"I am telling you, if I wanted to, I could easily get Mr Jenkinson into bed."

"You are disgusting." Georgia snaps, grimacing across the table as Becky grins, the feuding pair beginning their daily battle.

"Alright. Maybe I am." Becky smirks, "I'm bored. Give me a challenge."

"What?" Zara questions, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm bored." Becky repeats, "Challenge me to make out with someone!" I raise my eyebrow at her request. This girl is crazy and I love her.

"No!" Georgia hisses, leaning over the table glaring.

"You guys are boring."

"Don't sit with us then." Georgia snorts and I roll my eyes.

"Shut up." Becky retorts, sitting forward as I place my bottle down on the table, mentally preparing myself for World War Three. Anyone with half a brain can see that Georgia still hasn't warmed to Becky and why this is the case, I have no idea.

"Sav?" Zara queries, changing the subject as they all turn to face me, "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine." I reply, picking up a cookie and popping it in my mouth.

"Talk to us."

"I'm fine." I reassure them, sending them a quick smile, "Honestly. Just stressed about money." I finish, looking back down at my tray.

And freaky Patrick.

This morning I found him sat on the floor in the corner of the kitchen, drinking out of the carton of milk. I nearly screamed when I saw him, my hand flying to my chest in shock. He'd smirked up at me, his eyes glazed over, high on drugs.

Life is swell.

"Ed." I mutter.

"What?" Zara wrinkles her face in confusion.

"Becky wants a challenge." I explain as Georgia's mouth drops open. "Make out with Ed Hutchings."

"Challenge accepted." Becky grins, rising from her chair before leaning over and ducking down to whisper in my ear, "I am always happy to help distract you from a certain asshole."

"I...."

I wasn't even thinking about Brett. Was she talking about Brett?

My eyes instantly drift over to the table in the far corner, Brett laughing with his mates as they joke around, one of them sat atop the table, his hands taped to a football. Is this what jocks do for fun?

"Watch and learn ladies." Becky exclaims, tearing me out of my daydream as she grins standing up and running her fingers through her long black hair. Picking up a fry from her tray she pops it into her mouth before turning towards the boys.

Ed is not the most attractive man, his cheeks are still slightly rounded, his body still carrying some puppy fat. He hangs out with the football players regardless, them accepting him into their crowd as the mascot of the team, dressed up as a chipmunk every game. I like him, he's always been kind to me, always helped me carry my books back when we had music class together. I haven't spoken to him in years, just the occasional smile across the room. With the guys constantly teasing him about girls, or lack thereof, I know that a kiss from the tall, gorgeous Becky will really help his ego. Plus, by Becky walking over there I can watch Brett without being noticed.

Wait, what?

Becky begins her walk over to the football players, Chris noticing her immediately and nudging the guy beside him. I wish I had the confidence she has, her eyes already locked onto Ed, the rest of the group all turning as she parades towards their table. At the last second she stops, falling gracefully into the lap of Edgewater High's mascot as the guys holler, Zara giggling and Georgia rolling her eyes. I feel myself begin to smile as the cafeteria watches Becky lean in, the cheers from the table rising as Ed's cheeks redden. 

Becky pauses, inches from his face as the football players watch eagerly. She leans across, whispering something into Ed's ear that makes his cheeks blush even more before quickly pecking him on the cheek and jumping up, striding back towards us. The football team immediately quieten down, many crowding around the flustered Ed who smiles broadly as they smack him on the back. Brett remains seated, but a grin is plastered across his face as he says something to Ed, my ears not able to catch it.

"Jocks are idiots." Becky slumps back down in her chair, reaching for a handful of fries.

"You got that right." Zara nods.

"Then why do you entertain it?" Georgia rolls her eyes.

"How to entertain myself in high school." Becky answers, sitting back in her seat. "I'm not asking you to do it."

"I don't understand you." Georgia huffs, glaring across the table.

"I don't understand you either." Becky shrugs. "I like you anyway."

"Anyone fancy going to a movie on Friday?" Zara cuts in, changing the subject.

"Absolutely." I answer quickly, smiling gratefully at her.

"Sure." Becky smiles and Georgia nods.

"Okay, so there's a new comedy come out that I've heard great reviews about. It's a horror, but please hear me out! So there's this abandoned house, and a family moves in..." I zone out of the conversation as Ashley sweeps past our table, her pink mini skirt immediately grabbing my attention as she heads straight for the jocks, her minions following close behind.

Brett looks up as she approaches, immediately standing and wrapping his arm around her waist as she giggles, both of them leaning in, him pecking her lips. He makes a move to pull away but she grabs him, pulling him back and interlocking their lips once more. He accepts, pulling her closer and smirking into the kiss, continuing what she started as I feel a twang in my chest, swallowing the lump in my throat as I tear my eyes away.

