"Who is that girl?"

Francie followed where I was a pointing and shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to tell you," She answered, smiling at Allison in her lap. Oh she was gone now.

I rolled my eyes at her and turned my attention back to Vaughn and blonde mystery girl who were chatting about something across the cafeteria. I don't know why, but I wanted to storm over there and beat the living crap out of that girl just because she was standing way too close to my boyfriend. This is a new feeling. Dare I call it jealousy?

Oh shit.

"That's Alice," Eric said, sitting down across from me and Francie.

I tore my gaze away from my boyfriend and Alice apparently to stare at him. He was too busy looking at Francie and Allison to notice. Well, too damn bad buddy, Sydney's on a mission. "Who?" I demanded.

"Alice," Eric repeated looking at me finally. "His ex girlfriend."

No fricking way. Why in the name of all that is holy would Vaughn be talking to his ex girlfriend and why in the same name is her hand on his arm like that? Oh hey look jealousy's coming back for another round.

This sucks.

"What are they talking about?" I questioned.

I could see Francie roll her eyes at me as Eric shrugged. "I don't know… you. They're talking about you." Anybody could've heard the sarcasm in his voice.

"Shut up," I growled, glaring at him before I looked back to Vaughn and stupid Miss Alice. Now her hand was on his chest. What the f-ck! That's it, blondie's gonna die.

I hate jealousy.

"Umm… Syd… calm down." Francie said, giving my shoulder a shake. I tore my eyes away from Vaughn and the soon to be dead blondie to look at her. "You look like you're going to kill someone."

Hey what do you know, my expression mirrors my feelings. Imagine that. "Maybe I do want to kill someone," I answered.

"Who are we killing?" A new voice asked, sitting down next to me. An instant later, an arm slid around my waist, followed by a kiss to my cheek. "And can I help?"

Vaughn.

Jerk.

Why am I mad at him? It's blondie that's gonna die. Although… boyfriend was just standing there and letting her little paws climb all over him. Boyfriend's not gonna be able to sit down for a week.

"I think we're killing Alice," Eric replied before I could.

Vaughn frowned in confusion. "Why are we killing Alice?"

"Because Sydney said we are," Eric shrugged. "I dunno, ask her."

"Okay… Sydney… why are we killing my ex?"

We're not, I am. "We're not killing anybody," I replied coldly.

"Whoa… I think the chill factor just went up in here," Eric muttered earning him another glare from me. If he keeps going like this, boyfriend's friend is going to die too. Or would he be best friend's boyfriend? Ah hell, Eric is going to be on my list of people to kill.

"Syd, what's wrong?" Vaughn asked. Okay, yeah he looked really concerned about me but that bastard let his ex girlfriend touch him! Oh… that sounded wrong.

"Why don't you go ask Alice?" I threw at him, pushing off his arm and standing up. With another venomous glare to Eric, I stormed off.

Of course, I got about two feet out of the cafeteria when I realized that I was acting like a jealous spoiled brat. Oh frick. Here's a question… why was I acting like that? I mean, it's me. Jealousy and me don't even inhabit the same planet much less speak the same language.

Oh, and I snapped at Vaughn for no reason. He probably thinks I'm insane. Aren't I already though? Scratch that then, he probably thinks I'm even more insane. Okay, I just need to cool my head and apologize to him later.

Oh why did he have to follow me? Godddamn it, does he have to follow me and make me want to smack myself. Now I hate myself more than I hate blondie. God, does jealousy suck.

"Syd! Wait!" Vaughn yelled and though cursing myself, I did. "What the hell was that about?"

See, I'm not going to tell him that I was jealous. No way, no how. I shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Nothing."

"Oh and you just decided to snap at me for no reason now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

Still not telling him that I was jealous. You can't make me. And neither can him for that matter. Even if he does give me the puppy-dog face. "I said it was nothing, didn't I?" I asked, icily.

"Okay, what's going on?" He inquired, crossing his arms across his chest and staring at me.

"Nothing!" I answered loudly.

He narrowed his eyes at me while a slight frown line appeared between his eyebrows. "Is this about Alice?"

"No," I answered immediately and even I thought that it didn't sound convincing. "Okay… maybe." That's not admitting that I was jealous, is it? God, I hope not.

"Were you jealous?" He asked next, his eyes flashing with amusement.

