Disclaimer: I don't own Sum 41, nope. Never met them. Don't sue. ~~~ Chapter One: Ok… you just hit me with a skateboard. I sat, watching the clock tick so silently I wasn't even sure that clocks ever actually had a sound. I was bored. I was also sitting in Seventh period Math, my mouth hanging open and my eyes glued to the clock like it was the commander of the universe. I was almost praying for it to just hurry up when Mrs. Gilmore, our ninth grade teacher, tapped her long red nails on the desk and glared at us all. Her mean, narrow eyes landed on me. "Nina, what's the square root of 657?" I blinked. "Well, I don't actually know..." She didn't give up. "Well, then I guess you'll just have to stay after class and figure it out, won't you?" I saw some of the other students glaring at her, but I knew that they were just happy it wasn't them. "Um. No ma'am. I can't stay after school today. My sister is having her baby shower and..." Mrs. Gilmore stood and crossed her arms. "NO excuse. You'll stay after school and that's final." By that point I was pissed off. "No, actually, I won't. I promised her I would go and there's nothing you can do to stop me. And especially over something as stupid as a math problem." I stood defiantly. I noticed one of the guys in the back was staring at me. He was cute, kind of different. He had unusually spiky blonde hair and brown eyes. All I knew was that he was punk, liked metal, and hung out with a group of three guys. That's it. Mrs. Gilmore was outraged. "YOU ARE STAYING AFTER SCHOOL FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS AND THAT'S FINAL, YOUNG LADY!" Now she had EVERYONES attention. That was the final straw. Usually, I wouldn't say anything. But I did. I don't know where I got the courage but I did. I screamed back, "SCREW YOU!" And I ran. Out of that classroom, out of that school, and into the parking lot where some of the seniors watched me with strange looks on their faces. They didn't say anything though. I sat down on Mr. Willard's red sports car and sighed, staring up at the gray sky. No one came out to get me so I suppose I was forgotten already. Well, I sat out there for fifteen more minutes, up until the point when everyone started running out of the school and going to their cars. They were laughing and joking with each other. Man, I longed for friends like those. I was a quiet, shy girl. In fact I’ll tell you some stuff about me. My name is Nina Shaw and I’m 14 years old. I live in Canada (where there’s not much to do). I have shoulder length blonde hair, dark green eyes, and a pale complexion. Some say I’m ‘pretty’ but they’re just being sympathetic. I wear thick Buddy Holly glasses and blue braces. Yep, I’m a regular super-model. HA. And I don’t really belong anywhere. I’m not punk, not goth, not jock, not prep… I guess I’m a geek. Yeah, that’s it. I’m a geek who doesn’t do good in school. Go figure. I have a straight B average. My family is rather normal. I have one older sister and that’s it. My Dad is a doctor and my mom stays at home. Alone. All day. I don’t know how she stands it. We live on a quiet street in a quiet neighborhood. I have a few friends, but none of them go to the same school I do. Well, anyway, I stood to get up when suddenly someone screamed ‘LOOK OUT’ and someone smacked into me, sending me flying to the ground and knocking me out cold. ``` I woke up a few minutes later, my vision blurred and my head feeling as though someone was pounding into it with a sledgehammer. I was staring up into the faces of five people. One was the guy from my class, the other four were people I didn’t recognize. One guy was dark skinned, one had surprisingly blue eyes, and the one beside him was kind of goofy looking. The last one was a girl. She was definitely punk with pink and black hair. I groaned. The short one was holding a skateboard in his hand and biting his lip nervously. “Are you ok? Jay, is she breathing?!” The guy with the blue eyes nodded. “Yeah, she’s ok. She’s awake.” I very slowly sat up, looking around and then blinking. Everyone was staring at me expectantly. I opened my mouth and the first thing that popped out was “What the hell just happened?” The goofy one laughed. “Nice mouth.” The one with the skateboard stepped forward. “Hey, um, I’m Deryck Whibley. These are my friends Jay, Steve, Dave, and Mer. I kinda hit you with my skateboard. Sorry.” They all nodded slowly at me. I wanted to just die. I was wounded on places I don’t want to discuss, my head hurt, my pride was bruised just as badly as my behind, and I wanted to go home. Standing shakily I swallowed. “I… I gotta go.” I started to walk slowly in the direction of home. Deryck stayed behind but yelled after me, “Hey, what’s your name?” I didn’t turn around but I sighed and yelled back, “Nina. Just Nina.” Deryck yelled, “See you around.” I remember thinking, “Yeah right.” Chapter Two: Looks like Mer has herself a Maid. The next day at school I could hear rumors spreading about me and the accident that happened yesterday. I think the punks in school were actually laughing at me for being so stupid as to step out in front of someone on a skateboard. And the preps were just laughing because they had nothing better to do. Look, I don’t have much to say for myself. All I know is that I’ve got a mixed up school reputation and an average school life. Go figure. As I trudged sadly to the lunchroom at lunch, I noticed Deryck and some other guys sitting at a random table near the corner. I noticed all eyes drift towards me. I noticed the silence in the cafeteria. And I certainly noticed the way people were looking at me. Blushing, I stomped my foot. “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? EAT!” Everyone turned and went back to eating except for Deryck and his friends who laughed. Deryck motioned for me to come over. I hesitated, wondering if it was a cruel joke. I had had some mean jokes pulled on me when I was younger and I wasn’t about to take it again. But, he looked so sincere, I walked right over there and stood nervously at the end of the table. “Um…hey.” Deryck smiled and scooted over a little. “Hey. I’m still sorry about yesterday. Hope I didn’t hurt you.” I secretly thought to myself, “No, you only bruised my on my a…” My thought was cut off by the guy with blue eyes who I think was named Jay saying, “Well, you can sit with us if you want.” Steve and Dave nodded. The girl, Mer, smiled in a strangely threateningly way. “Yeah, come sit next to me… oh sorry, what’s your name again?” Deryck looked at her for a second and hesitated. “Just Nina.” Steve smirked. “We’re gonna call you that for the rest of your life: Just Nina.” I shrugged and sat down next to Mer, despite the weird longing to sit next to Deryck. Mer had strangely