-1My Fake Heart; Cataclysmic!

By Niki Lemonade

Chapter 1; The Breakup, The Look, The Lie

Amanda Jean McCrear

Sighing, I leaned over the table before me, focusing intently on the paper that lay there, awaiting translation. I had been too busy last night consoling Natalie Barker, recent victim of unjustified heartbreak, to finish it. But the Spanish words swam in my bleary vision; mornings are not my bag. I heard a similar sigh beside me then a flump as a body slung itself on the chair next to me. I passed a sideways glance at the body, and beheld a tousled head of red-gold hair, atop a slender body that had donned a black tee and loose jeans. I couldn’t keep in a chuckle, making said mane of red hair shift, and bringing a pair of chocolate brown eyes glaring at me into sight. “What’s so funny?” grumbled a voice wearily from somewhere in the fiery locks.

“You. It’s so obvious when you’ve been dumped,” I poked her without taking my eyes off the paper. I wasn’t saying that to be cruel, she just needed to have someone else right now who wouldn’t butter things up for her.

“Tactful as always,” she mumbled. Lazily, she reached out a freckled hand, and grabbed a plait of my light brown hair, which-as usual-was in two braids that hung limply against my back. I blew at my bangs, which flopped over my rectangular glasses and sky blue eyes. They had once been denounced as boring eyes, though Natalie always made a point to tell me how pretty she thought they were when the subject arose. “When’re you gonna cut it?” I barely heard her.

“Hmm?” I asked, too immersed in the stupid paper.

“Your locks, Rumplestiltskin,” she chuckled, whirling the tuft of hair at the end of the braid around on my back like a paintbrush.

“You mean Rapunzel?” I murmured, jotting down another phrase.

“Yeah, that one,” Natalie said, shifting back into her slumped position. Silence hung in the air as around us fellow students rushed by; getting breakfast, talking with friends, a few were publicly displaying their immense affection for each other. I noticed Natalie’s face was pointed in the direction of a particularly enthused couple for a while, before she sighed and put her forehead against the table again. I heard the sigh, and gritting myself for whatever emotion I was about to be attacked with, put my paper back into my bag. Another two minutes wasn’t enough to make enough progress to ignore Natty and not consider myself a prude.

“Okay, spill it,” I commanded. “I’m all ears.”

“Well-”

“Well if it isn’t the school’s oddest couple yet!” I closed my eyes, trying my best not to flinch at the cruel catcall coming from directly behind me.

“Fuck off Zach,” I ordered. I do that a lot I’ve noticed.

“Fuck off? Bored with your little nympho already?” A few people who worshipped the ground he shat on laughed raucously. Zach himself was a fairly tall, olive skinned youth with raven black hair and sly green eyes. I knew his chiseled face was cracked into a malicious grin at the time, his eyes alight with laughter. God I hate that face. Thankfully, the bell rang, and I stood up, grabbing my book bag. Nat, who’d bolted upright at Zach’s appearance, stood up too, a sneer splayed on her features. Suddenly, there were hands caressing my upper arms. I hadn’t bothered to look when I’d heard that despicable voice behind me-he must have been standing directly behind me. “You know,” he purred-yes purred, “when you’ve had your fill of Barker, you really should give me a call.”

I felt a flush threatening to darken my cheeks, before I regained my senses and landed an elbow in his stomach and walked away. “I wouldn’t call you if you were the last conscious entity on this planet,” I swore, slinging my book bag on my back and stalking out of the cafeteria beside Natalie.

“Asswipe,” she mumbled, hitching her bag’s strap higher on her shoulder. “Douschebag!” she shouted suddenly.

“Oh shush. I couldn’t care less what he has to say, we both know I’m straight.”

“Such a loss too, I know someone you’d be adorable with,” she suggested mischievously. There was something else behind her voice-was it worry?

“No, sorry, not interested,” I laughed. “Now tell me about this god awful breakup you’re dressing down for.”

