Books, Boys, and BFF's: Sophomore Year

Unacceptable

Today is the day of the Halloween dance and I have half a mind not to go. Everyone will have a date but me. Even Trisha has a date. She and Josh are going as Shrek and Fiona. Patrice and Scott are going as Beauty and the Beast, and Drew and Courtney are going as Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

Where's an asp when you need one...?

Em and Mark Cooper are going as Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and me... I'm just a lone assassin.

How fitting...

After much convincing, begging, bribing, and them threatening to scuff up the new shoes Drew bought me, I agree to go to the stupid dance with Trisha and Josh. We all climb into Josh's car, and the closer we get to school the more anxious I become. Drew already left, which means he'll be at school with Courtney and I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

The music in the gym is so loud you can hear it from the parking lot. We make our way through the crowded building full of superheroes, ghosts, vampires, and various Disney characters to the ticket counter to hand in our tickets.

"Hey! You made it!" Patrice shouts over the music.

I turn in her direction and come face first with the reason for my anxiety. Drew and Courtney stand hand in hand looking like the picture of puke-worthy perfection.

"Dang Sid!" Xerxes looks me up and down. It's the reaction I was hoping to get from Drew. "I'll be your hidden tiger any day of the week, just say the word."

"Ew," I scowl. "You're like my brother, Xerxes."

"Did you really show up here alone?" Courtney chuckles. "Where's your date? Oh, wait... right... I got your man."

Don't punch her... don't punch her... don't punch her...

"Court, don't," Drew tugs at her arm.

This is exactly what I expected from Courtney. "I'm gonna go get something to drink," I tell them, leaving to get away from Drew and Courtney.

"Sid." Drew calls after me.

Why did he have to come after me...? Why can't he just leave me alone? Or leave her alone...?

"What do you want Drew?" I sigh.

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Since when do you care about whether or not I'm okay? If you really cared, you wouldn't be parading Courtney around in my face."

"It's called an open relationship for a reason, Sid."

"Yeah, and I don't want one, but apparently you do. So, I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

I shrug with indifference. "Why not? Nothing I say matters to you, anyway."

Drew walks away, and it takes everything inside me to keep it together. I want to find whoever invented an open relationship and beat them senseless... then kick myself for thinking this was a good idea. I shouldn't be here. I should be home wallowing in self-pity.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Quincy walks up next to me.

I'm about to give him a piece of my mind when I notice he's dressed like someone from Assassin's Creed. I'm ninety percent sure he did it for me, seeing how he doesn't have a date, and my lips curl up into a smile.