deep blue eyes and black hair with pink streaks that were most likely just clip-on. She wore bondage pants and a black and white tank top that said “Hey, guess what. Nunya”. Hm… for some reason, I didn’t like her. I mean her appearance was fine and all that… I didn’t dislike her because she was a punk. It was just some alarm going off in my head saying “DON’T TRUST HER!” Of course, that little alarm was shut off the second that Deryck started talking again. “So, where do you live?” I could tell he was searching for something to say. “Um, about a block from here. Not very far. I live in Blue Ridge housing area. It’s boring as heck but it’s home.” I stared down at my cold mashed potatoes and wished I was anywhere else but there. Jay nodded. “Yeah, we know what you mean.” He looked around the lunchroom and noticed most of the students were gone. “Hey, you want to skip with us?” I froze. Skip? Skip? What does he mean by skip? Is that a drug term or something?! Then I realized he meant skip school and blushed out of habit. “I don’t know. I’ve never skipped before. Besides yesterday, I mean.” Steve shrugged. “We’re just gonna hang at the mall. You can stay if you want but I’m not staying in this depressing hell-hole any longer.” And with that, he stood and walked out of the lunchroom. Jay and Dave stood silently and followed him. Mer didn’t. Deryck looked at me. “You don’t have to. But it’d be cool.” His eyes darted over to Mer. Mer’s face was slightly red and one hand was clenched in a fist. But then I saw her relax and smile. “Deryck, if she doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t want to go.” I looked at her. I couldn’t even look at Deryck. “Um, I think… I think I’ll just stay here.” Deryck stood, as did Mer. Mer quickly snaked her arm around Deryck’s waist and frowned a little. “Oh, too bad. Oh well. Maybe some other time.” As they began to walk off, Deryck looked over his shoulder and looked at me as if to say “Sorry”. They walked out of the school and left me to a lunch tray of soggy bread and cold mashed potatoes, a disappointed heart, and a sudden interest in who exactly Mer thought she was. Chapter Three: I really hate her, and you should too. Later on, while I was walking home, I heard a rustling noise behind me. I turned but saw nothing. Shrugging, I continued to walk. I heard the sound again and looked again. No one. I started to walk faster, refusing to look behind me. Finally, when I heard the noise one last time, I turned around fast enough to see Deryck. On a skateboard. Heading right towards me. I screamed. But geez, I felt like an idiot when he stopped about a foot in front of me, popping his skateboard up into his hand and blinking. “Hey, Just Nina.” I sighed. My heard was still pounding. From fear or anything else, I don’t know. All I knew is that I was blushing big time and blushing looks horrible on me. He was still sorta standing there, looking nervous. His hair was tousled from the wind and his eyes were shining in the afternoon sun. I couldn’t help but think that he was beautiful. WHAT? Did I think what I think I thought? Try saying that ten times fast. But, anyway, I just stared at him as he stared back at me. Then SHE came up. Mer. Little Ms. Punk-o. Yeah, ok, that’s not a word. SUE ME. I don’t care. I didn’t like her. Not at all. Deryck looked at her and smiled weakly. She looked straight at me and scowled. And she didn’t even try to hide it. She grabbed Deryck’s arm and snarled slightly. “Deryck, you said you’d meet me later at my house. But you’re here. With HER.” She looked at me angrily. I scowled. “Now hold on you… you… something or other that I don’t want to say! I don’t know what the heck your problem is but…” Deryck cut me off by laying a hand on my arm and saying very subtly saying, “Hush.” I immediately shut up but I was still mad. Deryck let go of me and looked at Mer, who was almost foaming at the mouth. “Ok, lets go. Just walk away.” He took her hand and started to walk while Mer desperately tried not to look back at me. But when she did, I held my right hand high with four fingers (representing Deryck, Jay, Dave and Steve) and then my middle finger on my left hand (representing her, being left out, and also just to be mean). Hey, where else do you think they got the Sum 41 salute from? Deryck glanced back and saw the hand gesture. I saw him grin as they walked off to her house. I was smiling sadly as I entered my own home, up into my red-walled room, and onto my Bleeding Heart bedspread. I looked up at my black ceiling and sighed. Very quietly, I walked down the hall and towards the kitchen. I grabbed three brownies and a glass of milk and sat down, sorting things out in my head. The phone rang. I looked at the caller ID box and narrowed my eyes at the name: McCaslin, Paul. “Who the heck is Paul McCaslin?” But I picked it up anyway. “Hello?” “Hey, it’s me, Jay. Want to come to a party tonight?” I paused, then grinned. “You betcha.” Chapter Four: I'll fall into you, but don't believe that this is real. Ok, you know those moments in life when you just know something bad is going to happen but you don’t do anything to stop it? I had that kind of moment right before I went to the party. I hadn’t really gotten dressed up. Basically, I wore normal clothes: Black t-shirt, loose jeans, and glasses. I didn’t even put on my contact lenses because the feeling that something bad was going to happen was so strong. I told my mom I was going out to a party. I think the only way my mom let me go was because she didn’t believe I was REALLY going to a party. She had every right not to believe me though. Not like I ever go to parties anyway. I walked out the door and hopped on my lame-mobile bike because thats the only form of transportation I had. My sister would have given me a ride but she was sick OR SO SHE SAID. Yes, I'm very suspicious. I made my way over to Jay's house and parked my bike about a block away so no one would see. Then I walked up to the porch where a few people sat drinking and laughing. Metal music blasted from the open windows. I stepped into the house and looked around for Deryck or somebody I recognized. I found Steve. "Hey Just Nina." He smirked, leaning against the banister of the stairs. "Um, hey Steve. Is Deryck around?" Steve shrugged. "I think he's around here somewhere with Mer." I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Steve, what do you know about her?" He blinked and led me to the couch. "J.N, I know you like Deryck. A lot. And that's ok. But Mer owns him." I snarled. "MER doesn't own anyone. Especially not Deryck. I don't know what kind of sadistic twisted freak she is but I don't stand for it." I huffed. Usually I wouldn't be so brave as to say that sort of thing but for once in my