"Why were you so upset with Nik yesterday?"

I roll my eyes and turn to Becca as she sucks back on her straw. "He was annoying me," I complain and haul on my cherry slurpee, courtesy of Nik.

I watch him a few steps ahead of me, walking with Jordan and Sherry, his long blonde hair bouncing with each step. The truth is, he was being too clingy, and I needed him to back off. I love the attention, but sometimes it just gets to be too much. We flirt and poke and tease all day long, especially in front of Taylor, obviously that gets annoying, eventually.

"He annoyed you so you told him you hated him and you wish he never would have started at our school?" Becca asks, and her tone tells me I do not impress her with my reasoning.

"He knows I didn't mean it." I defend, "And he totally forgave me." I wiggle my slurpee in her face as evidence.

"You can be such a bitch, you know that, right?" Becca scolds me but the insult bounces right off of me.

"I know." I throw her a smile and skip ahead to join our other friends.

I loop my arm through Nik's and lean my head on his shoulder. He smells like laundry, as always, and the faint smell of blue raspberry slurpee. "Thanks for the slurpee Nik," I chirp flirtatiously, "I'm glad we are still friends."

"Friends?" he questions me, his brown eyes wide and a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Friends." I confirm and plant a cherry-flavored kiss on his cheek. I glance back at Becca, and there is no missing the murderous glare plastered on her face.