Butterscotch Backstabber

Chapter 1: Sickly Sweet

Okay, let's go over the facts. Fact number one, Zoey has been blowing me off all week. Fact number two, Zoey said she had to help her sister out at the house today. Fact number three, Hilary King is throwing a party and didn't invite me. Fact number four, I decided to crash that party, for research. Which is how I discovered fact number five, Zoey lied to me because she is at the party, not at home.

Okay, okay, okay let me rewind before people think I'm some sort of psycho stalker. Zoey McBride is my supposed best friend. I say supposed because, well that fact is sort of up in the air right now.

We met freshmen year, Ms. More's art class. I sat at the table across from hers and for the first couple of months, we didn't notice or talk to each other. The great breakthrough came as I had gotten up to wash off my paint pallet. I tripped and splattered paint all over the back of her shirt. Of course, Zoey being Zoey thought I did it on purpose. So, we somehow got the whole class involved in a paint war, even Ms. More joined in. In the end, everyone's works in progress were ruined and Zoey and I got detention. But it was worth it. That's how we became friends.

Since then Zoey and I have been two peas in a pod. She is my right-hand gal, the yin to my yang, the peanut butter to my jelly. You know, just two best friends doing what two best friends do. Well as the saying goes, everything changed when the fire nation attacked.

The fire nation, in this case, is none other than Hilary King. The most infuriating person anyone could ever meet, and by anyone, I mean me. She's perfect at everything! How is that even possible? I'm talking she's on the cheer squad, plays softball, and went to UIL with her piano solo, which she composed herself! She's even great at art, which is so my thing. Her life-size tree sculpture was so breathtaking that the school decided to make it a landmark and moved it to the courtyard so everyone can see it on their way into school.

With all her talent you would expect the girl to be stuck up, hell I would probably like her more if she was. But no! She's so freaking nice! To everyone! She's so sweet it's sickening. I just can't, who is that nice? Nobody is that nice, and I plan to expose her. But we will come back to the great Ms. King.

Why do I even care that Hilary is perfect? Well, I don't really, but Zoey does. It started last weekend. Zoey and I were hanging out just like usual. We were at the park and laying out on the playground bridge and staring up at the white fluffy clouds.

"I'm bored," Zoey complained.

"Me too." I sighed.

"Let's do something," she sat up.

"What?" I sat up too.

She just shrugged and looked expectantly at me.

"Don't look at me, I got nothing." I brought my knees to my chest.

"Ugh! It's so boring here, no one's even here. It's a park, it should be filled with kids!" as if to emphasize her point the wind blew and leaves scattered across the floor.

We both sighed.

"God, we are such losers." She banged her head against the railing.

"Hey!" I complained.

"Well, we are! Face it, Poppy, you and I are at the bottom of the food chain. We've both never dated or even kissed anyone! No one's even asked us out, not a single damn person. We don't get invited to parties or cool things. We are losers, with a capital L. We are seniors now! You think by now we would have at least kissed one person. Face it, we are going to graduate virgins and stay losers forever." She huffed.

"You are so freaking dramatic. So what if we've never kissed anyone. Plenty of people haven't. It's no big deal." I shrugged.

"Maybe to you." she stood up to leave.