life I felt hopeless. What was this sudden attraction? Did I just not like the idea of Mer bossing someone around? Or was I just being weird again? Or something more... I stood and walked up the stairs, running into Jay on the way. He was drunk. Very drunk. "Hey Just Nina. Whats up?" He said choppily. I smiled and shrugged. "Not much. Just looking for Deryck. Have you seen him?" Jay leaned against the wall and looked at me carefully. "Why?" "Why what?" He smirked. "You like him." I shrieked, "Do not!" Half the people looked at me weirdly. "WHAT? Go about your business!" I sighed as they all went back to talking and laughing. I sighed and looked at Jay helplessly. "Ok, I like him I guess... where is he?" Jay shrugged. "In my bedroom I think. With Mer." I grimaced. "Thanks Jay... thanks a lot." He smiled and shrugged, walking away. I noticed one door down the hall that was covered in band posters. I pretty much decided this was probably his room. I nervously opened the door a crack and looked in. I felt like barfing. They were making out like there was no freaking tomorrow. No, I didn't feel any damn heart ache like you would think. I felt revulsion. Total and complete revulsion. Then I felt revulsion all over my shoes: Jay's dog had peed on me. "EW! EW!" I leaned over to clean it off when I fell head first into Jay's room. Mer and Deryck stopped sucking face and looked at me in shock. I smiled weakly. "Um, hehe, the dog made me do it." I ran out of the house quickly and hopped on my bike, peddling home as fast as my legs could carry me. Chapter Five: It's not what you say, but what you said. Here I am. On my bed. Staring at the bedspread. I hate crying. I really do. It makes me feel defeated. I cry a lot. Mom says I'm an emotional roller coaster. Like I care. Better than being completely immune to others feelings. Look, I know I don't know Deryck very well. We just sorta never even noticed each other. Well, until now. And I don't know Mer very well. But would you want to know her? I didn't think so. She's a bitch. A very much so bitch. And I hate her. Dangit, why does this always have to happen to me? Why do things happen to me? Why? Today is a beautiful Saturday. I hate every beautiful day now because of what I saw. Yeah, sounds very cliche, doesn't it. I know. But it's the truth. I'm rushing into something I don't want to rush into. And I'll even announce it to the world if you want me to. I LOVE DERYCK WHIBLEY. There, that sounds good. You know what, I'm not going to stand here, sorry, I mean SIT here and mope around while I could be getting somewhat of my pride back. But how, you ask. Heck if I know. But I'll try. Dragging myself off the bed, I managed to throw on some clean clothes and actually found my contacts for once. Then I headed outside to the SKATEPARK. Now, picture this: A slightly taller than usual pale geeky little girl with bloodshot eyes and a very sore knee and shoes that smelled horrible, amongst a very large group of people wearing metal and punk band t-shirts, converse sneakers, and riding on very large ramps. Yes, I know I used the word 'very' 3 times. But when you're trying to prove a point it's ok. I walked over to a bench and sat down, watching someone in particular. It was a girl with purple hair and a black t-shirt that said 'Mafia'. She was ok, or that's what I decided. I instantly felt that she was ok. She must've noticed me looking at her because she walked over to me. "Hey. I'm Tari." She put out a hand for me to shake. I shook her hand, then smiled. "I'm Nina." She looked at me strangely for a minute. "Just Nina?" I nodded quickly. She smiled slightly. "He talks about you a lot, you know." I shrugged and stared down at the bench. "Well, he sure does have a thing for that girlfriend of his." She could hear the harshness in my voice, I'm sure. "Nah. She's just very possessive. Don't even worry about her. Just make a move and go with it. That's my motto." She went back to the ramp again. As she was about to go down, she gave me a little reasurring smile. I waved a little. And guess what happened then? She waved back and her DANG SKATEBOARD SLIPPED! She instantly fell down left-side first on the bottom. Oh, did I mention this was the biggest ramp out there? My mouth dropped open as someone called 911. Obviously, this just wasn't my day. Chapter Six: And I don't hear the words you say, I wish that you would shut up. Well, luckily Tari got severe head trauma so she doesn't remember why she slipped and fell to begin with. I mean, it's not GOOD for her but it's good for me. Yeah, I know, I'm sick. Well, I visited her in the hostpital at around 8:00. She was asleep so I decided not to wake her. I was about to fall asleep too when I heard the hospital door open. I looked up and saw Deryck. He looked slightly dazed, his eyes sparkling. He also seemed a little preoccupied since his hair was falling down naturally instead of in the usual gelled spikes and his cheeks were flushed. I looked at him and sighed. "Hey." He jumped. "Oh, hey, you scared me." We both laughed weakly. "So, you knew her too?" He asked, sitting down beside me. I shrugged. "I guess you could say that..." I 'forgot' to mention that I was the reason that she fell down in the first place. Deryck avoided eye contact with me, staring at the wall. I didn't really know what to do. So I laid my arm casually against his. Our hands sorta touched and I shivered. He looked at me. "Cold?" I shook my head and shivered again. I stood and grabbed my coat from the chair. "I better go." He watched me walk to the door. "No, Just Nina, wait." I turned around slowly and found that he had already walked over to me and was standing barely a foot away from me. He put one hand on my hip and sighed. "I'm sorry about Mer. She's been a bitch lately, and I know it. I'm sorry." I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Don't worry. I won't be hanging around you anymore so it won't even matter. G'bye, Deryck." I walked out of the room, down the four elevators, and into the lobby. My best friend Raechel (pronounced Ry-shell) who had come with me to the hospital patted my arm sympathetically after I told her what happened. I feel really happy that I had a friend like her to help me through this mess, even though she lived four hours away. I saw Deryck pass right by me and Raechel, throwing in an icy glare. Maybe I just made the biggest mistake of my life. Chapter Seven: Perfection WAS my direction at one point. Wow. Who knew that History could be so freaking boring. Well, guess what, it is. Very much so. I felt someone staring at me behind my back. I turned, but no one was even glancing at me. They were basically either brain-dead or asleep. Then I looked at the side of me and noticed someone I had never