One Less Lonely

Logan and I were studying for our Physiology final tomorrow. I was extremely nervous about how I was going to do in that class. I really wanted to get a good grade (an "A") in that class, but right now, it looks totally hopeless. It doesn't really help that we kept eying each other like we wanted to rip each other's clothes off. It was a huge distraction.

I've never really done anything like this before, this whole "friends with benefits thing", but I'm loving every second of it. Besides, it was just Logan and he's probably not even going to Beachside in the fall. It really wasn't a big deal.

I was really scared. Finals for seniors were on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Graduation practice was on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was the actual day of graduation. Everything was moving really fast. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was starting off my senior year of high school and, now, it's already ending and everyone's splitting up.

I take that back. Not everyone. Sarah and Justin. They recently decided on which college they will be attending. They'll both be at University of California: San Diego (UCSD). I'm sad that I won't be able to see them around town as much as I do now. But, they'll have their own apartment in San Diego and I'll be able to visit them.

Haylie, Henry, Adam, and I are going to Beachside in the fall. I'm not sure if Adam is going to Beachside because of Zoey or because he really wants to go there. I'm not one to question his choices, but I am curious about his decision. They're doing really well as a couple and I'm really happy for them. They've almost reached their one month anniversary, from what Sarah tells me.

Haylie and Luke. I'm not sure how they're doing. But, I had a dinner date with Haylie tonight and we were going to do some catching up and possibly some relationship repair. I missed the girl who I could tell everything to.

"Courtney, you ok?" Logan asked, worriedly. He waved his hand in front of my face. I broke out of my train of thought.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" I asked him, apologetically. "I was thinking."

"I just wanted to know if you knew the answer to number 24," He said.

"Oh, yeah, it's B," I said, after checking my paper. "Neurons."

"Ok," he said, marking his paper. "Are you ok?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about a couple of things," I said. "Nothing really important. Don't worry." I smiled.

"When are you leaving to meet Haylie?" he asked me, making a face. I laughed and playfully hit him on the arm.

"Oh, stop," I said, smiling. "You know she's not that bad."

"No, she is," he told me. "I don't know why you'd want to stay friends with her." I sighed. I've had to defend my friendship with Haylie to almost everyone I knew.

"We've been friends for so long," I told him. "I don't know if that make sense, but I don't think that our friendship should be thrown away over something really trivial. You're awesome, but you're just a guy. Guys come and go and friendship lasts forever." He looked at me and I laughed.

"Or something Hallmark-y like that," I said. "I don't know. I just think that she needs a friend. Who better understands her than the person who's known her the longest. You know?"

He nodded, but I could tell that he didn't really understand what I was trying to tell him. Heck, I don't even understand exactly why I was doing this. Maybe I'm a lonely girl. Maybe I'm a person who can forgive and forget. There is the last maybe...

Maybe I'm just a crazy person.


***Note: I DO have internet, but it's been really flaky lately. It lets me get on for about 5 minutes then kicks me off. So.. I have the first week's posts written and I'm trying to work on the other posts for next week whenever the internet lets me on. I wanted to let you guys know that if there is no poll on Tuesday or if there is no post, it's because my internet won't let me on. I really hope you guys understand and that is a worst case senario. Actually, I think I'll do the poll now. LOL.***

Black Coffee

Henry was a superstar at Bella. Jasmine is practically in love with his work ethic. He's been folding clothes without being asked, being super nice to the customers (who were all women and were giggling with delight every time Henry looked their way), and the customers kept telling Jasmine what a wonderful employee Henry was. He was making the rest of us look bad. It doesn't really matter because Jasmine offered me a pay raise for referring Henry to her. So, we all win.

I had about half an hour left of my shift when Logan came into Bella. At first, I heard the door open and I didn't pay any attention to who had walked in. I was redoing the jean wall.. again. Henry was supposed to greet whoever had walked in, since he was at the customer service station. I was busy concentrating on organizing the jeans by color and size and didn't hear anyone come up to me. I felt someone tap my shoulder and I freaked out. It took me a minute to register what was happening.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Logan said, when I realized that it was him who tapped my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," I said to him, trying to get my heart to stop racing. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to get a cup of coffee or something," he asked me.

I was hesitant. It sounded like it was going to be a date and we had agreed to be friends. It was as if Logan had read my mind. He had quickly added: "I mean, as friends." I thought about it for a second, while folding (or rolling, if you wanted to be technical about it) the jeans. We DID say that we'd try to be friends. I didn't see anything wrong with hanging out with a friend. So, why not?

"Sure, I guess," I told him, shrugging. I looked at my watch. "I still have about 20 minutes left of my shift. Do you want to come back later?" I felt bad. I didn't want him to have to wait here in the store while I finished folding the jeans.

"Ok, I'll be back in 20, then," he told me. He left the store.

Henry walked up to me and picked up a pair of jeans to help me fold.

"What was that about?" he asked, not looking at me.

"Oh, nothing," I said, shrugging. It was nothing. I was just going out to have a cup of coffee with a friend. It's not like Henry's my boyfriend or something, where I have to tell him where I'm going and who I'm going there with. Well.. let me backtrack.. I still don't have to answer to him even if he was my boyfriend.

"Well, it didn't look like nothing," he said, pointedly. I sighed. He wasn't going to let up on the subject until I told him.

"We're going out to get a cup of coffee after I'm off from work," I told him. "You happy?" I rolled my eyes.

"Was that really that hard?" He asked me. I sighed as he walked away. I really didn't understand why he was being a jerk about me hanging out with Logan. Logan and I were just friends.

After I got off my shift, I met up with Logan outside of Bella. I swear, I saw Henry muttering under his breath as I walked out of the store, but I thought nothing of it.

He's just annoyed that I didn't come out and tell him that I was going to get coffee with Logan. I thought.

Logan and I went to this trendy cafe near Logan's house. I was surprised that Logan took his coffee black with no sugar. He was incredibly hardcore compared to what I was having- my strawberries and cream frappuccino. I wouldn't let him pay for my coffee, it would have been to date-like and I would have felt awkward during the entire time we were there, which wasn't that long.

We went to his house for a quickie and I couldn't help but say what was on my mind afterwords.

"We're still friends, right?" I asked him.

"Oh, yeah," he said, with a goofy grin. "Definitely friends."

Fast-Talking Friday

Hey guys! :)

How are you doing?

I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who voted in the polls! So, according to the results, there will be a new change to the posting schedule. The new schedule will be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Fast-Talking Fridays. There was an overwhelming majority for that choice. I'm really sorry to those who voted for something else, but I hope this schedule works for you too. The new schedule will start on May 31st. :)

I will be leaving up the results of the polls until Tuesday. I want to start something new on the blog, which the trial went really well, even though I might have picked a topic that was too huge for the sidebar. I don't want the blog to be just something that you read and then go: "Ok, done!" I want there to be interactions and involvements too between the reader and the blog.

