Last Year

two

Amelia stuffed her chemistry workbook and some of her other notes in her locker. Melissa was waiting for her in the gym where they had a class together. She decided to pass by her locker to lighten her bag since gym usually tired her out.

"Hi, Amelia!"

She almost jumped in surprise. Bruce Stratford is suddenly standing beside her locker looking all gorgeous and all American. She really did not think Melissa was serious about what she said the other day about him asking her out. In fact, she really did not think she was his type at all. So, she never thought of making a big deal out of it.

"Oh-erm- hey." She managed to squeak. 

There was something about Bruce that really makes Amelia feel uncomfortable. It was maybe the way he looked at every girl; like he was waiting to unbox a treat or something. He must think that being good looking was an excuse to be a womanizer and a jerk.

"So, are you doing anything this weekend?" Bruce asked, smiling at her. He brushed his hand through his hair before standing straight. "Why don't I take you out for dinner? We could hang out after the game."

Amelia blinked at how straightforward he was being. Well, maybe it was because everyone knew only a few girls could say no to Bruce. He took her stunned silence as a positive sign as he leaned closer.

"I promise, we'll have a good time." He teased.

Amelia leaned back and laughed nervously. "Uh- I'm sorry- I-um-I have a thing this weekend."

"What thing?" He asked huskily, moving another inch forward.

"Uh- something- I don't-" She stammered. 

She took a step backward and bumped into someone solid. She turned around and was surprised to see Clark standing behind her.

"She said she has a thing this weekend. Now, move away, Bruce. Go sleaze on someone else, okay?" Clark said to Bruce.

"What's your problem, Lewis? This is none of your business." Bruce snapped, he stood straighter and moved menacingly towards Clark. They were almost the same height and size.

"Well, I'm making it my business." Clark replied, not backing down. "Come on, Amelia. I'll take you to your next class."

Bruce huffed then turned to smile at Amelia. "I'll talk to you later, Amelia."

Amelia watched as Bruce marched off obviously angry at Clark. She frowned and looked at her brother's best friend. 

"So, you just happened to be standing there all the time?" She asked, amused.

Clark shrugged. "My locker's near yours, if you haven't noticed." He gestured towards the open locker a few lockers down.

Amelia raised an eyebrow and Clark just looked at her like she was crazy. Finally she conceded and walked past him. She grinned as he followed her like a shadow. Seriously, her brother’s friends were starting to get annoying with their babysitter roles.

"Come on, you seriously were not considering Bruce, were you?" He asked, following her down the hallway. He shut his own locker as they passed by it.

"What if I was?" Amelia asked, teasing him. Really. Out of all her brother’s friends, Clark is the closest to her. It’s natural since Mark and he had been inseparable since they met each other in kindergarten.

"Oh, so the way you were trying to lean as far away from him as your spine would allow you was a sure fire way of telling you liked Bruce?" Clark retorted, shooting her a smirk.

Amelia stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever, Clarky boy. You can leave me alone now. I think I'm pretty safe from prowlers. You can also tell my brother to stop asking you guys to babysit me in broad daylight!"

Clark laughed but continued to walk beside her. "I'm headed for gym actually. We can walk together."

Amelia shrugged and they shared a comfortable silence. A couple of times there were girls who called out to Clark, some were sheepish but most were obviously flirting. He just smiled and nodded at them.

"I see the female population have heard about your single status." Amelia teased which earned her a soft punch on the shoulder from Clark. He grinned and pulled her closer to his side, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, I guess it's now your turn to -what was it you said to Mike the other day? Stand like a thug in front of me while a girl is trying to get her claws at me?" He chided. He chuckled as Amelia shoved him playfully off her.

Amelia laughed as she pushed the gym door open for both of them. They stopped once they were inside because Clark was going to the boy's locker room while she was headed for the bleachers.

"Hey, Lia!” Clark called out, before they could go their separate ways. "Don't be so angry at your brother. He just loves you okay?"

Amelia grinned. "I know."

With a small wave, Clark headed towards the opposite direction and she started towards the bleachers. She spotted Melissa and Kate, looking bored. She slowly clambered up, trying not to listen to some of the murmurs that were definitely about her.

"Hi!"

"What took you so long?" Melissa asked, yawning.

"Bruce came by my locker." She whispered to both girls.

Kate gasped. "I hope you shooed him off."

"What? No!" Melissa swatted Kate. "Bruce is dreamy!"