“Oh yeah.” She normally wore something tight, studded, and short. The only other time I’d seen her in a loose tee and baggy jeans-the same ones I might add-was when her ferret Ichigo died and she’d worn the same outfit for a week. It was her form of mourning the loss of something she loved. I wish Janis would see that so she would come to her senses and stop being so ridiculous. “Janis,” she said dreamily, “my one true love…she said she was too young to be tied down to only one date. Bitch,” she griped.

“Poor Natty,” I cooed mockingly.

“We were gonna go to the beach this summer…try to surf a little,” she said morosely. “Ah well,” she chirped, picking up her pace to come abreast of me. “Now to plan revenge.” She turned down the science hall, and shouted to me, “Write me with any evil ideas, genius butt.”

“Yeah right,” I called, heading straight, towards the math building. As I sat down in my seat and pulled out my notebook, I thought I heard my name being said. I sat back up, and looked to the direction, but by then three heads of straight, orange-blonde hair had whipped around to the front. My eyes shifted to the girl slouched behind them. Janis Burkefield. Hottie connoisseur as I had heard her called once. She seemed sort of down. Good, after breaking Natalie’s heart like that she deserved some pain! Then, I blinked, and I realized that she had turned her shaggy head of black hair in my direction.

She truly did possess a certain beauty; deep blue almost black eyes that were half-lidded, probably from a lack of sleep-and the way she looked at you…I suddenly felt as if she and I were the only ones in the room.

Then, I blinked again, and whatever spell she had cast on me dissipated, and she again rested her head in her arms, ignoring the teacher as she called class to order. That was odd. She’s never bothered to look twice at me before. Maybe she just associated me with Natty, and felt bad…or something…Something else inside was disconcerted. Something deeper than my mindless fear of people reading my mind.

What was that?

--

Natalie was waiting for me at the corner of the two hallways we had separated at for first period. Her smile was odd, and seemed…fake?

“Figure out a good way to make Burkefield pay?” I asked, deciding that the strange look said Burkefield had given me was of no consequence.

Her smile faltered slightly, then returned to it’s former falsehood. “Sort of. Its kinda funny actually…” she laughed emptily as we turned down the arts hallway.

“Oh? Got a nice rumor to spread?” I asked. Though I don’t really like the idea of lying, this was one of Natty’s favorite forms of revenge. She shrugged noncommittally, and her silence was starting to frighten me.

“I gotta go to the bathroom,” she said when we entered the art room. “Here,” she said hurriedly, tossing a note on our table, and ran off.

At first, I looked at the note as if staring down a cobra, poised and ready to kill me. I didn’t like the set up at all. Natalie was acting weird, Zach had stabbed us with an insult he rarely used because he knew it didn’t bother either of us at all, and that look Janis gave me…Maybe the note had some answers…

Manny,

In 4th period Friday, Shayna was buggin me, & kept asking me how I was ever going to get over Janis. And I kinda told her you & me were dating. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I told her that. I was sort of hoping she’d keep quiet about it but that thing Zack said this morning…& Janis shot me a weird look this morning before I sat with you. I’m really really really really-

I didn’t read the rest of her apology. I crushed the paper in my hand, and tried to set it aflame with my mind. It didn’t work. How…could she…oh my god! People think I’m…but we aren’t that…I haven’t EVER…oh god! My mind was a little jumbled to say the least. I was certain I was blushing so I slumped over the table and introduced it to my forehead, covering my head with my arms.

Ugh…why me?…not fair…

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Well, what did you think of the first chapter? It gets better, I promise! Now, preview of next Chapter! It’s in Natalie’s point of view!

My Fake Heart; Cataclysmic!

By Niki Lemonade

Chapter Two; The Letter, The Threat, The Decision

Natalie Ann Barker

“I’m really sorry,” I whispered back. “I don’t know why I said-”

“I know,” she interrupted quietly, “I know you are, but listen to me before you shove your foot in your mouth.” She looked around. “I think we can make this work in the end,” she whispered.

“Wait, what?” I asked, my stomach flopping uncomfortably at her words. True, I’d always thought Amanda was really gorgeous, but the thought of actually getting to date her…my stomach back flipped again.