1

"Stop it."

"Why?"

"It's annoying."

"No it isn't."

"You're not the victim here." I paused. "Stop it."

"I'm not even touching you."

"Stop putting your finger in my face."

"But I'm not touching you."

"You're still annoying the crap out of me."

"Oh please, you're way more annoying than I am."

"I will destroy you!" I screamed standing up.

"Bethany Lynn! Sit down!" My teacher, Mrs. Karter yelled.

"Yes ma'am." I replied quietly sitting.

Forrester began laughing, "You're too easy."

"I hate you." I growled.

"Everyone is well aware Beth."

I scooted my chair away from him, as far as I could, while still being able to use the table we shared.

The bell finally rang, releasing us for the day and I stomped over to Greg, my best friend.

"Beth, your temperament gets worse the longer you're around that guy." He commented. He was really tall and lanky with brown messy hair that was cut shorter on the side than the top. He had big green eyes that girls tended to love. He was just never my cup of tea.

"Don't you think I know that?" I snapped, "But Mrs. Karter won't let me move seats! She says I should just ignore him or learn to control myself…whatever that means."

"You do need to control yourself though."

"I do not!" I screamed.

He just gave me an 'obviously you do' look.

"Alright, I see your point, but honestly it's not that easy."

"Maybe before you speak or react you should think about how you should react? Like stopping and giving it a little thought."

"Honestly though, don't you hate Forrester too? He's obnoxious."

"He really isn't that bad, you just get picked on by him because you tend to overreact more. He finds it humorous."

I just stared at Greg, "You know, people don't like it when you're always right." I said crossing my arms defiantly.

"I can't help it, I just am." He shrugged with a smile. "Chin up though. Try ignoring him."

"I have!"

"Beth, trying to and not ignoring him is different than actually ignoring him. Put in some effort." He said ruffling my already messy brown hair.

We both walked out of the classroom then and were met by our other mutual best friend Violet. "Hey guys, how was fifth?" She asked, mostly looking at me. She was cute with long blond hair and big blue eyes. Guys tended to do double takes when she walked buy, but as they got to know her they veered away. She just was very…cynical.

"Same as usual." Greg answered.

She sighed, "Beth, you're ridiculous."

"Hey! How do you know it was me?!"

"Who else? What happened this time?"

"She stood up in the middle of class and screamed that she was going to destroy him." Greg shrugged.

"Traitor." I whispered.

"Honestly Beth, you're too impulsive. He wouldn't bother you so much if you-"

"Shut up! I've already heard the whole 'no reacting' speech from Greg! I get it!" I snapped, "I'm sorry that I'm loud and obnoxious and I don't like doing nothing when someone is picking on me!"

"Calm down crazy person." Greg sighed, "Let's go get you some food. The hungrier you are the louder you yell."

I rolled my eyes and we all left school and piled into Greg's small Honda and drove to Hanks Hamburger Hut.

I ordered a quarter pounder with extra cheese and curly fries. I was starving and nothing was going to stop me from stuffing my face.

"You do not eat like a dainty girl." Violet stated.

"Should I?" I asked, taking a sip of my coke.

"Well…boys usually aren't attracted to girls who…shovel food into their mouth."

I scoffed, "Here's the deal, any guy I date will not care about any of my 'quirks'." I replied using air quotes. I sniffed and rubbed my nose with the end of my oversized knit sweater. "I don't care that I'm different. I'm not interested in guys liking me right now anywho."

"You've always been a little more childish than the rest of us." She smiled, "That's why we love you."

"Childish?"

"Babe, you're almost eighteen and you're not interested in guys liking you, that makes you seem a little…younger. I mean there hasn't even been a guy you're interested in since freshman year."

I let out an irritated breath, "I just don't care! I'd rather just be able to do and act as I please and not have to worry about what some guy thinks of me."

"Because of Andrew right?"

I stiffened, "Well of course you'd bring that up."

"It's obvious, since you haven't liked a guy since."

"So what?! He tore out and ripped up my fragile fourteen-year-old heart and ever since I haven't had any concern with guys and changed myself completely. Big whoop."

They both just looked at me sadly as I tried to ignore it.

Our food finally came and my eyes sparkled with excitement as I beheld the burger in front of me. "Yum!" I said taking a big bite, completely forgetting about my past worries.

