Dani ignored me during English class. We both knew that we were supposed to work on our slam poetry assignment, and we did a little, and sadly, there was tension. It made me feel insecure, to be honest.

Not only did she blurted out her secret to me, but she was also pissed. She was irritated. I would watch her erase something on her paper, a deep frown on her face, and a sigh that made me feel somewhat guilty. I felt so bad.

It's my fault. She probably didn't want me to know about her, and she end up telling me anyways. Accidentally. By accidentally, I mean by her outrage because I was being a prejudging prick.

She crumpled the paper up and pulled a loose-leaf from her binder.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked softly, staring at the crumpled paper.

Dani looked up, and slightly glared at me. She shook her head and took the crumpled paper to protect it, as if I was going to steal it. I inwardly groaned. How long would this go on? I mean, sure I messed up, but the fact that Dani's being ignorant towards me kind of hurts.

Our desks were right beside each other, but we were quietly working individually. I couldn't take it anymore and so I turned, facing her.

"We're partners." I told her. "We're supposed to work together."

Dani paused, looked up, and gave me a side glance. Still, she continued on working like I said nothing at all.

"Cooperate, please." I blurted out stupidly.

Ignore.

"Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker." I said again.

Ignore.

"Harry and Ron."

Ignore.

"Dani." I called out again, biting my lip because I'm starting to feel anxious. "Come on, talk to me."

"I just hate how stupid you are sometimes." She finally said, turning her head and giving me a pointed look. "Not to mention, I'm stupid too."

"I don't think you're stupid." I whispered, and laying my head on my folded arms on the desk. I peeked behind my dark hair, afraid that she might yell at me again.

"Out of all people, it gotta be you." She said, scoffing. I stared at her in confusion, unsure of what she meant. "You probably think I'm gross now, right?" I narrowed my eyes, and sat up. I knew that I needed to say something. I wanted to say something to make things better, but my mouth was completely shut. Dani chuckled without humour and shook her head in disbelief. She murmurred, figures, and I've never felt out of place my whole life.

Dani's right. I am stupid. I'm also a coward. Everytime I need to make a decision, my mind would go blank, and I'd end up messing everything up even more. It's fucking ironic because all I wanted was to fix things. But I guess fixing things will be one of my weaknesses from now on. I've realized that sometimes, I, Maverick Bridge, cannot fix everything.

The bell rang, and class ended. Dani pushed her desk away from mine to its original place, and left without a word.

Biology class was annoying. James tried to talk to me again, and I responded mostly with a glare. I cannot deal with his shit right now, I have other things to worry about. Gina asked what was wrong. I lied, and responded with,

"I'm just nervous about the listings for the girls' basketball team later."

"Are you being sarcastic or...?" Gina trailed off, looking at me oddly. I shrugged, because I was too lazy to respond. Or more like, I do not want to talk to anyone at the moment.

"I'm sure you made the team." James said, winking at me. "I'll make sure to go to every game to watch you."

"Please, don't." I told him.

"Why not?"

"Because saying, I'll make sure to go to every game to watch you, is so wrong, in so many levels." Gina responded for me. "Do us a favour and just leave Maverick alone, man."

James did not respond.

Chemistry class came, and I saw Dani again. She was in the classroom before me, and I attempted to wave a hello to her and she just nodded.

"Is this still happening?" I asked, sighing as I sat beside her.

"I don't know, is it?" She asked, an annoyed look on her face.

"This silent treatment you're giving me is getting ridiculous." I told her.

"The fact that you think I'm gross, is ridiculous."

"Dani, I don't think you're gross." I said, now pushing my desk beside her, just like in English class earlier. "I really don't. I'm just surprised, that's all."

"That's what they always say." Muttered Dani, but I heard her anyway.

"I don't get you." I complained, as I opened up my binder, and flipped the pages to my Chemistry notes.

"Nothing. Nevermind." She said. "It's not like I have to explain everything to you, right?"

"Okay, hold on. Don't use that tone on me." I warned her, crossing my arms across my chest.

"You're judging me anyways, so why the hell not?" Dani replied sassily.

"Because I'm not judging you!" I hissed lowly, feeling very angry at her. "How dare you think of me that way!"

