If you are not the one

“Shell, we’re gonna be late for school!”, Kevin called up the stairs.

“Ugh, I’m coming!”, I yelled, and ran out of my room, slamming the door behind me.

“What took you so long?”, my brother asked when I got into his car.

“Nothing.”, I mumbled.

“Whatever.”, he said, turning the music to its highest volume.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the headrest, and imagined his beautiful face in front of me.

His eyes were filled with love and adoration as he had eyes only for me.

“Michelle, I don’t know how I had lived without you for so long.”, he whispered in his musical voice.

“I love you, Gee.”, I said softly.

He leaned in, and kissed me passionately.

“Wake up, you freak.”, Kevin yelled in my ear, shaking me roughly.

I groaned and forced my eyes open, opening the car door and getting out reluctantly. The noise of all the kids talking loudly and catching up with their friends filled the air, worsening my headache. I grumbled as I walked up the stairs to the entrance of the school.

“Shell!”, I heard a familiar voice yell, and looked up to see Mikey and Amber running towards me.

“Hey guys.”, I called out.

I smiled, excited to see my friends again. Amber hugged me and squealed excitedly when they reached me. Mikey waited patiently for her to finish overreacting, and hugged me when I was finally free.

“How was your summer?”, Amber asked, linking her arm through mine as we walked towards our lockers.

“Boring as hell, like usual.”, I mumbled.

“Shame, hon. Mine was fantastic. You wouldn’t guess what happened.”, she said, practically jumping up and down.

“Nope.”, I said indifferently.
“Frankie asked me out, finally!”, she said loudly.

Everyone turned to stare, and I laughed at Mikey’s beet red face. He hated it when people stared at him. He glared at Amber, but then his attention got caught by Chelsea, one of Amber’s cheerleader friends.

“Go ask her out. I know she likes you, Mikes.”, I whispered in his ear.

“Are you sure?”, he asked hesitantly.

“Of course I’m sure. She looked at you just now. GO!”, I whispered urgently, shoving him in her direction.

He gave me a small smile, and then hurried to her. amber had quieted down, and we were both watching anxiously. Chelsea was smiling at him, and flipping her hair over her shoulder, touching his arm. Mikey asked something, and she nodded, pulling him into a tight hug. I sighed with relief when he gave us a big smile.

“Now it’s just you and Gerard who needs to find someone. Everyone in our group is taken.”, Amber said as we continued walking to our lockers.

“Yeah, I know.”, I said, sighing unhappily.

Gerard’s locker was next to mine, and even though I was his little brother’s best friend, he wasn’t really aware of my existence. Right now he was leaning against his locker, chatting with some artist girl. I groaned, and started dragging my feet.

“Don’t be such a baby.”, Amber whispered, tugging me along.

I rolled my eyes and slammed the locker door open, trying to ignore the flirtatious way the girl was talking to him. My eyes burned with unshed tears, and I tried to blink them away, shoving the appropriate books into my bag.

“Yeah, whatever, I’ll talk to you later Di.”, I heard him say.

“Bye Gee. See you in art, then.”, the girl whispered before walking away.

I sighed, searching through my bag for my iPod, and waiting for Amber to finish with her locker. I tried to see past Gerard’s open locker door to see what Amber was up to, and groaned when I saw Frankie standing there with her.

“Hey.”, I heard Gee say, and my head whipped back in his direction, creaking my neck.

“Ow.”, I muttered, rubbing my neck.

Gerard was looking at me with a smile on his gorgeous face, and I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks. I cursed my pale skin, and gave him a small smile.
“Hi.”, I said shyly.

“I like your shoes.”, he said with a grin.

I looked down at my black and red sneakers with small white skulls on it.

“Thanks.”, I said, grinning back at him.

I slammed my locker shut and started making my way to Amber’s locker when I became aware of Gee walking next to me. I saw Amber’s eyes widen when she saw us walking together, and I shook my head furiously, narrowing my eyes at her. The smile she got on her face warned me that she was cooking something up, and I groaned internally.

“Hey Gee.”, Amber said with a wide smile.

“Hi Amber.”, he replied, hugging her.

“So, babe, when did you say was the party?”, Frankie said, curling his arm around her waist.

“Friday. Will you come, Gee?”, she asked, winking at me.

I made a mental note to kill her later, and burry her body. I was still glaring at her when Mikey and Chelsea walked over to us. This was the traditional talking place for our group every morning, especially if we had plans to make, but this was the first time that Gee had walked with me to her locker.

“Hey, little bro. When did you get a girlfriend?”, Gee asked teasingly.

“This morning.”, Mikey said shyly.

“Congrats. Hey, I’m Gee.”, he said, introducing himself to Chelsea.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Chelsea.”, she said, hugging Mikey closer.

“So what is this I hear about a party?”, Mikey enquired.

“Amber is having a party this Friday. Bring as much booze as you can.”, Gee said with a smirk.

