Obsession.

“Oh please, Connor. Don’t be so damn ridiculous.” Steph yawned as she checked her hair in her mirror. She fluffed up her already puffy blonde hair, made a kissing motion at her reflection, and then closed her compact with a sharp snap.

Amber rolled her eyes irritably and continued ripping holes and ladders in her black tights. Her legs were leant onto the school table – the huge black boots that she’d been told off for wearing seven times today making the table dirty. It was clear from her expression that she thought Steph’s opinion was stupid – or maybe just Steph herself – but she remained silent. Amber had no patience with her, and any argument either of them started tended to end in violence on her part.

Me? I didn’t say anything. I picked at my bitten nails, staring at my pasty white legs unblinkingly. Steph sighed loudly, and I glanced up just in time to see a dramatic eye roll. Made even more dramatic, I’d imagine, by her huge makeup – green and pink glittery eye-shadow all the way up to her perfectly plucked eyebrows, and stick-on gems creating a pattern out into her face from the corner of her eye. I’d say she looked like a fairy, but she was too tall. She smoothly pulled up one of her legs and propped the gap between the four inch heel and ball of her shoes on the edge of the chair next to her.

“Hon, you gotta grow up. Matt doesn’t want you for you. He wants you for... Well. You know.” She winked at me and wiggled her chest. I gave her a small smile back, even though I didn’t feel like it. I was getting so sick and tired of this constantly happening with her. Hooking me up with guys and then trying to break us up. Maybe I wanted to stay with him. But did it matter? Of course not. Matt was a rare case – he was completely new at our school as of a month and a week ago, and I got him first. He was introduced to our group by a girl who sometimes hangs out with us – Elle – and we hit it off. Steph got us together as soon as she could and we’ve been going out for three weeks now. The girl works fast.

“Oh, but I really don’t think he does, Steph,” I tried again. It was silly to argue with her, really. A good reason for having Amber as my other best friend – she stood up to Steph with grim glee where I couldn’t. It didn’t make the dynamics of our friendship too difficult, because there’s a lot more in our friends group than just the three of us. Speak of the tights-ripping devil, she heard the desperate tone to my words and joined in on the conversation.

“Yo, Barbie, just ‘cause he’s new and you haven’t shagged him yet doesn’t mean you can bully Connor into handing him to you on a silver platter,” Amber drawled, dropping her head backwards so she could see us. She was sitting a row in front of us, facing the front of the empty classroom. Steph was sitting directly behind her at the back of the room. I was sitting across the aisle from Steph, also at the back row. A good position for me, because I could hear Steph and see Amber. Hear Steph’s subtle digs at Amber, and see when Amber was about to turn around and launch herself at Steph.

Steph dropped her leg from the chair with a loud bang of heel hitting wood, and turned to face Amber’s upside down head, a look of fire lighting up her face.

“You got something to say, Butch?” Steph snapped. Amber rolled her eyes, looking bored even at that angle.

“I just said it. Clean the hairspray out of your ears, for God’s sake. Dirty skank.”

“OH,” Steph shrieked, sitting up straight and pointing at Amber angrily. “Don’t get me started on dirty! Your hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in weeks!”

“What about your face? You’ve still got makeup on from a month ago.”

“At least I bother with makeup.”

“You need to.”

Steph looked like she was about to slap Amber, so I quickly took my place as peace-maker. “Guys, don’t start this again.”

“Why not? It’s so fun,” Amber complained, lifting her head up. Her face had gone slightly pink from being upside down. “Especially as I always win.”

“You’re so immature,” Steph spat, flicking her hair like a supermodel.

“Exactly what I’d expect someone who never wins to say.” Amber smiled sweetly at her, and Steph scowled in response.

I sighed, leaning back and rubbing my forehead. Why did I even bother?

Amber glanced up at me, and upon seeing my face, she let up and changed the subject. “Ugh, I have so much homework to do. Miss Blue absolutely hates me.”

“She’s just jealous of all of us because we’re hot and she’s like... old.” Steph laughed.

“Do you see the way she flirts with some of the boys? Like she was practically licking Nathan’s face last week,” I agreed earnestly, overjoyed at the new victim of conversation.

“Parlant des enseignants étant très inapproprié, ce sujet de Monsieur Penson?” Steph said, looking at her nails innocently. Steph’s mum was French, and lived there with Steph’s brother. They both refused to learn English, so Steph had had to have a French tutor until she was about ten. She can speak in fluent French. Sometimes she speaks in French by accident; most of the time she does it to annoy Amber. There are few words Amber knows that aren’t English. Most of them are ‘fuck’ in foreign languages.

