I was at my room on a Thursday night, listening to some Imagine Dragons songs while doing my Art Class project, and at the same time eating my favorite bag of chips. With a side of Coke.

We were told by our Art teacher to make a bookmark with our own concept and design that would best describe our own personality.

Yes, I think everyone already guessed my concept.

Food.

I decided to make the shape of my bookmark to look like an ice cream on an ice cream cone because I wanted it to be unique (and because why not?). I was pretty sure that 70% of my class made their bookmarks rectangle. This was my personality. I would never want to be a stereotype.

I added some colors, beads that looked like sprinkles, and wrote a quote that said, "People who love to eat are always the best people."

If I won't get an A when I pass this, added that I really showed the real me on this bookmark, then I would start to question what art really is. As far as I've known, art is expressing oneself, right?

My phone was playing the song Monster (Yes, I was banging my head like a rockstar, mind you), when someone suddenly knocked on my door. I lazily stood up and opened it. It was mom, smiling like a crazy person in front of my doorstep.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked excitingly, holding a grip on my wrists. She looked like she could jump out of the window for joy in any second. I was glad that I didn't forget to close my window.

"Tell you what?" I asked in confusion. I really didn't know what she was talking about.

Her eyes looked so happy, you could almost see a unicorn and a rainbow inside it. No, not really. What I really saw was a cornea.

"That you're going to prom!" My mom screamed and hugged me so tight that I couldn't breathe for a moment. "I am so happy, Sidney." She said. "Your father would've been very happy."

I ignored the mention of my father.

I rolled my eyes. "Mom, it's not like I'm gonna meet my soulmate there. Just because you did, doesn't mean it's going to happen to me too." I explained. (to me too. Wait, isn't that a red vegetable?).

I couldn't even picture myself getting married with anyone I knew at school. Not even Ed!

"Yes, I know." She nodded. "But I'm just happy that you are going." She smiled at me and started caressing my hair, which made me feel awkward.

I groaned. "Mom, don't make this situation look like a soap opera, because I'd rather watch the animal channel than deal with this." I complained.

"You never watch the animal channel." Mom said and placed her hands on my shoulders.

I sighed. "Mom, exactly." I slapped my forehead. She just couldn't get my joke. "But, nevermind. I, have a project to do, where I, do not want to get disturbed." I said, hinting her the words Leave Me Alone.

"Oh, okay." She said. "I'm just happy, Sidney." She twirled my hair, let go, and walked out of my door.

I sighed, closed my door, and got back to making my super-duper-creative-not-really bookmark.

Just a few seconds after I sat down, my phone started ringing on my desk. I checked who it was, and it was Ed.

"What?" I grunted without even greeting him.

"Well, hello to you too." He said and managed a chuckle. "Are you home?" He asked.

I made a thinking sound, which was a humm. "Well, I wouldn't be if I was a party person that loved parties so much and would go to on one on a school day, not bothering to be busted. But since I'm not like those people, then yes. I'm at home." I said, annoyed.

Wait, I was the annoying one. No, both of us.

After I said the word 'home', he dropped the phone.

I froze for a moment. He dropped the phone call.

I groaned. He called me just to drop it without even saying goodbye. I didn't know if he did it on purpose because I didn't greet him when I picked up the phone, or something bad just happened to him.

Wait. Something bad.......

I shook the thought away. That couldn't be. I should've heard something before he dropped the phone.

I sighed, convincing myself to not think much of it. Nothing could've gone wrong. He was even chuckling!

Igot back to doing my project, but the thought of Ed was still bothering me so bad. I did try calling him back, but unfortunately, he didn't answer.

A few minutes later, a knock came from my door. It was mom, again.

Honestly, a little part of me did hope that it was Ed. But, no. Of course it was mom.

"Yes, mom?" I asked her.

"Sidney, it's about Ed." She said.

My heartbeat started pumping fast. "What about him?" I asked, trying to act cool and normal. I think I failed.

Mom tilted her head. "What's wrong honey? You look, sad." She asked sounding a bit worried.

