Walking into school on Monday was the strangest thing. It felt like I had stepped into a time machine or something.

Everyone was looking at me, but not the same way they had been looking at me ever since Blake got popular and I became an outcast. They were looking at me just like they had before Blake and I had even gotten together. Back when I was popular.

When a underclassman ran up to me with her friends behind her, I didn't know what I was supposed to expect. I almost expected her to stomp on my foot or spit in my face or something. But she didn't do anything like that.

"Hi, Leah," the girl smiled at me. "I love your shirt! Where'd you get it?"

I only stared at the girl for a moment. I didn't know who she was, but I recognized her as one of the many people who would whisper about me behind my back. Why was she talking to me now? Complimenting me, even? Was this a joke?

"Um, I can't remember," I answered honestly. "It was a gift from my sister a couple years ago. She told me where she got it but I can't remember where exactly."

"That's fine!" she assured me with a grin now. "I also really like what you did with your hair today."

This was a joke. It had to be. No one gave this many compliments in one conversation unless they were planning something awful.

"By the way, you did amazing in the show," she finally said, and now it all made sense. "I didn't know you could perform so well!"

I didn't know what I was supposed to say to this girl, so I only thanked her. I wasn't used to getting compliments anymore, so I felt very awkward. Luckily, after this compliment, she finally left with her friends and I was alone once again.

But that didn't last very long. As I continued to walk to my first period, people would stop me and tell me how great I had done in the show. Girls would then compliment me on my hair or my makeup. I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

Had I somehow gone back in time? Was I a junior again? I sure hoped not. I didn't think I'd be able to go through everything all over again.

I almost expected Sean to come out of nowhere and hit on me. I thought Cassie would come around the corner and order that I date him. I expected Derrick to act like a complete slime ball, Leslie to like him from afar, Thomas to say something rude to me, Mona to not even go here, and Blake to wear his headphones to block out the voices.

But I knew those things were not going to happen. It wasn't possible.

I already knew first period was going to be awkward. Christian sat right by me, and I was sure he knew something was up. I just hoped he wouldn't make me explain everything to him in the middle of class.

Throughout all of first period, I didn't say a single word to him. He knew that something was wrong, so he didn't even try to talk to me. I just hoped he was willing to listen to what I had to say whenever I did decide to talk to him.

Once class was finally over, I decided that it was the best time. It would be the easiest to do it then, because I would have chickened out if I waited any longer. After Jaz said goodbye to us, Christian and I made our way in the opposite direction. We didn't have the same second period, but they were close to each other.

I stopped walking about halfway there, knowing I was going to have to do it now or else I'd never do it. "Christian..." I started, not wanting to say it. "We need to talk."

Now Christian stopped and turned toward me. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Why did I know that something like this was coming?"

I felt horrible. I was the worst person ever for doing this to him. He obviously liked me so much, but I... I just didn't. As great of a guy he was, I just didn't feel the same way. And I had been trying so hard to for so long, but it just didn't work out.

"I just..." I started, but then stopped myself. I actually had no idea what I was supposed to say to him. "I mean, I think that... You know... You and I... We... Us... I just..."

My tongue felt numb. My throat hurt. Was there any way I could get through this without talking?

"You want to break up, right?" Christian finally guessed correctly.

Maybe I could do this without talking.

I nodded and stared down at the floor. "Mm-hmm."

I couldn't look at him. I was afraid to look up at him and see the look on his face, because I knew this must have been hurting him. And honestly, that really hurt me as well, but I had no right to be feeling that way right then.

"Can I ask why?" he questioned now. "You don't have to tell me, if you really don't want to."

I gulped. "Um..." was all I was able to say at first. Christian deserved the truth, but I just couldn't say it. I felt like that would only hurt him even more.

"It has something to do with Blake, right?" he guessed, and I knew my face gave away the answer to that question. "Huh. I guess I shouldn't really be that surprised."

I was a horrible person. He had every right to yell at me or swear at me. If I was him, I would hate me forever. I couldn't even imagine how he must have been feeling. I hadn't ever had anyone break up with me before... Though I did know how painful it was to part from someone.

But surprisingly, he didn't look angry. He did look upset, but he managed to smile at me anyway and say, "Can we still be friends?"

I was only able to nod in shock. I was happy, but that didn't mean I was expecting him to ask me this. But I was so grateful that I felt like hugging him, but stopped myself from doing so. It was going to be a while before we got close enough for that again.

We finally parted ways to go to our second periods, and I felt a large weight lifted off my shoulders. As hard as that was, it was still a hell of a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

Later that day, when the bell rang for lunch, I was actually happy about it. Usually, I dreaded lunch because all I would ever do was sit there and listen to my friends gossip and complain. But now that Blake was going to be sitting with us again, and Christian and I were still friends, everything was good again.

