"Missing you could turn from pain to pleasure, if I knew you were missing me too." - Anonymous

...

All eyes were on me, and everyone became silent the moment I stepped in. I sighed, hating this feeling. Okay, yeah, I do love being the center of attention, but not today. Today was the first day of school. I don't know a single person, my sisters are in another homeroom, I have no friends, and the one person who I miss and love with all my heart was away from me.

No words can describe how much I miss Alvin. I know that today is his first day back at school too, but I know for a fact that he's enjoying today. I mean, he's back with his friends, and back with the people he knows. Like I said, he probably has a ton of friends and is probably smiling and laughing, while I'm here, oblivious to everything that is going on around me.

Ms. Banks introduced me to my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Vine, who introduced me to the entire class. Well, not class, but just the people in my homeroom. I'm positive that there were tons more people in my grade than this. I would have thought that I wouldn't be the only newbie here, but I was, which made the day a trillion times worse. Ms. Banks soon left, and Mrs. Vine instructed me to sit at one of the tables.

As I walked down the classroom to have a seat, I noticed that some of the boys tried to make eye contact with me. It made me extremely uncomfortable. At my old school, I had many boys eyeing my all the time too, but I never took any interest in any of them. And for the boys who are trying to get my attention now, well, I couldn't care less.

10 minutes in, Mrs. Vine handed each of us our timetable. I looked mine over, glad to see that I got into the classes I wanted. I wanted to text Jeanette and Eleanor to see if I had any classes with them, but I decided that I'll just ask them later. Since today was the first day of school, it was a pretty chill and relaxing day. Official classes don't start until tomorrow, so Mrs. Vine told us we could do whatever we want for the time being until the next bell rang.

I just sat here, alone. I looked around the classroom, and seeing how everyone knew each other made me miss Alvin a lot more. I sighed, looking at my phone. I just wanted to get out of this awkward situation of being alone, but again, I made myself look extremely anti-social. But the moment I flipped my phone on, I saw 4 girls walking up to me.

At first, I thought they were just gonna sit at the table in front of me, and totally ignore me like how most people do to the newbies at school. But I was proven wrong when the girl with blonde hair came up to me and smiled. They all sat at the table in front of me and turned around to face me.

"Hi there." Said the blonde girl, giving me a smile.

I didn't say anything at first. Should I say hi? I mean, I don't know her, but again, I don't know anybody here at all. But then I decided that I might as well make friends today. I smiled at her. "Hi."

"You're Brittany, right?" Asked the blonde again.

I just nodded.

The blonde girl smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Tiffany, by the way."

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you too."

The blonde smiled and said, "This is Scarlett..." She said, pointing to the girl with red hair. "This is Chantelle..." She said, now pointing to the girl with jet black hair. "And this is Paula." She said, pointing to the girl with the chocolate brown hair.

I looked over to the three other girls, who simply waved back. The girls with the red hair and black hair, Scarlett and Chantelle, smiled warmly at me, while the girl with brown hair, Paula, didn't. But I decided to shrug that off. It didn't bother me, really.

"Hi." I said to them.

Scarlett smiled. "So, you're the new kid, huh?"

"Um, I guess." I said. "I just moved here just this Summer."

"Ooh, where'd you move from?" Asked Scarlett.

"Santa Barbara." I answered, then shrugged. "My mom's job moved here, so we had no choice than to move here as well."

"Oh, so how do you like Hollywood so far?" Asked Scarlett.

"It's nice. I love the weather here." I answered.

"Yeah, that's one of the nice things about LA. It's sunny most of the time." Answered Chantelle. "Anyway, have you met anyone here yet?"

"Well, no..." I said.

"You haven't? Like, no one at all?" Chantelle asked.

Scarlett rolled her eyes as she turned to her friend. "Don't be stupid, Chantelle. Of course she doesn't know anyone here! She's new!" Scarlett said, before turning to me. "Sorry about that, Brittany."

I laughed. "It's fine."

Chantelle smiled. "But really. If you don't know anyone here, we wouldn't want you to feel left out! I know how you feel. I hate the feeling of being the new kid."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I just forced out a laugh.

"Just stick with us, and you'll know everyone in no time." Said Chantelle.

Then suddenly, Tiffany lit up as if a light bulb just went off inside her head. "I have an idea, Brittany. You can hang out with us! Just stick with us and we can show you around the school, and show you where your classes are. We can introduce you to everyone and everything!"

