Monday quickly rolled around and I oddly felt grateful to go to school. I had to come back home on Sunday and my mother was furious with me because father decided to go and stay at a hotel instead of the house because he was not wanted.

I needed to get out the house and school is the perfect excuse. Today is colder than most days because we are inching into winter. The streets are no longer decorated with the beautiful leaves on the tall trees, but now bare branches on boring trees. The only reason people are not wearing jackets like Eskimos is because our town is usually warm all year round, including the winter. Winter just gets slightly chilly, so I decided a long sleeved black top tucked into a camel colored corduroy skirt would fit the weather perfectly. And of course, converses to top it all off. Oh, and don't forget my 'I' necklace displayed on my chest that Issac got me.

"We need a car." Zoe complains as we board the bus.

"You are right. Ask dad. Maybe he will be good for something." I say bitterly. We sit down in our regular seat on the bus and the bus drives off and towards school.

Zoe sighs and looks outside the window and zones out. This what Zoe is doing is when she gets on a broomstick and flies off to her own world, locking herself in that world and it takes a good slap to snap her out. She has all right to be like this. She has to sleep under the same roof that her father who abandoned her, us 8 years ago is staying at. It must be hard for her. I couldn't do it, so I booked a hotel, but she is there. I feel bad for her honestly. She must be constantly fighting with herself on whether to give in and cherish the moment while it is here or push him away to avoid getting hurt all over again.

The bus rolls up to the school and Zoe and I exit the bus and walk inside the school.

"I will see you after school, right?" Zoe asks, when we reach to the part of the hallway where we part.

"Yeah definitely." I tell her and walk off to my locker.

I look to my locker and Brett is standing in front of my locker with a bowl in his hand with these brown, sprinkle covered, sticks in it. I walk closer to him and he has a smile on his face.

"What's this?" I ask him when I am standing right in front of him. The jar has a turkey on it. Well they used little kiddie art to make a turkey on it.

"Chocolate covered pretzels. On our..friend date thing on Friday, you had me buy you 2 bags of pretzels which you ate off in 2 hours. And you looovee chocolate and I did tell you, I would get you more for our next...friend date."

"So is this your way of asking me on another friend date Brett?" I ask with a small smile on my face. I take one of the chocolate covered pretzels from the bowl and bite into it.

Heavenly.

Whoever combine pretzels and chocolate was a genius. Crunchy and sweet food is the way to go.

"Yes actually." He says and bites off the other end of my chocolate covered pretzel and begins chewing on it.

"I told you I don't share!" I slap him on his shoulder and finish eating off my treat.

"Neither do I." He winks and takes a choco-pretzel from the jar and eats it.

"Well on your offer for another friend date, my answer is yes."

"If I didn't bring chocolate, would your answer be yes?" He asks with a half smirk on his face.

"Most likely, I would've said no" His face falls and I burst out laughing. "I'm kidding. I probably would've said yes. 60% chance." I reply with a grin on my face.

He starts chuckling and shaking his head. "So about Friday and our almost-kiss...I'm sorry if I overstepped. You made it clear that you wanted to take things slow, so I apologize for that and-"

I cut Brett off by placing my index finger on his lips to stop him from talking.

Is it wrong that I am so jealous that his lips are so soft?

"It's fine. It was mutual anyway so..yeah"

"So, if that phone didn't go off, I would've kissed Bay Stewart?" He asks with a dorky smile on his phone.

I bite down a grin and nod my head.

Brett digs in his pocket and holds the power button down on his phone and shuts it off and he pockets it.

"I will never make that mistake again."

I shake my head with a smile on my face.

"So, when is the next time I may get the chance to kiss you?" He asks and his usual light sky blue eyes are now a dark blue.

"Play your cards right and you may get your wish." I tell him and open my locker, still chomping down on a pretzel.

"Gotcha."

I take out my books for class and stuff in my bag. When I close the locker, I spot Issac walking over to my direction. When his eyes find mine, a smile spreads on his face. When he reaches me, he engulfs me in a hug. I hug him back and rest into his warmth and sweet smell.

When we pull apart, I ask him "How was Budapest?"

"Amazing. I got you something, but I will just give it to you later." Issac looks over my shoulder and nods his head. I totally forgot Brett was behind me.

Awkward.

I look down at Issac's wrist and my stomach drops.

"Where is the watch?" I ask sternly.

"What watch?" he asks and looks at his bare wrist. "Oh. OH shit." He starts frantically looking in his bag and his pockets, but when his hands come back empty handed, I glare daggers into his pretty face.

"You left that expensive ass watch I got you in Hungary? Are you kidding me!" I fume, feeling angry that he lost the Burberry watch I got him.