even noticed before: Dave. Hm. I didn't know Dave was in this class with me... well, anyway, I sorta smiled. He sorta smiled back. Jay sat right behind him. Steve wasn't in this History class. I glanced at Jay and smiled. He didn't smile back. Obviously, they were mad at me (well, except Dave because I think he'd pretty much be your friend, no matter what you did) for breaking Deryck's heart. Hold on, breaking his heart? Whoa. This is very weird. I haven't noticed the guy for two years and now all of a sudden this has become the trials and troubles of my life. I need to get out more. OH yeah. Deryck wasn't in school that day. Or at least, I hadn't seen him. Mer was. She was mad at me for just being me. She was making fun of me with the other 'punks' in the school. Why did being a 'punk' ever give her the right to make fun of me when she was such a little pain in the... butt. Yeah. After class it was lunch. I chose a random table at the end of the cafeteria and stirred what was SUPPOSED to be vegetable soup, I think. Either that or vegetable soup that someone had thrown up because thats exactly what it looked like. I decided I wasn't really hungry and ended up walking through the halls over and over again, stopping by the janitors closet to sit down next to. But as soon as I stooped to sit down, something happened. I felt someone yank me backwards into the dark janitors closet. I think I fell onto the mop or something because my butt was extremely wet. Desperately clinging to one of the shelves I yelled harshly, "Ok, NOT FUNNY!" There was silence. Then a tiny light appeared: a lighter. And I got a perfect look at who had pulled me in here. "Steve? Why the heck did you pull me in here?!" Steve sighed and sat down on a crate. I didn't really tell him that it was covered in a thick layer of dust, which was now on the seat of his pants. "Look, Nina," Uh-oh. He used my real name. This cannot be good. "Just leave Deryck alone. Ok? He likes Mer. He's sorry, but he LIKES Mer. And you're just going to have to accept that." I snarled. "Look, Steve, I don't like Deryck. The only reason I hang around him is because I don't like to see Mer controlling him." We both shrugged at the same time and walked out of the closet, just as a group of the snobbiest preppiest jocks and cheerleaders you could ever meet walked by. The grinned evilly. "Oh look, it's the geek and the freak." Smirked one cheerleader I especially hated: Melanie Prakfare. I blinked. "Melanie, bite me." I began to walk away when I heard Jake, her boyfriend, say to Steve, "Maybe one day you guys can get married and have children just as..." I didn't let him finish. I turned around and let my fist fly so that it crunched right into his nose. Chapter Eight: Whoa... did I do that? Ok. I am now in the principals office, staring at the wall. Again. There are actually tears in my eyes. So, naturally, I let them fall. I am defeated. Again. I'm being suspended for three days, all because I punched some dumb jock who was being a jerk to me and broke his nose. Dang this school. I hate it. All I want is to go home. I heard the principal call my name and I looked at him. My sister was standing next to him, no expression on her face. I stood up and walked out with my sister trailing behind. We went home and sat at the kitchen table. Our mom and dad weren't home right then, so we decided to just not tell them what had happened. I would fake sick for three days and my sister would cover for me My sister sat across from me at the table. I didn't look up as she stood, but I could tell she had. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her get something out of the fridge and bring it back to the table. Without a single word, she put a brownie in front of me. I looked up and smiled slightly. Basically, we just sat there for around three hours, just eating brownies and thinking. She stood up and said hurriedly, "I think these brownies have made me fat." We both stayed quiet for about three minutes, then burst out laughing. ~ Later that night, I was sitting on my bed when my phone rang. It was Tari. She had gotten my number from Jay. I remember thinking when she said, 'Hey, it's me, Tari,' that she had remembered what had happened. But she hadn't. She just called to talk. And thats cool. "Hey Blueberry Kid." I raised one eyebrow, but then remembered why she called me that. I was wearing a Blueberry Muffin from Strawberry Shortcake shirt. "Um, hey Tari. You feeling better?" "Oh yeah, never better. This has given me more passion to skateboard." I laughed nervously. "Oh, good. So, why'd you call? Not that I'm not happy that you did or anything, it's just..." "He's been asking about you a lot. A whole lot." I sighed. "Tari, I really don't care about him. I'm not associating myself with someone that hangs out with such a horrible person." "Uh, not Deryck. Jay." I froze. "Excuse me?" I could hear her sigh. "He asks about you... I think he cares about you or something... I don't quite know so don't quote me on anything I say." "Wasn't planning on it." Tari chuckled. "Well, I just called to say hello... and sorry about Deryck..." She hung up. I sat there with the phone against my ear, thinking, when suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard a knock at my window. Chapter Nine: "Dude. It's ok. I wasn't looking." Story of my life. I blinked. "What the... Dave?" Dave was standing outside her window, in a rain slicker. I blinked yet again. "Is it raining? Oh, yes, I suppose it is." I went cautiously to the window and opened it. "Dave, what are you doing here?" He shrugged. "I wanted to say thanks... sort of." For once, I was baffled. Ok, I've been baffled loads of times, but thats not the point. "Thank me? Thank me for what?" He grinned. "For punching the jerk in the face." I stood there, looking like an idiot. Then I realized I was in my bra and quickly shrieked, ducking behind the bed so that only my head was showing. He smirked. "Dude, Its ok... I wasn't looking." I rolled my eyes. "I'm flattered that you told me about this... it's nice to know SOMEONE still cares a little bit... how'd you know my address?" Dave shrugged. "Jay." The made me think. And I hated to think so late at night. Especially when I faced three days suspension and a LOAD of homework waiting for me. "Great. Jay knows everything, does he?" I sighed and he shrugged again, then turned and left. I stood and walked over to my mirror and looked in. My glasses were sitting sideways on my nose and my hair was sticking out in every direction. I groaned and laid back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I remembered doing this before and the phone had rang... will it ring this time? I hope not. I'm tired of getting calls from people that really don't seem