Big Cliffy Meanie1: Thank you so much for your review! And I'm really glad you liked the first chapter, I hope you'll enjoy this one just as much. And wow, thanks. I knew my English wasn't horrible but that compliment that really made me blush a little.


Ok, maybe my reaction towards TJ and Ashley had been kinda… rude. I could've at least tried to hide my profound aversion for Ashley A and her existence and could've tried to not take it out on TJ. Yeah, maybe I could've been a little bit nicer, but that was no reason to ignore my 5 calls and 20 messages.

Actually TJ was supposed to be my ride home after school, but apparently he was a little, just a little mad at me for my reaction during lunch and therefore didn't think it was necessary to wait for me to take me home with him. Because of him I had to walk home. And when I had finally made my way home, I decided to call him and maybe even apologize (of course only after he had apologized to me for letting me walk home). But he didn't pick up and he didn't for the rest of the day. He read all my messages but didn't respond to any of them.

Just when I was about to call him a sixth time, my phone started to chime in my hands. Instantly I could feel a sensation of relief because I thought it would be TJ calling me back, but this sensation faded only seconds later, when I read the name 'Gretchen' on my phone screen. For a few moments I considered not taking the call but I realized that wouldn't be very fair towards Gretchen, since she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Hi Gretchen, what do you want?", I asked, after answering the call.
"Nothing in particular, I was just wondering what was going on between you and TJ today? Was kinda odd seeing you snapping at him for talking to Ashley A. And I also wanted to ask whether you're coming to the party or not? You left early after lunch and I didn't have time to ask you again. The guys are all going, but I'm probably only going if you are, so…?"

I sighed, before answering her. I didn't really feel like going to the party and because I also hadn't felt like talking about the reasons why I didn't feel like going, I had left the cafeteria without giving a straight up answer to Vince's question if I were going with them or not. I knew that it would most likely be fun, a lot of people from our grade were going and I was sure I'd regret not going afterwards. But some part of me really didn't want to go there, just to be watching TJ and Ashley A making out half of the night and then later disappearing into one of the rooms alone.

"I'm not sure yet. Can I make up my mind tonight and tell you tomorrow?" I asked, knowing Gretchen wouldn't be content with my answer anyway. Especially, since I totally left out the part where she asked me about TJ.

"Ok Spinelli, we've been friends for over 10 years now and you still think I don't know you well enough to realize that there's something going on with you? You would never just pick up a fight with TJ and you would never ever miss going to a party. So tell me, what's going on? And please, don't tell me you're just 'not in the mood' or anything like that. I know you better than that."

And she was right, there was something going on and I was actually already suspecting that she knew, but wanted to hear it from me anyway. I was weighing up my options in my mind. I could just tell her I didn't feel well and hang up, which would make her mad (and I didn't need two of my best friends being mad at me, I wasn't really good at handling that kind of stuff) and she would just ask me another time. Or I could just tell her the truth which would lead to a lot of more complications and then she would probably never stop talking about it.

Still, I knew that lying wasn't an option here. Gretchen had always been there for me and she had always been honest with me, so I kinda owed her some honesty this time.

"Ok, but if you tell anyone I'm going to kill you. Promise me." – "Ok I promise I will never ever tell anyone that you are about to tell me that you have a crush on TJ."

And in that moment I would've loved nothing more but to hang up on her, throw my phone across the room and hide under my blanket for the rest of my life.
So she had known all this time.

"Spin, you still there?" I heard her ask on the other side of the line. She sounded somewhat worried, maybe because she thought I was already making plans to kill – either her or myself.

"Why didn't you tell me that you knew? How long have you known, anyway?" I finally ask, not sure if I really want to know the answer.

"I don't know… I guessed I've just been sensing that there is something going on between the two of you and you were always so mad when TJ went out with another girl and yeah… and I didn't tell you because I knew you would deny everything. But now I know I was right and we can work on a plan together."

Wait, what?

"What plan are you talking about?" Again I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer.

"Well, the plan of how the two of you are finally getting together. Come on, everyone has seen that coming ever since elementary school. You two belong together."

I couldn't believe it. She really wanted to set me up with my best friend. Well, I had a crush on him but that didn't mean that she could just play Date Doctor for me.

"I don't need a plan because I don't plan on doing anything about the situation because TJ and I have an amazing friendship and I don't want anything to destroy that. You should know that, since you always read those stupid magazines in which they keep saying that best friends cannot ever be lovers. I don't want to lose TJ and I'd rather have him as my best friend than to not have him at all."

Silence. Gretchen seemed to think about my answer, she seemed to think veeeery long because after 5 minutes she still hadn't said anything.

"But right now your friendship doesn't seem so amazing either.", she finally said and I couldn't help but agree with her. In the past months the two of us had spent much less time together than usually. Mostly because I was making up excuses to not hang out with him, but that was only because I didn't want to hear him rambling about his stupid dates with stupid girls. But I would do anything to keep our friendship alive, even if that meant not showing my real feelings for him and having to deal with annoying stories about his girlfriends.