"Leah!" a new voice screeched from behind me as I made my way down the hall, and I expected it to be one of the many random people that had been talking to me that day. But when I turned around, I saw that it was only Jane. "Did you see? Did you see it?"

I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. "What?"

She grinned, grabbing onto my hand and yanking me down the hall. I nearly tripped, but this didn't stop her from continuing to pull me through the big groups of people in the hallway.

"Look at this!" she told me when we finally came to a stop in front of the school's bulletin board. "They just posted the names of the nominees for homecoming king and queen! Look who's on the list!"

There were ten names on the list, five boys and five girls. My name was on it, right underneath Cassie's. And then when I looked over at the boys, I was surprised to see that Blake and Derrick were both on there as well.

"Isn't this so cool?" Jane squealed, much more excited than I was. "You've been nominated for prom queen!"

I remember when Sean's name had been on this list the year before. He was so proud of himself and excited, while I could have cared less. I never would have thought my name would be on this list, and I honestly didn't really care if it was or not. But now... it was actually kind of cool.

Jane and I now made our way out of the school and toward our usual lunch table outside. Before we could get there, however, we were stopped by someone I really didn't want to have to deal with right then.

"I need to talk to you," Mona informed me, and then turned toward Jane and smiled sweetly. "Could you excuse us for a minute please, Jane?"

I gave Jane a look, but she only nodded and continued on her way toward our table. I bit the inside of my lip. Did she really have to leave me here alone with her?

"I'm sorry, Mona, but I'm busy," I lied before she could even say anything, walking right by her and toward my table. But she wasn't going to give up that easily.

"I'd just like you to know that I'm not going to stay away from Blake," she called out, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.

I finally turned toward her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Her arms were crossed over her chest and her hip cocked out. This was a Mona I hadn't seen before. "I know you broke up with Christian for Blake. I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to give up on Blake. I'm not going to let you have him back."

"Mona, are you aware that Blake is a person, not a thing?" I couldn't help but ask her. "He doesn't belong to you, and he doesn't belong to me. He's his own person and he can choose who he wants to be with."

Honestly, I was only saying that because I knew he really wanted to be with me and not her. But Mona didn't have to know this.

And she wasn't about to go down without a fight. "We're already going to prom together," she snidely informed me.

I blinked at her. "What?"

"You heard what I said," she snapped, her arms crossed over her chest. "He agreed to go with me last month ago."

Last month, when we were broken up and still fighting with each other. When I was with Christian, and neither of us thought we would ever get back together. That was completely understandable, and I didn't even care very much.

Not being angry and jealous of her felt great. I had let my hatred for her take over my life, but I wasn't going to let her affect me like that anymore. If she was going to go to the prom with Blake, then she could have. I didn't even want to go that much anyway.

But then I remembered that I had to go. Not only would Cassie force me, but I had been nominated for prom queen.

"Okay," I finally nodded, turning toward my lunch table. "Well, I hope you have fun with him!"

This was not the kind of response she was expecting, and it angered her greatly. I couldn't help but smile. I was glad that she was the one that was angry this time and not me.

She raced over to my table before I could get there. Blake was there, and I knew that was exactly who she was running for. I still chose to take my time, because she still wasn't bothering me.

I knew how Blake felt. Even after being broken up for so long, he still wanted me and not Mona. I didn't have to worry about her any longer.

Having Blake sit at our table again was a little weird, but I liked it. It really was his table, considering he used to sit there all by himself before we had become friends. But he hadn't had any problems leaving it after we had broken up.

"Hi, Blake," Mona smiled, sitting down right beside him and wrapping her arms around his.

He gave her a look. "Uh..."

Mona was trying to make a statement. That much was obvious. But I wasn't going to let her presence bother me, because I knew she wasn't a threat. Blake loved me, not her. She could think she was going to win him over as much as she wanted, because that was never ever going to happen.

Blake looked like he had no idea what was going on. He didn't know why Mona was sitting at our table, and he had no idea why I didn't have a problem with it. So he didn't even say anything as she continued to cling onto him like the needy girl she was.

I calmly took a seat and turned toward Christian. "Hi," I greeted.

He smiled at me. "Hi."

Blake looked from me, and then to Christian. I could tell he was wondering if I had broken up with him yet or not. It must have not seemed like I had, because he didn't look very happy.

"So, Blake," Mona started, sounding extra sugary and sweet just to rub it in my face. "About prom—"

"Yes, about prom," I interrupted, aiming this toward all my friends around the table. "Did you guys see the list of the nominees for prom king and queen? Blake, Derrick, Cassie, and I were on it!"

Mona looked outraged, but I couldn't tell if she was angry because I had taken the attention off her or because I had made it onto the list and she hadn't.

I then realized that Cassie wasn't at the table with us, but I didn't think much about it then. She was probably making up work for a class or something.

I looked over at Derrick, who shrugged, as if it was no big deal to him. "It's alright."

