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all we have to talk about. I don’t know how to break it to him about the manuscript without a hysterical outburst that will draw attention from everyone on the bus. I look over to him but say nothing. His smile fades.
    ‘What did you do?’ He practically growls at me and it’s like he suspects the truth.
    I look around, making sure no one is paying attention. ‘Brian saw it,’ I squeak.
    For the first time in forever, I think that Perry is going to slap me. I wince in anticipation as I watch his expression turn from fury to embarrassment and back. I quietly explain how it happened and before he has a chance to respond, the bus is pulling up in front of Brian’s house. I watch as Brian boards the bus, walks down the narrow aisle towards us. Before he passes us, he stops and leans down to speak to me.
    ‘We need to talk,’ he says, glancing pointedly at Perry who is concentrating on the view beyond the window.
    I only nod. Indeed, we do need to talk.
    When we arrive at school and everyone is filing off the bus, I tell Perry to go on ahead without me and that I will catch up with him later. He goes on ahead withouteven acknowledging me. I walk with Brian, away from the crowds. We are far from everybody when he takes my arm. We stop and he looks me dead in the eye.
    ‘Dawn, I really like you,’ he says. ‘But if this is going to work out between us, Perry has got to go.’
    I shake my head without hesitating. How dare he make me choose him over my best friend?
    ‘You know I can’t do that.’
    He takes a breath and makes an effort to compose himself.
    ‘I can’t pretend that I didn’t read about Perry’s feelings for me. I feel dirty. I can’t act like nothing is wrong.’
    ‘You would never have known if you hadn’t been snooping in my room last night.’
    ‘It doesn’t change the facts,’ he spits back. ‘I am uncomfortable even being inthe same school with him now. How do you think the rest of the guys in gym class will feel when they find out that there’s a fag in the shower with them checking them out?’
    In a panic I grab the sleeve of his jacket and with a voice that’s both threatening and desperate I say, ‘You can’t tell anyone about this. You will destroy him.’
    He jerks his arm out of my grasp. ‘
His
best interests are not
my
best interests. We don’t need someone like that in school. What if he tries to turn other guys gay?’
    All my dreams seem to shatter right here and now as I realise that Brian is an idiot. How can Perry ‘turn’ people gay? Does he think Perry is some kind of vampire-creature? I can’t believe my ears. I am furious.
    ‘Perry was my friend before you came along and he will continue to be my friend after you’ve gone.’ My jaw is locked so tight, it starts to hurt. ‘If you spread this around the school, you will destroy him and he doesn’t deserve that.’ Then without givinghim a chance to respond, I turn and walk away. He doesn’t try to stop me.
    Later I think that maybe I shouldn’t have been so aggressive; I might have been more effective in persuading Brian to keep Perry’s secret. Too late to change that now.
    All day, Perry avoids me while I avoid Brian and just about everyone else in Brian’s crowd. It is a long day. When the time comes to board the bus, I sit alone. Perry must have chosen to walk home. The entire ride, I continue to ignore Brian and everyone else. I just want to get home.

CHAPTER 4
    I wake up the next morning hoping the past events were just some horrible nightmare and that I still have my handsome boyfriend and my best friend. I follow my usual morning routine, get dressed, brush my teeth and hair and go down to breakfast. Everything seems normal.
    When I get on the bus, Perry is not there. I sit alone in my usual seat as the bus continues to pick up its students. When it comes to Brian’s house, he boards the bus and walks down the aisle. He hesitates and then slips in beside me. As the bus jolts forward, Brian leans