Heather got back from ballet practice to see Courtney lying in her bed. She buried her head in the pillow as she sobbed. Heather blinked, taken aback. Sure, she's seen Courtney cry, but never like this. She shut the door and walked over to her friend, sitting at the bedside.

"...Courtney?" There was no response. Only her desolate sobs. "Babe, what happened?"

"I..." she could hardly speak without crying.

"Did you fail an exam?"

She shook her head. "N-no, I wish."

Heather gasped. So, it's worse than I thought. "What is it?"

"Tyler...Duncan...Gwen..."

"Um, care to elaborate?"

"Tyler told everyone he saw Duncan and Gwen kiss." She squeezed her eyes shut, searing pain stabbing her heart.

"Wait, what?! When did THIS happen?!"

"Earlier today. I-in front of the whole class! Gwen...that stupid bitch ran away from me. COWARD!"

"Wow, I..." Heather was speechless. She knew Duncan and Courtney were having issues. She also knew Gwen and Duncan were tight. And she knew Duncan was low. However, she never thought he'd stood this low. She was more angry than surprised, though. "What a piece of shit! You know what, Courtney? You can't let him get away with this!"

"What am I even supposed to do?! I just want to lay in bed and cry. I don't feel like getting up."

"You need to get revenge. They don't deserve to feel guilt-free."

"Oh, I know," she sniffled. "I made sure to give Gwen an earful in texts. The cruddier she feels, the more vindicated I am."

"What about Duncan? What happened to revenge on him? It's not all her fault, you know. Even though she is a total whore."

"I know," she sighed. "I'm just...I love him. I can't help it. I..."

Heather frowned. She couldn't imagine spending all that time with someone just for them to go behind her back and betray her. Especially with someone she knew. "...I'm so sorry." She awkwardly rubbed her shoulder. To put it simply, Heather sucked at comforting people. Maybe because she had trouble feeling sympathetic towards others when she was younger, she often heard her parents tell all the psychologists she saw that they thought she was a sociopath. But the thing was, her parents never showed her any sympathy. How was she to know what it was supposed to feel like?

Courtney sat up and continued to cry into her hands. "We were supposed to get married, a-and have babies...I had all these plans! Gwen's such a pathetic fucking bitch!! She doesn't even care! The only reason she said sorry was because I found out! If she were sorry, she would've dumped Duncan right on the spot!"

"You know I never liked Gwen. She was always a loser."

"You're right. I hope they both break up in the worst way possible! I hope he cheats on her too!"

Heather pursed her lips in thought. "Why don't we make their lives miserable? If we can. Imagine how miserable they already are dating each other. Bleh!"

"Yeah, they probably only talk about punk stuff! So lame!"

"Exactly." Hmm...Gwen's always wearing those stupid combat boots. Heather remembered overhearing her one day about how much she loved and treasured those shoes. LeShawna, Lindsay, and Beth were complimenting her on them. And Duncan...he'll have to regrow his precious mohawk.

Courtney took deep breaths, wiping her tears. "I just...I'm so hurt. I don't think I have it in me for revenge. On Duncan, at least."

Heather smirked. "That's what I'm here for. Duncan will regret this. But if you want to focus on Gwen, I can do that."

"Gwen BETTER watch out if she likes her teeth."

"That would probably be an improvement."

"Yes!" Courtney cackled.

"We need a plan. And I have a good one. Gwen loves her stupid black boots. All we have to do is sneak into her room and destroy them."

"That's so evil. I like the way you think."

"Of course, you do. I've got a doctorate in revenge and humiliation." Like when Alejandro and I humiliated José. The thought of it made her smile. Strangely, it was a softer smile.

Courtney raised her eyebrows. "What's that smile for? Are you...fantasizing about this? Cause that is one weird fetish."

"What? No! Um...I'm just really happy we're going to make Gwen suffer." Why does he have to pop up at the most random times?! Get a grip, Heather!

"Me too. And I hope karma gives her SO much more than this."

"Definitely."

**

The next morning, Heather and Courtney waited for Gwen to come out of her room for breakfast before they snuck in with a pair of scissors.

