"Even I have to admit, this is pretty sad."

Abruptly closing the book, I was left staring at the cover that read How to Make Friends: The Guide to Poor Unsociable Souls. The author couldn't have been blunter with such a title. Even I could feel my soul trying to escape, knowing it's too late to save me now.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged my legs. I was in the lonely corner of the self-help books of the local bookstore. And after devouring each book in the section, none of them were able to complete their mission of helping me. I figured I'll go to the base and try looking up something on the topic there. So I did my best to pull myself together and got up from the ground. I returned the book in its place, gave the section a glare Declan would be proud of since it wasn't even able to save me from my perpetual doom, and went on my way.

Fighting to ignore the whispers and pleas of the books surrounding me, begging for me to read and buy them, I continued on. But even I had to look back and stretch my hand towards the new releases of books and mangas.

"I'll come back for you someday," I whispered to them, wiping a tear away.

Ah, the struggle for poor bookworms. That's why we were all blessed with libraries. To which I should visit later anyway.

When I left the sanction of the bookstore, I was met with the still cold weather of January. Yet, I was still warm in the embarrassment of the reason I was in the store in the first place. Of course, I already have friends. Those three are the best friends anyone could ever have.

"Friendzone," Jordan coughed.

I tsked at the memory from the new year's party because that's the point.

There are too many boys in my life.

When I passed by a group of girls, I stared at the ground to avoid eye contact. I know there are girls who'd kill to be in my position. But at the same time, it can be overwhelming. As much as I love those three, sometimes we really can be in different worlds. I looked at two girls at the other side of the street as they debated at the outside menu of a restaurant. I want to have a girl-friend, someone to keep me sane in my situation.

"Better said than done," I muttered to myself.

I have no real way to get any female contact, given I value my life. Everyone in school steers clear of me. They figured out it's a waste of time messing with me, especially when they know the three guys will be there to witness anything they'll do to me.

And I don't exactly have the best experience with other girls in general. Honestly, girls are the worst kind of people as enemies. They don't even have to lift a finger, except to text, to mess with you. The girl's P.E locker is its own level of hell. So I don't think I'd want to attempt befriending anyone in my school given the history I have with it.

But really, how did I get friends in the first place? Maybe I'm some kind of guy magnet. Maybe I can offer that in exchange for friendship. The greatest wingwoman ever.

I shook my head at my thoughts and quickened my pace. The guys were going to the base later because Bennett promised to make something for us, or really we made him. Taking a sharp turn at a corner, I crashed into a poorly placed stand making a couple of papers fall onto the ground.

I barely managed to grab a couple of papers as when I stood up, I was face to face with a girl. She was a few centimeters shorter than me. Her bright dark green eyes looked at me. She gave me a quick once over, her short curly black hair bobbed at the movement before she looked back at me, smiling.

With a grin, she asked brightly, "Would you like to-"

"-Be my friend?" I stupidly finished.

I don't think that's how making friendships work. I think Jordan's sentence finishing habit got to me.

She blinked, confused. "I was going to ask if you wanted to attend my school's open fair but- Okay!"

I chuckled nervously. "Wait really?"

She shrugged. "Whether it's a practical joke or not, it's always nice to meet someone new. Besides, my shift is almost up and someone needs to make up the mess she made..."

I felt my cheeks turning warm. "I um-"

"I'm just kidding," she said as she took the papers from me and placed it on the table. "Let's eat somewhere."

"That's kinda fast," I said, ironically enough, slowly.

"Nonsense," she waved off. "It'll be my treat since it was my fault. I shouldn't have put the table in that corner, that was bound to happen."

Before I was able to object, she turned to see two girls coming towards her. They all wore the same school uniform of a white button top and blue plaid skirts.

Private school, I thought.

"I thought you guys were never going to come back. Anyway, I want to have my break now."

"You sure you can't do it a little longer, Lynn?" A girl asked as she took a sip of her drink.

Lynn fidgeted, glancing back at me in embarrassment. "Ah c'mon, you said I'll be able to have a break for once..."

"Fine," the other girl said. "Grab some snacks when you come back if you take too long."

"Great!" Lynn grabbed my arm and practically dragged me down the street. "Thanks you guys!"

"Are you usually like this?" I asked, not really knowing what I got myself into this time.

"Usually like what?" She asked as she abruptly took me into a cafe, making me yelp in surprise.

