Abercrombie & Bitch

Wednesday, April 30, 12:11pm – lunch

I eyed the noisy cafeteria with wary eyes.

News about the talent show auditions spread faster than I’d hoped. That would probably be courtesy of Beth White, who had thought that her tap-dancing routine would give her a ticket to winning. No such luck, apparently.

Zach was choosing his battles wisely. He avoided me like the plague during passing periods and P.E, when he could possibly talk to me alone or when I could kick his ass. Instead, he chose to pester me in public, knowing that, at this point, I couldn’t afford another detention for beating him up.

Stupid sophomore boys and their cocky attitudes. Stupid Mrs. Burns and her raptor vision.

“Miri, please, just let me explain.”

I ground my teeth together and searched harder for Donelle and Riley. They were no where to be found, just in case you were wondering the same thing I was. “Your explanation is the last thing I need right now.”

I attempted to stalk off angrily in the direction of a random group of students and hoped he fell for it, but his reflexes were quicker than I’d ever given him credit for. Either that, or I was becoming predictable.

“Please.”

I narrowed my eyes at his pleading face. This was only the second time he’d tried this today. He’d keep it up until he finally tracked me down at Donelle’s house – the situation with my mother was at a complete standstill – and tried to kidnap me or something.

I sighed. “What is your problem, Zach? Can’t you just tell the truth for once?”

He looked taken aback. What can I say? I’m not exactly one for beating around the bush. “I did tell you, Miranda. I just-”

I put my hand squarely on his chest and shoved him away. “Ha. Nice try. Making a situation seem like it’s one way, and then letting my best friend tell me that I’m way off, is not telling me.” I shook my head and laughed. “I thought you’d actually cared about me. How stupid was that?”

Instead of being hurt, like I’d secretly hoped he would, his mouth set into a hard line. “Come with me.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Wha-”

He didn’t wait for me to ask my question. Not that he ever did. I’m just saying. He yanked me out of the cafeteria by my forearm, despite my protests. I realized he was taking me outside, and to Willow.

Willow was a gigantic tree on the high school’s campus. No one knows how it got there. It’s a gigantic weeping willow tree that almost touches the ground with its branches. Needless to say, it’s quite the make-out spot. If, you know, you were thinking about that sort of thing while someone was dragging you to it against your will.

He didn’t release it until I started muttering something about assault. But that was probably because we’d gotten out of earshot of anyone important. Not very comforting.

He exhaled loudly and shook my shoulders. “After all of this, Miranda, how the hell could you think I don’t care about you?”

“You don’t lie to people you care about,” I snapped, “Intentionally or not.”

He scoffed. “You can’t exactly blame me!” He finally released my shoulders after realizing that it wasn’t doing any good. “I know about Rob. I’m not an idiot, no matter what you seem to think.”

It felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of me. I’ve experienced that feeling before. It’s not fun, let me tell you. “What about Rob? He’s my boss!” I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “And I shouldn’t have to remind you that we’re not really dating!”

“No kidding,” he muttered under his breath. I wasn’t sure I was supposed to hear it. “But Rob really is dating Dylan. My cousin.”

Crap. “There’s nothing going on between Rob and me,” I told him. In reality I wasn’t really sure what was going on, but since he had said girlfriend I – Wait. “Dylan’s your cousin?!”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Yeah. But that’s not the issue here.”

I swallowed hard and stared at my shoes. I didn’t say anything. There wasn’t really a way for me to address the situation without sounding either stupid or slutty. Neither of which sounded appealing. I didn’t want to know how Zach knew what had happened, because he obviously did. I didn’t want to confront it. All I wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

Zach ran a hand through his hair again. “Miranda. This is hard for me. Okay? I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I… I think I’m in love with you.”

I clenched my fists. “You don’t love me, Zach,” I chocked out, trying to hold back tears. I wouldn’t cry in front of him. I couldn’t. It would make everything worse. “You love the idea of me.”

His eyebrows furrowed, though his eyes looked hurt. “Huh?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s just so easy for you, isn’t it? All you have to do is say a few words and pull a few strings, and you have this old friend at your beck and call. This old friend whose first kiss you stole. Who you knew was in love with you and you still stomped on her heart.” I shook my head furiously. “Who was stupid enough to fall for it again.”

He didn’t say anything. I let my breathing slow to a normal rate and prayed that he couldn’t hear my heart beating fast. I didn’t know whether it was from anger or the fact that I’d just admitted to him how I felt, but then again I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“You… What?” he finally asked, incredulous.

I bit my lip. “Please don’t make me say it again. I don’t think I even know what I said.”

He smiled sadly. “Miranda, I…” He sighed. “Am I an idiot for wanting this?”

I looked at him, confused. “Wanting what?”

It was a moment before he responded. “You. Us. I don’t know.”

“No,” I said slowly, pulling him closer to me. “You’re not.”

I wanted to say he was. Maybe we were both being stupid about this. You know what they say; when you play with fire, someone’s always going to get burned. I don’t know who they are, or what the hell they’re talking about. I knew that somehow… If we were past the lying…

Zach finally seemed to get it. He grinned like a kid in a candy store. “D-Does this mean what I think it means?” He stepped closer to me. My heart sped up again. “Can we do this… for real?”

I let out a breath. “I don’t know. But we can try.”

-[-]-

Wednesday, April 30, 12:11pm – girl’s bathroom

Ashley Hotchkiss tried to concentrate on what Beth White was saying, but none of it interested her. She was busy thinking about Bryce, and what he’d told her earlier.

“I… I still have feelings for Miranda.”
Ashley gripped the porcelain sink even harder, her French manicure threatening to snap if she wasn’t careful. Not that she cared. She wished she could sink her claws into Miranda Gregory’s pathetic face.

“Hello? Ash? You there?”

She turned to Beth quickly. “Yeah. Of course. I was just…. thinking.”

Beth looked at her like she’d grown three heads. “Um… okay. Well, like I was saying, we really should figure out what to make for the video…”

Ashley raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “Video? What video?”

The other girl rolled her eyes. “We’re in charge of making a stupid video tribute for senior prom. I was going to get Melvin to do it, but he said he was too busy. Psh. What could he possibly have to do, besides watch reruns of Star Trek?”

The fact that she even cared should’ve upset her, but Ashley was more interested in something else. “Hey, Beth?”

“Yeah?”

Ashley fought to contain her smirk as she pulled out Bryce’s cell phone. She’d stolen it from his pocket when he wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t seem to notice it was gone yet. Which was surprising, since he usually had it glued to his ear.

She held the sleek, silver phone between her fingers as she searched through the pictures. She found the one she was looking for. Or, rather, the ones. Suddenly, she knew exactly what to do about her problem.

“Do you think we could find a place for these?”