Dork Diaries:Brandon's POV

October 8 (edited)

How many times did I have to repeat it for me to get it through my thick skull?

Nikki has a boyfriend. Nikki has a boyfriend. Nikki has a boyfriend.

Nikki has a boyfriend, and it's not me. It's someone ten times better, who even has my girlfriend swooning. Forgive me for being jealous, but Nikki could do better... Or worse because then I wouldn't feel so bad about it. Either way I really wanted to be with her, but it was too late. She was with someone else.

But I could still fix this, I believed. Maybe I could just maybe- accidentally- get her to fall in love with me and make her realize I loved her. I knew that wasn't actually going to happen. Ha, no way. Of course, I had no idea of how to win her over. She had kinda crushed my self esteem when she easily brushed me off because she liked someone else. I couldn't do this alone. I needed someone who could try to convince her.

*~*~*~*

"You seriously think we're gonna help you?" Chloe asked.

"We've had enough of your crud, Brandon," Zoey snapped. "Why are we even here? C'mon, Chloe."

I groaned loudly. "Oh my God, guys. Seriously, I really need your help, okay?" I scratched the back of my neck nervously. "I really like her, but I can't do anything about it now, so will you please help me? I know this is wrong in more ways than I can explain, but please," I begged.

The both of them stopped by the closet door, Zoey's hand an inch short from the knob. They looked at each other, silently contemplating their issues through some special best friend telepathy. "Fine," they groaned simultaneously.

And with that, I pushed open the door, dramatically bowing and motioning them out of the janitor's closet. They rolled their eyes, and I made my way to my next class with Nikki.

We worked diligently on our assignment the teacher gave us, but I couldn't help but think about the last time Nikki had tutored me. We had a lot of fun, and whatever I didn't understand before the small session, I had no trouble with now. I tore a piece of paper from my notebook and scribbled out a note.

Are you still my tutor?

Her face twisted into a sorrowful shocked look. A sad frown played on her lips and she took my note and scribbled a reply.

I'm so sorry. Of course, we'll start again after school.

I read the note and flashed her a grin to let her know there weren't any hard feelings. She gave me a sad, tight-lipped smile but relaxed a bit when she realized I wasn't mad at her.

I don't think I could really ever stay mad at Nikki. I am in love with her after all.

*~*~*~*

As I walked into the library I heard voices, familiar voices.

"Omg, Nikki he's in love! He's totally jealous of you and Sean!"

"Well, Sean is a nice guy but don't you think this is a little cruel, leading him on like this?"

"Nikki, calm down. We know what we're doing. If you keep going out with Sean we'll see how far Brandon will go to win you over."

"Chloe, that's stupid. I think I'll just break up with Sean already. This doesn't feel right."

"No, Nikki. Just leave it to us. We have your back."

"Alright, I guess... Well, he'll be here any minute now, so skedaddle!" I walked in just as they left.

"Hey, Nikki," I said and smiled.

She greeted me and we got started right away. We were gonna be stuck there for hours, I concluded, since there was too much on my mind to just think about science. Nikki doesn't even like Sean. It's all one big act to get me to be jealous and fight for her. The entire idea is rude and stupid, but at least she feels bad about it. Besides, it wasn't her idea to begin with. Chloe and Zoey put her up to this.

"Nikki," I whispered, scribbling what I could on the worksheet we had.

"Yeah?" She put down her pencil and gave me her full attention, so I did the same for her. And I don't know who initiated it first, but before we both knew our lips were locked. It wasn't a harsh kiss, it was actually pretty sweet. I was just confused as to how we got from two ends of the table to only one end without noticing until then.

And when did Sean come from? Wasn't he at some sports practice of some kind? Why was MacKenzie mad? Why were Chloe and Zoey gasping in shock? Why was I all of a sudden pinned against a wall by Sean? Who, what, when, where, why, and how?

Sean's hot breath didn't even give me goosebumps until ten seconds after he slammed me against the wall. What was happening? And where was the librarian? All of the screaming and gasping and smashing people against walls is surely enough to make someone notice it.

"What in the world do you think you're doing!?" he spat.

It took a moment to register his words but I managed an "I'm sorry," which still wasn't good enough for him.

He tossed me to the floor and swung on me. MacKenzie just stood there watching with two very concerned girls, Chloe and Zoey. Nikki tried to jump into action, but Sean used one arm to push her into a shelf.

Thankfully the shelf didn't tip over, but Nikki fell pretty hard. "Sean!" she yelled. "Listen, I know this looks bad. And you can hate me for the rest of my life, but I kissed him, okay? Not the other way around. So you can be mad at me all you want, it wasn't his fault."

The athlete slowly lifted himself off me. He looked like he still wanted to punch me, but he stalked out of the library, clenching and unclenching his fists. MacKenzie finally did something. She went and tracked Sean down.

"I hope you know this means we're through and I'm going to be dating Sean by tomorrow morning," she said over her shoulder to me and Nikki.

Chloe and Zoey left for all the right reasons, saying that Nikki and I needed our space. They gave us a sad smile and left us alone.

"Nikki, I-"

"I'm sorry, Brandon. I'm a liar and a troublemaker, and I understand if you don't want me around anymore," Nikki whispered. Tears were brimming her eyes, and my heart nearly shattered.

"I want to be around you, Nikki. And I really, really want to be with you." I took her hand in mine. "You wanna be with me, right?"

She nodded. A small grin broke on her face, and she threw her arms around my neck. Hands went around her waist, and I kissed her on her forehead.

Things were looking up.