Lynn led me to a booth where we took our seats.

"Oh, I understand now," she said with a light laugh. "Yeah, I can be quite... energetic at times. But I'm just happy to have met a new person." She paused for a moment. "And that new person is..."

"I'm Naomi Lorraine," I said, introducing myself. "I'm a senior in Dartwell High."

She smiled, practically blinding me.

"I'm Lillian Owens, but most people call me Lynn," she said. "I'm also a senior. And if you can't already tell from my uniform I go to Riverside Academy."

"It's an all-girls school, isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded. "Very much."

I tried to fight back the grimace. Being trapped in a building with other girls out to get me is a living nightmare.

"What's it like? I've only been in co-ed schools."

Lynn thought about it for a moment. "It's not that much of a difference. Unless you don't like the thought of seeing a guy for miles."

"Well you can see there is a guy who is single and ready mingle in your area," a voice said, "to take your order of course."

I looked up and saw Cameron. It took me a moment to realize that Lynn dragged me into the Mad Hatter Cafe.

Cameron recognized me as well. "Hey, you're back! Haven't seen you for a while." He took a napkin from the napkin dispenser and dramatically wiped away a tear. "I was starting to worry you forgot about us."

My stomach, hungry for food, dropped. "I'm sorry-"

"Never fear, my good lady-" he looked at Lynn "-ladies. The past is behind and what is in front of us is-"

"The present?" Lynn offered.

"I was going to say the menu," Cameron said, as he presented us with two menus. "But that is just as good."

Scanning over the menu and the pictures of the delicious looking dishes, I had to stop myself from just closing my eyes and randomly pointing one. I decided for two sliders while Lynn just got fries. There was a slight feeling that the guys would've gotten mad at me for eating without them, especially at the cafe. Cameron gave us our drinks before he went to make our order. There were a few other guests in the cafe and Cameron went to greet them. He did so warmly, always bearing a smile.

"I've never been here before," Lynn confessed. "But I'm glad I chose this place to drag you here. I apologize about that by the way."

I waved it off. "No, I'm used to that."

A silence seemed to hang between us. I had no idea what to talk to her about besides school. I don't know how to talk to her. How do you talk to girls? Aren't I a girl? Ahem, I mean, woman? This friendship will not last. I pity this girl having to put up with me.

"I have no idea what to talk about."

I couldn't help but burst out laughing at that.

Lynn frowned. "I didn't think it was that funny."

Shaking my head, I told her, "No. It's not that. It's just the fact that I was thinking the same thing."

"Most friendships start with favorite interests like books or movies," Lynn began.

Or contracts.

"But such weak foundations will only make these relationships crumble in the end."

I was surprised by the poetry.

"But this can be how we start ours," I said with a smile. "Blind awkwardness with neither of us having any idea what we're doing."

She raised her drink. "What a start to a beautiful friendship."

We clinked glasses to that but accidentally spilled it on the table making us laugh together at that.

"Ugh, I don't know how you can laugh at making a mess I have to clean up."

We both looked up, wondering why Cameron suddenly had a mood change. And instead, I saw an all too familiar face.

"At this point, you're just stalking me," Harvey said, crossing his arms.

"And you work everywhere," I snapped back. "Can you ever keep a stable job?"

Lynn snickered. "Ouch. You're gonna need to clean up the mess she made out of you."

Harvey slapped the rag on the table, letting it soak in our spilled drinks. "I don't even know you and you're roasting me."

He pointed at Lynn. "You need to start worrying about who's handling your food."

"And you shouldn't be threatening our customers, Harvey," Cameron said, ruffling Harvey's hair before pushing him out of the way.

"Stop bossing me around, Cam," Harvey bit back.

"Technically, I am your boss," he said matter-of-factly.

Cameron winked at us as he assumed Harvey's duty and cleaned up the mess. "Don't mind him. He's just grumpy."

He leaned towards us and whispered. "He's stuck with busboy duty this week."

Harvey exploded. "I made one mess! One mess!"

The entire room stared at Harvey. He grew conscious of this and started to clean a table. Slowly, everyone went back to their food.

Cameron shook his head. "You're the mess."

Harvey grabbed the rag from Cameron, muttering something under his breath as he walked towards the kitchen.

"But you're my mess," Cameron called out.

For a moment, Harvey stopped. Then he walked faster into the kitchen.

