Chapter Thirteen

Sunday came and went. I moped around the house, watched a movie with Becca and did some homework. I was really dreading Monday. I mean, really dreading it. Stoneybrook High is not very big, but I hoped I would be able to avoid Adam for as long as possible... like, say, until June. I knew the week would drag, too, because Mom called Stacey and told her I would be able to come visit for the weekend! Mom really must have been on glue, because she asked Stacey if it would be okay if I came out on Thursday, rather than Friday! Mom made up some lame excuse, saying the Friday afternoon train is so crazy busy, and she gets nervous for me, but really, I think she just felt bad for me and wanted me to have a good time. I really couldn't wait to go!

On Monday, I dragged my still-sleepy butt out of bed. What a change this Monday was from last Monday. Last Monday was my first day at school as his girlfriend, and this Monday, I couldn't care less about what I wore to school. I threw on a faded pair of jeans, a dark pink Roxy hoodie that said "Dig This Life" in the corner, even though I wasn't really digging this life right now. I still couldn't believe that Adam and I had dated and then broken up in a week. It seemed so silly to me, on one hand, but then so sad on the other.

I went into the bathroom and combed my hair. It wasn't cooperting with me at all, so, with a sigh, I just threw it up into a ponytail, dabbed some makeup on my face and headed downstairs. To my surprise, Becca was already sitting at the kitchen table, munching on a Pop Tart.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, opening up the bread box and shoving two pieces into the toaster.

"Hello to you, too." Becca teased. "I decided to come over and keep you company this morning!"

"Thanks, Beck." I said with a smile. I glanced at the clock. "I really didn't give myself much time to chill this morning, did I?"

Becca shook her head. "No, Ma'am." She said with a laugh. "We pretty much have to go... now."

"Let me make my toast first." I told her. "Jeez, woman!"

"Do you think you'll run into Adam today?" Becca asked as my toast popped up.

"I don't know." I answered, slathering some peanut butter on my toast. "I'm going to try really hard and not see him. I don't want to cry at school."

Becca stood up and put her plate in the sink, then patted my back. "I don't want you to, either." She answered. "What are you gonna say to Haley when you see her in class?"

"Nothing." I replied flatly. "I have nothing to say to her."

Becca pursed her lips as I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the front door. "Do you think she didn't have anything to do with it?" She asked me, following me out the door.

"Are you actually defending Haley Braddock?" I asked with a small snicker. "Just cause you're back with Jake now, doesn't mean you can forget all the crap she pulled."

"You know that she only did that cause of Vanessa, Tiffany and Kerry." Becca told me. "I'm definitely not the president of the Haley Braddock Fan Club, but I do know that she is pretty stupid, and a follower, and probably didn't come up with shit on her own."

I shrugged. I didn't really care. I was going to believe that Haley and Vanessa both had a part in this breakup. Yes, Vanessa had a bigger part, but Haley told her lies about me. Me and her had a really good visit, and it really made me mad at myself that I trusted her. I should have known it was a bad idea.

Becca and I made it to school with not a lot of time to spare. We entered in the entrance furthest away from the senior's hallway, just in case, and I quickly scurried up to my locker to organize my books for the day. I grabbed my math books just as the warning bell rang, and hurried down to class.

Math dragged and dragged and dragged. Everytime I glanced at the clock, I swore it was going backwards. I sighed and tapped my pencil against my textbook, thinking a problem over in my head.

"Char, what's the answer to number three?" Jackie Rodowsky hissed at me. "I can't figure it out!"

"Did you even try, Jackie?" I whispered back.

Jackie shrugged. "Yeah."

"Use the formula." I told him.

"Char! Just... what's the answer?" Jackie pleaded.

I glanced up at Mr. Ross, who was on the other side of the room, helping someone else. I glanced back at Jackie and quickly whispered. "Seven."

"Seven?" Jackie looked confused. "How the hell do you get seven? I don't have seven!"

Jackie started erasing his work and nearly tore a whole in his paper. I rolled my eyes. Jackie had been like this since the beginning of time. You know the one kid every class has who eats glue? Meet Jackie, the Glue Connoisseur of Stoneybrook.

"Hey, so... I heard Adam dumped you." Jackie whispered.

"I know." I whispered back.

"Why?"

"Vanessa."

"She's such a bitch." Jackie said, a little too loudly. Mr. Ross shot a glance at him. I quickly ducked my head and continued working. Jackie continued talking to me.

"So, do you want to go out sometime then?" Jackie asked.

I glared at him. "Shut up, Jackie!" I hissed.

Jackie smirked. "I'll take that as a maybe." He joked, turning back to his work. I heard him mutter incredulously, "Seven?", under his breath, as he began erasing yet another equation.

I rolled my eyes again and kept working. Not long after, the bell rang, so I gathered up my books and started to head out the door.

"So, when are you gonna kick Vanessa's ass?" I turned around and saw Jackie behind me. "I don't want to miss out on a wicked chick fight."

"Who says I'm fighting her?" I snapped.

"I think you should." Jackie declared. "She's a bitch. No one really likes her anymore."

"Really?" I asked. I assumed it was true, but hearing it from Jackie made it more true.

