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“What is it?” I asked. I knew something was up.

“Massive catfight in the corridor,” he said. “Madi and Laurie were really sticking it to each other.”

I stood up before he’d even finished the sentence, but Tanner jerked me back down into my chair before I could run off.

“What the hell?” I growled at him.

Tanner shook his head at me. “It was just an argument, no one got hurt. And, if I’m honest, I think Madi definitely won the war of words. Don’t worry, your little puddles will be fine.”

I scowled at him, wishing I’d never told him some of the stupid nicknames I’d given Madi to rile her up.

“So what happened?” I asked, trying to keep my cool.

“I only caught the end of it,” he said. “But it sounded like they were fighting over you. Then Brooke snapped at her sister and defended Madi before Madi put Laurie in her place. Then she and Brooke walked off into the sunset together.”

A smile quickly spread across my face. As much as I was worried about Madi, I couldn’t help but be proud of her for standing up for herself.

“I asked a few people around me about what they'd overheard,” Tanner continued. “Did you know Laurie convinced a whole heap of guys and girls to harass Madi last year?”

“What?” My smile was now firmly gone. How had I not heard that?

“Yeah it briefly came up in their fight, I knew Madi had a bit of trouble after the list, but I hadn’t realized it was something Laurie instigated.”

“Me neither,” I replied. My grip tightened on my desk as I tried to control my anger. I wanted to hunt Laurie down and tell her exactly what I was feeling.

“But there's more,” Tanner continued. “Apparently, Laurie has been rigging the vote for True Love.”

“What?” I nearly jumped out of my seat again, but Tanner gripped my shoulder before I could launch myself from my chair. “How?”

“She convinced Angus to make her the audience's pick the last two weeks.”

“Surely he wouldn’t do that…”

Tanner shrugged. “I only know what I heard,” he replied.

“I’m going to kill him,” I growled, making Tanner chuckle.

“Dude, you need to calm down. After Sunday’s episode, people are going to think you have rage issues.”

“Maybe I do,” I replied.

“Nah, you’re too much of a softie at heart,” he said, tapping his massive hand against my chest.

I shoved Tanner away from me, making him laugh.

I let out a breath as I considered everything my friend had just told me. “It’s not going to be pretty, but I need to deal with Laurie.”

Tanner leaned closer, and his eagerness made me grin. “What are you thinking?”

“You’ll see at lunch.”

Tanner nodded and held his fist out for a bump. “I’ll be sure to get to the cafeteria early,” he replied as I bumped my fist against his. “I’ll bring popcorn.”

I shook my head at him. I hoped it wasn’t going to be that dramatic. But knowing Laurie, it probably would be.

* * *

The cafeteria was packedby the time I made it to lunch. The first thing I did when I entered the room was look for Madi. I was doing it almost instinctively now, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to think clearly until I’d spotted her. She was seated with her friends and I let out a breath. I relaxed briefly, but then remembered I still had Laurie to deal with.