Paper Hearts [Book I: Homecoming]

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"HEY MINA, DO IT AGAIN!" GINNY SHOUTS AND I GROAN. I was just not getting the step right. Ginny looked really tense, with all the homecoming organization and cheerleading pep on her shoulders. But that didn't mean she wasn't happy about all this responsibility. Her blonde curls bounced perfectly as she showed me the perfect step. On the other hand, I was sure my hair looked oily and greasy from all these three hours of continuous practice.

All of a sudden, Ginny forgot the step she was doing and I knew it was because of only one reason – Tobias Mercer. Ginny started fixing her hair, and I wanted to tell her that it looked perfect. Ginny knew I had liked Tobias a lot in junior year, and she had offered to back off, but I had stopped her. I didn't like Tobias as much as I did before, plus he would never like me back – I was only a friend to him.

This summer, Ginny made me text him. If he likes you back, Mina, I would be really happy for you, she had told me and that made me respect her. That was the start of our real, unbreakable friendship. Ginny was not Elise. She asked for my consent, even though she didn't have to. But what did Elise do? She dated him. Maybe Tobias saw her real character, and broke up with her for who she really was. I am not denying – I was happy, very happy.

But when I saw her after the break up – Elise looked heartbroken, I could see it very clearly, but I convinced myself that she deserved it. She deserved all the pain that she caused me by backstabbing.

"Tobias, how's practice going?" I hear Ginny ask, as Tobias nears us. He looks like he is in a hurry but he still stops to greet us.

"Hectic, like always," Tobias shakes his head, "Anyway, I..."

Before he could complete his sentence, we hear two girls talking loudly, at a distance from us, "Yeah Elise will be back after two weeks. She's gotten a fracture from the accident. I think I will go see her over at her house today."

I panic at the news. I would go over to see...no.

We weren't friends anymore, how could I? And I didn't give a damn about what happened to her.

"I have to go." Tobias replies, and leaves without giving us a second glance.

I look at Ginny and she has a smirk on her face, "He doesn't care about what happened to her."

ALEXIS WAVES HER HAND AT ME IN THE CAFETERIA. Harper is there too, looking so lost that she still didn't see me make my way toward our table. I sit down, and momentarily feel like I'm back at home. Harper looks up from her lunch tray and smiles at me – weird.

When Alexis goes to get burgers for me and her, Harper breaks the silence, "You're my best friend too, Willy. I trust you are saying the truth about Elise but I need you to tell me the whole thing. And I think you should hear Elise's side of the story too, what if all this is a misunderstanding?"

I feel warmth spread all over my body. I sit back, relaxed in my chair, my rigid composure a few seconds ago gone.

She trusted me.

"I will tell you the whole story, can you and Alexis meet me after school at the pizzeria?" I ask Harper, but I see her mouth set into a thin line.

"Can we meet someplace else, like the new café that has opened downtown?" She asks, and I nod almost immediately. Harper continues, "I trust you, Wilhelmina, but that doesn't mean I trust Elise any less."

I don't have a chance to reply because Ginny calls me to join her at her table. Alexis returns with our burgers and sets the tray rather harshly on the table. "You're going?"