"What the hell?" I look up and see Nick standing on the top step, looking down condescendingly at the four of us who are still locked in a hug. "I leave for like five minutes to go to the bathroom and then come back to find you here hugging her?"
The way he says the word 'her' really puts me off. We all break apart, and I look away, pretending to be interested in an oak tree. Joe's fiddling with his thumbs and Kevin is moving a leaf around with his foot. Taylor's the only one looking up into Nick's face, and she's looking pretty pissed off.
"What the hell right back to you, Nick! What's your problem?"
"My problem is her." He nods towards me. Is it just me or did I just hear a huge crack coming from my heart? "Why is she here? What would Alex think-"
"I don't give a flying shit about what Alex thinks!"

"Listen, this was a mistake. I shouldn't have come. Just forget about what I said, okay?" I say quickly, and then run into the school before I start crying. I lean against a wall of lockers and try to steady my breathing. Taylor comes in a few seconds later.
"I'm so sorry, Miles. I have no idea why he was being such a.. well, asshole. He's usually not like that, I swear."

"Yeah, whatever. It's fine, I guess."
"No. It's not. He had no right to be so bitchy to you. I have no idea what was up with him."
"We haven't spoken in months. He has a right to be a little hostile."
"That was more than a little hostile, and you know it."
"It doesn't bother me, Tay."
She shakes her head, and helps me up off the ground.

"Come on, Miles. We have to get going. First bell rings in..." She glances at the bright green watch on her wrist. "Seven minutes."

We head down to the Commons, the area in outside of our school where we eat lunch. It's a nice grassy place, with wooden benches and stone tables. The whole thing is covered in shade from the trees, and I love coming here to just relax. There aren't too many people there now, but after we sit down, it gets more crowded. The first bell rings and Taylor and I walk inside and go to our lockers.

What had I been thinking, going to talk to Joe and Kevin? I knew that it wouldn't turn out right, but I went along with it anyway. Nick did have a right to be a little harsh, but some of the things he threw at me really hurt. I'm honestly confused about what I could have done that made him this mad. Nick was always the sweet one. I don't know what Alex has done to him or made him become, but I'm not happy with it.
I go through the school day, and it's the same as always, except for the fact that both Nick and Alex are glaring at me a bit more. I don't pay much attention and just mind my own business like any other day. I'm assuming that he told her about this morning with Joe and Kevin, and she's mad that I've been associating any more of her followers. What a bitch. I hate this. I can't talk to Joe, Kevin, or Nick, and they used to be my best friends. What has she done to make them like this, so desperate for the spotlight?
When I get home, the kitchen light's on, even though there are no cars in the driveway. The lack of cars tells me that my family's not home yet, but they never are when I get home from school. My mom would never leave the door unlocked when she leaves for work, and my dad's the first one out of the house every day. I think that my mom must have just had a lot on her mind, and I hope to God that nothing's gone. I walk in hesitantly, in the case that there might be someone like a mass murderer inside. I see that everything's as normal as it was when I left this morning, so I let my mind stop worrying. I'm walking upstairs to my room when I hear voices that don't sound anything like my parent's coming from really scares the shit out of me, and I try not to make any noise as I creep down the hall and look out over the landing upstairs. I let out a huge breath of relief when I realize that the people in my house are Joe, Kevin, and Taylor.
"What the fuck is wrong with you guys? You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"What?" Joe asks innocently.
"Could you not have waited for me to get home, asshole?"
"Jeez. No need to get angry. We wanted to talk to you, but we got here before you were home. But then Kevin remembered that you guys keep a spare key in that little crack by the front door. So, we let ourselves in, thinking that you wouldn't mind."
"Call next time, would you? Or wait five minutes."
He holds his pointer and middle fingers to his forehead and then brings them down in a playful mock salute. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am."
"Let me put all this up, okay? Then I'll come down and we can 'talk'" I add air quotes around the last word.
The three of them nod, and I go into my room and throw my bookbag onto the floor by my bed. I walk back down the stairs and into my living room, where Joe and Kev are sitting on the couch.
"Where's Tay?"
Kevin jerks his head toward the kitchen. "Where do you think? In there." I crane my head and I can see Taylor standing in front of the open fridge, a confused expression on her face.
"Miley, where are the pickles?"
I wrinkle my nose in disgust. She has a carton of ice cream in her left hand and I can only imagine what she's planning on doing with those pickles. "Uh.. on the right side door. I think they're on the top."
Taylor nods and her eyes light up when she finds them.
"Tay?"
"Yeah, Miles?"
"Just wondering, here, but just what, exactly, how do you plan to eat those pickles?"
She looks down and I notice a slightly guilty expression on her face.
"I thought you grew out of the pickles on ice cream phase in sixth grade!"
She looks down.
"Ugh. Just don't make me look at that." I tell her, and walk back into the living room.
"She's eating pickles with her ice cream again?" Joe asks, shaking his head in disapproval.
"Yup. That's one crazy chick."
We hear Taylor try to protest from in the kitchen, but her mouth's full, so it comes out as "Mmm hmm hmmmhh mmm!"
I ignore her, and turn to the two brothers. "What's up?"
"First, we're really sorry about how much of a dick Nick was this morning. That was completely uncalled for and rude." Kevin says, an apologetic smile on his face.
I shrug nonchalantly. "Whatever. I don't really care about that." It's a half lie. Some of the things he said hurt, not that I'm going to admit it now.
"Second, we're really sorry about how we were such dicks these past few months. We should never have ignored you like that, and we never should have believed Alex in the first place."

