Page 132 of Fangirl

Will doesn’t answer.

“Honestly?” Mariana hums, all faux sweetness. “Sooner than I expected.”

Despite the alcohol dulling everything in me, I see Will switch in real time. The smirk fades. The usual relaxed posture is gone. What’s left is cold and sharp.

“You did this.”

Mariana tuts. “Don’t be so dramatic. She was never built for this world, darling. I gave her clarity. That’s what you said she needed, isn’t it?”

Will’s voice drops, lethal now. “Why? Why the fuck do you want him to fail the way you did?”

She laughs, light and dismissive. “Fail? I have two Oscars, sweetheart.”

“Yeah? How’re they keeping you warm at night?” He scoffs. “Oh… right. They’re not.”

Silence. And for once, she doesn’t have a comeback.

Then he looks at me with dark eyes. “You’ll see how wrong you are,” he says, but it’s not for her anymore. It’s for me. “Those two? They’re a match. Even with my jaded-assheart, I can see it. And I think you did too, Mariana. That’s why you burned it down. Misery loves company. I’d know. I used to love yours. Find another dick to play with.” He presses the red icon and throws the phone on the table.

Then, louder, like we’re not both on the verge of collapse, “That’s good news!”

I blink. “Okay… I know I’m drunk, but how the hell is that good news?”

He grins, all teeth. “Because now we know. It wasn’t her breaking down. It was Mariana breaking her. And now you can fix it.”

“Fix it?” I echo.

“Yeah. Jump on a plane. Go get her. Fix what that venomous bitch wrecked.”

I shake my head. “No.”

“No,” I say again, quieter this time. “If she really wanted to stay… nothing Mariana said would’ve mattered.”

He sighs. “Jake. She’s scared. Scared she’s not enough. Scared to be a burden.”

“Then I must not love her right,” I mutter. “Because she shouldn’t be scared. Not with me.”

“It’s all new. High-speed, high-stakes. You two went from zero to soulmate in, what, a month? It’s not weird that she’s scared—it’s human.”

I press my palms to my eyes. “She said I’m not the man I pretend to be. And maybe… maybe she’s right.”

Will stills. “Jake?—”

“She’s right,” I say, cutting him off. “The version of me I thought I was wouldn’t have picked Joseph Gordon overEverything That Follows.”

Will’s eyebrows shoot up. “Wait.Joseph Gordonoffered you a role?”

I wave a hand. “He’s going to offer you one too. Paladin.”

Will blinks. “The sidekick?”

“Comic relief,” I confirm, letting my head fall back against the couch. I stare at the ceiling like the answers might be written there, but of course, they’re not.

He doesn’t say anything right away. Just watches me—beer in hand, wings forgotten. Finally, he lets out a low whistle.

“Damn,” he murmurs. “This really fucked you up, huh?”

I close my eyes. “Yeah. It did.” I swallow hard. “But the thing is… she’s not wrong. I can’t be two different people. Not really. It doesn’t work like that. I need to figure out who I am. Jake, Eli, or a hybrid version of me I can actually live with. And Amy? She needs to figure out if she can love that version because I can’t have her bail on us like that again. I’m not made of stone.” I pause. “She broke my fucking heart today.”