A day where nothing would go wrong, that's all she wished for, that's all any of them wished for, but that was impossible. Everyday their lives were filled with drama and problems(mostly involving guys.) They were four friends, constantly intermingled in their everyday lives, but worried about their own problems so much that they didn't realize that they could have been helping each other deal with their problems because they were all going through similar struggles.


There was Cassie, the girl who had it all figured out. She was short, slim, blonde, and had bright blue, beautiful eyes and she knew what she wanted out of life. She was going places. She knew she wanted to travel and she loved to write and wanted a career that involved them both. She had traveled that summer to England and France and loved every minute of it. Little did her friends know she had a secret friendship with a guy she liked from school, AJ*. She had never intended on falling for him, the funny, sweet guy who got along with basically everyone, it just sort of happened. When he looked at her she couldn't help but smile and so he could tell that she liked him. She had thought this could be the start of something, maybe it still can, if they can just learn to trust each other.


Then there was Hollie. She was an average girl with light brown, straight hair who loved having fun. She didn't strike many as the serious type but when it came to what she wanted she was dead serious. And she wanted Eli*. He was a tall, blonde, sort of unusual guy. He was kind of shy and definitely different, but she liked different. If she had a type, he would fall into her category, her last boyfriend was kind of similar to Eli* but not completely. To her, Eli* was a more generous, fun, easy-going type and he definitely had more in common with her. She had fallen hard and fast, and there was no getting her out of this one.


There was also Sam, the girl who's tall, average, and brunette. She was the girl who liked a certain guy who was usually nice but sometimes acted differently around his friends. Her crush was Mason*, the smart guy who seemed to be fun yet serious. The kind of guy she could talk to. They could talk about anything. They'd have real conversations, not just the small talk or the rumors that went around school, serious things like who they were or who they wanted to be. She really liked him, maybe a little bit too much, maybe destiny wasn't on her side, maybe in the future it still could work out for them. She didn't know but she intended to find out.


Lastly, Nikki. The shortest of the bunch, she was slender and kind of pale, and she had short, light brown, spiky hair. She was cute the way she smiled and then blushed in her feminine way. You could tell she was an emotional girl by the way her face lit up was if she was having a good day or how her eyes looked sad on a bad one. It was no surprise that she was also crushing. His name was Nate*. He was the guy so many girls had a crush on, but it was a mystery why. He was tan with dark hair and he was a little taller than her. They were the perfect height for each other. She had talked to him a lot and thought she really knew him but she was ignorant to his true ways; his selfish, lying ways, but she would realize them, sooner or later.


That summer, as Cassie was having the best summer of her life, she was discovering even more of herself that she'd never even known she had left to discover. As she was traveling around Europe she met some guys and found out she had a flirty side to her. She never knew she had it, she thought that when the time came for her to flirt she'd be extremely awkward at it, but it wasn't that way at all. It came naturally to her, like instincts. She practiced on the French and the English guys by winking, or waving, or smiling in her adorable way that made any guy want to come over and talk to her. She was friendly and flirty at once and so far she was proven to be irresistible to every guy. She probably had guys in France and England waiting for her to come back for them or call them. She was mastering this trick that she was blessed with, but was it a blessing, or a curse?


Hollie had been flirting it up too. Not quite as obviously as Cassie had but nonetheless she was flirting. She would talk to Eli* and smile at him, encouraging him to get up the nerve to ask her out. He was really nice to her and they were cute together. If only he would ask her already! She dreamed about him most nights. The homecoming dance was coming up and she was longing to go with him. She would stay up at night thinking of how great it would be if she had a date for her junior year homecoming. She thought of how cute it'd be if he got a tie to match her dress and if they danced all night together. Desperately waiting for him to ask her out, she tried distracting herself with anything and everything. She was busy hanging out, going to football games, going to the beach, or going to the mall, anything to get her mind off the fact that he still hadn't ask her. He did like her, didn't he?


As for Sam, she hadn't had a crush on Mason* at all that summer, that is until band camp. She was in color guard with Nikki and working hard and they sometimes stayed up late talking about Nate* but Sam never got up the courage to tell Nikki and everyone else that she also was falling hard for a guy who maybe wasn't right for her. She started realizing how hard he worked. All day everyday and night he'd be improving himself, and she admired that quality in him, wishing she could be as dedicated as him. She was falling harder and harder each day but keeping all of her emotions and secrets in her was too much, sooner or later she was going to break.


