{2}

Gwen looked up at Duncan, furrowing her brows. Behind her stood Trent, his green eyes pensive as he waited. Taking a deep breath, Gwen looked away, then back at Duncan.

"I'm sorry," she said, being sincere.

"It's okay," Duncan said, reaching out and grabbing her shoulder. "It was fun while it lasted."

Gwen closed her eyes and smiled, then looked up at Duncan.

"I'm glad you're being so cool about this..."

"Yeah." Duncan nodded and stuck his fists into the pockets of his pants.

Cool was definitely the key word here. Cool as ice, ice cubes. Yet when he looked over at Trent, Duncan could feel an intense pang rocket through him. Trent had his chance with Gwen back in sophomore year. They'd been a cutesy type of couple, cuddling and nuzzling, but after five months of dating, Trent still hadn't made a move beyond first base.

Duncan had scored second base with Gwen the second week into when they were first dating. Maybe there'd been a thrill to pissing off Courtney, a kind of danger that made the relationship so exciting. Standing here, so late at night, it felt so...unreal.

Why was she leaving him for Trent?

Frowning, Duncan looked down and kicked at the grass.

"See you around..." Gwen waved meekly.

"Yeah," Duncan replied in a monotone voice, giving nothing away.

He continued staring intently at the grass even when he sensed Trent and Gwen walking away. Once they were gone, he looked up at the sky and scowled at the moon. Then he looked back at Sandra's house, raised an eyebrow and fingered one of his eyebrow piercings. For a second, beer sounded like a very attractive notion to him...

That's when a kid came ambling out from Sandra's backyard, wearing no shirt and drenched from head to foot. He pumped his fists to the air and then collapsed. A bunch of guys wandered out after him-football players-laughing and pointing.

Rolling his eyes, Duncan decided to take a rain check on the beer and then wandered in the direction of his car.

-()-

Kate pushed open the door to the bedroom and wasn't surprised by what she found inside:

Arnold was liplocked with Leoni.

Leoni was a foreign exchange student from Germany and Arnold's dream girl. She had long sandy brown hair,dark eyes, naturally gorgeous with a brain the size of the sun. On top of her looks she was bilingual and she was a master with video editing, visual effects, and CGI animation, three of Arnold's biggest interests.

Ever since Leoni had showed up at the beginning of senior year, Kate had suspected that Arnold had a thing for her. The chemistry had just kept brewing between them. They spoke to each other in fluent German, had more in common than Kate had ever had in common with Arnold, and Kate was fully aware that Leoni was crushing on him and that he felt the same. He'd blown off dates, totally forgot that Kate even existed whenever Leoni was around. Whenever Kate asked, he insisted that they were just friends. But Kate always knew better.

It was Courtney all over again. As she stood there watching, Kate could vividly remember being pushed out onto Jose's front porch, out in the rain. Watching this, she could feel her heart rate increasing, feel her anger rising. No tears this time.

She just clenched her fists and stood there, waiting. After awhile, Leoni pulled away from Arnold just long enough to see Kate standing there. She looked shocked, flipped her hair out of her face.

"Arnold..." she whispered.

"Kate..." Arnold's eyes widened, his voice pleading.

Scoffing, Kate just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Why didn't you guys just tell me that you liked each other?" she asked, furrowing her brows. "I knew it all along...I would've understood, okay? I..."

"Kate!" Arnold cried, scrambling out from under Leoni.

Holding up her hand and shaking her head, Kate stopped him, then looked at him. "I've already made a big mistake myself tonight, okay? Let's just say that we're over. You start going out with Leoni. Just...no drama."

Making a sound, Kate stormed out of the room, just leaving Arnold standing there bewildered and confused. A few tears squiggled out of Kate's eyes, but she quickly brushed them away as she walked back downstairs. Taking a deep breath, she scanned the huge living room full of dancing bodies, calculating her next move.

Awhile ago, Kate had decided to become a stronger and better person. Seeing how strong and in control Courtney, Heather, and Elaine-her competition in pretty much anything now-were, she had to be just as strong and in control, too if not more so than them.

-()-

-Alejandro-

Who is this little whelp?

He's just barely average height with black hair that looks like the end of a mop hanging in his face and eyes the color of steel. There must be something incredibly special about him if Heather has been cheating on me with the likes of him.

