A/N: Not sure if the disclaimer is necessary. If you don't know which characters I don't own, please slap yourself repeatedly. Xx Ella
P.S. A huge thank you to all my reviewers: princessoffndrknes06, SinisterShadows, Arinna Black, not-so-average-07, TragicCure, Leave your hat on, Kermitfries, and SleepWalks! You all are AMAZING!

Chapter 4

Nicky's was packed tonight. I noticed a lot of men sitting alone at the bar, sipping on their drinks, while staring at Naveed, Cee, and I when we made our way into the bar. I couldn't help but wonder if that's what I'll end up like… a lonely drunk… when I grow older. Bordy didn't want me. Reid obviously didn't want me. Maybe it was time I turned those lesbian rumors into facts. Maybe I should start playing for my own team? I'm a girl. I know what girl's want: Romantic knights in shining armor, rescuing us from our pathetic lonely lives, and adding us to their MasterCard and Visa accounts. I could find a female version of that, couldn't I? I looked over at Naveed and answered my own question. She was laughing hysterically at something Cee said in a high-pitched whiney laugh while gnawing on a fry. She had spit in both of the corner creases of her mouth.

Yeah, I'm not gay. I'm simply not attracted to women. Or Naveed.

xx

"Screw this" I muttered to myself and made my way towards the crowded bar. ValenDOOM's day wasn't going to be a night of self-pity and ice cream. No, if I'm going to end up an Old Maid, I might as well go out with a bang.

"I want three martini's please." I yelled over to the burly man with a bunch of tattoos; Nicky. He was busy pouring something from a brown bottle into a clear glass cup full of ice for a man in a leather jacket, who was hunched over the bar, writing something furiously on a paper napkin. He must be celebrating ValenDOOM's day too.

I saw Nicky glance at me out of the corner of his eye and I knew that he was going to card me. He walked over to me and held out his hand, silently asking to see some identification. I slapped two twenties in his palm and gave my best smile.

I'm not sure if it was the money or the smile (maybe both?) but it worked.

Three martini's (for the each of us) later, Naveed, Cee, and I were moving carelessly around the dance floor. Normally, when I dance I just stand around and nod my head awkwardly, but tonight… maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was my newfound freedom coming out… I let loose. Literally. I was all over the place, and sadly, it wasn't on purpose. I had no rhythm. No rhythm at all. But that didn't matter to me. My hands were waving frantically above my head and at one point a boy dancing near me asked me if I was having a seizure. I turned around and ignored him for the rest of the song. I was with my friends and I was having a great time. Screw boys. Screw romance! All I need is a vibrating toy and a dog that will listen to my problems and I'm set for life.

When the music stopped, I took it as my que to head to the ladies room. I managed to stumble my way over to the dingy, poorly lit and horribly smelling bathrooms and into a stall. I did my business and as I was about to flush I heard Reid's name being said by a two young girls at the sink. Being the type to always eavesdrop, I leaned my ear as close to the door as I could, staying quiet, and listened.

"I thought Justine was seeing Matt, not Reid." A girl with long black hair was talking and applying lip gloss at the same time. I recognized her voice but I couldn't recall her face. I was too hammered to see clearly anyways.

"She's seeing both." A girl with short blonde hair laughed. Her laugh annoyed me. It sounded like a cross between a five year old girl's laugh and Elmo. It wasn't a pleasant laugh. And I'm sure, if she had a boyfriend, it probably drove him nuts. And if she didn't have a boyfriend, I could see why.

"Does Reid know?" The black haired girl asked.

"I don't think he cares. He's with a new girl every week." The blonde did have a point.

"Well if she decides to take on Matt full-time, I'd be happy to play around with Reid for awhile. He's sooo cute." The ugly brunette laughed.

I tried to hold back my gag of disgust from behind the bathroom stall. Although Reid was known at school for being a man whore, he did have standards. Standards, that these dumb immature bitches clearly didn't meet. Reid was way too good for these bitches.

"Good luck with that. The second Bordy broke up with Eliza, she was all over Reid again." I decided that I hated the blonde girl speaking. She reminded me of Sarah anyways.

"No way! Reid would never stoop down for Bordy's sloppy seconds." I also decided that I hated the brunette equally as much as I hated the blonde. If not, probably a tiny bit more. They reminded me of a younger version of Kate and Sarah. "So they used be friends before high school, everyone knows that. But I doubt Reid would ruin his popularity status by seeing someone so ditzy as Eliza. Did you hear her oral project for our final in History class last semester? She claimed that Greenland and Ireland were the same country! I mean, come on. She's not very smart!"