“In English, you French whore.”

“I said Amber’s a smelly lesbian.”

“Mature,” I congratulated her. Steph grinned.

I said, ‘speaking of teachers that are très inappropriate, what about Mr Penson?’” She translated.

“UGH!” Amber suddenly grunted. “I hate him too! Whenever he talks to me, he stares at my boobs! And he totally walks into the girls’ changing rooms on purpose! Didn’t see the sign my ass.”

A loud crash came from the corner of the room, and we all looked around in time to see the door rebounding off of the wall. Four boys walked into the room.

“Ooh, I could get used to doing THAT on a regular basis,” Nathan said, rubbing his hands together and bending down, pulling a stupid face which consisted of licking his lips and opening his eyes wide.

“You look like a pedo,” I pointed out. He frowned at me and stood up straight as the three other boys settled themselves into the room. Jamie, my little brother, leant against a table at the front of the rom. Matt, my boyfriend and current object of affection for Steph, headed straight for me. Kaito, Amber’s partner in crime at on the table cross-legged in front of Amber, and the two of them began to talk quietly. No doubt plans of world domination or which teacher needed to be water-ballooned next.

“You look like a slag, but I don’t complain,” he retorted. I scowled and held my arms open, glaring at him.

“Hey,” Matt said, stepping into my hug. He had to crouch down very far to meet me sitting down. Matt was a lot taller than me, not that that’s a hard achievement. I think he was just short (no pun intended) of six feet. His skin was a beautiful chocolate colour, and he had hair birds probably regularly mistook for their home. He sat down on the table in front of me, and I rested my chin on his knee, looking up at him pleadingly.

“Hi. Can you beat Nathan up for me please? He’s being mean,” I said, trying to look innocent and sad. Matt laughed.

“Sure.” He stood up and pounded his fist against his palm, pulling a menacingly face. “Nathan...”

Nathan squealed like a girl, flinging his arms up into the air and running in a really OMG-I-JUST-SAW-A-SPIDER-EEK! way, flinging himself onto Steph’s lap and hugging her around the neck.

Steph pulled a disapproving face – not impressed. She ruthlessly pushed him onto the floor and smoothed down her school shirt.

“STEPHANIE!” Nathan wailed. “Don’t you love me?!”

Nathan was the only good-looking guy Steph had never expressed interest in, and it drove him mad. He had shaggy brown hair, was quite muscly and tall, beautiful blue eyes, and was apparently quite the kisser. He regularly pulled stunts like this to gain her attention, and never once had it worked. She barely looked at him. No-one could figure out why, and she certainly hadn’t shed any light on the subject herself.

“No.”

“I think that’s punishment enough, yes?” Matt checked with me. I nodded.

“Works for me,” I agreed. Then, while Nathan and Steph had one of their mini bitch-fights, I looked towards one of the other boys in the room. “Hey, Jamie, is Mum gonna be home tonight, do you know?”

My twin shrugged, bobbing his legs up and down restlessly and testing how far his middle finger went back. “Noo idea. But she said don’t bring anyone home tonight, she has a surprise,” he said all in one breath, clapping his hands excitedly. Jamie is always moving around and he’s always ready to do anything. It’s really nice, in a way. Although we were only born eleven minutes apart, it makes it show he’s the younger sibling. and it’s kindof adorable too. Certainly grabs the girls’ attention, not that he’s ever expressed interest in any of them.

“Where’s your tie?” I frowned, walking over to him and sorting out his hair, which was beginning to look like he hadn’t brushed it in years. Which admittedly, I don’t think he has.

He shrugged, glancing down as if he hadn’t noticed its absence.

“You know what,” he said, “I have no idea.”

“Fail.” I sighed. I took off my own tie and began to loop it around his collar.

“What are you doing?” He wailed, stamping his foot and jerking away. I followed him patiently.

“I’m wearing a blouse – so I don’t need a tie. You’re a boy, and therefore need a tie. Why do you think I wear one at all?! It’s because you lose yours constantly,” I said, ranting with a tone that would put Mum to shame.

He rolled his eyes, but waited (sort of) until I’d finished to bounce away to sit beside Kaito. I barely got my fingers back.

Yawning, I sat on the table Jamie had been leaning against and watched everyone else for a while, feeling too tired all of a sudden to join in.

Kaito, Amber and now Jamie too were still talking. Kaito was still sat cross-legged in front of her, but now her legs were in his lap. I wondered how much agony those heavy boots were putting his thighs through. Jamie was lying across the width of the table next to Kaito, with his head dangling backwards over it to face Amber, and his legs kicking the table on the other side. He was a strange, hyperactive, flexible little freak. Well, little in the respect not as tall as he should be, not in comparison to me. We’re both very small. He hates it, because everyone always thinks he’s younger than me. Which he is – by eleven minutes – but as the boy twin, he thinks should look older.