"I'll see you later." I say, abruptly standing up, the girls looking up at me in surprise.

"Sav?" Zara begins to stand but I shake my head.

"I'm fine, just forgot some history homework for next class." I manage to chuckle.

"There isn't an..."

"Bye!" I cut Becky off, turning away and throwing my bag over my shoulder as I begin towards the exit.

I don't know why this bothers me so much, they always make out in the cafeteria. Maybe I'm just fed up seeing it, not wanting to watch anyone make out because I'm alone and single. That's all it is, I don't want to see anyone kissing, let alone them. Pushing the door open I throw myself into the toilets, thankful that they're empty as I make my way over to the last stall and slam the door shut, letting my bag drop to the floor.

"Fuck!" I breathe out.

I hate Brett Winters.

*~*~*

"Keep in line!" Ashley yells as we raise our pom-poms in the air, "Don't let the rival team scare you!"

Scare me? Is she for real? She's far scarier than the girls across the field who are cheering for the other team, in fact, their cheerleading captain is smiling and laughing. Can I transfer schools?

Edgewater Valley High is, unsurprisingly, winning as usual. I watch as the players make their way across the field, cheering as they score another touchdown, my eyes drawn to the captain, his team celebrating with him as the crowd cheers. The buzzer sounds for half time and Becky screams in excitement at our lead as I laugh before turning back to the field, Brett facing my way as he takes his helmet off, his eyes falling on mine. I can't help but smile at him, the atmosphere infectious as he takes a step towards me, the rest of the team heading back towards the locker room.

"Is he coming over to speak to you?" Becky hisses.

"I don't know." I reply, my voice low. My stomach begins to flutter as Brett reaches up, running his hand through his hair. The simple action sets me on edge, and I unintentionally bite my lip, running my hand down my arm.

"He is!" Becky exclaims, clearly surprised. I don't dare to look at her, desperate to maintain the eye contact that is making my heart pound hard against my rib cage.

"Brett!" Ashley squeals and I turn to see her running over to him. He looks towards her and smiles, just in time for her to dive into his arms. He wraps his arms around her as she kisses him, and I grimace, dropping my gaze as Becky huffs.

"What a bitch."

"He didn't stop her." I retort, turning away from the scene.

"Surprisingly I wasn't talking about Ashley being the bitch." She responds, linking her arm through mine as we walk over to the bleachers to sit down.

"I just want this game over so I can go home!" I groan, leaning my head on her shoulder.

*~*~*

They win. No surprise there.

But still the celebrations are catching and I find myself screaming with glee, grabbing hold of Becky as we celebrate. The rest of the school pours out of the bleachers and onto the field, something that's been forbidden for the last seven games but the students don't care. In high school the games get everyone involved, everyone wants to join in the spirit. I see Zara bounding over to us and grin as the other cheerleaders flood towards the players.

"Good cheering girls!"

"It's definitely the reason why they won the game." Becky snorts, throwing her pom-poms on the ground.

"For sure."

"Go Brett!" Someone screams and I glance over to see the players raising Brett onto their shoulders.

"He lives in a fairytale." Becky scoffs, all of us watching as he laughs, the students raising their arms towards him.

"Girls!" Georgia squeals, running towards us as I tear my eyes away from Devil Winters.

"Where were you?" Zara exclaims, "You were right beside me."

"I wanted to admire the field for a bit longer from the view up there!"

"And there I was thinking that we had nothing in common!" Becky grins, placing her hands on her hips.

"We don't." Georgia corrects, crossing her arms. Really Georgia? Can't we all be friends?

"I'll see you girls on Monday." I smile, giving a small wave before turning away.

"Where are you going?" Georgia calls out behind me and I falter, turning back to see their confused expressions.

"Home?"

"Nope." Becky objects.

"What?"

"They won!" Zara gestures towards the still crowded field.

"So?" I question. I'm not seeing the relevance, they always win and now it's time for bed. I have so much history homework to catch up on.

"There's a party at Chris'." Zara exclaims as Becky nods.

"I'm really not in the mood..."

"I don't care..." Georgia cuts me off and I raise my eyebrows.

"I think she means to say 'please'!" Becky shoots a dirty look to Georgia.

"Obviously." Georgia glares back, before focusing her eyes back to me.

"Come on Sav!" Zara pleads, her face full of hope.

Before Becky came into our lives, none of us really went to any of these parties. She introduced us to this side of high school, dragged us along even when we weren't invited. She pulled us out of our tiny little world and into the universe of high school and we were all grateful even if Georgia will never admit it.

