Of course. Of course I had to get partnered up with him. How obvious. How cliché, Carter thought angrily. It seemed like everyone was conspiring to humiliate her, to constantly put her in an awkward position and make her wish she had never started her popularity quest.

It had occurred to her that if she had never listened to Leigh, she wouldn't have gone to that party, and she wouldn't have ended up in that closet with Kiran. Really, it was all Leigh's fault. Except, it wasn't. It was all Carter's fault for letting herself get wrapped up in all the drama.

The bell rang, marking the end of the class, as well as the end of the school day. Carter needed time to compose herself, to collect her thoughts and be able to handle Kiran in a respectable, even indifferent manner. So as soon as the bell rang, she grabbed Aiden and headed for the door as quickly as possible.

"Hey, what's your hurry?" Aiden asked as they pushed through other students and stumbled into the hallway.

"I just wanna get outta here."

Fortunately, Kiran didn't block her path or call out her name. They walked through the school hand-in-hand, stealing stares from other students and making it a point to go along the busiest areas. They passed Ashton, Georgie and Melody at one point, and while Georgie and Melody smiled and waved at Carter, Ashton only glared. Like a witch with a plan. Like a demon with a mission. Her glares were deadly and powerful enough mentally knock anyone out. Carter put on a playful smile and walked on, hoping that her fake amusement would piss Ashton off.

"So, my house?" Aiden suggested again.

"Can we do that tomorrow? I think I should spend some time with Leigh today."

"Which one's Leigh?"

"My best friend? The girl who was supposed to come to the party but got sick, remember?" How could anyone forget Leigh? It wasn't hard to remember someone who dressed like the love-child of Madonna and a ballerina.

"Oh, right, her. Can't you blow her off? My parents are out all night. We'll have the place all to ourselves." They were now at Carter's locker. Aiden placed his hands on her waist and moved close.

"I've been blowing her off all week. If I keep doing it she'll think something's up."

"You are such a good friend," Aiden said with a smile. He then kissed her.

Once again, there was nothing behind the kiss for Carter. No fireworks. No trains coming out of their stations. No flowers blooming too quickly. Nothing. She may as well have been kissing her pillow, like she used to do when she was ten and she imagined her pillow being Zac Efron. Except this was even less exciting. When they stopped, she plastered on the most artificial smile she could possibly imagine, and hoped it was enough to satisfy him.

"I know. Everyone should be my friend. I'm that good," said Carter, though she didn't believe a word of it. "Anyway, I gotta go. I'll call you later tonight."

***

If there was one thing Ashton Rhodes couldn't stand, it was a loser trying to be a winner. The whole dynamic of the popular crowd had changed, and she had to do everything it her power to set it right again. It was her own fault, really, for allowing Carter to sit at their table. That was the moment it all had changed. That marked the downward spiral of the natural order.

From what she had gathered, there was something going on between Carter and Kiran Jones. Ashton wasn't an idiot. She had become popular because she knew how to read people very well. She knew what their strengths were, what their weaknesses were, and how to use it all to her advantage. Maybe it had been her military father who had instilled that personality into her, or her business-savvy mother. They were both demanding, and quite capable of getting exactly what they wanted.

So for the last few days, she had been observing Carter from a safe distance. First of all, Ashton was very certain that the girl hadn't just stood around with Kiran in that closet. Second, she felt that Carter's friend, the frilly one with the annoyingly bubbly personality, had somewhat of a crush on Kiran. It was very easy to tell if someone had a crush, all you had to do was see what they were like when their crush wasn't around.

Ashton knew exactly what to do with this information.

That day after school, she found Leigh in the girls washroom. She wasn't hard to miss, with her black tutu, yellow socks, fiery red hair and leather jacket.

"You're Leigh, right?"

Leigh's face became tense. "Um, yeah?"

"Don't be afraid. I won't bite. I wanted to let you know that it's time for you to move on."

"What do you mean?"

It was important for Ashton to keep a positive tone, like she was having a casual conversation, and wasn't actually out to destroy anyone's life. "I mean, we all know you have a crush on Kiran Jones. It's kind of cute, but truth be told, also kind of pathetic."

