hey guys! thank you so much for your beautiful comments! the winner was maigrlchloe. She's in this chapter as krissy, just basic introduction, but she's going to be a really big part next chapter. also, jesse, your comment was so sweet and just by saying you didn't do it to win, i had to put you in here. enjoy!

Chloe POV

I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry. I am not going to cry.

It's funny how telling yourself something almost never makes it true. I take in a sharp breath as the first tear rolls down. My fingers instinctively brush it away and I make my way inside. Mom sits at her desk, glasses perched on her nose, as she punches a few numbers into a calculator. I try to sneak past her, but her mom radar goes off and she looks up, a vision of stress.

"Honey, we're gonna have to cut down a little bit this month, okay?" I give her a small smile and a quick nod. "Yeah, no problem," I say, trying to keep a straight face. It's no use though, I hear his voice in my mind. I get jealous when I see you talking to him. As adorable and sweet as that line was, especiallysince it was coming from Alek, I couldn't deal with what it implied. Just because he gets a little jealous, I have to drop one of my closest friends? Sure, we aren't really talking so much anymore because of Lady Giggles, but we're still friends. As a matter of fact...

"I have to go make a call," I say quickly and turn to run up the stairs.

"Sure," she says going back to her calculations. "And Chloe?" she calls, eyes still on the table.

I swivel back only to see her hair. "Yeah Mom?" I ask impatiently.

"Come down when you're ready to talk about what's bothering you," she turns around for a second and gives me a gentle smile. I grin back, tears filling my eyes, realizing how sad I was when I thought she hadn't noticed.

"Will do," I reply, then dash up the stairs and dive for my phone. Brian would know what to do. Brian always knew what to do.

I sunk into my bed and closed my eyes as it rang. Over and over and-

"Hey," his deep male voice made my eyes fly open, as a smile smoothed out my lips. I didn't realize how much I missed him until I-

"It's Jessie!" Brian's voice is replaced with a girl's, musical and airy.

"and Brian," he adds, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

"We're not here right now," she chimes.

"So leave a message," he finishes off and the beep rings loud. I'm stunned to silence and instead of leaving the message I'd planned out in case he didn't answer, I simply hang up.

So Giggles is Jessie. They're...dating. My heart sinks and I wrap my arms around my pillow. I guess he didn't really love me after all, since he'd only known the girl for... I don't even know how long. I clench my eyes shut tight as I remember the first time I met him. From the back he had looked like any other customer, but when he turned around he stole my breath. It wasn't just how incredible cute he was, it was that boyish smile and just the way he spoke. Hey. One word and I was melting into the ground. "I love this song," he said, and suddenly I was fumbling madly. "I just-" I had tried to say back in a casual light tone, but the manikin I was leaning on slipped and I slid a little with it. "...said that," I finished awkwardly, shoving the hat that had fallen back into its place. The conversation after that was a little stiff, but cute. I remember smiling and laughing at his adorable expression when he put the hat on. And that's just the first memory... Driving in his car, visiting his grandmother, figuring out what had happened to his mom, all of it. It had become a part of me and now my heart aches with the thought that he's sharing it all with someone else. I've become obsolete.

I pull my phone back to my ear, and with a heavy hand call my friend Krissy. What, I have more than four friends you know...

She picks up on the first ring. "Hey King," she says sadly. "Make me smile."

I laugh at the irony. Call a friend for sympathy and you'll end up giving it. "What's wrong?" I ask, genuinely concerned. Krissy isn't the depressed type.

"Ugh, I don't even really want to talk about it. So...how's Alek?" she says brightly, but there's something weird about her tone.

"I don't know. He isn't talking to me."

"What?" she asks, though to be honest she doesn't sound too upset. I explain what had happened to her and she's mostly quiet. After about twenty minutes of venting, she says she has to go and I hang up. After watching The Notebook and eating a candy bar I had stashed in my drawer, I finally drift off to sleep, ready to welcome any nightmare that comes my way. Anything is better than this.

i don't know if any of you have read maigrlchloe's stories (they're amazing) but at the end of a few of them when she's asking for reviews, she says "make me smile!" and so i made her character say it too :) remember to review so i can start writing the next one!