It has been promptly 3 days, and Jared has yet to utter a single word to me. The most conversation we have had is an occasional grunt from him acknowledging that I do, infact exist.

But, that was about the extent of our socializing.

Austin, on the other hand, has texted and called me non-stop, and I was exactly three seconds away from spartan kicking his preg ass. I wasn't sure which one I hated more: the fact that Jared was beyond pissed at me and went out of his way to avoid me, or that Austin was clearly dead set on giving me a hernia.

Today was a day for getting out of the house, and escaping the anger that was bubbling inside the walls of the Dawson household. Jared had been on edge lately, snapping at anyone who was foolish enough to try to converse with him for longer than 2 minutes.

Mom thought maybe Jared was going through one of those teenager phases, and my dad was just irked by it; I could see his patience was starting to wear thin, and I wondered how long it would be before our family had a full out screaming match.

Normally I would call Trish, but since she was currently also out of town, I decided to go to the mall and go shopping. Most people hated shopping alone. I was not one of those people. I relished in being by myself, and I could go months without seeing another person and be perfectly content.

I had a job at the mall, but other than that, I tried to avoid the mall. Sure, I liked clothes and boys as much as the next girl, but I was the type of person who let very few people into my life, and trusted even fewer. I hated people, but I was still nice to them. At least, until they pissed me off.

However, as everything always seems to happen, I was called in for work. So much for buying a new bathing suit or something. I worked in Hot Topic, and besides the fact that most of my co-workers were baffling idiots who had no self-motivation unless the manager was nearby, it wasn't a terrible job.

I didn't have to stand outside and wear a chicken suit, or wear a dorky hat like some of the people who were unlucky enough to work in the food court. All in all, I'd say that it was an ok job. My only problem was my boss was a dick, and today I was working with Nicki, Kira, and Serenity.

Serenity and Nicki were identical twins who were polar both had long, wavy blonde hair, amber eyes, and stood at about 5'6, but that's where the similarities ended. Where Serenity was laid back and down to earth, Nicki was loud and crazy. Serenity had a few close friends, Nicki had half the school in her contacts. Take a guess which one I got along better with.

Now, both were pretty cool on a given basis, but Nicki brought all sorts of drama with her, and all her stupid friends annoyed me to no end. They were the reason I had no hope for the future. Her best friend, was Kira, who could give the White Witch a run for her money.

Kira was tan all year long, thanks to both her daddy's endless supply of credit cards and her family's constant need for vacationing. Name a place, she's went there, possibly three times on each given occasion. She was rich, but that wasn't the reason I couldn't stand her. Hell, I could barely tolerate her.

No, what I hated about Kira was she had a burning love for The Great Escape, specifically Austin, and she never shut up about them. She was definitely the number one whore in that

fanclub. She thought she was above everyone, and she was the kind of girl who expected to get her way, no matter what.

I didn't see why she needed to work, since her daddy clearly had enough money to support her lavish lifestyle for the next 400 years. "Cute shoes." I hear Serenity say to Kira as I walked behind the counter to begin my shift.

"Thanks, they're Prada." She says, twirling her hair around her finger as she glances around the store, her expression bored.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I failed to see the point of buying shoes that practically cost an arm and leg. Sure, my Converse shoes were ratty and had seen better days, but they were good shoes, and I didn't have to spend money equivalent to feeding an entire third-world country.

A The Great Escape song begins playing, and I sigh in annoyance. It was barely 10 a.m. I was still groggy, and I didn't want to spend my whole day listening to prep music. Plus, this was Hot Topic; We were supposed to put on a rock or metal station to intrigue customers. Or, maybe it was to make them hurry with their purchases so that they could escape the music. I don't know.

Of course Kira would bend the rules. I found myself envying deaf people; Sure, it was really sad that they couldn't hear, but at this point, being deaf beat listening to both Kira and The Great Escape.

