I'd seriously underestimated Theo's friends' level of asshole, which was my own damned fault. I knew full well that Connor was the kind of guy who viewed girls as just a collection of parts and not as people. No wonder he hadn't bothered to remember my name. Aurelia's words stung, though. Especially when she'd seemed so nice at the breakfast table. It made me wonder why Theo was friends with them, if this was how they'd treat someone they thought was his girlfriend. It didn't line up with the guy I thought I knew—the one he was when we were alone together.

Then again, maybe I was wrong. Maybe the guy he was when we were alone together was as fake as our ruse. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but his friends had complained that he was acting weird at breakfast. Maybe the version of Theo I thought I knew was the act, and the person he was around his friends was the truth.

I didn't like the way that thought settled in my stomach like a rock.

The party swallowed up Connor's faked cry of disappointment, and I wove through a legion of sweaty cowboys, zombies, and firemen, then past an entire Vogue shoot's worth of girls in vaguely-themed lingerie. The kitchen was within view when one of them broke off and planted herself in front of me, a hand on her hip.

"It's not your turn," Emma snapped, pointing at me around her cup. She was wearing a tiny, sparkly bikini top shaped like clam shells, a fish-scale mini skirt, and glittery green fishnets. The mermaid to Theo's Aquaman. I bit my tongue against my bitter laugh.

"For what?" I asked, trying to go around her.

She was surprisingly agile in her sky-high heels and caught my arm in her frigid fingers. "For Theo."

I squinted at her. "I'm sorry, did I just hear that right? Is Theo some kind of toy you all get to—"

"This year was my turn," she said over me, her voice rising. "Giselle got him last fall, and now it's my turn! Not yours!"

I blinked at her, then burst into laughter. "You should drink some water, Em. You're not making any sense."

"Leave him alone, you pathetic loser!" She dug her nails into my wrist. I wrenched away with a hiss, but she held tight. "You're nothing. You're less than nothing! And dating Theo won't make you—"

"Won't make her what?"

Emma released me abruptly. I yanked my wrist back to massage the place where she'd gouged me. Theo's arms were suddenly around me, his chest pressed flush against my back. While it probably looked like a hug, it definitely felt more like a restraint. Almost as if he knew that I was on my last, fraying thread of patience and dangerously close to diving at Emma, fingernails first.

"Apparently I cut the line," I said, before she could get the last word. "To date you, I mean. Emma was just telling me how it was Giselle's turn last year, and now it's hers."

Emma's perfectly tinted mouth hung open, and while it wasn't nearly as satisfying as clawing at her the way she'd clawed me, my hunched shoulders relaxed. As if he could feel it, Theo gave me a quick squeeze and burst into laughter.

"Is that why you were so easy last week?" he asked. "Geez, Em. I thought you knew that was nothing."

Her glare shifted from me up to him before she whirled on her heel and disappeared between the shells of a pair of Ninja Turtles. I blew out a breath and checked my arm for any residual damage. Thankfully, her manicured nails hadn't been all that sharp.

"You okay?" Theo asked, arms still around me.

I shook my head, slowly unclenching my fists. "I'm ready to leave whenever you are."

His hold loosened and his hands trailed down to my waist. "Come on, let's get something to drink."

He steered me towards the kitchen, where I eyed the dubious punch as he fished a 7-up from one of the coffin coolers. Open bottles of alcohol and boxes of wine were spread across the countertops, some boasting "sponsored by" stickers littered with the Greek letters of sororities and frats. It was more in line with the cheap booze from the house parties I'd attended back at home, but I couldn't stop thinking about those lines of coke. There was something about the way these college kids partied just a little bit harder that kept me on edge.

"You want any?" Theo asked, following my gaze to the alcohol.

I shook my head. I didn't want to end up like the puking unicorn, not when my scholarship clause expressly forbade alcohol. Emma would absolutely, without a doubt, video me and send it to the headmistress if I got even a little tipsy.

"I'm fine with just the can," I said as Theo split the soda between two solo cups filled with ice.

"Trust me, Emdubs. If we're not going to drink, then we need to at least pretend we are."

I sighed, not liking this one bit. "As I said"—I clinked my cup with his—"ready to leave whenever you are."

He tilted his head. "Give it an hour? And then I promise I'll free you from the torture of my company."

"You're not the problem. I..." I trailed off.

I'd almost said, "I actually like hanging out with you." Except that wasn't the kind of thing a fake girlfriend was supposed to say. And yet, it was the truth. If we could just forget about the rest of the party and hang out together, chatting the way we had in the car, I could easily have done it all night. I might've even enjoyed it. Especially if it was with the version of him I found myself missing already.

