Hey guys!

Okay, so I've been meaning to update this for about THREE WEEKS now! But, I was in Texas last week, so it shot my plans to update to Hell. SO, I got on today and realized that it had been exactly a MONTH since I updated, and I felt terrible!

So, thanks for all of the reviews! Have I mentioned that I love you guys? Haha

Without further adieu, I give you…Chapter 3 ;)

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Love,

DC :)

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Chapter 3

-;-

Okay, so clearly I should have studied last night.

Madame Clavel (yes, I'm serious, like that Madeline show) sends me a look that clearly reads "I'm-going-to-make-you-wish-you-had-always-taken-French-seriously" as she makes her way towards my desk and drops the yellow paper that is my French exam on my desk.

I peer down at my grade and my heart sinks.

D-Plus.

Never in my life have I gotten a D-plus on anything.

I've never even gotten a C-plus. When I say mediocre grades, I mean compared to my straight-A family. I'm a B student, that's mediocre to the Wilder family.

But a C or a D? That's borderline disownment in my family.

Actually, that probably is disownment.

Jane glances over towards my desk, smiling. "So, what'd you get, babe?" she asks. I can see the bright, red A on her paper staring back at me, mocking.

Before I have time to make up an answer to her question, she sees my grade and gasps.

"Donnie!" she says. "You got a D-plus!"

My eyes widen. "Broadcast it louder, Jaws! The NYU recruitment officers haven't heard you yet!" I hiss.

She shakes her head. "I told you we should have studied last night. I told you!"

I shrug her off as the bell rings and we stand up from our desks.

As soon as am in the hallway, I am bombarded my best friend, Calvin.

He presses down on my shoulders and jumps up. "Wilder!" he exclaims.

"Tompkins!" I fire back.

Calvin glances up at the classroom I just exited and smirks. "Ah, French. Très, très magnifique." He spills out in perfect French. I roll my eyes.

"How did you do on the exam today?" he asks as we make our way down the hallway.

"He bombed it." Jane says, bouncing up to us. She has one hand on either strap of her backpack, keeping the straps firmly pressed against her body as if they'll snap if she lets go.

"Thank you." I snap towards her.

"I'll help you study for the next exam, Don. You'll pass, I promise." She says before placing a hand delicately on my shoulder and leaning up on her tip-toes to kiss me on the cheek. "Love you." She murmurs before bounding off towards a group of her friends standing by her locker.

Calvin shakes his head. "If she wasn't so hot-"

I hold up a hand. "Don't even finish that sentence about my girlfriend." I say.

He laughs. "Touché."

"Enough with the French!" I exclaim towards him.

He glances up towards the ceiling momentarily, a contemplating look on his face. "Is touché French?" he asks to nobody in particular.

I shake my head at him before lugging onto his bony shoulder and hauling him off down the hallway.

-.-

"God, he's cute." Lucy gushes, slamming herself against my locker as she gazes lovingly in Colin's direction.

I shake my head at my friend, laughing. "You're pathetic sometimes."

"And he's totally in love with you." She continues, sighing. "It must be a Venturi thing, everybody just loves you. It's been…what? Four years since Derek graduated? People are still talking about him in the halls!"

I shrug it off. "My brother made a lasting impression. It's Derek."

Lucy giggles. "I still remember the first time I met him-"

"No more trips down Memory Lane." I cut her off, holding up a hand to silence her. "You've told me this story at least seven times."

Lucy rolls her eyes, smirking playfully. "He's just so-"

"I get it. You like him." I laugh.

She waggles her black, perfectly shaped eyebrows at me. "Think you could hook us up?"

…I think I just threw up a little.

"Luce!" I exclaim. "He's almost 22! You're barely 14."

She shrugs. "Ashton and Demi did it."

I shake my head, slamming my locker door shut as we start off down the hallway.

"And Justin and Cameron." She continues.

I bite back a laugh as we make our way into our Accelerated English class.

"And Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas…I mean, that's just-"

"Oh my God." I cut her off. "I don't need that mental image." I say. "You have made your point clear." I take a seat at my desk.

She glances down at me, grinning. "So, you'll set us up?"

I shake my head at her slowly, a deadpan expression on my face.
She sighs. "Fine." She pouts before slumping to her desk a few behind my own and sitting down.