So, now, every Tuesday, there will be a new poll added so I can get to know everyone. The questions may range from "what's your favorite color" to "what's your favorite flavor ice cream". Or there might be a topic of discussion posted up and you can respond in the comment area. My main goal is to make the blog as fun as it can be for everyone! I really enjoy looking at the polls and the results. :)

I'm really curious of what the "other" TV shows were. So, if you voted "other" and you haven't posted what the show was, please post. I'm trying to rack my brain on what other shows I missed. :)

Onto other blogs!

I'm so sad to see Apathy go. I just want to take a moment to recognize the greatness of the blog and wish Laura the best of luck on her pregnancy. I completely understand her reasoning behind pausing the blog (whether it's for the summer or for life). I'll miss the blog dearly.

Sadly to say, Macyn is also leaving us too. Next week will be the final 3 posts for Macyn. I can't really say that I'll miss the blog, because I was a little bored with some of the non-crazy stalker Sean and Stephanie (is it Stephanie) posts, but some of the posts were really sweet.

I'm really excited to see what Alicia has in store with her blog. She mentioned that she has something really awesome coming up!

Bedroom Blog. We should start a petition to end it. I would really like to see a nice ending for K. Maybe do something crazy and get married.

Sometimes. I love the blog. Just love it. If you don't read it, really, check it out, I highly recommend it. Hope is such a great writer. It's like a novel in a blog! I wonder if Hope is a published writer, if not, she should be!

Diary of J. I really think I read this blog out of loyalty. I'm a little bit irritated with the posting schedule. Yes, I understand that as a writer that things come up and you can't write. But, a little notice would be nice. But I can understand if you can't give notice. I have really conflicting views. lol. I'm disappointed as a reader, but understanding as a writer (I use the term writer loosely, since I'm just an amateur writer and not a professional one. :]).

Connecticut in two days! I really hope that my uncle wasn't lying when he says that there is wi-fi in his house. That would be bad.

I think that's everything that I have to say for now. Thank you for reading guys! I really love everything about the blogging community, from the negative comments to the positive ones.

Happy Friday!

Have an awesome weekend!

While You Work

We let the subject of Haylie's sanity drop so we could continue with the training. It wasn't really hard since the register was basically reading off the functions. The only thing was that we had to make sure that Henry had his pin number set to be able to access it, which we did without a problem.

Since the store was momentarily empty, we headed towards the jeans wall so I could show him how to fold jeans. Jasmine was notorious about folding the jeans correctly with a technique that basically is a half roll-half fold. Apparently, it made the size numbers more visible. I wasn't going to argue with her on how no one cares how the jeans are folded. She would probably make me re-do the wall every day while I'm at work or something.

"So, I saw you dancing with a girl at prom," I said, nonchalantly. "From what Sarah's been telling me, she's really smart. She's going to Stanford." Henry looked at me.

"I guess she's pretty smart, but I'm not really interested in her," he said, shrugging.

"Why not?" I asked him.

Inside, I was jumping with joy, but I was also really curious as to why Henry wasn't interested in her. I mean, Michelle (I finally know her name) is gorgeous. She looks like she should be in a Miss USA pageant. I mean, she looks like Kourtney Kardashian- tiny, petite, and just gorgeous! Did I mention that she's gorgeous?

"She threw herself at me," he said, simply as if it explained everything.

"Isn't that, like, every guy's dream?" I asked him, laughing. "You should be lucky that a girl would even want to throw herself at you." He poked me in the ribs and made a face.

"Some guys, but not me," he said. "She completely flashed me, tried to make out with me, and told me that she had a hotel room down the street if I wanted to join her. I think she had herself a little pre-party before going to prom. She smelt like she had consumed half of Beachside's alcohol." When I pictured the look on Henry's face when Michelle was doing all this, I started laughing. He poked me in the ribs again.

"It's not funny!" he insisted. I was still laughing.

"If you say so," I said, smiling.

I went into the stockroom to check to see if Haylie was working. She was grumpily working on organizing the product that we had gotten in. She looked like she was having the time of her life. She practically glared at me while I gave her an "I'm sorry" look.

"Are you and Logan going to try to get back together?" he asked me, when I settled down.

I don't know why, but I felt really uncomfortable all of a sudden. I don't regret sleeping with Logan, but I'm not really that kind of girl who just sleeps around with different guys. Ok, so, the Adam thing doesn't work in my favor either, but I'm blaming that on the alcohol. With Logan, I had nothing to blame it on, just myself. I felt kind off weird for sleeping with him.

"No, we had talked about it and I decided not to get back together with him," I said. Then I added, quietly, "Maybe there's something wrong with me?"

"Why would you say that?" he asked me. "We all do things that we wish didn't happen. There's nothing wrong with you."

"I don't regret it," I said to him. "It's just.. completely not like me to do something like that. I'm just worried that I'm changing into a person that I don't want to be."

Henry was silent after that and we just continued to work in silence for the rest of the shift.




*Hey guys! There's only one day left to vote on the new schedule and on your favorite TV shows. So, if you haven't voted yet, please vote! :) -J'et*

Half Crazy

It was a little bit over a week later when I had officially gotten myself moved into my dad's place. I didn't know how well our cat would handle the move, but it seems like she enjoys the new house better. Henry was on his way over today to pick me up for work. I was extremely excited! It's his first day at work! Hopefully, when he gets here that things were not as awkward as the last time I talked to him. The conversation went a little like this:

"Your mom called after prom wondering where you were," he told me. "You didn't answer any of my calls. Where were you?"

"With Logan," I said, sheepishly. I knew that Henry wasn't a really big fan of Logan. In fact, everyone, including Haylie, had their qualms about him. Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What did you do?" he asked, curiously.

"Nothing much, just ate at a diner and went to the beach," I said, shrugging.

"And?" he asked, elongating the word as if he knew something else had happened.

"I was with Logan," I said, with an emphasis on the word with.

"Oh, I see," he said.

Then there was an extremely awkward silence until I suggested that we go out and grab some lunch. I laughed at the memory. When I heard a honk, I went downstairs.

"Hey, Henry," I greeted him, while getting into his car.

"Hey," he said, smiling.

For the entire car ride, we were refrained from talking. Instead, we were singing (me, badly) along to "Airplane" and "Forever Young" when the songs came onto the radio. I got a couple of stares while I was dancing to the music in the car.

Henry and I were busy chatting when we walked into the store. We were interrupted with Haylie practically jumping into Henry's arms, giving him a hug. I rolled my eyes.

"Henry! I'm so glad to see you!" she said in a sickeningly sweet voice and batting her eyelashes at him. "It's going to be so great with the three of working here, right Courtney?" I gave her a slight nod.