Nikki was hanging out, chilling at the beach and preparing for band camp during summer. She had just joined color guard and was excited on what this new adventure would be like. Her crush Nate* was also in band and she was excited to be seeing him at camp this summer. They had been texting and Face-booking all summer long and it was good that they'd finally get to talk face to face. After holding her hand and tickling her and smiling and laughing with her, Nate* had made Nikki like him even more. She was excited and really happy for the first time in a long while. But he was constantly confusing her, sending her emotions haywire. Another girl or two also on color guard liked him too so when they told her that he was just leading her on she couldn't believe them. Was this the truth or did he actually like her? She thought they were jealous of her and refused to believe them. Why else would he send sweet messages to her? Why else would they stay up until 2:30 in the morning talking on the phone? Why else would he cuddle with her when they sat on the couch? Why else would he ask her to kiss him?


Cassie was readying for the school year and not sure if she was ready to see AJ* because they hadn't talked face to face since last year. How could she be sure if he liked her as much as she liked him? As the school year came to a start they'd say hi in the halls but never really had true conversations at school like they had on e-mail and MSN. She thought he might still like her because they were messaging all the time but was he ashamed of showing that he liked her at school and in front of his friends? She was being cautious with this relationship, not letting herself fall to hard. She was terrified of getting hurt but desperate for a real relationship with someone she could have a possibility of loving, someone she could have a future with.


Hollie still hadn't gotten her man and had only told Sam about Eli*. She was stressing over every little detail in the relationship, analyzing every word. Every word spoken or written, she read her messages over and over hoping some of the sweet things that were said in the flirtatious conversations meant something real. Hoping he could get up the courage to ask her out. She tried giving him not-so- subtle hints like smiling at him and holding his hand and it was so obvious she liked him! She just needed the patience before she would ruin a relationship before it even started.


After band camp, Sam was still thinking about Mason* all the time. Every football game, every Monday night band practice, every 1st hour band class, she was there, hoping that he liked her back. She didn't know if he did for sure, but she had a hunch that he might. So one day after school, she told him she liked him and asked if he liked her back. His answer... “Sorry, but I don't like you that way. I just think we're good friends.” She was crushed but yet still determined to make him change his mind.


Nikki was thoroughly confused on the way her relationship with Nate* was going. She had thought about the day they were on the playground at band camp, she had wanted to go through the tunnel but he was there, blocking her from entering. He said, “If you want to enter, kiss me.” She did and now, with him ignoring her she knew it was a mistake. It wasn't her fault, she had just been caught up in the moment, she didn't realize he was playing her. Now she did...and she wanted revenge.


As for Cassie, homecoming had arrived and after getting ready for the dance at Sam's house and winning homecoming nominee for the junior class the night before, she was extremely excited. When they got to the dance she was hanging around with a bunch of her friends and then she saw AJ*. That night he was being a jerk, when her friends asked him to go dance with her he said no and danced with his ex-girlfriend! Then every time there was a new song there would be a new girl with him. After Cassie was getting mad she decided if he did ask her to dance she'd say no. Then during a slow song a guy had asked her to dance, her neighbor, Chip*. During Cassie and Chip's* dance she looked up at him and he kissed her! Even if it was only on the cheek he had just given her her first kiss, and she would remember him forever. Then AJ* asked her to dance. She said no but then he said, “Why” in a sweet voice and she couldn't resist. He slow danced with her but it didn't have the same lasting impact that Chip's* did. She still liked AJ* but things were a bit more complicated for her now.


Hollie had danced with Eli* at the homecoming dance also; of course only after two of her friends had asked him for her. Her friends were sure he liked her though because he was all to eager to come dance with her that he followed them to her. She was thrilled and had an amazing time. There was a connection between them that she couldn't really explain. She was captivated by him when she looked him in the eyes and she wanted that moment to last forever, unfortunately her moment ended to soon as the night came to a close. She didn't know what was going to happen in the upcoming weeks but she was excited and looking forward to her future.


Sam had danced with Mason* at the dance too. She had fun with him after her friends asked him to dance with her. They had talked about things together, making their relationship grow, or at least that's what Sam thought. Mason's* true feelings were hard to determine. He was a guy who said things that meant one thing and did the complete opposite action. She wasn't sure of much about him, he was hard to figure out and she needed a clue. If only she knew what was going on in the inside of his mind.


Nikki was the only one who didn't dance with her man. He was being a jerk every other day and nice on the other days and it was so confusing. You could ask her one day about him and she'd say he's so sweet and the next he'd be a jerk. Her feelings were scattered while he was hanging out with a bunch of other girls, and she was missing him. Then a couple weeks later apparently he apologized (although nobody can be quite sure on if he tells a true and heartfelt apology or if he just says the same thing to all his female friends when they get mad at him) and they were back to sending flirtatious texts again. Was this going to last this time, or was he going to run away from a real commitment again?


A couple weeks later Cassie and Hollie were going to have a belated birthday party together. They were going to go to Craig's Cruisers and then have a bonfire at Cassie's house with a sleepover after that. There were 8 girls total that were going to Craig's Cruisers and staying for the sleepover and at 9:30 4 guys were coming over for the bonfire. Chip*, AJ*, Mason*, and Eli* were coming. Cassie was excited but secretive because her mom didn't even like her hugging guys, so how was she supposed to snuggle with AJ* at the bonfire if her mom was there? So she was prepared and secretive around her. They had a blast and were totally crazy at Craig's Cruisers and even shoved all 8 of them in one of those tiny photo booths. Then of course Cassie needed to freshen up before AJ* came over. She acted less nervous than she really was. She was beyond nervous because she heard that he was going to go on a walk with her and kiss her. He got there and brought her flowers and a CD he made which she thought was the sweetest gesture in the world. Then they went to the fire and snuggled, he got up and tried to do his plan but it failed because Cassie told him she wasn't ready and neither was he...until the end of the night. She had gone to walk him to his car and then they had a 5 minute hug and all of the sudden she looked up at him and he kissed her! She hadn't known what was going on and all of the sudden his lips were on hers and she liked it. Even though she didn't really know what she was doing and it was all coming naturally to her, apparently she was good at it because he kissed her 2 more times after that. When she came in the house she had the biggest smile on her face and she held up a 3 to her friends and they knew the plan and so they knew what happened and they were happy for her. She was scared though because her mom was picking up things and was standing by the barn and Cassie thought she might have seen them kiss. Then as all of her friends were downstairs watching a movie she just had to talk to him. So they e-mailed for about 45 minutes because he wanted to talk to her too. Meanwhile, her friends were getting worried and thinking that her mom had actually seen them, thought she was having 'the talk.' When she came down and they finished the movie she kissed and told more. They were learning Chemistry at the moment and were all joking that electrons were excited. Her older brother walked downstairs just as they were talking about that and teased her about AJ*. She didn't think he knew anything yet and hoped he didn't hear what they were talking about, but she wasn't worried because he had been in that situation before and wouldn't tell her mom...or at least she hoped he wouldn't. He ended up eavesdropping on their conversation and teasing her about AJ* so she said that if he told her mom about her kiss, she'd tell her that he came in at 2:00 am in the morning. She got him for that one and she knew that because they both had secrets to be kept from their mom, that he wasn't going to tell. She was ecstatic and filled with joy as she thought about her 3 kisses throughout the night.


Hollie had it good too. About 4 days before her party, he finally asked her out. So they were dating and taking things slow and she invited him to the bonfire. He wrapped his arm around her and snuggled with her and kept her warm as it got cold out. They had their own private sweet conversations together but were still fully aware of the situations with everyone else. Even after hearing about Cassie's kisses she was definitely going to take it slow with Eli*, she had learned all to well with her last relationship.


For Sam, it wasn't going good at all. She had asked him to go to the party and he was going to! She was excited and thought that maybe he really did like her and just refused to share his feelings. After waiting forever with 2 of her friends, he was late she had given up and went to the fire. Of course after about 2 minutes of sitting at the fire he had come. He didn't even sit with her. After she had been nervous all night she realized it was for nothing at all. They hadn't talked alone the whole night at the bonfire and she was disappointed. Later, during the movie, he texted her and called her a dude and she had a fit about it, telling all her friends. It was rather humorous actually, to see her going on and on about how he called her a dude and how girls aren't dudes. Eli* noticed how he was avoiding her at the fire and said he would talk to him when he gave him a ride home but that talk didn't seem to effect Mason's* lack of showing his feelings. He just needed to admit to himself that he did like her, and realize she liked him more than he could have ever understood.



Nikki had been hanging out with Nate* more and more after he apologized but she didn't invite him to the bonfire. She still wasn't sure about him and his mysteriously convincing ways with her. She was drawn to him and every time she tried to pull away, he seemed to pull her right back. He didn't treat her the way he should have playing with her ever so delicate emotions. She was still being his flirty friend though because she was so drawn to him. She liked him for a long time and they had so much history together. Should she give it all up or keep allowing him to treat her like a toy that he can play with whenever he wants?