Blake had the same reaction. "It's pretty cool."

I had to wait for Cassie to get here. She'd have the same reaction that I had, I knew. She was probably even more excited than I was, considering she was Cassie and this was prom. I knew the boys were going to act cool and say that it wasn't that big of a deal.

I wasn't so sure about me, but I knew either Derrick or Blake was going to win. They were the two most popular boys in school. I had somehow just regained my popularity back, and I guess it was because of the show. That still didn't make any sense to me.

When I saw Cassie making her way over to our table, I was immediately going to greet her by asking her if she had seen the list of names. But then I noticed she didn't look very happy.

She let out a sigh as she plopped down in the seat next to me. "So Sean and I broke up," she announced right away.

I nearly choked on nothing. "What?"

"Yeah." She shrugged, as if this was no big deal. "I'm not really bothered by it. I saw it coming by a long-shot."

Well, I definitely didn't! I had been so worried about Christian and Blake lately that I didn't even pay attention to my own best friend and her love life. I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Well, you're not the only couple that broke up," Christian now informed her, and I braced myself for the impact of his words. "Leah and I broke up today, too."

Cassie nearly fell out of her seat. Mona looked furious. And Blake... Blake merely smiled to himself, and no one else seemed to notice it.

"Why?" Cassie squawked, and she was about to grab my shoulders and shake me, but I swatted her away from me. "You and Christian were perfect for each other! Why would you break up with him?"

"I... I just..." Honestly, I had no idea how I was supposed to answer. I had told Christian the real reason, but I didn't want anyone else to know. At least, I didn't want them to know yet. Derrick, Thomas, and Blake were the only other people at our table that actually knew the real reason. "We were just... I just..."

"It just wasn't working out," Christian shrugged now. "I didn't think we were that right for each other, that's all. But we've decided to still stay friends."

I couldn't help but smile at him for saving me, and he smiled right back at me. It was weird, but I'd rather have people think he broke up with me than everyone know that I actually broke up with him. It just made everything so much easier.

"Christian and Leah broke up, Derrick and Leslie are back together," Cassie sighed, and I guessed she didn't know that they weren't back together just yet. "And then Sean and I broke up, too. Ugh, this sucks."

Derrick blinked at her. "Uh..."

"Except for you two getting back together, obviously," she waved away, not even in the mood to deal with him. Her breakup was really bothering her but she was refusing to show it. "That's just freaking fantastic."

"Cassie..." was all I was able to say before she cut me off.

"I'm going to go get food," she muttered, pushing herself up from her seat and starting off before anyone could stop her. Without even thinking twice about it, I got up and followed right after her. None of our friends tried to stop me.

We stopped in the long lunch line, but Cassie wouldn't look at me. She just continued to look ahead and pretend that I wasn't even there.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I had to ask.

She still didn't look at me. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Maybe because you just broke up with your boyfriend that you've been dating for almost a year?"

"I told you it didn't bother me."

"Yeah, like I'm going to believe that." I grabbed onto her arm and stopped her from moving any farther up the line. The people behind us did not like this, but I didn't care. "I know how you and Sean felt about each other. And maybe you guys started dating out of spite because of me, but I know you both grew to care about each other. Maybe even love each other. I mean, it was almost a year."

"Well, obviously that wasn't very true, was it?" she snapped, yanking her arm from my grasp. "He never cared about me. It's always been about you, Leah. It still is. I wasn't going to waste my time and wait for him to love me back. I wasn't going to be second best anymore."

I couldn't believe this. I rarely even saw Sean that often anymore, so why would he still be in love with me, or even like me at all? He knew I didn't feel the same way about him.

"That's ridiculous," was all I was able to say.

She shook her head and continued in the line. "Well, it's the truth."

We were now at the front of the line and she pointed to whatever she wanted angrily. If she was trying to prove to me that this wasn't bothering her, she wasn't succeeding.

"There's always another girl on his mind, and I could tell," Cassie informed me now, grabbing the cheeseburger the lunch lady offered her. This just proved to me even more that she was upset, because she rarely ever ate such fatty foods. "And that girl was you. I'm not an idiot, Leah."

There was nothing I could possibly say to her. I didn't know if what she was saying was really true or not, so it wasn't like I could continue to deny it. I was going to have to talk to Sean myself to get this straightened out.

"Honestly, it doesn't bother me as much as it did when I first realized that our relationship wasn't going anywhere," she told me, but I still wasn't sure if I believed her or not. I knew Cassie was a strong girl, but was she this strong? "I've had time to accept it. But that doesn't mean I still can't be a little bitter."

She took a big bite out of her burger before we even got back to our table. Yep, she was definitely bitter, and I was definitely going to have to talk to Sean about this. I wasn't going to let Cassie continue hurting when she didn't even know how he felt for sure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone should go read my story Defenders! It's my other Watty Awards entry! :)

Six chapters left!

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN!