One

            “Listen Heidi,” Brent said, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving me a fake sympathetic look. “It’s not me, it’s you. Whenever my friends are around, you just sit there; you don’t even talk to anyone. You make me look bad, especially with the way you follow me around like a lost puppy.”

            I felt my jaw drop in astonishment, that my boyfriend would say something so rude to me. “I’m only quiet around your friends because they’re all jerks and I want nothing to do with them! And I do not follow you around like a lost puppy! There’s a difference between spending time with someone and following them around,” I snapped, glaring at Brent angrily.

            “Anyways,” Brent said loudly, rolling his eyes. “I’m just saying that whatever I used to see in you is long gone. The only reason I stayed with you for so long is because you’re rich, and you’re hot. But I’m so sick of your crap. Besides, I can find someone way hotter.”

            I felt the emotion drain from my face, as I said, “Wow, Brent. Good for you. You’ve finally hit rock bottom. Congrats. You’re a sad excuse for a human being.” I turned my back on him and started to walk away.

            “Excuse me?” he yelled after me. He caught up with me and grabbed me by the shoulder.

            I spun around and kneed him right between the legs. He fell to the ground instantly, crying out in pain. He curled into a ball, groaning loudly. I stood tall above him and said, “Oh, and thanks for remembering that today’s my birthday. You’re such a sweetie,” then turned and walked away.

            I felt triumphant in my defeat. As I marched home, the anger boiling inside me, I felt strong and in control. But I knew that as soon as I got home, I would run straight upstairs to my room, collapse on my bed and cry for hours.

Brent’s friends had seriously changed him. He was never perfect, but he sure as hell wasn’t as bad as he’d gotten in the past few weeks. He was suddenly so rude and obnoxious. And to dump me on my birthday! I could feel every painful beat of my heart; hear it echoing loud in my ears. My life was falling apart.

            By the time I turned the corner to my street and saw my large, expensive-looking house come into view, I felt completely deflated. The adrenaline that was running through my body earlier from standing up to Brent was gone, and I could feel the pain settle in its place.

            As I climbed the porch steps to my house, I froze. I sensed something was off, and it made me hesitant to open the door.

            I shook my head and told myself I wasn’t thinking clearly, because of how upset I was. I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, stepping into my unusually dark living room.

            “Uh… Mom?” I called out, squinting into the darkness.

            Suddenly, the lights came on, blinding me for a moment. As I rubbed my eyes, I heard a chorus of, “Surprise!”

            I opened my eyes and saw that my living room was full of people, each one wearing the same excited smile. “Oh,” I managed. What wonderful timing.

            My mom ran up to me and gave me a big hug. “Happy birthday, sweetie! I can’t believe you’re already sixteen! My baby is growing up so fast!” She threw her arms in the air as she spoke, a glass of champagne in her hand.

            I forced a smile as everyone watched my mom’s little display. My mom wasn’t actually affectionate, nor did she care that it was my birthday. She probably hadn’t even remembered. I would’ve bet that my older brother Ray had reminded her. I had to figure out why she went through so much trouble to throw me a surprise party.

             “You’re so funny, Mom!” I faked a laugh. “But you know that I’m seventeen today, not sixteen.”

            Her smile faltered for a moment and she laughed nervously. “Honey, of course I knew that! I was just fooling around.” She winked at me, pretending to be playful. I held back the urge to gag.

            The crowd had gone back to mingling, so my mom grabbed me and pulled me aside, whispering fiercely in my ear. “Watch yourself, Heidi. I did this for you. Be thankful and stop being such a brat, okay?”

            I faked a smile and said loudly, “Oh, Mom, I am thankful! Gosh, I just love having a money-driven mother who tends to my every need!” So maybe my sarcasm was a little much, but I was in a very irritable mood.

            “Knock it off, Heidi. I have some very important clients here and I want to make a good impression. Just behave!” she hissed at me, and walked away, disappearing into the crowds of people hovered around the room.

            “So much for doing this for me,” I said to myself, heading for the stairs. “It’s always about work for her. One day, this was the one day that was supposed to be about me! Why is that so hard for her! Why does everything always have to be about her?!” I didn’t care that I was raising my voice as I bounded up the staircase. I didn’t care that people were giving me weird looks because I was talking to myself. It wasn’t like I knew anyone anyways. They were all my mother’s friends, or clients, maybe some distant family. But of course she didn’t bother to invite any of my friends. She didn’t bother to invite anyone that I knew. Because this day wasn’t even about me. It was about her. And her job. Like always.

            I raced to my room and slammed the door behind me. “Happy birthday to me!” I screamed at the closed door.

            “Heidi?” I heard a quiet voice from behind me.