I looked at her weirdly, slightly taken aback by Tiffany's sudden excitement. "Um..."

But before anything else could happen, Paula spoke up. She looked at me darkly, but smiled sweetly. "Don't mind her, Brittany. Tiffany can be a bit...overly excited sometimes. But anyway, if you want, you can hang out with us. I mean, we are popular and we do have a lot of friends."

I looked at Paula. I don't know what it was, but there was something inside of me that told me not to trust her. But what do I know? I mean, Tiffany, Scarlett and Chantelle seem like nice people. Whatever, I knew it was wrong to judge people when you first meet them. I mean, I just met these girls just a few minutes ago. But I thought it was really nice of them to come over her and say hello to me, especially to a new person like me.

I smiled. "Oh, um, thanks."

Chantelle smiled. "Don't worry, Brittany. We're not mean or anything, if that's what you're thinking. We just like to make new friends, that's all. We're just those types of people who like to make friends! Sorry if we creeped you out by suddenly wanting to be friends out of the blue, but that's just us. The four of us have been friends for 3 years now."

Tiffany nodded. "And like I said, if you want, just stick with us and you'll be friends with everyone in no time."

We had 30 minutes to kill before the next bell rang, and in those minutes, Tiffany, Chantelle and Scarlett welcomed me and introduced me to a few more people. But Paula? Not so much. She kinda just sat there the whole time as she applied mascara on her lashes. But other than that, they all actually seemed really nice. We all got to know each other better, we exchanged numbers, and in less than 20 minutes, we all became really close friends. I sighed to myself. Before today, I had this fear that I would spend the entire school year knowing no one. But now, I'm lucky that I have a few people I could rely on.

Of course, I couldn't put my complete trust in these girls yet. Not because I just met them, but because I knew I had to get to know them better. Today is my first day of school, after all. But honestly, Chantelle, Tiffany and Scarlett seemed like those types of girls you would love to be friends with. They laughed and talked a lot and they just seem like overall friendly people.

But Paula...well, I still have my doubts about her. I mean, yeah, she's nice, but she is extremely snobby. You know, those types of girls who seem stuck up, but still have a lot of friends? Yeah, she seemed like that. I don't know if Paula is naturally like that or whatever, but she just seems kinda snobby and spoiled. I mean, she talks to me and all that, but not as much as the other girls do. To me, I kind of get this feeling that Paula thinks of herself as some sort of 'leader' of her group of friends. She seems like those types of stuck up girls you see in TV shows and movies sometimes.

But I don't know. That's just my opinion.

Like I mentioned, classes officially start tomorrow. There was literally nothing else to do but just sit around the homeroom and talk. I was relieved when the bell rang. I guess we were suppose to go find our classes now. Being the new kid, and not knowing where any of the classrooms were was just...ugh, great.

"So, what classes do you have Brittany?" Asked Tiffany as she came up to me.

"Um, I have English first, then Math -" I started.

"Great! I have English with you too! I'll help you find your math class later. It'll give me an excuse for being late for my next class. I'll just tell my teacher that I was just helping a friend find her way around the school." Said Tiffany.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, thanks."

Then Paula, Chantelle and Scarlett came up to us. Chantelle smiled. "So, we'll see you guys later then, alright?"

Tiffany nodded. Chantelle and Scarlett smiled and waved at us, while Paula did nothing and just followed them before they all walked out of the door to go to their class. I blinked once, before looking over at Tiffany. It seemed like she read my mind because she gave me an apologetic look.

"Don't mind Paula. I know she can come off as a snob, but if you get to know her, you'll like her. But you'll get use to her, I promise. Don't take any of her actions towards you personally." Tiffany explained.

"Is she always like that?" I asked.

Tiffany didn't say anything for a bit. "I'll explain it to you later. Now come on, we better get to class before we're late."

We arrived at our English class, where Tiffany and I sat at a table together. Our teacher did that typical 'Oh, welcome back from your Summer vacation' speech, but I wasn't listening at all. I don't think anyone was. After our teacher stopped talking, he gave out this sheet where we had to fill out our goals for this year. I sighed, as I looked over at Tiffany. She gave me the same bored expression.

Halfway through the class, I don't think anyone bothered to deal with the sheet because everyone began to have their own conversations.

I sat here for a moment, before turning to Tiffany.

"Hey, Tiffany?" I asked.

"Yeah?" She said, looking at me.