For the past hour, guess what Kira has done? Well, besides flirting with guys who were both not her type, and not her boyfriend, she had done nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing, besides gloat to anyone who would listen about her stupid new shoes. Prada might as well of been in the same league as hooking up with a celebrity, the way she was rambling on and on about it.

So, while she stood there and twiddled her thumbs, I cleaned out the dressing rooms, restocked, and kept things generally neat. I wished that Kale was here to notice her lack of work ethics; But it would be a wasted wish, because I had a good feeling that either A) Kira was shagging Kale on the side of her current relationship, or B) He was infatuated with her. Either or both were possible.

I was five seconds away from snapping her neck and hiding her in the dumpster out back. Sure, it was illegal to kill people for being stupid, but I figured everything was legal until you were caught.

Today has been the first day that Austin has not texted me, and it has been the best vacation of a lifetime. In a typical love story, I would be relishing his absence and pining for him to send me a simple 'Hey.' However, this was not a love story, and I was not a pathetic damsel in distress who lusted over guys and depended on them to bring me my salvation.

Soon it was time for me to take my lunch break and I practically sprinted out of the store before I murdered someone. On the walk to the food court, I found a $20 bill by the plant. Hallelujah, thank the lord! Maybe the big man upstairs really was listening to me! Or at least, he was trying to make up for forcing me to become associated with Austin.

We were approaching closing time, and I was counting down the minutes until I could go home and take a long, relaxing bubble bath. Or curl up in front of the t.v. and eat my weight in ice cream. Either one sounded appealing.

Just 15 more minutes. My euphoria, and semi-good mood were instantly gone the moment that Kira's friends entered the store. The cheerleaders, or Kira's Slut Squad (As I lovingly called them), all thought they were hot shit who could do whatever they wanted because their dads were rich, and because they were pretty. They were basically the female versions of Austin.

"Hey Kai." Tammy, Kira's right-hand henchwoman, greeted, browsing at some of our more gothic looking clothing. She was giving it a look of disgust. Honestly, what did she expect in a store that sold stuff created for the legions of the undead, or the gothic kids? Not that I had any personal problem with gothic kids.

"Hey Tammy." Kira responded nonchalantly, not even bothering to glance up from the difficult task of filing her nails.

"Did you hear?"

"It depends. I may have, or I may have not."

"The Great Escape are having a concert here in less than a week!" Tammy squeals, the rest of the team joining in her eager declarations of love for her shit music.

"Oh, I already knew that. Daddy bought me backstage passes and I get to sit in the very front row." Kira gloats, now glancing up to look at Tammy, who looks green with envy.

"You're so lucky! I tried to get tickets, but they are almost completely sold out. All the good seats are gone."

"Don't worry, Tammy. I have another ticket. Nicki, are you going?"

"No, The Great Escape isn't really my cup of tea."

Kira snorts, clearly looking offended. What the hell was her problem? It wasn't like Nicki had just told her that they were the worst band in the history of bands, even though she would've been right on the mark.

"How can you not like The Great Escape, Nicki? I mean, we're best friends, and you don't even like the same band as me?" Kira sounds slightly hysterical now. God, she is such a drama queen. Hey, maybe her overreaction would kill her. Did I dare hope?

"I'm sorry, Kira. I love you, you know I do. I just don't really love The Great Escape."

"I just can't believe you're being so rude, Nicki! You're totally bashing on my future husband Austin by not liking his music, and by bashing on him, you're bashing on me."

"Kira…"

"Well-" Kira begins, but I cut her off because my patience has finally disapparated.

"Listen here, you snotty, lazy, selfish bitch. The Great Escape are a good band, if you like shit lyrics and boys that are clearly not heterosexual. However, I am done with you treating Nicki like your personal slave and tearing her down. With friends like you, who needs enemies? So what if she doesn't like your favorite band? I bet you can't even name her favorite band. She didn't say anything degrading about your 'future husband', which by the way, is statistically impossible and quite improbable."

"Excuse me? Improbable? I am gorgeous, I am popular, and I am talented. I have everything a guy could want."

