Just before we all had to go back to school after Christmas, Matt and Viktor had one last hockey game. The team was still high on a perfect season so far, and with a chance of still getting into the Minnesota Tournament, I had to do everything in my power to make sure it happened, especially now that Matt and Viktor had an audience.

In all honesty, there wasn't much I could do besides criticize the shit out of every little detail of their games, but it never hurt to have a bird's perspective on what was happening. I definitely knew a lot more than I ever did before with the hours and hours of research I put into getting Viktor back on the ice in the first place.

Surprisingly, Viktor never got his feelings hurt by what I told him, even when I went on and on about how his shot was sometimes halfway to Canada instead of on goal. Matt, on the other hand, did not take my help very well. Apparently, when constructive feedback came from one's sister, that was just because she was annoying and didn't know what the fuck she was talking about and a just trying to be an ass.

But maybe that was just because I told him that I could probably forecheck better than him with my eyes shut.

He ended up buying ice cream for Viktor and me after that, which was cool.

Before I could round up Arti and Blaine and force them to go to the game with me, Mom stopped me in the kitchen with two cookies in my hand.

"Have you been practicing for the ACT? I think you're signed up for February, and it's important that you do your best," Mom said.

Gross, standardized testing that placed a number on my worth to colleges. "I mean, I haven't recently, but I'll start as soon as we go back to school. I just didn't want it to ruin my break, you know?"

She shook her head. "Just make sure you start preparing. You'll do really well if you study. But that's not the main thing I wanted to talk to you about."

My heart dropped into my stomach. As far as I knew, I hadn't done anything wrong for a while, and I was getting along with Viktor pretty well since I promised him I would mind my own business, so that only left she was mad at me for arguing with Matt.

I could live with that.

"Your report card came today, and you got an A-minus in Spanish. I'm proud of you," she said.

Proud of me?

I smiled. That exact feeling was the one that I decided to give up on Lukas for.

My heart swelled with pride, and it must have snuck up into my eyes somehow. There were plenty of moments she got irritated with me during the previous few months, but there was nothing more satisfying than living up to what she wanted from me.

What fucking crybaby gets emotional because her mother is proud of her? When did we let this happen to us, Candy Cane?

She let out a laugh. "Amanda, you always make me proud. Don't forget that. But I'm extra proud right now. I guess all that work you've put in with Viktor is starting to pay off, huh?"

This was in no way a Viktor achievement, but I decided to let her have her moment of pride with herself. After all, she was the mastermind who forced us to work together instead of letting me stab him.

33. Teamwork makes everything unnecessarily complicated and way too people-y, but it also makes the dream work, and we're no exception, my friend.

34. I will edit out the "my friend" part from the last point on the list at a later time. That was not necessary. I apologize. Actually, no, I don't. I'll keep it. But I'm not saying that shit out loud. Can you imagine how pissed off Matt would get?

"Well, thank you. I'm glad that it's finally showing. If it wasn't, I'd probably just quit school altogether and herd sheep in Iceland," I said.

"Don't lie to yourself. You would get lonely and find your way right back here," she said with a laugh. And while she was probably right, I didn't say anything. There really weren't that many people I cared about, but they all seemed to find their way into that house on a regular basis.

Perhaps my mother was the one herding a bunch of lost and unfriendly sheep.

"But anyway, what else is happening at school that you're looking forward to?" Mom asked.

Obviously, there was the one minor thing with Lukas and Eleanor, but I promised Viktor and Blaine (and quite possibly myself) that I wouldn't force my way into the situation and add unneeded stress to my and everyone else's lives.

So, no, there was nothing happening. And as much as I wanted to mention it so she would be doubly proud of me, that seemed to defeat the purpose of not overreacting (which I still wasn't convinced was overreacting, but who was I to judge?).

I shook my head. "Well, Viktor and I have a math project that we're going to work on next week, so hopefully I won't have to kill him to make sure I get a good grade."

She laughed. "I'm sure you won't have to resort to any drastic measures. I didn't look at his report card since he's not my kid technically, but I'm sure he's not failing math."

What kind of bullshit was that? It was only fair that I got to know if my work paid off too.

"So what are you gonna do with it? Ship it to Sweden?" I asked.

"I'll let him look at it, and if he wants, I'll put it on the refrigerator," she said.

"What about mine?"

She gave me a tight-lipped smile and headed for the stairs going up. "Congratulations on doing what you're supposed to."

"See? This kind of special treatment is exactly why I hated him for a few months. Is that what you want? You want me to hate him?" I called after her, but she didn't reply.

Well, she said she was proud of me. What else could I ask for besides a sticker or something?

Actually, a sticker would have been nice.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, if I was five goddamn years old.

But before I could call out myself anymore, the front door opened. I peeked around the corner, and there was Arti, surprisingly on time before the hockey game.