Dani seemed surprised. I was mad. I was beyond exhausted. Having to think about this whole argument is exhausting, and makes me want to cry because I can't handle the stress. One minute, you're getting along, the next- you're not.

Making new friends is so stressful.

"I'm sorry, okay?" I continued, now playing with my pencil and scratching off the eraser on its end. "There, you made me say it. I don't really like apologizing, because I'm used to being right all the time."

"That's... Sad." Dani said, an indredulous look on her face.

"I know." I agreed, nodding my head and letting it fall on my desk again. My chin on my binder as I work on our pre-lab. "I'm sorry."

"So I'm not gross to you?"

"You're the opposite of gross." I responded truthfully, my chin still resting on my binder. "You smell like strawberries, which I like. You're really nice, and funny. Not to mention, you're smart ay eff, and you're super pretty."

Dani can't help but smile.

"No homo." I added.

"Oh shut up." Dani said, laughing now.

"I promise not to do, or say anything stupid from now on."

"Saying no homo was kind of stupid." Dani said, raising an eyebrow at me. I was thinking that I ruined my friendship with her earlier, but here I am now, blushing stupidly because I'm not sure if she's just being playful, or if she's flirting with me.

"And hey, I think you're super pretty too." Dani said, grinning at me smugly.

I could not handle this. My face could not handle this, and I'm pretty sure that it's beet red right now. It's just a compliment. Why can't I take a damn compliment?

"Thanks." I muttered.

"And I'm not saying no homo, because I really think you're pretty." Dani continued.

"Stop calling me pretty." I snapped.

"What the fuck."

Dani looked at me like I was crazy, but I shook my head at her in panic, and flinging my arms around as if all of it was a mistake.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just didn't really know how to take a compliment..." I said, laughing a little.

"Compliment them back." Dani said.

"Isn't that... uh, flirting?"

Dani burst out laughing, and patted my back. I felt so embarassed, my hands were shaking.

"I guess it depends on the situation." She said, smiling at me, and finally opening up her book.

I didn't want to say anything more because I was afraid that I might say something risky, or stupid. I didn't want to fell embarrassed again, because my stupid face would make it obvious that I felt something whenever she compliments me.

Hold on. What?

"Hey Mave, would this reaction be endothermic? Or exothermic?" Dani asked me, as she extended her paper towards me. I looked at the paper, and said nothing. Dani thought that I couldn't see, so she stood up and went up to my desk, leaning and placing the paper infront of me.

Her closeness made me nervous. I couldn't explain it, and I didn't understand because there shouldn't be a reason for me to be shy around her. Clearing my throat, I took her paper, looked at it, and said,

"Endo means, into. Exo means, out of- like exit. Um, so if you see here..." I pointed at the added heat to the formula. "Since heat was added, then it's endothermic." When I looked up, Dani wasn't even looking at the paper. She was staring a me, and she seemed to snap out of it and placed a grin on her face.

"Oh! Thanks!" She said, nodding her head.

"No problem." I said. "Do you want to wok together on the assignment?" I suggested.

Dani nodded and pushed her desk closer to mine. And for a moment, I knew that we're good. Problems aside, and I'm glad that it turned out this way. I preferred getting along than getting the silent treatment from her.

Dani can be terrifying sometimes, and I guess I understand that because, well, I'm not a perfect person. I make stupid mistakes too, and I couldn't do anything about it unless someone calls me out on it. God, I'm so immature.

I have so much to learn in life.

I wish it could be read and reviewed from a textbook, and you answer life by paper like a quiz. I guarantee you, my life would be perfect. A-plus grade. A hundred percent. But then again,

Life is tougher than you think it is. It's a challenge that each and everyone of us should face, and recently, I'm having troubles with facing it on my own.

I'm afraid that I might end up being alone.

***

A/N:

This was really short, and I'm sorry for that.

Um. Speaking about life, let's talk about me for a sec. I'm moving out right after graduation, and live in Saskatoon, and study college there. I'm living there alone. No parents. No siblings. Just me and life.

I'm scared shitless and I'm also excited because it's a new step for me. Jk. My friends will move to Saskatoon too, but we're not living together. BUT STILL. THIS IS ME "ADULTING". OMFG.

Unedited.