They're in their junior year of high school now.

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Gillian's POV

"Gillian!" Someone yells out my name from afar.

I turn in the direction that the voice came from, actively searching for a familiar face until my eyes land on a jogging Cassie.

"Hey, Cass." I greet with a large smile as she approaches me.

"Hey," she quickly yet breathlessly greets back.

The two of us begin to walk once again, continuing the journey to the cafeteria.

"Have you seen Courtney today?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"No, I haven't seen her all day."

Cassie sighs, seeming genuinely concerned.

I do not understand why she's so worried about this.

Ever since we entered high school in our freshman year, Courtney has mostly been awol. It has gotten to the point where it is more common to see her outside of school than it is to see her inside of school.

Though Courtney is rarely here, she is still the most popular girl among our grade level.

I have tried asking her why she rarely comes to school in the past, but she has just brushed me off or changed the topic of conversation.

She's been doing this a lot the last three years.

Ever since that night in eighth grade when we watched one of the Vampire Cheerleader movies, things have been odd between us to say the least.

For the first time ever Courtney and I didn't speak to each other that entire weekend which put an even further strain on our friendship.

By the time the two of us went back to school, Courtney was now really close with Cassie.

She didn't hide the fact that she replaced me, as if I were a shattered lightbulb. If anything she flaunted the fact that her and Cassie were now the best of friends.

Though yes, I felt betrayed when I first saw this, essentially I just felt bad for Cassie.

I mean, Courtney has talked complete shit both to her face and behind her back yet when she's 'done' with me she decides to befriend that very same person that she talked shit about.

I cannot help but think, have they talked shit about me behind my back?

The option is not off of the table.

Over the years, Courtney has distanced herself further and further away from me to the point where the two of us barely ever speak.

Maybe once every few months?

Well, technically, Courtney will barely speak to me once every few months. Me, however, I have reached out to her on numerous occasions only to receive no response.

Whilst I genuinely want to believe that our friendship has just run its course, I cannot help but think that night in eighth grade was the catalyst for the way that Courtney has been acting.

If that night never happened and I just went home, or if we just watched a different movie, I wonder what would have happened?

Would Courtney and I still be best friends?

Would Courtney even talk to Cassie?

Would Courtney show up to school more often?

"Where are we sitting?" Cassie asks as we enter the cafeteria.

I go to motion towards the table that we usually sit at only to freeze when I notice that there are people already sitting there.

Not wanting to make a big deal over a literal lunch table, I begin to look for an empty one.

"What about that one?" I ask, bringing one of my hands up to point towards an empty table on the stone patio.

Cassie accepts and the two of us quickly make our way over to the table.

Upon reaching the table Cassie says that she's going to go buy her lunch.

I inform her that I will stay at the table in order to stop any other students from sitting at it.

-

"And I was like, ew no! Why would I willingly dissect a dead frog?!" Cassie exclaims as she relays the events of what happened in her biology class.

I furrow my eyebrows at the seventeen year old that is currently sitting across from me.

"Uh, maybe because it's worth thirty percent of your grade."

Cassie rolls her eyes, going to speak when a sudden presence graces us.

Courtney does not smile, much less say anything, to us as she takes a seat on the bench beside Cassie.

She used to do everything in her power to try and sit beside me...I guess that some things change.

I break eye contact with the honey haired girl's unbothered facial expression and focus my attention on my half eaten meal, the girl in question never once meeting my gaze.

Honestly speaking, this hurts.

I remember the first time that this happened I was so confused. I was confused as to why she was ignoring me? What did I do to make her want to ignore me?

Did I upset her? Maybe I forgot about a holiday that she wanted to celebrate?

Essentially, I never got an answer.

I did, however, become progressively less curious as the years went on.

Courtney's a very confrontational person.

If she has a problem with you, she'll tell you to your face. Therefore, how could someone so confrontational be so incredibly silent when they clearly have some unsolved problem with their best friend of all people?

I kept telling myself that she would tell me in due time, but she never did...she just pushed me further away.

Seeing Cassie in the same position that I held a mere three years ago is jarring to say the least.

Honestly, I'm jealous.

No, I'm not jealous of Cassie or her life in particular, but more so her closeness with my once best friend.

"Oh my god, Courtney!" Cassie gasps with obvious surprise and shock.

"Where have you been?! I've been worried sick!"

"Clearly not sick enough judging by that mauled carcass on your plate." Courtney's monotone voice enters my ears.

I struggle to breathe for a moment as my steady heart rate suddenly quickens.

Why is my heart beating so fast? I have no clue.

"Give me a break, Court, I was starving." I can practically hear the annoyance in Cassie's tone.

"Call me that again and you can find a new ride home."

"Fine, noted."

My jealousy soon replaces itself with guilt.

I cannot help, but feel bad for Cassie in this moment.

Courtney has been treating her like this for years yet she continues to endure it.

I'm unaware if it is an abusive relationship sort of situation where Cassie knows that Courtney treats her horribly yet she just refuses to leave or if Cassie is just genuinely unaware of how badly Courtney treats her.

