"I'm just saying."
"Well don't," Odessa raised her voice, shocking them and herself.
There was a silence. Hailey rolled her eyes and looked down at her food. Grayson and Oliver looked at each other. "Okay," Oliver said and whistled under his breath. "Should we talk about something non karate related?"
The girls remained silent.












Eli lied on Odessa's bed and watched her put away her laundry. "Y'know, I love Hailey to death, I love her so much, but she can be such a bitch," she rambled and put her shorts in one of the drawers. "I mean, she treats me like a kid sometimes. Like her opinion's the only one that matters. It's bullshit."
"It is bullshit," he agreed with her, watching her go back and forth across the room. "But I mean, you guys are best friends. You argue all the time."
Odessa pushed the top drawer closed and she turned around, sighing irritably. "This is different, E. And I'm getting pissed off that people keeping thinking I'm basing all of my decisions off of Robby. I'm not."
The corner of Eli's mouth turned downward. "Yeah, that would get on my nerves, too."
The blonde girl walked over to the bed and sat down. She crossed her legs. "I mean, everybody knows it's you and I, so I don't get why people try to bring up the past."
Eli didn't know what to tell her on that because he was wondering the same. "Just ignore them, Dess. We're all under pressure about the tournament. I can promise you Hailey would never say anything to hurt you on purpose."
His words of wisedom calmed something in her that she didn't want to be calmed. "You know I already have a therapist, right?" Odessa asked and started to smile.
He shrugged, starting to smirk. "Yeah, but at least you don't have to pay me cash. Only with kisses."
She giggled and leaned forward. Eli leaned up and met her in the middle, kissing her gently. He pulled away and then kissed her forehead, loving the way she was smiling. "While we're confessing our feelings, can I confess something to you?" He asked.
Odessa titled her head. "Of course," she answered sweetly. 
Eli grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb on her palm. He stared at the bracelet he gifted her that was on her wrist. "Promise you won't be mad?" He said, appearing worried about her reaction.
The blonde widened her eyes. "You didn't cheat on me, did you?"
His face scrunched up. "What? No! Hell no."
"Oh, okay. Sorry," Odessa said and exhaled a breath. She laughed slightly. "My bad. What's going on?"
Eli took a breath and continued rubbing her hand. "I haven't apply to MIT yet," he confessed.
Her face stilled. "What?" She asked, her eyebrows going up in shock. "Why not?"
"When we were at that frat party, I was having the best time of my life. I've been so dead set on MIT for years, since Demetri and I were kids, but the party got me thinking that I have a bunch of options instead of just one."
Odessa nodded at his explanation. "Of course you have options, E. There's a whole world of colleges out there. You shouldn't have to limit yourself to just one."
Eli half smiled at her words of wisdom, but when he thought about Demetri, it made him upset again. "How the hell do I tell Demetri that I didn't apply?" He spoke out loud.
Odessa leaned on her arm and leaned forward closer to him. "You guys are best friends. Brothers, even. True best friends don't break up just because of how far away they are from each other."