After Henry and I both clocked in, I was showing him how to use the register with Haylie hovering nearby to eavesdrop on our conversation. Jasmine came out of her office to check up on us.

"Haylie, can you go do inventory in the stockroom?" Jasmine asked her. I could tell that Haylie didn't want to leave the two of us alone in the store and she grudgingly went into the stockroom. "Good job, Courtney, keep up the good work." She smiled at me and went back into her office.

"I thought Haylie was going to hover over us the whole night," I told him, sighing. "I think she likes you."

"She's with Luke," Henry said. "It doesn't mean anything. She's just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" I asked him.

"She's always been jealous of you, Court," Henry told me.

"No way," I said, softly.

"She took Logan because she was jealous that she couldn't have that relationship when she was with Steve," he said. "She faked a pregnancy so she and Logan could get married and have a happy family so she could, in theory, 'one up' you."

"Ok," was all I could muster.

No one was THAT crazy, right?

*** Please make sure to vote in the posting schedule poll! I would really like to get an accurate representation of what everyone wants. :) Also, if you voted "Other" in the Favorite TV show poll, I'm curious to know what show did I leave off the poll? If you could comment on what was the "Other" show, that would be great! Voting closes on Wednesday at 11pm pacific time! Thanks for the feedback! :) -J'et ***

Baby, I'm Sorry

I took a minute to think about Logan's offer. Last night was fun and amazing and I'd have to admit that I did feel a connection with him, but this was a guy who had told me that he cheated on me because he lost his feelings for me. To make matters worse, he cheated on me with Haylie. It takes two to tango, but still, it didn't hurt any less. His actions lead me to sleep with Adam, ruining my close friendship with him.

I didn't think that we would have this talk at all. I mean, he told me that he wanted to stay single until college. I thought we were on the same page and we were just having fun, but Logan had to ruin it with a relationship talk. Even if it was in a million years, I couldn't down this road again. I just.. couldn't.

"Last night was amazing," I told him with a smile on my face. I took a deep breath. "You're really sweet, but last night was fun and it was nothing more than that. I want to be single for a little bit, I don't think that I'm ready for another relationship. I don't think I could do down the relationship route with you after everything that's happened."

"I see, I understand," he said, obviously disappointed at the rejection. "Friends?" He held out his hand.

"Friends," I said, shaking his hand. I was really glad that he was taking the rejection well. "I should go home, I didn't exactly tell anyone that I was spending the night somewhere."

"Get dressed and I'll give you a ride home," he said. I could have sworn that I had heard a little sadness in his voice. Logan left the room and I quickly got dressed. I felt bad about my decision because he was being so sweet and to top it all off, it seemed like I'm trying to run away from him. Logan knocked on the door before coming in. "You ready?"

"Yeah, thanks, Logan," I told him, gratefully. When we got to my house, Logan insisted on walking me to the door.

"Well, bye," he said, awkwardly. I grabbed his arm and he turned around.

"I know that no matter which college you go to, you're going to find a girl that's perfect for you," I told him. "I'm really sorry that I can't be that girl for you."

"I'm sorry too," he said. I gave him a peck on the cheek and he left. I went into the house to find my mom and my dad sitting in the living room.

"Where were you, young lady?" my mom demanded. "I was worried sick about you! You didn't answer any of my calls and I called all of your friends and they didn't know where you were! I thought you had been kidnapped, raped, or even murdered! Are you seeing someone? Is it that Taylor?"

I became angry. She had been completely selfish since she separated from Dad, parading around with this guy who's half her age. Only a little over 3 years older than her children! It's as if her 20 years of marriage to Dad didn't mean anything to her. She didn't care about me or Brittany or my dad when she started fooling around with Joe, why start caring about me now?

"It's none of your business where I was," I told her. "You don't see me asking where you're going or who you're with. Not that you'd care what I think in the first place."

"Courtney, don't talk to your mother that way," my dad said, sternly.

"No, Dad, she needs to get over herself," I told him. I turned to my mom. "You need to learn that your decisions don't just affect you, they affect the rest of this family. So far, it doesn't look like you give a damn about me, Brittany, or Dad with the way you're parading around with Joe. Who brings a guy over and sleeps with him with her daughters in the house? Especially with a guy who's half your age? Doesn't it disgust you that he's only 3 years older than me and Brittany? Who does that?" I was almost screaming at my mom. My words were almost incomprehensible because I was sobbing so much. My mom looked completely stunned.

"It doesn't even matter anymore," I told her. "I'm moving in with Dad, end of story. You made your choice and I made mine."

I walked away, leaving my mom with her mouth hanging open in surprise. I thought I heard my mom say my name. I didn't even turn around to look, but I was sure that she had said, "Courtney, I'm sorry."

***** Please vote in the poll if you haven't already. I would really like to get some feedback on the posting schedule. It only takes one click! Please and thank you! -J'et*****

Fast-Talking Friday

Hey guys!

Is there anything new with you that you would like to share? :)

I wanted to get everyone's opinions on possibly changing the posting schedule. Currently, the schedule is Monday, Wednesday, Fast-Talking Fridays, and Saturdays. I was possibly thinking about changing it to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fast-Talking Friday schedule or possibly a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Fast-Talking Friday schedule. Let me know what you guys think. :)

There seemed to be a glitch with the comments yesterday, but I guess it's fixed?

I think that's it about what's going on with me (I'm a totally uneventful, arguably boring person :]).

Blogs.. Hmm.

Alicia's blog is getting pretty interesting with all the POVs going on. I can't wait to see what is the outcome of the court case. Although, I do have a theory that Grant will be found innocent and a incredibly imaginative chain of events will occur (think about what would happen in a CSI episode). Similar to the Macyn story, perhaps.

Speaking of Macyn, I had no idea how much I was going to miss that blog! I loved waking up in the morning and seeing a new post ever M, W, F. *sigh* She'll be back soon and I'll get my Macyn fix.

In Bedroom Blog, I definitely think it's winding down. I don't know what else to say about BB.

I love the blog Sometimes! It's a really good read. Hope is an excellent writer (which I may have said before). I haven't read her other blogs yet. I heard What My Heart Desires is a really good blog. I think the other new one is Wishing On Stars. There's probably more that escape my memory.

I would love to get your opinion on any of these blogs (or any other ones I might have left out due to the lengthiness of this post), feel free to comment!

Happy Friday and have an awesome weekend! :)

After Last Night

I woke up the next morning exhausted. I didn't want to open my eyes, the sunlight was too bright for my liking. Besides, it was Sunday and I didn't have work. I can stay in bed for a little while longer. I groaned. I felt someone's arms wrap around me and I turned over. I smiled when I realized who it was.

"Hi," I said, softly.

"Hi, beautiful," Logan said, kissing my forehead. He sat on the side of his bed and started pulling his clothes on. "I'm going to make you some breakfast." I wrapped my arms around him.

"Hurry back," I told him, half pouting.