Issac breaks out into a grin and pulls something from his back pocket. The blue and white watch I got him is in his hand.

"You're stupid. I hate you!" I say and he puts the watch securely on his wrist.

"You love me. Looks like you aren't as stupid as me. Glad to see my gift on you." He gestures to the necklace layed on my chest.

I give him a blank look and his grin grows. He opens his locker and shuffles to get his books. I turn back around to Brett and he gives me a small smile. I take another pretzel from the jar and eat it.

"I got to go to class, but I will text you, okay?" He says.

"Yeah." I respond and he walks off. I turn back to Issac who is still digging around his locker.

"So how are you and Brett. You went on a date with him, right?" Issac asks with a tight jaw.

"It wasn't a date date. More like a hangout. But yeah we are great and he got me choco-pretzels." I say and take another bite off the delicious treat. "How are you and Mackenzie?"

"Good. I learned that she loves puppies. She took me to this animal shelter in the city that she volunteers at and just everything was adorable." He says with a smile on his face.

A weird sensation washes over me when he tells me this. I feel this heat, anger bubble in me. I want to be happy for him. He is my best friend, but he is my best friend who I think I may have...feelings for. I don't want to have these feelings because they are getting in the way of me truly appreciating that he is happy. But I do. And I feel bad because I have something good with Brett, but I have feelings for someone else who is taken.

The atmosphere between us becomes thick and for some reason, I have a feeling its because of the unspoken words between us that has caused this awkward tension. I want to speak up and say 'Issac, i still have feelings for you'. But that is selfish. He is obviously happy and me telling him that will complicate things and he doesn't deserve complicated. He deserves happiness and beyond and I just have to accept the fact that I can't give him the type of happiness I want to give him, the happiness only someone is more than a friend can give.

"So, tonight, are you free?" He asks.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I wanted to stay over the night. I have to give you the gift anyway."

"Yeah, okay sure." I respond. The bell rings and I bid goodbye to Issac and walk off to class.

....

She is unbelievable.

She has stooped to a new time low and I am just sick of it at this point.

"Victoria, don't you have a hair appointment to attend? Leave her alone." I respond to her in a bored tone.

"I warned you Bay. I will bring you down with her."

"Stop picking on Mackenzie! You have got to stop!" I yell.

Victoria cornered Mackenzie after lunch to 'put her in her place'.

"Oh please Bay, you of all people, should want to take a bash at the British princess."

I scoff and help Mackenzie, who looks like she shit her pants, away from Victoria's talons that are ready to claw her skin off her body.

"Victoria, can you think about someone else happiness and well-being beside your own. You always do this!"

"Issac is mines! Not hers!" Victoria stomps over to us with Sienna and TMZ behind her. Cartier is nowhere in sight. That means she is with Armani.

"Issac isn't a pair of shoes you airhead." I refute and roll my eyes feeling a headache.

"Bay, stop defending her! She stole Issac from us."

Last time I checked I wasn't in a threesome relationship with you and Issac.

I take a deep breath and look at the crowd that has formed itself around us. For a few seconds, it is just silence. Pin drop silence as everyone waits for me to say something back to Victoria. Something they can go back and tell their friends and gossip about. Victoria's glares have become deadly as she glares daggers into Mackenzie's head.

"Are you deaf?" I ask tiredly.

Her glare intensifies and she says, " It's kind of ironic Bay. You defend Issac's girlfriend when you have obvious feelings for Issac. What you don't want me to destroy her so you can. Maybe you are more wicked than I am and what people give you credit for." She says with a smirk and snickers with Sienna.

My jaw is set as I look at the queen bee with anger and annoyance written on my face.

"Oh don't look at me like that! We all knew it. Mackenzie here was stupid to date a guy who had feelings for someone else." she says and looks at something behind me and then back at me. Her smirk on her face grows and it sends chills down my spine. "And you, fooling around with Brett Cruz, why would you put poor Brett through that? He looks like he really likes you and you are toying with him when you really like someone else. People may call you Beautiful Bay, but that's only on the outside. You are ugly on the inside and in my opinion contrary from others, the outside too. Brett deserves better.....hi Brett." Victoria says the last part in a sickly sweet voice and looks behind me. I turn around to see Brett whose face has dropped and his jaw is tight. He looks at me with his blue orbs filled with sadness and he walks away.

"Brett!" I begin to walk off to follow him, but just as I do, Issac barrels through the crowd and looks at the scene. Mackenzie who is shedding a few tears and her face red and me, trying to do the right thing, but in the end, I hurt everyone around me.

Maybe I am more like my father than I think.

"Victoria what is this!" He booms and his eyes land on mine. I shake my head and look away and decide to run after Brett who went in the direction of the soccer field.