Matt

Chris Fucking Rog-

Ah, don't even go there, Matt. Let's not forget the last time you got a little carried away. You narrowly escaped death and your vehicle got ruined. The only consolation had been that my Dad never caught wind of the destruction. On my way home from school that day, I had made a pit stop at the hardware store and spray-painted red over the word psychopath to match the color of my car. The Jetta looked even more like crap now but it was better than the stares the etched insult had earned me.

Sighing, I watched in dismay as Vanessa continued to carry on her animated conversation with Chris, gesturing wildly as a wide grin lit up her face. She had spent the majority of the night chatting him up and staying glued to his side as if being stuck there by the force of some super strength adhesive.

I scoffed silently to myself. To think, all this time I had been so concerned about Kurt coming along and sweeping her off her feet that I never even prepared myself for the possibility that some other guy might come out of the woodwork and steal her away from me.

As I glowered at her throwing her head back while she laughed loudly at his jokes and touching his arm every time she would speak, it was painfully obvious that's exactly what was happening. I had resumed my place on top of the counter and now had a bird's eye view of their play-by-play exchange. I tried to busy myself with reading a book but found my sights being drawn back to glance up at them every few seconds.

She would twirl a strand of her brunette hair around one finger as she smiled up at him, tossing looks my way every so often. I wasn't jealous though. If she wanted to date him then it was fine by me.

It was evident that she was still angry over our fight from the snow day but I refused to make the first move as I was confident that I wasn't the one who was in the wrong. Not that I could have patched things up with her tonight even if I had wanted to. Chris was so busy monopolizing all of her time as they chugged back shots of alcohol, that I never even stood the chance of getting her alone.

It was only when he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head while they watched a game of beer pong, did things start getting interesting. It was also the exact moment that an annoying redhead approached me, pressing her palms on my thighs and leaning in close. With my only escape route blocked off, I had no choice but to sit there and let Aimee harass me.

"Hey, Matt," she purred, trailing one finger up my pant leg. "I'm surprised you aren't hanging out with Vanessa right now." She tossed a look over her shoulder at Vanessa's hands covering Chris' as he continued to hold onto her. Aimee looked back at me, a slow smile spreading across her freckled face. "Oops. Looks like she's all tied up with somebody else."

She started massaging my leg and I pressed the sole of my boot against her waist, nudging her away. "Can you give me some space?"

She moved in even closer, biting her lip as she looked me up and down. I grimaced, only imaging the thoughts that could be running through her head right now. "I was just wondering if anybody has reserved you yet for a midnight kiss."

No. "Yup."

She pouted her lips as she crossed her arms. "No fair. Who?" Another smirk lit up her face as she chuckled softly. "It's obvious it's not Vanessa." Ok, now you just crossed the line from being annoying to being a bitch.

I stared up at the ceiling, wondering what I had to do to get her to take a hint. "None of your business," I said firmly. I shoved her hands off of me as they began sliding their way up towards my lap.

"That's ok," she said dropping her voice to a whisper. "I'll settle for a kiss now." She leaned in, pressing a sloppy wet kiss against the corner of my mouth as I turned my head.

"Will you stop," I shouted. "Leave me the fuck alone." I could feel my cheeks coloring as most of the heads in our general vicinity swiveled in our direction. I'm so glad I came out this evening. I'm having so much fun right now.

"Geesh," she said pulling away but still clearly undeterred. "You're in a bad mood tonight. Are you upset that your girlfriend is putting the moves on somebody else?" I glanced over Aimee's shoulder to where the happy couple were now cuddled up all cozy on the loveseat. Vanessa sat on Chris' lap, resting her head on his shoulder as he stroked her back. I'm not jealous. My blood's not boiling, my heart doesn't feel like it's being squeezed and I definitely don't want to sock the guy in the face.

I shoved Aimee aside as I slid off the counter. I didn't envy the guy but I also wasn't going to watch another second of this garbage. I marched over to where they were sitting, plopping myself down into the empty spot beside them. "What are you doing," I hissed, pulling on Vanessa's arm to get her attention.

She tossed an icy glance over her shoulder. "I think your date misses you," she said nodding in the direction of Aimee. She let a laugh that was devoid of all humor. "Oh, wait," she slurred as she leaned in close to my face. I could smell the alcohol on her breath and knew she was well past the point of being sober. She dragged one finger down my lip. "I forgot. She can't be your date because you don't do that."

I furrowed my brows at her. What the hell was she talking about? "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Five minutes to midnight," a booming male voice called out.

