Stupid Lollipops

Seaweed glares at her, gripping the pencil in his hand with a frightening intensity. He wants to rip that sugary treat out of her mouth and stomp on it until it breaks into tiny little pieces.

"Hey, man?" Link snaps his bony fingers in his friend's face, raising his eyebrows. "You paying attention?"

The dancer shrugs, glancing down at the book in front of him. He and Link are sitting at a table in the school's library, attempting to study for the chemistry test they have next week. But everytime he hears her crunch on one of her stupid lollipops, he feels like crying. It had been a week since they'd ended things. He'd never wanted to; it was her, all her decision. She'd said that it wasn't working, that their relationship was doomed from the start. They were just too different, and all that. He couldn't help but wonder if that was really the reason, or if she was hiding something from him. He misses her.

"So, anyways," Link continues, biting his bottom lip. "What is the atomic...Seaweed, if you're not even going to focus, why should I even bother studying with you?"

Seaweed shakes his head, eyes still fixed on the back of Penny's head. "Is she even allowed to bring those things in here? I mean, the sign on the front door even says: 'No food or drink in the library'! Can you believe her?!"

A group of nearby students shush him, and Link starts gathering his things, shoving them in his backpack. "Fine. You know what? I'm going to go find I.Q. and ask him if he'll let me join his study group. Have fun stalking your ex-girlfriend."

Seaweed stays silent as Link leaves the library, continuing to grasp his pencil. "Stupid lollipops."

His pencil snaps in half.

Penny twirls one of her pigtails around, only half-listening to what her best friend, Tracy, is rambling on about. She feels empty and shaky, like she has the flu. She misses him; she won't admit it to anyone else, but she does. Misses his smile, his laugh, the way his hand felt on hers, the way his kisses made her feel. All she sees when she looks at him now is someone hurting just as much as she is. And neither one of them will confess to their feelings. She wishes that he'd just...tell her he loves her.

She's not sure why she broke up with him to begin with. That whole day seemed so hazy and blurry and confusing, a smudge of events. All she remembers is supposedly realizing that they had nothing to talk about anymore. The initial attraction had worn off, and then they were left in this awkward mess. She puts the lollipop to her lips, trying to avoid his hurtful gaze.

"So, anyways, Fender was like, racing down to get to the hospital before Brenda gave birth. So there Link and I were, in the backseat, yelling at him to slow down, and he was just like: 'No, no, I have to get there!'. And Link was like: 'You're not even the father!', and Fender was arguing that it didn't matter, it was his name that was going on the birth certificate, and he should be there regardless..."

Penny doesn't dare turn around, worried she might make eye contact with him. She still loves him, wants to be with him...but he doesn't. She knows it. All he does is glower at her; everytime she gets near him, it looks like he wants to hit her. He hates her for what she'd done. And there's nothing she can do to take it back.

'I have to stop thinking about him,' Penny scolds herself, pushing the lollipop past her lips. She nearly gags as she recognizes the flavor.

'Chocolate,' she thinks. 'Stupid lollipops.' She throws the candy down on the table in disgust.

She almost swears she can hear Seaweed speak her thoughts aloud, and she bites her bottom lip.

Sorry, Nor. :)