A/N - Congrats to kobrakai-vs-dragon ninja for being my 200th reviewer! So once again, I was dragged out of my house to a booze party. Imagine a bunch of my drunk uncles and some guys who owned motorcycles singing karaoke. Then little kids singing karaoke. And then my cousin Jen texting on her Sidekick like there was no tomorrow and complaining about her cold sore.

Then when Jen leaves, I'm up in Tracy's room after Tracy got home from work. Then there's this incident with the lacy bra where it goes.

Me - "Omg, you just threw your clothes on the chair! Omg, you just threw your bra at me! It's lacy too!

Tracy - "Omg, you just threw my bra at me!"

And chargers in laps.. never mind, don't ask about that… …….

"Slut," I hear somebody say on as I walk into homeroom.

Don't you guys hate rumors? I sure do, and the latest one is that I'm a whore who sleeps with two different guys at once. Of course, me being me, I'm not gonna fight back. I'll just hold everything in my thoughts. I swear, I'm about to explode one day. How can the people go from being on my side to totally thinking that I'm some trash? Is this entire school bipolar? No wait, they're multipolar.

"I'm like, sooo pissed right now," I say to Nate before angrily sitting down. Ouch, that made me hurt my butt.

"Yeah, I heard the rumors," he replies before frowning.

"It's another reason to really not like my sister," I groan before putting my head in my crossed arms on the desk.

"Wow, you make me feel like I have the best siblings ever, even though they really suck sometimes," he laughs out loud.

"Oh yeah, happy birthday!" I exclaim very loudly. I then start sing the Happy Birthday song.

Nate blushes before muttering, "Thanks."

"And don't think I forgot about the birthday punches, either. I owe you fifteen of them!" I tell him before punching his arm really hard fifteen times.

"Ow, why'd you have to do that?" he asks me before laughing.

"Oh yeah, and a punch for good luck, too!" I say before punching him one last time.

"You know, you're lucky you're you. If you were some other person, you'd be dead right now," he jokes. Well, I think he's joking, I mean.

"Yes, I have the amazing privilege to punch Nate Grey whenever I want," I laugh before continuing, "Don't worry, I won't punch you anymore. Next up is Jason."

Jason's birthday was going to be in November. I'm lucky that my birthday's in the summer since there's really no one to punch me. Except for that one summer when Nicole totally killed my arm.. Ouch. My mom noticed the bruises and asked me about it during the 4th of July party we hold at Jen's house every year. I told her, "It's just this American tradition." And she said, "Kids these days, America's making them messed up." I sometimes agree with that statement of hers.

It seems like the only people who aren't against me right now are Shane, Nate, Jason, Nicole, Kate, Anne and Nancy. Kate, Anne, Nancy and I were actually talking to each other in gym.

"So like, the rumors about you aren't true?" Nancy asks me.

"Gross, of course not. I'll admit that I've never even kissed a guy before," I reassure her.

"I got Nate a present for his birthday," Kate tells us.

"Don't tell me it's a card professing your undying love for him," Anne warns her.

"No no, it's more like.. A tie, for Homecoming," she says dreamily. "It matches with my dress."

"Hey, how about I give it to him since I have a couple more classes with him today," I offer up. I really hope she doesn't have contact with Nate. That would ruin the plan.

"Wait, why can't I give it to him? I mean, I'm his date, not you," she starts protesting.

"Well.. He believes that it's bad luck to see his date before the dance," I say, making it up as I go. Wait, doesn't that only apply for weddings?

"Wait, isn't that only for weddings, though?" she asks as if she's reading my mind. "Aw, that's so romantic, he must really like me to compare the dance to a WEDDING," she gets that dreamy look back on again.

I couldn't help but feel an intense pang of jealousy as she said that. Nate doesn't like her! He can't like her, he's creeped out by her. He doesn't even know he's gonna go to the dance. Besides, Nate and I are going rollerblading together today at the skating rink. After gym was over, I stopped by Kate's locker and got Nate's tie. It was black with purple stripes.

I have to put this tie in my locker before anyone sees me holding a random box. Doing this meant that I was late for Biology, but Mrs. Mullen was totally fine with it. I'm still wondering when she's gonna have that baby. People were still giving me nasty comments about the rumors. I could seriously care less, though.

Right as I was about to sit down at the table at lunch, Shane grabs my arm and drags me out into the boys' bathroom. I'm standing in here with Shane in the BOYS' BATHROOM! I see a random guy get out one of the stalls with his fly still unzipped. He sees me and Shane then darts out of there. Shane checks around to make sure that we're alone before he starts talking.

"Okay, I need details on the whole Kate issue. NOW," he demands.

"All I did was guarantee her a date with Nate to Homecoming," I admit.

"And does Nate even know about this?" he asks.

I stutter before saying, "I have a plan to tell him when we go rollerblading today."

"Wait, you guys are going rollerblading? Why?" his eyes go dark again for a sec.

"Well, he asked me to, and it's his birthday, so I agreed to go," I tell him the truth.

"Look, Kate's a crazy chick, okay. She nearly committed suicide thanks to Nate, it wasn't just drugs," he says.