"About Paula..." I began.

"Oh, right." Tiffany said. She sighed before saying, "Well, about Paula, she's not always the friendliest person to be around, especially to new people."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

Tiffany sighed and leaned in closer to me and lowered her voice. "Don't tell her I said this, but Paula has this kind of...'fear' that she'll lose popularity. She is one of the most popular girls in our school. She shows animosity towards girls who she thinks might steal her spotlight." Tiffany said.

I froze for a moment. Paula sounds exactly like me. In my old school, I was the most popular girl there. But I decided not to say anything. It wasn't really anyone's business. But I forced a smile and said, "Me? Well, Paula doesn't need to worry about that."

Tiffany smiled then shrugged. "But like I said, don't take anything she says or does to you personally. Believe me, when I first met her, I didn't like her at all. But if she's really bothering you, just ignore her."

"Oh, she's not bother me." I said truthfully. "But it's just, well, she's so different from you, Chantelle or Scarlett. I mean, you girls were really nice to me, but she just acted as if I wasn't there."

Tiffany smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we know. But that's how Paula is. I mean, she's still one of my really close friends, but I totally understand what you're trying to say. She seems kinda rude and spoiled sometimes, huh."

"Well, sorta." I said.

"But trust me, once you get to know her, you two will become really good friends." Said Tiffany. "She's just having a hard time, that's all."

I looked at her. "With what?"

Tiffany bit her bottom lip for a moment. "Well, all I know is that she's been having issues with her family for years, and that she's gotten her heart broken a few times in the past."

"Oh." I said.

"Yeah. So don't mind her." Tiffany said, thus ending our conversation.

I was surprised how fast this day went. By the time the final bell rang for the day, I felt like I could breathe again. I said goodbye to Tiffany, Chantelle, Scarlett, and even Paula. They all said goodbye as well, but I could still see that Paula was a bit reluctant. But overall, I thought that my first day of school went fine. But I remembered what Tiffany said about Paula. Paula was scared that I would somehow steal her popularity? What the hell, I mean, I'm new here! Not that I'm planning to, but how the hell was I suppose to do that? I shrugged it off. I guess there could be some people like that.

I met up with Eleanor and Jeanette at the front of the school a few minutes later, where we all waited for Miss Miller to pick us up.

"Hey guys." I said, as I approached them.

"Hey Britt." Said Jeanette. "How was your first day of school?"

I shrugged. "It actually didn't go that bad."

"That's good. It's a shame that we don't have any classes together though." Said Eleanor.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. But it's cool. At least we still get to see each other at lunch or at the break or whatever."

Jeanette smiled. "Yeah. Anyway, I'm extremely tired. I just wanna go home, and take a nap."

"Same here." Said Eleanor. "I'm exhausted."

I laughed to myself and sighed. "I just can't wait to go home and call Alvin."

"Awwwww." Eleanor teased, while Jeanette laughed. "Does Brittany miss her boyfriend?"

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "Of course I do." I said gently.

Words can't even describe how much I miss him. To be honest, knowing that Alvin and I go to different schools kind of worries me. Even though Alvin told me that nothing will ever come in between us to break our relationship apart, I still had a small fear inside of me that some other girl will take him away from me. I mean, I'm not there to witness anything. Like I said, Alvin and I go to different schools. I don't know what'll be going on over at his school, but I'm just hoping that Alvin will stick to his word.

But I know that I don't have to worry about that. Alvin would never dream of cheating on me, like I would never ever cheat on him. I put 110% of my trust in him. Sure, there may be girls chasing after him. I mean, I wouldn't blame them. Alvin is extremely good looking, not to mention, extremely hot too. But whatever. I know Alvin, and I know that he and I will stay committed to our relationship.

But before any of my sisters could say anything else, Miss Miller finally arrived. The moment we arrived back home, I instantly ran upstairs to my room, fell on my bed, got my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Alvin's number. I sighed, smiling to myself. I just couldn't wait to hear his voice again. I couldn't wait to ask him how his first day of school went.

But after about 10 rings, his voice mail came up. I frowned as I hung up.

"Maybe he's busy." I said quietly to myself.

I re-dialed his phone number once more, but like the first time, he didn't pick up and his voice mail came up again. I hung up again. All the happiness and excitement I was feeling just moments ago, just simply disappeared. I haven't seen Alvin, nor talked to him in an entire week. I've spent 7 whole days, wanting to hear his voice again. But the moment I get a chance to finally call him, he doesn't pick up? It did hurt me on the inside, but I told myself that Alvin is probably just busy. I mean, it is the first day back at school for him too, after all. He may be busy catching up with all of his friends that he hasn't seen for months.