"You wish," I replied. Oh frick was that not convincing. Not even a little bit. I lost. I told him that I was jealous. And the jerk didn't even have to give me the puppy-dog face.

Oh and now he was laughing. Well, I guess I deserve that but that doesn't mean I have to like it. "Why were you jealous of Alice? It's been over between us for like two years."

"It didn't look that way," I muttered angrily.

That stopped his laughter. He got this deer in the headlights sort of look as he avoided my eyes. "Um…yeah…"

"Why was her hand on your arm?" I asked sounding innocent enough but he got the double meaning to it. "And then your chest?"

Vaughn shrugged, but he was still not meeting my gaze. "She's just like that."

What the hell does that mean? That she has happy hands? I thought only men could have happy hands. I stand corrected.

"Are any of your other ex girlfriends like that?"

Now he looked up at me and met my gaze. "What?"

"Oh come on, like you haven't dated anyone before me or Alice." I told him.

"Well, yeah…" He answered shifting his weight. "I'm just wondering where this is all coming from."

I'll tell him where this is all coming from. A great new emotion called jealousy. Gotta love it. "Nowhere."

"You were jealous!" He cried suddenly, surprising me. Did he have to look like a child at Christmas when he did this?

"I think we've already been over this," I pointed out.

Vaughn bypassed the comment. He was too busy having himself a good giggle over my jealousy. Yes, he giggled. Well, I suppose it could be called a manly chuckle but it sounded like giggling to me. So I'm going to call it giggling.

"I believe that Miss Sydney has had her first jealous fit," He teased.

I glared at him. "Bite me."

"If you really want me to…" He answered, making the motion like he was actually going to bite me.

"Vaughn!" I screeched ducking his mouth. "I was being sarcastic!"

He laughed. "I know you were Bubble-Yum," He answered. "So… did you think about Saturday any?"

Did I say that this conversation was over? Right, didn't think so. Oh hell, whatever. He knows I was jealous and I'm not really mad at him anymore. Still, did he have to bring up Saturday? I was dreading Saturday for one thing and one thing only.

Valentine's Day.

The absolute worst holiday ever. No doubt about it. First of all, it's a greeting card holiday. Does anyone know –or care for that matter- who Saint Valentine is? Or was? I don't know nor do I care. All this stupid holiday revolves around is the greeting card industry. Chocolate, flowers, cards, jewelry…

Oh yeah and love.

Pah.

In my opinion the make Valentine's extra romantic thing come from a bunch of girls who had nothing to do one night and so they thought up this half baked holiday.

It's probably because I'm too damn cynical for my own good but I have never seen the importance about this holiday. Romance… bleh. What makes February 14th so Goddamn special is what I want to know. Why this day? Why not July something or other or New Year's or any of the other three hundred and sixty-four days?

So when Vaughn told me –as opposed to asking- that we were going out on Valentine's… I had a mild panic attack. But I'm over that now. Mostly. Now just comes the part where I cave and agree to a Valentine's date. Am I weak or what?

"Uh huh…" I answered shrugging nonchalantly.

"And?" He prompted.

"I don't have to dress up, do I?" I asked giving him my own version of the puppy dog face.

"Course not," He answered immediately. "Very casual night. I promise." Guess he didn't catch on to the subtle hint that I just gave him that said I already agreed. "Wait… does that mean yes?" Oh there we go.

I nodded and sighed. "Yes."

-break-

One thing that annoyed me beyond belief was the fact that Aimee found it in her sacred duty to put her nose in my business. Once she caught wind that little Sydney had finally agreed to go on a date for Valentine's, she turned over the nice sister leaf and insisted that she help me get ready. Made me almost want Kady back.

Oh yeah, that reminds me, I owe Francie twenty bucks for winning our bet. Two fricking months and nothing. Not a phone call, not an email, nothing. It's like Kady dropped of the face of the planet. With Brian too. I still don't know who that guy is.

I told Aimee that I didn't want her help. She didn't listen. I turned to mom and told her that I didn't want Aimee's help. She told me to just suck it up and bond with my sister; she wasn't going to be around much longer. Yeah, thank God for that. Don't tell anybody I said that.

So Saturday rolled around and I still hadn't convinced Aimee that I really didn't need her help getting ready. She didn't exactly believe me that it was going to be casual either.

"No Valentine's date is ever casual," Aimee told me, her back turned as she riffled through my closet.