            I slowly turned to see my two best friends, Angela and Dallas, sitting on my bed. I felt the air leave my lungs as I collapsed against the door. I let the tears run.

            Angela said nothing as she got off my bed and plopped down beside me, wrapping her arms around me. Dallas got up and awkwardly stood in front of us as I cried silently, my face buried in Angela’s shoulder.

            “Don’t cry, Heidi,” Dallas said, trying to comfort me. He patted my shoulder then took a step back, shoving his hands into his pockets.

            “What are you guys doing in here anyways?” I asked, my words muffled by Angela’s shirt.

            “My dad is one of your mom’s new clients,” Dallas said, shrugging. “I heard about the party and told Angela. She thought you may need us.”

            “And I was right. Man, do I know my best friend or what?”

            “Excuse me,” I said, looking up at Angela. “Comfort now, gloat later.”

            She tried to suppress a smile as she continued to sooth me by smoothing my hair and gently hushing me.

            Dallas cleared his throat. “So what happened with you and Brent after school? I heard rumors that he was going to dump you.”

            “Dallas!” Angela yelled, scolding. “Why would you bring that up now?”

            “I was just wondering,” he said defensively.

            I looked up at him, tears blurring my vision. “Thanks for reminding me. Yet another reason to hate my life.” I stood up and went into my bathroom. As soon as I closed the door, I could hear Dallas and Angela arguing in hushed tones.

            I ignored them as best I could as I stripped my clothes and ran the bath. I settled into the tub and put a damp washcloth over my eyes, relaxing into the warm water. I didn’t want to think about my mother, or Brent, or anything at all for that matter.  I just wanted to disappear for a while, escape the tragedy that was my life.

            There was a gentle knock at the door.

            “If its Angela, come in,” I said. I heard the door open, but heard nothing else. Just silence.

            I lifted the washcloth off one eye, checking to see what Angela was doing. As soon as I looked, I screamed. Dallas was standing in the bathroom, staring at me with his mouth hanging open. I jumped up to grab the curtain, but slipped and fell out of the tub. I reached out and grabbed Dallas so I wouldn’t fall flat on my face. I ended up landing on him, both of us tumbling to the tile floor.

I. Was. Naked.

            I quickly recovered, pushing myself off of him and grabbing the closest towel, wrapping it around myself. “What the hell, Dallas!”

            “What! I thought you said come in!” he yelled, standing up and wiping himself off.

            “I said to come in if it was Angela! Jeez! You just saw way too much there!”

            “Like I haven’t seen it all before,” he said, smirking.

            “Yeah! When we were five!” I yelled, smacking his arm.

            “Well not much has changed since then. Everything looks the same to me.”

            I opened my mouth, faking offense. “Dallas! You’re so mean! I have totally… developed. You know what, shut up. I don’t want to have this conversation with you.” I pulled my towel tighter around myself and brushed my hair out of my face.

            “I was kidding, Heidi. Don’t worry, you’ve definitely developed,” he said, and I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

            “Um, let’s get off this topic. Like, now. This is just too weird.” I pause, looking around awkwardly. “So what do you want? Why’d you knock on the door?”

            “Oh, right. Angela wanted me to tell you that she had to go home for dinner. She said she’s really sorry because she knows you need her, and she will call you later. Blah, blah, blah.”

            “Does that mean you have to go too?” I asked, absently scratching the back of my hand as I smirked at him.

            “Nope, I’m here until my dad leaves. Could be hours,” Dallas replied, winking playfully.

            I rolled my eyes, pretending to be annoyed. “Greaaat.”

            “So, is there anything you want to tell me?” he probed.

            “Yeah… Get out so I can get dressed,” I said. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him out of the bathroom, closing the door and locking it.

            “I meant about you and Brent!” he yelled through the door.

            I frowned, feeling my mood go downhill again. “Thanks for the reminder… Again,” I mumbled, dropping my towel and slipping into my clothes.

            I opened the door and saw Dallas sitting on my bed, my poetry notebook open in his hands. I took in the sight of his messy black hair, the shape of his face, his easy smile and his light brown eyes. He definitely was not unattractive.

            “Hey,” I said, walking over and sitting down beside him. I wasn’t really sure I wanted him to read some of the poems I’d written. It seemed a little personal.

            He looked up at me, a small smile on his lips. “This was just sitting on your desk. It looked interesting.”

            “Mm-hmmm, and what are you reading?”

            “Your poem called ‘Here on Earth.’ It’s really… Wow. It’s so real. I had no idea you wrote poems, let alone wrote so well. You’re really good, Heidi.” Dallas said, smiling sincerely. It was weird seeing Dallas be serious, since he was usually being either perverted or sarcastic. I was slightly taken aback, though I tried not to let it show.

