Ian McKinley came into Erin Ulmer's life at a time when nothing was going right. It was the sixth grade, and everything was a big deal. Her best friends, Ashlyn Halperin and Ashley Freund decided they didn't want to be friends with her anymore, and it was heartbreaking. No one else really wanted to talk to her, since Ashley and Ashlyn gave off a "better than thou" air, which Erin had adapted to over time. McKinley Middle School was the second stop to a three part educational career for all children of McKinley. It was the type of town where you went to school with the same people forever.
Erin was lowly sitting at her desk for homeroom one day, when her teacher walked in and announced that a student would be switching into their class that day. Erin sighed; it would probably be just another kid to taunt her for her forty minute homeroom/first period. To her surprise, it was Ian McKinley. She'd never had a class with him in her whole life, and always heard bad things about him. She'd always make fun of him with Ashley and Ashlyn, but it wasn't that way. See, Ashlyn had always lived in McKinley, but Ashley was some rich princess from California, whose parents decided she needed a simpler life, but not too simple, or petty, in their opinion.
It was always ErinandAshlyn, one word. One went with the other. Until fifth grade, Erin and Ashlyn were happy with one another, and neither needed any more close friends. Ashley moved in fifth grade, and immediately fit in with Ashlyn. Erin did her best to like her, but something just didn't feel the way she felt with Ashlyn. This year, just as Erin began to like Ashley, this happened:
"Erin, like could you come over tonight, it's kinda a like, 911 sitch, "Ashlyn said into the phone. She'd picked up Ashley's annoying blonde speaking habits, and it irked Erin.
"Um, sure. My mom can drop me off, I guess. Is Ashley gonna be there?"
"Duhhh, why wouldn't she be? She's my-I mean our best friend."
"Yeah, haha, well, I'll see you tonight."
"Kay bye!" Ashlyn cheered.
When Erin got to Ashlyn's, she and Ashley were sitting on Ashlyn's bed, staring at Erin.
"Erin, could you like, sit down?" Ashley said.
"Do you even like us anymore?" Ashley continued once Erin sat. To which, Erin nodded, confused.
"Oh, okay." Ashley and Ashlyn said in unison. "So Lyn," Ashley said, "pink or blue?" she continued, holding out two bottles of sparkly nail polish.
"Oh, blue, definitely, like it'll look better because you have lighter skin. The pink matches me better because I'm darker." They smiled at each other, and Ashley handed Ashlyn the bottle.
"Erin, what color do you want?" Ashlyn said.
She thought for a moment, "black."
"Ohmygod, that'll totally wash you out, you're like so white and, like just no!" Ashlyn said and Erin rolled her eyes.
"No, Lyn," Ashley said, "let her do it, it's kinda trendy now, I guess. You could like put glitter polish over it when it dries, and then it'll look like ours!" Ashley smiled and handed Erin the bottle from a sparkly orange box labeled "Halloween Makeup :D" and began to paint her own nails.
"So Lee, like you know Kevin Fischer?"
"Yeah, he's so cute, he's always with Jay Wise. They're like us, best friends." Erin felt uncomfortable in their conversation. Lately everything was about boys, Erin liked boys, she liked a few singers from bands, but she didn't like any her own age. And Ashley had all ready had three boyfriends that year, and it was only March. Ashlyn never had a boyfriend, but all she did was talk about Kevin Fischer and how cute he was and how they were gonna go out soon, and blah blah blah. Erin usually went along with it, like she actually cared, but lately it was getting harder and harder. Ashley had stolen her best friend, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to fight with Ashlyn, but she wanted her to be herself, not some bimbo Ashley wannabe.
Once they were done, Ashley and Ashlyn were whispering excitedly about an IM from Kevin, while Erin tried to perfect her manicure. Before she knew it, Ashlyn grabbed her hand and started to put glitter over her black nail polish.
"Stop!" Erin said, snatching her hand away.
"What? Why?" Ashlyn retorted.
"I don't want any glitter, I like them the way they are."
"But ew, like why? Don't you wanna match me and Lee at school on Monday?"
"Well, it's skirt day, so we'll all wear skirts, our nail polish doesn't have to be glittery too, now does it? I thought we only did matching nail polish on holidays and birthdays, which are holidays." Erin said.
"Well, me and Lee changed it. We think it'd be better if we looked the same all the time, like we got matching outfits in different colors and stuff! How fun would that be? Like for tomorrow, OMG I almost forgot, I got us all matching rings!"
The rings were black bands with glittery pink heart pendants reading "BEST" "FRIENDS" and "FOREVER" written in purple script.
"I want friends," Ashlyn said, handing Ashley the "BEST" ring.
"So, Erin, like you take the forever ring!" Ashley beamed.
"Ashlyn, thanks, but, we decided Monday was skirt day in third grade. We also decided we only did matching nail polish on holidays and birthdays. You can't just change the rules-"
"But Ashley thought it would be a good idea, and I agree."
"OMG LYN COME HERE!" Ashley squealed, "KEVIN! OMG LOOK!"
Ashlyn screamed, "He asked me out! Oh my gosh! He wants to go to the movies with me on Saturday!"
"Saturday?" Erin said, taken aback.
"Yes! OMG, Erin can you believe it? My first boyfriend, ohmygod! Now you just need one, and we'll all be perfect!"
"Ashley has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, haha, I do, Julian Defrancis, he's in eighth grade," Ashley smiled.
They never told her anything anymore, and Erin had had enough.
"Ashlyn, doesn't anything about Saturday stand out to you?"
"Yeah! I'm going to the movies with Kevin Freaking Fischer!"
"Nothing else about that day, Saturday, March 13th stands out to you?"
"Nope! Maybe he'll kiss me, oh my gosh, Ashley, what's it like to be kissed? What if I'm bad at it?" Ashley laughed. She'd had her first kiss in fourth grade, with a sixth grader. It seemed like she always dated up.
Erin sat, staring at the pink area rug they sat on. She was fuming, and couldn't believe her best friend didn't remember her birthday was on Saturday.
"OMG, Lyn, Saturday is like, Rin's birthday."
Ashlyn gasped, "No way, I thought it was next month!"
"Well you thought wrong, and Ashley, what did you just call me?"
"Rin. I figured, since like, me and Ashlyn call each other Lynn and Lee, you should get a nickname too."
"No, don't ever call me that again. My name is Erin, nothing else. I don't want sparkles on my nails because you changed the rules. I don't care that you're dating an eighth grader, and Ashlyn, how could you forget my birthday?"
"…I was excited." Just as a fight was about to start, Ashlyn's mom, Carolyn came to say that Erin's mother was outside.
"Bye Erin," Ashlyn stood up and hugged her, while Ashley just waved from her perch at the computer. She was probably sleeping over.
That Monday, Erin decided to wear jeans and a hoodie, rather than a skirt. She saw Ashley and Ashlyn throughout the day, and tried her best to ignore them. They had matching skirts, Ashley's was pink and Ashlyn's was blue, and they both had white Guess shirts on, which said Guess across it in sparkly cursive, opposite the color of the skirt.
Then lunch came. Their table consisted of Ashley, Ashlyn, Erin, and two seventh graders, Evelyn and Serena, who were best friends. Serena was a brunette with green eyes, and Evelyn had light blonde hair and light blue eyes.
Erin walked over to the table and stopped when she noticed there was no chair for her, and when she looked around for one, there wasn't one for miles. She put her tray down and stared at Ashlyn, hurt. "You know the rule," Ashley said, "Monday is skirt day. Not Kurt Cobain resurrecting day."
"What." Erin stated, not wanting an answer.
"What she's saying" Serena started, "I that you can't sit here, because there's never an odd number. And you're not even dressed right, and like, you're getting kinda fat, I mean look what's on your tray. We don't associate with fat girls. You should know that. Oh, or maybe you're pregnant," she giggled and Evelyn finished Serena's sentence with, "that's impossible Serena, she's never even kissed a boy! Wait, oh my god, are you a lesbian? You must be! Haha!"
These girls were supposed to be her friends, and why wasn't Ashlyn defending her? She just sat there, staring at her salad, from Ashley's dad's restaurant, while Ashley stared at Serena and Evelyn with total admiration in her eyes.
Erin fought back the tears that threatened to surge through as people at surrounding tables began to laugh at her. She had so much she wanted to say, but nothing would come out. Instead, she backed out of the cafeteria, never letting her eyes leave Ashlyn's, because Ashlyn knew everything that she'd went through, before Ashley came into the picture. Once she was in the hallway, Erin ran as fast as she could, until she reached the bathroom.
Once she was locked privately in a stall, she began to cry uncontrollably.
Now, it was April, and she was sitting silently in homeroom. The Ashes now stayed away from her, but started talking about her behind her back. Evelyn and Serena started rumors, like she cut herself, and was obsessed with vampires, and was a witch, crazy things. Erin spent a lot of time reading, and her mind became darker and darker every day, and, the resentment she felt toward Ashlyn grew as time passed.
Before school that morning, while Erin secluded herself in the girl's bathroom, Ashlyn walked in, without Ashley.
"Oh my gosh, Erin, I so like, needed to talk to you."
Erin just stared.
"Look, I know you hate me and Lee and stuff, but it wasn't me talking about you, it was Evelyn and Serena, and Ashley doesn't think it was nice either and like, I'm sorry," she hugged Erin, who didn't respond.
"No, Ashlyn, you aren't sorry. You let your friends make me look stupid in front of everyone, and you know everything that happened with my dad, you're the only one. But it's fine-" Erin was cut off by Ashley's entrance.
"Ugh, Lyn I looked everywhere for you, Kevin and Julian are in the schoolyard, come on," she took Ashlyn's hand and led her out of the bathroom, ignoring Erin.
In Erin's boredom, she discovered a small band from New Jersey, My Chemical Romance, whose first album, "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" quickly became her favorite musical collection ever. None of the other kids in the sixth grade liked music like that, they liked Britney Spears and generic nonsense like that.
As Erin listened to the teacher introduce Ian McKinley, something in her chest hitched. She got butterflies, and couldn't take her eyes off him. She'd never noticed before, but he had the prettiest brown eyes she'd ever seen. They were a warm butterscotch color, almost like a honey, and they were so expressive. She liked his style. He didn't look as bad as Ashley and Ashlyn always made him out to be. "A mean, Dracula lookalike freak with money," was how they once described him. Maybe he was so "mean" because of the way people treated him. Erin now understood that feeling fully.
He took the desk two to the left of Erin. She turned her head and began quickly drawing on her notebook. Ian didn't notice her. Why would he? She was just a reject now. For some reason, Erin couldn't get Ian off her mind. She couldn't help herself but look at him sidelong, and every morning, she was anxious and excited for school, because that meant seeing Ian.