Saying that it took a lot of work getting out of bed the next morning would be a complete and utter understatement.

You try sitting up when just thinking about moving brought pain to your lower body.  Yeah, I thought so.  Not so easy now, is it?

I begged my mom to let me stay home, but no, I had to go to school because I missed the day before.  It wasn’t like that was my fault!  That was like telling someone dying in the hospital that they had to go to school because on the way back from the previous appointment the car broke down and they had to miss school.  I was very tempted to use that analogy on her, but she’d probably smack me upside the head.  That was a pain I didn’t want to chance receiving.  I mean one pain was enough.  I didn’t need two.

“Brianne Nichols!” my mom screeched from down the hall.  “This is the last time.”

I groaned, trying to sit up and instantly falling back into bed as pain seared through me.  I chomped down on my cheek to keep from crying out.  Dammit, why did Mother Nature have to hate her daughters so much?  I mean, seriously?  This was so unfair.  “But, Mom!”  I whined.  “It hurts!”

“Take a pill.”

That was her solution?  Take a freaking pill?  I hoped she knew how incredibly selfish she sounded right now.  She would rather have her daughter pop pills into her mouth, chancing an overdose, instead of letting her stay home by herself where she could lie down and relax all day.  Did that make any sense?  Well, to me it didn’t.

“Let me get this straight,” I called, glaring at the empty doorway.  “You’d rather have me drug myself up than let me stay home today?”

“Glad you understand.  Now get out of bed!”

Wow.  I could feel the love this morning.

With a dramatic groan I hauled myself out of bed.  I bit my lip to keep from moaning from the unbelievable pain it aroused.  Today was going to be utter hell.  And it was all thanks to Mother Nature and my mother.  Stupid mothers.

“I hope you know that you are murdering your only child!” I hollered as I dragged myself toward my bedroom door.  Screw school clothes.  They could deal with my shorts and tank top.  I didn’t even care about the dress code at this point.

Ah.  Wait.  Dannon and Kyla knew I wore these already.  Dammit.

“I have a son,” my mom mused.

“Besides him!” 

I sighed deeply, twisting around and trudging to my bureau.  I threw open the drawers and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.  After throwing the clean outfit and tossing Aunt Jill’s clothes on the floor, I made my way into the bathroom where the medicine was kept.  My lovely Pamprin was sitting there waiting for me in front like it was meant for me.  You see, this is how drug addicts are made.  Their mothers force you to take meds.  When I was put in prison for being a druggie, I was going to blame her.

“Can’t I stay home?” I demanded again, pulling a mixture between a beg and a whine.  It was depressing that I had to stoop down to this point, really.  My mom usually gave in by now.  She was a very nice person who sympathized with those in pain.  But, apparently, when a car broke down the sympathy disappeared.

“I’ve told you already, Brianne.  No.”  My mom appeared in the bathroom doorway.  “You missed school yesterday.”

“But I’m in real pain here!”  I frowned as my mom shook her head.  With a glare, I snapped, “I’m going to slap you when you’re on your next period if you ask for sympathy.  I will have none for you.”

My mom smiled, apparently not getting how serious I was being.  “I’m not due for a while, so I’m good.”

I smiled bitterly, grabbing my toothbrush and slapping some toothpaste on it.  “You won’t be when it comes!”

My mom scoffed, pushing off the doorway and heading down the hall.  I rolled my eyes, grabbing the Pamprin with my free hand and practically slamming it into the cabinet.  She really pissed me off sometimes.  Scowling, I brought my toothbrush to my mouth, brushing my teeth irritably.  My anger caused me to brush a little harder than intended, so in the end, my teeth hurt too.  And after I brushed my hair, so did my head.  Oh, this day was starting out just peachy.

“Brianne, you have a text!”

I huffed, stomping out to the kitchen to where my phone sat on the counter.  My mom rolled her eyes at me as I flipped my phone open.  How rude.  Weren’t girls supposed to have mutual respect for one another in their monthly needs?  Apparently not.  “Who the hell is this?” I wondered aloud as I stared at the unrecognizable phone number.

“Cussing not appreciated,” my mom replied absently, flipping through some unopened mail.

“Sorry,” I muttered.  I glanced up as she tossed the mail to the side, digging through one of the cabinets.  My eyes widened in horror as she pulled out a pan.  That was not a good sign.  “You’re not attempting to cook breakfast, are you?”

My mom pouted.  “Your father had to go to work early, so I thought. . . .”

I shook my head, allowing a small smile to spread across my face.  She just refused to accept that the culinary arts weren’t for her.  My gaze returned to my cell phone and the unrecognizable number.  My eyebrows coming together skeptically, I opened the message up.  Not going to school, the message read.

