The Guys I Like, My Pretty Best Friend, and Ugly Me

So done with you

I woke up in the school’s clinic and saw Richard sitting beside my bed, staring somewhere out the window. I laughed to myself as I remembered colliding with him on my way to Biology, wondering how the heck I passed out from that collision.

“I see you’re awake. How are you feeling?” he asked as I looked into his green eyes, moving on to his slightly crooked nose, his lips defined and plump, his slightly shaggy light brown hair, Oh and don’t even get me started on his jawline—

“Done checking me out?” he said with slight arrogance in his voice, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“I was not!” I exclaimed feeling the tint of red creeping up my cheeks. “What happened?” I questioned.

“I was in a rush getting to my English Class, and I’m thinking you were in a rush to get to your class too. I looked down to my watch and the next thing I know, you were inches away from bumping into me, so I tried stopping you, but, I accidentally whacked you with my watch.” He explained sympathetically. “After that, you were unresponsive, and you fell to my chest.”

‘So, I got whacked where?’ I thought to myself as I stood up and check my reflection.

“Holy mother of peanut butter what the fuck happened to my nose?!” I whisper yelled as I looked at my reflection, and then at Ricky, then back to my nose, which was horribly crooked. He looked at me sympathetically, his eyes showing he’s sorry.

With no need for words, I looked at him right in those green eyes of his.

“You’re sorry, right?” I asked him, and he gave me a nod.

I sighed, contemplating whether I should just go for it, since this is my only chance of getting him to say yes. Of course I feel pathetic, knowing that he’ll just do it out of pity for me, but I’ll never know until I try right? Right? Sometimes I catch him looking at me, or is it just my eyes wanting to see what I want to see. But hey, I’m not too bad; maybe he likes me back, since we’ve been friends for a while and all.

So I told him, “You want to make it up for me, right? You gave me a crooked nose after all..”

“What can I do?” he asked me.

“Go out with me.” I told him as I looked down to my feet, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, looking anywhere else but him, nervous of what his reaction might be. And as I expected, he looked at me dumbfounded, as if I was losing my mind or as if I had a concussion.

“Hm.”, he said not knowing what to say. Richard is a nice guy, and as far as I know he would do the best he can to let it out to me softly, but boy I was wrong.

He continued, “Remember the day when I asked Ashley to the movies? She insisted that you should come along, and you did. When I asked her to go to a carnival with me, you came along again. Every time I ask her out, you just have to come and ruin it. I think by now you know what I mean. I like Ashley, I like her a lot. She’s nice, intelligent, and smoking hot. I know that there’s someone amazing behind those glasses and braces. But the amazing Nikki behind those glasses, I just can’t see her. I remember a few days ago, when I asked Ashley to my mom’s summerhouse annual barbecue party, and of course, you had to come. I heard that Ashley let you borrow the dress that you wore that day. You know, that bright red, fitted tube dress? I saw that you tried to impress me, to look at least half as good as Ashley. But to be honest, it disgusted me."

He continued, "You’re nowhere near Ashley, yet you’re best friends with her. You’ll never be as glamorous as Ashley. I only hang out with you to get closer to Ashley, Nikki.”

Oh, now I see why he looks at me all the time. It’s because he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Ashley, who was always beside me.

I couldn’t take much more, so I ran out of the clinic and sprinted home. I noticed people staring at me. Scratch that. They were staring at my nose.

“Why don’t y’all take a damn picture? It lasts longer.” I mumbled to myself as I made a dash through the corridor, with tears building up in my eyes.

That day, I went home broken. The first guy that I actually liked used me to get with my best friend, gave me a crooked nose, and called me ugly in like 234325325 different ways.

I told my mom everything that happened, she told me that I was pretty in my own way and she suggested that I avoid him at all costs and not let him bring me down (which was too late), and that I talked to Ashley, which I did after talking to mom. Somehow, my brother James knew, and he didn’t dare annoy me, which was a first. It got me thinking that maybe ‘twin instincts’ truly do work.

But all of this was yesterday, and yesterday is over it’s a different day. But I never knew that ‘yesterday’ could change me drastically.

That night I vowed to myself,

"I'm so freaking done."