Violet was smiling at me, "You're just adorable." She chuckled.

I looked at her confused, but just shrugged it off and continued munching.

"By the way I like your outfit today." Violet said, while eating some of her salad.

"Oh yeah me too! I just got these jeans and I love them." I looked down at my over sized brown knit sweater, ripped dark blue jeans, and black laced ankle boots.

"Urban outfitters?"

"Psh, no, consignment off eighty." I scoffed.

"Oh! Anna's Sweet Repeats! Wow, I never find cute things there."

"Most people don't. I'm just a good hunter." I giggled and took another sip of my coke. "Hey! Do you guys want to see how big of a bite I can take?" I said with a big grin.

"Not really, but I feel that you really want to try so go for it." Violet said with humorous grin.

"I kind of want to see." Greg shrugged.

Violet looked at him disapprovingly.

"What?" He asked, "Scientific curiosity."

I chuckled, "Well, let's see!" I picked up my burger and stretched my mouth as much as I could around it, and right as I bit down with about two square inches of burger in my mouth a group of guys including the infamous Forrester burst through the doors.

I began choking and couching as burger was coming out of my mouth and my face was turning red.

Naturally the noise brought attention in my direction. I quickly grabbed a napkin and covered my mouth.

"Oh look who it is!" Forrester said, trotting my way.

He slid into the booth right next to me and I growled at him beneath the napkin.

He chuckled, "You're an odd duck."

I then quickly swallowed, "I like ducks so thank you." I said back. Not my greatest comeback ever…

"Did I say duck? I meant raccoon." He smirked.

"That's just rude!" I screamed, "You know I hate raccoons!"

"How can I forget? Watching you scream and run like a psycho after seeing one that one night was the greatest moment of my life."

"It came out of nowhere." I said quietly. I shivered a little.

"Why are you afraid of them again?" He smiled.

"I've told you already."

"Yes, but I just love hearing it."

I let go of an irritated breath, "Because their little masks and opposable thumbs creep me out and seem rather suspicious." I replied quietly.

He began trying to hold back laughter, "And what happened to spark this fear?"

"A raccoon attacked me when I was ten." I mumbled.

He began laughing and I watched and Violet and Greg tried to hold back their own laughter.

"It's not funny!" I yelled. "In my defense, I was a very small ten year old and it was an abnormally large raccoon!"

"I'm sure it was." Forrester said still snickering a little.

"Stop laughing." I grumbled.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll smack your genitalia."

"…Ha." He was right in my face, "Ha ha ha ha ha h- Umph!"

He quickly bent over cupping his jewels. I warned him, but he didn't listen.

"Uncalled for." He choked out.

"Forrester…I gave you a perfect warning and you challenged me. Remember last time that happened?"

"I had a milk carton shoved down my throat." He mumbled.

"You just never learn do you?"

"I hope for different results."

"That's the definition of insanity." Violet piped up.

"Now be gone with you! I'm sick of your face!" I said trying to shove him out of the booth with my arms and one foot. I was still too small though compared to his tall six foot two frame. Being exactly five feet tall, I wasn't a huge threat when it came to physical confrontations.

"What if I don't want to?"

"I'll scream in your ear until you leave."

He sighed, "And you would too."

"Exactly, so for the sake of everyone in the diner, leave." I glared.

He chuckled, "Fine, I'm leaving. I'll pick on you more tomorrow though." He grinned.

"Do you want to die?!" I screamed.

"If it's by your hand I don't mind." He said winking.

I blushed and got really angry and reached my hand out to hit him, but he managed to scuttle out of reach before I could make contact.

"How asinine." I grumbled as he rejoined his friends.

I turned back to my own grinning friends. "Remember what I said about how no guy will be interested in a girl who shovels food into her mouth?"

"Like it was ten minutes ago." I rolled my eyes.

"Well…I may have been just proven wrong."

"How?" I asked, taking another bite of my burger. A normal one…

"I think Forrester might like you."

I began choking. "Excuse your face?!"

"It's just a theory, but from my observations it seems like he does."

"Stop speaking nonsense. It's creepy." I shuddered.

"You don't want him to like you?"

