My fingers were cramped from the amount of dish I washed and it was only day one. The chore did give me time to go over how I wanted to approach the Derek situation with Faye. I needed talk to her soon, rip the Band-Aid. Also, I knew Derek would be ten times more annoying if I waited.

After begging reminding Mom that I had homework to do she relieved me of my duties a I happily handed my glove and scrub brush to the bus boy. He gave me a weird look which was understandable because, unlike me, he got to use the dishwasher.

"I'll be home around ten," she reminded me and I nodded. That gave me some time to sneak over to Faye's and talk to her.

"Are you really going to make me do this every night?" I questioned as I grabbed my purse.

"Yes," she retorted. "You stayed out all night and then came home smelling like an ashtray and tequila. You're lucky I only gave you week."

She made a good point and I didn't want to push it.

"What are the chances that you'll have some chocolate cake left over?" I asked, eyeing the piece currently being drizzled with more chocolate by one of the staff.

"I'll see what I can do," she promised.

"Okay." I went to hug her, take both myself and her by surprise. It was just a weird impulse I had. The last time we hugged was - well, I can't even remember.

She hugged back, squeezing tight before pulling away. "I'll see you at home."

Giving her a smile I leave out if the back entrance and prepare for my talk with Faye.

+ + +

"Hey," Faye smiled wide as she let me in. "I thought you were grounded?"

"I am," I explained as I followed her through the maze like house into the TV room. "I just needed to talk to you."

She sat down on the couch, tucking her beneath her and I sat down as well.

"About what?"

On the bus ride over her I had created over fifteen version of what I was going to say. Each of them seemed to vanish from my memories.

"Uhm, well..." I was stalling. Band-Aid, Mia. Just rip it off. "It's about Derek."

She looked as if all the wind had just been knocked out of her. It was too late to pull back now, despite how much I wanted to.

"We've been talking and -"

"I knew it," she mumbled, her voice almost a whisper.

Of course she knew. Her, Jasmine and Ellen pretty much had the whole town wired. Faye hopped up from the sofa, fuming and looking more angry and hurt than that night at the party.

"How could you go behind my back like that?" She said through gritted teeth, her eyes becoming glossy with tears. "I gave you a second chance and you're screwing my ex?"

"No, I wouldn't do that."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You really think I'm that stupid, Mia?" She barked. "I knew you were talking to him this whole time. I just wanted to know how long it would take for you to confess."

Standing from the couch, I tried to explain. "Yes, Derek and I have been talking and I should've said something sooner, but we were never dating."

"Then why did he break up with me right after talking to you?" She demanded, wiping tears from her face with the back of her hand.

It gutted me to see her this way and I doubted that telling her the truth would make her feel any better. How was I supposed to tell her that the love of her little life called her crazy and possive? No girl wanted to hear that.

"He wants to get back with you," I said in hopes of steering the conversation into something less tense.

"Oh, wow," she laughed through tear filled eyes. "So, what? You're done with him and I can have him back now?"

She refused to hear what I was saying and it was starting to piss me off. It was like she lived in some impenetrable fantasy world where everyone was plotting against her. My patients with her began to wear thin each time I tried to show her the truth.

Even after confessing to her that I had a crush on Calvin she still called me a liar.

"This is pointless," I huffed. "Derek did not break up with you because of me. He dumped you because you don't listen to anyone but yourself!"

My veins filled with heated rage and a million tiny needles pricked my fingertips. Whether I was angry with Faye or myself for trying so hard to please her, I couldn't tell. Maybe it was a little of both.

Faye looked like she had been punched in the gut, but at this point I didn't care. I was done apologizing.

+ + +

My temper had gone down by the time I had gotten off the bus and it left me feeling exhausted. It was safe to say that I was no longer friends with Faye and by default Ellen and Jasmine. For months all I wanted was to be their friend again, but now I couldn't figure out why. They weren't bad people, they just weren't the right group of people for me.

When Dad explained why he and Mom divorced I didn't understand it, but I do now. Things changed, I changed and I had new perspective on life. With my new world view I could see things for what they were. There was a Faye Bubble, so to speak. A bubble where we all hide our insecurities and no one ever told anyone the truth.

I used to be happy in that bubble. My feelings were validated, no matter how juvenile or stupid they were. There was always someone there to tell me I was right and encouraged me to be petty.

There was an annoying squeaking noise that was disrupting my thoughts. Looking over my shoulder I see Calvin with his rickety old bike, navigating it through the other people on the sidewalk until he caught up with me.

"You have chocolate," I stated, pointing to the brown paper bag he held in his hand dawning the Sweetie Pies logo.

"How did you even know that?" He asked handing the bag to me.

I shrugged, opening the bag to find chocolate chocolate-chip cookies. Taking one, I folded the bag up and handed it back to him.

"Bad day?"

"Why would you think that?" I asked, breaking a piece of the cookie off I chucked into my mouth.

"You usually crave chocolate after a stressful event."

I looked over at him, a smile creeping over my face as I admired his excellent observation skills. "You're good."

He chuckled as we rounded the corner of our street. "So, what happened?"

"It's a long story and I don't want to get into it right now," I sighed, eating another piece of the cookie. "The short version is: Faye and I are no longer friends."

"Wow." He blinked. "You don't seem that upset about it?"

"Honestly, I'm not," I admitted. "But I could just be in shock."

I finished off the last of my cookie just as we made our houses.

"Thanks for the chocolate," I said, looking over at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Uh, yeah, alright," he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need to ask you something first."

"What's up?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself as a cold breeze hit me.

Calvin propped his bike up on kickstand and I waited patiently for the question.

"I, uh..." he dropped his arm, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"You're being weird," I state, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you want to go out?"

It took my brain a few moments to unjumble the string of words that just came from his mouth. It still didn't make any sense. There must be something wrong my hearing or I'm taking it out of context.

"What?" I blinked.

"Do you want to go on a date?" He rephrased, a little slower this time.

I did, in fact, hear him correctly. Now, all I could hear was the rapid beating of my heart as it echoed in my ears. His eyes watched me intently as waited for my answer. An answer I would happily give him once I regain my ability to talk. I needed to pull myself together.

"Yeah," I finally squeaked out. A big, goofy grin appearing on his face and I could only imagine that I looked the same.

"Yeah?" He repeated and I nodded to confirm.

The moment of bliss wore off once I remembered the consequences of my drunken weekend.

"Oh crap," I grumbled. "I'm still grounded."

"Right, I forgot about that," he admitted. "Then we'll hit pause until you're free. When is that exactly?"

"Saturday," I replied. "If I don't get into any more trouble."

"Well, try not to add on to your sentence," he laughed. "I think we've waited long enough already."

That made my entire body tingle. I knew I was waiting for an actual date with him, but I never thought he was waiting as well. Chewing at my bottom lip, I try to hold back my excitement. At least until after we said good-night and I went inside the house. The moment the door closed behind me the I allowed myself to smile like an idiot.

As much I wanted to call Alyssa and fill her in, I didn't have my phone. Instead, I decided to gush about tonight in my journal. Going up to my room I take my journal from my desk drawer. I flip through the pages to find a blank one to write on. My eyes couldn't help but linger on my old entries from this summer. That was such a bad place I was in back then and I didn't want this new chapter of my life to be associated with these memories.

Tossing that diary aside, I went into my closet to look for the diary Keisha gave me for my birthday that I haphazardly tossed in there. Sitting on the floor of my closet I being to write, letting all of my emotions flow onto the paper.

//

Did Calvin just...? :o

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