"Once again," Candy encouraged and I glared at him.

"How many times do we have to go through this? My voice is going to go sore if we keep on doing it!" I complained.

"Okay one last time. I want you to be perfect on stage the day after."

I groaned but positioned my guitar back on my lap before strumming it.

Yesterday, after the movie session, I had received a message from school saying that I had qualified for the next round.

To say that my nerves were in a frenzy would be an understatement.

And I committed a grave mistake of telling Candy that. Since last night he's been thrusting my guitar into my hands and making me sing the songs again and again.

Even now, he woke me up two hours before the school is supposed to start.

For a moment it might even look like he's the one who is supposed to compete. He keeps biting his nails when I strum the guitar.

Like dude!

Like always we were supposed to have a theme for the songs and this time, the challenge was a bit tricky.

We were supposed to collaborate with another participant of the hunt of another category.

We could not take a non-participant or any disqualified one.

It could be any participant but the thing was that you needed to harmonise the whole act.

I couldn't just pick an art student and ask her to paint on stage.

"So have you asked Sam if she hasn't been offered a collaboration with anyone else?"

"I hope not. She's my safest option right now," I admitted.

"I don't think she's going to agree to do a collaboration with anyone else. Especially if she knows that you need her," Candy smiled and my insides turned into a mush.

I smiled back but it soon dropped when he muttered those cursed words.

"Now sing it from the top," he ordered.

I groaned.

*****

"You stupid ass! If I get late now, I'll make sure that you don't live to see another day!" I hissed at my best friend who was busy strolling leisurely beside me as I speed-walked.

"Nah! You won't do that. You love me too much for that," he answered nonchalantly.

I don't know why but his words had a different effect on me. It was a normal thing to say it to your best friend so why did I feel so weird hearing those words?

I shook my head. Maybe I need to get a boyfriend. Wait-what?

As much as I had enjoyed being single, I did want a person to be able to do all that cuddly-mushy stuff with.

I really wanted to see what a date would feel like.

Oh god! I really shouldn't have surfed tumblr last night.

"Hey I'll meet you at lunch. Coach just called in an emergency meeting," Candy said, frowning at his phone as he read his text.

I nodded. But a thought came to mind. I was about to speak when I noticed that he'd already gone.

I sighed.

"Oh well I-," I was cut off when I clashed into someone.

"I'm so sorry," I apologised but froze for a second when I saw who it was.

Shelley.

I expected her to start yelling and calling me names. I expected her to start a cat fight in the nearly empty hallway.

But even in my oh-so lovely imaginary world I didn't expect her to glare at me and walk off with a small smirk.

Okay, the glare was expected. But just walking off without a single word?

Talk about creepy.

I stood there blankly staring at my locker and replayed what happened.

She didn't say anything.

Either she had gone all rainbows and sunshine and decided to reside in the land of peace-keeping unicorns with sugar puking rivers.

Or this was just the calm before the storm.

And I think we all know which was more probable.

****

I was freaking out.

Shelly had done nothing at all. Even when I accidentally pushed her, causing her to collide into the wall, breaking her nail.

She broke her nail and she didn't say anything but give the same reaction as in the morning.

And her silence was scaring me shitless.

"Hey."

I looked up startled, to see Sam standing there with a smile.

I was right now in the library, where I could sit peacefully without being too paranoid about how Shelly was going prank me any moment.

Today is been on my toes every minute, waiting for something to happen but until now, nothing had happened.

"Hey," I greeted back, a bit squeakily.

Sam shot me a confused look but sat down beside me anyway.

"So how's it coming?" She asked and I shot her a confused look.

"How's what coming?"

"Your song doofus. Everything going well?"

"Kind of. Which reminds me, will you collaborate with me for the competition?" I asked her, with a hopeful expression on my face.

She rolled her eyes in response. "I thought you'd never ask."

I grinned and tackled her into a big hug. "I love you!"

"Those words belong to someone else," she muttered lowly but I heard her.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. Love you too," she replied.