“Gee, don’t be silly.”, Amber said, slapping his arm lightly.

“Aw, Amber, don’t spoil all the fun. I know you go to the jocks parties and drink booze there, so why can’t we have booze at your party?”, Gee pleaded.

“Come on, Gee, give her a break.”, Frankie said, punching his arm.

“Oh, all right. But next time there’s a party at my house, and there will be booze, and plenty of it.”, he said with a victorious smile.
“You have a one track mind.”, Mikey said with a frown.

“Nah, he likes girls and art, so he has a three track mind.”, Bob said, appearing behind Gee.

“Yo, my bro.”, Ray said arriving just a few seconds after Bob, their girlfriends tagging along behind them.

All the girls hugged each other hello while the guys catched up with each other. Kate and Irena were also new to our group, but not as new as Chelsea, who had joined that morning. Bob and Irena had been going out since the beginning of summer, and Ray and Kate had started dating a month after them.

“Hey Gee, where’s your babe?”, Bob asked suddenly.

“Here I am.”, a girly voice answered.

“Lynz, baby.”, Gee said whirling around, and grabbing her up.

I felt Amber squeeze my arm, and saw Kate and Irena giving me sympathetic looks, then turn to look at the new addition with disgust. I turned to look at her as well. She had shoulder length black hair with blue and pink highlights, and was wearing a short black mini skirt with a tight red shirt that clung to her small body. She was wearing heavy make up, her eyes were rimmed with black eyeliner and dark eye shadow and her lips were painted a bright red.

“She looks like a Goth.”, Amber whispered in my ear.

“Guys, this is Lynn-Z, my new girlfriend.”, Gee introduced her to us.

The guys smiled brightly at her, staring at her bare legs and cleavage. The girls smiled coldly at her, still eyeing her with disgust.

“Lyn, this is Bob and Irena, Ray and Kate, Mikey and Chelsea, Amber and Frank and Shell.”, he said, pointing to each of us as he said our names.

For some reason Lynn-Z took an immediate liking to me, and smiled brightly at me. I heard Amber hiss angrily beside me, and looked at her in surprise. She had never taken such an intense and immediate dislike to anyone, but I could guess at her reason. I knew she had wanted me and Gee to get together, that’s why she was throwing the party, and she hated it when her plans failed. But like I knew her, she was going to try harder than ever before.

“Hi.”, Lynn-Z said to me.

“Hi.”, I said, giving her a small smile.

I saw Gee smile approvingly at me, and my heart ached. If he wanted us to approve of his girlfriend, he must really like her. Usually he doesn’t even bother introducing them to us.

“What class do you have first?”, Lynn-Z asked me.

“Uhm, History with Jefferson.”, I replied after checking my schedule.

“Cool, me too. Can I walk with you?”, she asked excitedly.

“Uh, sure.”, I said with an uncertain look in Amber’s direction.

She was busy talking with the other girls and throwing dirty looks in Lynn-Z’s direction. The bell rang, and I gave Amber a small smile before turning to walk to my first class. Lynn-Z linked her arm through mine as though we were best buddies, and I let it go. It wasn’t in my nature to be mean to people, even if they are dating the guy I love.

“So, are you new here or something?”, I asked after a while.

“I guess you can say that. I’m a transfer student, but my parents are debating whether or not to move here permanently. Gee had gone to visit his uncle in Ohio, and my dad and his uncle are friends. That’s how we met.”, she babbled.

I plastered a smile on my face just in case she looked at me while she was talking. Luckily we reached the class, and I went to take my seat in the back while Lynn-Z went to introduce herself to Mr. Jefferson. She headed back to me after he gave her all the books she will need, and sat down next to me.

“And we immediately clicked, you know. He’s such a great kisser. Did he have many girlfriends before me?”, she asked, continuing the conversation as if there hadn’t been an interruption.

“Uh, yeah. Half the girls in school are in love with him.”, I answered evasively.

“Are you one of them?”, she asked, glancing casually at my expression.

I had difficulty keeping my face neutral, and plastered a fake bright smile on my face before looking her way.

“Nope. Gee and I are just acquaintances I guess you could say. We’re not really friends, I’m best friends with his brother.”, I answered, and saw her visibly relax.

“Oh good. Because I really like Gee, and I don’t want a pretty girl like you to take him away from me.”, she said with a relieved smile.

“Don’t worry, it’s not my style to go for my friends’ boyfriends, even if I did like them.”, I replied.
“Are we friends, then?”, she asked excitedly.

“Uh, I guess.”, I said, and sighed with relief when Mr. Jefferson walked into the class.

Class passed quickly, and when the bell rang signaling the end of the double period, I shoved my books into my bag, and stood waiting for Lynn-Z to pack up.

“I have Calculus next, with Miss Roberts. What do you have?”, she asked as we walked out of the classroom.

“The same.”, I answered.