"Yes, except a tight vagina or a redeeming personality.. I mean, you've been with so many guys now, that who knows how loose and flabby it is?"

"I know you didn't just call me a slut." Kira says, her face reddening, her posture stiff and ready to strike. I'd honestly like to see her try.

"Actually, that's exactly what I'm calling you, Kira. You have had everything spoon fed to you since you were a baby, and you seem to think that it gives you cause to do whatever or whoever you want. It's time for a reality check. The chances of Austin Moon actually going for you are slim to nothing. In his business, it's all about someone's fame, and not how pretty they are."

"You don't even know Austin, so stop strutting around like you do. He's not so shallow that he'd date someone because of how famous they were. The Great Escape love all their fans, and I will become Mrs. Kira Moon."

And with a toss of her long, black curly hair, she's gone. Nicki gives me an appreciative look and goes off to talk to the evil witch.

"Fat chance of that happening." I mutter to myself as I begin to close up the store. Serenity and I work side by side, making occasional small talk, when my phone begins ringing. I curse under my breath, and reach into my jacket to grab it. I thought I turned the damn thing off.

"What do you want? I'm working right now."

"Well, I realized we hadn't talked in nearly 12 hours, and the agonizing wait was killing me."

"Look, as exhilarating and joyful as this conversation is, I have to go back to work." I end the phone call before he can protest or find other ways to annoy me.

But, apparently, he's smarter than I thought, because before I can turn off my phone, he manages to shoot me a text message.

Ah, princess. Why would you hang up on me? You know, there are billions of girls who would kill to be in your position. -Baller

Look, Austin, I'm not in the mood for this. -Ally

What's wrong, babe? Tell Dr. Austin all about it. What happened? Did another girl steal the last cute shirt you wanted? -Baller

DON'T CALL ME BABE. I have already been tested to my limit today. My co-worker is illiterate, stuck up, and has no work ethic whatsoever. -Ally

That sounds typical… -Baller

It is. She's a whore with no self-respect or self-regard for anyone but herself. She rambles on and on about her shitty music and her unrealistic expectations of her husband. We got in a fight. -Ally

Oh damn. And I wasn't there to witness this? This sounds hot. Please tell me you guys like, wrestled half-naked or something?(: -Baller

No. We did not wrestle. We got in a fight because I can't stand her taste in music or men. -Ally

Oh, come on now. What music could she possibly listen to that is so bad that you had to get verbal? -Baller

Well, for starters, her favorite band is The Great Escape… -Ally

Is it safe to assume you won't be attending any of their concerts then? -Baller

Fuck no, I won't be. I won't even go with my best friend. I fail to see what's so great about them. No, I like real music. And my co-star kept rambling on, and on about how great Austin Moon is, and how she's going to get married to him, and she got all pissed off and started yelling at me because I pulled her out of an unreal fantasy. -Ally

What do you have against Austin Moon? -Baller

I'm surprised you care, since you're a guy… Most of the guys I know join me in my firm belief that The Great Escape will never compare to good music. Why don't I like Austin? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. When I was 15, I went to a signing they had at our mall, because I was really good friends with this girl who was dying of cancer, and she was absolutely in love with The Great Escape. Her biggest wish was to meet them in person, but since I didn't have that kind of money, I settled on an autograph. I stood in line for hours, and by the time I got up to the front, the members of The Great Escape were already finished, and preparing to leave. I begged for an autograph, and the lead singer told me to take a hike, to try my luck again next time. He was a complete ass. And shortly after, she died. I couldn't even give her the one thing she wanted. Does that answer your question? -Ally

I put my phone away, feeling a sudden sense of hollowness. It's haunted me for years… The fact that while most kids that are dying of cancer ask to go to Disney World, and all she wanted was to meet her idols. I couldn't get her the one thing she didn't text back. It just figures; I knew he didn't really care about what was bothering me. And why should he? We've known each other approximately 4 days, and so far, I hadn't been very nice to him. I didn't really care either, to be honest. Soon, he would be out of sight, and out of mind.