Who is this?  I quickly typed back.  And why did I need to know why this stranger wasn’t going to school?  I mean, I was glad he or she decided to confide in someone that they weren’t attending, but—

Dannon.

Oh.  Well. . . .

“Mom, if Dannon doesn’t have to go to school, why do I?” I demanded hotly, holding up my phone.  As my mom shook her head, I quickly added Dannon to my contacts.  It had completely slipped my mind that Dannon had my number!

“Dannon is not my child,” she replied.  “And you guys exchanged numbers?  How cute!”

Great.  So we had Kyla with the apple and my mom with the phone.  Nice.

“So?” I flicked a finger through my hair, grinding my teeth as I felt a flash of pain.  “You wish he was.  So, technically—”

“Technically,” my mom intervened, “if you don’t get ready, you’re going to be late for school.  Kyla’s going to be here soon.”

I glanced up at the clock and gasped.  Kyla was going to be here in ten minutes.  Tops.  “Shit!” I shouted, scurrying out of the kitchen, away from my mom’s disapproving gaze.

“Cussing not appreciated!”

Yeah, I thought bitterly as I bounded up the stairs, neither is an unsympathetic mother.

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

“Dannon’s not going to school?”

I finished buckling my seat buckle, trying to get comfortable in the passenger seat of Kyla’s car.  I nodded slightly, my gaze turning outside the window.  For the last ten minutes I’d completely ignored my cramps with only the thought of getting ready on time in my mind.  Now that the panic was gone, the stress of forgetting something forgotten, the cramps were in overdrive again, so painful that I wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

“Did he say why?” Kyla inquired.

I shook my head.

“Cramps are killing you, huh?”

I nodded.  So glad someone understood.

“So I’m going to be stuck with a zombie all day?”

Scratch that.

I turned, settling an icy glare in Kyla’s direction.  “Excuse me?”

Kyla, not at all fazed by my hostility, laughed.  She shook her head, an amused smile on her face.  I was tempted to smack her, but, frankly, that would take too much work.  Just turning required more energy than I really had.  “I was just trying to get you to talk, Bri.  Chill.”

By trying to annoy the crap out of me?  Yeah, because that was going to work.  “Your methods are a little sketchy,” I mumbled, looking out the windshield.

“I got you talking, didn’t I?”  Kyla smirked.  “Anyway, you should ask him why.”

I rolled my eyes, but complied anyway.  Hey, I was curious too.  He had said that he would see me today.  Oh.  My.  Freaking.  Word.  My period was making me think these crap-load-cheesy thoughts.  If they lasted, I was going to shoot myself before my period ended.  Wait.  Then I’d spend the rest of eternity in Hell.  Never mind.

Since I was in no mood to text, I scrolled down to his contact and pressed the Talk button.  I brought the phone to my ear, ignoring Kyla’s amused expression as she tossed discreet glances my way.

“A text not close enough to the real him?” she asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes.  “Shut up.”

“Why am I being told to shut up?” suddenly came a masculine voice.

Oops.  “You picked up?” I said, my eyes widening a fraction.

Dannon chuckled.  “Yeah.”

“So you’re not dead.”

I could feel Kyla’s gaze on me.  Whether it was because I was speaking to Dannon on the phone or whether it was the bluntness of my words, I did not know.  Nor did I really care.  I chose to ignore her, my gaze cast out the windshield with my free hand tucked under my chin.

I could hear the smile in Dannon’s voice as he replied.  “No, I’m very much alive.”

“You don’t sound ill,” I continued.

“I’m not.”

I huffed.  “So why aren’t you going to school?”

“Oh yeah, Bri,” Kyla drawled sarcastically, “that’s really a great way to approach the question.”

I smacked her on the shoulder, not at all in the mood for her sarcasm.

“I have an appointment.”

Oh.  That made sense.  But still. . . . “That’s going to take all day?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow even though I was aware that he wouldn’t be able to see it.

He paused before answering.  “No.”

My eyes narrowed.  Why did it feel like he was lying to me?  “You sure?”

“Uh, yeah.”  He laughed.  “I think I’d know.”

I grumbled under my breath, not at all convinced.  I didn’t know why I didn’t believe him.  I mean, it made sense—no appointment took all day.  But there was something in the undertone of his voice . . . I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I could just tell he wasn’t being completely honest.  “Dannon, you are messing with a girl on her time of the month,” I said darkly, scowling.  “Do not tick me off.”

Dannon laughed.  “That’s a little too much information,” he replied, completely ignoring my annoyance.