"It'll be fun." Zara tries, a coy smile on her face as I feel my strength wavering, my friends breaking me down with their persistence.

"Sav. If you want to go home, then go home." Becky says softly, "But I honestly think we'll have a lot of fun tonight."

"She doesn't mean that." Georgia counters, "You have to come."

"Georgia!"

"What?" Georgia exclaims, looking over at them before turning back to me with a small apologetic smile on her face. "It's not the same without you."

I guess the history homework can wait until tomorrow evening?

"Fine." I give in and Georgia's smile grows as she squeezes my hand.

"Yes!"

"My car is in the parking lot." Becky gestures towards the exit, the crowd on the field already far smaller, the football players gone.

"Are you sure?" Zara asks and Becky nods, picking up our bags from the bleachers and handing mine over.

"As long as one of you pays for the cab home."

"Sure thing." Georgia grins, not letting go of my hand as we begin to make our way across the field.

"Thanks."

We swiftly walk over to Becky's car and jump in, both Becky and I unzipping our bags and pulling out our normal clothes.

"I used to love cheerleading, the gymnastics were so fun." Zara exclaims as I shove my cheerleading top in my bag.

"I can't bend like that." Georgia laughs.

"Me neither. That's why Ashley always shoves me at the bottom of the pyramid." I grin, pulling the denim skirt out of my bag and carefully pulling my cheerleading bottoms off.

"She's just a bitch for no reason." Georgia snorts.

"I wonder why she's like that?" Zara wonders, "Like is something going on at home or something?"

"Either way, don't take it out on everyone else." Georgia says, "She's always been like that."

"It's true. In kindergarten she wouldn't let me be her friend because my hair was short." I point out, reminiscing. I went home and cried, telling Mom I would never go back to kindergarten unless Elle came with me.

"And she's hated you ever since." Georgia giggles as Becky reverses out of the parking space.

"And everyone else." Becky snorts, "She literally hates everyone."

"Except Brett." I scoff, looking out of the window as the town passes by.

"Are you okay Sav?" Zara questions softly from beside me.

No.

"Yeah."

"Sav?" She tries again and I sigh.

"You know what happened at the last party," I mutter. The nightmare that was Brett's eighteenth birthday is still very much a sore subject for me, my friends forever steering clear of the topic.

"Sav, that wont happen again."

"Everyone knows..." I continue but Becky slaps her hand on the steering wheel to get my attention.

"Everyone has moved on babe." Becky assures, turning off the main road.

"She's right." Georgia agrees, looking around the seat and taking hold of my hand. "Surprisingly."

"If anyone says anything, I'm out."

"Totally understandable." Becky nods in agreement, turning up the dark drive, lights already visible through the trees, the cabin and numerous cars, illuminating the entire forest. To think, us humans say we aren't harming the environment...

The cabin soon emerges from the trees and my eyes widen at the sight, the three story monstrosity hardly qualifying as a 'cabin', looking more like a luxury chalet in the Alps.

"This is incredible!" Georgia breathes out and I nod wordlessly as Becky turns off the engine.

"Chris steals the keys from his parents." Becky explains as I continue to stare up at the building, stepping out of the car. "They've never found out." Teenagers have spilled outside, crowds dotted around everywhere as we walk up the wooden stairs, the front door pinned open. Walking in, we pass the crowds, entering further into the house the jocks and cheerleaders clearly already drunk.

"Seems everyone has had a head start on us."

"They all drink in the cars on the way up." Becky shrugs, pushing her way through the crowd, all of us hurrying to keep up, "Do you want a drink?"

"Yes please."

"No thanks." I smile as Becky grabs hold of some drinks from the side.

"You sure?" She asks, handing Zara a can.

"Yeah." I confirm. I'm not even sure I want to be here, never mind drinking on top of that. Becky grins, grabbing hold of a cup of punch for herself.

"You do know what's in those don't you?" Georgia grimaces.

"No I don't." Becky smirks. "That's the point of them."

"Way to go man!" A loud cheer startles me and I look away from the girls, towards the other side of the room where Ben is slapping Brett on the back, grinning wildly. Great.

Did I really think I could last the whole night without seeing him? He's the captain of the football team, I had more chance to see Ashley shave her head than for him to not be here. Brett takes a drink, raising it to Ben, his arm wrapped around Ashley who smiles, leaning further into him as her hand trails further down his torso. I quickly snap my head back to the girls.

"I change my mind." I blurt, grabbing the cup from Becky's hand, "I do need a drink." I declare, lifting the drink and promptly downing the contents.

"Damn."

"Slow down Savannah!" Georgia exclaims, her eyes wide.

Make me.

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