I shook my head. "No, nothing." I lied. "So, what about Ed?"

She pointed behind her. "Oh, he's downstairs. He said you should change, because you two had somewhere to go to. Maybe, a date or something? A best friend kind of date? I don't know. Ask him yourself. I have to go. Have fun!" She kissed my cheek and left.

I stood there for a moment of relief. It was like two floods had washed over me. A flood of relief, and a flood of rage.

That stupid boy! He made me worry!

I was so angry at him, I ran downstairs with rage. How dare he make me worry like this? He should've said something. He shouldn't have dropped the phone without telling me that he was coming to pick me up so we could go to who-knows-but-him.

I was so pissed of.

When I was finally in front of him, I placed my hands on my waist and glared at him.

"Surprise?" He said, unsure. "What's with the face?" He asked like an innocent little boy.

I didn't have the patience to play games, so I told him how much pissed of I was that he made me worry.

He scratched the back of his head. "Oh, that. Yeah." He started. "Well, I did say surprise, right? That was why I didn't tell you I was going here. I didn't mean to get you worried. But seriously, Sidney, I was touched." He faked pain.

"Yeah, that fake pain on your chest won't be fake anymore if you'll make me worry again." I threatened, which I guess wasn't really that threatening.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, police officer." He chuckled. He even managed to make a joke. Yeah, he's my best friend all right.

He held a grip on my wrist and started dragging me towards the front door. "Let's go."

"Go where?" I asked, letting him drag me outside. I knew I had no choice anyway.

He smiled sneakily at me. "You'll see." He said and winked. My head was like, what the hell?

I'll cut the story short. He took me to a park that was probably 7 blocks away.

"Where is this?" I asked when he finally turned off his car engine.

He shrugged. "The park."

I stared at him. "Well, duh. Obviously" I said. "I mean, what park?" I was really getting annoyed.

"Oh." He said, embarassed. "I don't actually know. Just saw this while driving yesterday."

When he said it, I was actually picturing him in a car with Aubrey. But I decided to not ask him if he really was with her yesterday. I was afraid that I'll only get hurt with the answer.

"So you took me here, without knowing if this park is safe?" I asked, but he didn't answer. "You do know that there's a small chance of a criminal lurking around here, right?" I stared at him.

Honestly, I really was scared. Like, freakishly scared. I didn't want to get kidnapped in the place. I didn't want to get kidnapped anywhere.

The boy even managed to chuckle that I needed to hold myself from slapping hom, but then his tone got serious and sincere. "Don't worry, Sidney. I'm here to protect you."

Then, a warm feeling flooded my veins. I couldn't move for five seconds. Those five seconds? They felt like eternity.

I looked at him to see if he was just playing with me. His eyes were looking straight into mine. Those blue eyes that makes my heart melt every single time I steal a glance. His lips were curving to form a little smile, and I loved looking at it. It made me feel like those smiles were for me, even though sometimes I know for a fact that it wasn't.

I sometimes ask myself, 'Why had I fallen for him?'. Well, that was just a small part.

I fell into him not only because of the feelings that he gives just by looking at him, but also because of the way he really is. The whole HIM.

Finally, I got out of my thoughts. "You? Protect me?" I asked and scoffed.

He nodded. "Yes. That's what best friends are for, right?"

My melted heart suddenly broke into peices, if that was even possible. Of course, I was just a best friend.

I fake smiled at him. "Right."

He opened his door. "Let's go." He said and walked out. I did the only choice I had. To follow him.

We sat on a bench near a streetlight, so it wasn't too dark for me to be creeped out. Hey, I'm not a wimp, but I'm also not as brave as Merida on that one movie.

"Hey, EDenial." I teased. "Why did you take me here?"

He looked at me like he was about to laugh, but didn't. "Okay first, you still remember that name?" He groaned. I bit my lip instead of laughing right at his gorgeous face. "Second, I took you here because you seemed stress this week, so I thought you needed time to relax. So I took you here, SCAREDney."

