Mistakes: 2

"Nicole!"
I keep walking. I hate when people call me Nicole. My name is Nicolette, people, is that really so hard? Nicolette, or Nikki. But not Nicole.
"Nicolette!"
Now I stop and turn. Crud. It's Alex. I shouldn't talk to him, I really shouldn't, but I'm not rude enough to just ignore him. "Oh, hi Alex."
"Hey! I was wondering something."
"Yeah?"
"You're good at algebra, right?" He smiles. If I wasn't with Justin, I would've melted at that smile. I used to, but then I met Justin, and yeah.
"Uh, sure, I guess I'm good at algebra." I flip a lock of hair that's tickling my chin over my shoulder.
"Well, do you wanna come over and study with me? I need some help with this chapter, and I need a good grade on this next test."
Oh, no. There's no way I'm going over to his house. Hillary Clayton went over to his house to study last year, and he studied, alright. Hillary has a seven month old son now. "Uhm, I don't think so." I turn back around and walk towards my locker.
"Wait!" Alex calls after me.
I turn around again. "Look, Alex. I really have to go. I have stuff to do and I need to get home. I'll see you later, okay?" I turn back around and go to my locker, and I don't hear him call after me again. When I turn back to see if he's still there, I see him flirting with Kari Mitchell, a peppy blonde freshmen. Wow. He's really lowering his standards.
I shove my books in my bag and slam my locker. It's been a great day so far, but I'm really nervous about the party. I just don't think its a good idea to go. I'm about to call Justin to talk to him about it when someone rams into me from the side, and I fall, my books spilling out of my bag and everything going all over the place. "Ouch! Hey, what's your problem?" I sit up and rub my side. I hit the ground hard.
The kid's face is bright red. "Uhm, I'm really sorry! My friends pushed me into you, I'm sorry!" He starts helping pick up my books.
I look him over. Light brown, maybe dark blonde shortish hair, blue eyes, average height. His arms look kind of musclely, not like he works out all the time, but like he sometimes works out, when he feels like it. He probably plays football. He's wearing white basketball shorts and a dark orange sweatshirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He stands up, and sticks his hand out to help me up. "Thanks," I say, brushing some dirt off my jeans.
"Again, I'm really sorry."
"It's fine. What's your name?"
He swallows. "Ethan."
"Nice to meet you, Ethan. I'm Nicolette. You a junior?"
"No, sophemore. I just moved here this year though."
"I see. And you said your friends pushed you into me?" I push my bangs out of my face and put one hand on my hip.
"Uh, yeah." He scratches his head, and blushes a little bit.
"Why?"
He hesitates. "Well, they were teasing me."
"What were they teasing you about?"
"Liking you." He blushes even more.
"They were teasing you because you like me? And they pushed you into me?"
"Yeah. I was looking at you, and not paying attention, so they shoved me into you."
"Hmm." He must really like me, just answering every question I asked like that. Although, I am a natural leader and tend to take charge and mean business, so people normally answer my questions. "Where are your friends?"
"Over there." He points to a group of guys over by some lockers. They're snickering. I recognize some of them, but I don't know they're names.
"Would it embarrass you if I went over there and had a little chat with them?"
"Not if you make it so they don't make fun of me anymore."
"Deal." I walk over to the boys, and they stop laughing as I approach. "Excuse me. Did you push him into me?" I gesture to Ethan. They don't answer. "I asked you a question. Are you going to answer me or not?"
One of them, a gangly red-head, clears his throat. "Uh, yeah, we pushed him."
"I thought so. Now, if you ever tease Ethan about liking me again, I will hurt you. Don't wonder how, just believe it."
They all look at each other. One raises his hand a little, and I nod to him. "We were just playin around," he says.
"I know. And you're not gonna play around like that anymore, got it? I coud have seriously gotten hurt. You don't want me to get hurt, do you?" They all shake their heads. "Mhm. Now don't let me hear that you tease Ethan at all anymore." I turn and walk back to Ethan. "I'll see you around." I kiss him on the cheek and smile at him, then walk away, heading towards my car. That made my day a whole lot better.

"That's what you're wearing?" Hadley raises her eyebrows.
"Yeah, why?" Hayden cocks her head to the side. "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Well, I was gonna wear that."
"Oh, shut up! You were not going to wear this! You're just saying that because I'm going to wear it!"
"That's so not true! I was about to pick it out!"
"Whatever!"
"Whatever!"
They both plop down on my bed with their backs to each other. I laugh. This happens almost on a daily basis. "You guys are hilarious."
Hadley looks up at me. "You think this is funny? Well, you're wrong. But whatever. What are you wearing to the party?"
"It's a surprise." I wiggle my eyebrows and sit down on the floor. "It's real cute though."
"Of course it is. You always look cute." Hadley rolls her eyes. "Shouldn't Hay have said something by now?" We both look down at Hayden, whose fallen asleep. Typical Hayden.
"Hey Hadley?"
"Yeah?"
"You know Alex?"
"Asstastic Alex?" Alex earned himself that nickname after he slept with twelve girls freshmen year.
"That's the one. Well, he's flirting with me."
"Oh dear."
"What if he tries to do something? Justin's not here..."
"He won't do anything, probably. And if he does, I'll beat him up, kay?" She smiles, but I know she's serious.
"Alright."
"Now c'mon. Let's go get some low-fat frozen yogurt."

Laying in my bed that night, I can't help but think about Justin. He's so good to me. When he visits, he brings me flowers, takes me out to dinner, and we lay out under the stars. He brings me presents from places he visits, and he says he's going to take me on tour with him sometime. He's everything I could ever want.
But he's always gone, always busy. I don't want to be selfish and clingy, but I miss him, and I want him to call me when he says he will, not a week later. I don't know if I can take it anymore.
I can't picture myself without Justin, though. We've been together for over two years. I need him.
I start to cry, even though I'm not sure why. I'm not sure of anything anymore.
Gradually, I cry myself to sleep.