At the end of the school day, I walked out to the car park to find that Courtney was pacing around her car in her frustration. I wasn't about to just leave here there without figuring out what was going on. If I wanted to be her friend, I needed to be kind to her, even if she hadn't exactly been the nicest of people to me. All I knew was that I wasn't going to simply give up on her. I wasn't sure if there was very much I could do to help her out but I did know that I wasn't going to let her stay at the school if her car didn't start up.

"Do you need some help with that?" I asked her.

Courtney looked towards me and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh, it's you," she said to me.

"I'm no expert in socialising, not at all, but you know it really would be nice if you just said hello to me every once in a while," I replied.

Courtney folded her leather-jacket covered arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at me again, so that she could really draw attention to the whole notion of her not wanting me there.

She was doing great, of course, really driving the point home.

"I don't need help from you," Courtney said.

"Who can help you, then, Courtney? Is there some sort of secret Courtney group that you grant access to only certain people? Is that what this is?" I asked her.

Courtney stepped away from her car then and moved closer to me, which caused me to swallow.

"Don't you understand what I mean when I tell you that I do not need your help?" she asked me, "Don't you get that I can work this out on my own?" she asked.

"You're so damn stubborn," I said, "I'm trying to be your friend."

"You're not my friend," she said, "You actually have to be joking me, Phoebe Clarke, if you think that we're going to be friends any time soon."

I swiftly inhaled as she took a few steps towards me.

I took a few steps back and silently wished that I had never walked on over here.

I had a deal to stick to but was it even worth it for this?

My feet shifted on the spot then, as I contemplated turning around. I ultimately decided against it.

"What did I do to you?" I asked her.

"Nothing yet. Let's keep it that way, shall we?" she asked me.

For someone who was usually so warm, I certainly felt far colder in Courtney's presence.

"Okay," I said, as I felt my eyes sting a little.

"Good. Now, I'll have to call a repair worker or something and-"

"Hay-fever," I lied.

"Hay-fever in September? Why do I doubt that?" she asked me, as she adjusted her hair in its ponytail.

Why did I have to be so soft? All I had ever wanted to do was help her and she had kept pushing me away.

"I could pay for the repairs," I said.

"I don't think so," Courtney replied, "That wouldn't be fair on you," she added more quietly, so that I barely caught it.

I simply nodded in understanding. At least, as much understanding as I could muster for this girl that I truly didn't understand one bit.

I turned around then and began to walk away from her.

After walking for some time, I bumped into Lois and this man that was walking with Lois who sort of looked like her male alter-ego.

Lois' eyes seemed to analyse my features before she spoke.

"Are you alright, Phoebe?" she asked me.

"Your ex-girlfriend is a nightmare," I said.

Lois nodded.

"I know she can be," she said.

I simply smiled towards her appreciatively, while Lois turned to the man stood beside her again.

"Oh, Phoebe! This is my brother, Drake," she told me.

"It's nice to meet you, Drake," I told him.

Drake had dark hair and a piercing in his eyebrow. He looked pretty awesome, too, in truth.

Although I didn't know either one of them very well, I was quite glad that I had bumped into the two of them, especially after my discussion with Courtney. Suffice to say I didn't think that I would be talking to her for a very long time after that.

I wasn't sure how long that would last, though, she had a habit of showing up everywhere.

"It's good to meet you too, Phoebe," Drake replied, "It's always nice to meet my sister's friends! She always seems to find the coolest people."

I felt myself blush at his kind words and enthusiasm at meeting me. I wished that as much could be said for Courtney. When I was around her, though, I sometimes imagined that she was envisioning my body turning to slime and soaking into the ground beneath my feet.

"I've got to be frank, Phoebe, and tell you now that Courtney can be incredibly difficult to get to know when you first meet her. She is rude and puts up plenty of walls but only you can really decide whether its all worth it. That's up to you. She and Lois still talk from time to time because Lois is one of the only people that she truly chooses to speak to," he told me.

Well, that may have been true but it didn't change the fact that Courtney talked to Emmy and she was a new person, too. This didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. What was I supposed to do, though, just deal with it? Unfortunately, it appeared that was exactly what I was supposed to do. None of this made any sense and it hurt my heart that tended to want to please everyone. This time around, I was going to have to learn to understand if she didn't want to talk to me.

"Thank you, Drake," I replied.