Anderson Means A

Chapter 10 - The Slutty Ex-Girlfriend

"But you need to look hot for the party Friday. You're single now." Evelyn grinned and scrolled to the next obnoxious dress on her smartphone. "This one!" A sparkling, black designer-dress appeared on the screen, with a bow on top.

"I'm not a present", Charlotte said sarcastically.

Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Besides, Liam will be there. I don't want to be the slutty ex-girlfriend."

"Maybe Jake will be there", Harper said with a smile on her face.

"I hope not. Why are we going again?" It was a rhetorical question. She knew why they had to go to the opening party, organized by the new head students of the year. Harper was one of them. Only losers didn't go to such things. She was in her last year now, she had to enjoy these kind of events.

"Underaged drinking, slutty designer clothes, rich boys and extravagant sex", Evelyn said like she meant it. Charlotte and Harper both laughed.

"Actually, where is Liam?", Evelyn asked. Charlotte looked at his group of stupid friends, but Liam wasn't with them. She hadn't really paid that much attention to him since the first day of school. It was the third week now and the memory of her break-up and Jake seemed far away, after all the new events at school.

"Rumor has it he's been hanging out with the new guy", Harper answered.

"Diego?", Charlotte asked with disbelief. Why would he hang out with him? Diego wasn't cool at all. She hadn't even seen the boy since she'd introduced herself to him. Did Liam really want to prove he was different from his friends so badly?

"Yes. Weird, right? I'm having a little thing going on with one of his friends and they all think it's really annoying. Diego can't talk about anything they like."

"Expensive cars and luxurious home parties?", Charlotte asked sarcastically.

"Exactly!", Harper answered, not realizing Charlotte was joking. "He only talks about school and poetry. He was in the drama-club of his previous school, apparently. Liam really got himself a charity project."

So Diego liked poetry, Charlotte thought. That meant he might be interested in art too. Maybe Liam genuinely liked the guy? She knew Liam secretly liked talking about art, because of his parents, but he always hid it from his friends.

That afternoon, Charlotte was alone in the halls of the school. She just needed some books out of her locker to study for a mathematics test, but when she was about to go into the hall of her locker, she saw Liam walking in the next hall. She stopped and waited behind the corner. Why did she not want to see him? They were friends, right?

Then she heard him talking to someone. And laughing. She stepped around the corner and saw him staring at her. He looked more joyful than ever. Diego walked next to him and stared at Charlotte too. His uniform looked better than the first day she saw him. It actually fitted this time and the colors seemed brighter.

"Charlotte, hi! It's been so long", Liam said. "How are you?"

She wasn't really in the mood for small talk, but she smiled. "Fine. How are you?"

"Good. I was just inviting Diego to the party on Friday. He didn't even know about it, funny right?" Diego returned a shy smile. The boy looked like a walking bag of sweet innocence, which made Charlotte feel bad somehow. Not because Liam liked him, but because she had been such a superficial person. She realized she'd judged Diego just as bad as Harper had done the first day. Now, she saw that he was just a sweet boy looking for a friend, just as Liam was still looking for a good friend. And now they'd found each other.

And I am not that person anymore, Charlotte thought automatically, but she pushed the thought away. When they were together, Liam had told her a lot about himself he'd never told to his friends. It made her feel special somehow. She didn't know why she felt sad that they weren't that close anymore. She didn't love him, right?

"That's so nice. I will see you there", she said with a neutral tone.

"Sure, we're going to get a new outfit for the party. I'm going to give him a re-styling. All the girls will fall for him."

Liam was allowed to be happy with his new friend, she repeated in her mind. It was kind of cute that Liam still dared to admit he liked shopping for new clothes. It was a sign he still trusted her. And he trusted Diego too now, apparently.

"Have fun. Evelyn and I are going to get a new outfit too." She smiled, trying to make it genuine. When Liam and Diego disappeared, she took her phone and clicked on Evelyn's name.

She typed a message: "I will wear the slutty dress with the bow, if I can have your math homework. Xoxo"

She immediately got a text back: "Deal"