I have every right to be absolutely furious right now: He kissed mi novia. Right in front of my face. Exploding like a volcano inside, I lunge forward and grab the twerp by the collar of his shirt lifting him two feet off of the ground. Glaring at him, I tighten my hold on his shirt...

...then he kicks me in the crotch.

With an embarrassing yelp, I fall back, the pain unbearable. Much to my surprise, Heather runs around and catches me, keeping me from landing on my rear. She helps me stand back up and I'm still trying to recover from such an underhanded blow.

Unh...It hurts so damn much.

I watch as Heather looks over at the twerp, frowning at him. "Ryan...Why the hell did you just kiss me in front of my frigging boyfriend?"

Ryan looks me over and then scoffs, blowing hair out of his face. Oh, if I wasn't in so much pain, I would be bashing his petty face in so far there'd be a crater in the middle where his nose is supposed to be.

"You broke up with me...and ended up with him?" Ryan rolls his eyes. "You can do so much better than a guy that walked off of the cover of a lovesick old bitty's romance novel. Who is this guy anyway? Jose Roses off of the Young and the Stupid or some other stupid soap-"

"What did you just call me?" I howl, feeling ten times more fury than before.

"Jose Roses," the idiot repeats, shrugging. "What? You like it? I write my own material..."

Jumping back to my feet, I break away from Heather and then stomp up to Ryan, looking down at him. Without hesitation, I lash out at him with a punch, but he just blocks it and laughs, raising an eyebrow. Dios, I've known him for barely a minute and I already don't like the smug little bastard.

"Wow...Jose's got game!" He tries to aim for the same spot as before, but I reel back and block him.

"Do not call me Jose," I growl at him.

Ryan just laughs, a high and melodious laugh before he pulls back and tries to clock me in the jaw. I block him and then get a shot in at his solar plexus, making him gasp for air. Relentlessly, I push him to the ground and then punch him in the nose, watching with satisfaction as crimson blood starts pouring out of his left nostril.

Smirking, I stand up and feel an endorphin rush from being able to wipe the look off of his face. Much to my dismay, he pops back onto his feet and grins again, reaching up and shielding his nose. "Wow...it's been awhile since anyone's bested me. Badass, dude. Badass," he manages to wheeze.

I glare and push him back, watching as he falls. "Go away."

"I just got here!" Ryan complains, looking incredulously at me. "I'm gonna be competing with you for Heather and...you want me to go away? As if I'm gonna let you two have any more mack time while I'm around!"

His indignation and persistence irritate me. Feeling my anger rising again, I take another step forward, purposefully aiming my foot in the direction of Ryan's sneaker; he just barely pulls his foot away. While I get angrier and angrier, Ryan sees it all as a big game. Both of his eyes are sparkling with joy and there's the edges of a smile on his lips.

Pulling his hand away, Ryan hops back onto his feet and clenches his fists. "C'mon El Toro." he gibes at me, hopping back and forth. "Ready for Round Two? I know I am!"

I'm more than ready to beat him up again, but Heather steps forward and pushes me back. Then she walks up to Ryan, folding her arms and looking absolutely furious.

"You're not fighting with him over me," she states. "You're a bastard. I broke up with you. We're done."

I love the venom in her voice right now.

Ryan just cackles and smirks. "Ooh, baby, you're turning me on!" he croons. "You're so feisty and aggressive...you're sexy as hell." He leans in closer to her and whispers so low that I can't hear what he says next.

The comment makes Heather's cheeks turn bright red and she backs away from him, looking both embarrassed and furious. Her reaction makes me want to pick up the little twerp and chuck him all the way to the moon. Up there, he wouldn't ever be able to return and then he'd leave the two of us alone. I came here to be alone with Heather, not be hassled by one of her asshole ex-boyfriends.

"You know you want me..." Ryan says, winking at her. "You were just like that when I first met you-"

"Ryan," Heather says, her voice sharp.

"Yeah, baby?" He winks again.

"Go away," she commands, her eye twitching slightly.

"Your wish is my command."