And that was not the kind of thing a fake girlfriend was supposed to feel. At all.

I took a big sip of 7-up and looked anywhere but at him, hoping the low lighting hid the heat burning in my cheeks. "So are we just supposed to stand around, pretending to drink, until your friends are too drunk to notice us leave?"

When he didn't answer and I waited long enough that it got awkward, I finally looked at him. The corners of his lips lifted as if he was fighting a smile.

"What?" I asked, trying and failing to sound nonchalant. Instead, it came out defensive.

He took a step towards me. "Why'd you change the subject?"

I took a step back, only to bump into the counter. "I wasn't changing the subject."

He leaned forward and braced his arms on the counter to either side of me. "I'm pretty sure you said, 'You're not the problem, I...' So tell me. You what, Ellie?"

Ellie. Not Emdubs. The last time he'd called me Ellie was on the soccer field, right before he'd given me that ridiculous bouquet. Right before the last time he'd stepped this close, and I'd thought about kissing him. I swallowed. There was nowhere for me to hide now. I couldn't crush my face to his chest like last time, not with him leaning over me like this. Not with his face so close, and his eyes making a very dangerous voyage downwards, towards my lips.

That damned flutter of something stirred awake in my stomach again.

"I just hate your friends," I managed weakly.

His eyes found mine again. One of his eyebrows lifted. "But not me, right?"

Damn it. I swallowed against the pounding of my heart. He was looking at me that way again, just like he had on the soccer field. As if all his armor was gone. As if it was a real question, not just banter. Like he actually cared about my answer.

"No. Not the Theo I know," I admitted, even though it was the wrong thing to say and made me a terrible fake girlfriend. Because a proper fake girlfriend wouldn't have meant it. A proper fake girlfriend would've laughed and lied and thought about the guy she was actually doing this for. She definitely wouldn't be thinking about the one leaning over her, whose lips were far more interesting than they ought to be. Especially when they curved into a smile that reached all the way to his dancing eyes.

"That's a relief." Theo tucked a piece of my hair back into my fake laurel crown. "Because I—"

A squeal erupted behind him and a pair of pale, slender arms wound around his shoulders to yank him away from me. I stayed pressed up against the counter, heart hammering.

"Tee, we need you! Connor's doing a keg stand," Giselle screeched, hanging off Theo's back. A pair of black cat ears poked out from her brown hair, which cascaded over Theo's shoulder. She leaned in to plant a very sloppy kiss on his cheek and left a bright red lipstick mark in its wake.

I didn't like the way that something clenched in my chest at the interruption. Nor the way that Emma's words—"Giselle got him last fall"—doused all the heat that had built beneath my skin. I ripped my eyes away from them and took a sip of my drink.

"All right, I'm coming." Theo peeled Giselle's arms off. He glanced over at me, opening his mouth to say something, but Giselle was already dragging him away, giggling and swaying drunkenly. I turned my back and surveyed the rest of the party over the rim of my drink.

Why in the hell was I feeling so disappointed? And what the heck was behind the pit in my stomach when Giselle had kissed his cheek? Before I could stop myself, I looked their way and immediately regretted it. I don't know what I expected, but something about the grin spread wide across Theo's face as he hoisted Connor's legs up while Giselle jumped and cheered beside him made my insides squirm. They were assholes, but he was thoroughly enjoying himself with them, as if he didn't really think they were assholes at all. As if it didn't matter how mean they'd been to me, the girl he was dating.

No, not dating. Fake dating. Chewing my cheek, I shook my head to clear it. I needed to get a grip. Theo had only been flirting for show, just like he had on the soccer field. It was all part of the game, to try to make everyone think it was real. And it was entirely my own damned fault for being stupid enough to think that him leaning in with his heart-stopping smile had meant a damn thing. I was a fool for thinking he'd choose me, his pretend girlfriend, over his real friends.

When a cloud of smoke flooded into the kitchen from a group of strangers dressed as football referees, I fought my way back towards the front door, intent on some fresh air.

It was a mistake.

**A/N: Aaaah another cliffhanger! Last one for this arc, I promise. 😉 This chapter is up there with some of my favorite chapters of this book. It's one of them that I always thought would work really well from Theo's POV...maybe someday I'll write it as a bonus chapter!
The Halloween party finally comes to an end next time, but not before yet another healthy dose of drama. As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**