I hear an overdramatic, flittering sigh come a few seconds later from her, and I can't help but laugh.

-;-

"So, is she still out to kill you?" my other best friend, Kyle, asks as we pull into my driveway after school.

I shrug. "She didn't shut up about me bombing that stupid French exam all day. It wasn't even flat out telling me that I failed. She was dropping hints and reminding me that I'd failed! And on top of that, she ordered lunch in the cafeteria this afternoon."

Kyle quirks an eyebrow at me in confusion.

"In French!"

He shakes his head at me as we climb out of my Range Rover. "Its times like these that really make me appreciate my homosexuality."

I laugh, shaking my head back at him.

Kyle came out of the closet in our sophomore year.

Andrew freaked out, and went on a five-hour ramble on why Kyle was never allowed in our house again, and of course, my parents agreed. Okay, my dad agreed. My mom didn't care, she loves Kyle.

We make our way into the house which is, go figure, empty.

"You could throw so many parties here." Kyle says with an approving laugh as we make our way up the stairs.

I shrug it off. I'm not much into parties.

Okay, that's a lie. I'm not into throwing parties.

"Actually," he continues. "Jane would rag you until your ears bled if you did. And she'd probably ground you and take away your phone privileges." He laughs at his snide remark.

I try to ignore the comment.

My friends are always making comments about how Jane treats me more like her son rather than her boyfriend, but she's just concerned about me.

He throws himself down on my bed and grabs my laptop. "You forgot to log off MySpace this morning." He throws out towards me. "And you have new messages."

I shrug him off and the room is silent for a few seconds.

The next thing out of my friend's mouth is. "Ooh, who's Marti the Monster?"

I whip around to face him. "Uh, she's Casey's sister."

"Andrew's fiancée." He clarifies.

I nod.

He focuses his eyes on what I'm guessing is her display picture before turning towards me once more. "She's a bit young, isn't she?"

I roll my eyes. "I'm not dating the girl, jackass. I just added her."

He chuckles, shaking head at me.

"Your spikes are deflating." I throw back at him.

He rests his hand atop of his black, spiky hair. He breathes a sigh of relief. "You scared me." He says. "I'm an excellent spiker, you know that."

I roll my eyes at him and laugh before curiosity gets the better of me. "So, what did Marti want?"

-.-

"Tonight, we lie awake. Remember how the coffee made us shake on those long drives. One more long night…" I sing along softly with my red iPod video Nano, the sounds of All Time Low flowing through my head. I am lying on my bed attempting to finish my history homework when my enV vibrates from beside me. I pick it up and flip it open, seeing that it reads that I have a new text message from Lizzie.

Dinner at the Student Union tonight? Just you & me…and maybe Edwin ;P

Love, Lizzie.

I sigh and give an apologetic smile towards my cell phone, not that Lizzie can see it.

Sorry! No can do. Already made plans to hang out with Erik and Colby! Rain check???

–The Monster ;)

I hit the send key and snap my phone shut, dropping it back to my side and returning to my homework.

Luckily, I am rescued by my phone vibrating.

I laugh as I read my sister's message.

Fine, fine. I understand that those two hotties are more important. I see how it is ;P

I quickly text back a reply.

I'm glad we have this understanding :)

"Yo, Smarti!" Derek calls out from downstairs.

I roll my eyes. I hate when he calls me Smarti, it's not my name.

Frankly, I hate the name Marti as well.

It's so…childish.

I roll off my bed, turn off my iPod, and leave my bedroom.

"What?" I ask, leaning against the wall against the stairwell.

He points an accusing finger at me. "Do I sense a bit of hostility?" he asks sarcastically, his voice having a high-pitched tone to it.

"What?" I repeat, this time adding a laugh.

Derek cracks a smile at me. "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out with me and Sammy tonight. He just got the new Guitar Hero and-"

"Do people really think I have no social life?" I cut him off. "Because, quite frankly, I have a life. I have friends. Friends who I have plans with tonight, actually."

Derek backs off, holding his hands up in defense. "Forgive me, oh, great one." He mocks me.

I roll my eyes. "Sorry. But, I really do have better things to do than hang out with you and your best friend slash roommate."

