How to Get Rid of Your Ex Girlfriend

Our close group of friends consisted of six people. Let me give you an introduction.

First, there’s me. Nicholas Fischer, called Nick, tall and sporting messy light brown hair and dark eyes. Good at sports, but not academics. Hates to be told what to do, opinionated, and impulsive.

Then there’s Tyler Adams, my best friend. We’ve known each other since preschool. We’re like brothers. He’s shorter than me, with slightly waving black hair that he takes care to keep neat, and hazel eyes. A lot more careful than me: he usually thinks first. He’s not a straight A student, but he does a hell of a lot better than me in classes. Calmer than me, too. It’s hard to get him riled up, which is why I was so worried about his reaction to Sophie.

Next is Sophie Pearson. Her hair is wavy and a beachy blonde, her eyes a pretty pale blue. I won’t deny that her body’s amazing. Academically she’s on my level – so not too good, she gets attached to things, and she hates to show her emotions. She’s nice to everyone, but after what happened with Tyler we learned about her extremely short temper and vindictive eagerness for revenge. So basically, she’s a good person unless you set her off. Then beware.

Lena Miller is the nice girl. She doesn’t judge, doesn’t hold grudges, and is friendly to anyone and everyone she meets. Her grades are perfect, like her straight black hair and pretty green eyes. She’s got it all. Looks, grades, personality. So yeah. I kind of have a crush on her. But she’s going out with Green.

If Lena’s the one who keeps us out of trouble, it’s Sam Medina who gets us into it. He’s the troublemaker. Because I’m going through the trouble of describing everyone’s looks, he has close cropped brown hair, tanned skin, and mischievous dark eyes. He’s thin and lanky, at least three inches taller than me. Being the class clown, his grades aren’t amazing, but he is great at making us laugh, one of the best things about him. Though he will play pranks, he’s pretty supportive.

Lastly, there’s Victoria Durhill. Vickie. She’s pretty indescribable. The special one. She likes to go against what’s popular at the moment. Right now, her hair is dyed green, streaked with bright red, and worn in a short and messy bob. Her head looks like a Christmas ornament. But she likes it, and I guess that’s her choice. She’s a little bit scatterbrained.

“Ready?” I held out my hand. Tyler took it with a grin.

Sam, Sophie, and Lena all turned their heads as we approached, striding up to the tree they were using as an umbrella. Vickie was watching the clouds, the sun shining through them flashing off her ferociously clashing hairstyle and making her brown eyes glitter amber. However, she snapped around to look at us as soon as – somehow – she realized we were holding hands.

“Ah, I see you’ve managed to glue your hands together again,” she said sagely.

Lena frowned. “But I thought you quit art class.”

“We did,” I said. “After that fiasco with the paint and Mr. Connoly.”

There was an awkward pause. Tyler’s fingers tightened around my hand. I gritted my teeth. Sam looked uncharacteristically lost for words. Lena ran a hand through her hair, seemingly preoccupied. Vickie stared at the grass.

It was Sophie who spoke at last. Her blue eyes looked watery. “Ty…are you cheating on me?”

Now it was Tyler’s turn to frown. “We’re not going out anymore. I broke up with you.”

“Oh, we all know you didn’t really mean it,” said Sophie dismissively, blue eyes hardening at the suggestion.

“I did. I can’t be with you, Soph. I…” He stared at the ground, biting his lip and breathing rather quickly. “I’m…it’s because…”

“Because what?” Sophie demanded, her eyes flicking from Tyler to me, then back again.

“I…”

I kept from speaking myself. I figured I shouldn't ruin it, since I have no idea how to act.

“Don’t worry,” said Lena softly. “We won’t judge you…”

“Go on, tell us!” Sam added.

Sophie regarded Tyler with a careful look. “Yeah, go on…”

“I’m…not…not s-s-straight,” he spluttered, looking as though he wanted to die. I reminded myself to commend him on his acting skills once we were alone again. “I-I’m…gay.” He said the last word so quietly, I could barely make it out over the rustling of the leaves above our heads.

“And you’re dating…him?” Sophie pointed an accusing finger at me.

“Well, yeah,” said Tyler, color rising up in his cheeks. He looked down again, abashedly. I stared fixedly at a point to the left, my other hand stuffed into my pocket.

Vickie grinned triumphantly. “I knew it!”

“You what?” I started, quite forgetting my plan to stay out of this.

“Well, it seemed pretty obvious to me. You two are so close, and Ty does spend a lot of time at your house.”

“Scandalous,” joked Sam.

I rolled my eyes. “We’re best friends, for god’s sake!”

“I knew you two shared a love, whether it be the love of best friends or something even more,” Vickie said serenely.

“We’ve only been dating for a couple of weeks,” I said quickly. “I’m sorry it took us so long to tell you…”

“…We weren’t sure how you’d take it,” Tyler said to the ground.

“Are you kidding? It doesn’t matter to us.” Lena smiled, and Sam nodded his approval. Vickie drew a heart in midair, absentmindedly.

Something knocked into my shoulder. Sophie had just barreled past, running full tilt back to the building, blonde hair flying behind her and hands clenched into fists.

“You think we upset her?”

“Nah, Nick, she’ll be fine.” Sam shrugged. “She just needs to come to terms with it all.”

“So this is why you broke up with her,” Lena mused, glancing at Tyler. “You realized you were gay?”

“Only after I started liking someone else.”

I grinned at Tyler. “You are too cute.”

He flushed. “You’re cuter.”

“Nah, you.” I slung an arm around his shoulders as we joined the others on the groud, sitting against the trunk of the tree. He leaned his head against my chest, black hair tickling my neck. I won’t deny it was awkward, but he was probably glad it was me, rather than Sophie.

“Isn’t this great?” he said quietly. “Now we can act like this whenever we want.”

I laughed, jolting his head a little with the motion. “It’s amazing.”

“This is so damn weird…” muttered Sam. “So sudden.”

“But wouldn’t it have been weirder if we kept it from you and you walked in on us sometime?” I said offhandedly, playing with a bit of Tyler's dark hair and hiding a mischievous smile.

“Now that would be awkward,” Sam admitted. “I guess I’m glad you guys came out to us.”

“Is this a secret?” Lena asked. “Are we supposed to be the only ones who know, or…”

“I doubt that matters,” said Tyler bitterly. “Sophie’s probably blabbed it to someone already.”

“No one would believe her,” she insisted.

“Let’s hope not,” I said. “I don’t think I’m ready for everyone to…know.”