to care... but why should they care? We've only known each other for a while. Man. This is spooky. I'm talking to myself. Stop it! I'm still talking to myself. Oh lookie here. Right on time. The phone rang. I decided NOT to answer it. Well, I'm lying. I did answer it. It was my mom. She said that she was out somewhere with my dad and they were stuck because of the heavy rain and traffic. Then the line went dead. Yes. Cue the Jason theme song... my sister is here though. Thats good. HOLY SHITE! The power went out. Wonderful. So I'm sitting here, in my bra, with my glasses sideways, and my hair like Dolly Parton's. Wonderful again. I grope around for a flashlight and eventually find one. Go figure. You'd think that the last thing I'd find in a storm would be a flashlight. Anyway, I walked downstairs slowly and looked for my sister. She was in the bathroom, working on the plumbing by the light of four flashlights. I blinked and leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing?" She looked up, wearing a snorkeling mask, rubber gloves, and a blue apron. "The plumbing is shot. Don't expect to do your business anytime soon." I groaned. "Great. Will you come to my bedroom with those four flashlights and help me find a shirt?" She looked at me. "Wear my apron, why don't you? Everyone trying to take things from me..." She mumbled angrily. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her arm. "C'mon, it's creepy around here in the dark." We both walked slowly upstairs together. "Wait... what was that?" She said frantically in a whisper. I looked at her funny. "What? What was what?" She looked at me and yelled in horror. "Don't DO that, Nina!" I didn't realize what she was talking about until I saw that I had put my flashlight under my chin. I smirked sheepishly. "Hah. Sorry." Then I jumped. "What the heck was that?!" There was a noise downstairs. She looked at me scaredly. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." I was scared too. "Well, we can't just stand here like sissys. Lets go back down and find out what it is!" She bit her lip. "Why don't YOU go down there and find out what it is?" I rolled my eyes and grabbed her arm as we made our way down. Someone was knocking at the door. She looked at me and I looked at her. I nodded once while my heart beat wildly, and put my hand on the doorknob. Very slowly I turned it and screamed. Whoever it was on the other side screamed too. My sister screamed. Everyone was screaming. Then the power kicked back on and who was standing there but... hold on. Freeze frame. Lets re-cap, shall we? I'm standing there with a flashlight to my chin IN my bra, with my glasses STILL sideways and my hair STILL a mess and my sister was standing there in a snorkel mask, apron, and rubber kitchen gloves. Got that? Good. Lets continue. REWIND. Everyone was screaming. Then the power kicked back on and who was standing there but Steve, Dave, Deryck, and Jay. Great. The Goon Platoon makes house calls. Chapter Ten: Get out of the way. “What the friggin’ heck are you guys doing here!” I shrieked. Steve smirked. “Uh, you might want to…” He made a motion with his fingers and I looked down, groaning. My sister shoved me behind her and crossed her arms. “Who ARE you?” She took off the snorkeling mask and looked at them through narrowed eyes. Jay stepped forward and looked at her nervously. “Uh, I’m Jay and this is Steve, Dave, and Deryck. We’re here to see JN.” My sister raised an eyebrow. Deryck spoke up. “Just Nina.” I quickly ran up the stairs and into my room, slamming the door behind me and flopping down on my bed. Then I stood and looked in the mirror, grabbing a clean shirt from inside the dresser drawers and slipping it over my head. Then I stared at my reflection and moved my glasses off my nose. I squinted and placed in my contacts. Then I brushed my hair straight down and sighed. I looked... different. Better? Worse? I don't know. But I looked different and I liked it. There was a knock at my door and I grumbled a 'c'mon in, it's open' and still stood by the mirrow. The door opened slowly and Deryck was standing there, a smirk on his face. "'Lo, JN." I blinked and peeked my head around. "Where's your cronies?" He laughed and leaned against the doorframe. "Oh, Cone is in the bathroom, Dave is I don't know what-ing, and Steve is chatting up your sister." I shuddered. "Ew. Thats wrong. Very wrong." I shuddered, then frowned. "Get out of my room." He shrugged. "Get out of my life." This was the shatter moment, as I like to call it. "Get out of your life?! You hit me with a skateboard, your girlfriend has been a bitch to me, and you tell me to get out of your life?" Deryck sighed and tapped his fingers on the doorframe. "Does that mean you won't go out with me?" Now, split-second decisions don't go well with me. But the decision I made hit the air like a sack of tomatoes... potatoes, whatever. "I'll go out with you." Chapter Eleven: Why are you hiding in the bushes? How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. I just said yes to the guy who has caused me numerous strange feelings and emotions, there is one seriously pissed of punk named Mer ready to splatter my guts against her driveway, and I have nothing to wear. Can you just hear the love in my voice? If you do, you're nuts. I cannot believe I agreed to go out with him, what was I THINKING? Oh yeah, the little light in my head went off and said 'He's hot, go with that!' Well, screw you little light in my head. I'm staring into my window where Dave had been a few hours ago. The power had stayed on from the point where they stayed until they left, which was a while ago... and they ate about everything in the fridge, messed up the bathroom, and I think Steve is dating my sister now. Ugh. I hate my life and I hate Mexican. What does that have to do with anything? Well, I don't actually know... it just was a random thing I wanted to... ok, missing the point. The point is that Friday I'm going out with a guy that hit me with a freakin' skateboard. I hold grudges like nobody's business. So, I called Jay. He answered, sounding sleepy. "What?" I yelled, "It's me dimwit. Look, Deryck asked me out and I don't think I should go." He yawned. "Why the hell not? He obviously likes you..." I flopped down on my bed and groaned. "So? I don't care. I have bruises in places I didn't know existed because of him." I whined and heard him yawn again and the rustling of blankets, then footsteps on a tiled floor... sounded like the tile in a bathroom... "Oh crap, you're not taking a piss while talking to me, are you?" He sighed. "No, that would be obscene. I'm only brushing my teeth." I rolled my eyes. "Well, fine then, what do you think I should do?" He mumbled. "Wellsh, I shink you should