Lock-it and Locket

3. Annoyance Can't Compare

~NOT EDITED~

"You left him hanging!"

This is the first thing I hear from the mouth of my "best friend" the next morning. Allie is running to catch up with my as I try to drown her out with my music. When she finally catches up to me, she has to jog to even match my pace. First period starts in three minutes. Who has the time to leisurely walk?

"Will you slow down?" Allie says. "I have to run to keep up with you!"

"This is my normal walking pace, Al," I say without slowing down. "It's not my fault you're short."

"I'm 5'5"!" Allie yells. "You're tall!"

I grin at her. "And proud of it."

I continue to weave my way through the crowded hallways. I narrowly miss many students, but make it through. I reach my locker with a minute thirty to spare. I grab the books I'll need while Allie stands there, tapping her foot. I gets annoying after about a 10 seconds.

"Yes, Allie, I left him hanging. Does that make you feel any better?"

Allie huffs. "You woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday morning. You seriously need to snap out of this."

I sigh. I am being a brat. "Fine, Al."

She smiles knowingly. "And therefore, that is why I took the responsibility of sending your apology to Jay."

"What."

Allie holds up my phone in triumph. I hate it when she pickpockets my stuff.

"You've been watching Burn Notice again," I grumble.

"Actually, it was White Collar. You'd be surprised how much that show actually teaches me."

"You know the main character is gay in real life right?"

"That is a vicious rumor!"

I roll my eyes and start walking to first period. I grab my phone from Allie's hand as I walk past her. "I'll see you at lunch, Allie!"

"Vicious rumor!"

~~~~

"Hey, babe," I hear over my shoulder.

I roll my eyes. "You know, no matter how many times you say it, James, you'll still be considered gay."

"Aw, come on, sweetheart," James, my resident gay best friend, teases. "You know you love me."

"Shove off," I say, laughing. I push James off me and continue looking over my English homework.

"Say it," James commands.

I stay silent.

"Sayyyyyy ittttttt," James sings.

I shake my head slighty, inputting a forgotten comma in a sentence in my essay. All of a sudden, James starts tickling me until I can breathe. I laugh hysterically and try to push him away, but the assault keeps on coming. All the while, James keeps saying, "Say it!" I shake my head continuously until the warning bell rings.

"I love you! Alright? I love you so so much! Now stop tickling me!"

James finally stops his tickling. He kisses my cheek quickly and makes his way back to his seat. When the bell rings again, our teacher begins by collecting the homework. Once that's done, the class begins reading the next chapter in the book we are analyzing. A Separate Peace is definitely one of the harder reads.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I cautiously take it out. Allie is in history with Mr. Marks. She wouldn't be texting me. James doesn't have a phone. Josh and Maya are in P.E. Who could be texting me? I peer at the screen and see it is fact not a text but a Facebook message.