A girl wearing head-to-toe sequins and body glitter came around handing out party horns and confetti poppers but Vanessa and I were too busy staring each other down to even care. "How come you haven't reached out to me," I yelled over the increasing excitement of the crowd.

She narrowed her eyes. "How come you haven't reached out to me?"

Leaning in, I glared at her. "Why should I be the one to make the first move? You were the one that hurt m-" I cleared my throat. "You were the one that ditched me."

She poked me hard in the chest with a finger. "You were the one that led me to believe-" She pulled back abruptly, lowering her gaze to her lap.

"Led you to believe what?" I tried to get her to meet my eye but she refused. "Vanessa? Believe what?"

"One minute until midnight," the same loud voice shouted.

Chris tugged on Vanessa's arm, focusing her attention back onto him. "Whatever," I mumbled, shoving my hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt and standing up. I'm sorry I tried.

"Ten seconds!" The countdown began as I walked off and I glanced over my shoulder one final time to see her plant a deep kiss on his mouth just as the clock struck midnight and horns blared from all around me.

"Happy New Year," some girl with silver tinsel in her hair screamed in my face, blasting me with a confetti popper but I couldn't focus on anything except for the blind hurt and rage that swelled up inside my chest.

I turned away from the heart-wrenching sight, unable to watch another second longer. He could have her, I thought, elbowing my way through the crowd and out into the winter night. The gust of cold air hitting my face as I walked through the door did nothing to cool off the boiling pain coursing through my veins.

I was an idiot to believe that Vanessa would ever be able to see anything worthwhile in a loser nobody such as myself. She knew she could do better with somebody like Chris. Somebody who was good looking and well-liked. Somebody that scored high grades and was on the basketball team. Somebody that had everything going for him; including getting the girl that I so very badly wanted all for myself.

"Happy New Year," I muttered, getting into my car and remembering why I hated attending parties.

***

Vanessa

Emboldened by the alcohol and my intense desire to show Matt that I absolutely did not care how he felt about me, I grabbed Chris by the front of his t-shirt when the countdown to the New Year reached zero and brought his lips to mine in a move that would have made even Addison proud. If I could be just another girl to him, then he could be just another guy to me. I made a mental note to chuck the Matt memory box right into the trash as soon as I got home. He was nobody special now, even if I did have our future kids' names already picked out.

I continued to make out with Chris until I could sense Matt walking away. When I was satisfied that he was no longer watching, I pushed Chris to the side but he tried to move back in for another kiss. "Get off me," I muttered, sliding off his lap.

I scanned the room to see if Matt had left the party, being too focused on his whereabouts to barely even register that Chris had just asked me to Winter Formal. "Yea, sure," I said distractedly.

"So, what time should I pick you up?" Chris inquired, pulling me back to sit on his lap.

I craned my neck to see if I could catch a glimpse of Matt's leather jacket in the crowd. "Huh? What?"

He trailed his hand down my arm, nuzzling his head into the crook of my neck. "Winter Formal. What time am I meeting you?"

Frowning, I glanced back over at him. What did I just agree to? "Uh...seven's fine. Here, take this." I pressed my vodka cup into his hand, standing up and walking over to where Addison was passionately making out with Jeff Lewis. I tugged at her arm. "Addie."

She pried herself off her make-out partner's lips long enough to look at me, her eyes half-closed. "Hey, girl. What you up to?"

"Did Matt leave?"

She briefly looked around the thinning crowd before shrugging. "Sorry," she said, smiling coyly. "If he did, I hadn't noticed as I was a little preoccupied."

Rolling my eyes, I began to walk away. "Come get me when you're done sucking face. I'll be outside waiting for the ground to open up and swallow me whole." But Addison didn't hear me. She had already gone back to sticking her tongue down Jeff's throat.

Sighing, I sank down onto the front step, shifting as the cold concrete sent an instant chill throughout my body. Away from the thumping music and noisy chatter and out into the still, quiet evening, I had a chance to fully think about the events that had just transpired.

I dropped my head in my hands. Tonight had gone completely different than planned. Matt was the one who should have been kissing me at midnight. Instead, he had some red-haired girl hanging all over him and I had just accepted going on a date with a guy I had no interest in being with.

"Happy New Year," I muttered, deciding to just walk home and remembering why I hated attending parties.

A/N Next update 2/14.

How do you all think Matt is going to respond to Vanessa bringing Chris as her date to Winter Formal? Think he might try to snag a date of his own? Aimee perhaps?