"Will do, lil' lady," he said. I giggled. He planted another kiss on my forehead. "I'll be back." I laughed at his horrible Arnold impersonation. He made sure to close his bedroom door after he left. I rifled through his dresser and found a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants to wear. I went into the bathroom. As I attempted to clean myself up, I thought back to last night.

Last night..

Logan and I are probably the most hated people in this diner right now. I thought.

I looked down at our cappuccinos and the half eaten cheese fries that Logan and I were sharing. We had been sitting here for over an hour just talking and laughing. Doing nothing but having refills on our cappuccinos. After getting dirty looks from our waitress, we decided to pay our bill and leave.

We somehow ended up at the beach. It was extremely peaceful being the only two on the beach in the moonlight. Luckily, Logan had a blanket and a sweatshirt in his car, so I was nice and warm with no sand in unnecessary places. I was extremely happy and couldn't stop smiling like an idiot.

"You're so beautiful," Logan whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I turned to look at him and his lips were just inches away from mine. I couldn't help myself, it was like something had possessed me. Pretty soon we were sharing passionate kisses that I'd never thought that I'd share with Logan.

"Do you want to go back to my place?" he asked me, urgently. When I nodded, he scooped me up in his arms and sprinted to his car.

When we got into his room, he wasted no time. He kissed my neck, sending shivers up and down my spine. I carefully took off his rented jacket and placed it on his chair. He ran his hands up and down my body, stopping at the zipper of my dress, as if unsure that was what he wanted. I smiled at him and unzipped it for him, letting my dress drop to the ground. His eyes widened.

I heard a knock on the door and I jumped 3 feet into the air. I blushed at my thoughts. I opened the door and went into his bedroom. He made a nice pancake breakfast for me. It was pretty adorable.

"You look better in my clothes than I do," he said, smiling.

I was in the middle of enjoying the lovely breakfast when he said something that made me choke on my pancake.

"So, should we talk about what happened last night?" he asked me. After two glasses of water, I could breathe again.

"Sure," I said.

"Honestly, I'm really conflicted," he said, not looking at me. "I really don't want a relationship before graduation since there's college coming up and everything. I'm thinking about going to Beachside, but I'm not certain about that. I don't want someone influencing my decision, you know? But, after last night, I want to give us another try. What do you say?"

Prom (Part II)

After the slow dance, I excused myself. I was slightly confused about my feelings. This isn't good. Henry was my friend and I wasn't supposed to be crushing on one of my friends. This isn't normal. I went outside to go find Brittany. I had to pull her away from Zack and practically dragged her into the bathroom. She was not happy.

"What?" she asked, her voice laced with annoyance. I felt bad for pulling her away from Zack.

"I think I have feelings for Henry," I whispered, making sure that no one but Brittany heard me.

"Oh," she said, not sounding surprised. "It was bound to happen, just like how Adam had feelings for you."

"What do I do?" I asked her, almost desperately. "I don't want to ruin my friendship with him like Adam did with me." I sighed.

"You just have to go with the flow, Court," she told me. "I'm going to go back to Zack. Have fun!" She hugged me and left me alone in the bathroom. I left after her and sat down at an empty table, watching everyone dance. I spotted Henry in the crowd with a girl in one of my classes, grinding up against him. I looked away, a little hurt.

You're being silly, Courtney. He can dance with anyone he wants. It's not like you're dating or anything. Stop being a baby. I told myself.

I felt a little sorry for myself. Everyone was having fun except for me. I went out onto the balcony to check my phone. Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around.

"Hey, Logan!" I said, giving him an awkward hug. "How are you?"

"Good," he said, smiling. "Are you here with anyone?" I shook my head.

"No, Taylor and I broke up and no one asked me," I told him. I sounded a little pathetic, but I really didn't care. "Where's your date?"

"I decided to fly solo until college," he said. "There's really no point in starting a relationship when there's a good chance that you'll go to separate schools. We're graduating in less than a month. So.. I'm solo." I nodded.

"Prom is overrated," I said, rolling my eyes.

"It is!" he agreed with me. "Who wants to see people grinding on each other?"

"I'm glad someone agrees with me," I said, smiling.

"Since it's so bad, want to get out of here?" he suggested. "We can hop in my car and go to a diner or something."

I thought about it for a second. There was really no point in me staying. Everyone was having a good time here and I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer. Henry.. Henry had The Grinder to keep him company. Besides, it's just Logan.

"Sure," I said. "That sounds fun. Just let me tell someone that I'm leaving."

"Ok, I'll be waiting in the lobby," he told me. I found Sarah hanging out at the drink bar.

"Hey guys," I said, loudly over the music. "I'm going to go. You have fun."

"Wait, who are you leaving with?" Sarah asked me, with concern in her voice.

"Logan," I said, simply. I was trying not to laugh. I think Sarah thought that I was going to leave with a stranger. "We're going to a diner to get something to eat."

"Oh, ok," Sarah said. I couldn't tell if she was disappointed that I wasn't staying or if she had some hesitation with letting me leave with Logan. "Have fun!"

"Thanks," I told her, smiling.

Before I left with Logan, I took a glance at the dance floor. Henry was still dancing with The Grinder. My eyes locked with Henry's and I smiled at him. I waved and left.

Prom (Part I)

From left to right: my dress, Haylie's dress, Sarah's dress, Zoey's dress

This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I totally forgot about prom. Somehow, all of the announcements, big signs, and chatter about prom escaped my attention. If it weren't for Brittany jumping on my bed at 7am, I wouldn't have known. Luckily, she had anticipated that I would forget about prom and had bought me a ticket in advance. I have such an awesome sister who assumed correctly that I wanted to go to prom. I was oddly excited for it even though I'm going solo.

"Do you have a dress?" Brittany asked me, taking a bite out of her plain bagel.

"No, I don't! Do you think I can borrow one of the ones you're not wearing?" I asked, sheepishly.

"Sure, sis, let me bring both of them down," she said. Brittany couldn't choose one dress in the store and had figured to buy all three and then try to put together the perfect prom look at home to make the final decision. Again, I was lucky that Brittany hadn't already return the two dresses that she wasn't wearing.

I heard a honk outside and it was my cue to leave. Sarah, Haylie, and I were having a girls' day- getting our hair, makeup, and nails done. Apparently Haylie had the perfect gold heels to go with the short emerald dress I picked out. I grabbed my gold clutch and my dress and headed out the door.

Brittany has been giving me flack for hanging out with Haylie after the Logan incident. But honestly, I don't care anymore. It's just a boy. Boys come and go. Yes, her actions were questionable, but I don't really see the point in throwing away all the years of friendship over one boy. At the end of the day, I still love Haylie and she's my best friend.

Of course, it was an all day process to get ready. I had the whole gorgeous Taylor Swift curls going on, Sarah had her hair up in a bun, and Haylie had a half up, half down hairstyle that resembled something Carrie Underwood would have.