"God no! I told you, I'm not interested in anyone liking me right now or thinking about me in that way. It freaks me out. Plus the kissing and hugging and all that junk is just too troublesome." I replied. My face began turning pink.

"You're just a little awkward koala aren't you?" She smiled.

"Koala?"

"You remind me of a koala bear."

"Oh."

"What about you Greg, do you see it?"

"Yeah, I guess she does somewhat resemble a koala." He mumbled, munching on a fry.

"No," She laughed, "I mean about Forrester liking her."

"Hmm…well from watching them in class I assumed he liked her about two weeks ago."

I just stared at them, "I will prove you both wrong!" I declared.

They smiled at me. It'd always been like they were my parents and I was the child that they tried to keep in control. I just tended to get out of hand only half the time.

"Just sit down and finish your lunch." Violet said firmly.

I did as I was told and lightly munched on my fries as well.

Once all our food was consumed we headed out and over to Violet's house. Her parents were filthy rich, but dark people. Her and her family just reminded me so much of the Adam's family. That may have been why I spent so much time with her. I was bright and loud, but her odd persona was alluring.

Greg was similar to her and they spent so much time together people thought they actually were a couple, but to be totally honest even as their friend I wasn't sure at times. They were friends before I met them in third grade. I guess they met in kindergarten and just never left each other's sides. I found them when we were eight at school and they just would always swing by themselves, so I decided to go see what they were like.

Once I tromped on over there and began talking and playing with them I found that if they opened up they were fun and I like them a lot. We all just clicked together really well.

We all went into the huge two story five bedroom house and went to Violet's room. She had two little twin brother's, but they were always little trouble makers that were difficult to find. Jace and Dean. They were in fifth grade and sharper than knives. They just loved to pick on and confuse the heck out of me.

"Alright, so question." I spoke up as we all lounged in Violet's room, watching random films.

"Shoot." Violet said.

"So you were saying that a guys won't find a girl who eats a lot desirable right?"

"Correct, but I took it back because of Forrester."

"Nuance. What I'm saying is how do you know what guys like when you haven't been on a date in years as well? Why was I being singled out because of what happened to me in ninth grade?"

"I simply observe, and plenty of guys ask me out, I just never say yes, not because there's an extending reason past the fact, that I've yet to meet a man with the brain to entice me." She shrugged.

I wanted to say so bad, 'What about Greg?' but I knew that would bring up some possibly awkward conversations.

I sighed, "Why is it such a big deal that I don't want to date anyone?"

"It's not really." Greg butted in. "We just want to see you happy and we know the ordeal with Andrew, ending the way it did, was not good for you and created this whole idea of not wanting to date. We don't date out of choice."

"Why is Andrew the reason? Can't I not date out of choice?"

"You can, but let's say Andrew came back, what would you do? And remember, answer honestly."

"I would avoid the crap out of him."

"Yes, but what if you couldn't. What if he walked right up to you and asked how you were doing?"

I sighed, "I would be a blubbering idiot."

"Correct, thus you're not over it."

"It's been three years….I feel like I should by now."

"How long it's been is irrelevant. Some people just have a hard time letting things go. It's been easy for the past years since you haven't actually had to interact with him, but the moment he shows up, it's back to square one, but that's okay because of what happened."

"I don't think it'd be square one, maybe square seven or something. I'd never actually date him again. I'd just be nervous."

"And then sad."

"Yeah, I guess. Can we not talk about this?" I mumbled, looking out Violet's window. Talking about that detestable man always gave me a headache.

Her room was a nuetral purple with a matching bedspread. There were pictures of all three of us and her family scattered around the walls, and a huge bookshelf overflowing with books and notebooks. I was always more comfortable in her room because despite the dark colors it was still comforting and warm, and then the window added almost a romantic feeling to it. It was big and right next to her bed. Her room was on the backside of her house, so it overlooked her family's huge garden.

"Stop looking so forlorn. He's not going to come back, so you should just let go and be happy again. Open your heart." Violet said, smiling at me.

"I like not being with someone though. If I was with them they would just hold me back and I'd have to worry too much about what I'm saying and doing. Just being with myself is so easy. I can go and do what I want when I want, and not have to worry about if I'm spending enough time with my boyfriend."