Finally, with a pathetically theatrical bow, Ryan wanders around the side of Heather's mansion and takes off. I watch him carefully, making sure that he actually leaves. As soon as he's gone, I turn back towards Heather. She's glaring at the grass, clenching and unclenching her fists, muttering under her breath. Gently, I reach out and touch Heather's shoulder, making her look up.

She blinks twice and then lets out a breath. "I had no clue he was back in town until just now," she says, relieving any doubts I was holding.

"There has to be a way to get him to back off," I muse, already trying to concoct ideas in my head. "What was it like for you while you were dating him?"

It kills me to ask the question, since I can't even imagine Ryan the bastard dating mi dulche. She's too good for him and I hate to make her remember the nightmare it must have been to date him. I only got a small taste of his obnoxious and disrespectful personality; Heather probably knows him inside and out...The thought of that kind of knowledge makes me cringe...

He's Heather's Jose, for lack of a better title.

Heather takes a deep breath and then starts walking towards the trellis propped up against the side of the mansion. "You'll need to sit down for this, Alejandro...It's a loong story."

"I've known Ryan almost all my life. Ever since fifth grade, he's had a huge crush on me. He was always the most popular kid in school because he was the star of pretty much every sports team; he got a black belt in karate by the age of thirteen. A lot of the girls were majorly crushing on him. He was even the "it" boy before Justin moved to Cress my freshman year..."

"From fifth grade and beyond, Ryan flirted with me endlessly. He wasn't a stalker or anything. We just happened to be at a lot of the same events. In seventh grade, I...got sick of hearing him begging me to go out with him, so I gave in and became his girlfriend. My popularity and reputation really ballooned after that. Pretty much every girl was jealous of me. They wanted to be me."

"In the end I...I admit it, I fell for Ryan. At first, I only stuck with him just for popularity and reputation, but then he did something that nobody else had ever done for me before. He stole my heart for the very first time-I know this sounds really cheesy-on Valentine's Day..."

Heather walked through the front door and then silently closed it behind her. The house looked like it was empty, bathed in darkness and shadows. Kind of freaked out, Heather crept through the foyer of Ryan's house and wandered through his kitchen, briefly catching sight of her wide eyes in the reflections of the kitchen utensils.

When she exited the kitchen into the living room, Heather saw a huge bouquet of red roses on an end table. All of the roses were fresh and dark red. Looking up from the roses, Heather noticed that the entire room was filled with rows and rows of candles, all of them exuding her favorite scent of flower. Her eyes widened as the smell filled her nostrils and she smiled.

That's when she felt a hand lightly tap her shoulder and Heather turned around: There stood Ryan, a soft smile on his face and his eyes twinkling.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Heather," he whispered in her ear, wrapping his arms around her.

Shivers ran down Heather's spine and her heart started to beat faster. She'd never had an experience like this before. Ryan had set all of this up...just for her? Having him so close to her made Heather begin to realize why couples made such a big to-do about the holiday now...

"I've been planning this for a long time," Ryan said, placing a hand under her chin. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah." Heather nodded, looking into his eyes.

They were alone. The room was dark. And when she looked into his eyes, she wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she could feel herself falling into them, feel an electrical current. As Ryan smiled again, she realized that she liked his smile and his gray eyes and the fact that he remembered more details about her than her parents did. Ryan had gone to all of this effort without any instruction or demand from Heather.

Such personalized attention made her knees wobble.

That was when Ryan leaned in closer. She could feel his hot breath on her neck. Then he kissed her.

He tasted like a cheeseburger.

It was Heather's very first kiss.

"We're gonna be freshmen in high school next semester, Heather...I wanna have a 'jump start' on everybody else," Ryan said with a devious grin. "All of the high school kids are doing it!"

Heather frowned and bit her lip. She and Ryan were alone in his bedroom. Both of his parents were out of town and so were hers. Like a bird in a cage, Heather's heart seemed to be fluttering and slamming itself against her rib cage. All of her nerves were jolted.

Uncertain, Heather ran her fingers through her shoulder length dark hair and watched as Ryan pulled the blue curtains across his window. Looking at her, he started pulling off his red T-shirt and Heather blushed as she watched. Ryan had been working out a lot lately and it really showed. When he noticed her looking, Ryan scooched closer.

He grabbed her hand and placed it on his bare chest; his skin was warm...

