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Blake frowned. “Have you been on Instagram yet?”

Her brow furrowed. “Um, no…why?”

Blake’s gaze shifted between her and Melanie, looking apprehensive.

“Blake,” she insisted, hands on her hips. “Spill, now.”

“Okay, but don’t shoot the messenger.”

She promised, watching as Blake tapped to the app on his phone and handed it to Rory. Melanie leaned in next to her as the two of them examined the picture that had Blake all anxious.

It was a picture posted by Jay. He hadn’t posted a single thing on his Instagram since moving to UCONN—he told Rory he was done with social media and wanted nothing to do with it. So chances were the fact that he was posting now was meant to be a jab at her.

The picture looked like it was taken at a party. He was leaning against a windowsill, his arm wrapped around some girl with long blonde hair, his hand low on her waist. She was whispering something in his ear, and his eyes were bright.

Melanie rubbed her arm in comfort. But to her shock, Rory didn’t feel like she needed it at all. A year ago, this kind of image would have made her spiral. She would have felt angry and jealous. She would have stood there and compared herself to that girl, finding all the flaws in herself and wondering why she couldn’t be someone Jay liked.

But now, all she felt was relief. Jay was at a party. He was meeting people at UCONN. She didn’t have a right to know anymore, but she hoped he was feeling better about being there.

“Rory?” Blake asked, his voice coated in nervous energy.

She just smiled, handing Blake his phone. “Good for him. I’m happy he’s happy.”

Blake’s jaw fell open, but he quickly snapped it shut when Melanie glared at him. “Um, I, well…wasn’t expecting that.”

Rory shrugged, opening up her locker. “I broke things off with him, remember?”

“Which, honestly, I don’t get,” Blake said. “I mean, you’ve been, like, in love with him—”

“Not in love,” Rory said flatly.

“Okay, then let’s go with obsessed. You’ve been obsessed with him for as long as I’ve known you.”

“Well, obsessions can change,” she explained slowly, grinning. “People can change.”

Melanie squeezed Rory’s arm again.

A commotion down the hall stopped their conversation. A handful of people burst out in applause, whooping and hollering at whatever was happening. The three of them followed.

Rory grabbed Blake’s and Melanie’s hands as they squeezed through the crowd into the cafeteria. Everyone was looking up at a massive banner hanging from an open window at one of the science labs on the second floor, trailing all the way down to the first floor. It was white, and in bold navy letters, the banner said:

Will the queen dance with the king one last time?

And there, standing in front of the banner, was Tyler. He was dressed in a pressed suit wearing his Homecoming King crown, holding a bouquet of white roses.

Rory watched in horror as everyone began cheering and chanting Zoe’s name, waiting for her to emerge from the crowd. She held her breath when Zoe finally popped into view, the students going absolutely wild as she approached Tyler. She wore a big smile on her face, mirroring the gooey look he was giving her.

For two people who were apparently “fake dating,” they were very good at it.

Maybe because the feelings aren’t fake at all, Rory thought sadly.

Zoe said something to Tyler and nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up as the crowd went berserk at his absurd promposal.

Rory couldn’t help it as tears streamed down her cheeks. It was like watching some kind of cruel nightmare.

“Now I get it,” Blake mumbled.

She turned around, looking at him. He was looking back at her with remorse, his face full of understanding.