Apparently, we had rented a limo for prom. I didn't know until the driver came to pick us up. Justin, Henry, and Luke were already in the limo. I was surprised that Henry didn't have a date to prom. I know that a bunch of girls would have loved to be his date to prom. Our next stop was Adam's house. I wasn't surprised when he had walked out with Zoey as his date. Everyone looked amazing. The boys in their tuxs and the girls in their dresses.

"Group photo time!" Sarah exclaimed. We groaned and all tried to maneuver in the limo to get into the shot. We got some really cute couple pictures for Adam and Zoey, Sarah and Justin, and for Haylie and Luke. Suddenly, I felt a twinge of sadness that I wasn't going to prom with someone.

"We should get a picture of Courtney and Henry together," Justin said. I laughed and allowed him to take the picture. If anything, I can always lie and say I went with Henry. We arrived at the area where the prom was held right when they were serving the dinner. We had a choice between chicken, beef, or vegetarian. The vegetarian was amazing!

The place was decorated amazingly well. I noticed that the space we had was really roomy and there was a lot of space to mingle and move and dance. We had a balcony if we wanted to get some air. It had such a romantic feel to it. I think the first thing we did after eating was wait in the ridiculously long line for pictures. I think we had every combination possible. The ones that turned out the best was my picture with Brittany. Our parents were going to love them.

I think it was halfway through the prom, I just got claustrophobic. We had all separated- the couples headed to the dance floor to grind on each other (I was never really into grinding). I went outside to get some air. I think I've come to the conclusion that prom is overrated. I mean, the person who was in charge of pulling everything together did a wonderful job, but I wasn't enjoying myself.

"Hey, are you ok?" I turned around and saw that Henry had followed me out.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told him. "I just thought that I'd be at prom with someone I was dating." I realized how desperate that sounded, but I didn't care.

"You don't need to be dating anyone to have fun at prom," he said to me. "You look beautiful, don't let it go to waste. Come on." He held out his hand. I took it and he lead me inside, where we had started dancing. Right when we got onto the dance floor, the song ended and a slow song came on. Henry pulled me close to him and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Oddly enough, I didn't feel weird slow dancing with Henry. It was weirdly comfortable.

I started to feel nervous. I felt like I had butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. I noticed ridiculously minute details like how his soft brown hair draped over his left eye and how cute his smile was. I couldn't help but notice how close we were. All I could think about was kissing him.

Oh my god, I think I have a crush on Henry.

Fast-Talking Friday

Hey guys!

How has your day been? Or.. if you're feeling extremely talkative, how has your week been?

Where to start? I bought a netbook for school, which is pretty cool. I only have 2 weeks of school left and it's really overwhelming. But somehow.. it'll be ok. 2 more weeks and I'm done with my first year in college (if you count community college as college, I do.. but some people don't). I'm starting to come down with something and I have a feeling that I'm going to be full blown sick during finals week (which happened last semester too). Yay to finals looming over my head and that 7 page research paper. I'm starting to miss my preschool days. *sigh*

So, is it just me or was the suspense NOT worth it on Bedroom Blog? I mean.. waiting.. almost a week for a post that was supposed to be "tomorrow" for an explanation and the explanation was anti-climatic. I felt like it was a complete let down. Oh, and the whole "OMG, like.. you didn't invite me to your party but you invited my ex-boyfriend over ME?" thing is really high school-ish. I haven't reached K.'s age (whatever it may be, either it's at a standstill like The Simpsons or it continues on in real life time), but I really hope that I don't sound like a middle/high school person when I am.

I know I'm ranting a lot about BB, but it really irked me. I mean, I love BB and that's how I got started with this website, by the individuals advertising their blogs, but.. I feel like they've changed something with the blog (a writer perhaps) and it's off. The posting schedule has always been weird and I don't know whether I want to give up on it or still continue reading it out of loyalty. I remember finding the blog one day and spending all night just catching up on the old posts. The old posts were REALLY good compared to the ones we have today, in my opinion.

But, one blog I loved loved loved (did I mention LOVE?) this week was Alicia's blog, The Not So Outrageous Shenanigans of Leigh Ross (I think I posted the link, so I hope it's ok with you Alicia! If not, tell me and I'll take it down). It was such a shocking plot twist that my mouth is STILL on the ground. So, if you don't read the blog, check it out!

I don't want to make this post longer than it is, even though I have a million of other things to say.

Happy Friday everyone and have an extremely awesome weekend! :)

Daddy's Home

My dad got back from his business trip yesterday. But before I get into that topic, I have some really good news! We had found somebody to replace Zoey at Bella (after she had came into the store to give Jasmine her formal resignation and I guess she was required to put in her two weeks, so she is technically. Guess who it is? It's Henry! Henry is going to be working with me at Bella!

Henry had been looking for a job for a while now. So I recommended him to Jasmine. Jasmine said that she trusted my word and took my recommendation. She practically hired him on the spot. I got him to come in that day to fill out all of the paperwork. The only downside of the new hire is that I'm the one that is going to have to do his training and showing him all of the ropes. But I'm still really excited to see a friendly face at work.

So, back to my dad! He got home from China and he took Brittany and I out to dinner. He had brought each of us a gift from China. We ripped into our gift bags like little kids on Christmas morning. We each had gotten a gorgeous silk purse (mine was blue and Brittany's was pink) and matching Jade necklaces.

"Thank you so much, Dad! They're gorgeous!" I gushed.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Brittany said.

I didn't want to beat around the bush. I really loved my dad and I didn't want him to go into a situation without prior knowledge of what's going on. I didn't want to see him hurt because of what my mom is doing with Joe. I didn't want to see him hurt because of my mom.

"Why are you and Mom getting a divorce?" I asked him. Brittany elbowed me in the ribs.

"Court!" Brittany hissed at me.

"No, it's ok, Brittany," my dad said. "Your mom and I have grown apart over the years. We love each other very much, but not romantically anymore."

I could tell that Brittany and I both had the same question floating around in our minds. I wasn't sure if I could really ask my dad the question without crossing any lines. I actually wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer either. My mind was going back and forth, back and forth. I decided that I didn't want to ask it. But apparently, Brittany and I weren't on the same page.

"Did Mom cheat on you?" Brittany asked. I fought the urge to smack myself on the forehead.

My dad gave her a funny look and shook his head.

"No, never, why?" he asked. Brittany and I looked at each other.

"We, um, have something to tell you, Dad," I told him. "I'm not sure if you know or how you're going to take it, but um, mom has a boyfriend."

"No, a fun buddy," Brittany corrected me.

"Fun buddy," I corrected myself. "I came home early from Spring Break and caught them all over each other-"

"and we walked in on them on Mother's Day," Brittany finished for me. "It's so disgusting! He's half her age-"

"Only 21!" I interjected. "A little over 3 years older than us." Brittany turned to me.