Cassie had gone out with AJ* one night with AJ's* friends Ike* and Alyssa*. It was the only way her mom would let her go so she told her that Alyssa* was her friend. They went to Ike's* house and met his extremely terrifying father. Then they went to the beach to watch the sunset, but the sunset was earlier that day and they missed it. They were laying down on the pier that night looking at the stars together and Ike* and Alyssa* were a little farther away when AJ* asked Cassie to be his girlfriend when she said yes he stood up and yelled, “She said yes!” They all laughed and then left in order to get home by curfew. They talked a lot on e-mail that night even though it was late, Cassie couldn't help it she was just so excited! She told her mom that AJ* asked her out and that she said yes but her mom didn't show much reaction. Her friends on the other hand showed an abundance of excitement and happiness for her when she told them either that night through e-mail or some the next day at school. Even once they were dating though, because of her abundance of male friends and guys who would just randomly e-mail or talk to her in the hallways at school, AJ* didn't trust her...but she could say almost the same about him. Would this change, or would neither of their trusts grow?



Hollie was enjoying her relationship as they were taking things slowly. Amazingly, after a month in a half they still hadn't kissed. She didn't mind and was somewhat relieved that he had wanted to take things slowly with her. Taking their relationship slowly had shown a positive result when Eli* decided to take her to a nice dinner and then out to a movie. She had enjoyed herself every day she spent with him. She was starting to feel things that she'd never felt before. Maybe it was love, but how could she know for sure when the feeling she thought she had she'd never had before. What could she compare it to? She wasn't sure but it didn't matter because she was happy. Even if that was the only feeling she could recognize, she was really happy for the first time in a while.


Sam was getting over Mason* slowly but surely. She didn't even realize she was. She was still thinking about him a lot and making a few stupid decisions because she was almost always thinking of only him. What she didn't know was that there was another guy pining over her. Mason* wasn't showing the interest in her so she became willing to put her feelings aside and become just friends with him. This wasn't going to be easy, and it was going to take time, but eventually she'd find a new crush and move on with her life. Or she'll discover the shy guy waiting for a relationship with her. As of right now she thought her heart was broken over Mason* but really if anything it was only chipped.


Nikki was still crazy involved with Nate*. Too involved. She was starting to spend to much time with him and the whole time he was taking advantage of her. How could she not see it! Every time he sent her a sweet text he hadn't only sent it to her, he'd sent the same message to 3 other girls. She had too much of a past with him and wasn't going to let him go without a fight. She asked him out and after he said no he stated the reason why. He already had a girlfriend! An older girlfriend that nobody ever heard about before. At first she thought he was making it up but then one weekend she and her family went out to dinner and she saw them together. They were very comfortable with each other, holding hands, laughing, sharing a meal. There was no way he'd be able to talk himself out of this one. She found out how much of a jerk he'd been all along. And she was going to get what she wanted, what she deserved. Revenge!


Cassie was falling deeper and deeper in love with AJ*. So far almost every weekend they spent together. One Sunday they even went on a walk outside his house when he said, “I got to grab a knife.” Then she said, “Ooh you're not going to kill me once we get into the woods are you?” jokingly, even though the whole time she had already predicted what was going to happen. And yes her prediction came true, they climbed a tree and carved their initials in it. Then they talked all the time and everything was going better than she'd ever dreamed...for now.


Hollie was still in her happy relationship with Eli* but what he didn't know was that she was keeping secrets. She still didn't know what would happen if she would allow herself to trust him. She hadn't told him any of her deep secrets and she felt like she already had heard enough of his, but after her last relationship she had trouble deciphering who she could trust between who she couldn't. After hearing how Eli* had a lot of family problems involving divorce and verbal abuse and how a couple of years ago he'd considered committing suicide, she decided to confide in him. She told him all about her past relationship and how she got hurt more than her ex could ever know. The pain would never fully go away for she always would have to live with the memories. Surprisingly, even though the relationship ended on a bad note, she didn't regret it. She learned a lot from it so she didn't regret dating him. After Eli* heard her story he hugged her and just held her there knowing that this was something that was hard for her to tell him. He promised he'd never hurt her but Hollie wasn't quick to believe him.


Sam finally found out who her secret admirer was...to everyone's surprise, Chip*. Chip* was definitely not the type that would fall for a girl like Sam. He was the type of guy who fell for skater girls or unique girls who had loud bubbly personalities. Unfortunately, after Chip* had ever so courageously asked her out, she turned him down! Maybe that was for the better, it would've kept her mind off of Mason* but the whole relationship would've been fake. Nobody did ever find out why Chip* even asked her out. Was it for a dare, to try to get Cassie to see that she'd be jealous of Sam, or because he'd actually fallen for her? After Hollie had asked Chip* why he asked Sam out, he admitted to her that it was for a dare. But Hollie had grown good at detecting other people's lies, or maybe it was just obvious, but when he said, “Why who's wondering, Cassie or you?” she knew it probably was just to get Cassie's attention. Sam didn't care when she found out he wasn't interested because he was a year and a half younger than her. She did wonder though, what was taking him so long to get over Cassie? She didn't realize that she'd been trying to get over Mason* for the same amount of time.