But still...

Would Alvin really pick his friends over me?

I shook my head. God, I'm being so selfish. Honestly, I didn't mind if Alvin is spending time with his friends. But the fact that we haven't seen each other in an entire week, and he doesn't answer his phone...well, it kinda does hurt me on the inside.

I tried once more. I dialed his phone number again, and waited. And like I expected, he didn't answer. I slightly rolled my eyes to myself before deciding to text him. If calling him won't work, then maybe texting him will.

Baby, are you there? Call me as soon as you get this, okay?

I pressed 'Send', hoping that I would receive a reply soon. But after 5 minutes of waiting, I gave up. I sighed as I shoved my phone back into my pocket. I got off my bed, walked out of my bedroom and descended down the stairs. I went into the kitchen, grabbed an apple from the fruit basket Miss Miller kept on the counters, and sat at the kitchen table beside my sisters.

"Did you talk to Alvin yet?" Jeanette asked, looking at me.

I shook my head. "He wouldn't pick up." I muttered.

Eleanor raised her eyebrows. "He didn't pick up? Well, maybe he's busy or something."

I shrugged as I took a bite of my apple. "I guess."

"Just try again later, Britt. I'm sure he misses you too." Said Jeanette.

I just nodded, but didn't say a word.

That night, as I was sitting in front of my vanity mirror, combing my hair, I looked over at my cell phone, which was lying on my bed. I sighed as I looked at the time. It's now 10:45PM. It's been almost 7 hours since I last called Alvin. I mean, if Alvin was busy, then he would have at least noticed that I called him, and he would have at least called me back. I mean, it's been almost 7 hours! He couldn't have been away from his phone for that long, could he?

I sighed as I turned my attention back to my hair. I know I should go to bed soon. I have school tomorrow, and since Summer vacation just ended, it's gonna take me a while before I'm used to waking up at 6:30 in the morning again. After one final stroke, I put my hair brush down. I got up and flicked the light switch off before getting into my bed. I looked over at my phone again, but of course, there was nothing from Alvin. No calls, no texts - nothing.

I put my phone down on top of my bedside drawer, and closed my eyes. I wasn't feeling tired at all, but I knew I needed to get some rest for school tomorrow. I'm just that type of person who needs sleep, because if I don't, I turn into the biggest grouch alive.

But at least 10 minutes passed before I finally heard a small 'beep' coming from my phone, meaning that I just received a text message. I gasped to myself as my eyes flew open and as I grabbed my phone from the drawer beside my bed, and went to my inbox. But the moment I saw who it was from, my heart instantly sank to the bottom of my stomach. It wasn't from Alvin, but instead, it was from Jeanette.

Hey Brittany. Are you still up?

I sighed, feeling my heart crumble up in pieces, knowing that it wasn't from Alvin - the one person I miss more than anything, the one person I trust with all my heart. I wasn't just starting to feel upset, I was beginning to feel pissed off. But I knew I had to do something. I might as well just call him tomorrow. I looked back at my phone and replied.

Yeah, I am. Why?

Jeanette replied back after a moment.

I was just wondering if you're done reading my copy of The Hunger Games. I need it for class tomorrow.

I sighed to myself. Couldn't she just ask me tomorrow? I replied back.

Yeah, I'll give it back to you tomorrow morning.

After a few seconds, Jeanette replied back.

Thanks!

I put my phone back on top of my drawer. I knew that there was no point in waiting for a call or text from Alvin because it probably won't happen. This was seriously pissing me off. I mean, what could be so important that he just had to ignore my text messages and my calls? And it wouldn't even take a long time to call or text me back either!

I sighed again as I brought my knees up to my chest. I closed my eyes. Doesn't Alvin know how much I miss him? I mean, doesn't he miss me too? If he did see my text messages and calls, then it's pretty damn inconsiderate of him to just ignore me. But no, he couldn't have just ignored me, right? Alvin would never do that. I mean, that's just not him...

I sighed deeply and told myself to just sleep it off, to make myself feel better. And who knows? Maybe when I wake up tomorrow morning, Alvin will text me back. I laid back in my bed, covered myself with my pink blanket, and finally fell asleep.

The next morning...

