"It's not that big of a deal." I shrugged as we walked around the mall about an hour later. "The plans were only set for like an hour. I'm sure he just found out he was busy."

"I would totally believe you, Liv, except for the fact that it's been an hour since he texted and you're still talking about it." Emma rubbed my back sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure he doesn't have a sinister reason for cancelling."

"Yeah, I guess--"

"And I know what you're thinking." Emma interrupted. "He definitely did not cancel on you because he suddenly remembered that you were Sophia Flores. He has no idea and isn't going to stop being into you."

"Yeah I know." I grunted. "You can't blame me for being worried, though."

Emma and Patrick both nodded.

"You're right. Just don't get too worried, because you'll ruin our shopping trip. Not that Patrick hasn't been trying to ruin it already."

Patrick rolled his eyes and continued to sulk along the hallway.

"It's not my fault that I get dragged along to a bunch of girly activities for every waking moment of my life."

"Get some more masculine friends." Emma replied.

Patrick didn't seem to have an answer for her and instead continued walking in silence.

"I'm starving." I said eventually, cutting the quiet. "Do we have money for food?"

Emma and Patrick immediately burst into laughter, stopping in their tracks and clutching their sides.

"Do we have money for food?" Emma repeated, "Liv, we've never not had money for anything in our entire lives."

"Sorry, it was just a question." I rolled my eyes. "Where do you want to go? Fancy? Casual?" I eyed our outfits, "Incredibly fancy?"

Emma thought for a second before replying.

"Fancy is good. I've been craving a good steak for a while now."

"How about Dinoto?" Patrick suggested, "It's within walking distance from the mall anyways."

Emma and I nodded.

"Sounds good! Let's go."

***

We walked into Dinoto and one of us was recognized immediately by the hostess.

"Welcome to Dinoto's! Your regular table, Mr. Ward?"

Patrick nodded.

"Thank you Ashley." He ignored the strange looks that Emma and I were giving him as she checked a few boxes on the paper in front of her and looked up with a smile.

"Follow me!"

We followed her to a table in the center of the main dining room, where everyone could see us and we could see everyone. We sat down quickly as "Ashley" set our menus in front of us.

"Thank you." Patrick repeated as we settled into our seats. Ashley nodded and then left.

"What was that?" Emma spoke first, "Regular table? Thank you Ashley? Who was that chick?"

Patrick shrugged.

"This is my usual first date restaurant. Not too fancy but not too casual. Just--"

"Right." Emma finished for him. "Just right. We get it. This is where you woo your hunnies."

"My hunnies?" Patrick repeated, "Far from it. You know my parents force me to go on dates with girls who they think would be suitable matches for me. It's not my fault that I just don't find any of them interesting."

"Because we all know you're waiting for me." Emma winked, "Have been since the second grade."

"Right." Patrick agreed absentmindedly; he had stopped paying attention to Emma's teasing the second day of their friendship. "Anyways, Ashley's usually working here when I come in and she takes my orders and stuff like that. I think she wants to be the next person that I take here, but I don't think of her like that."

"Why not?" Emma asked genuinely, "She seems super sweet, and she's gorgeous."

"Yeah, but I went out with her cousin last week." Patrick replied.

"Oh." Emma and I spoke in unison. Patrick judged the matching tones of our voices and shrugged.

"So I'm not about that."

"Understandable." I said as we saw our waitress approaching, a girl who looked slightly similar to Ashley.

"Good grief," Patrick muttered.

"That's the cousin, isn't it?" Emma whispered excitedly.

"Yes." Patrick groaned and tried to hide his head, just moments too late.

"Patrick!" The waitress exclaimed excitedly as she approached the table, her step quickening as she laid eyes on him, "I'm so glad you're here! You never called me back." She fake-pouted, sticking out her bottom lip in a way that I had tried numerous times to make me appear attractive. She was far better at it than I was. "Were you busy?"

"Yeah, super busy." Patrick replied, lifting his head for the first time since she had been at the table. "I'll call tonight!"

"Great!" The girl replied. She then addressed the full table, including Emma and me in the conversation. "Can I get you all started with something to drink?"

After she had left with our drink orders, Emma and I turned to Patrick.

"You took her on a date to the place that she works?" Emma asked in disbelief.

Patrick nodded in shame.

"And you're not going to call her tonight, are you?" I asked.

Patrick shook his head.

Emma and I continued in our torment of Patrick for what felt like only a second before Ashley could be seen leading another couple to their table. The girl was blonde and slim, with heels that reached over six inches long and a skirt for which the same couldn't be said. The man was tall and well-built, and when he turned his head I felt all the blood drain out of my face.

"Liv?" Patrick asked from across me, "Are you alright? You look like a ghost."

I nodded silently.

"Liv?" Emma nudged me slightly. "Hello? Earth to Liv?" When I didn't answer, she followed my gaze and her eyes widened. "Oh no."

We both watched as Lincoln Carter pulled the chair out for his date and sat down across from her, only a few yards away from me. She giggled as he made a joke when he took his own seat, and he winked at her. I felt my heart plummet and my head spin; he had cancelled on me for this Malibu Barbie.

"Liv," Emma spoke again as I began to stand. "Liv, don't."

"I have to go." I whispered, making eye contact with Lincoln Carter as I stood up. His eyes widened and his mouth opened with no sound as I sprinted away.

"Wait!" His voice called from behind me. "Olivia, wait!"

But I didn't.

A/N: AHHH I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, but I've been working on a ton of projects that I'm super excited to tell you guys about!

For starters, the publishing of Dear Sydney in print is going steady and great! I'm so excited for you guys to see it. I'm going to tentatively say that it will be available in March or April, and I can't wait for you guys to see it!

But my biggest thing is the reason I've been kind of absent from Wattpad recently: a brand-new story! It's called Three's Company, and I'm super excited about it. I've had the idea for over a year, and started to write it and plan it out before Dear Sydney was even a concept. I decided to bring it back and I am so excited! I've put up the trailer, summaries (yes, multiple!) and characters/cast already, and the first official chapter will be up on February 14th, with a very frequent upload schedule. It would mean the world to me if you guys checked it out and let me know your thoughts!

And thank you so much for waiting so long for this update and being so patient, I promise the next one will come faster!!

-Katherine