go out wif him and see how itsh goesh." Staring in the mirror again I shrugged. "Ok, fine toothpaste boy. Talk to you later." I hung up the phone and smiled. I think I will give this a shot. ~ Throughout the week I thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it. And then I decided that brownies were NOT better after four days than they were the day you made them. But I did decide what to wear, and thats good for me. Think about it: Black shirt, black pants, black shoes... black works for me. And then of course I thought of something else. MER. Where was she? Then Tari called me the night before the date and told me that Mer had been in a skateboarding 'accident' that would keep her in the hospital for a while. Nothing too serious though. I had smiled and thanked her, at the expense of Mer, for tripping her on her way down a ramp. So this is the night of the date. I sit outside on the curve our street, waiting for him to show up. He did, unfortunately. We ended up walking together in complete and total silence. It's going just freakin' peachy right now, let me tell you. When we got to the restaurant I noticed three suspicious looking guys with those fake moustache/nose sets you can get, and newspapers in their hands. It only took me a few seconds to figure out that they were indeed Steve, Dave, and Jay. Great. Wonderful. They're watching us and Deryck is in on it, but you know, I've never been one to sit around and feel duped. So now, I'm gonna make him regret it like nobody's business. Chapter Twelve: Now, you know, this is stupid. We sit down and I continue to stare at the three. Steve knows that I recognize them and grins, winking with those blue twinkling eyes. I hate those eyes because they tease you so much. Ugh. Me and my stupid delusions. Anyway, we're sitting here and the tension is like eggs frying on a hot summer day. But in this case, it's not quite like that. It's more... relaxed, but not in a great way, just, calm. More calm than I've ever been and thats saying something. I'm never calm, because, there's so much calm in my life. Having a calm life and being calm is NEVER the same and people shouldn't suggest that it is. Anyway, this date should go pretty well. I don't want to resort to violence but the ends of my glasses can kill people, if you poke them in the eye. And braces can tear flesh, trust me, I know. I know you can't see me but I just shuddered because of a bad memory in second grade when my sister bit my arm. She had braces. I still have scars. Not emotional, though, because I got her back by shaving off her eyebrows. And boy, was she mad. I don't think she spoke to me for about three or four weeks, but I didn't mind so much because we didn't talk any anyway. So... I don't know. Look, I'll tell you more later, right now, I have to throw chinese food at someone. ~ That was entertaining. I'm back at home now, kissing my bedspread because it's nice to be home, in my bed, being able to think of what happened. Damnit. Stupid phone. I should get it disconnected. "Yello?" "It's me, Tari." "Hey... whats wrong?" "How'd the date go?" "How do you think it went?" "He didn't...." "No, you pervert." I laughed. "We had a nice time. Except for the fact his friends followed us." "Argh. They are certainly stupid gits. But, don't hold it against them." She laughed this time. "Well, anyway, it ended nice." "He didn't..." "I already said he didn't. He wouldn't dare." I coughed. She sighed in relief. "Good, because, once you do that, it's just hook line and sinker." I blinked. "Well thanks, Tari, I appreciate your support." "Anytime, dudette. I have to go but I'll talk to you later. Oh, and, keep your doors locked." She hung up. Setting the phone down, I raised one eyebrow and glanced around my room. "Well thats cryptic." Then there was, as I expected, a knock at my window. This can't keep happening. Because, sooner or later, someone will notice the tall guy with the blue eyes stalking me. Chapter Thirteen: I'm starting to hate these house calls. Cone grinned at me from the window, waving slightly. I blinked and sighed, straightening my shirt and going to the window. His grin was still plastered on his face as he walked gingerly into my bedroom, looking around my room. "Nice. Very nice. I like your bedspread." He looked down at the pink fluffy comforter with the black heart bleeding white. It seemed cool before. Now it seemed lame, in front of him. I sat down on it and looked at him expectantly. "What? What do you want, Jay?" He smirked and leaned against the wall. His smirk turned to a smile and he shrugged. "How'd the date go, Just Nina?" I rolled my eyes and laid back. "Scew you, why do you care?" I could hear him sigh. Not that I cared about him. Or anything. Hear me blink. He said something, but I wasn't really listening... that line from that SNL with Eddie Murphy was going over and over in my head. 'See that dog, do he bite? Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.' Aha. I find that so beyond hilarious. He knows I'm not listening and walks over to my bedside, poking my arm with one of those long pale fingers. "JN, are you listening?" I started to laugh and grabbed the remote, still not listening to him. SNL was on. I wanted to see it. He groaned and sat down beside me, hair falling in his eyes. I looked over, and without thinking, pushed it aside. He looked at me strangely, cocking his head to one side. "Nina..." I shivered. He smiled. "Are you cold?" I shook my head, standing again. "No. You called me Nina. There's something going on, isn't there?" Jay looked at me with his lips pursed, as if in deep thought. Which was impossible because right now it seemed as if the only one with rational thought and good mind was me. And we all know thats a joke. He finally opened his mouth, only to close it again. My sister had walked in the room. She looked at the two of us, and I can only imagine what went through her mind: Hold on... what the hell is this guy doing with my baby sister? Hold on again... he's hot. Whats his number? Yeah. Thats my sister for you. But instead, she just blinked and set down a basket full of clean clothes of mine. Her night to do laundry. It just HAD to be tonight. When Jay is in my room. I spoke quickly. "Look, it's not what you think, he's my boyfriend's boyfriend... I mean, my friend's boyfriend... I mean, I don't know what I mean." I gave up. She was still staring at us, not blinking. Jay cleared his throat. "I'm... her boyfriend." My sister nodded knowingly, then walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. I blinked and walked over to where he was, standing in front of him and glaring. He looked back at me and smiled teasingly. I growled and smacked his shoulder. He fell of the bed, then reappeared a