"Angelo, I won't ask you again!"

"Good!"

Stepping back, I attempted to close my door, only to find a foot blocking its path.

Opening the door, I frowned. "We agreed you're going to stop disturbing me, didn't we?"

Annie hissed, "You're out of your mind! I did not suffer through getting face-planted into your sweaty, smelly pits just for you to break our deal!"

Well, I agreed to follow you before I got into bed, but now it's different! I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm just tired...

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it. Shortly after, I sighed. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"Is that even a question?"

"Alright then, I'll come with you. Let me get my coat, then I'll be ready."

Annie's eyes scanned mine, then she smiled and hugged me. "Aww, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, though I'm not doing this because I want-"

"Shh, don't spoil the moment!"

She let go of me, still smiling from ear to ear. "Alright, go get your coat!"

Slouching, I turned and began walking across my room, dragging my feet across the carpet. Once again sighing loudly, I picked up my coat then turned around, starting the second leg of my journey.

It wasn't long before Annie marched across the room, growling, "I'm not taking you to your execution, so hurry!"

. . .

It didn't take us up to twenty minutes to arrive at The Eatery.

After Annie packed her car, we got down and headed to the lime green entrance doors. The Eatery is a two-story building with whitewashed walls both on the inside and outside. Two large glasses stand on both sides of the door, allowing the yellow light inside through.

Customers can order pastries in the downstairs section, along with coffee and yogurt. Annie and I headed to the upstairs section because that's where burgers, pizza, and soft drinks are.

Once we had placed our orders, we sat down at an empty booth.

I let out a breath of relief as heat soaked into my skin.

Annie furrowed her brow. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. Just happy that I'm out of the cold since you forced me out of the house!"

"Ugh, not this again!" Annie rolled her eyes. "Admit it, some part of you is grateful for-"

My eyes widened as I noticed a girl with waist-length dark hair in a booth some distance away.

Please tell me that's not Aimee-

"Ow!"

I glared at Annie.

She removed her fingernails from my ear. "Serves you right, I've been calling your name for the past two minutes!"

"And it never occurred to you that I wasn't answering because I didn't want to?"

"And it never occurred to you that I'm smart enough to notice the obvious lie you just told?"

"Hard for me not to, considering-"

I stopped mid-sentence when Annie turned back and began to strain her neck.

Quickly, I stood up. "I'll be right back!"

Damn it, Aimee, couldn't you have picked another time to come here?

She was chatting with two other popular girls, Sandra and Ursula. Sandra had straight shoulder-length dark hair, tan brown skin, and green eyes. Ursula had rather pale skin, red hair (thanks to hair dye), and captivating grey eyes. They were both heavily clad in makeup.

Reaching them, I hissed, "I know you adore my presence, but isn't stalking me a tad bit much?"

"Excuse me?"

"Look, you need to leave now before my crazy guardian decides to come to introduce herself. Trust me, that's not a conversation you'll want-"

Wait, that's not how Aimee's voice sounds!

I withdrew my hand, turning away. "My bad, I had you mixed up as someone else."

"Angelo, right?"

I looked back. "Not that it's any concern to you, but-"

My voice trailed off when my eyes connected with the person.

Serena.

But, don't get it twisted: I wasn't obsessed with her like most guys in our school were. Serena's presence always raised anger in me. Not surprising, considering she was the queen bitch of Brickleberry High.

You wouldn't expect someone like her to hold that title, though. Her round face, dark, wide eyes, and rosy chubby cheeks gave her an innocent look. Her height of five feet only helped perpetuate this myth. She didn't like that fact, so she always caked makeup onto her face to age herself.

Ever since I'd become popular, we'd both avoided each other. It was for her own safety because I had every intention to clip her wings if she ever got out of hand.

Yet there we were, waiting for the other to strike first.

I chuckled. "I'm surprised you know my name."

Not even bothering to fake a smile, she said, "I do bother to notice the trash at our school every now and then."

Who the fuck do you think you are?

I smiled. "So you have the mental capacity for something other than fashion? Well, apart from trumping your bitchy self every day."

Her nose flared, but other than that, she seemed calm. Sandra and Ursula were shooting me death glares, so I winked at them. Ursula's glare faltered.

After an eternity, Serena smirked. " By the way, you're looking for Aimee, right? Have you checked the kitchen? Poor girl has to earn money to pay her bills somehow."

I smirked. "Forgive me if what I'm about to say is rude, but I've been wondering something: when's the devil coming to take you home?"

Gasps left the other girls' lips.

Sandra stuttered, "H- how dare you say something like-"

Serena rose up a hand. "Ignore him, Sandra. He wants a reaction." She yawned at me. "You done?"

"Matter of fact, I do believe I am."

You can sound as bored as you want, but you can't disguise the rage in your eyes.

"Before I leave, here you go." Opening my wallet, I pulled out a fifty-dollar bill, placing it on the table. "That should be more than enough to cover the bill for your food. You can buy yourself something nice with the change." Tipping an imaginary hat, I grinned. "Have a nice day, girls!"

It was barely ten seconds after I had left the table when Serena growled, "Ursula, don't you dare pick up that money!"

"I just want to hold-"

"Over your dead body!"

Smirking, I walked over to my table.

When I got there, Annie asked, "What have you done that has brought about this smirk?"

"Set a couple of people straight." My mouth began watering as I glanced at the pizza boxes sitting on the table. "When did the pizza get here?"

"About a minute ago. Our waitress is bringing your drinks- ah, here she is now!"

My eyes widened.

"Two bottles of medium cokes," the waitress recited as she placed them on our table. "Would there be anything else- Romeo!"

You've got to be kidding me!

I sighed. "Aimee Jacques, what a pleasure!"