I'd seen Vanessa crying in the corner, two of her friends consoling her hopelessly as she broke down even further. By the time I turned the corner, she had slumped down onto the floor.

I took a deep breath, centred my thoughts, and looked forward, towards the meeting room.

I let the fresh scent of newly-printed schedules envelope me, casting away thoughts of the prior, most unfortunate situation.

Well...that is, until he entered the room.

Nathan "Kedd" Goldberg has a reputation that seems to penetrate the very rooms we take shelter in. Heads turn, jokes are made, and in my case? I would do my best to overlook his presence in favour of something more important, which encompasses practically everything.

Still, I couldn't prevent myself from taking a look at the boy who should be damaged from his recent encounter. Should means little, though, when it comes to him.

A wide, shining grin under deep amber eyes, locks of dyed teal hair styled to perfection upon his head. A white dress shirt, overlaid with a subtle blue sweater, and simple green jeans, all little things that seemed to bring out his best features. I did my best not to snarl at him, though I made certain to infuse my glare with as much ice as I could muster.

His eyes locked with mine, and I angrily looked down. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, and cursed myself inwardly. I missed the false bravado of my youth.

Before the frustrating boy became such a...a looker.

Like the most tantalizing dish of Brazil Nuts, perhaps; take a few, and no harm done. The whole dish, and you'll find yourself dying from the selenium. Ah, that a thing named after such a romantic deity as the moon could be so deadly. But I've seen so many fall to the dish that is Nat, and I see the poison behind those golden eyes. What sort of fool would willingly consume it?

Well, I suppose asking that questions if this school has anyone sane left in it. I've actually kept a tally of his dalliances; 17 last I recall. Perhaps, soon, it shall increase once more. Vanessa fell for the serpent's tongue, and its bite has found home at her neck. I pity her.

I could hear him approaching. How...unfortunate.

"Mr. Treasurer, how we doin' today?" His voice was light and theatrical, and I could hear his smile leaking into it. I let it feed my frustration.

"Better than your most recent victim, Mr. Goldberg. Now I would thank you to-"

"Woah hold on there, okay, take a rain check there, babe," I grit my teeth at that nickname, even if he used it for most people, "Trust me when I say she's gonna be happier in the long run-"

"I've had enough of your excuses for one day, Mr. Goldberg. Please take a seat." I accentuated my words crisply, imbuing each with the hatred growing in my heart.

"But I've only given you one-"

"One, is more than enough, Mr. Goldberg."

"...It's Nat."

I looked into his golden, troublesome orbs. I huffed.

I raised my chin with the small amount of confidence my seething frustration endowed upon me, and said, "Would you prefer I refer to you by your 'self-given' name?"

His eyes didn't respond, nor did he. He actually looked a little disappointed, his eyes turning away as he made his way to his seat. He slumped down and closed his eyes, chin on his arms, groaning.

I almost smiled at the fact I'd upset him.

It was the least I could do for her.


I held my emotions in as I walked into the meeting room. Well, technically it was just a spare classroom, but let's not talk semantics about schoolwork.

I'd just had the...misfortune...of running into Vanessa. She wasn't supposed to stick around after class, so obviously I'd let my guard down when Kevin and I were chatting. We were discussing the fact that, well, it wasn't working out. Again. At least, this time, I knew exactly how to fix it. Mainly because I knew someone who she'd work out a hell of a lot better with, and Kevin was gonna help me do it.

...Yeah, too bad she walked up right when I was talking about how it had to end. She snuck up on me, trying to be sweet, and...well, the rest doesn't even need to be said. I mean, I'm pretty good at shutting down my emotions when I need to, but even Kevin knew that'd been pretty harsh. I'd been trying to make it hurt less, for them AND for me, but it's like I walk into bad luck. The best thing I've learned to do is just move on, pretend it didn't happen, take the name and face away and learn from the experience. And be friends with them, if they wanted...

It always stabbed me when they wanted to try again, though. Really, I mean it. I'm going to go home and take a nice, long bubble bath, and cry it all away.

Unfortunately, I was reminded of all of my prior failures the moment I walked into the room and saw Double D. He opposed me in every way, and often made a show of it. I never let him see, but I think he's the one person in the world that I still let hurt me on a daily basis.

Sure, I get dirty looks a lot. Exes, jealous guys, jealous GIRLS, haters...you know, the regulars. But Double D was in a whole other ball court. He was smart. I don't just mean smart, he was like, super extra smart. And nice, too. You could ask him to do pretty much anything, and he'd do it for you, out of the goodness of his heart. He'd even break the rules for his friends, and that kid took rules as seriously as laws!

Then he'd look at me, and every happy, shiny bit of him would dull a little. It was all reserved for me, after all. Everyone agreed, I was the only person in the entire school, heck, maybe on the whole damn planet that the sweet kid hated. It dug into me pretty deep.

I guess it's because...I respect him.

He only dislikes me because of my reputation. I get that. I've been through more people that I can count, and he's found out about every one of them. I mean, everyone found out eventually, but it's like he cared about them enough to find out immediately. And I'd always get this glare, this spiteful look from him. I'd just smile through it, but I just for once wanted him to see me as something more than an enemy.

Because I've been trying. Kevin can vouch for that.

I took a deep breath, and approached him. I kept a beaming smile on my face, hoping he'd smile back.

No such luck; his glare tore through me.

I tried anyways, "Mr. Treasurer, how we doin' today?" I tried to keep it more formal, knowing I wasn't enough of a friend to him to be allowed to use his name.

"Better than your most recent victim, Mr. Goldberg. Now I would thank you to-"

I cut him off, realizing he must have seen Vanessa crying, "Woah hold on there, okay, take a rain check there, babe," damnit, that just pissed him off, "Trust me when I say she's gonna be happier in the long run-"

He sliced my words with a darkly intoned reply, "I've had enough of your excuses for one day, Mr. Goldberg. Please take a seat."

What excuses? "But I've only given you one-"

"One, is more than enough, Mr. Goldberg."

I just wish he'd call me by my name. That he respected me even that tiny amount.

"...It's Nat."

His eyes went through me, as he said, "Would you prefer I refer to you by your 'self-given' name?"

I knew that name. And it wasn't mine, it was the school's. "Heartbreaker."

I didn't even respond, holding back my emotions with happier thoughts. Laughing with Kevin, the fun times I'd had with Vany, how much Brad adored her and how happy he'd make her...

I sat down, rested my chin on my arms, and let out my frustration. This was going to be a looong student council meeting.

I just hoped I didn't have to see him during it.