"Don't you trust me?" he asked, looking at her intensely with his gray eyes.

"Yeah." Heather pulled her hand away. "I...don't know..."

"I could find another girl, you know," Ryan snapped. "I know how you feel about your damn freaking popularity, Heather..."

Heather's eyes widened in fear and she backed away from him. He knew her weakness and he was using it. Lately, he'd been bringing up her darkest secrets and using them as dirty laundry against her to get her to do what he wanted.

Ryan crept towards her again and grabbed her arms, his facial expression getting softer. "I'm sorry..." he said in a softer tone of voice. "So sorry."

"It's okay..." Heather replied, knowing that he was insincere.

"You know you're the hottest girl in school, right?"

"Yeah..."

"You'll be the hottest chick at the high school, too. And I want to be your boyfriend, okay?"

Heather nodded and he pulled her closer.

"I love you," he whispered intently.

Heather had mixed feelings about him, but he didn't even wait for her to respond. He just dove in and started kissing her, his kisses hot, hungry, and passionate. Startled, Heather just kissed him back.

Heather hid behind her locker door, absolutely mortified. Her face redder than a tomato, Heather peered around her locker door and her heart sank to her feet when she saw Ryan walking her way with a huge gaggle of high school jocks. Most of them were senior boys, too.

Once Ryan arrived, Heather wished she could shrink to the size of ant. With a smirk the size of Antarctica plastered to his face, Ryan draped an arm around Heather's neck and pulled her close.

"This is her!" he crowed at the big, burly boys.

Heather could feel some of them eying her like a piece of meat. Suddenly self-conscious, she reached up and covered her top half. She was sweating like a pig and she could feel her fear intensifying.

One of the senior boys, a kid with red hair that was almost orange, stepped out of the crowd.

"Mind if I talk to your girl...alone?" He had a smile like a wolf, full of sharp canines.

"Sure," Ryan said, releasing Heather and pushing her towards him.

The redhead clamped his hand on Heather's shoulder and then steered her down another hallway. He kept pushing her along until they were standing right outside the janitor's closet. The reek of disinfectant and other cleaners seeped out and Heather felt like she was about to puke.

That was when the redhead opened the door and gestured towards the closet, wiggling his eyebrows.

"My name's Cole," he said. "Current halfback of the football team and a real hit with the ladies, if you know what I mean. Ryan said quite a bit about you. Not only are you damn sexy, but you know how to show a guy a good time too, huh?"

Scared out of her mind, Heather shot a look over her shoulder. Ryan and the other jocks weren't even in view here. Turning back towards Cole, Heather saw the way he was looking at her, how much he resembled an animal. His smile growing a bit wider, Cole gestured to the closet again.

This was getting to be too much. From the moment Heather had walked in to high school, she'd been gibed and teased for being a freshman. As soon as lunch had rolled around for the past few days, some of the older girls had been picking at her like a relentless flock of vultures because of a load of crap Ryan had been spreading around to 'jump start' his reputation.

Sick of being scared and intimidated, Heather glared at Cole and then kicked him in the crotch, watching as he squeaked and then collapsed to the floor.

"You're a complete loser!" Heather howled at him. "Find a girl your own age, asshole!"

Furious, Heather charged through the hallways like a freight train, leaving Cole behind. She tried to follow the route that Cole had taken, searching determinedly for Ryan and his new jock friends. As soon as she found them, her anger flared even more when she saw Ryan casually talking it up with them all as if they were all old friends, laughing and guffawing.

"RYAN!" Heather yelled, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and yanking him away.

"Oh-ho-ho! Dog house!" one of the jocks gibed and the others laughed with him.

"Heather, can this wait?" Ryan looked at her with pleading eyes.

"No," she replied curtly.

Wanting privacy, Heather dug her fingernails into his wrist and dragged Ryan all the way down the math hall to the calculus room. As she suspected, the room was empty. She dragged Ryan into the classroom and then sat on one of the tables, releasing him.

Ryan was grinning like an idiot, a grin that looked reminiscent of Cole's. He'd definitely found his place among the jocks here already...

"Strange choice for a make-out spot, but I'm digging it."

"Making out is the last thing I want to do with you right now," Heather scowled.