"Apparently the ones not with Vaughn," I muttered from my spot on my bed. Why was this giving me flashbacks to when Vaughn and I started dating and Kady helped me get ready for that party?

"Sydney, you're being stubborn." She chastised.

You wanna talk stubborn? Let's take a look at you. I say no and you go ahead anyway. If that's not stubborn, I don't know what is. "Probably." I shrugged, twisting one of my curls around my forefinger. We had already tackled my hair; Aimee decided that it should be curled. So now my hair was curled.

"I'm wearing jeans," I informed her.

"No you're not," She argued.

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"What about the khaki jeans?" I proposed. "Those look pretty fancy, especially when you put them with the purple sparkly shirt."

"You're not wearing the purple sparkly shirt," She countered. But she didn't say no to the khakis now did she? Score one for Syd. "What about the black tank top?"

Whoa, that top's even less fancy with the khakis than the one I suggested. Aimee's cracking. Score two for Syd. "Sure," I answered as calmly as I could.

"With the rhinestone necklace," She added.

I groaned. First of all, that damned necklace was horrible and I hated it. Very fake, very Malibu Barbie. And second, it made my outfit fancy. Goddamn her. Oh well, the second I leave the house, I'll take it off. There problem solved. "Throw in the strappy shoes while you're at it."

"Stilettos with khakis?" Aimee questioned, turning around to stare at me with a raised eyebrow. "How about… no."

"Just a suggestion," I answered shrugging.

"Knowing you, you'd trip in them," She muttered.

"Hey!" I protested, frowning. "The last time I did that was when I was thirteen!"

"And it was in the middle of Mom and Dad's anniversary party if I remember correctly," She countered.

I threw her a glare and said, "Well someone needed to liven up that party."

"You volunteer yourself for stuff like that a lot," She observed.

"Oh shut up," I growled. Since when did this turn into rag on Sydney time? Exactly, it didn't. Or at least, I don't think it did. "You done picking out my clothes yet?"

"Yeah, here," She answered surprising me. Guess I must have pissed her off when I told her to shut up cause she practically threw the khakis and black tank top at me. Good. Score three for Syd.

"How's the wedding going?" I asked from the bathroom where I was currently in a to-the-death battle with those damned khakis.

"Busy," She yelled back. "Are you okay in there?"

"Yeah… just a little… stuck," I answered.

"With what?"

"Nothing," I replied, finally getting the button through the cursed hole. See… that wasn't so hard. I think. Damn these pants must've shrunk. Or maybe I've just gotten too big for them. It's been like two years since I've last worn them. Oh this is going to suck tonight.

"Are you done?"

"Yeah," I grumbled, opening the door and giving her an annoyed look. I was wearing the cheesy rhinestone necklace, what do you expect.

"You look great Syd," Aimee said immediately.

Whoa… hold on… wait just a moment. Aimee just gave me a compliment. That is definitely a sign of the apocalypse. Along with me going on a Valentine's Day date. Throw in my best friend and my boyfriend's best friend dating, and you can be sure the world is going to end tonight.

Fabulous, no?

"Um… thanks, Aimee," I replied, hesitantly. Yeah, I was completely weirded out by that. Is that even a word, weirded? Probably not.

Thankfully, the doorbell saved me from anymore strange Aimee actions. "Sydney! Vaughn's here!" Mom yelled up the stairs. Even better. Oh I could kiss him right now. Actually, I think I will.

"Thank again," I said quickly, before bolting down the stairs much to the complaint of the pants I was wearing. Like I said, tonight was just going to be a ball of laughs. "Hey," I greeted Vaughn before grabbing his face and giving him a good thank you kiss.

"Wow… I should take you out more often," Vaughn joked after I released his lips and face.

I gave him a quick smile and rolled my eyes. "Let's just go."

"I'll go with that," He answered, still joking as I hooked arms with him and we left the house. "I thought I said casual," He commented, the second the door closed behind us.

"I hate my sister and her half baked ideas," I told him near a growl.

Oh and he laughed. I guess that is funny. To anyone but me. "You know… I think I might have some sweats and a t-shirt in my car." He replied.

This boy is my new hero. Somewhere in the back of my mind, my cynicism was screaming that I'd be wearing his clothes and that's only what couples who were kidding themselves about love did but I was so happy about the thought of escaping the damn pants that I didn't care. I'll think about the wearing his clothes thing tomorrow.

Yeah, tomorrow. My favorite day.

