I jumped away from Jared like I'd been splattered with hot oil, and turned toward my best friend, my eyes shock-wide.

Dressed in a terry-cloth robe, her red hair still dry, Alison stared at us, her mouth curled cruelly. "Oh, isn't this just great? In my own room, no less! And yeah, Nic, sure you came to see me."

"I did!" I said, leaping toward her. "Jared and me ... well, that happened last night. Today was totally about seeing you, telling you, making sure you were okay with us going out."

Her eyes narrowed. "Well, I'm not okay. I'm not. Uh-uh, this is just ... too creepy."

"That's totally unfair," I said, so softly that I didn't even know if my words had hit the air.

"Alison," Jared said. "Come on ... give us a break."

I shook my head to silence him. I was grateful that he'd tried to help. But this was between Alison and me.

He gave me a nod and disappeared.

"How do you think I feel?" she spat, yanking the belt on her terry-cloth robe so tight she looked like she was in pain. "You've been my friend since seventh grade. Every time you've called, come over, gone to the beach house with us-everything. It's been because you want to be with me.

"Now I don't know what to believe. Will you be coming by for me or for my brother? It's like I'm not good enough for you anymore or something."

"Nothing has to change between us," I said lamely.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you're sure as h.e.l.l going to need another best friend if you want to gush about how cute he is. Or complain when he ignores you or forgets your birthday. Or G.o.d forbid, if you want to talk about your s.e.x life!"

Got me there.

"And then what happens if you break up?" she went on. "And you hate his guts? So you don't come around here at all anymore? Suddenly I'm caught in the middle? Or do I get dumped, too?"

"No," I said, emotion welling in my throat. "No, Alison."

"Or one of you starts cheating or plotting a split? And I'm put in the position of keeping secrets?"

She had clearly put waaay more thought into this than I had. I'd just been b.u.mbling along, letting my feelings guide me, trying to make heads or tails out of my life.

Which was where Jared had come in. Making me smile, knocking me back into the box when I got too crazy. Helping my life make sense.

Was that so bad? How often did you find someone who not only set your heart on fire, but did wonderful things with your head, too?

Her face was a thundercloud, emotions flashing like lightning. Anger, sadness, hope.

"You've made really good points," I admitted. "Things I haven't thought through. But it seems to me that we've been through harder things, and if we try real hard ..."

Her expression went stiff. Unrelenting. Telling me I had to choose.

The thing was, there was no choice. Alison was a one-in-a-million friend. She'd stood by me through everything. The problems with my family, guys, Coach Luther. She'd believed in me. Even when I hadn't believed in myself. I couldn't turn my back on her.

Jared ... would have to wait. Or understand. Or both.

As would The Dress ... apparently destined to live for eternity in its bag behind my door.

"Okay," I said, and shrugged.

"Okay, what?"

"Okay." I swallowed hard. "I won't go out with Jared."

Her brow creased. "You won't?"

"No." I tried to come up with a smile but couldn't find one. I felt like I was falling into a dark, bottomless hole, spiraling further and further from the light. But Alison was falling right alongside me. Wasn't she?

"You were in my life first. You've been there when I've needed you. If it means that much to you, I won't be with him."

She studied my face, as if searching for the truth. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I managed.

"Okay. Okay, good." She looked a little stunned, standing there for a minute or so like she didn't believe me, then mumbled, "Uh ... I'm going to get in the shower. Then we'll go do something. Like we planned."

She closed the bathroom door behind her.

I wilted onto her bed. Wanting to cry. To scream. To hit something.

Wanting my best friend. So I could huff and sigh and roll my eyes and tell her all about this unfair and terrible predicament. And wait for her to tell me everything I wanted to hear, like how it was going to be all right.

But that so wasn't going to happen.

I'd have to pull myself back together all by myself. I couldn't rely on Alison. And I especially couldn't count on Jared. Not after I released this newest bomb.

Like a sleepwalker, I padded through the living room, kitchen, family room, and out to the attached garage. The garage door was up, and sunlight and a light breeze filtered in across the pavement. Guysized sneakers and blue jeans stuck out from under a Camaro. (With fully intact windows, I noticed.) I waited, collecting my thoughts. And my nerve. Then, finally, "Jared."

His torso and head rolled into view. "Hey. You two work things out?"

"Everything's going to be fine," I spoke, monotone. "As long as I don't have anything to do with you."

"What? You didn't agree to that, did you?" He bolted up. "That's c.r.a.p!"

I must have looked as distraught as I felt, because his face suddenly softened, and he moved toward me. I buried my head in his shoulder and for the second time in less than two weeks I spurted waterworks at him. Tears blinded my eyes and choked my throat.

His arms came around me. Strong, protective, caring. Feeling so good, I didn't even care how lame I seemed.

"Aw, come on, Nic. Don't give up."

Tears sliding down my cheeks, I let out a sob.

"Come on," Jared said, and stroked my hair. "It'll be okay."

I didn't deserve him. Here I was trying to throw him away, and he was "being there" for me. I buried my face in his chest.

Alison's voice suddenly cut through the haze that was my brain. I sniffed, wiped the tears from my eyes, dislodged myself from her brother's arms, and turned to her.

Robed, a towel twisted over her wet hair, she had swollen eyes, too. Crazy as it seemed, I couldn't help thinking that was the fastest shower on record. There was no way she'd used conditioner.

"I'm the one," she choked out, looking at me.

I shook my head.