He nodded. "Yeah, especially the guys." He told me. "She is just a drama-loving cow, and it's fucking annoying."

"Well, Adam obviously doesn't think so." I said bitterly.

Jackie laughed. "Trust me, he has been getting an earful."

"From who?"

"My brother, me, his brother... even Jeff thinks he is being a dumbass for breaking up with you." Jackie told me. "Believe it or not, Char, you're kind of a catch!"

I pondered that thought for a second as we reached the stairs. "I'll see you." I told Jackie, turning up the stairs.

Me, a catch? I found that part very hard to believe. If I was such a catch, why was Adam the only guy who was seriously ever interested in me? And why did he break up with me? I thought about that as I walked into English... once my favourite class, now dreadful, because of Haley.

She was already sitting in her desk, doodling on the cover of her notebook. She glanced up and smiled sympathetically at me as I sat down.

"Hey." She said. "I heard about you and Adam."

"I bet you did." I said shortly, pulling my binder out of my bag.

Haley looked slightly confused, but kept on talking anyway. "What happened?"

"Like you don't know!" I spat at her. "Don't talk to me."

Now Haley looked even more confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked me. "How would I know what happened?"

"Oh, hmm, let me think!" I snapped. "Maybe because you fucking told Vanessa that Adam was forcing me to have sex?"

Haley's mouth dropped open. "Charlotte, I didn't say anything like that at all!" Haley exclaimed. "Vanessa asked me what we talked about when we went for coffee, but I didn't tell her anything!"

"Yeah, right." I replied. "It was just some big joke, wasn't it? You and your other Sluts probably had a nice, big laugh about you pretending to be friends with the loser."

"Char, I swear." Haley pleaded. "Do you really think I would have confided in you, told you how I feel about all of them, and how they treated my brother, when it was all some joke?"

"Yes."

Haley blew her hair out of her face in frusturation. "Fine." She answered. "At lunch, you come talk to Vanessa with me and we'll find out together."

"Like I want to do anything with you." I shot back. "Just leave me alone, we aren't friends, we will never be friends again. Can't you just get that though your thick skull and leave me the hell alone?"

Haley looked incredibly hurt, and for a split second, I felt guilty. I quickly pushed that feeling away. She was full of shit. I believed her once, and look where it got me. I was not going to do that again.

As soon as class was over, I bolted from the room and headed straight for biology. Never in my life have I been so excited for English to be over and biology to start! I thought about Haley all during bio. I wondered if she was being sincere. She is not very bright, I don't think she could act surprised or hurt unless she actually was. But, since she is so dumb, she could have said something to Vanessa and not realized that it would be such a big deal. Whatever the case may be, I was done with them. Mom was right, I had my friends, great friends, and I didn't need to waste my time with dramatic bitches like them.

Or so I thought.

I left biology feeling slightly disgusted and queasy, as I always did, and made my way to my locker. I twirled the lock, and was about to pull it open when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Haley standing behind me... with Vanessa.

"What?" I asked darkly.

"We are talking." Haley demanded.

"No, we aren't." Vanessa piped up.

"I'm with her." I told Haley, grabbing my purse from my locker and slamming it shut.

"No." Haley said firmly. "Someone is lying, and I know it's not me."

"What would I have possibly lied about?" I snapped.

Haley glanced at Vanessa, who glared at her. "Oh, please." Vanessa scoffed. "This whole thing is completly retarded, and I don't have time to sit around and listen to you come up with some lame ass story about how you didn't lie and I did. The only thing that matters is my brother didn't get caught up with this loser for any longer than he had to!"

I could feel the tears welling up, so I quickly turned and walked down the hallway, away from the two horrible girls who ruined my life.

I met Becca at her locker. Jake was standing there with her, as were Carolyn, Corrie and Shea. I quickly glanced around for Adam, because Shea was there, but he wasn't. I guess Adam would have to be pretty dumb to try to hang out with my friends anyhow.

"Hi." Carolyn said, in that sympathetic voice that everyone seemed to be using with me. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, thanks." I answered. "Glad this day is almost over!"

"No doubt." Becca grumbled. "I'm so done with school. So done! Mrs. Taylor gave me a C on my paper because I didn't indent my paragraphs. Like, who gives a crap?"

"Obviously she does." Jake gently teased. "Want to go get some pizza or something?"

"Sure!" Becca said, standing up. "You coming?" She asked me.

Shea interrupted before I could answer. "Actually, I was hoping I could clear some things up, Char." Shea asked me.

I nodded, knowing it was about Adam and the lies Vanessa spewed.

"Well, why don't you guys just meet us outside?" Corrie suggested. "Down at the picnic tables?"

Shea nodded. "Sounds good." He said, giving her a quick kiss before the four of them walked away.

"So?" I asked. "What's up?"

Shea sighed. "I'm not big on drama." He started. "In fact, I hate it. I don't like gossiping and I hate being around people who gossip. But this time, it involves my best friend and the girl next door."

"I swear, I never told Haley anything about Adam forcing me to have sex." I said, my voice getting wavery.