"Wait, so if she finds out that Nate doesn't know…" I start.

"Something really bad could happen," Shane finishes for me.

XoLAGOHxO

I didn't tell Shane about the whole wedding comparison that Kate made. That would only make him feel worse. I was in the car with Nate and Jason, who was driving us to Green Oak's rollerblading rink. I was planning on telling Nate about Kate today at the rink, but now I'm having my doubts. After we rented some rollerblades, we started playing air hockey.

"Nate, you really suck at this game," I say as I got in yet another goal. I was beating him 5-1.

"You always beat me at guy stuff. I feel like a girl now," he says before crossing his arms like a kid who wasn't getting what they wanted.

"Hey, it's the couple skate right now, let's go!" I exclaim before dragging him to the rink. He nearly fell while I just stood there.

"Did I ever tell you that I can't skate?" he asks me as he got his balance together.

"Nope. Did I ever tell you that I'm awesome at this stuff?" I ask him before skating away just to show off. I stop and turn around only to see him slowly wobbling to me. Aw, poor Nate, he must be so embarrassed.

"Wow, took you long enough to get here," I tease him. There were a bunch of other couples skating, too.

"You guys have to hold hands," an employee tells us.

"Wait, why would we have to hold hands?" I ask him.

"It's the couple skate, you're supposed to hold hands," he orders us. I grab Nate's hand and skate off. I saw two guys skating together, but the dude didn't make them hold hands. What is he, sexist?

"Hey, I'm starting to get the hang of this," Nate says before we started speeding up.

"At least you're a quick learner," I tell him before smiling.

"Hey, not everyone's holding hands," he points out. I look around to find him correct. Only half the people were holding hands like us.

"I had a funky experience once. My friend had this birthday party at a skating rink, and I skated with one of my gal friends during the couple's skate. One of the dudes working there forced us to hold hands," I reminisce.

"Wait, did he think that you guys were lesbians or something?" he asks with his mouth hanging open.

"I'm not sure, but when two guys were skating together, he didn't make them hold hands. This feels like déjà vu," I say. (True story, too. Oo)

"Wow, people really do think that you're a lesbian. First that dude, then Angela," he laughs.

"Yeah, I have to admit it's really embarrassing. Did I mention that you have a date to the Homecoming dance?" I decide to mention Homecoming now.

"What?!" he screeches before skating directly into a wall. People turn and stare at him while I try getting him to stand up. A teenage girl skates up to us, holding hands with a guy.

"Hey, you're Nate Grey, right? Your mom's the fashion designer? I saw you guys in US Weekly together. So, you're like, seriously going out?" she asks all at once.

"No no, we're not going out or anything. Just friends," I correct her. "And yeah, the one and only Nate Grey."

He shakes her hand when he finally got his balance on the blades. "I love your mom's new line," she says before going off with who I supposed was her boyfriend.

"Let's go get some food," I suggest. We return the rollerblades and put our shoes back on, then order some fries and burgers. I wasn't even sitting down before he starts shooting me questions.

"So, who's taking me to Homecoming?" he asks.

"That should remain a secret until the dance," I tell him.

"Wait, where's the ticket then?" he continues asking.

"I'm gonna get it for you tomorrow," I reply.

"How about a tie?"

"Don't worry, your date already solved that issue. It's in my locker," I reassure him.

"Is it some crazy suicidal emo chick?" he asks, as if reading my mind. Are my thoughts out in the open today or something?

"Nope, don't worry," I say, crossing my fingers behind my back.

"Will she be jealous if I dance with you?" he questions. That question really took me off guard.

"Uh, I'm not sure," I lie.

"Well, looking at the birthday cards shoved in my locker today, it's gotta be one of those girls," he starts reasoning. Boy, I hope that he believes that since I begged Kate not to contact him at all.

"Sure, okay," is all I say before eating my burger.

"No matter what she says, I'll have at least one dance with you," he tells me.

"Uh, I don't really dance. Unless it's the Cha-Cha Slide, but that's self explanatory," I try telling him. If he dances with me, Kate will go bonkers.

"Just promise me one slow song, okay? I'll teach you," he offers.

I just couldn't say no to him, so I say, "If you teach me, I'll promise you one slow dance."

He grins before saying, "Perfect."

I smile back at him, but on the inside, I'm screaming at myself, "WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE?!"

XoLAGOHxO

You wouldn't be able to guess it. Oh wait never mind, you would. There's another booze party tonight, or "family gathering" as my mom still likes to call it. She told me to invite Shane, but instead, I dragged Nate along. So here we are in Jen's room while I'm doing my best to not listen to the my drunk uncles and their friends downstairs.

"Dude, I swear, this is a fucking cold sore!" Jen says, pointing to the side of her mouth. Apparently the cold sore was starting to swell up.

"How about you go to CVS and get some of that Abreva stuff?" I suggest.

"Yeah, I'll get Dave to drive me there since he just got off work," she says before dialing something on her new Sidekick.

"You guys wanna come with me?" she asks us, going down the steps to the first floor of the house.