I told her to come early, and she did. It must have been a late Christmas miracle or something.

"Guess who isn't late today? I deserve a gold star for that shit." Arti smiled at me.

So apparently it wasn't stupid to want a sticker. I made a mental note to buy myself some for doing a very good job at being a person. Maybe they could be sparkly and everything. What was there to hold me back from a real reward?

"Did Blaine text you that he's sick and can't come with us?" Arti asked.

"What? He didn't say anything."

"Well, that's what he told me, so we should just go without him."

"You're full of shit, you know that?"

Arti smiled. "Can you at least uninvite him?"

"Why would I do that? He's at the very least friends with both of us," I said.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just think it'd be funny."

At least she finally recovered from her breakup-type thing with Eleanor and was back to her normal, mean self.

But in her own fucked-up way, she never meant anything like that. She liked Blaine a lot, but after all the shit he had put up with from her, every once in a while, he deserved a sticker too.

Maybe a nice dinosaur sticker for him. He'd appreciate that shit.

"Would it kill you to be nice to him for once?" I asked.

She nodded with a deadpan expression. "It might."

"Listen, I'm going to tell you what everyone kept telling me with Viktor and all of that shit. Stop being an asshole."

"Amanda, you know damn well that everyone inside your circle is a fucked-up jackass."

Maybe it was my mother's pride running through my veins doing all of my talking, but even though Arti was definitely right about that, there was something worth preserving in my little circle. There was a difference between being a smartass and being shitty.

That deserved two sparkly stickers. Good job, Amanda.

"And you know what you're going to do when Blaine gets here? You're gonna tell him that you think he's a good friend," I said.

"He knows that, though. Do you really want that to go to his head?" Arti said.

"I worry about the same thing, but he sometimes says nice things about you, so you have to sometimes say nice things to him," I said. "And I'm the leader of the fucked-up jackasses, so you can't argue with me."

"What are you going to do? Kick me out?"

I nodded.

She let out a sigh. "I'm not saying it like that, though. There has to be a backhanded insult, or else it won't seem genuine coming from me."

"That's the problem, dumbass," I said.

"Well, excuse me for—" A knock from the other side of the door cut Arti off.

She opened up the door for Blaine, and with a box of tissues in his hand and a red nose that wasn't just from the cold weather, he stepped inside.

"Oh my god, you really are sick. Don't touch me. Don't even look at me." I stepped away from him and behind Arti.

"Great, sacrifice me. Because who gives a shit if I catch a cold from him, right?" Arti said.

I bit my cheek. She'd probably be more vocally miserable than me if she had a cold. "Maybe we should uninvite you, Blaine. I can't get sick right before school starts again."

"Thanks. I came all the way out here just so you could uninvite me because I look like shit," Blaine said.

"We don't live that far away from each other, and it's because you're contagious," I said.

"I'm not contagious, Amanda. It's not even that bad. It's just sixty bazillion degrees below zero right now, and the only people who could still look cute in this weather are you two."

Arti tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "Are we really gonna let a little cold ruin one of our last days before we go back to the shit show we call school?"

I nodded, but Blaine shook his head.

What was up with everyone outvoting me lately? Even though this was definitely not their decision to make, it was pissing me off that they thought this was some sort of democratic system we had in place.

"Thank you, Arti. It always makes me feel good when you're not campaigning to get me kicked out of the squad. It's a nice throwback to when you were the one who originally campaigned to let me in," Blaine said.

"You're super fucking welcome. I'm not going to tolerate this bullshit. Not on my watch," Arti said.

And she didn't even squeeze in an insult. I shook my head. I was going to need way more than two sparkly stickers to make me feel better.

"You better not cough, sneeze, or even look in my general direction. I will make you go home," I said.

"Don't worry. I came prepared." He held up his box of tissues.

At least he was considerate enough to bring that.

Blaine was pretty much always right when it came to people, and what he told me about letting go of Viktor and Lukas was no exception. It was nice to let my life return to normal and not worry about whatever was happening with someone I couldn't control.

As I put on my coat before heading out, I looked over at him, all snot-faced and disgusting and adorable. My people were indeed a bunch of jackasses standing in a circle, but they were mine.

I didn't give a shit about what people thought of us, but as long as the chosen few liked me, what more could I want?

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Hello everyone! I know I said I would have this out earlier, but originally I was working on the next chapter, and then I decided I wanted to add this one in. So this time, I'm not gonna be a liar again, and the next chapter will be out in the next few days. If it's not, feel free to send me hate mail. But anyway, thank you so much for reading!

So for today's question, would you consider yourself to be a leader, follower, or independent?

I'm not much of a leader, and I don't like being told what to do, so I'm probably more of the independent type. I like to do things my way, and if that means I'm alone, then so be it.