Forever.

“Mel!”

I didn’t bother to look at the clock before answering my phone, knowing too well that if I did I would just push the silent button on the outside and go back to sleep. So I figured, if anyone was calling this late (or however late it actually felt) it was important.

However, I think anyone in their right mind wouldn’t call at four in the morning.

“Who is this?” I asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I prayed that it wasn’t the voice I thought it was. I prayed this was just a prank, and that he wouldn’t be calling me when I was sleeping quite peacefully. Because I knew that if we talked about anything too deep right now, I would spill my guts.

I wasn’t too big of a fan for that.

“It’s Joe. Who did you think it was?”

Damn.

“Um, well seeing as it’s four in the morning here, I figured it was you. But still.”

“But still, what?”

“Did Kevin not get my text message addressed to you? And has Nick checked his email lately?”

I swear. The one time he finally decides to call me, it has to be this time. Not to mention the fact that I really needed the sleep, because the dance competetion was next week.

“Um, no and no. But I had to ask you something.”

Aw, crap. I thought. He doesn’t know that I said we were breaking up .That means we’re still together.

“And…?”

“Stacy called me. She said that you were breaking up with me. For the school running back on the football team. Is that true?”

Okay, well, I have to admit. Stacy was right for one part, at least.

Um, choke me for saying that.

“No…why would I break up with you?” Such lies. “And why would I go for the running back? I don’t even know him.”

“Well, I was just asking. And she seemed like she was telling the truth…”

“Oh, so you believe her more than me now? The school’s biggest gossip, slut, and popular extoirdanaire? That sure feels great.”

“No, Melodie, that’s not what I me—”

“That’s what it sounded like to me.”

He didn’t respond after that one.

And okay, I have to admit. I do tend to get a little grouchy when I’m tired, but I mean, come on! Does he expect me to put up with him believing Stacy more than me, his girlfriend?

Hell no.

“Joe, do you have anymore lies to ask me about? Or are you done?”

Harsh.

“Oh, uh, no. I’m done.”

“Okay. I’m going to go back to bed then. I’ll talk to you later.”

I was about to snap my phone shut when I heard him mumble one last thing.

I love you.

**--**--**

I walked into school the next day feeling pretty confident. I had spoken to Joe again that morning, and felt pretty good. Even though I felt sort of guilty for almost breaking up with him, I was glad that that had fallen through.

Everything had gone great that day until I had gotten to lunch. Even dance had gone pretty well, which was a surprise. I guess with the fact that the biggest championships in the area were next week made every ounce of hatred diminish for that single hour.

Until lunch.

I had gone to my usual cart, gotten my usual salad, and sat at my usual table with all of my best friends, minus one (which would be Joe, of course). Everyone was laughing and joking and having fun like usual, until I saw a shadow pass over us. By then the table was silent, and everyone was looking at someone who was standing right behind me.

The blonde, evil cheerleader who was detirmined to make my life misrable.

Okay, I’ve got to say this. Whenever you’ve seen a really cheesy movie that was pretty bad, mainly because it was that whole high school drama thing because of the evil cheerleader who was a b—ch, you always want to scream and yell about how horrible the movie was. That was pretty much my high school. The stereotypical high school with the sterotypical cliques and the stereotypical problems.

Yep, my high school was drowning in stereotypical-ness.

But anyways.

I looked up at Stacy who was looking down at me with a smug look on her face, like she was begging for me to punch her square in the nose. By the time I had glared at her for more than ten seconds, I stood up, continued the stare down. The whole cafeteria was silent.

“What,” I seethed, “do you want?”

Her smug look only went smugger.

“I just wanted to let you know that your little secret about being bulimic is out of the bag. Mrs. Clark is debating about letting you into the championships, and Joe’s pretty mad.” My eyes widened momentarily, and I realized that every single eye was on me. I could feel the stares penetrating my walls, but I ignored all it.

“Good to know,” I said, stepping one, small step away from the annoying blonde. “Too bad that you caught me a month too late.”

I began to step back farther, enough that I could turn around fast enough and walk out of the cafeteria without her stopping me.

Just as I started to turn, Stacy’s words burned a whole through my heart.

“Then what were you doing in the bathroom for like, fifteen minutes this morning? Or were you taking a pregnancy test? Maybe I should call Joe and correct myself.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away swiftly. I took another step back, out of fear of slapping her.

“Or is it both? I mean, I can understand if you were pregnant and you wanted to stay skinny as long as you could.”

My voice was unnaturally steady when I finally felt calm enough not to yell. “You don’t understand anything about me. You don’t freaking understand a single thing that happens to me in my life, because your own life is probably too freaking perfect to know what pain and dissappointment is.

“But I guess you could understand about getting pregnant, even though you shouldn’t be talking to me about it. I mean, you’re the one who only went out with Joe to get into his pants. How many other guys have you done that to?”

Stacy’s eyes narrowed dangerously towards me, and I knew I hit a nerve.

“How dare you?!” her voice went up to the next octave, and I could almost feel my lips turning up into a smile at my triumph. “How dare you talk to me like that, you good for nothing piece of--”

Too bad she was cut off by my phone ringing.

I pulled it out of my bag and smiled at the name. “Sorry, Stace. I gotta go and talk this call.” I said it too sweetly, I knew, but I didn’t care.

I practically skipped out of the cafeteria, feeling everyone’s silent gaze on my back. But I didn’t care.

The second I was out of the cafeteria, I opened my phone and slipped into the dance room where I knew I wouldn’t be disturbed.