moment later, holding his arm and pouting. "You're mean. Is it THAT time of the month?" He grinned, walking back to the windowsill. I groaned. "What were you going to tell me?" Jay shrugged, climbing out and smirking. "Doesn't matter. I'll tell you later." He quickly ran off into the night as I ran to the windowsill, whining in a loud voice 'You're not my boyfriend!' Or maybe, just maybe, I missed the fine print. Chapter Fourteen: The Black Hole Sun isn't gonna come no more Sweet momma luca. This isn't going to be pretty. I get to go back to school on Monday. Everyone knows my name. I really hope they forget it soon. Deryck, Tari, and Rachelle called me this morning. The first one was from Rachelle. She asked me if I wanted to go to the mall with her. I said no, I was too tired. But maybe next weekend or something. Then Tari called me. She asked me if I wanted to try skateboarding with her. And of course, after seeing what could be done with a simple wave of the hand on a large ramp, I said no thanks. Then, Deryck. Here is our conversation: 'Hey.'-Deryck 'Hey.' 'Whats up?' 'Nothing. With you?' 'Not much, going over to Jay's later.' 'Oh, thats... cool.' I blinked and we stayed in complete silence for around five minutes, it seemed. Then I spoke up again. 'Well, anything new going on with him?' Deryck paused, then spoke. 'Yeah...' 'Such as? If you/him don't mind me asking.' I didn't tell him that Jay had come over last night. 'I can't actually say. It's... not for me to say, lets just say that.' 'Thats a lot of saying.' 'Tell me about it.' "I would, if I knew anything about it.' 'I'm sorry, I just can't tell you.' 'Can you tell me later?" 'Probably not.' 'Hm.' 'Want to get back together again this weekend?' 'Maybe. Depends.' 'Depends...?' 'On whether or not I have another date.' I sniffed, in a complete lie. Hey, what would you do in this situation? Throw yourself at him? No, I would not. Deryck paused again, longer than before. Then he blurted out, 'Well, it also depends on if I have another date. I was just asking.' Ah! Is that a threat or something? Are YOU calling me desperate? No one calls Nina Shaw desperate... except for a few select people, and even then, it isn't nice. 'Alright... I got to go. Talk to you later.' 'Bye, JN.' 'Call me...' 'Ok, I will tomorrow.' 'No, you didn't let me finish. Call me... Nina.' I could hear him smile, and we both hung up. ~ Monday: I am back in school, and I was right. Everyone DOES know my name. Everyone remembers my name. It's strange, how when you're...well, strange, no one remembers your name. When you're strange, when you're strange... sorry, I just had to break into song at that point. Can you blame me? Is this getting weirder by the second or what? Anyway, in History, I felt something hit my leg. It was a note. I looked around and noticed four guys staring back at me with smirks on their faces. Dangit. The Goon Platoon strikes again. I opened the note and blushed. Lets just say that it was a picture that wasn't exactly... wholesome. At the bottom it was signed 'S.J.' I looked questiongly at them and Steve held up a piece of paper that said 'my name is Steve Jocz.' I nodded slowly and began to put the note in my pocket, but the mean ol' teacher asked to see the note. Now everyone's eyes were on me. Again. Great. I'm going to be suspended for yet ANOTHER week. I shakily hand the note to her, but, being clumsy, I ended up flipping it to the non-obscene side. All she saw was a few poorly done history notes. She handed it back at me, narrowed her eyes, and walked back to the front of the class. I sighed in relief, then glared at Steve, who was snickering along with the others. When class was over and went into the halls, them right behind me. Turning around quickly, I glared again at them. "What was that all about? I could have been caught. I could have been suspended!" Jay shrugged and leaned against a locker. "Oh well, you'd get out of this drag, thats for sure." I dropped my books at that point and groaned, leaning down to get them. My glasses slipped off, as they tend to do. Deryck leaned down and picked them up, slipping them over his nose. I looked up with blurred eyes, my books under my arm. "I can't see anything without those glasses!" I made a wild grab for them and they laughed, Deryck then handing them back to me. I grabbed them and put them on, then said shakily, "You think you're funny, don't you? You're not." Dave shrugged. "Not a matter of if we're funny enough. It's a matter of if we annoy you enough. Do we?" I didn't want to give them any satisfaction. "No, but I COULD sue you for harrassment." Steve put a mock scared face on. "Oh no. Little ol' JN doesn't want us around anymore. Too bad babe. You're stuck with us. We know where you live." I stomped my foot and started off down the hall. "Yeah, well, I... don't actually know where you live, but, when I find out, I'll... I'll... I don't know what I'll do. But I'll do something." And I stuck by my promise. ~ Chapter Fifteen: Things change, babe. Ok, you must be wondering when this story ends. I know you have to. To tell you the truth, I have no clue. I doubt Deryck is going to turn into some Knight in shining armor, and carry me away on a white horse into the sunset. Wouldn't that burn, though? Being carried off into the sunset and all, would you wear a ton of sunscreen? How did Snow White stay so white if she was under the blazing sun? Weird... It's funny what you think about, at 12:34 in the morning. I have nothing to do, so I sit up and pull out my notebook, writing down random things. Like, did you know Chefs started using onions 5,000 years ago to spice up their cooking? And that eating raw onions is good for unblocking a stuffed nose? Why yes, I AM the lamest person to ever walk this planet. My phone just rang. Who calls this late at night? Well, I'll get back to you and tell you what happened in a bit. Until then, onions rock my socks. ~ Well that was random. Guess who called me? Jay. I got to get him with a restraining order or something. Anyway, here's the conversation exactly: "JN?" "Why do you ask, Jay. You know its me." I said, deadpan. "Because I like your pretty voice." He joked. At least, I hoped he joked. "How exciting for me. What do you want? It is WAY too late to be talking and I have school tomorrow." "I just wanted to talk. I'm not stalking you or anything." "Seems like it." "I am not, I'm just..." He sighed. "Ok, you know what, I have to go anyway, I'll talk later." He was about to hang up when I stopped him. "Hold up. You called me your girlfriend, you've been acting creepy, stop being creepy! Whats the deal?" Jay paused for a minute, then coughed. "Well, my deal is... I got to go, bye!" He said very quickly and hung up. I blinked and hung up my