Ah, being the new girl at school. It's a lot easier when you're seven years old. My only problem in
But most of them do; even slight ones.
I was immediately "out" because of my lack thereof. It didn't really matter; I just wanted to graduate and move back to Arizona. I didn't need any friends. I was starting with no friends here at all-no, not even Liam. We couldn't be friends, I had concluded. It was easy today; I wouldn't see him. He was eighteen, had graduated school.
I would not see him.
Although it would have been nice to have one friend, even Liam. But then again, if people remembered me-which I highly doubted-then I'd just be stuck as the same ol' girl I'd been before I moved. No, Liam being out of the picture worked much better in my favor.
I didn't receive half as many stares as I'd anticipated. I chose to blend in with my plain skinny jeans, a dark blue Ramones T-shirt, and my old Converse. My naturally straight mud brown hair I curled into submission, adding a black knitted slouch hat. Most to all the guys wore trucker's hats and checkered flannels, although it was hardly the season for it. None of them were hardly worth my noticing-they didn't compare with my gorgeous, hazel eyed stranger.
What I meant to say was, they didn't compare to my brown eyed boyfriend-who I wasn't entirely sure was my boyfriend anymore....The life of relationships is so complicated.
I had passed first and second period successfully as a ghost. By the time I took my lunch to sit under a MarshalCountyHigh School tree, my luck had run out. As soon as I was comfortably, leaning against the tree trunk and all, my lunch was immediately joined by another girl.
She smiled brightly at me. "Hi."
"Hi," I said politely back. To say she was interesting would be an under estimate. I was rather relieved to see her long blonde hair-complete with eccentric, non-country purple streaks-without a cowboy hat. Her bangs were heavy, nearly covering one of her electric blue eyes. Had I looked closer, I would have seen their original silver flecks in the iris.
"I'm Lucy-but my friends call me Lulu," she said, reaching out a pale-ish, slender hand.
I shook her hand. "I'm Piper."
"Oooh, cool name."
"Thanks."
Lulu would not allow an uncomfortable silence to ensue. She quickly carried on, as though we were long lost friends reuniting. "So, Piper, where ya from?"
"Arizona," I answered. "I just moved back."
"Oh, so you've previously lived in the ol' town of Lewisburg T.N?"
I nodded. "Moved when I was seven."
"Miss the atmosphere?" Lulu said with a blissful sigh.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh. Yeah."
Lulu laughed. "I'm from California....originally. Moved down here 'bout five or six years ago."
"Still refusing the accent?" I asked in amusement, noticing she only had the hint of one.
"Hell's yes!"
I laughed, staring down at my neglected food.
"Okay, Piper, here's the deal."
My heart gave a little kick-start at that. What did I do already? I stared, waiting for her to continue.
Lulu grinned, revealing perfectly white and straight teeth. "I've pretty much decided we're gonna be friends. Your thoughts?"
I laughed, somewhat in relief. "Well, I think I would have to agree with you."
"Sounds like a deal."
And thus began the friendship of Lulu and me.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Granted, I had a friend. But, as if my life couldn't get any worse, guess who was still at my house when I got home? Oh, yeah. None other than the infamous Liam Nelson; the jerk who was sure to ruin my life.
I pointedly ignored his pick up and parked the barrowed Suburban in the driveway.
"How was school?"
Trying not to groan, I turned around to see Liam leaning against his truck, grin and all. "Worst day of my life, what d'you think?" I said, using my Napoleon Dynamite voice.
Liam blinked, looking at me as though I'd lost my mind. Obviously he had no idea what movie I was quoting.
"Don't you southerners ever watch TV?" I asked, exasperated. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was people who did not appreciate:
1.) Music and
2.) Movies.
"You know what, I've got homework. See you."
"Hey, hold on a minute."
"Ugh. What?"
Liam was wearing that stupid, irresistible grin. "You're not gonna 'hang out' with me?"
I rolled my eyes. "No, I am not. I'm gonna go inside and do homework."
"What about unpacking? You could use some help." To this, he pointed at his arm muscles.
I tried not to laugh, but it was nearly impossible. "I mostly have everything done."
"Mostly is still mostly."
"Ugh. Fine! C'mon...."
Liam followed me inside triumphantly.
"Hey, Mom!" I called.
Her answering hello came from her closed bedroom door. Dad was away in Nashville for work.
I jogged up the stairs, skipping steps, like I always did. "Ta'da!" I said as I flung open my bedroom door, revealing my mess. My chestnut dresser was closest to the door, filled with my spring and summer clothes-I put all my winter stuff, along with the clothes that wouldn't fit in my dresser, in my walk in closet. Alongside a shorter wall was my white desk and computer and monitor. My mattress was set up across the room, but my headboard and everything wasn't set up.
Liam whistled. "Wow, you cert'ly did a lot with the place...."
"Oh shut up. Are you gonna help me or not?"
"Yeah, I'll help ya."
"Thank you."
It didn't take nearly as long as I suspected it would to get the bed set up, but it did require two people to do it.
Haha, that's what she said!
I'm so immature.
After we hauled the box spring and mattress on, I sat down, lovingly petting the mattress. "Ah, how I missed a bed!"
Liam just laughed at me. "You're insane."
"I know. Thanks for helping."