"Isn't that disgusting?" she said to me.

"I know! And she tells us that we shouldn't date older guys!" I exclaimed. "But she can date younger guys?"

"Girls," my dad said, grabbing our attention. We both turned to look at him.

"I'm glad that you both love me so much to tell me what your mother is up to, but I assure you that your mother is did not have an affair," he said. "Whoever she wants to date now is fine by me. We shouldn't mettle in her life or question her choices and actions." I took a deep breath.

"Dad, I want to move in with you," I told him.

"Me too!" Brittany said, quickly.

"You're both old enough to decide who you want to live with, you'll be 18 soon," he said, calmly. "We'll talk to your mom on Monday, but I would love to have you girls come live with me. Now, enough with the serious talk!"

I laughed. We ended up enjoying a very nice family dinner together. We did a toast before we chowed down.

Here's hoping to living with Dad.

Happy Mother's Day

After calling Henry to thank him for bringing me home, I realized that today was Mother's Day. It had completely slipped my mind. Brittany and I had decided a couple of weeks ago that we were going to make our mom breakfast in bed and then go spend the entire day at the mall shopping (since my mom needed a new purse). But sadly, I had to work this afternoon since we're shorthanded, so I was only going to be there for part of the day.

I went downstairs to start cooking breakfast for my mom. Brittany came down while I was preparing the eggs and bacon.

"Mmm, that's going to be so good!" she exclaimed. She got the pancake mix out. "I'll get the pancakes started." I nodded and smiled.

"She's going to love this!" I told her, concentrating on the eggs and bacon.

"It seemed like you had a wild night last night," she said, nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, Henry had drive the car back and carry you up the stairs, I let him in last night because Mom wasn't home," she explained. "You sleep like a log! That's good to know for future reference!" I laughed.

"I guess I was just really exhausted," I told her. "I've been overworking myself to keep my mind off Taylor and, yesterday, it popped into my mind and I guess I cried until I fell asleep on Henry's shoulders. He was sweet enough to bring me home."

"Ahh, I see, he's the new Adam," she said. "Nice!" I laughed at her ridiculous comment.

"You're silly, Britt," I told her. "Henry's not replacing Adam." She let the issue drop. We started plating our dish and we were really proud of our plating. It looked like something a professional chef would do. We even had a card along with a fresh daisy in a small vase! Our mom is going to love it!

We hurried up the stairs as fast as we could because we just couldn't wait to see the look on our mother's face when she sees our breakfast. Brittany slowly turned the knob to my mom's bedroom and we both yelled "SURPRISE! Happy Mother's day!". Our smiles turned into disgust when we realized that our mom and Joe were "getting it on".

"OMG, MOM!" I shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Brittany yelled.

"GIRLS!" my mom yelled in surprise. She desperately tried to cover herself up. "I'm so sor-"
We didn't want to hear what she had to say. We couldn't get out of there fast enough and slammed the door behind us. We left her breakfast outside her room and just left in our car. I was driving and I had zero idea of where we were going. I had to pull over to calm myself down because I kept swerving on the road. I couldn't believe that my mom could do that in our house with my sister and I there.

"I don't think I could ever look her in the eye ever again," I told Brittany. "What kind of a mom brings her boyfriend over and lets him stay over when she has kids in the house?"

"I'm so angry! He's half her age!" she exclaimed. "He's only 3 years older than us! What the hell!"

We sat in the car in silence for the longest time, just fuming over our mother. Then, I realized something... Something that I should have realized a long time ago...

"I think I want to go live with Dad," I said, softly.

NOTE: Vacation Plans (again) and a Formal Apology

There's a new post under this. :)

First off..

I just wanted to post a reminder that I won't be in town from May 29th to June 11th and I'm still not quite sure how this would affect the blog. With finals, papers, and essays due from now until the 27th, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to write up extra posts, but I'm going to try my hardest to work ahead. I promised myself that I will stick to the posting schedule to the best of my abilities. I'm going to put in 100% to make it work.

Secondly..

I want to make a formal apology to anyone and everyone that I may have offended with my comment on J's blog. It came off really rudely (because it's the internet, you can't really read the tone online) and really.. that really wasn't my intention and it was really a foot in mouth moment. I'm still young and learning how (and when) to keep my mouth shut. I already apologized to J and I wanted to apologize to everyone else. I really do feel badly that she had lost her child. Although, I can't personally relate to her situation, I can only imagine what it must feel like. When my dad told me that my mom had a miscarriage, I could see the hurt in his eyes and that's as close as I can connect to the situation.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions and if you want to express yours about my comment, feel free to do so on this post. So again, I'm really sorry to anyone that I've offended with my comment. And if you're reading, J., I'm very sorry if I hurt your feelings.

Hanging Out

Saturday rolled around faster than I expected. I had mixed feelings about going over to Justin's place. On one hand, I was excited to spend some time with Sarah and Justin. On the other hand, I didn't want to see Haylie or Adam. I sighed. Oh well.. I guess we'll see how well today goes.

I went downstairs to tell my mom that I might be spending the night at Justin's. All I found was a note from her saying that she'll be home late. She's probably with Joe. I sighed and left the note where I found it. I couldn't wait for my dad to come home from his business trip in China. He had left a week and a half after he moved out and I'm not sure when he's going to be back.

I took the car keys from Brittany's purse on the living room table. She promised me the car for the weekend and I'm going to make good use of it. I made it to Justin's house early, with a couple of minutes to spare. I sat in the car for a minute, trying to compose myself before I went to face what was inside. I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Sarah answered the door.


"Hey, sweetie!" she greeted me, giving me a hug. "No one else is here yet, but come on in! I'm glad you came!"

"I'm glad I came over too, Sarah," I told her, giving her a tight squeeze. "I missed you." We walked inside and sat down in the living room. I surveyed the choices for today's movie marathon. It consisted of mostly comedies, a couple of action films, and one romantic comedy. I smiled. Any movie out of these selections would be great to watch.

Henry was the next to arrive. I greeted him with a friendly hug and the 4 of us chatted until Adam and Haylie arrived. Adam was the next one to arrive and I was surprised that he brought Zoey along. I shot Henry a look and he looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

I couldn't believe that Adam would have the nerve to bring Zoey along, especially when she must have told him that she had quit her job at Bella because of me. They sat down in the love seat furthest away from Henry and I. The 6 of us sat in awkward silence, waiting for Haylie to arrive. Even though Sarah and Justin weren't in the loop with what happened with Zoey and I, they could sense the tension in the room.

A couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang and Sarah eagerly went to answer it. When Haylie walked in, I was surprised to see her with a guy I've never seen before. The guy stood 6'4 with blond hair and brown eyes, looking like he just got back from the beach. Henry shot me a look and I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know anything about this.

