A/N - I am craving ramen.. Seriously craving that stuff. If I forgot to reply to your review, I'm so sorry! I read each one in school, but since I can't reply, that sucks. When I get home, the mail isn't high lighted since I already checked it, and it gets confusing when it gets to over twenty reviews. Eh.. Sorry this chapter's so crappy. It goes more in depth with the new character.. I see some are already suspicious. Hahahaha. I've almost reached 15 K hits! Just like, thirty more hits.. Should I present a reward for the 500th reviewer?

How about I PM a sneak peek of the next chapter to the 500th reviewer a day before it goes up? I'm not sure if I can do that though, but I'll try. And not reviewing and waiting for other people to review to take your prize won't work.. .

"Dude, an hour of Rock Band's enough for tonight. We all know that I kick your ass in everything so you might as well give up now. Besides, I'm totally craving a hot dog." I turn off the X-Box and put away the microphones before adjusting my cover-up and walking out to the pool, Nate following.

"Hey, I'm not really that bad."

"You're right, I'm just that much better than you are."

He knew I was right, and I felt like rubbing it in his face. After singing like that tonight, you'd think that he would be able to beat me at one song. Just one. But nope, I cream him every single time. I suck at singing, too. It gets to the point where I become bored, and Nate gets more pissed each time he loses. Good thing it's not a serious form of pissing off. We all know about his anger issues, right?

"Enjoy the glory. It won't last long."

"Yes, I'm definitely enjoying it!"

I grab one of the pre-assembled hot dogs and squirt some mustard on it. I stuff a huge bite in my mouth, consuming about half of it. I'm not sure which side of the family that I got it from, and my mouth doesn't seem big, but I can stuff a lot of food in it. Trust me, a lot. You don't want to know how much. I finish my first hot dog thirty seconds later and grab my second one. This time, I take my time.

"Jenny, do you always eat like this?" Nate seems like he's worried. What am I gonna do? OD on fat?

"I haven't had good grub in two days, man. I've probably lost five pounds, at least. I need to gain the weight back." With that said, I go and get a burger, leaving Nate with some of his friends.

"Damn chicka, this is like déjà vu," Nicole says as she gets a burger, too.

"Wow, you guys are pretty hungry," Christie laughs, drinking some punch.

"So, how was the pool?" Their hair was still pretty wet.

"We played that chicken fight thing where the girls get on the guys' shoulders. Nicole was on Jason while I had Brad." Christie sips her punch, looking around.

"Ooh, so you like Brad?" Nicole teases.

"Oh, no, no, of course not! I just started here, so I don't really like any guys yet."

"Anyone catch your eye?" I ask.

"Well, kind of, but I'm not really sure. I don't know him that well, but he's pretty nice and sweet."

"Aw, he sounds cool, even with that vague description you gave us." Nicole bites into her burger.

"I know, he's awesome." Christie lets out a small giggle, still drinking her punch.

"So, freshman, sophomore, junior or senior?" I wonder.

"He's a freshman, and his hair's awesome."

"Awesome hair is a definite must," I proclaim, high-fiving Christie.

"Jason looks good with curly and straight hair, so HA!" Nicole seems pretty proud of Jason these days. And a bit too happy, too.

"Well, yeah, you can have that boyfriend of yours. I'm sticking to my TWO guys." It didn't feel right saying that since it made me sound like a two-timer.

"Whoa, what do you mean 'two' guys?" Christie asks.

"She's in this heated love triangle. Trust me, you don't wanna get involved."

"Eh, it's not so bad, really," I assure them. Who was I kidding? It really was bad.

"Like, what's happened so far?"

"An unbelievable amount of shit's happened ever since the first day. We can't explain it all right now," Nicole says.

"It's just been.. My locker getting burned down, New York, Chinatown, Atlantic City, and so much more. Then there's also the drama. Like, that suicide or that concussion."

"So that's what the other kids were talking about when they mentioned suicide? I mean, they really didn't say much, but, that's what they were referring to?" Christie asks, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, it's pretty dramatic. Since you seem cool, unlike almost every single chick at Green Oak, we can trust you with the information. Like, seriously. You're the only girl I've met so far this year that isn't some slutty whore or is a total bitch or scares me."