Cameron turned back to us. "Obviously because he's my apprentice and I have to teach him the ways of the waiter," he said as he set our food in front of us. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lynn and I shared a look.

"Oh nothing," I said before mouthing to Lynn, I ship it.

He laughed and said as he walked away, "Go finish your food and give us your money already."

And we did just that. Lynn and I ate our food as we watched the two lovebirds run around the cafe doing their job and yelling at each other. They reminded me of two people...

We left the cafe together and I was walking her back to her booth.

I looked down at my phone and cringed. It was a missed call from Declan. They were probably eating without me by now.

"I'm supposed to meet some friends later," I told Lynn.

"You have other friends too?"

I backed up a bit. "Um, sorry."

She looked confused. "About what?"

"That I have other friends?" I offered.

Lynn looked at me darkly. "Yes, and you must sever all ties with them. I will be your one and only friend."

I didn't know what to say.

She burst out laughing. "You're being ridiculous. They're your friends first. If someone's going to be jealous, it would probably be them." She linked her arm with mine and said with a grin, "And I'll give them a reason to be jealous about."

Lynn gave me a piece of paper. I looked down at it and saw it was one of those flyers she was passing out.

"My school is having an open fair next week," she said with a smile. "I hope I can see you there. And maybe you can bring your friends and I'll size them up."

Right... size them up.

"It was nice meeting you Naomi," Lynn as she walked away.

The girls at the booth started yelling where their snacks were as Lynn was walking towards them. She suddenly turned on her heel and ran towards me.

Lynn ran past me, laughing. "So much for a dramatic parting scene!" And she took off to the nearest cafe.

When I went up to the base, I was practically grinning like the idiot.

"What are you so happy about?" Declan said. "You're happy not picking up the phone?"

"Aw Declan, I really didn't notice my phone," I assured him.

He crossed his arms. "Tell that to Jordan. He made me believe otherwise."

Bennett sat down on the couch, picking up the remote. "You share's on the table. Dessert's in the fridge."

"I'll eat later," I waved off. "I already ate."

Bennett frowned. "The whole reason I cooked was for you."

Jordan and Declan both said, "Awww."

"Because you were complaining about food," Bennett snapped at them.

"What did you eat?" Jordan said suspiciously. "Why didn't you invite us?"

"I just-"

"Are you cheating on us?" He cried.

"What?" I exclaimed. "On food?"

"Disgraceful!" Jordan cried again. "I say that I'll get all of her desserts for a week!"

"A week?" I demanded.

"You're right! A month!"

I rolled my eyes. "Bennett, Jordan is being mean."

"Jordan, I'm not going to make anything vanilla if you're being mean to Naomi."

"Fine," Jordan said. "It's just a wonder why I found this-" He pulled out the flyer Lynn gave me.

"That was in my back pocket! Jordan you pervert! Declan, hold him down."

"Already on it," Declan said as he moved towards him.

Jordan was able to evade him and he began to read aloud. "Riverside Academy is hosting their annual open school fair next week- Whoa, wait. Did I read this right?"

"You don't need to get your glasses for this one?" Declan asked.

"Shut up," Jordan told Declan. "RA as in that all-girls private school behind that 10-foot gate?"

Bennett looked at him. "How do you know how tall the gate is?"

"Didn't you hear me when I said it was an all-girls school?" Jordan asked him.

"I'm ashamed of you," I said.

"I'm jealous of you," Declan said. "Thanks for the invite."

"Next time," Jordan told him in a stage-whisper.

"Why do you have that flyer with you, Naomi?" Bennett asked me.

Jordan gasped. "Are you going to switch schools?"

"I'm-"

"But then you'd have to leave Dartwell. We won't see you anymore." Jordan looked like he was near tears. "I don't want you to leave."

"Can you let-"

"No, wait. This can be a sacrifice."

"A sacrifice?" Declan repeated incredulously.

"You can sneak us into the school. Get us info, insight..." Jordan grabbed me by the shoulders and looked at me. "Pictures."

I pushed him away and he toppled backward onto the couch and landed on top of Bennett.

"Get away from me." I took a step back. "Declan."

Declan appeared in front of me. "I will hurt you Jordan. And I will be very happy as I do it."

"Re-" Bennett abruptly pushed Jordan off of him then Jordan continued, "Relax. I was just kidding." He paused for a moment. "Most of it."

