If you’d asked me a few hours ago what I’d be doing right now, I would have guaranteed it wouldn’t be this: baring my soul to a girl whose name I didn’t even really know until tonight.

Lily is sort of staring off into space, and I take another bite of my cake. She’s the last person I would ever have expected to confide in, but it is actually kind of comforting to talk to her.

“What if I told you there was a way to get your wish?” Lily asks me.

I raise my eyebrows, confused. “What do you mean?”

“What if you could pick some of the strategies they use in the movies,” she says. “Some of those big, mind-blowing, attention-seeking strategies—and put them into play?”

“Huh?”

Her eyes are bright. “I’m serious. If you want Tommy to see that you’re the only girl for him, you need to show him. And what’s the best way to do that? Through grand gestures! I mean, if guys can make dramatic stuff like prom proposals work, why can’t we pull some ideas from our favorite movies?”

I just stare at her for a minute.

“You’re serious?” I finally ask.

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“I love Tommy,” I say slowly, “but I’m not sure upping the drama is the best way to make our relationship work.”

“But it could be,” Lily argued, leaning forward. “I mean, what could it hurt? You just said that movies have to have a basis in reality. Why would it be in the movie if it was totally unrealistic?”

“I don’t know . . .”

“I just think it’s worth a shot.”

I frown, trying to weigh my options. “Let me think for a minute.”

I consider the facts. First, I hate that so many girls flirt with Tommy, and he really doesn’t shoot them down as much as I’d like. I need to get him to focus on me and only me. Not to mention that I want him to love me. And I want him to say it out loud. Preferably with an audience of many so they’ll know he’s off-limits for sure.

But to make that happen, I know I need to try something different (especially considering that what I’m doing now isn’t getting me anywhere but alone and crying in the rain).

I look at Lily as she sips her coffee. It’s true that I barely know this girl, but maybe it’s better that way. It’s like in the movies, where two people are supposed to be somewhere else but end up in the same place at the same time and the whole plot changes because of one chance encounter.

“So we’d be in this together, right?”

Lily frowns. “Well, of course—I can help you if you want.”

I shake my head. “Uh-uh. No way. If I’m going to attempt this craziness with Tommy, you’ve gotta do the same thing with Joe.”

Her eyes grow round. “Wait a second! I didn’t mean—I wasn’t going to be a part of this whole thing—”

“That’s the only way I’m doing it,” I say, interrupting her. “If I know you’ve got as much to lose as I do, then we can help each other—no one would even suspect it. It’s not like we’re friends or whatever.”

Lily cocks an eyebrow.

“Okay. So say I agreed and I said I’d do it. Does that mean you’re in?”

I look at her face and I recognize that hopeful expression. It’s almost like looking in a mirror. Slowly, a smile begins to spread across my face, until it’s transformed into a full-fledged grin.

“Oh yeah,” I say, nodding. “I am so in.”