"I'm not his best friend," Skulduggery points out. He thinks that's a fair and balanced argument in favor of his one-sided shotgun talk. "And yes, obviously I do. I can't believe he's teaching you how to dance. I thought he couldn't even stand without those rubber booties on his feet."

It's a sixty-forty split on teasing and wanting to spend time with Ava and Max. Because Ava's right, and they haven't actually spent any time together. (He might not know now that Max and he both received the title of "Best Friend," but he won't be remotely surprised or upset to find out.)