He shrugged. All of a sudden he was different. He wasn't Friend Liam, he was Cool Liam. Cool Liam was the reason I couldn't be friends with Friend Liam. Because Cool Liam didn't care that we used to be childhood friends. No, all Cool Liam could see was I'd grown up, got hot, and was no longer a kid.
I didn't much care for Cool Liam.
So before anything could happen, and I could see in Cool Liam's eyes that he had every intention of starting something, I quickly got off my bed and made an excuse about leaving my book bag in my mom's car.
I wasn't sure which Liam had followed me until I actually got to the Suburban. While I reached inside to pluck out my bag, he said, "Piper, can I ask ya somethin'?"
I took longer than necessary to get the bag, so I could stay in the car without looking at him. "Hmm?"
He paused a minute, whether waiting for me to look up at him or gathering words, I wasn't sure. In any case, I grabbed the bag and climbed out of the car. He had this weird look in his eyes, like....God, I don't even know like. It seemed he was confused about something, something that made him angry; at me or himself, he never said.
"Do I make ya nervous?" he finally asked.
I was a bit taken aback by his blunt question, not sure how to answer. Yes, he made me horribly nervous. But could I really tell him that? I didn't want to hurt his feelings. He had been my best friend, whether I had forgotten him or not. "Um, well, I, uh....." I sighed. "It's just.....weird, seeing you all grown up, is all....."
"Ya sure that's it?"
I nodded, not wanting to open my mouth to my suspicions of Friend Liam and Cool Liam. It was just unnecessary.....for now. I hoped there would never come a time to tell him what I really wanted to say that day; that, yes, Liam, you make more horribly nervous. Yes, Liam, I had forgotten all about our past friendship. No, Liam, I don't have any intention of being that close of a friend again.
So you could see why I kept my mouth shut and instead bobbed my head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Second day of school. Always a "better" day than the first. Students have stopped tip-toeing around you and are ready to pry into your business. I had been a fool in believing I had just been ignored. No such luck. I wasn't sure if Lulu being my friend had started, or if Liam had.
Someone informed me of the latter.
Tanya Cummings, apparently, had it in for me, as Lulu said. She started out with the stink eye and worked her way in with sly remarks and later bringing it home. All this, Lulu told me. I saw the stink eye myself, so I was inclined to believe my new friend.
To say Tanya was beautiful was an understatement. She had medium length blonde hair and perfect blue eyes. Not a blemish was in her perfect face, or her perfectly curvy, perfectly tan body. She wore perfectly styled clothes, she had a perfect southern accent-that wasn't annoying, surprisingly-and she even looked perfectly polite.
"She's a conniving bitch," Lulu muttered as we walked passed her.
This was where I received the stink eye. I was a bit shocked by it, but kept walking to my first class.
"Why do you say that?" I asked Lulu.
"Because," she answered in annoyance towards Tanya. "You see her. She looks all sweet and innocent. Why do you think her last boyfriend dumped her?"
"She got dumped?" I blanched.
Lulu nodded. "Yeah. They went out for a long time, couple of years, actually. But I heard he always kinda hated her. Was always in love with someone else."
"Hmm," I mumbled, hardly paying attention.
I should probably have taken as much advise about Tanya as I could have. Through the day, I hadn't even thought twice about her. That is, to say, until lunch. I sat in the cafeteria this time and met Lulu's other friends-Joey, Lulu's hilarious ex-boyfriend, Kat, Joey's girlfriend, Teddy, the nerdy, lovable boy, and Sam, the tomboy.
Tanya decided to place her food tray directly beside mine, standing at the edge of the table where I sat, a pleasantly angry look on her perfect face. She didn't say anything.
I frowned. "Uh, yeah?"
Tanya blinked, grinning. "You're from Arizona, right?"
I nodded. "Yup."
"So not awesome, but okay. And you live at that old, decrepit farm on Spring Place?"
If she'd actually seen our farm, she'd know it was anything but decrepit. "Yes, I live there. Why?"
Taking her tray. "Oh. No reason. I know your boyfriend, is all."
I frowned. "What boyfriend?"
Tanya blinked "innocently". "Liam Nelson isn't your boyfriend?"
"No."
"Hmm." Tanya shrugged, showing off a cat-like smile. "Oh, well. See you around, I'm sure."
As Tanya walked away, sashaying her hips to all guys who looked, Lulu really broke into it "slowly". "You know Liam Nelson?"
Awkwardly, I nodded. "Yeah, he helps my dad around the farm...." No need to mention we were once best friends.
Everyone stared at me in astonishment.
"What?"
"You just pronounced your death," Joey stated simply.
"What?"
Lulu slugged Joey's shoulder and gave him a harsh look. "What he means to say, is that Liam was Tanya's boyfriend that dumped her. The one I was telling you about."
I stared at her a minute. "Oh......shit."
"Ditto."
"Shit, this is not good...." It wasn't that I really cared if I was accepted my Miss Priss or not, but rather I had been hoping just to move around as a ghost until I moved again. Knowing Liam really wrecked that. Now Tanya would make my life a living hell and what could I do about it?
I dropped my head to the table. "This is just.....perfect."
I couldn't wait to get home and ream into Liam for completely ruining my life now.
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A/N It's not really long, but oh well. EllieNixon, I love Lulu! Hope I represented her correctly. Every story needs a preppy ex-girlfriend, although Tanya's more southern prep--which, believe me, are much, much worse. Hope you guys are liking so far!
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TTFN,
Hannah
P.S ♥Jar of Hearts♥