In his room, Jake is experiencing a range of emotions after seeing Veronica sobbing in the parking lot earlier. The sight of her tears has made him feel sympathetic yet uncertain whether he should contact Austin to inform him about what happened or just leave it be to avoid further involvement.
"I hate this! The last thing I want is to get mixed up in this mess, but no, I jumped right in!" Jake exclaimed aloud to himself. "Ugh, what is wrong with me?" he continued, throwing a pillow in the air in frustration.
In an effort to distract himself, Jake chose to resume his online investigation to identify the individual responsible for spreading rumors about Veronica. After what seemed like an eternity, Jake's persistence paid off as he reached a sudden moment of revelation.
"I think I got something here." he exclaimed, a mix of surprise and excitement evident in his voice.
Jake quickly reached for his phone to dial Zach's number. As Zach answered the call, Jake wasted no time in sharing his discovery,
"Hey, Zach, I've got a lead on those rumors about Veronica." His voice filled with optimism. "That's awesome! I'll head over right away," Zach replied before ending the call and making his way to Jake's place, eager to learn more about Jake's findings.
Upon Zach's arrival at Jake's house, he was guided to a tech-filled sanctuary, a room that served as a playroom of sorts, housing an array of cutting-edge computers and the latest gadgets. Jake walked over to his desk, with Zach following closely behind. Once there, Jake proceeded to show Zach what he had discovered.
"I can't believe it's her. Are you totally sure this is accurate?" Zach asked, his tone seeking confirmation.
"Well, yeah, according to the data, it's her," Jake replied confidently. He added, "Who did you think it was?"
"Okay, I wasn't completely certain about this, which is why I didn't bring it up before, but I had a feeling it could be Janice," Zach said, trying to gauge Jake's reaction.
Jake remained composed. "I'm just following the clues here, and they seem to lead to Celine," Jake said. He continued, "I don't know them on a personal level, but from our interactions, they come across as nice, maybe even a bit too nice for my taste," Jake said with a smirk.
Zach rolled his eyes at Jake, knowing that everyone at school was nice to them because they were part of the popular group in Orion High.
"Should we reach out to Austin to fill him in on this?" Jake inquired, reaching for his phone, indicating he was about to call Austin.
"Hey, let's do some more research on our own before involving Austin. He's pretty swamped right now," Zach suggested.
When Zach brought up Austin, Jake's mind drifted back to the parking lot incident with Veronica.
"Zach, let me throw this out there - do you think Austin is playing Veronica?" Jake asked casually, before adding, "I mean, I might be a bit judgy, but just for fun," he joked, trying to keep it light.
Zach was taken aback by Jake's comment. He had known Austin since they were kids and was sure that Austin wasn't the type to mess with people's feelings. Zach wouldn't be friends with him if he thought otherwise, as he couldn't stand guys who acted that way.
"Why did that even come up?" Zach probed Jake, sensing there could be more to the situation.
Their conversation was interrupted by Zach's phone ringing. It was Austin calling. Zach answered and put him on speaker.
"Hey, how's it going?" Zach greeted Austin. Jake discreetly signaled Zach not to let Austin know he was listening in on the conversation.
"I just heard from Ron..." Austin hesitated, then shared, "she doesn't want to see me anymore."
Feeling for Austin, Zach couldn't help but sympathize. "I'm at Jake's place. Why don't you come over?" Zach suggested, with Jake adding, "Yeah, come by. I've got something to share with you too."
Austin agreed to head to Jake's house to spend time with his friends and talk about what he was going through. Upon arriving at Jake's place, the three of them gathered by the poolside where a gazebo was set up with drinks and food, settling in for a conversation.
"What happened, man?" Zach asked Austin, his tone filled with concern.
Austin took a deep breath before speaking. "She said it might be best for us to take a break until the rumors die down, which is both funny and sad because we literally just went on one date," he expressed, his voice tinged with a blend of sadness and helplessness.
Jake hesitated, unsure of how to bring up the topic of the parking lot incident involving Veronica. However, he couldn't keep it in any longer.
"Okay, Austin, I'm not sure how to break this to you, but I'll just say it. Veronica saw the photos of you and Janice on Orion High's website, and from what I observed when this went down, I believe she thinks you're playing with her," Jake disclosed, exhaling a sigh of relief now that he had gotten it off his chest.
"What?" Both Austin and Zach exclaimed simultaneously.
Austin glanced at Zach, feeling confused. They had no clue about what Jake was referring to. They both took out their phones and checked Orion High's website. Austin was shocked to find a picture of himself with Janice from their earlier chat. The photo gave the impression that they were very close, even though they were just friends having a conversation. The comments on the photo only worsened the situation.
"Why are they doing this? I've never even dated or tried to date Janice. I don't even like her in that way," Jake exclaimed, clearly upset.
"We understand what you're saying, but does Janice also realize that?" Zach hinted, curious if Austin had any inkling that Janice might have feelings for him.
"What are you trying to say?" Austin asked, growing more agitated due to the situation.
"Ugh I can't take this anymore... Austin, buddy, Janice likes you. I really don't know why you don't know, when it's clear as day that she wants you." Jake blurted out, unable to tolerate Austin's cluelessness any longer.
Jake continued, "Do you honestly believe any girl would drop everything just to hang out with you? Janice has been doing that for you since we were freshmen. That's why everyone assumes you two are a thing, because when you're not with us, you're with her." Jake expressed his frustration at his friend's lack of awareness.
Austin was taken aback, as he had always assumed that Janice was just being friendly and that she treated everyone the same way. This belief was reinforced by the fact that most people at school were naturally kind to him and his friends.
Zach chimed in, "Austin, not everyone who is nice to you extends that same kindness to others. Take Veronica and Heti, for example. Have you ever noticed how Janice or Celine interacts with them? We're receiving special treatment compared to others because of our status at school. You should at least be aware of that." Zach calmly explain.
Austin fell silent, recognizing that he might not have been seeing things clearly. It dawned on him that he needed to be more perceptive and less naive, prompting a moment of introspection.
Zach continued, "Now that you're aware, Jake and I have something important to share with you."
"What is it?" Austin inquired.
"We've discovered who circulated the rumors about Veronica," Zach said proudly.
Zach and Jake led Austin to Jake's playroom, where his computer was set up. They gathered around the glowing computer screen, revealing to Austin the person behind the online rumors about Veronica.
"Wait, Celine? Seriously?" Austin's voice wavered with a mix of disbelief, his eyes fixed on the screen.
"Yep, it's Celine," Jake confirmed, his fingers dancing across the keyboard as he decrypted a message that implicated Celine in the online rumors.
"Hmm, something feels off. Let's not overlook Janice's role in all of this. Best friends can be tricky," Zach mused, suggesting at Janice's potential involvement in the rumors as well.
Jake exchanged a knowing glance with Zach and Austin, grappling with the same uncertainties as Austin. He couldn't imagine Janice being unkind to anyone; she had always come across as a kind and friendly girl to him. However, Zach's idea continued to weigh on his mind - maybe he just hadn't seen that side of her yet. The trio stood in silence, thinking how to approach Celine for confirmation.
"I got this," Zach said, breaking the silence. "Celine and I have class tomorrow, I'll bring it up then," he mentioned casually.
Austin and Jake felt relieved that Zach was taking the lead. To be honest, Austin and Jake weren't great at handling situations like this with women. As the night wrapped up, the trio gathered in Jake's living room, discussing their game plan for the next day, ready to squash the Veronica rumor drama once and for all.