Nikki was getting her revenge. So she had a Halloween party and invited about 15 friends and she told all of her friends about what happened. All of them were glad she finally wanted to get him back for all the crap he put her through so they were more than happy to help. So they split up into 2 cars and waited for him to go out with his girlfriend. One car followed him to the movie theater they went to and the other car went to his house. They ended up ti-peeing his house, forked his yard, paint-balled the side of his house, keyed the side of his car, flattened 2 tires, and since he left his keys in the car (real smart move) they took his keys out of his car and locked him out. Sweet revenge. Surprisingly they got away with it all. Nikki was cheerful and her friends had all had a blast getting revenge on him too. Life was going good, if only she could train her mind to forget about him...


After about 4 months of dating AJ*, Cassie felt like they were growing apart. Apparently she was right. He decided he'd lost interest in her and broke up with her at lunch one day. Surprisingly, Cassie wasn't devastated, she appreciated the time she had with him. Even though he broke up with her, he did it kindly and sweetly with sensitivity and truth from the bottom of his heart and she knew this. When they said their goodbye's she thought it was only inevitable. This was only her first relationship and she never expected it to last forever. They would remain friends, wouldn't they? Either way, she had learned so much from him and being her first boyfriend and giving her her first real kiss, she was sure she would never forget AJ*. After about a month after they broke up they ended up completely losing touch. AJ* found himself a new girlfriend and they just ended up never speaking to each other again. Cassie was disappointed by the fact that he'd completely forgotten about her because she definitely had a long way before she could get the point that she'd be over him.


Things were still working out for Hollie and Eli* though. This was the longest relationship either of them had had. As of today they're still together, maybe slow and steady really can win the race...it was working for them. Hollie was thoroughly overjoyed with her relationship with Eli*. She'd come to realize he was smart, caring, passionate, understanding, but most important he was trustworthy. She'd finally come to trust another guy, no doubts about Eli* for he'd shown true to be trustworthy. She'd appreciated every late night phone call and visit from him when she was sick. Every word he spoke to her she held onto. To her he seemed too good to be true. He makes her laugh and smile, and happy to be living life. When she's down he always brings a smile to her face no matter what she's upset about. He keeps her going in life and fulfills her. He reminds her everyday that he loves her and that God and him are always there. He was perfect, all around flawless and complete; and together, they might just be perfect for each other. She was falling in love, and falling harder than she knew, and harder than Eli* could ever possibly understand. This could be real, there might actually be such a thing as a prince charming for Hollie.


Sam was moving on, focusing on school, concentrating on the more important things in her life. Family, friends, schoolwork, and she finally, truly, got over Mason*. She didn't need a guy in her life to make her feel special anymore. She'd recently met someone who ended up in way too much trouble with an abusive guy and in becoming friends with this girl, she learned a lot. She began being her own person, relying on no one except herself, and proving to the world what she could really do. She ended up starting a self defense club for their school with the girl who originally was abused. Now, schools were teaching girls everywhere to learn how to stand up for themselves when they were faced with tough situations because of her and her friend. She'd never thought she'd be one to help change the world, all starting in a small farm town called Allendale. In her opinion and along with everyone's opinion, her life and high school career had taken a new and extremely improved turn. She was becoming a whole new person, a better one.


Nikki had originally felt bad after she ti-peed Nate's* house but what's done was done. She now liked another guy named Bryce* but he wasn't sure about her. He wanted a girl who could be loyal and trustworthy and all she wanted a knight in shining armor that Hollie had seemed to have found. She wasn't like Sam and she didn't just fall for one specific guy. She was flirting with so many more guys, one of them including Nate*. Apparently she hadn't learned her lesson yet and her friends questioned if she ever would learn the truth about him. Some might say she was boy crazy but she really was kind of lonely and needed somebody to share her feelings with. She was looking for a guy she could talk to, but Bryce* thought she just wanted a guy. No particular one in mind, she was just attracted to the male gender and wanted a boyfriend, any guy would be fine. Maybe that was true. Nikki needed to learn not to accept just any guy, she needed to be picky. She shouldn't go out with just anyone, she should spend the time trying to find the right one. No matter how many times her friends stressed this, she was going to have to learn this lesson on her own. As of right now, they all had their own lessons to be learned because truth be told, they were all just a little bit lost. They were learning to find themselves, but of course always had their struggles and their drama, but that was high school.