I groaned when I heard my alarm clock go off. I groggily opened my eyes, only to find myself tangled up in my blankets. I slapped the snooze button on my alarm clock and just laid here until I felt the strength to get up and get ready for school. Then I remembered something. I reached over to my phone and switched it on, hoping to see something from Alvin, or should I say, the person I call 'my boyfriend' but ignored my text messages and phone calls for an entire day. I looked at the screen, and when I saw that it was empty, I just simply gave up.

Yes, it hurts, knowing that he didn't even bother to call or text me back. But the thing that hurts the most is not knowing why.

I sighed as I got out of bed. I freshened myself up in the bathroom, changed into a T-shirt and shorts, and went downstairs to eat breakfast, where I found Eleanor and Jeanette already there. Miss Miller always went to work early in the mornings, so it was just the 3 of us alone before we all went to school. But the moment I stepped foot into the kitchen, Jeanette looked up at me, looking extremely eager to say something. Ugh, it was probably about that book of hers.

"Britt!" Jeanette exclaimed.

I stopped in my tracks and sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'll give you your book back after breakfast."

"No, it's not that. I got a text from Simon this morning." Jeanette said.

I raised my eyebrows. Simon? As in Simon Seville? Alvin's brother? I sat down at the table and looked at my sister. "You did? What for? Is it about Alvin?" I asked.

I wanted to know if it had something to do with Alvin. It BETTER be something about Alvin and his explanation for ignoring my calls and text messages. To be honest, I wasn't just upset at Alvin anymore, and I wasn't just pissed either. But I was downright insulted by him. If he did see my calls and messages to him, then why didn't he answer? Why didn't he call back?

Jeanette nodded. "Yeah, it's about him. He-"

I scoffed. "Is it worth hearing?"

Eleanor frowned. "Brittany, please don't tell me you and Alvin are fighting again."

"He probably doesn't even care, since he didn't bother to call me back all day yesterday." I muttered.

Jeanette sighed deeply before continuing. "Anyway, Simon told me to tell you that Alvin did get your messages and calls, but-"

"WHAT?" I exclaimed.

"But..." Jeanette continued. "...That Alvin was too busy with something, that he couldn't really call you back."

Anger swam in my veins. I crossed my legs, trying to keep my anger within myself. "What could be so important that he just HAD to avoid my calls? And it wasn't like I called him a trillion times! I only called him like, 3 times, but he still wouldn't pick up!"

Jeanette shrugged. "I don't know. But Simon wanted me to tell you that Alvin said that you can call him back later again."

Wait what? First of all, why should I be the one to call back? And secondly, shouldn't he be the one who should call back first? But the thing that confuses me the most is the fact that Simon is saying all of this. I mean, why did Alvin have to make his brother pass this news to Jeanette, when he could have done it himself?

"Well I'm not gonna bother to call him anymore. If he wants to talk to me, then he can call me. But I'm not going to waste my time calling him if he's just gonna ignore me again." I snapped.

I saw my sisters exchange glance with each other before Jeanette spoke up again. "Oh, and lastly, Simon also wanted me to tell you that Alvin misses you." She said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh really." I muttered.

"Aw, don't be like that, Britt. I'm sure Alvin has a good explanation to why he avoided your calls in the first place. Maybe he had a reason to. At least he's still thinking about you." Eleanor said.

I sighed deeply, realizing that Eleanor was right. "I guess..."

I felt the anger melt away just a little bit after that. I guess that was alright. Maybe I shouldn't stay mad at him. I mean, I did miss him and it's been a while since I saw him. And despite how pissed off I was at him, I still love him, of course. He just needs a decent explanation to why he ignored my calls in the first place, before I can forgive him entirely again, that's all.

Jeanette smiled. "Cheer up, Britt. You'll talk to him tonight."

I nodded, unable to smile. But I decided to just leave this situation alone. If Alvin had better things to do than to call me back, then I have better things to do than worry over him. I don't know why, but after what happened yesterday, I just don't know what to do with my feelings anymore. I know that I still love him. I love Alvin more than anything, more than I have ever loved anything in my life.

But all I'm asking myself now is...does Alvin still feel the same?

Oh no...is this the beginning of an unfaithful relationship?

Why didn't Alvin call her back? Will Alvin and Brittany see each other again soon? And what do you guys think of Tiffany, Scarlett and Chantelle so far? How about Paula?

Thanks so much for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!

Thanks everyone! :D