Vivienne glanced one more time around her room and sat on the bed. It appeared she'd packed everything she needed to take home over winter break. She sighed and flopped backwards on the bed after a grueling week of exams she was ready for Christmas, and the chance to go back home. She did like Clarence McGovern Academy, the boarding school she attended in New Hampshire, but she did get a little homesick. She couldn't wait to get back to see Charlotte and catch up and do all of the sister stuff she had missed out on in the past three months. And she wanted to see Jessie and Maya again. At Thanksgiving she had only gotten one weekend to be home with them. Now she had a whole two weeks.

Although she had ended up liking boarding school, Vivienne had applied not really sure if she actually wanted to go. She had thought about staying in Manhasset and going to a private school nearby- maybe even in the city- so that she could stay with her friends and her sister. But both of her parents had gone to boarding school, and so had Toby, so she'd kind of thought she had too. It wasn't bad. Although she did sometimes miss home, she was enjoying her new independence. She had made some friends, was excelling in all of her subject, and was an active member of debate club, model UN, mock trial, and choir.

Vivienne sat up again and noticed a bag on the floor of her room. Brow furrowing, she reached down and picked it up. Inside she found two books. Library books. She sucked in a breath. They were due in two days, but she was leaving early tomorrow morning, before the library opened. The library was all of the way across campus. She glanced at the clock. It was 6:30. The library closed at 7. She could make it. Vivienne grabbed the bag, pulled on shoes and a coat, and raced to the library. She got there just in time to hand in the books. As she was heading back to the dorm, she heard a voice call out behind her.

"Hey, Viv, wait up!"

Vivienne turned around and saw Warner Huntington III jogging to catch up with her. Vivienne blushed as she felt butterflies in her stomach. She and Warner had been best friends right off of the bat. They did model UN, debate team, and mock trial together. Warner was seriously cute, and most of the freshman girls had a crush on him. Vivienne included.

Perhaps that should have been said "especially Vivienne".

When Vivienne pictured herself getting married- which, being a 14-year-old-girl, she did quite often- it was with a guy like Warner. Handsome, intelligent, driven, ambitious… he wanted to be a lawyer, just like she did. Vivienne could picture it now: the big white house somewhere on the East coast with the house staff and the expensive cars and everything. They'd have three kids, at least. Maybe more. Vivienne loved children.

Vivienne snapped herself out of it. Guys like Warner weren't interested in her: a tall, awkward, sort of quiet, bookish teenage girl with mousy brown hair. No, guys like Warner went for girls like Lucy, Warner's girlfriend. Blonde, and petite, and perky, Lucy was the only freshman on the cheerleading team, and a social butterfly. That was the kind of girl boys like Warner dated; girls like Vivienne were left to settle for best friend and pine.

"Hey, stranger," Vivienne grinned when he caught up to her. "What's up?"

"I was heading towards the dinning hall," he told her. "They're showing The Santa Clause. Is that where you were heading?"

"Nope, I was returning some books to the library," Vivienne told him.

"Word nerd," he teased.

"Short stack," she heckled back. Warner met this tease with an over exaggerated look of mock affront. At 5'7", Warner was two inches shorter than Vivienne. She was, in fact, the only girl in their grade who was taller than he was, and he loved to tease her about it. Vivienne had always felt a little insecure about her height- it had never made her feel glamorous, only gangly and awkward- and usually she found jabs at it obnoxious and even hurtful. But not from Warner. It didn't bother her at all when Warner teased her about being so tall. The expression on his face from her comeback made Vivienne giggle. His face turned into a smile at the sound.

"So, do you wanna come see the movie with me?" he asked. "It'd be no fun to go alone.

Vivienne felt her cheeks grow hot and she looked away, self-consciously pushing her hair behind her ear.

"What about Lucy?" she asked passively. "Don't you usually go to movies with your girlfriend?"