"You look mad," Ryan said stupidly.

"Cole tried to get me to make out with him in the janitor's closet!" Heather cried, cutting right to the chase. "Why'd you let him drag me off like that?"

"Did you make out with him...?" Ryan was chewing on his lip.

"No!"Heather fumed.

"I didn't know Cole was gonna do that..." Ryan started twiddling his thumbs, a nervous habit of his.

"Why else would he want to 'talk' with me alone?" Heather got up from the table. "You've been telling everybody about that Friday night a few weeks ago!"

As she walked up to him, Ryan put his hands in his pockets. His nonchalance and casual attitude towards the situation was infuriating Heather. Of course she was the one receiving all the flack and he was being praised like a mythological Olympian god. She'd only been in high school for about a week and Heather was already seeing how the aesthetics of the social system worked.

"Yeah..." Ryan affirmed what she said and shrugged. "So?"

"We didn't even do that!" Heather cried.

"Because you're a freaking wimp..." Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "I think I'm doing you justice on that, Heather..."

"No, you're not!" Heather fumed, getting into his face. "You've ruined my life, Ryan. Just because you want to impress those dumbass jocks. I've been called 'bitch', 'slut', 'whore', 'skank', and even 'hooker.' By girls that I don't even know!"

Ryan's eyes widened. "Tell me which girls called you that. I can get somebody to beat them up..."

Heather shook her head. "If you would've said that a few days ago, I might have believed you," Heather said, her voice getting cold. "Even if you do get those girls to shut up, it's not enough."

"I don't like where this is going," Ryan said.

A cold smile crept onto Heather's face. Maybe he was smarter than people gave him credit for if he was able to pick up on what she was hinting at. Narrowing her eyes, Heather reached up and slapped Ryan across the face as hard as she could. As she lowered her hand, Ryan was looking at her incredulously, a big red hand print covering his entire left cheek.

"I'm breaking up with you, asshole," Heather snapped at him.

"You really are a bitch, you know that?" Ryan seethed, glaring back at her. "I was only dating you cause you're hot, but you really are a bitch."

Rolling her eyes, Heather turned and left the room, just leaving him standing there. As soon as she reached the hallway, she smiled as she walked away, his empty insults following her.

Dropping that loser really liberated her. As long as she lived, she swore that she'd never end up with him ever again.

It was halfway through sophomore year and Ryan had moved away from Cress early last year. But now here he was again, at some chick named Carry's party. Justin had ditched Heather for the night in favor of going to a hockey game with a bunch of his male model friends and a super-hot girl that Heather was sure he was going to get kissed by before the night was over.

So, here she was with Lindsay and Beth at Carry's party, trying to find something to do while Lindsay watched Tyler play pool and Beth tried to find a boyfriend among the small number of single guys there.

Heather found herself looking at him from across the room and he looked back at her every so often. A few times, their eyes locked and Heather couldn't help feeling a slight electric tingle from it. She avidly tried to avoid Ryan, but whenever she thought about him...her heart fluttered in her chest and she felt a little bit of longing.

Memories of Valentine's Day in seventh grade clouded her logic and tempted her aching heart. Justin was never really romantic or passionate or anything. Holding his hand felt like holding the hand of a marble statue and they'd kissed each other on the lips maybe...once? Twice? It was always for show anyway. It'd always been a great big facade.

Like magnets, somehow, Heather ended up finding Ryan outside of the upstairs bathroom in Carry's house.

"Hey," Ryan said lamely.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"Good..."

They looked at each other awkwardly for a second. Then they both knew exactly what was going through each other's minds. Heather grabbed Ryan's hand and dragged him down the hall, up a flight of stairs and into the attic. They collapsed onto an old, floral print couch and Heather had Ryan pinned to the cushions.

Next thing she knew, she was kissing him over and over again, memories of previous times like this with him flooding through her mind. She clung to him like a life raft. After her sham of a relationship with Tony and her disappointment in being in a relationship with Justin, Ryan felt like a miracle. That rumor he spread about her freshman year had broken her heart and almost broken her, but as she felt his fingers run through her hair, Heather felt like she could forgive him.