"I will fix that, ok? Please, Gretchen. You have to understand what kind of situation I'm in. I can only lose. If he doesn't return my feelings, which he obviously doesn't, and I tell him, he will distance himself from our friendship because he's afraid of hurting me or whatever. And if he did return my feelings, then we would possibly have a nice relationship and as soon as we would break up our friendship would be lost, too. I don't want that to happen, it just can't. So just let me deal with this on my own."

Again there were a few minutes of silence, but in the end I could hear Gretchen sigh in surrender.

"Ok, if that's what you want. But you have to do me a favour." – "Yeah?" – "Come to the party. It will be fun."

I had to think for some moments, but she was probably right. It would be fun and maybe something that would take my mind off of thinking about TJ. Just me, my friends and of course a whole lot of alcohol.

"Ok, I will come."

On the other end of the line Gretchen let out a squeal of happiness and as our talk continued, she didn't say another word about TJ or Ashley A and she didn't say anything the next few days in school. Sometimes I could feel her watching me when I was furiously staring at TJ and Ashley A talking but all in all, she accepted my request of not wanting to talk about it anymore.


And by Saturday, the day of the party, I was actually really looking forward to the party. Gretchen and I had decided on meeting at her house before the party and getting ready together and also do some pre-drinking.

"So, is there anyone special you are wearing this extra tight top for?", I asked, an amused smile resting on my lips, while I was sitting on Gretchen's bed, flipping through the pages of a magazine which had been lying around.

Gretchen had finally decided which top she wanted to wear tonight and was now observing her outfit in the mirror. I could see her body stiffen and there was also a slight blush on her cheeks.

"No, absolutely not. Can't a girl just look nice without everyone thinking it's to impress a guy?"
I hear from the tone in her voice that I was totally right, but I just chuckle to myself und decide not to enlarge the topic, since she didn't do it with the TJ-problem.

"You ready now?"
Gretchen nodded and I got up from the bed and took a closer look at the mirror myself.
And I actually liked what I was seeing – not that I thought I was pretty, not at all. But I didn't think I looked hideous either.

I was wearing my favourite pair of black skinny jeans and had the pants legs rolled up slightly. My top was crimson red and since I was already shivering, I put my black leather jacket on. I couldn't remember a time that I hadn't worn one of those. Even in elementary school it was the only kind of jacket I wanted to wear. Of course I did not wear heels, because it was stupid going to a party wearing heel – in my opinion. You were running around all the time or even dancing and wearing 5 inches wouldn't make that any easier.

I was wearing my black hair down, with the hair-ends being slightly curled.

We had a few shots of vodka before we finally left the house and walked the few blocks from Gretchen's house to the house of Anthony Davis, a guy from our school who was apparently throwing the party. I had never talked to him before and I wasn't exactly sure if I knew what he looked like but I knew I wouldn't be the only one not knowing the host personally.

I was already feeling a little bit tipsy so I decided to take it slow from then on. While Gretchen was immediately heading for the bar, I walked around the house and garden to see who had come. I found our friends in the garden, they were sitting on some sun loungers and laughing about something that Gus had just told them. I saw that Gus had brought Theresa along and she kept looking around, probably amazed by all the drunken people. And there were a lot of those, even though it was only 10.

The only person missing from our group of friends was TJ and I wondered if he just didn't arrive with the others or if he had decided to ditch the party after all. I couldn't prevent feeling a little bit disappointed. Ever since our 'fight' at lunch, I had only seen him in school and he didn't really talk to me then, only the most essential things.

Finally Vince looked up, grinned widely and beckoned me over. I could see from afar that he was already pretty drunk and I couldn't help but grin as well, when I sat down next to him and he kept rambling something about how he was really happy I came.

The rambling only stopped when he saw Gretchen approaching us and he got up immediately in order to pull her into his arms and press her body against his own in a firm hug. I and the others exchanged a glance before we all broke out in laughter.

Gretchen seemed to be the only one who wasn't so amused about the situation. After she and Vince sat down again, for a short moment it looked like she was blushing again, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared, so I just blamed it on the already operating alcohol in my blood.

For another hour we were just sitting around, talking and drinking a few more beers, when the patio door opened for the 100th time this evening and suddenly TJ was standing in front of us. And he wasn't alone. His left arm was wrapped around the thin waist of Ashley A who was smiling like an idiot and waving some of her friends.

Suddenly I felt like throwing up right there, all over the patio. And I knew I couldn't blame it on the alcohol.


So, that's it for now. I know, nothing too exciting happened here, but I couldn't have put everything in this chapter or it would've been way too long. Next chapter will be a little more thrilling.
I don't know if there are any Recess-Fanfiction readers out there anymore, but if there are and they are reading this story I'd be really happy about a review