Surprisingly, it wasn't incredibly awkward. The second that Haylie came in with the new guy, it seemed to break the ice. Haylie's new guy is named Lucas, who prefers to be called Luke. He seemed really sweet and he's a senior at our school. He's planning on going to Beachside University, same as Haylie. Apparently, they've been starting to hang out a lot lately.

Then, it was Sarah's turn to bomb Zoey with questions about her and Adam's relationship, which made both of them blush, I'd have to admit that it was kind of cute. Zoey and Adam managed to dodge the questions and get Justin to put in a movie.

I think it was halfway through the romantic comedy (the third movie that we played) that I looked around and noticed that I was surrounded by couples. I saw Sarah sneaking Justin kisses, Adam and Zoey cuddling, and Sarah and Luke holding hands. I felt a little bit claustrophobic and quietly slipped outside on the patio for some air.

It was dark outside and a little bit chilly. I wrapped my fleece blanket around my shoulders. I was surprised to see Henry sitting outside, I had forgotten that he had disappeared during the romantic comedy. I sat down next to him.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" I asked him. I noticed that he was only wearing a short sleeved T-shirt and hadn't brought a jacket. "You must be freezing!" I moved as close to him as humanly possible and wrapped my blanket around both our shoulders.

"I just wanted to get some air," he said. I didn't want to push the matter, I knew that he was uncomfortable seeing Haylie with Luke. "What are you doing out here?"

"I realized that I was the 7th wheel in there and it got me thinking about Taylor," I admitted, sadly. Tears swelled in my eyes. I had done such a good job of avoiding thinking about Taylor since the break up. Now, it seemed like all the emotions were hitting me at once and the tears started to stream down my face. "I'm sorry." I wiped the tears with the sleeve of my jacket.

Henry held me in his arms and whispered in my ear to let it all out and everything is going to be ok. Even though he kept repeating the same words over and over again, it was comforting to hear them. I guess I fell asleep in Henry's arms and he had taken me home. The next morning, I found myself in my bed and the car in the driveway, but Henry was nowhere to be seen. I smiled to myself and made myself a mental note to do something nice for Henry in return.

Fast-Talking Friday

Hey guys! :)

How are you guys doing? I'm kind of scared to post this. I'm not sure what people's reactions are. It seems to me that people are I don't know.. taking comments/posts very seriously and I really don't want to spark that kind of reaction, ever. I'm really non-confrontational.

My week has been decent. I got through the Monday Madness where I had 5 papers/essays to turn in. Now, I just have to write a research paper for my program and I'm good.

My boyfriend had his orientation for work and they actually had him work for 4 hours. Well, he still can't drive and he had to bum a ride off of his best friend today. *sigh* I'm working on that. I talked to his parents about it today and his mom was like.. "That's his problem." Sigh.. I don't know.. I don't know how a mother could say that about her child. It's just picking him up from work.. It's not like.. you have anything else better to do (all the chores like.. cleaning, washing the dishes, etc goes towards the kids).. and she's unemployed and not even looking for a job. I'm kind of understanding why he's so unmotivated to do things.. his parents don't motivate him, but nag him to do it but get mad when he's not motivated enough to work on it. Like.. driving.. his dad "tried" for years to get him to do it. By try, I mean "hey, I'm going to wait for you to come to me and ask me to help you." I'll stop with my rant for now. :)

Like I said, I don't know.. the blogs are getting really serious tension vibe (if that made any sense whatsoever). I can understand some people's frustrations when there is a posting schedule and the author doesn't stick with it, but life comes first. I understand that there is writing block and everything, but I also understand from the reader's point of view too. I really miss new posts to some blogs. I feel like.. there's nothing to read sometimes. It makes me sad, but I understand that life is unpredictable.

The whole dry spell with the Bedroom Blog last week. I don't know.. that really got me annoyed. One because they're PAID to do that. And Two because well.. that blog has been inconsistent with posting and stuff. Sometimes the comments are more interesting than the posts, if that makes any sense.

Oh! The Karen Chronicles is getting really good! I think that something's going to happen between Karen and Marco. Hopefully!

If there are any blogs that you guys want to talk about (I don't really remember which ones had new posts this week) feel free! I'm always interesting in conversing with other people! :)

Happy Friday!

Happy Mother's Day to the mothers who read this blog.

AND!

Happy weekend to everyone!

It Kills Me

For the last two days I went to work. Each day, before stepping into Bella, I braced myself. I was half expecting Zoey to blow up at me about the whole Adam situation. I was half expecting her to yell at me for being a bad friend- to yell at me for not telling her that Adam and I had a "romantic" history. I was also half expecting her to tell me to stay away from Adam.

I don't really know why I didn't tell her. I just guess.. I just guess that I don't want the whole world to know what happened. It's not something I want to broadcast: "Yeah, so Zoey, I got drunk and slept with my best friend." I guess.. I'm ashamed of myself for letting myself get in that situation and ruining my friendship with one of my best friends. This didn't affect just me, I mean, this affected the entire group- all 6 of us. We can never normally hang out ever again. I can recognize that it was partially my fault.

But, Zoey didn't mention anything on Monday. In fact, she was gushing over the fact that Adam was into her (I told her that he really liked her, but I left out the part of the whole "I can't talk to you anymore" part) and was eagerly waiting for him to call her for their second date. I figured that Adam didn't get around to talking to her about it that day, so I was extremely defensive on Tuesday. I was defensive until I realized that Tuesday was Zoey's day off.

Walking into the store today, I didn't see Zoey. I assume that she was going to start after Haylie left for the day. As much as I didn't want to see Zoey, multiply that times three and now you have my feelings towards Haylie. I spent the next hour listening to her whine about how Henry was ignoring her and not answering any of her texts or her calls. I knew why, but I wanted her to figure it out for themselves.

I was surprised to hear the door open and see Sarah and Justin walk in. I practically knocked them down in my excitement.

"What are you guys doing here?" I exclaimed, delightedly. "I thought the two of you are super busy with your wedding?" Haylie came over to greet Sarah and Justin also.

"Oh, we are! It's really coming together!" Sarah said, excitedly. "But, we felt bad that we've been ignoring you guys so I wanted to invite both you and Haylie over to Justin's house for a little get together on Saturday." I hugged her.

"It's going to be awesome," Justin said. "We can watch a movie, just like old times."

"I'll be there!" I told her. We made plans to meet at Justin's at noon on Saturday. I hugged them both goodbye.

"Well, I'm going to go now," Haylie said. "Zoey should be here after me." I nodded and said bye to her.

A couple minutes after Haylie left, Zoey stormed into the store. Her face was beet red and she looked incredibly angry. Even though I expected this reaction, a little part of me hoped that it wouldn't happen.

"What the hell, Courtney?" she yelled at me. "Why didn't you tell me that you had sex with Adam?"