"Wait- believe her about what?" I wrinkle my forehead in confusion.

"When we met her for the first time, she said that if we didn't help her become popular, she'd tell the school something embarrassing about us. I have no clue where she got any information before she even met any of us, and it's a little creepy to think about what she did to get any of that. But she'd never do something like give the whole school a reason to talk about something other than her. If she told everybody something embarrassing about us, it would probably be talked about more than what outfit she's wearing that day. The really stupid thing is that we actually listened to her. Another reason that she'd never do that, she's too damn stupid. She wouldn't even know where to start."

I laugh a little bit, though it is a bit subconscious. I'm trying to focus on what Kevin's saying.

"And then she basically forced Nick to be her boyfriend. I think that she thought that dating one of the most liked guys in the school would make her come off as likeable also, but it was all just a fail. She made us do all kinds of stupid things for her. We were spreading rumors about people, being cold and heartless."

There had been a rumor going around the school a couple months back that I was pregnant. Someone had taken a picture of me and Photoshopped it to where my stomach was bulging out a little. It was posted all over the school. Though the whole thing was absolutely ridiculous, and even though I had a hunch as to who started it, I never actually talked to any of them.

Kevin continues speaking. "We did things that really hurt some people's feelings, but we continued doing the same things afterward, like it didn't make any difference if people resented us or not. But it did. We cared and though none of us actually voiced our opinion, I knew we were all dying to just walk up to her and say, 'You know what, Alex? You're a sanctimonious bitch, and we'd like nothing more than to just leave and go back to our old lives'."

I smile. "Yeah, that would have been pretty kickass, Kev."
"But we didn't," Joe says. "We didn't stand up to her, because we were afraid of what she would be capable of. It probably isn't much, but none of us wanted to actually find out for ourselves. We just went along with whatever she told us to do. We didn't ask questions, didn't complain. We just did what she said. It's pathetic, really, and I find myself just wishing that I could go back in time just to tell her how I really felt. We all see that she was wrong now, but I'm concerned about Nick. I don't know if he actually sees something in her, or whether he's just in this 'relationship' because Alex is holding something huge over his head, something that he couldn't afford to have it get out."
"It makes sense. I mean, you said it yourself, Kev. She's a sanctimonious bitch. This is something she would do, threaten Nick with a secret so he would stay with her. Though I don't imagine that any secret could be bad enough to make him stick with Alex."
Joe and Kevin share a glance. "Well, there's one thing that he would never, ever want anybody to figure out. I think we all know what it is."
Taylor, who's just come back from the kitchen, nods her head. "Oh.. Are you guys talking about what I think you're talking about?"
"You know, I hate when people say that. How the hell is one supposed to know what's going on in your mind?" Joe ponders, getting completely side-tracked.
I wrinkle my nose. "Hello? Guys? Am I the only one who doesn't have a clue what you're talking about?"
Taylor nods. "Basically. It's obvious, Miley. You're probably just looking too hard."
"Why is it such a big secret if you all know it?"
"I think you're the one he really wants to keep it from, Miley."
"Wait- what?"
"Miley. Can't you see it? Nick's in love with you."

Hey:) so i've got this new plan. write one chapter of one story, update it, write a chapter for the other story, update it, and so on. they should come out faster now, and i'm trying my hardest to make them longer. sometimes, though, it works better when they're shorter and are left on a cliffie... review pleasee? hope you liked it!