"Yeah, it's better than staying here," I say before dragging Nate down with me.

We stand in the front lawn, waiting for Dave to show up. Once he does, Jen quickly introduces Nate and Dave.

"Wow, Dave, nice tattoos," Nate says to him.

"Yeah, thanks," was all Dave replies.

"Man, this cold sore's getting worse," Jen whines as she looks into the reflective back of her phone.

"Wow, this is some birthday," Nate mumbles.

"What, it's your birthday?" Jen asks.

"Yeah, we went rollerblading today, and celebrated it early last week," I say.

"Wait, as in a date?" Jen looks back with raised eyebrows.

"Dude, you know me. I don't date anyone," I tell her.

"No, you're Shane's date to the dance," Nate reminds me. "Which is tomorrow night," he continues.

"Wait, you mean that hot dude that was at my house last week?" she asks me.

"Jen, I'm right here," Dave says.

"Whoops, sorry Dave," she jokes around.

"Yeah, that so called "hot dude" is Shane," I confirm.

"Whoo, we're here, let's get the heck out of this thing," Jen says before rushing inside the CVS.

This is pretty funny since I was in this place not too long ago buying condoms with Shane. After Jen gets the medicine for her cold sore, she goes to the back of the store and we all follow her.

"Condoms?" I bluntly ask her.

"Yeah, we're kinda running low," she says before pulling out a pack.

"I just bought a couple the other day, too," I tell her.

"Whoa, Jenny, you're supposed to be the innocent one in this family," she exclaims, shocked.

"They were meant for that bitch of a sister I have," I say.

"Eh, I saw it coming. I never liked that girl," she tells me as we walk to the check-out line.

"I didn't either," I reply. I saw that Dave from school was walking around, hoping to assist anyone that would need it.

I walk up to him when he wasn't looking at me and tap his shoulder. He turns around and looks startled to see me. He should be because I'm pretty sure that he started the rumor that ruined my nonexistent reputation. I'm getting really mad right now.

"Oh, Jenny, what's up?" he nervously asks.

"You cocksucker, you fucking started that fucking rumor about me," I start cursing.

"Well, isn't it true? Aren't you sleeping with Shane?" he asks me. He actually believes that I'm sleeping with Shane.

"No, I don't sleep with anybody, especially manwhores like him, okay? Now you better tell people the truth, or you will definitely regret it," I warn him.

"You're just a little girl. You can't threaten me," he defends himself.

"Okay, if you clear up the rumors, I'll owe you a favor," I offer up.

He ponders the thought for a moment before saying, "Okay, I've had a crush on Kate for a long time, but I know that she likes Nate, who likes you. Get me a date with her and we have a deal."

Wait, huh? What'd he just say? "Did you just say that Nate likes me?" I ask him.

"Jenny, I heard that you're a smart kid. Why don't you see it? Everyone knows by now," he says before patting my back and walking away to assist somebody.

"Wait, what about Shane?!" I loudly ask him.

"He does, too," he yells before walking away for real.

I don't believe him. He's lying. Shane doesn't like anyone, and Nate's just my friend. They're both just my friends. Why can't I hang out with both guys without it being a problem?

After the party was over, Nate and I were sitting in my backyard, talking with each other. I have to find out some way if what Dave said was true. It's seriously making me nauseous.

"Nate, I have a serious question," I tell him.

"Yeah, Jenny, what is it?" he asks me.

"You and Shane are my friends, right?" I ask him.

"Yeah, of course we are," he says.

"And we're just friends, right Nate?" I ask. I hope that he says yes.

"Jenny, what do you mean?" he starts getting worried. I don't wanna worry him with my petty feelings.

"What I'm trying to say is, it's all platonic, right?" I try explaining.

"Only if you want it to be. I mean, these past couple weeks have been intense, and we're close now, like, extremely close," he says. That's just confusing me.

"How close?" I ask him. I'm starting to feel sick.

"Jenny, do we have to talk about this now? How about after the dance?" he tries avoiding the subject.

"Nate, how fucking close?!" I start raising my voice.

"How close are you and Shane then, huh?" he angrily asks me.

"As close as I am to you, now answer the question," I plead.

"No, I won't let him," he says through clenched teeth.

"Why not? Aren't we just friends? Isn't that how it's supposed to be? Just friends?" I ask him.

He roughly grips my arm before saying, "No, I don't want it to be that way between us."

"Nate, what do you mean?" I ask him. I think I already know the answer, but I need to hear him say it. My arm was starting to really hurt now.

Next thing I know, I can feel his soft lips on mine as his hand on my neck tilts my head back. After a couple seconds, he pulls away from me, a look of hurt on his face. He's about to run away before I grab onto his shirt, ripping it. I didn't care, though.

"Don't run away," I hoarsely whisper. I don't know why I was crying now.

I could sense that Nate was trying to silently apologize to me. He gives me a sympathetic look before running off. I fall into a heap on the ground. He just kissed me, and he just ran away. He ran away from me. Why did he run away?

A/N - OMG, he just kissed her.. Then ran away. Why would Nate be running away? Tune in next time to see.. Are you Nate lovers happy now??