The New Boy Next Door.

Chapter 22

I went back to school the next day, regretting what happened with Aiden. Even though we are technically dating, it still felt wrong. Like I was cheating on... never mind. I walked to my locker where Mel waited for me. I tried to ignore her presence because I hadn't yet told her that I slept with Aiden yet. I didn't think I wanted to. She tried to get my attention and when her attempts failed, she slammed my locker close and turned me towards her. "I've been trying to call you since last night. What's going on?" I shrugged my shoulders and tried to walk away but Melody wasn't having it. "Annabelle. Seriously? I'm your best friend and you can't tell me what's going on?" I heard the hurt in her voice and I immediately felt bad.

"I slept with Aiden." I reopened my locker and grabbed the books out of it. Melody looked confused for a second before breaking out in a huge smile.

"Oh Annie! I'm so proud!! Aren't you excited? How was it? Are you going to do it again?" She bounced on her toes and I grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the library. No one ever went in here so 9 times out of 10 it was empty. We sat down in the back, not caring about the bell that was signaling that we only had a minute to get to class before it started. Mel looked concerned and placed her hand on my arm. "Annabelle, what's wrong?" I couldn't help letting a few stray tears fall as I explained how Aiden was a mistake, the note he left, Kyle and his skank, and me telling him I was going to choose him. "Oh my..." she stared blankly at me before recollecting herself and jumping straight into motherly/best friend mode.

"Okay first of all, Aiden is a dick, and I'LL make sure to tell him that! Second, Kyle is a dick. I'll be more than happy to express my feelings to him about that. And I didn't even see that slut and I know you look better than her. Anna, you are drop dead gorgeous and you deserve the world! Those boys are nothing! They don't deserve everything you have to offer. One days you'll find a boy who does and you'll forget all about those idiots! I'm sorry you're going through what you are but you can't let this get you down." She wiped my tears and pulled me into a hug and I couldn't help but sob. I didn't want to move on from Kyle. He was my first... love and you know... I wanted to fix things with him but I don't think I can let alone get Melody to approve of him. Life was complicated the moment I let boys into my life and I hated it.

I missed being invisible and gullible. It was so much simpler than crying in the library over a boy, or two. I hated myself for letting them get to me in the way they did, but I have no one to blame but myself. If I weren't so... so... this isn't my fault. I pulled away from Melody and quickly stood up. I wiped my tears and immediately stormed out of the library. I knew what class Aiden had, or rather where he went to skip it. And with the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was sure I had enough balls to do what I was about to do. I heard Mel calling my name and the sound of her feet chasing after me but I was determined.

I have no idea why it took me this long to realize. It was a game! It was all a fucking game! Sitting there and crying, it gave me time to think. The note, wasn't the first excuse I had received from Aiden and I was so stupid I didn't realize it the first time! He didn't want to be with me, not really. No, he wanted to win, and last night, I gave him the final piece to win. I gave him myself. I thought about that time in the gym where Kyle came up to me and told me about the jocks and their stupid game. And I was dumb enough to feed into it! How stupid could I be to think that Aiden, the guy that I had been pinning over, would actually like me after 6 years of knowing damn well I liked him! It was a fucking game and I was done being a puzzle piece!

I slammed open the door of the boys locker room and walked in. A few boys voiced their concerns but Melody quieted them as she stumbled in after me. I found my target and made sure it was known that I was angry. Without realizing what I was doing, my hand connected, rather loudly, with Aiden's face. He stood up and was about to protest, but I quickly quieted him. "Was it easy?" He stared at me in disbelief still clutching his cheek.