Vote For Nick, I Mean Nicole!

“Well, I guess I should start at the beginning. This will take a while so you guys should sit down.” Nicole said. Starr and Chloe did as they were told and Nicole continued.

“Nick and I, we knew each other since birth. That’s because our moms knew each other since before we were born. Maybe that’s why our names are almost the same, IDK. What I do know is that when Nick and I were little, we used to do everything together! We learned to walk, talk and even potty train together! um.. don’t tell anyone that, OK?”

“Why would we?” Chloe asked with a disgusted look on her face. Starr nodded and had the same look.

“Anyways, Nick and I were like best friends, well, besides Chloe of course which I met in the third grade. Those were the days huh Chloe? When we used to think boys were gross and ate paste.”

Chloe chuckled and nodded.

Nicole continued, “Well it was like that for a few years, until the eighth grade. That’s when we started to have the feelings.”

“What feelings?” Starr asked.

“I told Chloe that I had a crazy kinda crush on Nick. Biggest mistake ever! She told Chelsea, who back then had dorky glasses, braces, and her hair was so frizzy and messy, but she was like, really nice. Anyways, Chelsea told some other girl who told some other girl who told Justin who told his best friend Nick, and the rest of the world! Even the teachers knew!”

“And then what happened?” Starr asked, really into the story now.

“Nick turned into a jerk! He and a group of his guy friends came up to me in lunch and Nick totally embarrassed me in front of them! He said that he didn’t like me at all, ‘No way!’ he said. Then the guys started to laugh at me and make jokes. The worst part is that Nick was one of them. It was my first broken heart.” Nicole said and paused. She was still emotional about that, not that she still liked him, no way.

“Aw! Stupid Nick!” Starr said.

“The story doesn’t end there. There’s more.” Nicole said.

“Oh. Continue.” Starr replied.

“Well eighth grade ended and summer started. That’s when Chloe had to move. The day before she moved, Nick talked to me. He said that he did have a crush on me but his friends thought that I was ugly so he didn’t want to say anything, and that’s when I slapped him. But then he said he was really sorry and he was stupid to listen to his friends. He said they were all a bunch of jerks and by listening to them he was a jerk too and he really did like me, a lot. I wasn’t going to accept his apology, but then he made me look him in the eyes. That’s when I melted, I mean I couldn’t just stare at his eyes without melting! His eyes were so full of sorrow, love, warmth, and something about them, it made me feel like I was…and the way he looked at me…”

“Sounds to me like you’re still not over this crazy kinda crush!” Chloe said while staring at Nicole and smiling. Nicole’s own smile faded.

“Oh trust me, I’m over him!” Nicole denied.

“Why? What happened?” Chloe asked.

“Oh right! Anyways, after that I went to sleep over Chloe’s house and told her everything! We were so exited! After all, he was my first crush, and possibly my first boyfriend. And he was, for like six minutes.”

“Seriously?” Starr asked.

“Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit. We dated for the whole summer. So I guess you can say he was my summer love. Minus the love part of course. Just a romance”

“Mmhmmm.” Starr and Chloe said in unison.

Nicole rolled her eyes and continued. “ Well on the last day of summer, we watched the stars up on the tree in his backyard. Then he looked into my eyes again and…”

“What?” Chloe and Starr said in unison again. They were both really into the story now.

“He kissed me.” Nicole covered her ears.

“He kissed you?!” Starr and Chloe bellowed.

“OMG! Why didn’t you tell me!” Chloe yelled.

“He kissed you?!” Starr asked again.

“You moved by the time he…you know.” Nicole replied to Chloe.

“Kissed you. And you could’ve told me the day we were texting each other!”

“Chloe, he’s my enemy now, you’re lucky I’m even telling you all this!”

“He…kissed you?!” Starr asked once again, still not fully understanding. I mean, it was hard to believe that once upon a time, Nick and Nicole liked each other.

“Yes! He kissed me alright? And I kissed him back! And it was my first kiss and the best day of my life! But then came the next day which was the worst day of my life! It was the first day of ninth grade, the first day of high school, without Chloe to make things worst, and at least I had Nick, yeah, but then along came Chelsea and ruined everything!”

“What happened?” Chloe asked while Starr nodded.

“She looked so different. She didn’t have her glasses anymore. She got contacts. And she got her braces taken off. She also discovered this little invention called a straightening iron, so her hair stopped being frizzy. She also discovered her girly side, well more like her slutty side. You should’ve seen what she was wearing that first day of school. Super short skirt, tiny top, high heels. I mean come on now! What was she thinking! Well I know what she was thinking. She was thinking that she wanted to steal my boyfriend!”

“Oh come on Nikki, Chelsea wouldn’t do that. Sure she dresses a little…revealing, but she’s too nice to actually take Nick away from you.” Starr reasoned.

“Yeah right. That chick’s the devil.” Chloe argued.

“Thank you! Finally someone who understands me! Chelsea’s evil, trust me Starr.” Nicole said.

“You may continue.” Chloe said.

Nicole smiled and continued on. “Well she was crowded around a group of boys and some girls, you know, the soon-to-be followers that still follow her around today. Then I saw Nick there, Chelsea was smiling and twirling her hair. Nick was smiling too. It was my second broken heart.”

“Damn that Nick is a heart-breaker!” Chloe yelled.

“I know right! Two broken-hearts, no wonder you hate him now.” Starr agreed.

“The story doesn’t end there. After that Nick and I had a big fight. He said they were just friends but I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t, not after he looked at her that way, the way he used to look at me. He tried to apologize but I was tired of being heart broken! Then after that we just never got along. He used to play pranks on me and I did the same. Then the tenth grade came and that’s when I met Starr who became my best friend! That’s also when Nick started to date Chelsea. They’ve been inseparable ever since.” Nicole took a deep breath and let it out again. She stared at Starr and Chloe, who were waiting for Nicole to continue. “That’s it.” Nicole said after about two minutes.

“Oh.” Starr replied.

“Awesome story.” Chloe added.

“Yeah well, it wasn’t awesome that I had to go through it. You know, what? Can we just forget about Nick and Chelsea and get some iced coffee?” Nicole asked.

Starr nodded and Chloe said, “Let’s go.” All three girls got up and grabbed their jackets and headed for the door.

“Shouldn’t you let your mom and dad know you’re leaving?” Starr asked.

“They’re still working at the hospital. They’re not coming back until ten.” Nicole replied.

“Ooh let’s throw a party!” Chloe said.

Nicole shook her head and opened the door to find another surprise. Kevin was about to ring the doorbell. “Kevin! Hi! Oh, wait, I was supposed to go to your apartment! Oops! Sorry Kev, I got a little tied up.”

“It’s OK, I just worried, you said you were coming and when you didn’t show up, well I got worried.” Kevin replied.

“Well I’m fine and we're going to get some coffee. Wanna come?”

“Of course!” Kevin replied. Nicole smiled and hugged Kevin. Then she grabbed his arm and started walking with him. Starr and Chloe walked beside them. Nicole looked around her and smiled. It was a beautiful day, she had her two best friends. The past was now behind her, just a distant memory. And Kevin, well, he always made things better. Life was good.