Luckily the next class was just two classes away from History, so Lynn-Z didn’t get much opportunity to continue describing how Gerard’s lips felt against hers. My eyes filled with tears just at the thought of them kissing, and I angrily rubbed them away. We walked in, and the same procedure followed as it did in History. Lynn-Z went to introduce herself, and I took my seat in the back again. And once again she came to sit next to me.

“Class, please open your textbooks on page 325, and do the all the activities. There will be no need to talk.”, Miss Roberts said as the class took out their books and started working.

“I hate Calculus. I can’t believe we had two double periods, its ridiculous.”, Lynn-Z whispered after a few minutes.

“I know, I do too.”, I whispered back.

Calculus passed by quickly, and next we had lunch. I quickly packed away my books and once again stood waiting for Lynn-Z. For once we walked in silence to the cafeteria. Amber and the rest of our group were already seated with their food in front of them. Lynn-Z and I went to stand in the line and bought our food.

“Hey babe. How’s your first day of school going so far?”, Gee asked Lynn-Z when we sat down.

“It’s going great, sexy.”, she said, leaning in for a kiss.

I pretended to let my pen fall and ducked under the table to search for it so that I didn’t have to see them kissing each other. Even though I didn’t see them, there was still a hollow ache in my chest. I came up from under the table, and nearly ducked again when I saw they were still kissing, but Amber caught my sleeve to stop me, and gave me a meaningful look. I sat up with a sigh, and played with my food.

“So, Shell, how’s it going with you and Kyle?”, Amber asked suddenly.
“Who?”, I asked confusedly.

“Kyle.”, Amber said, her voice thick with implication.

“Oh. Uh, good. Ow.”, I said when she pinched me, “I mean, it’s going great with us.”, I said when she gave me a meaningful glare.

“Who’s Kyle?”, Chelsea asked curiously.

“It’s Shell’s boyfriend.”, Amber explained.

Everyone looked up in surprise, staring at me. I blushed furiously and kicked Amber under the table. Mikey looked surprised and hurt, and I gave him an apologetic smile.

“Since when does Shell date?”, Gerard asked suddenly.

“She’s always dated, but the guys in school isn’t exactly her taste. They’re not mature enough, right?”, Amber said, jabbing me in my ribs.

“Uh, yeah.”, I answered, not meeting Gee’s eyes.

“Hey, I’m mature.”, Gerard said, sounding incredulous.

I looked up to him in surprise, and heard Amber’s delighted intake of breath. Obviously this was what she has been aiming for the entire time, and now I’m stuck with a boyfriend that doesn’t even exist.

“I wanna meet him Friday. No one dates one of our friends without the guys checking him out first. You better bring him along, Shell.”, Gerard demanded, and the rest of the guys murmured in agreement.

I had trouble biting back the words that threatened to burst through my lips, and took a deep breath to calm myself down. I smiled sweetly at all of them, and threw a murderous glare in Amber’s direction.

“Thanks guys, but it’s really not necessary. I can take care of myself.”, I said.

“Doesn’t matter. How old is this guy anyway?”, Gerard asked.

“He’s in college.”, Amber answered quickly.

“You do realize that Kevin will kill you when he finds out you’re dating a college guy, right?”, Bob asked, and I nodded nervously.

“Well, he should get in line.”, Mikey said angrily, and Gerard nodded.

“Jeez, Mikes, calm down.”, I said, looking at him in surprise.

“I’m going to get some fresh air, come with me, Shell.”, Amber said, tugging me up by my arm.

We walked quickly out of the cafeteria, dumping our trays on the way out. I kept my temper down until we got outside and out of earshot, and rounded on Amber, my eyes glowing furiously.

“Great, Amber, this is just bloody great! Where the hell do you expect me to fish a college guy out? What the hell were you thinking?!”, I yelled angrily.

The fact that she was standing there calmly with a smug smile on her face only made me more furious.

“Shell, I have the guy, all right? I called him with my idea after you had walked away with that thing. It’s all planned out, and he’s agreed to do it. You’re coming to my house this afternoon, and then you are going to tell each other about yourselves, it’s going to work out perfectly. And to top it all off, he is absolutely gorgeous. Gee will be so jealous he wouldn’t know what to do.”, she replied smugly.

I ground my teeth in frustration, and started pacing around. What on earth had I done to deserve this?!

“Amber. If this turns out badly, I will personally kill you with my bare hands.”, I hissed threateningly.

“Does that mean you’ll do it?”, she asked excitedly.

“It’s not like I have much of a choice.”, I mumbled.

“Yay! Just wait until you meet Kyle, you’ll love him.”, she said, clapping her hands together.

“Gosh, act like a junior for crying out loud. Is his name really Kyle?”, I asked, rolling my eyes at her idiocy.

“Yes, silly. Now lets get back to the cafeteria before I miss all the juicy gossip.”, Amber said and started pulling me along.