Kate snorted. "Come on, Mel. We all know he's a man-w***e!"

Amelia was so thankful that Kate and Melissa were polar opposites. It made her sane enough to handle Melissa's crazy. Kate is almost like Amelia except she was athletic and a bit more popular since she is one of the cheerleaders. One can describe her other best friend as the epitome of an All-American hottie!

"Makes him more- uh- experienced..." Melissa replied, licking her lips.

Both girls giggled. "Come on, you cannot be serious!" Kate cried out, still giggling.

"Yeah, your cousin will really love that." Amelia replied, tying her hair tighter before scrunching her face at Melissa and Kate.

Melissa laughed. "It's not my fault he's being bitter about the whole Cindy incident. Did you know she did not want to break up? She wanted to try a long distance thing with my cousin. But, Clark did not think he would be able to do it."

Amelia felt a bit sad for both her friends. She liked Cindy because the girl always had a bright smile for everyone. Plus, she also could put anybody at ease.

"Well, if you ask me, I think Cindy was more into the relationship compared to Clark." Kate replied, brushing her hair and tying it up into a neat little bun on top of her head.

"Really?" Amelia asked with a frown. "I thought they were pretty into each other."

A whistle interrupted them and Melissa groaned. Gym class was starting.

Kate shrugged and stood up. "Hmm... I just thought he was into someone else, that's all."

The three made their way down the bleachers where Mr. Gurney was giving out instructions. They were going to do some volleyball today and Amelia cringed. She sucked at anything that involved running or hitting something with precision. 

Volleyball actually involved spiking the ball towards your opponent. 

Great! She groaned inwardly.

The girls moved towards their teams and Amelia was glad she and Kate were on the same team. At least, someone was there who understood her ineptitude in the sports department.

"Well, well hello... friends."

Amelia felt a chill run down her spine and she turned to look. She was in the same team with Laura Tanner. She felt her stomach churn and her hands suddenly felt clammy and cold.

Keep it together, Amelia. You knew this was going to happen sooner or later. No use in denying and cowering at the inevitable. She told herself.

"Oh great. Is it w***e day or something?” Kate’s voice echoed through the gym and Amelia was once again glad that Kate was with her.

"Buzz off, Laura." Kate continued to glare at Laura, pulling Amelia gently by the arm and leading her to the other side of the court.

"In case you didn't know, we're on the same team." Laura called out. She blew both of them a kiss and smiled sweetly.

Kate huffed and turned to Amelia. "Are you okay?"

Amelia nodded, calming herself on the inside. She hated herself for letting Laura get to her so quickly and easily. Suddenly, Laura made it difficult to breathe which frustrated Amelia.

"I can't believe we used to be close friends with her." Kate mumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at Laura's back.

Melissa waved at them with a questioning look. She was currently playing with her team. Amelia waved and forced a bright smile to show Melissa that everything was okay. She then sighed and thanked Kate for being there.

"I can't believe I froze like that." Amelia whispered. "I should be stronger."

Kate smiled at her best friend. "You are, Lia. If I were in your shoes, I would have jumped on that b***h and clawed away her made-up face."

"But, I should be able to face her and-" Amelia stammered.

"No. You deserve your peace, Amelia. Don't put unnecessary burden on yourself. I think you've had enough, don't you think so?"

Amelia shrugged but smiled at Kate. "When did you get so bossy?"

Kate snorted. "You flatter me, Lia."

They laughed and Amelia felt back to normal.

The whistle sounded and her team was waved over by their gym teacher. Amelia avoided Laura as much as possible but somehow, during the rotation, she ended up directly in front of Laura who was serving the ball.

Another whistle sounded and the next thing she knew, the volleyball hit her directly at the back of the head. The force propelled Amelia towards the net. She barely had time to put up her hands to save her from hitting the floor face first.

There was a burst of giggle as Kate and one of their team mates helped Amelia up to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked, glaring at Laura who just shrugged innocently before moving to her left side.

Amelia picked up her fallen glasses and put it back on. She nodded but the truth was, her head was throbbing. She blinked a couple of times as Kate ushered her back towards the bleachers.

"You're getting a C if you sit this out, Chandler." Mr. Gurney called out and Laura giggled with the rest of her posh friends. Trust a gym teacher to show or grant no favors.

Amelia nodded glumly. It was inevitable that she would fail gym for the first quarter. She would just need to find a way to make up for it.