"She's already left for home," Warner explained. "C'mon, can't a guy just hang out with his friend one night?"

Friend. The word shot a dagger into her heart. That's all Vivienne would ever be to Warner: a friend. Any chance there had been of her saying yes was quickly diminished. Besides, it was weird to be alone with the boy you liked when he already had a girl friend. It felt wrong. And what good would it do? Vivienne would never be Warner's girlfriend. She could never compete with a girl like Lucy. The pretty, blonde, popular girls of the world always got the Warners, and Vivienne was just doing herself a favor by accepting that now.

"You know, I have a headache, and I'm tired," she lied quickly. "I think it would be better if I went and rested up. And I don't want to get you sick if I'm getting something. Besides, I have to get up early tomorrow to leave." She gave him an apologetic smile. "So thank you, Warner, really… but no thanks."

"Oh." Warner seemed a little disappointed okay. "Feel better."

"Thanks Warner," she replied. "See you soon?"

"Definitely," he said.

She turned to walk away, but she only got a few steps away before he called out after her.

"Hey Vivienne!"

She turned around.

"Merry Christmas, Viv," he smiled.

"Merry Christmas Warner," she responded softly.

….

"Hey, Vivvie, you have one more!" Newly 11-year-old Charlotte said, pointing under the tree. The three Kensington children- even Toby, who was 18 going on 19 and a freshman in college- were sitting beside the Christmas tree on the morning fo December 25 surrounded by their freshly opened pile of presents. Vivienne glanced under the tree and saw a package wrapped in shiny silver with a sticker on it that said "To: Vivienne" in very familiar handwriting.

"It came in the mail the other day," her father said. "It's from one of your friends from school. Warner Huntington?"

Vivienne's stomach turned over as she reached for the package. Carefully, she pulled the wrapping paper off. A copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was now sitting in her hands. Vivienne's breath caught. She had been a fan of the series since Harry and Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had first come out, and she owned the other two books but had only taken the third one out to of the library, and a few weeks ago she was telling Warner how she wanted to complete her collection. Warner hadn't even read the books yet, despite her trying to make him.

When Vivienne had opened the present, a not had fallen out of the wrapping paper. She reached down and picked it up.

Now your collection is complete! And you're right- the series is amazing. I should have listened to you sooner. Merry Christmas! Your friend, Warner

"Well that was awfully nice of him," Mrs. Kensington said, coming up behind her daughter.

Vivienne's eyes filled with tears, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. She tossed the book aside and ran up to her bedroom, through herself on her bed, and screamed into her pillow, feeling tears soak the fabric below her. Why was he doing this? Why did he have to be so nice? He had a girlfriend, and it wasn't Vivienne. Vivienne Kensington would never be Warner Huntington III girlfriend. That just wasn't the way the world worked. So why did he have to keep being so damn sweet and making it so hard not to like him, just to remind her she was only his friend?

Vivienne heard someone come into the room and lifted her head to see Charlotte sit down besides her. Vivienne buried her face in the pillow again. She felt Charlotte pat the top of her head.

"Hey, Vivienne," Charlotte said quietly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Vivienne shook her head no.

"Do you want to be alone?" The younger girl asked.

Again, her older sister shook her head.

For a moment, the two sisters sat there, Charlotte stroking the back of her sister's head and Vivienne crying quietly. Finally, Vivvie lifted her head again.

"Lottie," she said. "Boys are confusing, and stupid. Avoid them as much as possible. Okay?"

"Okay," Charlotte agreed.

A/N: I know this one's a lot shorter but I wanted to get it to you guys a lot quicker than I have the last too times! I thought it would be fun to play around with Vivienne and Warner in boarding school, and liked the idea of it being kind of ironic that Vivienne would never believe she would ever date Warner because the pretty blonde girls always got him and might fuel her tensions with Elle a little bit! I'm going to try to have chapter 5 done by tomorrow and I'm warning you, you're gonna want to get some tissues xoxox