"You all know?" asked Leigh. She had turned freakishly red, and Ashton let the satisfaction of it sink in for a moment.

"Oh honey, I'm sure the whole school knows. You make it pretty obvious. Anyway, as I said, you should probably move on. He's definitely not interested in you. He's actually got his eyes on someone else right now." It was fun watching another girl melt into a puddle of sadness. It always filled Ashton with a warm, wonderful feeling, and she would try to achieve that feeling as much as possible.

"Who?" Leigh asked in the smallest of small voices.

"Your friend Carter. You must've heard what happened at Elena's party. I don't know what Carter told you, but they didn't just stand around in that closet. We should be happy for her, right? He seems like such a great guy."

Leigh looked devastated, like her whole world had suddenly shattered.

"Don't be upset. I'm sure Carter had her reasons for not telling you. Plus, look on the bright side, now you can look for someone better. I hear her and Aiden are having some problems... maybe you can get in there and win him over." Ashton had made that last part up, but if by some chance it placed a destructive idea in Leigh's small mind, it would be worth it.

Leigh's eyes suggested that she was in thought. She then hugged a few books to her chest and, without bothering to respond, walked away with her head hanging low, like a poor little girl lost in a big person's world.

Ashton had done the damage she had set out to do.

***

For the past hour, Carter had been trying to reach Leigh, to no avail. She hadn't managed to track her down in school, and for some strange reason, Leigh wasn't picking up her calls. There was no other time in the history of their friendship that such a thing had happened, and Carter was beginning to worry.

She paced her house, wandered into various rooms without actually having a reason to go in them, completely aimless and irritated. Her parents had decided to take a mental health day, whatever that was, and had both skipped work to spend the day at a hotel spa. Carter didn't even want to imagine what they were doing there.

When the doorbell rang, she had hoped it would be Leigh.

Maybe Leigh wasn't so keen on her becoming popular anymore. Maybe they could both drop it and move on, pretend like it never happened and go back to how things used to be. Carter missed that, when all they had to worry about was school work, what show they would marathon that night, and what sort of trip they would take during their vacations. It seemed like forever ago.

Carter looked through the peep hole of the front door, and a great deal of tension grew in her heart. What, is he stalking me now? I'll pretend I'm not home. Maybe he'll go away. No such luck, because he kept on ringing that doorbell, like a relentless five-year-old.

"Damn it," Carter hissed before finally opening the door.

Kiran stood there, as handsome and as mysterious as ever. She wished she could strangle him, make him less attractive and less of a wickedly awesome puzzle.

"Are you gonna invite me in or what?"

"Why are you here, Kiran?"

"Did you forget we had project?"

"That's due in three weeks. We don't have to start right this second." Please go away. Please go away. Carter didn't need this right now. What she needed was Leigh, and maybe a bowl of ice cream.

"Fine. Whatever. Can I at least come in and talk to you?"

Was it horrible that she couldn't trust herself with him? How weak and pathetic. How lame and predictable. She had turned into one of those helpless, love-struck girls who couldn't control their emotions, and it was gnawing at her insides like a swarm of demented cupids. "No, you can't. I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

Taking out the garbage. Washing dishes. Washing her hair. Picking the wax out of her ears. Anything, really, that would give her an excuse to slam the door in his face. "Stuff. It's really none of your business."

"Look, Carter, let me in. It'll only take a second. Then you can get back to your stuff."

Was he going to confess his undying love for her, or admit to her that it was all a mistake and that they should go back to being the kind of friends they used to be? There was also every chance that he was there to get her opinion on the latest episode of their favourite television show. She stepped aside in defeat and let him walk through.

He used to be very touchy-feeling with her. He would hug her or put an arm around her, or poke her sides to make her jump, but now he walked like a man who was afraid he would break her. Silent and slow and calculated, and Carter was thankful.

"Do you want something to eat?" Carter asked as she headed to the kitchen. All that pacing and worrying had made her a little hungry.

