Milestones: Teenagers

It seemed that once Greyson was out of the picture once and for all, I had my friends back. Granted, it took a few weeks of begging and groveling for them to finally get over it and actually let me hang out with them. But we were finally back to the group of friends we had used to be. Except for me and Brian. I wouldn't necessarily say we werefriends... we had actually turned into opponents.

Once Brian knew I was jealous he started to take advantage. Maybe it was as his own revenge on what I did, maybe it wasn't, but he sure knew how to push my buttons. Shortly after our conversation where we almost kissed, Brian broke off his relationship with Sydney. I had thought it was going to be a positive thing for me, but oh how wrong I was. He began to whore himself around to different girls in school, bringing a different one around with him every few days or so. He would flaunt them around in front of me, and it hurt. And he knew it. That was why he did it, I was sure.

The saddest part o it was, that, after while I started to get tired of it. So I retaliated. I started "whoring" myself out to guys I knew from classes of mine, going on dates with them, bringing them back to my house, going back to theirs. I didn'talways do stuff with them, but what Brian didn't know wouldn't hurt him.Especially when what hethought I was doing with these other boys made him jealous.

It was like a love-hate relationship between us. I didn't know about his feelings, but I knew I liked him. And whether or not he liked me didn't matter. We were constantly battling with each other over who could get the most dates or the most lays, who had the better sex. Of course I lied half the time because I never got that far with any of the guys I picked out. But somehow I didn't think Brian was doing the same.

He would always pick the really skanky ones too. Probably just to piss me off a little bit more. I just hoped that he knew what he was getting himself into with them. Who knows what diseases he could contract from some of them.

But it was continuous, back and forth, back and forth, lasting all the way to mid-April, after Val and I had both turned 18. I wondered if it would ever stop.

I was leaning against my locker, talking with a guy from my English class whose name was Mike. We'd talked occasionally in class sometimes and he seemed friendly enough, so I figured, why not?

"So how did you do on that last paper we had?" he casually asked. I smiled up at him.

"Got an A. I don't know why but that class is so easy for me," I answered.

"Yeah, I got an A-. So... you doing anything after school?" he asked, a little grin on his lips. I saw Brian walking by out of the corner of my eye, a smirk playing on his lips. I looked back at Mike, smiling seductively at him.

"Actually, I was wondering if maybe... you wanted to come over to my place. We could watch a movie... or something," I said, adding the emphasis on 'something'.

"Sure," Mike grinned. "Do you want me to give you a ride after school then?"

"Yeah, you can give me aride," I said with a wink. He chuckled and then said he'd come get me at my locker after the detention I had to do for mouthing off in Physics.

"It's this house right here," I pointed out from the passenger seat as Mike drove down my road. He pulled up along the curb and turned off the car. It wasn't til I got out of the car that I realized Brian's car was also parked outside as well.

"Oh God," I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked as he came up next to me.

"Brian's here with one of his sluts again. Be prepared for his smartass comments," I warned him as we walked into the house. Sure enough Brian was there, but he didn't have one of his girls with him. It was just Brian, Matt, and my sister sitting on the couch in the living room, watching something on TV.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in today," Brian said with his sly little smirk. I just sneered right back at him.

"Who's this?" Val asked as she pointed at Mike.

"This is Mike. He's in my English class," I informed. I didn't bother with any other introductions because I knew it wasn't worth the time; Mike would probably never step foot in this house ever again.

"Oh," Val nodded, "now do you think you could maybenot stand in front of the TV? Cuz that would be great," she teased. I stuck my tongue out at her before grabbing Mike's hand in mine.

"Come on," I said, pulling him towards the stairs.

"Hey Mike?" Brian called out, but he was looking maniacally at me.

"What?"

"Watch out for that one. She'll play around with your head real good," Brian chuckled, and I scoffed.

"That's such a disrespectful thing to say," I growled at him, a frown on my face.

"You gotta earn my respect to get it, sweetie," he said, smirking at me evilly.

"You're horrible, Brian, you really are."

"Hey now...who's the one that brings home a different one every time?"

"You are," I spat.

"And that's where you're wrong. Weboth do it."

I rolled my eyes, taking Mike's hand again. "Whatever Brian," I snarled before I took Mike upstairs.

"Michelle wait! Get back here!" I heard Val calling for me, but I just ignored her as I took him to my room and shut the door behind me.

"What was that all about?" Mike asked, breaking the dreadful silence as I laid on my bed. I groaned, covering my face with my hands.

"It was just Brian being a dick."

"...Is it true though? You bringing a different guy home every time?" he asked shyly, and I sighed.

"Yes, but it's not what you're thinking. I don't actuallydo anything with the guys I bring home. I just do it to make Brian jealous, which is why he says the things he does," I explained, and Mike just nodded.

Suddenly a sharp knock resounded on my door. "Michelle, come downstairs right now. I need to talk to you," I heard Val's voice through the wood.

"Should I leave?" Mike asked.

"Uh, yeah. You can either climb out my window and climb the tree down, or you can go out the bathroom window and hop onto the first floor roof from there and then... jump down. I personally say the tree is your best option."

"Okay, thanks. I'll see you in English," he laughed quietly. I left my room and went back down to the living room where Val, Matt, and Brian were. Matt had vacated the couch and was sitting in the armchair, leaving Brian all alone as Val stood by the coffee table.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Sit," Val ordered. I gave her a strange look but then sat on the couch with Brian anyways.

"Where'd lover boy go?" Brian mocked and I glared at him.

"Shut up, both of you," Val growled, and she began pacing back and forth on the other side of the table.
"You guys havegot to stop doing this."

"Doing what?" I asked.

"This whole stupid... Competition you two have going on! I don't know why you guys keep doing this to each other but it's petty and childish," Val started to lecture us. Brian smirked and Iknew he was going to open his mouth.

"Yes, but children don't have sex," he said with that stupid smirk, and I just crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at his antics.

"See!? That's exactly what I'm talking about! Now knock it off," Val snapped. "You two need to grow the fuck up and start acting your ages. I don't know if you realize this, but I've been watching you two. You guys are trying to hurt each other, but instead all you're succeeding at is hurting yourselves. You guys used to be best friends... I want it to go back to when it was like that, and stop doing this to yourselves, alright?" my sister finished in a motherly tone.

"Okay," both Brian and I mumbled.

"Good. Now move the fuck over so we can sit down again," she giggled as she and Matt came over and took a seat on the couch, squishing us all in.

I glanced over at Brian and he glanced back at me, and he smiled, sticking his hand out. I smiled back and shook it. Maybe things would start to get better now.