            “Uh, thanks,” I replied, taking my notebook from him and tucking it under my pillow. I lay down on my bed while Dallas sat at my feet.

            “No problem. But, um…” he hesitated, then said, “Never mind.”

            “Don’t do that. Just tell me.”

            “It’s just that… I really want to know what happened with you and Brent. I’m sorry if I keep bringing it up and making you feel bad, but I’m just worried about you.” Again, I was taken aback by Dallas’s seriousness, and this time his concern.

            “Well, he insulted me, told me that he only stayed with me because I’m rich and hot"his words, not mine"and said that he could find someone better. So basically he dumped me in the worst way possible. Oh, and then I kneed him in the nuts,” I explained, smiling happily to myself.

            “I knew he was going to hurt you like this. I swear, if he even so much as glances your way at school, I’m going to… Well I don’t know yet, but it will hurt. You know, Heidi, I hate to say it but"”

            “Dallas, please don’t get into this whole ‘I told you so’ thing. I can’t deal with it right now,” I begged, closing my eyes and rubbing the bridge of my nose.

            He was quiet for a minute. Then he said, “Wait, did you say you kicked him in the nuts?”

            I opened one eye to look at him. “Yes.”

            A wide smile spread across his face. “Nice one,” he said, and gave me a high five. I laughed at the cheesiness of “high fives”.

            “And, Heidi? I… I think you need to be with someone who can really make you happy"someone who cares about you more than they care about themselves. Someone who truly loves you,” Dallas said quietly, standing up and moving to sit down in my beanie bag chair.

            “I can only hope someone like that will come along one day.”

            I knew that it was himself Dallas was referring to. He told Angela that he’d liked me ever since the first grade, and Angela accidentally let the secret slip out. She wasn’t very good with secrets when it had to do with me or Dallas, because the three of us didn’t have any secrets between each other. Dallas liking me had to be the first, although I’d always suspected as much.

            Dallas opened his mouth to say something else, when I heard a faint buzzing sound. He took his phone out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment. “My dad just texted me. He said we’re leaving now.” He stood up and walked over to me. “Don’t take what Brent said to heart. He’s an a*****e. You’re beautiful, and he doesn’t deserve you.” Then, shockingly enough, Dallas leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. He rubbed my arm and gave me a quick smile, then left me alone in my room.

I sat there on my bed, staring after him with my mouth hanging open. Did that really just happen? I always knew that Dallas liked me, but I had no clue he could be so… caring? Affectionate? Sweet? I didn’t know the word I was looking for, but I had no idea that Dallas was capable of displaying those emotions. He always managed to surprise me.

            Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. I sat up straight, and said, “Come in.”

            The door opened slowly, and in slipped my older brother Ray. He turned around and closed the door behind him, as quietly as he could. “Mom’s looking for me,” he said, his explanation for sneaking around. “Happy Birthday. How’re you feeling?

            I gave him a dirty look. “What do you think?”

            He strode across the room and sat on my bed beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. “I’m really sorry, Heidi. Mom is just… Mom. She does things she thinks are good, but she does them for all the wrong reasons.”

            I sighed. “I know that. And I’m not even too upset over what she did. I’m used to her little stunts by now.”

            “Then what’s the matter?” he asked, leaning back to look at my face.

            I sighed again, looking away. “Brent dumped me,” I mumbled. “And he… he just said some really mean stuff to me. Not to mention he dumped me on my birthday.”

            Ray’s eyes narrowed. “That a*****e. I knew he was no good. I should march over to his house right now and just"”

            “Ray. Please.”

            “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just hate seeing you like this.”

            “Yeah, well.”

            “Whatever he said to you Heidi, don’t listen to him. He’s a jerk, and he only wanted one thing from you.”

            I felt tears fill my eyes and I stared down at my hands in my lap. “But he was never like that in the beginning. We were dating for almost a year, and after he became the ‘star quarterback’”"I said, quoting the words with my fingers"“everything changed. He started acting like every other guy on the football team, thinking he’s better than everyone else.”

            Ray nodded knowingly. “Sometimes people change because they just want to fit in. He was stupid for not seeing what a great girl he had. He doesn’t deserve you and you can do better than that shmuck.”

            I giggled at his choice of words, and turned to hug him. “Thanks Ray. You’re always here for me.”

            He hugged me back, then quickly let go. “Enough hugging. Let’s go.”

            “Where are we going?” I asked, standing up and following Ray to my bedroom door. He opened it quietly and peeked down the hallway. The sounds of people talking and laughing floated up the stairwell.

            “We’re ditching this lame party.”