Eric dropped me off at my house after we had dinner. He was a pretty okay guy. I did get a bit unnerved when his voice hardened because I asked about his family.
Okay, sensitive subject. Coming to think of it, no one knew much about Eric. His family and his life outside of school was a mystery for everyone.
There were ridiculous rumors spreading around our school about him. Some said that he was secretly a vampire and he was sucking blood from strangers when he wasn't in school. In your dreams!
Others said he was a werewolf. Seriously? Why do people assume mysterious hot guys are creatures of the paranormal? They have been watching way too many movies.
I was lying on my bed thinking of my date. I let out a groan when I thought of all the embarrassing moments that happened. I acted like a child, I made a weird looking turtle, I tripped, Eric carried me. Argh! I wanted to scream. So embarrassing. And in front of a hot guy!
I'm such an idiot. My phone buzzed. I checked it. A text came from an unknown number.
C u 2morrow, Peter
Eric. I didn't send him back a text. What would I say? I would only end up making a fool out of myself.
I checked the time. It was getting late, so I decided to turn in for the night. I got in my bed and shivered. I forgot to turn on the heater so the sheets were freezing. I lay down on my cold bed and curled up.
The exhaustion of the day came flooding in and I fell asleep as soon as my eyes shut.
****
"Hey Sam!" I yelled and ran over to him grinning. I needed to tell him about my dates. Eric and Roger. The walk in park counted as a date, right?
"What's up, Nikki?" Sam greeted me like I was one of his old buddies.
"I went on a date with Eric and Roger!" I chirped excitedly. "Two more to go then you are out!"
"That's what you're so excited about? Well, I'm hurt."
I rolled my eyes. "Please. If you're out of the game, then you are off my list of people to avoid. We'll be friends."
He smiled. Ugh! That gorgeous smile! "That's not so bad. But," his smile turned into a devilish smirk. "What if I want to be more than just friends?"
"Okay," I looked around desperate to change the subject. The vending machine caught my eye. "Look! How about we get ourselves a good snack and head to class? Sounds like a plan!"
Without waiting for an answer, I strode over to the vending machine. I punched some buttons, but nothing happened. I felt something heavy on my head. Sam was using me as his darned armrest.
"Didn't you know?" I could tell Sam was smiling just from his voice. "That vending machine hasn't been working since sophomore year."
My face flushed. Right. I completely forgot. A freshman had brought his little brothers to school and the little rascals had somehow jammed the machine with dirt. Then they cut the wire. I wondered why no one took it away. They could have saved me from this embarrassment.
"I knew that," I said quickly. "I was just wondering if I could fix it."
Sam laughed, proving that my lame excuse was not convincing.
"We should get to class," I grumbled. "We'll be late and Mr. Wilson hates it when I'm late. You should go too."
"I've got a free period."
"Right," I nodded. "Then, I'll see you in history."
I was about to leave, but Sam grabbed my wrist. Great. I turned around and smiled. "Yes?"
"Do you want to skip class today?" He asked.
I cocked my head to one side and gave him a skeptical look. "Who do you think I am? I never skip class."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I have to remember that you are Miss Goodie-two-shoes. One day of being bad isn't going to hurt you know."
"Yeah, but--" I was interrupted by the bell.
Sam smirked. "You're already late. Might as well skip."
I glared at him. "Late or not, I need to get to class!"
"Or you can spend some time with me."
I hesitated. Sam was still a bad boy. I had to remember that. He didn't care if he skipped class. But I did. Yeah, yeah. I'm a boring person. You don't have to remind me. I care about school. Skipping class is a big deal for me.
"Bye, Sam," I said. I ran off before he could say anything. I heard him chuckle as I ran. Jerk. Stupid handsome jerk.
I burst into class. I flushed when all eyes turned to me. Mr. Wilson was writing something on the board. He gave me a disapproving look.
"Thank you for deciding to join us, Miss Peterson," he said sternly.
"Sorry," I muttered and walked to my seat, keeping my head down. My usual spot was taken by one of Sophie's close friends. She smirked at me and I looked around to find an empty seat.
There was one next to Eric. It wasn't surprising. All the girls wanted to sit there, but he never let them. They never wanted to get on his bad side, so they stayed away. Joey sat on the other side of him. I passed that seat and looked elsewhere. I didn't want to get on his bad side either. A seat next to Caleb was open.
Eric or Caleb? Do I even have to wonder? Who cared if Eric didn't like me, anyway? It was one less boy trying to win the game.
I sighed and took my seat at the back next to Eric, who seemed busy trying to sleep without being noticed.
I caught Caleb's eye. He smiled at me dumbly. I was so glad I didn't take that seat. I would rather die at the hands of Eric than have Caleb all over me. Just the thought made me shudder.
The other girls gasped quietly. I was a girl who dared to defy this unsaid policy and sat next to Eric. Big deal. I craned my neck to get a glimpse of what Mr. Wilson was writing on the board. I hated sitting at the back. My eyesight wasn't the best, but not so bad that I needed glasses. Just bad enough to not be able to see Mr. Wilson's tiny writing on a board fifteen feet away.
