You Belong With Me

NEW GIRL, NEW ME

Michelle

"I hope you know what you're doing, because you're about to break someone else's heart." Says Max, who was busy playing Call of Duty in my room.

I scoffed at her statement.

"I don't know what you're talking about; I'm not hurting anyone, and I don't intend on hurting someone." I shrugged before taking a swig of my beer.

Christmas break had just started, and Max and I planned to start it with tonnes of alcohol and blind our eyes out from playing with all the video games we could get.

The first semester of my senior year went so smoothly. I've focused on getting all the credits I needed with all the courses I took, and I passed all the exams and completed all my culminating activities. One of the most important ones was my English course, all thanks to four eyes.

She's been a great help with all of it; she even helped me study for the finals.

Speak of the four eyes. It's safe to say that Ann and I developed a great friendship. It made me happy that she was keeping her guard down whenever she was spending time with me.

She used to be so shy and a stuttering mess when she interacted with me, but now she can be very sarcastic and funny too. I like that she's still a nerd though, sometimes; I let her ramble on about random things.

"Yeah? Deny all you want, but we both know she likes you, and you're starting to like her too. 'Cause if you don't? The moment you've got that test paper from Mrs. Cortez and your report card, you could have ended your connection to her. But what did you do? The first person you looked for in a sea of students at school was Anntonia Porsild." Max beamed at me.

This smug son of a bitch!

"Of course, I looked for her because she helped me get the mark I needed, remember? Besides, I consider her as my friend now. Aren't you happy? There are two of you now." But she still did not believe me.

"What's the meaning of that bracelet on your desk, then?" I glared at her. "Oh, come on, who are you going to give it to? Your mum? Or do you have a girlfriend you're not telling me about?" She grinned at me smugly.

I sighed frustratingly.

"It's just a gift, dude. Consider it my thank-you gift for her. She's been working so hard to help me study; she even ditched a very important field trip just so she can go with me to watch the play." I explained, ignoring the fluttering in my stomach talking about Ann.

"And she always reminds me to read our lessons, all that stuff. I'm just being grateful and appreciative, man." I explained.

Because honestly, where did she get the idea that there was something going on between me and Anntonia?

Max just shook her head at me and I felt irritated because she didn't believe what I was saying.

"Look, I'm not judging you or anything, alright? If you like her, cool. Because she's really nice and because you listen to her. I just don't want the both of you to get weird with each other when it happens. As your friend, I don't want you to have any confusing feelings between her and Sarah." Max patted my shoulder.

"We both know she will come back, dude. I don't know when, but you know her. Maybe you're going to follow her in the US or something. But I want you to be sure that you're not leaving someone behind. Okay?"

"When did you become so wise? I care about her, but it's not the same with Sarah. She's my friend, and if she likes me, I can't do anything about it, and trust me, she won't act on it. So we're fine." I answered firmly, but why does it feel like I'm lying?