"That b***h!” Melissa hissed as she sat beside Amelia, toweling off the sweat from her face. "I wish there would be enough time for me to play against your team. I want to ram that ball into her plastic face!"

Amelia smiled, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah- well, let's not waste energy on her. Although, having her shrill and worry about her broken nose might just be worth it!”

Kate laughed as Melissa growled. "If I were as much of a b***h as she is, I'd spill all her secrets!"

"That's the reason why I'm friends with you and not her, Mel."

Melissa rolled her eyes and swatted her playfully with the towel. They watched in comfortable silence as the rest of the students continued the game. Finally, the bell rang and they were all sent to the lockers to change. School was finally over for the day.

"Do you girls want to do something after?" Kate asked while they were headed towards the locker rooms.

"Sure. We could go shopping!” Melissa suggested. "I need to get this really cute skirt in H&M!"

Amelia hesitated. "I can't. My parents have guests coming over and we're obliged to be present for dinner."

"Bummer. Maybe we can do something else during the weekend, then?" Kate replied. “I miss hanging out with you two!”

"You won't mind if we went to the mall without you, right?" Melissa asked Amelia cautiously.

She giggled. "Of course! Don't tell me my brother's paranoia is rubbing off on you too?"

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked. "Not that I don't mind your brother rubbing himself against me..."

Kate and Amelia fake-gagged.

"Well, it's just that he's pretty over protective. He seems afraid that I might get hurt or disappointed and then I'd go bonkers or something." Amelia replied.

Kate shot her a meaningful look. That was another thing that made Kate closer to Amelia than Melissa. Kate knew her secret. Amelia wanted to tell Melissa about it but Kate was against it since they knew how high strung Melissa was sometimes and she wasn't exactly the type that could keep herself from exploding once her emotions were riled up.

"You're the one who's paranoid, Lia." Kate replied, smiling. "We're your bitches. We are the only ones allowed to fight with each other."

Melissa grunted with approval.

The basketball team just emerged from their own locker rooms. The team meeting and briefing was done and they were going to start practicing.

"Are you going to need a ride home, Lia?" Kate asked as they paused to watch the guys walk towards the court.

Mark waved and jogged towards them.

"Hi Mel, Kate," He greeted. Amelia noticed that his brother’s gaze lingered a while longer on Kate’s. The girls said hello. 

He turned to his sister. "Are you going to wait for me or do you need the car? Clark or Alex can give me a ride home after practice."

"Don't forget about Mom's dinner tonight, Mark. She'll have a fit if you miss it." Amelia reminded her brother. 

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Yes. I know- I already told her I'll be a little late because we have to practice for tomorrow night's first game of the season."

"Are we winning?" Kate asked, smiling sexily at Mark. 

"Depends-" Mark replied, grinning widely at her.

"On what?" Kate batted her eyelashes at Mark and Amelia tried not to laugh.

Mark winked at her. "If you're cheering for me."

Amelia rolled her eyes and Melissa made gagging noises. It had been going on for a while, the shameless flirting between Mark and Kate. Everyone was just waiting for the time when either one of them would develop the guts and ask the other out.

"Get a room, love birds. Come on, Amelia. Let's shower and leave this gross situation." Melissa tugged her arm.

"I'll take the car, if you don't mind. I want to rest up a bit before dinner." Amelia called out to her brother, who was moving closer to Kate continuing their conversation.

"Okay. Come back for the keys..." Mark replied, distractedly.

Melissa and Amelia laughed as they walked towards the locker.

Kate joined them a little later, her face all flushed. Amelia smiled as she combed her hair before securing it back into its high ponytail.

"You should just go ahead and ask my brother out, Kate. I really don't mind." Amelia broached the subject to her. “He’s going to go bananas!”

"Are you kidding? Mark Chandler is too gorgeous to take me seriously." Kate replied. There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Stop. You're  the one that is too gorgeous for my brother. Trust me." She replied.

Melissa poked her head from the other side of the locker. "If you don't want him, can I get dibs?"

"Shut up!" Kate muttered, throwing her towel at Melissa. "You are such a flirt. Leave him alone."

Amelia could not help but laugh. She stood up and slung her back pack, ready to leave.

"Well, just telling it as it is, Kate." Amelia said. She kissed her best friend on the cheek. "Enjoy your shopping, girls."

Melissa poked her head out again and blew her a kiss. "Take care, Lia. Don't worry, we'll get Laura for that cheap shot, okay?"

Amelia smiled and waved goodbye.