"Nice way of putting it," Nicole sarcastically says.

"Sorry, I meant that you're cool! Geez, that concussion still has my brain messed up."

"No, Christie, she's always like that."

"Okay, wow. That's like, whoa. So, you got a concussion?" Christie asks me. I swallow some of my burger before replying.

"That's the secret why I missed school. It was an accident, though, so no biggie. I can't swim because then the make-up would rub off and reveal that gigantic bruise on my cheek."

"You have a bruise, too? Did the cheerleaders do it?"

"All the injuries are from Nate and Shane, but it was mainly accidents. I kinda had that bruise coming, and I brought the concussion on myself."

"Chink, what the hell are you talking about? We know that Nate's got anger issues. Yes, I heard that from Jason. We also know that you've got too much of a good heart. You got that concussion by protecting him!" Nicole tries to knock some sense into me. I stand there, finishing up my burger.

"Dude, shush! Nobody knows about that concussion. They thought I was sick. But like I said, it was an accident, and I don' blame them."

"Jenny, I agree with Nicole. You're a bit too forgiving," Christie says.

"Thank you!" Nicole yells, giving Christie a high-five. "At least someone agrees with me."

"Okay, I'm officially full. Let's go hang out inside the house," I say, pulling them inside with me. Like I mentioned before, I need to avoid water, and standing right next to a pool isn't going to help.

"So, what can we do in here?" Christie asks.

"We can try watching a movie," I suggest. "I'm pretty sure Nate's got some good movies up in his room." For some reason, Christie's eyes get even bigger at this, if that's possible.

"Or we could try DDR in Jason's room," Nicole says.

"Shane just bought Rock Band 2," I continue.

"Wow, looks like each guys' room serves as a different form or entertainment for you guys," Christie laughs.

"Now that you put it that way, it feels like we're using them. But who cares? I vote for White Chicks!" Next thing you know, the three of us are sitting on Nate's bed laughing at the comedy.

"Oh my God! 'It's not just a bag, it's Prada.' That's my favorite line," Christie laughs. This was my most favorite comedy ever, and we just finished watching it.

"The sleepover scene with that pink dildo!" Nicole exclaims.

"Don't forget 'Panties! Bush! Balls?! EWW!'" I remind them.

"Seriously, young kids think way too dirty these days," Nicole says, shaking her head.

"You can say that again. My sister's turning into a whore, too."

"I've just met you guys and you already scared me. Does your sister go to Green Oak, too? Mine's a junior," Christie asks.

"Nope, she's an eleven year old bitch that made me go buy condoms for her." I glare into space for added dramatic effect.

"Jenny, Gina's not so bad," Nicole insists.

"Psh, try living with that.. Thing. God, I know I sound mean, but I really don't like her. Who gives a crap about the whole flesh and blood shit?"

"Oh, your sister goes to our school, too?" Nicole asks Christie, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, she's a junior named Lexie."

"Ooh, maybe Shane's met her or something! Is she like you? 'Cause if she is, that'd be totally awesome," I say.

"Well, she's a little different. Her hair's longer and whatnot. She hasn't mentioned anything about Shane, so I'm not sure. She didn't go to the party since she felt like studying."

"New students are a big thing at our school. You know, the super tiny student population. Wait, what time is it?" Nicole asks. I look at Nate's clock on the opposite wall and saw that it was just past midnight.

"Oh, my God! My mom's gonna kill me! I didn't even tell her about the after party!" I shriek.

"No, don't worry, I told her about it while you were in the shower. It's totally fine," Nicole reassures me.

"Aw, my curfew's 12:30. I live twenty minutes away on foot, so I need to go," Christie says.

"You can't leave without giving me a hug first!" I say before squishing her with one of my hugs. "Your official welcome to Green Oak hug," I chuckle when I let go of her. She hugs Nicole, too, before leaving Nate's room and walking downstairs.

"I like her," Nicole says. I definitely agree.