"Well, um, I-I-" I stuttered. She was making me extremely nervous by yelling at me. I was speechless.

"I thought we were friends, Courtney!" she practically screamed at me. Thank goodness that I was the only one in the store. "Friends don't keep secrets, especially one as big as this!"

"Do you have feelings for him? Is that why you didn't tell me?" she half asked, half demanded. I had regained my voice.

"No!" I protested. "We're friends and nothing more. That night was a mistake and I wish I could take it back. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but just so you know.. Friends don't date their friends' friends, especially the ones they've known forever."

"You can tell Jasmine that I quit!" Zoey exclaimed and she stormed out of the store, leaving me completely heartbroken.

Walk Away

I grudgingly pulled myself out of bed this morning. I was not looking forward to school and seeing Adam. But, I had promised Zoey that I would talk to him about their date. I really hoped that he liked Zoey because she's such a sweet girl. She dropped me off at my house last night even though I didn't ask her to and it was completely out of her way. I took a quick shower and went downstairs for breakfast. I was surprised to see Henry there.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, a little rudely. I'm really not a morning person. I softened the tone of my voice. "I mean, what are you doing here?"

"Your mom let me in. I figured we can grab breakfast on the way to school," he said, smiling. I don't know about any of the other mornings, but this morning, he was awfully chipper. "What do you say, Court? You game?" I really didn't want to go out for breakfast. I wasn't in an extrovert mood this morning.

"No, I don't feel like going out right now," I told him. He looked disappointed. So I said, "Hey, I'll make us some breakfast here. What do you want? Pancakes sound good?" He nodded. I grabbed the pancake mix (yes, I can't cook from scratch, I fail at cooking) and make a two stacks.

"Here you go," I said, setting his stack in front of him. I handed him the maple syrup. I sat down next to him with my stack and started wolfing them down.

"Slow down or you're going to choke," he said, laughing. I looked at him.

"I have to go early so I can talk to Adam," I told him, with my mouth full. Yes, it's a really attractive quality that I have.

"Oh? What do you have to talk to him about?" Henry asked curiously. "Wait, let me guess, you're going to profess your feelings for him." I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or if he actually meant it.

"Adam and I are just friends," I told him, firmly. He laughed.

"I was joking," he said, smirking. "Someone's defensive." I smack him on the arm.

"Someone needs to hurry up!" I told him, rolling my eyes. He didn't say anything to me after that. He did start to eat faster though. I smiled to myself.

I practically ran to his truck. I wanted to get this over as soon as possible. Henry was making fun of me the whole ride to school and making kissy noises. I imagined this is what it would be like to have a brother. Boy, was I glad I didn't have a brother. When I got out of his truck, he attempted to follow me, but I shooed him away. I wasn't going to let other people witness the obviously awkwardness between Adam and I. I found Adam at his locker, where he usually was at this time.

"Hey!" I said to him. I was just going to jump right into it. "How was your date the other night?"

"Good," he said, not looking at me.

"Um, well, do you like her?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I do," he said. He seemed annoyed. He turned to look at me. "Listen, I shouldn't be speaking to you now that I'm dating Zoey. I really like her and I don't want things to get awkward in the relationship when I tell her what happened between the two of us. I think it's best if we don't talk to each other." He slammed his locker shut and walked away, leaving me speechless.

Whirlwind

I didn't know if I really wanted to know what Farrah wanted. I don't even know why I even asked him. I guess my curiosity got the best of me. I mentally braced myself for the answer, even though I had a theory what it was. Although, thinking it was one thing, I don't think I want to hear it out loud.

"I'm not sure if you'd really want to know," Taylor said. He sighed. "She wants me to be with her and never see you ever again."

"I see," I said, softly. It was all I could muster up. What can I say? Farrah had some mental problems, I mean, if she forces a guy to be with her, then he's going to end up resenting her. But then again, this situation was extremely farfetched that I didn't know whether or not to believe that he did help Ricky accidentally burn down the McNeely house or if he was just making one big, elaborate excuse to be with Farrah. "What are you going to do?"

Taylor couldn't look at me. He stared off into the distance. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. I had a feeling that I knew what he was going to say.

"I don't know, Court," he said, sadly. "I really do love you. I think I have to do what she says because it's not just me in this situation, it's Ricky too. I can't let her turn him in. If it was only me, then it would be a different story."

Now, I'm convinced that this was just one big elaborate excuse to be with Farrah. I just wish he'd stop telling me that he loved me. If he really did love me, he would have been up front about the McNeely fire. Frankly, if he was telling the truth, I didn't need to be put in the middle of this situation. Farrah wins, she gets what she wants. Oddly, I'm actually ok with it.

"You do what you have to do, Taylor," I told him. I hugged him. "I'm going to go home now. I'm sorry this didn't work out. I hope you and Farrah can find some happiness together."

Henry opened the passenger's seat for me. As I got into his car, I saw Farrah walk outside and wrap her arms around Taylor. She smirked at me and mouthed "I win". Taylor looked devastated, like he wanted to push her away and come after me. Maybe one day, Taylor and I will find each other again.

"Are you going to be ok?" Henry asked me, when we pulled out of the parking lot.

"I think so," I told him.

**********************************************************

It was May 1st, two weeks passed since Taylor and I broke up. I kept myself busy with work and school so I wouldn't think about it. Today was no exception. After I clocked in, I immediately attacked the large pile of clothes from the fitting room, ignoring Cody who was on the register.

"Hey, Courtney, I'm going to to my lunch," he told me. I gave him a slight nod. I tried not to talk to him if I could, due to my loyalty to Zoey.

Zoey started her shift an hour after I came in. She was practically glowing, sporting a gigantic grin that could have made Reese Witherspoon jealous. The girl's day out we had last week turned out to be amazing and we became closer friends, making plans to get dinner after work tonight.

"Hey, hun, what's going on with you? You're glowing!" I asked, smiling. It was nice to see her so happy after Cody was such a jerk to her.

"Omg! I had such an amazing date with Adam!" she gushed. She paused. "Wait, is it weird to talk to you about it?"

It was a little bit weird, but I figured that I could handle it. As long as I didn't get any in depth details, that is.

"No, it's fine," I assured her. "Why would it be weird?"

"Well, you just got out of a relationship and Adam's your friend," she explained. I shook my head and motioned for her to continue on with her story. She grinned. "Yeah, so.." She talked about how Adam was such a gentleman to her and how he took her to the new Chinese restaurant that opened last week. My mind wandered off while she was talking.

"So, do you think you can talk to him?" she asked, poking me in the ribs returning me to reality.

"Talk to him about what?" I asked.

"About what he thought about our date, silly!" she said. I didn't have the heart to tell her no. It was really obvious that she liked him.

"Sure, I'll talk to him for you, Zoe," I told her.

Let's just hope it's not as awkward as I think it will be.