Going to analyze further, I am pulled out of my deep thoughts by a large figure taking a seat beside me. This figure in question wastes no time as they wrap one of their muscular arms around my waist and pull me closer to them.

I feel myself begin to sweat from the excessive amount of heat that is steadily rolling off of the person in waves.

"Hello, gorgeous." They whisper near my ear before placing a chaste peck upon my cheekbone with their chapped lips.

It takes everything within me not to cringe at the feeling.

"Hey." I respond halfheartedly, not looking up to meet his gaze.

It's my assumption that he notices this due to the way that his hand tightens on my hip.

"What's wrong? Are you mad at me?" He fires out.

Jeez, paranoid much?

"I miss us having lunch together." I lie.

"We used to eat lunch together all of the time, but now you only join me when there's ten minutes or less time left for lunch."

In all honesty I couldn't care more about his presence.

He's been a pretty absent partner since about two years into our relationship.

Do not get me wrong, I understand that doing sports takes up a lot of time. At the same time, I also know that coaches don't usually 'extend' every single practice by an hour.

I guess that I feel sort of betrayed because he could have just came to me and broken off our relationship versus leading me on and making up lies in order to keep me interested.

I plan to break up with him, without a doubt, I just need to get him alone long enough.

Though I'm not interested romantically in him anymore, that doesn't mean that I want to embarrass him in front of everybody.

"Is that all?" He questions somewhat condescendingly.

I look up from my half eaten food only to lock eyes with a familiar pair of sapphire blue eyes.

Whilst I recognize the eyes, I'm not as familiar with the emotion inside of them.

The eyes are glimmering in the early afternoon sunlight thanks to the light glossy sheen that covers them.

My eyes break from Courtney's strong hold and drift further down her face, recognizing the hidden expression on her face.

Her cherry-tinted bottom lip is rolled back so that it rest in between her row of teeth in a semi-strong grip.

Her bottom eyelid is twitching approximately every three seconds.

Her jaw is also tensed in a way that causes it to protrude in a strong line.

I have known Courtney since Elementary School.

I like to think that I know more about her than anyone else, her mother included.

There are numerous secrets that she has entrusted me with over the years that she wouldn't dare mention to her mother.

With that being said, any average person would look at the honey haired girl and probably think that she was upset or angry. Me, however, I know that neither of these options are correct.

Courtney's jealous.

I meet her eyes once more, raising an eyebrow at her as if silently asking her why she feels this way.

The honey haired girl immediately picks up on this and rolls her eyes at me before turning her entire body to face a confused looking Cassie.

This reaction both thoroughly stuns me yet does not surprise me at all.

Often times I will catch her looking at me whenever she thinks that I am not looking. Sometimes she will continue to stare at me, but more often than not she will quickly look away and start a conversation with Cassie.

"Yeah." I answer with a smile, turning to face the male.

It is silent between the two of us until he decides to speak up.

"Have you thought about coming to my Halloween party yet?" He asks.

I roll my lips into my mouth, not too sure how to nicely turn down his offer.

He has been pressuring me to come to his Halloween party for nearly three years now.

I remember when he first brought up the idea of me attending one of him infamous house parties.

At the time, we were friends and he said that he just 'wanted to see a familiar face'. I rejected his offer due to me already having plans to watch scary movies all night whilst snacking on a bag of Halloween candy.

The next year we were exclusively dating. His reasoning that year was because I was his girlfriend and supporting your boyfriend is something that a girlfriend has to do. I told him that I couldn't make it once again, the reasoning being that I had to study for a math test in the morning.

This year, however, I was completely free.

I was freer than free!

"I have thought about it." I confirm.

A large smile eases onto his face at my vague answer.

"Awesome! So, I'll see you around nine thirty?"

I shake my head.

"I never said that I was going. I just said that I thought about it."

He tosses his head back dramatically and releases a groan of frustration.

"You literally never come to my parties!"

I briefly turn to my left, noticing that no one seems to be staring in our general direction. I repeat this action on my right side before turning to face my dramatic boyfriend once again.

"Sorry, it's nothing personal." I assure him.

"I'm just not a fan of crowded or loud spaces."

"Come on, Gillian!" He urges.

I shift awkwardly in my seat as I feel a pair of eyes on me.

"You've been rejecting me for three years now. When are you going to take pity and just agree?"

"I really don't-"

"Come on," he pushes.

"Please? Pretty please?"

I stare up into his relaxed chestnut eyes, guilt quickly consuming my body the more time I spend staring into said eyes.

"Okay, fine." I relent with a breathy sigh.

He chuckles, seemingly unsurprised that he got his way.

"Great," he responds whilst simultaneously rising from the bench that he was sat on.

"I have to go talk to coach, but the party starts at nine thirty."

The feeling of chapped lips being pressed against my cheek forces me to do everything in my power not to roll my eyes.

Of course he's leaving early.

"See you later, babe." He mutters and goes off on his way.

I guess that I am going to a Halloween party.

My first Halloween party....

I should probably figure out what costume I am going to buy.

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I cannot wait for the fall/winter weather!!!

It's been 100 degrees almost every single day here over the summer.