"Oh, I could kiss you… again." I answered.

"I can live with that," He replied giving me a cheeky grin.

I gave him another kiss and smiled. "Now, clothes!"

He laughed and pulled me to his car, handing me the promised sweatpants and t-shirt from his backseat. It was then that it hit me that I had no real place to change. Going back inside was out of the question and so was the back of his car. No doubt about that.

"You can change at the gas station up the road," Vaughn told me. Oh, he sensed my hesitation. That boy is definitely my new hero.

I gave him another kiss. "Thanks," I answered, getting into the passenger side of the car.

"I live to serve," He replied.

"That must suck," I commented, teasing.

"Only when I have to serve Eric," He joked.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "That has to be scary."

"I'm scarred for life," He replied feigning seriousness as he stopped the car at the gas station. "Now go change!"

"Yes, master," I replied as I got of the car and ran for the bathroom, ignoring all the strange looks people were sending me. Yeah, it probably did look weird to see a teenage girl running for the bathroom clutching oversized sweatpants and a t-shirt. Oh well, to hell with all of them.

True, the pants were too big for me but I pulled the string as tight as I could and they would stay up. Hopefully. And yes, the shirt reached almost to my knees but I was out of the damned clothes that Aimee picked out for me. I couldn't have been happier.

Oh and the clothes smelled like Vaughn too. Minty yet musky but somehow clean and perfectly Vaughn. I think I spent like five minutes with my nose pressed into the shirt, just breathing in his scent. I don't think he was ever going to get these clothes back. Not if I have my way.

Seriously, Valentine's does weird things to me.

"God, women take forever in the bathroom." Vaughn teased when I finally left the bathroom and got back into the car.

I threw him a mock glare. "Oh shut up."

"Yes, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes and reached for my seatbelt. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," He answered vaguely.

"Have I mentioned that I hate surprises?"

"Not recently."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Oh, how do you know who I hate or not?"

"You're in my car and wearing my clothes, all out of your own free will. You don't hate me." He explained.

Damn, he had a point. "Well… I hate Alice."

"Who doesn't?"

… the hell? She was his ex. And just this past week, he was about to wet himself with glee that I was jealous about her and him. "What?"

"She clings and she's touchy feely." He told me. "Not a lot of people like her. Myself included in that."

"So you only talk to her out of pity?" I asked. New revelations where Vaughn is concerned confuse the hell out of me sometimes.

"More like she corners me and I put on a nice face," He corrected.

"Oh how horrible," I taunted.

"Shut up."

"Yes, sir."

He laughed and rolled his eyes before wisely changing the subject. "We're going to a movie before dinner."

Oh, I hate movies around Valentine's. You know why? Cause they are all lovey dovey make you want to chew off your own arm sappy romantics. I can stand a chick flick as long as it has humor in it. Movies this time of year do not have humor. "Do we really have to? I mean… movies this time of year suck."

"What?" He asked before it hit him exactly what I meant. "No. God no. Not those kinds of movies. Those are chick flicks and as we have already decided, those are evil."

"Only you think they're evil." I countered.

"Whatever. Not going to see any chick flick resembling movie. Ever."

I laughed. "I'll cure you off that chick flick phobia of yours someday."

"I'd like to see you try." He answered.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Was yours a promise or a threat?" That's right, don't answer my question you little… I won't say it.

"A little of both." I answered, off handedly.

"Then yes, mine was a challenge."

"In that case," I replied. "I accept."

SSB's note: Okay, answering some questions.

Yes, I am Christain but I'm not as devote as I should be. I just believe that you don't have to dress and act like a slut to be cool. My school has enough of those girls as it is.

Where do I get my inspiration for Vaughn...? Oh wow, I honestly don't know. I guess I'm kind of modeling him after what in my mind is the perfect guy and then just going with it.

I update as often as I can. It's more of a trying to find the time to write a chapter that's the problem. I haven't lost my muse with this or my interest, it's just difficult for me to find the time to sit down and write what's in my head on the computer.

Thanks to soccerfreeek324, TimeIsOnYourSide, SuperDuck123, genevra, dolphingurl1, Gils, meh dunno know, Claire, largemarge416, ArodLoverus2001, Ginne, livingArtemis, Aliasdoll, Liz, Lil Aussie Chick, luvreluv, and uthinkuknow for reviewing.

Next chapter: Long Lost Sisters