Disclaimed:) This chapter is dedicated to Smilez014 because she's weird and my besterestest friend in the whole world and I don't know what I'd do without her:)

Massie trudged up the walkway of the Lyons' residence. Judi and Jay Lyons were as always, not here. Although that meant Claire could bring guys in, she was too much of a sweet person to do that. She turned the knob of the door to Claire's huge house. Even if she was an only child, there were still five bedrooms and four in a half baths.

Before stepping in, her head turned to the huge house about two acres away. She didn't need to be that close to know that someone was living there. Massie's heart filled with anger. How dare someone move into Derrick's ex-house?

Whoa, wait, Mass, contain yourself, she thought. You don't like Derrick, you hate his guts. Don't be fooled by him.

The lights were on in Derrick's house. Massie felt even more tears sting her eyes. And then she couldn't hold herself any longer. She let the heavy emotions flow through her. Emotions that were set off because Derrick left without saying goodbye—not that it even mattered—and because Chris had cheated on her. This was good, the tears, but it'd be even better if she had a friend's shoulder to cry on. She continued to walk through the house, not caring that she was freely sobbing now. She heard soft piano music coming from the dining room. She saw two families there staring at her through her blurry vision.

"Massie!" Claire yelled.

Massie sniffled and the tears came faster. "Chris cheated on me!" she shrieked.

"Oh, my," an unfamiliar voice murmured.

"Is that Massie? Wow, she's so pretty, and so grown up," another unfamiliar voice noted.

"Massie, honey," Judi Lyons' sweet voice said.

"I'm gonna kill that Plovert kid!" Jay Lyons exclaimed. The Blocks', the Lyons', and the Gregorys' were the best of friends and everyone knew everything about each other…
Well, not everything.

Claire hugged Massie and stroked her brunette curls. "Oh, Massie," she murmured. "You're a wreck."

"It's so unfair, Claire Bear."

"Who did he cheat on you with?"

"Stupid freaking Alicia Rivera, that's who!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Claire, I saw it with both my eyes. I decided to go to Chris's house earlier than usual, and when I heard a girl, there she was! Naked and it was horrible. And worst of all, I let it all out. See," she sniffled. Claire let go of her. She grabbed the yellow trash bag and dumped its contents. Photos, CDs, and hand-made accessories spilled out of the bag.

Claire inhaled slowly under her breath. She covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh, my God," she muttered under her breath.

She nodded, her curls bouncing.

Claire felt envy towards her beautiful best friend. Even if she cried, she was still beautiful; her amber eyes danced with emotion, making it twinkle. Her brunette curls bounced during any occasion, even if her hair as wet. And aside from being so pretty, she was also the nicest person alive. She was so much fun and so outgoing and so down to earth that it was hard to miss her, let along break her heart. She couldn't believe that Chris Plovert cheated on such an awesome person.

Massie sobbed again. Claire buried her in a hug. Jay stood up along with Judi. They enveloped their second daughter in a hug. They loved her because Massie was always there with Claire. She wasn't like some other kids who would befriend Claire and then leave her. Judi and Jay considered Kristen and Massie to be daughters as well.

Jay stood up. "I'm not letting this slide."

"Yeah hell I'm not letting this slide. Chris is such a jerk. And to think he said he would never resort to cheating again," an unfamiliar voice said from behind.

Massie felt Claire and Judi release her, but someone else got a hold of her. Someone stronger, someone more masculine. But she didn't care. She hugged this mysterious person back, and he stroked her hair. The voice whispered, "I missed you a lot, Massie. I'm not that happy that I saw you again like this, though. But you're even more beautiful since the last time I saw you."

Massie inhaled sharply. She craned her neck up to see a face she thought she'd never see again. The dirty blonde shaggy hair, the caramel brown eyes… It was D.H. Not Devon Hayes—Derrick Harrington. He smiled and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Miss me?" he asked.

But she didn't answer. Derrick Harrington was back. Derrick Harrington—the boy who pulled her hair, the boy who would punch Massie and tease her brunette curls and her unique amber eyes, the boy who just never seemed to show any sort of affection to her—had said she was beautiful. And that he missed her. Her lips parted, but so did the wires in her brain. The room around her started spinning, and the song "According to You" by Orianthi played in her head as her vision blurred and her eyes shut, blacking out.

_xoxoDDLSG_

Massie's eyes slowly crept open. She was about to stretch when she realized that she could barely move. There were two strong arms that were wrapped around her. They felt exactly the same as from yesterday. Then that meant…

Her brain sent a red alert to her amber eyes. She looked around her, and in her body. Phew, my clothes are still on, she thought. She winced. Looking around her, the room seemed familiar. The cream-colored walls, the portraits drawn various painters, the oak cabinets, all reminders of Claire's guest bedroom.

But whose arms are these? God, they're so heavy. Jeez, take a chill pill on the weights will you? As if on cue, the person behind her budged on the bed, allowing Massie to turn around and see who it was. When she was finally able to rest her eyes on the stranger, she gasped.

Derrick Harrington fell asleep next to Massie with his arms around her. Although Massie's cryfest yesterday gave her a throbbing headache today, she didn't mind that he had his arms around her. Massie's eyes widened. Massie! Don't even dare fall for this jerk. You better not, girl, or I'll slice you. Hey, don't talk like that, weirdo. Massie really was going crazy, and only because her enemy was here. She stared at his serene face. Had Derrick always looked this cute?