I narrowed my eyes at her but let it go.

"By the way, I was thinking that you need a boyfriend," she spoke as if she was telling me about the weather.

I nearly choked on my breath. "What?!"

And I didn't only choke because of the randomness of it. I did it because even I had almost the same thoughts.

"Yeah," she chirped and mumbled something again.

I had to strain my ears to catch a bit of it. It sounded something like 'clearly it will give someone the push'

Push? What kind of a push?

"Nothing. Why don't you tell me more about that Nick guy? Is he single?" She asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her. After the movie time, I'd talked to Sam on the phone and talked about all of Candy's friends. I might've gushed a bit about Nick.

"Yeah he is. Why do you ask?"

"Why don't you guys go out for a date or something?" She suggested and I looked at her as if she'd grown two heads.

"Did you hit your head?" I asked, examining her head for a bruise.

"Come on! Don't you want to experience a date?"

She hit the right spot.

I did want to go on a date and enjoy the experience. If never had the chance because of the freakish division of the nerds and the populars.

Now that the lines of the division were blurring, I could feel myself wanting to enjoy the feeling of having dates and stuff.

"Yeah I kinda do," I admitted to which Sam almost squealed.

"Great."

But something crossed my mind and I frowned. "But how is Nick even going to ask me out? Or any other guy for that matter?"

She smirked. "Leave that to me."

Somehow that smirk got me equally excited and scared.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Don't worry. Let's just get to class!"

****

I groaned. "I can't take it anymore. I think I'm going to die!"

A chuckle from behind me, made my mind go all alert.

I glanced back to see Nick looking at me with amusement dancing in his eyes.

How had I not noticed him before?

I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks and I quickly looked ahead, embarrassed.

Why did I have to embarrass myself in front of cute guys?

To distract myself from embarrassing myself any further, I ducked my head down and slowly swept my eyes across the room, trying to spot my favourite face.

A chuckle escaped my mouth as I noticed Candy snoring softly with his mouth slightly agape.

The coach literally had the boys practice harder today in the first few periods.

I know because I saw it live.

And to say that Candy's abs are becoming more defined would be an understatement.

Uh-

"You know, our cuddle session is still pending," I heard a whisper and a gust of cool breath at the nape of my neck.

My back stiffened and I could feel my cheeks go warm again.

"I-uh well, um sure," was my lame response to which I received another chuckle.

Yeah, there is no way in hell he'd asking me out now.

The bell rung and I immediately got up. I was about to go to Candy when an arm stopped me.

I looked up to see Nick blocking my path.

I looked at him expectantly, trying to give my best stoic expression but I'm sure that it was an epic fail.

"Allie, I kind of wanted to ask you something," he said, rubbing his neck.

My curiosity piqued at this.

There had been only a gap of two periods since my chat with Sam.

I don't think she had the power to make him ask me out in such a short period of time.

But boy was I wrong?

"Would you like to go out with me this Friday?" He asked and I gaped at him.

I really hope Sam didn't threaten him to ask me out or something.

Or maybe I just heard wrong. He wasn't asking me out. My ears were going all tumblr on my right now.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"S-Sure, I guess," I answered and he grinned.

"Great! We'll go right after your competition, if that's okay," he suggested and I dumbly nodded because it was a bit too much to comprehend.

Me. On a date. A proper date. With Nick.

Is this really happening?

"Okay then. See you later, kitten!" He smiled.

At that I zapped out of my trance. "Kitten?"

He grinned. "My nickname for you."

I laughed. "I'll find one for you too."

"Sure. See you on Friday," he winked and left.

Somehow, his wink didn't have as much of an effect on me as....

Shut up. You're going on a date with Nick.

Nick, the ultimate cute guy with brown hair and awesome personality. The big with cute dimples and brown eyes and who never fails to make me smile and has perfect abs and calls me his Muf-

Brown eyes? Perfect abs? Calls me his-

Nick has green eyes and I haven't seen him shirtless so-

Oh my god.

I'm in deep shit.

Aren't I?

*****