phone. I wrote Stalker all over my notebook, then underneath is I wrote 'Jay isn't a stalker. He's... a clown.' Then I imagined Jay in a clown suit with a big red nose. Hah. So entertaining. Anyway, I should go out with Deryck this weekend. Just for the heck of it. I think I will. Yeah, I will. ~ Friday: Well, I AM going out with Deryck tonight. We're going to the movies. Catch? Well, the catch is the Goon Platoon is coming with them. So is Tari. Now, Tari, I don't mind. It's being around insane Steve, creepy Jay, and... well, actually, Dave is pretty cool. I'll excuse him. And then there's Deryck... who of course, I'm sort of going out with. Oh. Guess what? Mer is out of the hospital. Great. Now I'll probably be killed in the bathroom. Sure hope Tari knows kung-fu. If not, the world is doomed. And nobody wants the world to be doomed. I'll tell me later. ~ Ok, we're at the movies. Ugh. I'm so freaking nervous. Don't ask me why, I just am. We've gotten the tickets and everything, and I'm sitting between Steve and Deryck, my oh so favoritest two people in the whole freaking world. Can you hear my rolling eyes? Yes? Well, anyway, Tari has to sit between Steve and Dave. I bet she loves that. I can hear her and Dave bickering about something, and Deryck is tapping his fingers nervously on his pants. Nervous? Is he nervous? Why should he be nervous? We've never even kissed, what if he tries to kiss me? What if I want him to? What if... what if... I don't know. Oh no, he got Sour Patch Kids! I have braces, I can't eat that stuff. Oh, hold on, whew. Nevermind. They were Jay's. Jay sat next to Deryck. Dangit. I'm starting to not feel good in this situation. And my left shoe is stuck on the floor. Ew... let's skip to later. ~ Hah. I survived the movie. It was ok, nothing special. Deryck walked me home (aw, sweetheart.. ick, did I just think that?) and lead my to my door. We just sort of stood there for a minute until I cleared my throat. "Uh, thanks for the... interesting evening. I had an.. interesting time." I said nervously, staring at the doorframe. He nodded and bit his lip. "Well, I'll see you later... hey, how'd you like to come to the skate park tomorrow? I can teach you how to ride." He grinned. I panicked. In case you haven't noticed (which, you should have, if you were paying attention) that I haven't had great luck at skate parks. But hey, I'll give it a chance. S ure, I'll probably die, but I'll give it a chance. We just looked at each other for a minute and I nodded. "Um, sounds good. See you... tomorrow then. Bye." I quickly ran into the house, closing the door quickly behind me. I leaned against the door and closed my eyes, breathing fast. Then I heard a noise. I opened my eyes to see my father sitting on the couch. He was looking at me in what looked like surprise. "Hello Nina." I blinked. "Hey Dad. Whats up?" He had a strange expression. "Well, I've got some good news and some bad news." I blinked again, cautious. "Whats the good news?" He smiled. "I got promoted." Filled with happiness, I ran over and hugged him tightly. "Thats great!" Then I was filled with that same cautious feeling. "Whats the bad news?" He sighed. "We're moving. To Nevada." As I passed out cold on the floor, I realized, not even the Goon Platoon could save me now. Chapter Sixteen: Ow. I feel like crap. I opened my eyes, only to be staring up at my sister, her boyfriend (She's not married, she's just pregnant by him and he was decent enough to stick around), my mom, and my dad. I've never seen us all together in one room together before. Sort of freakah. Anyway, mom has a concerned look on her face. She's also holding a ice pack on my forehead. My dad has his 'oopsy daisy' look on his face, meaning he said something he shouldn't have. "Honey, I was just kidding. We're not moving. I just said that because you came in past your curfew." I raised one eyebrow, my head throbbing. "I don't HAVE a curfew." Dad then had a look of realization. "Oh, you don't, do you? Well... now you do." I had to take a sigh of relief. "Good, this means I won't have to leave De... dessert! Dessert at school because it's so delicious! Yum!" I said in a slightly hysterical manner, jumping up and running to my room. Slamming the door behind me, I ran to my bed and plopped down. "Dang... I've got to call... someone." So, I call Jay. Don't ask me why, it was just the most random thing in the world besides grape flavored toothpaste. So, I call him up and this is how it goes: "Hello?"-Jay "Hey Jay." "Um... hey JN... whats up?" "Not much. Not much at all. Hey, Jay, I think I've figured out why you've been acting so weird." "You have?" Jay said in a sort of high pitched voiced. "Uh huh." "Well, I can explain..." "Don't bother. We all know you want my glasses." I heard him suck in breath. "Wha?" "You heard me, I know you just want my Buddy Holly glasses." I smiled. Then he laughed, relieved. "You've found me out, JN, you've found me out." "I know." I grinned, laying back on my pillow. He paused for a minute, then chuckled. "You're alright, JN. You're alright." I smiled and hung up the phone, happy. ~ The next day, Saturday, I went out to the local skate park and looked around. Tari and a few other girls were skating, so I walked over to them and smiled nervously. "Hey Tari." Tari looked over at me (she now had green hair, and her eyebrow pierced) and grinned. "Hey JN. Whassup?" I shook my head. "Nothing much. Just... nothing." Tari nodded and stood closer to me, pointing out the two different girls she had been talking to. "This is Mallory," She began, pointing to a girl with chin length pink hair and an eyebrow piercing, who surprisingly had a pretty smile. "Hi." She waved slightly, as did I. "And this is Vrittani." Vrittani, who I'm guessing was Italian (she had long black hair and an Italian accent, but, it's only a guess :) ) " 'Ello." She said in a booming voice, that almost made me fall backwards. "Hi..." Tari told them, "This is Nina, Deryck's girlfriend." She said 'girlfriend' with a bit of exaggeration. Mallory giggled. Vrittani smirked. "Have you gotten to his..." Tari cut in. "Uh, lets not go there. We have to teach Nina here how to skate." My eyes grew wide and I started to back away. "Uh, no way, no freaking way! I'll kill myself!" They laughed and Tari grabbed my arm, pulling me over to a small ramp. "Here, just try this one." She gave me her helmet, and her skateboard. So I propped it up, shaking from being scared, and went down slowly. But of course, being clumsy and my glasses being annoying, they slid off as I went to the other side, making me fall and go flying, landing right on someone. I scrambled around and found my glasses, then looked up slowly. "Why hello, JN." Someone spat. It was Mer. And I was so dead.