"I believe you." Shea assured me. "And I really do think Adam does too. I know he does. But his issue is with all this bullshit that his sister is starting up with. She's making his life- and yours, I know- hell."

"It's not like I can do anything about it." I told him. "Short of kicking her ass, which was your brothers advice."

Shea laughed. "Sounds about right." He joked. "I mean... I want you and Adam to be together. I want to help you guys get back together. But I don't know how. How can I help?"

"He's made up his mind." I said flatly. "It's done."

"I bet if you tried talking to him, something could change." Shea advised me.

I glanced at him. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Did Adam say something?"

"Not really." Shea admitted. "I know he wants to be with you though."

I sighed. "The only way that will happen is if Vanessa grows up and quits being a little bitch." I told him.

Shea looked thoughtful but didn't say anything.

"What?" I pressed. "You look like you're thinking about something."

Shea waved his hand. "No, it's nothing." He answered. "But just so I know... If Adam wanted to get back together with you, would you?"

I nodded.

"Cool." Shea answered. "Let's go get some pizza, I'm starved!"

"Okay." I agreed, following him outside. Somehow, though, I knew that there was more going on in Shea's mind than what he was telling me. I guess all I could do was wait and see what happened.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On and on, and on and on went the week. All I could think about was going to New York and seeing Stacey. I was so excited, I have never been to her place before. Stacey was my babysitter when I was a kid. She and I are- were- very close. She is a very outgoing person, and she helped me out of my shell, a little bit, at least. When she graduated high school, she was pregnant. She moved back to Manhattan (where she lived until she was thirteen) with her then boyfriend (now husband) Ethan and had a baby girl, Lily. Just a couple months ago, she had a baby boy, Liam. I have never met Liam, but I have seen pictures of him, and I must say, Stacey and Ethan make some darn cute kids. He works in insurance, of some kind. All I know is people generally dislike him in his line of work. I guess he has to say no to a lot of people, something I could never do.

School was... school. I spent most of my energy trying to think of ways to avoid Adam, but I think he was doing the same thing, as I didn't even see him all week. I nearly had a heart attack one day when I thought I saw him, but it was actually Jordan. Those two are very hard to tell apart, but Byron, the third one, has black, weird, spiky hair, wears chains and skulls and is pretty much terrifying. But other than that not-so-close call, I didn't see him, hear from him, nothing. He did change his relationship status on Facebook, so everyone on his friends list and mine saw "Adam Pike and Charlotte Johanssen ended their relationship". That was a pretty crappy feeling.

The train left Stoneybrook to Manhattan four times a day... morning, mid morning, mid afternoon and evening. I figured I would be taking the evening train, but Mom said that one was too busy as well, so she let me leave school a couple hours early to catch the two o'clock train. Missing a whole day and geography class? Awesome!

Mom picked me up outside the school at quarter to two and drove me to the train station. I hadn't ever been on the train alone, so I was a little nervous about it.

"Remember, just wait right where you get off for Stacey, okay?" Mom told me for the hundredeth time. "I don't want you wandering around Grand Central, okay?"

"I promise, Mom." I assured her again. "I don't want to be wandering around there by myself either!"

"Okay." She said, handing me my ticket and giving me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You call me the second you walk into Stacey's apartment, okay?"

"I will." I told her, hugging her back. "Thanks for letting me go."

Mom smiled. "You're welcome." She answered. "I know you'll have a great time."

The loudspeaker announced my train, so I quickly hugged Mom again and walked onto the train. I settled into my seat and pulled out my IPod. The ride was not very long, but I wanted my music anyway. My eclectic Brooks and Dunn, Guns & Roses, Rihanna, The Jonas Brothers and Foo Fighters mix of songs was perfect, always a song to fit the mood.

A few minutes later, the train started chugging out of the station. I stared out the window, listening to music, and getting more and more excited about seeing Stacey. The train ride is only about forty five minutes, so it wasn't long before we lurched into the station at Grand Central. I stepped off the train and was in awe. This place was huge and beautiful! The Stoneybrook station is small and dirty but this place looked like a palace. And there, in front of me, was Stacey. Her normally long, wavy hair was chopped off into a cute bob, and straight. It was still bright blonde, but she looked way older than twenty.

"Char!" Stacey rushed towards me and wrapped me into a huge hug. "Oh, I've missed you! I'm so glad you're here!"

"I'm so glad you invited me to come!" I exclaimed, hugging her back.

"Oh, silly, you know you're always invited!" Stacey laughed and pulled away, holding me out at arms length. "Look at you! You're a grownup!"

I laughed. "You look great, too." I told her. "I love your hair like that!"

Stacey reached up and touched her hair. "It was a big change, for sure!" She told me. "But Lily always pulled it, so right before Liam was born, I decided not to give him the opportunity!"

I laughed and picked up my backpack. "Well, it looks great." I answered, following Stacey towards the exit. She quickly hailed a cab (I don't know if I could do that!) and we climbed in. Stacey told the cab driver her address, and he sped off. About fifteen minutes later, he slammed on the brakes in front of a small apartment building. Stacey and I climbed out, and Stacey waved her arms in mock flourish.

"Welcome to my humble adobe." She said jokingly. I grinned at her. This was going to be the best weekend!