"Nah, I'm good," said Kiran as he put his backpack down on the floor and followed her.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Carter attempted to keep her tone as aloof as possible. She was busy pulling out ingredients for the sandwich she wanted to make, so the good thing was that for the next couple of minutes, there would be no direct eye-contact.

"I was wrong, okay? I shouldn't've judged you for trying to become popular. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, whatever."

"So are we good then? Can we just... go back? Be friends again?"

Before Carter could stop herself, give herself a moment to consider the consequences, or think of ways to express herself in a more articulate manner, she started on him in a bad way. "Friends? So you always pay some guy a hundred bucks to have a go at your friends?"

"Who told you that?"

"Does it matter? It did happen, right? You did pay someone during that stupid game, right?"

"Yeah, I did-"

"And you really expect me to be your friend again after that?" She kept putting an emphasis on the word 'friend', like it was a separate entity, like its definition was no longer what it used to be. "You know, I'm trying to remember a time when I wasn't always on the verge of knocking you out."

"You weren't supposed to find out-"

"Well I did. Remember, I'm Miss Popular. Everyone tells me everything."

"Everything? Has anyone told you how self-involved you've become?"

Carter crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "So your minute was actually up about ten minutes ago. Is there anything else you wanna add before I kick you out?"

"I'm just sorry. About everything..."

"Everything?"

"Yeah, everything, like paying Echolls so I can have a chance with you... kissing you... finding it so damn hard to be around you without grabbing you and kissing you again... hating that idiot Aiden for being with you..."

It was happening again. Carter's surroundings were hazy and still, like time had stopped, like they were suspended in a moment against reason. It was crazy how only a month ago, the relationship between them was completely different. Why did this happen? Why couldn't she force her feelings to return to their original state?

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Kiran asked.

"I'm trying to think, okay? I've known you for years, and not once, not once, did you ever tell me that you liked me. Now when I'm dating the most popular guy in school, all of a sudden you want to be with me? Or is this a game for you? I don't even know if you're being serious or-"

"So that's it then? You think I'm playing a game?" Kiran sounded irritated.

"Could you... stop talking for a second and let me process this?"

This was where it had all started. This kitchen. Right by this island in the middle. This was where Carter had made that comment about how there might be someone, somewhere who would find Kiran attractive. That was when things between them had been sucked into a vortex of emotional turmoil. Why couldn't there be a button she could push, one that would let her rewind it all and start over. Or at least fast-forward through all of this and stop at a point that she found less exhausting.

When Kiran's hand reached up and softly moved a strand of her hair away from her cheek, she knew that if she didn't ask him to leave at that moment, she would lose the bit of power she had managed to gather. Why did he keep touching her face like that?

"You need to go," she said, almost whispering.

He said nothing. He let his hand drop and he leaned against the ledge of the kitchen island. He kept on looking at her with those brown eyes of eyes of his, like he was searching her face for an explanation of some sort.

Instead of telling him to leave again, pushing him out, screaming at him for being so impossible, Carter stayed quiet. She stood next to him, her arm grazing his, her fingers slightly on top of his. She bit her lower lip and tried to gain some control, of her heart, of her mind, but it was useless.

When he moved closer, she stood still. She let him place his hand on her lower cheek, his thumb tracing her jaw. She let his lips rest on hers. She kissed him back, and it was like kissing a bit of paradise, like someone had lit a fire in her heart.

When he moved away, she inched back quickly and hoped the frenzy she felt wasn't visible on her face.

"Do you still want me to go?" he asked.

Carter shrugged and looked away. The truth was she wanted him to stay there. To kiss her again. To be with her and to make the rest of the world disappear. But where would that leave her friendship with Leigh? What would happen to her plan? To Aiden? So much would go wrong if she allowed herself to give into him, and the logical, reasonable part of her knew she couldn't continue.

Kiran stepped around and stood right in front of her. He put his hands on her waist and lessened the space between them.

She did nothing to stop him.

When he kissed her again, it was with much more force than before, and it sent her heart racing at a thousand miles per minute. This was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. It was supposed to make her think she was floating, like the world was miles below and if they stopped kissing, she would fall.