I glared at him. "Really? ScaredNey?" I didn't have the right words to explain how dumb it sounded. Oh wait, I could. It sounded stupid. "That's the best that you've got?"

He shrugged. "It's the only thing I could think of. At least it's better than EDenial." He said.

I couldn't help it, so I laughed. Denial and Cowardice. It's a shocker that the two became best friends. He laughed along.

We laughed for who-knows-how-long, and it felt great. The feeling was amazing. I didn't realize that I needed this. That I needed him.

I stopped and laughing, and so did he. But we were both smiling, and I could almost see sparkle in his eyes.

"You know what, Sidney?" He asked, staring straight into my eyes while smiling. I liked his smile. "I missed this." He said.

I raised my eyebrow at him, but my smile was still as wide as the universe. "Missed what?" I asked.

"This." He said. "Us having a great time. We still hang out together, yes, but we never really got to talk and tease each other. I don't know if you think of the same thing Sid, but, I feel like we started to get far with each other when we got close to Aubrey and Kevin. When I got close to Aubrey, and you to Kevin. That's why I've been looking forward to this time with you." He said.

I studied him to see some clue if he was playing with me, but I didn't see any.

"You have no Idea how I've been looking forward to this as well." I said.

We both missed each other.

The only difference was that I missed him because I loved him. He missed me all because I was his best friend.

...

"Ooooh, artsy." Ed said when I showed him my bookmark. And when I said that I showed it to him, what I really meant was him taking my bookmark from my hands while I kicked and punched him away. But he's stronger, so he won.

I snatched my bookmark back from his hands. "Whatever. Let me see yours." I closed-open my palms, indicating for him to give it to me.

He gave me his bookmark. It was shaped like a heart.

I looked at him with a dead face. "Are you serious?" I asked.

"No, I'm black." He joked. I ignored his Harry Potter reference and glared at him. "Okay, fine. Aubrey wanted it be shaped like a heart. I had no choice." He defended.

I wasn't surprised. "Of course. Aubrey." I said and gave him a faint smile. I then walked back towards my seat and prayed for Ms. Thompson to finally arrive.

He as well got back to his seat. "Wait, are you jealous?" He asked, sounded intrigued.

I was caught off guard. I had to shake my head just to make sure that Ed really did ask me if I was jealous. Was I jealous? Duh! But I can't tell him that, can't I? Again, duh!

I shook my head. "Of course not. Don't get your hopes up too high, idiot." I denied and scoffed.

"Whatever you say." He said.

Before anything else got worse, our art teacher, thankfully, finally arrived. "Good afternoon everyone." She greeted. "Sorry I came late. Now get back to your seats." She ordered.

Ms. Thompson wasn't really the kind of teacher that could make you follow her every order, but she is an artist, so I liked her. Her works were always the best. Students just don't respect her.

"Did everyone make their bookmarks?" She asked. Only about three people said yes, and even their voices sounded almost like a whisper. "I have an announcement to make."

"I think that most of you already know who Ms. Aubrey Hart is." She continued.

My eyes went wide open. What has Aubrey got to do with our Art project? I had no idea. She wasn't even in our class!

I glanced to see Ed and his reaction. He only sat there like what Ms. Thompson said didn't surprise him.

"What is this about? Did Aubrey tell you?" I whispered to him. He only nodded. Before I could ask another question, Ms. Thompson already started talking.

"The school head thinks that it is for the best if Aubrey would help me pick the best designs in this class. The best three bookmarks will be bought by Aubrey's father for a hundred dollars each."

Gasps surrounded the room. Everyone started murmuring things to each other. Everyone wanted that one hundred dollars, except me.

"You mean Aubrey's father convinced the school head so Aubrey would look rich by giving a hundred dollars." I muttered.

Wait, a hundred dollars for a bookmark? That didn't seem right. Something smelled fishy. Or was it just the aquarium by the window.

"That, I didn't know. She never told me about a hundred dollars." Ed said, while everyone was still shocked at Ms. Thompson's announcement. I even saw some people trying their best to make their bookmarks even prettier. In truth, they're making it look a unicorn pooped on them.