"You know, Kylie and the digital picture." She swallowed hard. "That day you went to your dad's. Kylie saw you leaving and came up to me. Wanting to know if you two were a couple, what the story was." Wincing, she continued. "I told her he was just taking you to your dad's, no big deal. She started saying all this stuff about how you'd been using me all these years to get close to my brother. How you don't care about girls' feelings, only guys', which is why you tried to steal her boyfriend."

"That's not true!" I wailed.

She nodded, her movement slow and strained. "I got mad. At her. At you, for putting me in that situation, and mad at myself for buying into it. Next thing I knew, I was telling her about the beer picture, and how I'd use it against you if I had to. Which was just stupid, just something to say. I mean, you and I know it was to keep you away from Rascal, not Jared, but she didn't, right? Anyway, I'd already deleted it. She never had a copy. The nerve to try to blackmail you."

I shifted my weight, swimming through a wave of thoughts and emotions. Alison had betrayed me. Sort of. I wanted to be mad. Ticked off. Irate.

Unfortunately, I wasn't always the Great Seer of the Big Picture, either. I'd blurted out dumb things. Who was I to judge?

"I'm sorry," Alison said, and teared up herself. "I never thought I'd be the kind of friend who'd backstab."

"You didn't," I said gently, and smiled. "Not really. It just goes to show that neither one of us is perfect." I leaned in for a hug, and pulled back to see her trying to smile.

"Some friend I am, huh, Nic? I rat you out, then tell you to choose between Jared and me. I was so sure you'd choose him. So I could just be mad, and I wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore."

I took a moment to let her words register. "You don't have to feel guilty. I should have been more sensitive to what you were going through, too."

Her gaze swept from me to Jared and back again. "You guys are probably perfect for each other. But can you understand how this feels to me? It's like I'm losing my best friend."

I patted her arm. "Could you give this a try, Alison? I promise you I'll have time for a boyfriend and a best friend. And if I do something stupid," I said, and dropped my voice to a low whisper, as if Jared couldn't hear, "like start to tell you how great your brother is, you have my full permission to whack me upside the head."

She sniffed and smiled.

He smirked.

Relief did a volcano thing inside me. ... I half expected hot air and confetti to blow out the top of my head.

And can I tell you how much I wanted to put this whole thing behind us and just go to the mall?

Jared played chauffeur. But on the way home, he dropped Alison off first. She didn't seem to mind, just said she'd call me later. And I was glad for time alone with Jared.

The best thing about having a sucky life was how sweet it was when it suddenly improved.

I floated inside the house, intending to update my mom on the newest developments. But Mom wasn't alone. Dad was there. With Autumn. And some strange suitcases, clogging up the hallway.

Was I hallucinating-or did Mom have the bigger update?

"Your dad and Autumn are going to spend a couple of nights with us while looking for their own place near here."

Say what?

"I was offered a job in L.A.," Dad said from the couch. "Your mom's been nice enough to let me crash here," he added, and patted a seat cushion. "And we thought maybe you could make s.p.a.ce for Autumn in your room?"

Thoughts clashed like cymbals in my head. "Yeah, I guess, but what about Caffeine? Uh, Cathleen?"

"We've separated," Dad said. He glanced toward his other daughter, who was happily shredding one of Mom's old Martha Stewart Living magazines. "Cathleen agreed it was best that Autumn go with me."

I stared at the black-haired toddler. The baby who'd been born to infuriate me. To replace me. If my dad was the best parent she had-well, she didn't have much, did she?

Poor thing.

My mom took a couple of steps closer. "Your dad and I worked out an arrangement. Until I'm reinstated at work, or decide what it is I'm going to do, I'm going to be Autumn's day-care provider. In turn, he'll cover our mortgage."

That was the goofiest thing I'd ever heard. Mom and Autumn?

My face must have given me away, because Mom excused the two of us and pulled me into the kitchen. "This is a financial arrangement, Nicolette. It allows me to stay home and rea.s.sess my career. I'm not looking at Autumn as my ex-husband's daughter, but as your half sister, who has had a tough break, and needs some help."

Her gaze sharpened. "But that's it, you understand? In a few days, they'll move out. She'll come and go here at the house. But your dad and I will never get back together."

I nodded. I'd let that dream go ages ago. I was just glad Mom was making strides toward putting her life back together.

Meanwhile, I supposed I could try to be nice.

"Come on, Autumn," I said, moving back into the living room and offering my hand. "I've got even better magazines to rip up in my room. Magazines full of cute guys."

To my surprise, she slipped her tiny hand inside mine and came with me. It was sort of sweet. Her footsteps barely made any noise as we padded down the hallway and into my room.

"What that?" she asked, turning and pointing at the garment bag on the back of my door.

Ha! She sure was my sister. She could feel the pull of The Dress even through the plastic.

"Only the most beautiful prom dress-uh, homecoming dress-in the entire world."

"I see! I see!"

I twisted my ring. She was one of the last people in the world I felt deserved that treat. But hey, things weren't always as they seemed. Mom and Dad were friends. Alison and I were best friends again. Jared and I were more than friends.

Guess there was room for an upgrade in my sister relationship, too.

I got down on one knee. "Okay, kiddo, but first we wash your hands." A closer look showed a peanut b.u.t.ter-colored smear on her shirt, and what looked like blue marker on her arm. "Better make it a full bath."

"I wear it!"

"It's a gazillion sizes too big for you, Autumn."

But it's just right for me, I thought, steering her toward the bathroom. I knew that for a fact-I'd tried it on enough. I'd danced in it, sung ballads in it, cried in it. The Dress molded to my body like a second skin, like someone had made it exclusively for me.

And for a dance that I hoped wasn't just about homecoming, but about new beginnings, too.

THREE WEEKS LATER.