We both decided to go home since it was getting pretty late. I made plans with Nate and Shane to work on our projects tomorrow. To tell you the truth, Christie seemed like a pretty nice girl, and I'm hoping that we can become good friends. Jason drove both me and Nicole home. By the time I hit the sheets that night, I was totally exhausted with my brain going crazy with thoughts of Christie. She seems nice and cool. I'm right, aren't I?

XoLAGOHxO

"Bye mom! I'm going over to the Grey's house again since I need to work on that project!" I yell before leaving the house. I woke up about an hour ago and just had my brunch. Yeah, sleeping in isn't that good. My mom's being pretty nice these days, always letting me go over to the house. Always walking over there is giving my legs a pretty good work-out. I got to the house within forty-five minutes. Denise opens the door when I ring the bell.

"Oh, Jenny! Good afternoon. The two boys are upstairs working on their Geometry project," she says, letting me in.

"Good afternoon to you, too. We have a whole heck of a lot of work to do today." I go up to Shane's room to see Shane and Nate with a box and a bunch of foam and wires.

"Oh, hey Jenny," they both greet me. Surprisingly, they were both pretty absorbed in cutting the foam and taping it inside the box. We're supposed to make a plane with angles coming in and out of it, right? After two hours of cutting, taping, more cutting and inserting, we were finished.

"Looks good," Shane comments.

"Colorful," Nate adds in.

"I hate Geometry." We all laugh at my comment. "Nate, we really need to work on that report on Nero," I remind him. He groans, standing up.

"I'll help you guys," Shane offers. Nate and I look at him in total shock. He never helps, and this wasn't even his project. "I still feel guilty about that. I don't want your brain to go on overdrive."

"Aw, look at who's being cute and sweet," I tease him. "You don't really have to help us. The PowerPoint's almost done, and I can think and type super fast."

"Well, I want to. Nate, you can just kick back and relax." Nate gives Shane a suspicious look, but puts up his hands in defeat.

"If it gets me out of thinking about that fucked up emperor, fine with me." He plops down on Shane's bed, turning on the TV. "I'll just watch Hannah Montana in peace."

"Have fun with that," I laugh before going up to Nate's room. I sit down at his desk and turn on his Macbook Air. As it loads, I spin around to look at Shane.

"I've got a feeling that you don't really want to help me with this project."

"Eh, I still owe you, though. Besides, it's a good excuse to spend more time with you," he shrugs.

"Trust me, this dude that we're basing the project on, yeah. He's one messed up dickhead."

"What'd he do? Kill his mom?"

"Yup, he did just that."

"Did he hurt his lover?"

"Which one? He hurt a lot of them."

"Did he feel guilty for it? At all?"

"Nope, not once. He's got one heck of a cold heart."

"Well, my guilt's eating me up." I hear the the Mac finished loading, but I ignore it. Shane still feels guilty for that accident.

"Shane, it's in the past now. I forgive you, and I feel good. You were just angry."

"Everytime Nate or I become angry, you end up getting hurt. What happens if it becomes serious one day?"

"I trust you guys to have better judgment. If both of you have learned from this, then we should leave it behind us."

"Yeah, I've learned that I'm not good enough for you."

"Yes, you are," I assure him. My feelings are so conflicted right now.

"Then how come we're not together? Why are we still on the friendship level? If I was good enough for you, you wouldn't even have to think twice about Nate," he says. "I wouldn't have to keep wondering every second of the day."

"I'm so sorry, but.. I really don't know what to do or think anymore," I apologize.

"Call me when you've made your decision." He gets up and leaves. He didn't even hug me, or even say bye. It took me awhile, but I finally figured it out. He was pretty much saying that if I chose Nate, he wouldn't talk to me anymore, not even be my friend. If I chose Shane, we'd be together, but then there was Nate. I told myself that I already chose last week, and I don't think my decision's changed. I've just gotta make sure first. I need to find a way for all of this to not become a disaster. I need to manage to somehow make everyone happy. I just need to have that guarantee before I do anything drastic.

One's happiness includes another's sacrifice.