"Do you want to do the honors?" Heather asked her.

"Heck yes!" Courtney squealed.

She handed her the scissors. Courtney started by cutting off the laces, then stabbing the boots all over, leaving dozens of holes. She cut the tongues, then cut the whole bottoms off. "They look so beautiful now, don't they?"

"Absolutely gorgeous. She could wear them at a fashion contest. A lame goth contest."

"She'd totally win."

"Shall we get breakfast, best friend?"

"We shall."

Heather and Courtney both walked downstairs casually and sat on the chairs right across from Gwen.

"Mmm, these waffles look delicious!" Heather started pouring syrup on them.

"I know, right?" Courtney agreed. Her goal was to keep her and Duncan from seeing her upset. She wanted them both to believe she had already moved on.

"Careful with all that syrup," Gwen smirked. "Wouldn't want to gain weight."

"Careful with the condom you use while fucking Duncan. Wouldn't want cheaters like you to reproduce."

Gwen glared at her. "What are you even talking about? Duncan and I are just friends."

"Courtney told me everything, honey. Did you think your dirty little secret would stay a secret for long?" Gwen tensed. "That's what I thought."

"This isn't even any of your business, Heather."

"Courtney's my friend. And you stole her boyfriend. So yes, it is my business."

She growled under her breath. "You can't even talk. Remember what happened in high school?"

"What? When I kissed Trent? First, you two weren't even together yet. Second, it's not my fault he liked my lips better."

"Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" Gwen threw a very syrupy waffle at her shirt.

Heather's jaw dropped. "I know you did NOT just do that. At least I can wash it."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, you'll find out." She started wiping her shirt off, muttering curses.

Courtney laughed. "Yeah, you think you can get away with this. How cute."

"Courtney, I already said I was sorry!"

"Sorry?" She laughed even harder. "It's too late for that. You shouldn't have done anything in the first place. You don't know what sorry is, but you will soon."

"Hey, knock it off!" LeShawna snapped. "Gwen told me all about how you treated Duncan. I'm no love expert, but I know no one should be makin' a list of things to change about the person they supposedly 'love'."

"Oh, so you're saying Gwen was right for kissing him behind Courtney's back?!" Heather defended.

"No, that wasn't right. But Courtney, you're no saint. And Duncan's my friend. No one treats my friends like that."

Courtney went silent. She suddenly stood up, not pushing her chair in, and stormed up to her room. "Wow," Heather crossed her arms angrily. "She was just cheated on and you defend the other woman?!"

"I never defended what Gwen did! I'm just sayin', Courtney can't act all innocent and play the victim when she was a part of the reason why he cheated!"

"No one can make anyone cheat, dumbass!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, who're you callin' dumbass, you skinny, flat ass, little-"

"Hey!" Bridgette interrupted. "There is absolutely no need for fighting. LeShawna, just ignore it. Heather, getting revenge won't help anything."

"It will help Courtney feel better. And it will give these two-timers what they deserve! I'm done here."
Heather got up to go after Courtney. She walked into their room.

"I hate them so much!" Courtney was crying again.

"Don't even listen to those losers. Gwen will be begging for forgiveness once she finds out what you did to her shoes."

"Yeah, maybe."

"She will be. And I'll continue to make her stupid life miserable. And Duncan's."

**

Heather was walking towards the staircase later that night for a midnight snack when she heard muffled voices coming from LeShawna and Gwen's room.

"...You can't even reason with her," she heard LeShawna retort. Heather put her ear up to the door to listen in more.

"I know, she doesn't care about anyone but herself," Gwen said.

"I bet she's not even doin' this for Courtney. She's always hated you. This is just an excuse to torture you more. I think she's fucked in the head."

"Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it," Gwen groaned. "I'm still so mad about my boots!"

"I would be too, girl!"

Heather gritted her teeth. Fucked in the head?! As if! I'm not the one who kissed another girl's boyfriend.

"Anyways, Heather seriously needs to stop. This isn't funny, and it never was. She's just pure evil. I don't even know why Courtney's friends with her."