Derek rolls his eyes, laughing. "Fine, fine." He says before sliding his leather jacket over his shoulders and making his way towards the door, turning to face me. "You know, I'm only here for a few more days before I head back to UT."

I nod. "I know, I know." I say, flouncing down the stairs and pulling my very best friend into a hug. "And I promise to hang out with you. Tomorrow."

He rolls his eyes. "Fine, you act as if I can dish it out but not handle it."

"Oh, no." I say, smirking. "I'm sure you can live without me for just one night."

Derek smirks. "See ya, Smarti." He says before making his way outside the house.

I chase after him, poking my head out the front door. "It's Marti!" my voice squeaks after him.

He turns around at me and shakes his head, smiling. "It'll always be Smarti."

I roll my eyes and kick the door shut.

I pad into the kitchen, clad in a UT tee-shirt and gray shorts with "Toronto" written on the butt in navy blue. Derek bought the set for me for my birthday, saying that it would help me fit in when I went there. In three years.

Of course, that is where I'm going. It's the only school I've ever truly wanted to go to. I don't have the same goals as Casey. I don't care if I go to some huge law school in the States. I'm perfectly content with going to a University close to home, with exactly what I want there. All I want to do is draw. Art is my biggest dream, anything involving art. But, especially drawing. I'm majoring in art with a minor in fashion design. I already have it all planned out.

Not even a minute into me reaching into the fridge and pulling out a kiwi-strawberry Vitamin Water, do I hear my front door swing open and then close.

"Marti Venturi!" I hear a familiar voice sing out. "Where art thou?"

I squeal, dropping my bottle onto the counter, and hurrying into the foyer, where Colby Braddock is standing, wrapped up in a scarf and coat.

I leap into his arms and hold him tightly. "I missed you!" I exclaim, as I always do whenever I see him.

He's been my friend for, well, ever.

I always hung out with boys when I was growing up, and Colby was one of my first best friends. We met at a day care center the summer before first grade for me and second grade for him. And we instantly clicked. He's always there for me and I can count on him for anything. Which is precisely why he is my number two on MySpace.

I used to always hang out with him and Demi, Emily Davis's younger brother.

And then, Demi grew an interest in girls and ditched me thoroughly, and I pretty much stuck to hanging with Colby. And then Eric, when he moved here when I was in sixth grade and Colby introduced us.

But, I never expected that they would, you know, be dating.

Regardless, they make one of the cutest couples ever, and I get to call them my best friends.

"So, what are you doing loser?" Colby asks, plopping me back down on the floor.

I shrug. "Nothing much. But, I did rent all the movies that you asked me too, and I am fully prepared to have a pizza-pig-out, movie marathon with you and Eric." I grin wickedly.

Colby nods approvingly. "Very righteous." He announces with a smile, shrugging off his jacket and scarf and hanging them on our coat rack.

As if on cue, the front door opens again and I am met with a bush of blonde, curly hair. "Way to leave me in the car, jackass." Eric jokes sarcastically, nudging Colby with his hip. He turns to me and grins. "Hey gorgeous." He says with a wink and pulls me into a hug.

Another good thing about having gay best friends? They are excellent ego-boosters. And they don't even mean it in a sexual way!

"Hey stud." I reply with a laugh.

Oh, and you can call them whatever sexual term you want and they won't take it in the wrong manner.

Unlike Demi. I said "hey sexy" to him once, and I'm pretty sure he blocked me.

"Okay, so the one thing I'm concerned about is seeing this pink Vaio that you spoke so highly of." Colby declares as we make our descent into the living room.

I grin wildly. "Wait right here." I announce before jogging up the stairs.

I enter my bedroom, check my cell phone for any text messages (one, from Lucy. She wanted to know if I wanted to make my party of three with Eric and Colby a party of four.), grabbed my laptop, and hurried back downstairs.

"Check out this beast." I say jokingly and plop down on the couch, between my two favorite boys.

Colby takes it out of my hand and flips it open. We have a few moments of silence, save Colby making a few comments about how nice the laptop is, before I hear this come out of his mouth.

"Who's Donnie?"

-.-

Ta-da!

Hope you liked it. Sorry for the slow update!

R&R and please, no flames!

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Love,

DC :)

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PS: Thanks so much for all of the reviews on "How I Spent My Christmas Vacation"!