dubstep began to meld with the frantic pounding of my own heart, the rhythm a heavy drumbeat against my ribs, and the gentle whir of the fan morphed into an insistent buzz in my ears. A wave of anxiety, cold and relentless, washed over me, and I felt the familiar urge to escape, to perform the one action that had become my default in moments of overwhelming stress.

I couldn't let Ace witness my unraveling. That would be an additional, unbearable layer of humiliation. "I forgot that I have to do something," I mumbled, my voice barely a whisper, as I snatched Dean's zip-up hoodie from the back of a chair and headed for the front door. "Can you let Jess and Bastien know I'll be back?"

"Sure, see you when you get back?" Ace said, his voice laced with a gentle concern that only intensified my desperate need to escape.

"Definitely. See you in a bit." I replied, my voice steadier than I felt, as I pulled the door shut behind me, plunging into the blissful emptiness of the hallway.