I sighed and listened to what Mr. Wilson was saying. I tried to write down everything he said. I wrote down the formulas Mr. Wilson read aloud. This was so annoying.
I almost jumped out of my seat when a piece of crumpled paper landed on my desk. I looked around and saw Caleb watching me expectantly. His note? Great.
I was tempted to just rip the paper to shreds without reading it, but being the nice person I am, I decided to read it. But at the pit of my stomach, I knew I would regret it. I caught Caleb's triumphant look before reading the note. And boy, was I right. I should never have opened this death trap in the form of an innocent piece of paper.
On it, scrawled with Caleb's very messy handwriting was this note:
If you are reading this, you are agreeing on going to the hallow ween dance party with Caleb McCartney. Thank you for accepting this invatation. Caleb will pick you up on the night of the dance at 7:00 sharp. Be ready cuz Caleb will take you even if you are in your jammies.
That son of a motherless goat! How dare he? He didn't even spell Halloween and invitation right! I angrily crumpled up the paper. Then thought better of it. I kept it, resolving to rip it to shreds in his face and say that I would never go to that dance with him.
****
"Please, Caleb," I pleaded. "I don't want to go." With you, my thoughts finished. Sigh. Yes, I was going to stomp over to him and say no and shred the paper to pieces, but I couldn't do that. My cowardly guts resorted to begging. And, being my clumsy forgetful self, I forgot to bring the note. Oops.
Caleb smirked, glad that he got my attention. "Really," he said smugly. "I'm still going to pick you up, so be ready, sugar bunny."
I wanted to slap him to next week. He was such an annoying jerk. I wanted to spit on his face and tell him that I would never go with him.
"Is there a problem here?" I groaned inwardly when I heard Alex's voice behind me.
"No," Caleb said smugly. "Just that Nicole and I were talking about what we are going to wear for this Halloween dance."
I scolded myself for what I was about to do. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I looked at Alex, hoping he would be able to read my expression.
He's forcing me. I don't want to go. I hoped he would get the message. He must have noticed because he caught my eye and his expression changed.
"Really?" He said casually. "Did Nicole agree to this?"
I shook my head at the same time as Caleb saying, "Of course."
Alex grabbed my shoulders and pulled me towards him. Caleb's smug expression was wiped clean off and frankly, it was satisfying to see it.
"That's funny," Alex put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Because she's supposed to be going with me."
Caleb's expression matched what I felt: What is he talking about?!
"What are you doing?" I hissed, making sure Caleb couldn't hear.
"Saving you from a creep, that's what."
I kept my mouth shut after that. Anything that could get me away from Caleb was welcomed. Heck, I'd even pretend to be Sophie's best friend if I had to.
Caleb's gaping mouth closed into a determined frown. He glared at Alex. I could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. He couldn't stand up against Alex, so he turned his gaze to me.
"Nicole agreed to come with me," he said stubbornly. "If she doesn't come with me, you will regret it."
Chills ran down my spine. What did he mean by that? Caleb left without another word. I stared at the back of his head, wondering what he meant. I shrugged. He was Caleb. He'd get over it. He didn't have the guts to do anything to the Big Five. The school hated him enough. I actually kind of felt sorry for the guy. At least he had his own creepy friend(more of a henchman) to keep him company.
I pulled away from Alex when I noticed the stares--and glares--we got from the other students.
"Thanks," I said genuinely. "I really appreciate it."
"No prob," Alex grinned. "It's not like I did it for nothing."
I frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"I got myself a hot date to the dance," Alex winked.
"What?" I practically shouted. "But that was a fluke? You only said that to chase Caleb away."
"Oh, no," Alex shook his head and let out a chuckle. "You are coming with me, whether you like it or not. Either that, or you can get yourself a dance with Caleb."
My scowl should have sent him warnings, but he just smirked and ruffled my hair. I slapped his hand away and fixed the mess he made.
"What if I don't want to go?" I said.
"Then I'll force you to," Alex said matter-of-factly. "Or Caleb will."
I didn't know what to say to that. It was true. If I didn't go with anyone else, Caleb would force me to go. I did not want to risk that. It was either Caleb or Alex. Did a girl even have to think if they were given those choices? I mean, Caleb looked normal, but he sure did not act normal. And Alex was a hot guy with witty comments and fun personality. It wasn't so bad, right?
I looked at Alex and felt shy for no reason. Realization hit me. Alex, a starring jock, asked me, the quiet girl who always liked to blend in with the crowd. It was a dream come true for any girl who snagged a date with one of the Big Five.
"I guess," I said quietly. "Fine. I'll go with you."
Alex grinned. He looked like a little boy and I couldn't help but grin back.
"Thought so," he said. "I'll pick out your outfit."
My grin faded and Alex walked away. On second thoughts, I'm not so sure it was a good idea to go with Alex.
__________________________
yeh, fi uoy nac daer siht, uoy era a suineg!
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~Fere