Like they always had, Ryan's lips tasted like cheeseburger. Five minutes into making out, Heather could feel Ryan trying to stick his tongue in her mouth to spice up the experience, but Heather had pulled away from him by then and was staring at a pile of old trunks and other miscellaneous junk.

"I really missed you," Ryan said, looking at her even though she wasn't looking at him.

Heather took a deep breath. "I didn't know I still had...feelings for you..." She was speaking more to herself than him with that statement.

"I always knew that you did," Ryan replied. "Wanna give me a second chance?"

Frowning, Heather turned around to look at him. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm going out with another guy," Heather confessed.

"You just cheated on him with me," Ryan laughed. "So breaking up with him shouldn't be a problem."

"It's not that easy," Heather grumbled.

"I guess you don't want me back...?" Ryan looked confused.

Sighing, Heather crawled towards him and pressed the tip of her nose to his.

"I don't know..." she replied. "Do we have to discuss this right now or can we just make out again?"

"I choose Option B," Ryan said with a great big grin. "You're letting me French this time, though."

"Fine..." Heather sighed.

The next time Heather saw Ryan was a few weeks before her junior year. Carry's party felt like it'd happened centuries ago, but as soon as Ryan approached her at the local park, it felt as vivid and clear as if it had happened just yesterday. Sitting on the bench, Heather could feel his cheeseburger lips pressed against hers and she could feel a huge pang of longing skyrocket through her body. It was so intense she nearly keeled over.

"Hey Heather! What's up?"

As soon as Ryan sat down, Heather wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed the tip of her nose against his. Barely a minute into seeing him, she was launching into full-on flirt mode.

"Heey Ryan," she purred.

"Justin really has been neglecting you, kiddo!" Ryan laughed. "I've never had this kind of reaction from you! I'm seriously digging it..."

"Can we start kissing now?" Heather was getting impatient and her heart was clamoring in her chest.

"Whoo!" Ryan pretended to fan his face with his hand. "Wild woman!"

Closing her eyes and puckering her lips, Heather leaned towards him, but Ryan put a finger to her lips and pushed her away. Confused, Heather opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I'm not meeting with you like this again," Ryan said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm your main man, Heather. Not a side dish to Justin. Got it?"

Rolling her eyes, Heather leaned against the bench. "You're such a drama queen!"

"You know I want you..." Ryan leaned in towards Heather's ear. "You can have me, Heather. Just break up with Justin. Is that so hard?"

Body temperature rising, Heather turned towards Ryan. There was something about him that just drew her in like a fish on a lure. Looking into his eyes, she wanted to take out her cell phone and text a break-up message to Justin right then and there. She'd be free and kissing Ryan as soon as she pressed the 'Send' button...

"Come on, Heather..." Ryan urged, his face only inches away from hers. "I'm only in town today and tomorrow."

"What?" This new information made Heather back up and sit straight.

"Heather, I can't help it. I'm only in town today and tomorrow. But we could work it out. I'd drive from my town to here every weekend. I'd even work night shifts for the gas money!"

Ryan was practically pleading with her, but Heather was shaking her head. If she was going to be in a relationship with him, she wasn't going to settle for long distance. They'd already been apart for quite a huge chunk of time and knowing Ryan, Heather knew there would be quite a few weekends when he didn't show up. He wouldn't be available for dances or her birthday or Valentine's Day.

"I'm not doing a long distance relationship!" Heather snapped.

"Fine, stay with Justin and be miserable for another year!" Ryan snapped back. "I'm your best option, Heather. I highly doubt Mr. Perfect's moving to Cress anytime soon." Ryan's eyes widened and he looked like he was about to laugh. "Yeah, your Mr. Perfect's moving to Cress as we speak. He'll fall head over heels for you and I'll bet he won't have as much trouble getting you to break up with Justin! I can see it now: He's a male model, a looker like Justin with your personality and a skill set no mere mortal man can match! His name will be something that rolls off the tongue...like Fernando! And he'll be a huge secret romantic-"

"Shut up, Ryan!" Heather spewed. "Your joke's not funny. I get it, okay?"

His mocking tone was really ticking her off.

"I'm sorry..." Ryan said, still laughing a little. "How about I be your Mr. Perfect, huh? I'll try to move back to Cress as soon as I can and when I do, we can start up a relationship again!"