"Well what about us? You spend a lot of time with us and you have a relationship with us, it'd be like the same deal."

"But if I were with someone I'd even have to sacrifice time with you guys."

"When you're with someone, it's a willing sacrifice, and honestly we would completely understand."

"I just don't feel up for the commitment."

"Well, we can't make you, but don't rule out Forrester just yet."

I gagged, "Honestly there's something strange about him. He gives me a sketchy vibe, plus the fact that he just annoys the living hell out of me."

"A sketchy vibe?"

"Yeah, like something is just different about him."

"I don't know, I mean he's a bit obnoxious, but I don't get a sketchy vibe really." Violet said.

"Really? Usually you pick up on these things before me."

"Yeah, well maybe he actually isn't sketchy and you're just trying to find something wrong with him." She replied, I couldn't really argue with her. Maybe it was my imagination.

I glared at her, "Why can't I just not like him?!"

"Because he's perfect for you."

"I don't want to be with him!"

"Fine, be that way, but when you suddenly realize that you do we both will make sure to be there to say 'we told you so.'"

"You guys are buttheads."

"Good comeback." She replied with enough sarcasm for us both.

I stuck my tongue out and turned my attention back to the TV. It was a low budget monster movie about a girl who fell in love with a guy who ended up being a creepy monster, and then there's the drama of working through the fact that he kills people. It was really cheesy and unrealistic, but we all found it entertaining in a twisted way.

Once it ended we all just began doing our own critiques.

"The story line was definitely over used, but the monster was different." Greg commented.

"Yeah, usually it's something like a werewolf or vampire, having a completely different monster with new rules was interesting." I agreed.

"I just think they were stretching too much. I mean a monster fueled by emotions and the only way to keep him under control was the girl he loved. That's a little ridiculous." Violet put in.

"Well, would you have preferred the werewolf or vampire scenario?" I asked.

"It's tried and true, people enjoy that kind of thing. Plus because it strayed from the norm it was more difficult to take seriously."

"I don't know, I find it refreshing that it's different. Granted it's obvious that they were just trying to get the romance in with him unable to control himself without her, but young female audiences really sink into that."

"I'll accept that. But I mean the same concept can be given to many popular books and movies though. The man struggling with an inner conflict and the girl is either the cause or the cure to it. It's boring. I suppose I just overall didn't like the movie. I mean the monster was unrealistic, and cheesy, and the story line was a perfect cliché."

"I will have to agree with you other than the monster part. I mean the fact that he turned blue was odd, but his eyes turning red was a nice touch. Would it have been better if he just stayed a normal color?"

"Maybe, but then he'd be closer to a vampire."

"Yes except he's just a killer who feeds off flesh and can't control himself. It's not just blood of humans. He can feed off animals if he wants, but humans provide for a better prey and he doesn't have cognitive thought when he's changed, so the minute he sees flesh he goes for it."

"Yes, but most people would jut assume vampire."

"No because he's 'The Monster' not a vampire."

"Alright fine. The movie has some merit, but not much." Violet finally gave in.

"Ha! I win this round." I rejoiced.

She chuckled, "Okay, would either of you like something to eat?"

"Doritos please." I smiled. Nacho cheese Doritos was my ultimate favorite snack food. I honestly just loved anything with cheese. Fake or real.

"Coming up. What about you Greg?"

"Olives!"

"Got it!"

"You have an olive addiction now?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm assuming since I've eaten two jars in the past weeks."

I laughed, "You're going to die! Two weeks ago it was tuna and you almost gave yourself mercury poisoning."

"I didn't though!"

"You're strange."

"And you're one to talk, odd raccoon." He smirked, referring to what Forrester called me.

My face began reddening, "I am not, nor will I ever be such a nasty creature!"

"You are odd though."

"I'll allow it." I mumbled.

He chuckled and Violet came back with our snacks and we put on another movie. It was a romantic comedy instead and I completely zoned out. They didn't interest me ever since Andrew. I used to be a complete hopeless romantic, and I still believed I'd find love one day, but at that moment anything romantic was a complete deterrent. I hated it.

Every girl had probably said the same thing too. After a bad break up they swear off love, but unlike them I had gone three successful years without even a date, and I was happy, but as life usually has it, good things never last forever.