That made me realize that I’d just told him that I was on my period.  Shit, this period was making me stupid too.  I smacked my head on my hand, closing my eyes.  “I just realized that, thanks,” I muttered, my voice slightly obscured by my hand.

Beside me, Kyla laughed as though she found my humiliation hilarious.  And why wouldn’t she?  She was my friend.  Apparently, that was her job.

“So, if it’s not lasting all day, why aren’t you coming later?” I asked after a moment.

Another pause before answering.  “You want me to come to school today or something?”  He chuckled.

Why did that cause me to blush?  “No!” I hissed.  “I mean—I don’t care.  Do what you want.”

Dannon laughed, apparently finding me incredibly amusing.  “You’re funny when you’re embarrassed, you know that?”

I scowled.  “I’m not embarrassed.”

“Yes, you are,” he and Kyla said simultaneously.  Since I couldn’t slap Dannon, I slapped Kyla twice as hard.  She shrieked in pain, slapping me back. 

“Hands on the wheel!” I yelled.  I did not want to die while on my period.  That was so not my number one on my Favorite-Ways-To-Die list.  Yeah, I actually made one of those.  What could I say?  I made lists when I was bored.

“Why are my hands needed to be on the wheel?”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes.  “I swear, you do not understand the concept that there are other people with me while I’m on the phone.”

Dannon chuckled.  “My apologies.”

I sighed deeply, closing my eyes, leaning back, and covering them with the back of my hand.  “You’re insufferable.”

“Ah, but you love me.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”  I scowled.  Love him?  No way.  As a friend, maybe.  I admit that we were becoming more of friends than acquaintances.  I think we totally skipped the acquaintance stage.  Straight from enemies to friends.  Huh.  Why did that always seem to be the case?

Dannon laughed.  “So cold!”

I couldn’t help but laugh back.  “You know it.”

“I feel so left out!” Kyla whined.  “What are you talking about?”

I glanced at her, shooting her an amused look.  “Kyla wants to join the conversation,” I informed Dannon.  “Should I let her?”

“No!” Dannon joked.  “This is top-secret.”

I threw Kyla a feigned apologetic look.  “Sorry Ky, Dannon says no.”

Kyla scoffed.  “Since when do you listen to anyone?”

Damn, she had a point.

I was about to say something, but Dannon cut me off.  “Hey, sorry, but I need to go.  My appointment is in twenty minutes, and we have to drive a bit.”

“Okay,” I murmured softly.  I glanced up at the roof of the car, waiting for him to say something else.  I would have said goodbye first, but frankly, I didn’t want to open my mouth.  The pain in my lower body, that I was ready to damn to hell, was escalating by the second.  I seriously didn’t understand how I was supposed to make it through the day.

“Bye,” he said finally.  I could hear shouting in the background.  I squinted, trying to decipher what was being said, but alas, it was not meant to be.

“Bye,” I replied, giving up.  I hung up the phone and stuffed it into my pocket.

“Well then.”

I jumped slightly.  Had I seriously forgotten Kyla was there?  There was something seriously wrong with me.  I blame my mother for giving birth to me in the first place.  “’Well then’ what?”

“Well then don’t tell me.”

“Tell you what?” I snapped, not at all in the mood for these games.  Usually Kyla was all-in for the sympathy ride when I was on my period.  Was everyone against me this month?  Rude!

Kyla snorted, sensing my irritation.  “Don’t tell me what you guys were talking about.”

I rolled my eyes.  Seriously Kyla?  I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm.  I wasn’t really irritated with her, I reminded myself.  I was irritated with Mother Nature.  There was a difference.  I paused.  No.  No there wasn’t.  “We weren’t doing anything,” I said, shooting her with a tranquilizer gun with my mind.  She was about to pass out from impact, but then she had to start talking and cut off my concentration.

“Uh-huh.  Sure.”

We turned into the school parking lot, finding a free parking space.  It was rather hard, seeing how there were barely any free spaces.  Everyone seemed to flock to school early just to get a good parking spot.  Now, how depressing was that?  Sacrifice sleep just for a parking spot.  High school life was just sad.

“You ready?” Kyla asked a little too cheerfully.

I sighed deeply, dreading the prospect of going inside.  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

School was rather uneventful.  I didn’t know whether to be thankful or not.  I mean, I didn’t want to do anything because my cramps were murdering my insides, but, on the other hand, the distraction would be nice.

As I sat there in history class staring blankly at the wall as Mrs. Carl droned on and on about some random war that I really didn’t care about, I plotted ways of killing my beloved mother without being caught.  Of course, it was a little impossible (just a tad), but I was willing to try.  On the other hand, I only had one chance . . . Damn.

