I Won't Let You Close Enough to Hurt Me

Chapter 9

     On Tuesday morning, Brooke woke up more exhausted than she was when she went to bed the night before. She had no idea that high school could be this tiring, and she was only one day into the school year. Because she was so drained, she woke up 20 minutes late and had to rush in order to be ready on time. She was in and out of the shower in two minutes, quickly straightened her hair and did a minimal amount of make-up, and threw on navy jean shorts with a simple powder blue tank top and white flip flops. Brooke knew that she didn't look her best, but it didn't matter. She wasn't trying to impress anyone today.

     The second Brooke was done getting dressed, she received a text from Claudia saying that they were out front. Brooke flew down the stairs, yelled goodbye to her mom, and ran out the front door. Right when she got in the car, Casey and Claudia gave her a strange look. "Are you okay Brooke? You look like you didn't sleep at all last night," her friends questioned.

     "I'm fine, I just had sort of a rough night," Brooke mumbled.

     "Tell us all about it at lunch, okay?" Casey said sympathetically. Brooke just nodded her head, and then dozed off for the remaining ten minutes of the car ride.

     Brooke's day at school went by pretty quickly. For the most part, she made her friends keep a watch for Brandon as she went from class to class, because she didn't wasn't ready to face him after she rejected his apology. There was one time when Brandon spotted her, but Brooke was able to make a quick escape. At lunch, she formed a small group with Casey, Claudia, and Brie to tell them about the previous day's events. When she told them about all the chemistry that she had with Brandon, her friends just stared at her blankly.

     "Are you guys okay? The way you're looking at me is really weird," Brooke asked.

     Claudia was the first one to speak up. "Brooke, I know you might think that you have this great connection with Brandon, but just remember that the connection only exists when you're dancing. Please don't try to get back together with him, I don't want him to break your heart again," Claudia warned.

     Brooke then went on to explain all about how Brandon had sent her an apology text, but she wanted nothing to do with it. Her friends looked relieved. After lunch was over, the four girls all went their separate ways.

     The remainder of Brooke's day dragged on for what seemed like hours, but was pretty uneventful. After the day had ended, she went outside to wait for her mom to pick her up.

     While Brooke was sitting out front, she decided to listen to the song for her duet and run it in her head a few times. She was only about 30 seconds into the song when someone slid next to her and pulled out her headphones.

     It was Ryan. "Hey, I haven't talked to you all day," Brooke smiled. Spending time with Ryan always cheered her up.

     "Yeah, sorry if I scared you. I just really need to talk to you. I was talking to Brie about everything that was happening between you, Nick, and Brandon, and honestly, I don't think that you should date either of them. Brandon is an asshole that will never treat you right, and I know that you don't have feelings for Nick. So why waste your time on those losers?" Ryan asked.

     Brooke couldn't believe what she had just heard. She knew that Ryan didn't want Brandon to hurt her again, and she thought that was kind of sweet. But whether she was attracted to him or not, Nick was her friend, and Ryan had no right to talk about him that way. "Listen Ryan, I know you're trying to help, but you're not. So just stay the hell out of my business," Brooke said as she got up and walked away. Luckily, her mom's car pulled up to the curb just in time and she jumped in.

     "Hi Brookie, how was your day?" Kelly asked happily.

     "It was fine," Brooke lied.

     Paige and Kelly talked about how much they loved the routines this week on the entire drive to the studio, but Brooke didn't join in the conversation. She was too busy thinking about her blow up with Ryan. She was already having problems with Nick and Brandon, she didn't think she could stand to fight with Ryan too.

     When they arrived at dance, Brooke jumped out of the car and ran straight towards the bathroom. She wanted to do everything she could to avoid running into Brandon before rehearsal, because she knew he would be mad. Brooke changed into her pink booty shorts and matching bra top, and then cautiously made her way into the dancers den. But to her dismay, both Brandon and Nick were waiting for her.