When you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it.

I wanted people to trust me, despite anything they'd heard. And more than that, I wanted them to know me. Not the stuff they thought they knew about me. No, the real me. I wanted them to get past the rumors. To see beyond the relationships I once had, or maybe still had but that they didn't agree with.

I take a slow sip of lukewarm coffee, reopen the book, and read the words scribbled in red ink near the top: Everyone needs an olly-olly-oxen-free.

That’s when I said it. That’s when I whispered to her, “I’m so sorry.” Because inside, I felt so happy and sad at the same time. Sad that it took me so long to get there. But happy that we got there together.

Josh will begin disappearing into a future where the only place he and I remain friends is on the Internet.

A flood of emotions rushes into me. Pain and anger. Sadness and pity. But most surprising of all, hope.

There are also the people too bizarre to ignore, like Kyle Simpson. Future male stripper.