Who knew murdering could be so difficult? I sighed, deciding to abandon the plan altogether.

“Dannon’s not here!” a girl cried, pulling me from my reverie.  “That’s two days straight.”

I wondered for a moment why they decided to bring this up in the middle of class, but then I realized that Mrs. Carl stopped talking and class was over.  The bell was all that was keeping us from leaving the room now. 

“I know!  I hope he’s okay.”

I glanced at the two girls, my eyes hidden under my bangs.  It astonished me how many fan-girls he had.  I mean, really?  All because he was on the football team and had some good looks?

“Is he sick?” Garner asked.  “If he misses tomorrow then the lead player on the team won’t be able to make it to the game!  We’ll be screwed.”

The game?  He was worried about the game?  People were so shallow these days.  And there was a game?  On a Wednesday?  That hardy made any sense.  Weren’t games supposed to be on Fridays?

“You guys have a game tomorrow?” Shelley inquired, raising her eyebrows more gracefully than I ever could.  “Where?”

“Next town over,” Garner replied.  “Home game is on Friday.”

Oh.  Well, that made sense.  Not.

“What if he’s gone all week?” someone gasped out like this would be a drastic occurrence that would completely obliterate the entire world. 

“He’s not going to be gone all week!”

This conversation made me wonder what the talk had been like yesterday.  Had it been chattier, or a simple, “Dannon’s not here?  Wonder why.”  I doubted it was the latter.  Dannon was the center of the high school’s solar system.  We were all the idiotic dependent planets revolving around him.

“How do you know?  What if he’s deathly ill?”

“You’re overreacting.”

“I know, but still!”

I rolled my eyes, letting my head fall into my hands.  When would this gosh darn period be over—both of them? Within a second of this thought, the bell rang, answering one of the two questions.  Class period ends now; Mother Nature period?  Undecided.

| It ♥ All ♥ Started ♥ With ♥ An ♥ Apple |

The first thing I did when I got home was head straight for the Pamprin.

Before you start judging, please remember: I was deprived.  I was lucky I made it through the day.

“Hey, honey, how was school?” my mom called from the kitchen.

“Bite me!” I hollered in return.  I threw open the cabinet, grabbing the Pamprin and untwisting the cover.  Dumping two tablets into my hand, I turned on the sink and grabbed my cup that I kept specifically for these purposes.  I filled it with water, glaring at the bathroom doorway.

“Don’t tempt me,” she yelled back.

Oh, uck!  She was despicable.

All of a sudden she was behind me, her face reflecting in the bathroom mirror.  I jumped, cursing under my breath and almost dropping the pills from my hand.  “Mom!” I shrieked.  “Jeezum.”

She simply laughed at me, bringing a hand lightly to her mouth.  “Sorry,” she mused, not sounding sorry at all.  I glared at her, plopping the pills into my mouth and downing them with one gulp of water.  “Anyway, it seems like you didn’t enjoy your school day today.”  She smiled innocently.  “Is it because a certain someone wasn’t there?”

Between Kyla and my mom . . . I was going to have to scream into a freaking pillow—again.  Seriously, people?  Could a girl not hit a guy in the head with an apple and go on with her life in peace?  Of course my mom didn’t know about the apple incident, but she would soon enough.  There wasn’t anything that happened that she never found out about.

“No, Mom,” I snapped irritably, “it’s because someone made me go to school on the first full day of my period.  Gosh, between you and Kyla there’s no escape!”

A rhythmic knock on the door cut off my mom’s reply.  My eyes widened as she clapped and shrieked giddily, skipping out of the bathroom.  Odd.  Very, very odd.

“Mom, what’s going on?” I demanded, following her toward the front door.  Our family wasn’t the most gregarious of families, so no one ever knocked on the door.  I’d lived here my whole life and it rang once.  And the person behind the door was a total creep-o drunk dressed up like Jesus.

“He’s here!” my mom continued instead of answering me like a normal person.

“Who’s here?”

My mom reached the door, throwing it open.  “Hey, honey!” she called to the figure.  I stood on my tip-toes, trying to see who it was, but her big head obscured my view.  I could see a brown mop of hair and that was it.

“Hey, Mom.”

Oh.  My.  Gosh.

My mom moved out of the way, leaving my older brother standing in full-view.  He’d grown in the past four months, more muscular.  Knowing him, he’d found a girl to chase and had gone to the gym.  Only he would do that.  His style hadn’t changed any: flannel shirt with a pair of jeans and Converse.

“Hey, Bri!” he called, waving.

I smiled.  “Hey, Garrett.”