I make it my job to make fun of his petit (Steph taught me that word – it means small) body as much as I can, since I know it annoys him.

At least people know we’re twins, so they don’t think he’s years younger. We look extremely alike despite the different genders. Same dark hair, same facial structure – smooth and round with pointed chins – and same hazel green eyes with a brown explosion in the middle. Just to name a few.

Nathan had dragged a chair to sit beside Steph, where he was rubbing his head against her shoulder like a cat. She was doing a fantastic job of ignoring him – just continuing to talk to Matt animatedly. And, I suddenly realised, she was also doing a fantastic job of flirting with my boyfriend. She was smiling at him, and giggling, and hitting him lightly, and staring deep into his eyes – all the things she’d mentioned when she was trying to pass on her talent of flirtatiousness to me. Here we go again...

I jumped up, suddenly not tired, and stormed over to them. I saw Jamie sit up and watch me anxiously as I went past, and I got a weird butterfly feeling as the realisation that I’d have an audience hit me.

I had a temper, but not with an audience. As soon as people were watching me I melted like ice cream.

“Hey,” I said, sliding next to Matt against the wall, trying not to look pissed off.

“Hi,” Matt replied, looking slightly guilty. I didn’t miss the glance in Steph’s direction. She beamed at me – too happy. Nathan had given up nudging her, and was now absent-mindedly plaiting her hair.

I’m not a paranoid person, but when I know that what Steph wants is what Steph gets, and that thing she wants is MINE, I get put slightly on edge.

I was about to put a wildly inappropriate plan into action involving either screaming at Steph or tackling Matt to get his full attention, when the buzzer went, signalling the end of lunchtime.

“Damnit!” Amber screamed. We all looked at her questioningly, and I thanked her for distracting Steph and Matt. I took the chance to take a deep breath and calm down. Amber realised everyone was staring at her. Most people – myself included – would have blushed and mumbled their way out of the spotlight, but Amber scowled at everyone in general, looking sort of pissed off. “What are you looking at?”

“One ugly UGLY beast,” Steph muttered, thankfully too quiet for Amber to hear.

“Bye guys,” Matt said, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

“See ya.”

Kaito – who was a year older than all of us – Matt, Steph and Nathan all left the room to go to their own form rooms.

There were five forms to a year. Each form had a letter after it, and the letters spelt out PRIDE. Amber, Jamie and I were in 11R. Steph and Nathan were in 11E. Matt and Elle were in 11P. And Kaito was in 12A, but that’s a completely different thing, as not many people are in Sixth Form, so there’d be about two people in each form if the PRIDE system was used.

Moving swiftly on.

Jamie, Amber and I all took our places at the back of the room on the left row – Amber beside the window, then me, and then Jamie. This was for safety reasons. Amber was next to no-one but me, and only I could survive her temper. Jamie was scared to death of her when she got angry, and since this was most of the time, it was best he sat on the other side of me.

As other students began to file in, I leant my head on the desk ande stared past Amber out the window, watching the cars go by on the main road. There weren’t many, as most people who could drive were at work, but one car I saw was parked on the other side of the road to our school.

It was a white van, but seemed somewhat abandoned. I yawned and decided to test my eyesight by trying to read the license plate, as I’d noticed recently that my long distance eyesight seemed to be becoming somewhat limited.

I’d just worked out about three symbols when I saw someone at the window of the van. A woman, with long blonde hair. She seemed to be waving to me, so I wiggled my fingers back a little. After a moment where I thought she might be saying something, she then disappeared and was replaced by a man with black hair. I frowned. Switching seats that quickly meant they were probably making out. In a skanky van by the roadside? Gross. The man stared at me – or looked in my direction – for a long time. I looked away uncomfortably.

“Hey, Amber,” I whispered, tugging on her shirt. She glanced at me and I pointed out the window. “Do you see that man? You’ve got good sight; is he staring at us?” I asked. Jamie leant past me and tried to see him too, but after a moment of struggling he clearly couldn’t, and gave up, settling back into the chair with a loud sigh.

She looked out the window and squinted at him. After a moment, when I was about to prompt her, she stuck a finger up at the man and scowled at him. “Yeah, he was staring.” She frowned and craned her neck. “Good, he’s gone now. Paedophile.”

I smiled a little at her comment and then turned to face the front as our form tutor walked in.