She remembered the events from last night. Chris cheating on her, her meeting Devon, and running to Claire's house only to find someone she didn't want to be there.

Massie's eyes widened as she realized something. If the house next to Claire's had a light on, it meant someone was living there. And since Derrick was here last night, it meant that his parents were probably there, too.

And parents + Derrick + lights on in the neighbors house equals…

"Derrick is moving back," she murmured. The words felt foreign to her. "Derrick's moving back," she repeated, slower so that the words made sense. She licked her lips. "Derrick's moving back." Emotions flooded through Massie again. But they weren't sad ones; happy, they were happy ones.

She didn't know why she felt this way, and it was weird to her. She blinked. It was odd that these emotions seemed to fill her. And she hated to admit it, but now that Derrick was back, she felt whole again.

The missing void in her heart was filled. She frowned. She didn't want to fall again. Not that I will let myself fall, she thought. Derrick inhaled and exhaled and his eyebrow twitched. Massie bit her bottom lip and made the mistake of moving back. She was surprised to hear him murmur, "Massie." Her eyes widened into nickels as she felt Derrick's arms tighten around her and he pulled her closer.

She was too weak to pull away from him as he pulled her towards him. In four seconds, her entire body was pushed against Derrick's. She felt his body heat pulsing and it made her feel comfortable, like she was meant to be there. She sighed and buried her head into his chest. Even though she knew that this was Derrick, she didn't mind.

In his sleep, Derrick wrapped his arms tighter around Massie, and she felt every cell in her body heat up. Part of her wanted him to let go because she just remembered that she hated him with every fiber of her being.

But then again…

"No, Massie. You will not let yourself fall for someone as idiotic as Derrick until you are emotionally stable. Which is probably never." Her chin quivered. She hated Chris, but she hated Derrick more. She thought she loved Chris. But I guess he didn't feel the same. The tears started falling as the realization hit her that the midnight calls had ended, the kisses ended, when he would pass notes with cheesy lines ended, when he would call every hour after school after they had just met ended, and they conversations on practically anything in the world ended. The tears soaked Derrick's red shirt.

Derrick made a weird sound that came from the back of his throat. He yawned deeply and opened one eye. When he felt his chest was wet, his other eye popped open. "Massie," he whispered in pity.

She broke out into a loud sob and wrapped her arms around his waist. "He's gone," she moaned, repeating it ever few seconds.

Derrick felt like pounding Chris into a pulp. He hated seeing her like this. But even though, he thought she was beautiful. Much more beautiful than before, he thought. Massie was one of the reasons he came back. He remembered the first time he saw her.

Brunette curls hanging below her shoulder, framing her delicate face, and her eyes… Her eyes were piercing and intense, but what he loved the most was her personality. Growing up in a world where fashion was everything, he would've assumed she was a bitch.

But she wasn't. She was so comfortable being around. She appreciated her friends, she appreciated jokes, she appreciated all the little things. Her smile, the prettiest one around, was what got Derrick the first time. She always smiled, and it was fine for Derrick. It made his whole day. Massie had this exciting aura about her that made you just love her. She was outgoing, smart, gorgeous, and just the best friend anyone could ever have. Over the years, he slowly but surely fell in love with her. That was why he bullied her more. He didn't want Massie to know that he practically worshipped her. But each time he did it, it pained him to see her cry.

He always knew he was in love with Massie, but why would he say that? It was the reason why he didn't say bye to Massie before he left. He was afraid that she'd be too happy.
I mean, she hates me for being such a jerk. I don't think that jerk even covers how mean I was. It's too bad she hates me. What perfect timing this was. He sighed. "It's okay, Mass, I'll kill him," he half-heartedly teased, rubbing her back.

He was surprised that she fit so perfectly into the curve of his body. He's had thirteen girlfriends before, all girls with the initials M. B. If it wasn't M. B, it was B. M. But none of them compared to Massie. They were posers. They didn't catch Derrick at all, not in their smile or in the words they said. There was nothing magical to any of the girls he dated. And the worst part? The worst part was that they all wanted to have sex with him because he was the popular, hot kid. And he didn't feel good about that. At all.

With tears streaming down her face, she asked into his chest, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Because I love you, he thought. "Pity?" he said instead.

This made Massie cry even more. It would've been better if you said because you loved me, she thought. She didn't know why she did, it's not like she loved him. "I hate you Derrick Luke Harrington. I can't believe you came back." Massie squirmed out of his arms.

Aw, crap, he thought. He threw the covers off of himself and stared as Massie got out of the bed, shaking her curls to cover her face. With just one shake of her head, she was the most beautiful angel Derrick had ever laid eyes on. Claire had changed Massie's clothes last night while she was asleep. He didn't know how she did it, but he was grateful that she did.

She was now wearing purple and white plaid short shorts and a light pink tank top.

He hungrily examined her every curve.

"Stop staring at me," she whined.

"Sorry, I can't help it. Wow. The last time I saw you, you had a flat ass, no rack, and you were as flat as paper. Now look at you, Mass. I made the right choice to come back." He winked.

"Oh, ew," she muttered. "You're still a big jerk." She picked up a pillow and chucked it at him.

He caught it with perfect ease and said, "Yeah, but a hot jerk, right?"

Massie made a face In the back of her mind, though, she had longed for Derrick's stupidity. But now that he was back, she wished she was strong enough to kick him back to Minnesota.

A/N: =)

Review, please?

Pizzazz,

xoxoDDLSG