"Right?" LeShanwa cackled. "I bet she's never gonna get married."

"She'd probably scare her husband away. If they even get to that stage."

"Or even the first date!" They both laughed.

Haha, very funny. Heather rolled her eyes, ignoring how hurt she was by the comment. After about nineteen years of doing it, she was a pro at hiding her feelings. She had been doing it since she was only a toddler. In fact, she hid them so much that she became numb. Things that would usually hurt other people's feelings didn't phase her at all. Or so she thought. Instead of showing her feelings by crying, she'd show them in different ways. And not necessarily on purpose all the time. Sometimes she was mean to people by force of habit. It was almost impossible for her to stop at this point.

Gwen yawned. "Well, I'm getting tired. Night."

"Night, girlfriend."

Heather continued walking, putting her earbuds in. Instead of eating, she decided to go outside just to sit and relax. Her head was now full of thoughts. Do they really hate me that much? Why do I even care?! You don't care, she told herself firmly. Forget it. You're not a nice person. You do not care about anyone.

A few minutes later, she saw the fraternity doors open from across the street. She squinted to make out who it was. Alejandro fucking Burromuerto.

She and immediately down at her phone, pretending not to see him. And to absolutely no one's surprise, a text from him popped up on her screen.

'I see you, chica😉'

Ugh.

'What do you want?'

'Did I say I wanted anything? I just noticed you sitting there. What a coincidence that we're both out here at this time.'

'You probably spied on me through the window, creep.'

'As tempting as that sounds, no, I did not. I am not Sierra.'

'Why do I even have your number?'

'Because you can't help but like me😘'

Heather felt her cheeks heat up. 'Shut the hell up.'

'Ah, that is the attitude I LOVE.'

Now she felt even more flustered, which made her indescribably irritated. She angrily shut her phone off.

Alejandro walked across the street. "As much fun as texting is, I'd much rather speak to you face to face."

"Look, I don't have time for your games tonight. I spent all day dealing with Courtney. Duncan, the idiot, cheated on her with Gwen, the weird goth girl."

He raised an eyebrow. "...Come again?"

"Duncan cheated on Courtney! Are you deaf?!"

"Hmm...I cannot believe I haven't heard about that yet. Then again, Duncan isn't very talkative about such affairs."

"He's such an asshole. I'm planning on chopping his ugly mohawk off."

"I'd love to see that." Courtney must be devastated. This is so wrong, but...maybe her vulnerability could help me out with my bet. But there's no way she'd fall for me under general circumstances. I'd have to compromise with her.

"And Gwen had the nerve to defend herself! Disgusting!"

"...Heather?"

"Hmm?" She hummed in response. Since when did I start finding his voice so soothing?

"Do you happen to know when Courtney gets off school tomorrow?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not answering that."

It was worth a shot. "Alright, that is perfectly fine." I can just ask her during lunch.

"Whatever you're thinking, I recommend you stop."

"I am not thinking anything. I just needed an answer so I could ask her about getting lawyers. I know she excels when it comes to all things law."

"Whatever." He's up to something.

"I love when you use that word. It flows so naturally from your lips." Heather flipped him off. He gasped playfully. "And what a lovely middle finger you have."

"Ugh!! Why can't you just get mad at something?!?!" She blurted out.

Alejandro stifled a laugh. "Because you are simply too funny to get mad at, señorita."

"I am not funny! You better be intimidated by me!!"

He smirked, his eyes contacting hers. However, he couldn't dare to stare any longer than a few seconds. The feeling he had in his chest was almost too much. What was that? That's never happened before with a woman.

Heather felt it too and looked away as quickly as he did, her heart beating mercilessly. This just keeps getting worse and worse. She was afraid that soon she wouldn't even function properly around him. And she couldn't have that. He would just laugh. She stood up. "I'm going back inside."

"Alright. Goodnight, Heather." She nearly froze when she heard how soft his voice sounded. I've never heard him like that before. Am I just imagining things now?!

"...Goodnight." Fuck! Her voice came out all shaky. Now I look vulnerable! To her surprise, he didn't comment on it.