broken (ON HIATUS)

chapter six; boyfriends and bestfriends

Paige's POV

-

Everyone talks while Mr. Montonez decides on partners and writes them down.

"Okay, attention please, I've got the lab partners," he announces, waving his hands like a referee in a football game.

"Doret and Larissa.
Carrie and Sebestian. (HAHA Im funny #teamcarriediaries)
Nikki and Piper. (HAHA O is the new B! I'm out of shows)
Madison and Chloe."

I turn to Maddie, my original lab partner and give her a pat of sympathy. Better her than me, even she knows that.

"Nia and Josh.
Megan and Connor.
Kendall and Brandon.
Brynklie and Brynn. And,
Paige and Nick. Get together guys."

I gulp and reluctanty get up with jelly legs.

"What, what's wrong?" Maddie asks, before I leave and Chloe comes to her.

"Something happened over the weekend," I say, my legs slowly melting, like jelly does into the bread. 

"What!?" Maddie whispers sharply.

"I got hurt, so he took me to his place and long story short, we kinda kissed!" I whisper back.

"WHAT!" she says, trying to keep her voice down.

"I know!"

"Hey stupid, your new partner is waiting," Chloe snaps. I roll my eyes. Maddie clasps her hand together and mouths 'praying for you.'

I plop down in the chair next to Nick and avoid looking at him.

"Can I get a hello?" he asks, tapping his pencil on the desk, as Mr. Montonez rummages through his desk and the class talks.

"It depends," I say, still not turning around. "Do you want it to be like your last goodbye?" I ask, referring to the kiss. 

"I would but with all these people around..." he laughs and I turn around. I stare with blank expression. "Too soon?"

"Ever seeing you again would be too soon," I groan.

"Then I guess your hopes and dreams are crushed." I ignore him again. "Mine aren't yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I lay my chin on my hands like I'm super intersted and wait for him to answer.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" 

And all I could do was smile. Smile and say,

"Your hopes and dreams are definitely not crushed."

-

 Why on earth did I say yes? It's been 3 days and already Chloe was up to something. Everytime I passed her and her broken ankle in the hallway, she'd smirk at me and snicker, or say some stupid comment about my relationship with Nick.

The worst was when Nia started walking with Chloe, spitting in my face, "Have fun with Nick while it lasts."

I shrugged it off and assumed she thought I couldn't keep a relationship.

"So Nia is really not friends with us, huh?" I ask Maddie.

"Or she's trying to get us to beg for her forgiveness," she answers.

"As if I'm begging her stupid ass for anything." Maddie bites her lip kicks the ground back and forth. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing," she says, biting her thumbnail.

I slam my locker. "Maddie if you have something to say then say it don't leave me here begging you for answers."

"Alright geez, I'm friends with Chloe and Nia again!" she shouts. 

Let me tell you the full story of the Original Trio Chronicles.

Obvioulsy, the three of us were best friends. But when my dad died in that fire, things started getting bad. We had late night video chats  where we would just complain about things, but Chloe would never say anything. She'd sit and tell us that everything was good and all the nice things that happened to her. Yet I told them everything. I told her about how Brooke started locking herself in her room and coming out with red eyes and continuously sniffling and rubbing her nose. I told her about how my would have liquor with all of her meals and right before bed. I told her about how Josh had started texted nothing but girls and always 'hanginng out" with different ones every 2 days. I even told her about how I was feeling depressed and thought I'd end up as an orphan because of my continuously intoxicated mother. You can probably guess what happened after that. Chloe told everyone. Not only did she tell everyone what I said, but she exaggerated the hell out of it. Except for the parts about Josh. We all knew she loved Josh. She told people that my mom was a "sleazy hoe that slept around and always drunk," Brooke snorted lines and baked pot brownies every night, and that I, Paige Mackenzie Hyland, pretended to commit suicide for attention but nobody cared because I'm "just that irrelevant."

And for Maddie to say that she's friends with that skank just makes me want to scream. So I did.

"WHAT!" I yelled loud enough for the everyone in this locker hallway to hear.

"They're nice to me, and Chloe is actually really funny," Maddie says, crossing her arms.

"Yea I'm funny and nice to you too."

"Paige I don't see what the big deal is!" I stop in my tracks.

"You don't see the big deal? You don't see the massive collasal deal that's causing all these problems? You don't see that Chloe stabbed me in the back and spread rumors about me and my personal life? You don't see that Chloe has been bullying for 3 years? You don't see that she already stole Nia from me? You don't see that, I, your best friend, is going through a living hell because of her?" I shake my head and scoff. "Cause if the answer to all those questions in no, then this friendship is a waste of time." I walk away leaving Maddie with nothing to do but turn around and hang out with Chloe and Nia. 

And sadly, it doesn't get any better.