The Jerk Who Snagged My Friend's Heart and Mine (Re-Vamped)

I

Tess watched in disgust as girls flocked to the 'it' table. Liam's table. Liam was the all-time wanted guy in their school; he was the object of everyone's attention, always had been. Girls and guys alike latched onto him with reverence and thinly-veiled lust. Tess honestly found the entire affair disturbing.

"Ugh," Juliet, Tess' best friend, complained. She pointed at the crowd with her pudding-covered spoon. "I can't believe those skanks are over there smothering my beau." Yes, Juliet was another person who had a crush on Liam, going strong since the third grade. Not that he ever noticed her.

Tess rolled her eyes as she swiped a lock of blonde hair away from her face. "Jules, I hate to point this out to you," she said, poking at her mushy peas. "But he likes to be around the 'skanks' you are referring to. He's slept with about half of them already. Plus, he's not your anything."

Juliet sighed wistfully, "He'll be my boyfriend some day." Tess snorted, "Guy's a man-whore. He'll catch something before he ends up exclusively dating anyone."

It was a common fact that if you liked boys, you liked Liam. Practically everyone wanted Liam, except Tess. While he was handsome, Tess couldn't get over how terrible his personality was. He treated people like trash. He'd been with twelve girls this school year, and the first semester wasn't even over yet! The duo watched as he flung his arm around some redhead's shoulder; he whispered in her ear and she blushed. They then rose from the table and left the cafeteria. Tess looked at her friend, "Told you so."

Juliet pouted, "Oh, shut up, Tess. I don't understand why you don't like him. I mean, how can you not like him? Everyone does."

"Well, I'm not everyone, Idiot," Tess shrugged, spooning her peas into her mouth. They were gross but she chose health over taste. Juliet smiled at her, "Come on, you know what I mean."

"Of course I do," Tess told her. She fixed her face into a faux adoring look. "He's 'irresistible' and 'dreamy' and 'charming.' Oh yeah, and a dick."

Juliet laughed, "Not the last part, but for sure. He's every wet dream wrapped up in one muscular package. You can't deny his appeal. If he ever kissed me, I can guarantee that I'd melt on the spot. You can't possibly say you don't feel the same way."

Tess scoffed. Just the thought of his frog lips anywhere near her made her want to hurl. Lord knew where his mouth had been. "If he ever tried to kiss me, I'd make sure he could never have kids," Tess staunchly declared. The first bell rang and Tess groaned. She had gym. Pointless, stinky, sweaty gym.

She and Juliet rose up and dumped their trays, stacking them atop of the trash can. Waving off her only friend, she made her way to the gym. Pushing past people blocking the area with their bodies, Tess went straight into the girl's' locker room to change. Stopping at her locker, Tess opened it and began to change her clothes.

"Did you see Beth leave the cafeteria with Liam? Girl's a total slut," Tess heard a voice whisper behind her. She turned and saw Jane standing with her friends. The same Jane who was dropped like a hot potato by Liam last week. Tess rolled her eyes and slammed her locker shut. It wasn't any of her business anyways. She tied her shoes. Coach Medloch, a beefy woman with a permanent sneer on her face, entered the locker room and blew her whistle.

"Time's up, ladies. Get out there and let's do some drills," she hollered. Everyone groaned at the thought of doing drills. The coach firmly ignored the protests, waving the girls out the door. Tess's phone lit up with a text. It was from her mom. Doesn't she know school hours? Tess thought as she checked the message. *Come straight home. We need to talk.*

Hmm. Very ominous. Tess wondered what it was they needed to talk about. She couldn't be in trouble, could she? Tess sighed and put her phone in her sweatpants' pocket. She followed the stragglers out the locker room and joined everyone on the line. "Lunges, go!" They began doing drills; Tess' mind constantly wandered away from gym class and to her mom. What did she want? How important was it? What did it have to do with Tess?