For the record, I did claim that. Everything in Ireland is green though right? It was an honest mistake. But I also got into Brown University, so just that one moment of ditziness should not be used as judgement against me. Besides, who the hell do these girls think they are?

"Well, I saw Eliza here like not even a month ago with Reid trailing behind her like some sad little sick puppy." The blonde raised an eyebrow. I tried to recognize her face, but I couldn't. It was all just one big blur.

"First Bordy, now Reid. How the hell does she do it?"

"You know damn well she's putting out." They laughed as they made their way out of the bathrooms.

I knew I didn't like Justine for a reason. And whoever those bitches were, they were wrong. Reid and I weren't romantically involved. We are just friends.

Seriously.

xx

I paced around the bathroom unsure of what to do next. Should I confront Justine first? Or should I go directly to Reid? What if I didn't say anything and tried to catch Justine in the act? This was just way to confusing for me. I toyed around with the twistie tie ring I always wear as a necklace, around my neck. It was just a habit of mine. Anytime I get nervous I fondle my ring. It sounds silly but it means a lot to me. Of course I never let anyone see my necklace, because it's not very fashionable. I only wear it for sentimental reasons, anyways.

I washed my hands furiously in the sink in front of me. I couldn't believe Justine Baker, the lice-infested whore, was cheating on my friend. Was she here tonight? I had to find out. I wouldn't let that bitch get away with hurting my friend like that. Even if Reid was avoiding me, I couldn't overhear something like that, and not tell him about it. I was his friend after all, and that's what friends are for.

I dried my hands with a paper towel and left the bathrooms on a mission. I had to find Reid and I had to tell him what I had overheard.

I don't know if I mentioned this already but I had already downed a few martini's and was still quite a bit tipsy. Finding Reid sounded easy, but in a room full of blurred faces and slurred words, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Not to mention that I was wearing three inch heels and couldn't walk to save my life. It took a good twenty minutes to get from the bathroom to the table where the girls and I had been sitting and I'm sure I crawled most of the way anyways... I can't really remember. My knees were throbbing though, my palms were sweaty, and my head hurt horribly.

"What's wrong?" Cee asked, as I crawled up into my chair and tried to manage my now unruly head of red hair.

"I overheard some sluts say that Justine was seeing Matt and Reid." I spat out. I pulled out my box of Camels and looked around. If I only took one long drag and put it out maybe Nicky wouldn't even know and I'd be able to smoke inside.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT." I heard a deep voice call from behind the bar. I looked over at Nicky who was pointing at me. I took the cigarette out of my mouth put it back into the box and smiled nervously. I turned my attention back to my friends.

"He's not here tonight." Naveed seemed to read my mind. She toyed around with a paper napkin as she spoke.

"What should I do?" It sounded more as an exasperated plea rather than a question.

"Call him." Cee pushed her cell phone towards me. "He'd appreciate it." I thought about that for a moment. Would he really appreciate it?

"Will you guys help me outside first? I really need to smoke and I think the fresh air might do me good."

"The great thing about study hall is that I can flip through the pages of Vogue and not get in trouble." I was sitting on the library sofa, next to Reid, who was happily flipping through the pages of an older Victoria's Secret catalog.

"Too bad we couldn't have study hall every class." He mumbled as he tore out a piece of the catalog and stuck it in his pocket.

"Was that the order form?" I teased him.

"Nope, I believe it was a part of the 'Very Sexy Collection.'" He laughed.

The librarian shot us a dirty look.

"Do you think she wears Victoria's Secret?" I asked him, eyeing the older woman sitting a few feet in front of us behind a desk.

"That's an image I don't want burned into my head." He laughed, quietly.

"Hey Reid." A blonde girl, walked by and waved. I glared at her.

"Who was that?" I asked Reid, who had hurriedly buried his face into a book in an attempt to avoid the blonde headed girl.

"I don't remember." He answered truthfully. I set my magazine down on my lap and turned to face him.

"Why do you do that?" I whispered. I didn't want to get kicked out of the library. That would mean I wouldn't be allowed to have study hall for the rest of the semester.

"Do what?" He raised an eyebrow. He looked so cute when he did that.

"Why do you hook up with random girls all the time?" I tried to hide the sadness in my voice. I wanted Reid to be happy. I wanted Reid to find someone like I found Bordy.

He looked away and changed the subject. "You going to Nicky's later?"

Another twenty minutes later and I was sure my knee's were scratched and bruised. We were sitting outside, leaning up against the building of Nicky's, watching the cars pass by. I had a cigarette in one hand and Cee's cell phone in the other.

I exhaled and flicked the butt into the street. It's now or never. I started dialing Reid's cell number (sadly, I know it by heart).

One ring. No answer.

Two rings. No answer.

Three rings. No answer. Should I leave a message?

Fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Reid?"

"Yeah, Eliza?"

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Umm.. Can I help you?"

"Why are you avoiding me?" Damn it, this is not why I called him. I called him to tell him what I had overheard in the bathrooms and nothing else. Stupid alcohol. I hate drunk dialing.

"I'm not avoiding you." Liar. He is. I know he is.

"You're such a liar." There's something about being drunk and being able to say whatever it is that is on your mind. It sounds like it's a good quality, but it really isn't. Lying seems to come more naturally to me.

"Seriously? You're doing this now?" He was annoyed. Usually I like annoying him, but now I found it… well, annoying.

"What, is this a bad time for you, or something?" My words were bitter and I spat them out faster than I had thought them. If he wasn't here at Nicky's where was he? Was he off with some girl? Was he off with Justine? Why do I care anyways? It's his life and he'll date whoever he wants to date.

"Yeah, actually it is. I'm on a date." Talk about a slap in the face.

"With Justine?" I crossed my fingers and bit my bottom lip. Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

"Yes." Two slaps in the face and a punch in the stomach.

"Ask her how Matt's doing." One point for Eliza. Who said chicks couldn't fight?

"She broke up with him over a month ago." How could he be so clueless?

"No she didn't. As a matter of fact, she is still seeing him." Two more points for me!

"Are you really this jealous?" Negative zero points for me. Am I jealous? What the hell is he talking about. Of course I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?

"No I'm not jealous." I spat out. "I just overheard a few people and I thought you should know that she's seeing both you and Matt simultaneously." Simultaneously. There's a word you never hear me say. Ooh and a big word too! That'll shut him up.

Click. I guess it really did shut him up.

He hung up on me! He avoids me for over a week and then when I call him to tell him what I overhead, like any good friend would do, he has the nerve to hang up on me! I can't believe this. He's changed so much since high school began!

And I'm soooo not jealous!

"I can't believe Bordy likes your friend Eliza. She's such a ditz." Kate whined from behind Reid in the lunch line. He rolled his eyes.

"She's not a ditz." Reid hated when his friends talked about Eliza like that. Sure, she had her moments, but she was really smart when she wanted to be.

"I heard that Bordy's going to ask her to the Fall Fest from Kira." The Fall Fest was an annual dance Spencer's threw every year to signal the start of the year. All grades, even sophomores, could attend. Reid hadn't even thought of going.

"What makes you think she's going to say 'yes.'" Reid grabbed an apple and threw it on his tray.

"Why wouldn't she? Bordy is sooo cute." Of course Kate thought he was cute. Kate thought every guy she met was cute, despite the fact that she had just started dating his best friend, Pogue Parry. "You're jealous aren't you?" She followed to an empty table and took a seat across from him.

"I'm not jealous." Reid said, biting into the apple. His eyes were fixed upon the red-head that had just entered the cafeteria, wearing a Gucci coat over her school uniform.

Kate turned around and huffed in protest. "Just because she's the only sophomore with big boobs…" Reid tuned Kate out. He was only nice to her because Pogue threatened him. Truth is, he couldn't stand Kate one bit. All she did was talk about everyone and everything. She never had anything nice to say.

Reid's eyes narrowed as he saw Bordy Becklin, the cockiest prick at the school, approach Eliza. He noticed how Eliza's eyes lit up when Bordy talked to her, how she kept pushing loose strands of her red hair behind her air, and how she couldn't stop smiling.

He hated Bordy Becklin. He hated him with a passion.

"Hi, I'm Becca and I'm a freshman." A girl with long brown hair sat down next to him interrupting his thoughts. Kate rolled her eyes and Reid threw his arm around the girls shoulders.

If he couldn't have the one girl he wanted the most, he might as well have everyone else.

Naveed drove home a few hours later. Truth is, we all had sobered up, and were fine to drive, but Naveed insisted. And even if she hadn't insisted I would have called a cab. They say driving buzzed is just as bad as driving drunk.

It was a dreadfully long walk from her car to my dorm room. And it was frighteningly cold outside. The fog had settled in and had made my quest for the co-ed dorm hall so much harder. My feet hurt, my knee's felt as though they had been shattered, and I was in the worst mood possible. I felt empty inside. Why was I letting Reid get to me like this?

Reid was a stupid boy! That's it, that's all he was to me. A stupid boy. Nothing more and nothing less. Sure, he was there for me when Bordy broke up but I was never all over him. And I sure as hell am not jealous of his relationship with Justine, if you even want to call it that. She was cheating on him, on my friend, and he acted as though I was making it up!

I know people say love makes you blind but come on already! Reid doesn't love her. He can't love her. He'll dump her in a few days and then things will go back to normal. Right?