I went to the table and picked up a plate of sandwiches. "I met someone," I began.

"Who?" Jordan said as he walked towards me. "Who is he and-"

Declan pushed Jordan backward onto the couch and he crashed on top of Bennett once more.

"Can you stop?" Bennett told us as he pushed Jordan away again.

"It's not a guy," I told them.

"Oh right. Girl-school, I forgot." Jordan stopped. "Wait. Do you mean met someone as in met someone."

"She's a friend," I snapped at him.

Jordan held his hands up in defense. "Just making sure you're still on the table."

"I'm going to ignore that comment," I said. "Anyway, I was invited to the fair and I want you guys to come with me."

Bennett let out a low whistle. "In an all-girls school with nothing but girls for miles"

"Damn, Naomi," Jordan said. "Didn't think you'd be the ultimate wingman-"

"Wingwoman," Declan corrected.

I laughed. "Sure you guys."

Jordan said slyly, "At least act a little jealous."

"I am not going to be jealous. I'm willingly inviting you to a fair in a school filled with girls prettier than I am."

"There's no one prettier than you Naomi," Declan told me.

I blushed and backed up a little. "What?"

Declan said quickly, "As in, you shouldn't be so unconfident with your looks and- I messed up didn't I?"

Bennett let out a sigh. "This is amazing. I surrounded by idiots, besides Naomi of course."

"I think you're beautiful, Naomi!" Jordan suddenly exclaimed with a crack in his voice.

"What!"

"He's trying to outdo Declan," Bennett said. "And looking pathetic as he does."

Jordan looked at Bennett. "And what about you?"

"I don't need to state an already known fact," Bennett replied.

"What are you three getting out of this?" I asked them.

"We're just thanking you for being a wingwoman by complimenting you," Jordan said with a grin.

"Yeah, sure," I said as I started heading to my room. "Just be sure to clear your schedules for that day. I want you guys to come to that fair with me."

"Well obviously. You're inviting us because you're our wingwoman."

"Actually," I said as I took a bite of a sandwich. "I wanted bodyguards."

They all looked at me, confused.

"We're going into a warzone boys."

Sorry about the lateness you guys. This chapter was supposed to be shorted but I added the "base scene" last minute because I felt the chapter needed to end with a bit more "closure" than how I had originally planned it out.

This chapter is dedicated to Johanna H. last year's winner to the TGGBB2 chapter dedication giveaway in KellyAnneBlount 's the Winter Edition Block Party 2016. Johanna thank you for your patience, and I apologize for the delay. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story so far.

Now onto other news.

I was recently invited to be part of a campaign with The Handmaid's Tale, a new Hulu Original series premiering April 26th. It is a novel turned TV show (the dream) by Margaret Atwood which shows the values of feminism and women empowerment.

I was to create a work inspired by such values to which I recently posted as "Lost In a Sea of Thoughts". It's a story based on the life of Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawaii before the US annexed the island. The story is merely a one-shot. If you want to know the rest of the story, you can try to look into the biography of Liliuokalani. Although my work is more dystopia and I would've made the story a bit more different.

I will also like to add that I was invited to a new storytelling website called Commaful. But wait, don't freak out, I'm not leaving Wattpad. I love Wattpad. I was born and raised in Wattpad. But that's besides the point. I wish to expand myself a little more in writing. I'm considering going into Radish and working in Wattpad Corp's new invention of Tapped. But right now I have a focus in Commaful as well. I'm planning to put some exclusive stories or POVs on TGGBB like on certain characters there and make use of the new format of these new medias.

Commaful has a bit of a unique format. It's a bit like slides or a powerpoint presentation. Each slide has a limited character count and you can use pictures and gifs for the background. They focus on a visual aspect as you read the stories. There is even a feature of playing it as a video and enjoy the show.

I was recently asked to produce two works for a beta test and I think you'd all love to read it. One is a romance and the other is the thriller and they both destroy the fourth wall. Here's the description of the romance work, "Don't Let Me Fall In Love with You":

"In which each click makes the narrator fall deeper in love with you and closer to the end of the story."

Intriguing, isn't it? I was so excited when I wrote the work. I'll be posting the story at the end of the week. I'll announce it in a post and on my Twitter once I do. Feel free to make an account and read the story. And maybe later I will put it into Tapped as well.

Rubix