Better Left to Fray

The Past 8: Girls' Night (written by Holywoodunderfed)

When the Harrison's first moved, I didn't really care for them. Okay, well, I thought they were cute, but I didn't pay attention to them. I was still trying to find my place in school, and who I was really.

Ironically, my first impression was that Levi was talkative, even friendly. I didn't talk to him at all, but passing through our small school allowed me to hear snippets of their conversation.

Levi's first friend was Erik. But it's easy to see why. Erik is extremely likable, unlike myself. They started to hang out a lot, but Levi never seemed to talk to me or Cassidy all that much. Cassidy assumed it was because he had a crush on her.

It wasn't arrogance that made Cassidy or myself think this. Since 2nd grade, Cassidy has endured numerous guys and girls that have had their crushes on her. Her first kiss was in a little tube slide in 4th grade.

So, it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that either Erik was keeping Levi away from us because he had a crush on Cass. Or, hell, maybe he thought we were too weird or something.

I didn't talk to Levi until junior high. Once I talked to him, I realized why Erik never introduced us. He is an asshole.

I never really forbade Erik from being friends with him, but I did make it clear that I did not want Levi Harrison stealing my oxygen if I could help it. Erik tried to pacify me, in fact he tried his hardest to sway me from my burning hatred.

"He's going through some stuff, Bitsy."

"Not an excuse for him to be a jackass," I countered.

He rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything else. He knows when I make up my mind, there's rarely ever going back. It didn't matter to me what Levi Harrison was going through, but it didn't give him an excuse to lambast me over and over.

Over time, it had become a sort of game. After I snapped at him, he had laid off for a bit. He said one more thing, which was tame by comparison to what he usually says, but I bit back. This time though, he came prepared.

That was the game. I would say anything to make him upset, and he would do the same. If I made that vein bulge in his forehead, I knew I won. If the bastard made tears come to my eyes, he knew he would win.

In a way it was fun, but I still hate his guts. He is the devil. The smarmy look on his face is evidence enough of this.

First impressions are very important, and my first impression of Levi was that he was decently nice at best, and at worst he was an annoying loudmouth.

On the other hand, his brother was quiet at best, and pretentious at worst. Liam was cute, even as an immature boy, but he was very selective with who he talked to, leaving Levi to do most of the talking.

Therefore, it made it very easy to avoid him in school. I didn't want anything to do with someone who looked almost like a direct clone of my most hated boy in the school. In fact, I don't remember having a single conversation with him for a large portion of my school career.

"But now you have a crush on him?"

"Yeah," I picked at a thread of fabric that was loose on my hoodie. I sat across from Cassidy on her shockingly purple bedspread. Cassidy requested that we have a "Girls Night" because she had just broken up with her most recent love interest and she was SURE that something was different with me (I hate that she's right).

She squinted her eyes at me. Even with her hair disheveled, her most comfortable clothes on, and her makeup imperfect, she was still shockingly beautiful. She shook her head underneath her Harry Potter posters and snorted.

"You're an oddity, Piper Jean."

I threw a pillow at her. She covered her face and laughed, while I couldn't help but do the same. While I calmed down, some tears in my eyes, I hit her on the thigh.

"Ow! Why are your knuckles so bony?"

"How many times have I told you not to use my middle name? You know I hate it."

"I'm sorry," Cassidy whined while rubbing her injured thigh. "You just get so cute when you're angry."

"Right, cute," I rolled my eyes and shifted my face away from her, so she couldn't see my smile. I shook my head and plowed on. "Stop distracting me."

"Alright, fine." She reached over to the nightstand beside her and grabbed the bowl of popcorn she had ready. Well, she had had it ready for whatever movie she wanted us to watch, but it had long since been forgotten. "You have a crush on Liam Harrison. I mean, he's cute, but so aloof. What made this happen?"

"Well, two things. One is: have you ever heard him sing?"

Cassidy cocked her head like a dog. "Maybe? I've definitely heard him play the piano and guitar before. Did you like him after you heard him sing? That's so cliché!"

I blushed.

"That's exactly what happened, isn't it?"

"God!" I groaned. I leaned back until I flopped on her bed, making the bed springs creak. "I'm a hopeless schoolgirl, aren't I?"

"Maybe not hopeless. You have some things going for you," she winked.

I rolled my eyes. Again. Cass has a way of making me do that a lot. "You're not allowed to flirt with me. Only Erik can. Otherwise, it's creepy."

"You say that like Erik actually flirts with you."

I pointed finger guns at her. "Precisely."

"You're impossible," Cassidy tossed a popcorn kernel into the air only to have it miss her mouth. She frowned cutely at it before grabbing another. "So, what's this second reason?"

I turned my gaze over to the TV. Samuel L. Jackson was firing a gun at some guy. Cass loves action movies. I'm neutral. "It's personal."

Cassidy paused. Knowing her, I knew she wanted to pry. I waited on it, but the inquisition never came.

"You do realize that he's Levi Harrison's brother, right? Isn't he your mortal enemy or something?"

"He is," I beamed. "Which will make it so worth it when I marry Liam and Levi will have to deal with me the rest of his life. Ultimate revenge."

"You are seriously messed up, Piper."