"Isn't a hundred dollars too much for a bookmark?" I asked him. "She could've just helped the school enhance it's maintenance. That would've been smart." I suggested.

I didn't look at Ed because I was looking around the room while my classmates where 'beautifying' their bookmarks, but I heard Ed's response loud and clear. "I couldn't agree more."

Just then, Aubrey entered our classroom with her usual smirk on her face. "Goodmorning everyone." She greeted. Everyone except me greeted back. Maybe they just want that one hundred dollars.

"Welcome, Aubrey." Ms. Thompson said to her. "You can now start looking at their bookmarks." She gestured towards us.

Aubrey nodded and walked around. She first stopped in front a guy that I really didn't know. He was cute, but I already had Ed to give all my attention to.

She picked up the guy's bookmark and scanned it like what scientists usually did to liquids in most movies.

The guy's bookmark wasn't really that impressive, but it also wasn't the worst. It was shaped as a rectangle (of course), had been painted with different colors, and a picture of a guitar was in the middle of it. I was guessing that he likes to play guitar. And again, duh!

She placed the bookmark back to the guy's table and roamed around. Everyone was making their bookmarks look at it's best.

"I really can't understand what's happening right now." I said to Ed.

He nodded. "Me neither."

Aubrey then stopped in front of Trixie Carpenter's table. Trixie, for me, was probably the best artist in class. Her works always gets an A, and Ms. Thompson would always ask Trixie to give her her projects so she could display it at the Faculty Room.

Aubrey, surprisingly, didn't give Trixie her project back and moved on to another student. I guessed that it meant she chose her project.

My story probably sounded a little bit boring on this part, so I'll just skip to the moment when she finally reached me.

Aubrey and I aren't really great friends. We weren't even actually friends. So, when she glared at me and looked at me like I was a dirt on her favorite and most expensive towel, I wasn't surprised.

"Well, If it isn't Sidney." She symphatetically said.

I rolled my eyes. "Just get on with this. I don't want to waste my time." I snapped back.

She scoffed. "I don't want my time wasted with you either." She said.

I tried to glance around, and it seemed like nobody heard our conversation.

Bummer. They didn't get to hear how much of a monster the preppy girl in front of me really was. I still wish for that moment where Aubrey's flawless skin would finally peel off, then everybody would see who she really is.

"Let me see your project." She said and snatched my bookmark.

She inspected it like she was an investigator. All I did was scoff at how stupid she looked.

She shrugged. "It's not the best, and it's not the worst as well." She said. "But, do you know how it could get worst?" She asked.

My heart started pumping. She was planning something horrible, and I hated the fact that I didn't know what it was.

Her eyes looked feirce and evil, just like it always did. I never really told anybody, but sometimes she's intimidating. The way she looks, the way she moves, and the way she speaks.

But I didn't get how this perfect girl have only one flaw, and it had to be her attitude.

If she was nice, I would've been her friend. But since she's not, I hated her with all my guts. Added that I liked Ed, but Ed liked her.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know what to say. Obviously I couldn't slap her face since I'll probably be in detention for that.

She gave me sneaky grin, and I had to admit that it made me nervous.

Then, she ripped my bookmark into half.

I was so shocked, I stood up with my mouth open

"What the hell?!" I almost shouted. I didn't care what the others would've thought. "Why did you rip my project?" I asked in a low voice.

I expected her to look guilty and say sorry, but I guess a devil will always be a devil. She laughed.

"You call that a project?" She asked. "Oh please. My 2 year old cousin can make a better project than that."

I couldn't stop myself, so I pushed her.

After I did, everybody looked at me. They looked afraid. They looked at me like I was the monster.

DID THEY NOT SEE AUBREY RIP MY PROJECT?

I looked at my hands. I had pushed Aubrey Hart. I knew that moment that I was getting into trouble. I did the the only thing I think was appropiate that moment. Or what I think was best to do.

I ran outside, crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late update. I know. If you read my poem book 'Treasures', you'll know why. :)

Z.