“Nothing, Tiffany’s a bitch,” I told her flatly and Emily nodded in agreement. Or was she? Popular people were always posers.
James
Who was Mickey jealous of and what? It was driving me insane! Michaela never got jealous. I tried to act casual, like I didn’t care at all and like it made no difference to me, whether I knew or not because I hated her and didn’t care, but it was all an act. I wanted to shake the answer out of her when she didn’t give in.
Everyone was wondering why I was acting so odd. My parents, my teachers, my so-called friends and even random people in class were noticing, the only person who remained oblivious and I kept the act on for was Mickey. Laura, Ali’s best friend or ex-best friend now, sat with me and was trying to be my new girlfriend. It was obvious as she flirted shamelessly with me. She went as far as asking and normally she remained quiet, she was more of an action girl. At lunch she sat herself down on my lap and in a sad voice, asked me what was wrong and what she could do to make it better. Later in the day, Laura began to kiss my neck, which I didn’t appreciate. Unlike Ali, her kisses weren’t slobbery, they were drier. I didn’t know what the right kiss was supposed to feel like but I still hadn’t found it. I remember my first kiss, I was eight and I’d given Mickey a bracelet I’d made for her, it was her birthday and we’d had our stuffed crepes and we were waiting to go to school together. She put it on loving it and then gave me a kiss, it wasn’t on the lips or anything, just the cheek but it was enough to make me all nervous and flustered, my first kiss. I remember the rush I felt whenever Mickey kissed me; cheek, hand, head or when she’d brush the hair out of my eyes, there was always an intensity when we were close, like everything was magnified and I felt more aware of the little things, like the nice weather or the sounds of nature or I’d feel the complete opposite and feel like we were the only two in the world and as long as she was smiling and happy, nothing else mattered. I hadn’t felt that way in a long time. Thinking about the way Mickey made me feel gave me shivers. I remember the day I ended everything we ever had and how when I was leaving her and walking back to the car, she threw her bracelet at me. It was the first time I’d ever seen her take it off, it hit my back but I kept walking leaving on the ground. The next morning, I went back out and searched for it and once I found it, I took it to my room and hid it in the bottom of one of my messy drawers.
“Team two against team four,” Mrs. Larson instructed, making my heart beat faster. That was Michaela’s team.
“Bro, looks like we’re against you, may the better brother win.” Cody smiled cockily and slapped my back. Michaela started with the ball and I knew this would be fun. She was terrible at basketball, I always found it amusing because she tried so hard and still, she sucked. She dribbled the ball towards the net avoiding anyone near, biting her lip as she walked, concentrating. She normally bit her lip if she was concentrating or nervous. Sarah tried to steal the ball, but Mickey quickly threw it to Cody who was closest to her. She looked relieved when she wasn’t holding the ball but she soon got it back when Lloyd passed it back to her. I walked in front of her and looked down, she was still short, about 5’3” now, I looked down at her and watched her eyes widen. She slowly backed up and then Sarah stole the ball, succeeding this time and catching Mickey by surprise. I guess it wasn’t fair of me to get that close and make her uncomfortable, my chest was practically touching hers. Derek stayed at her side from then on, acting as her unofficial basketball guardian. It made me mad to the point, where when Sam passed her the ball, I ran up to her and every time she moved, I moved with her and blocked her exit. Finally, she passed the ball to someone else but still I stuck by her, blocking and following her feet. She was clearly angry.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she whispered, grabbing my arms and walking around me. The feel of her hands on my arms made them tingle. I didn’t know what was wrong with me but I couldn’t stop. I probably shouldn’t have done what I did next but I did.
“You’re still the same to me as you were then,” I said, my voice sounding cold and hurtful. Her eyes got glassy. “Your new look can’t change that,” I continued. I didn’t mean it in a hurtful way at all, on the contrary, I was trying to tell her how I felt the same about her as I did when we were together, I just didn’t want her to hear it that way. Man, had I turned into a jerk.
“Go away,” she said soft and vulnerably but I didn’t leave.
“James get away from her,” Derek said protectively and put his arm around her waist and smiled down at her. The sight of them together made me sick, so I did leave and stayed with Tiffany for the rest of the game. She didn’t play for fear of ruining her hair or breaking a nail.
“What was that?” she asked, nodding at Mickey and Derek, his arm still around her waist.
“Nothing,” I said frowning.
“Looked to me like you were chasing her,” she said bluntly.
“Me chase Michaela!” I scoffed, “No,
