“Never say forever cause forever isn’t real,
Forever is what you think and forever’s what you feel,
So if you say forever, please promise that you’ll try,
But never say forever because forever makes me cry.”

I scribbled in my notebook sadly. I never really found out what this saying really meant, but it seemed appropriate to my mood. It was sad and I was sad. It seemed like everyone had found their perfect guy, their “Edward Cullen” per say, except me.

I suppose the saying didn’t quite fit… maybe I should have written something more like:
”I’m just your average everyday Bella, trying to find my Edward<3”

Yeah, that’s more like me. I glanced out the window at the snowflakes falling from the sky and I smiled. Even being sad, I could appreciate the beauty of winter. I closed my notebook and opened my laptop. 12 people online, none of which I was remotely interested in talking to.

I started working on my history report when I noticed the time, I had somehow spent 1 hour on my homework without even noticing. I guess that’s what happens when I get distracted.

I looked up at the stars and wished as hard as I could… for a bag of chips. Kidding! I wished for my own Edward Cullen. The stars seemed to loom back at me as if to say “As if!”

I sat in my bed and I knew I shouldn’t have had that vanilla ice-cap before doing my homework. I knew I’d be up for the next couple of hours so I thought I may as well try and be in my own dream-like state. I decided to make up my perfect guy… from name, to looks, to personality, to… everything.

What else did I have to do anyway?

I absent-mindedly put my pen in my mouth and thought hard. Hmm… What should his name be? Too much to choose from… Jake, Jason, Jacob, Jasper. I realized I really liked J names so I decided on Jason.

I decided Jason had to have great eyes, I thought about maybe aquamarine that glinted in the light and sometimes changed to green depending on where he was standing. I decided he had to be slim, but with slight edge of muscles (not really big) and maybe an inch or two taller then me. He had to have perfectly messy hair… I settled on light brown that glinted gold in the sun. His hair had to be a specific length, not to long, but not too short… just long enough for it to get into his impossibly beautiful eyes. He also had to have a great smile, no braces for him! And maybe dimples too, but only when he smiled really wide.

I smiled as I scribbled this down in my notebook.

So I settled on his looks, but what about his personality? He had to be nice, that goes without saying. Maybe he’d like animals, nature, reading, writing, drawing and poetry. I’d want him to be smart, but not like impossibly smart. He’d have to be really sweet and patient, and of course understanding.

I knew I was going a little bit into detail, but this was better then any dream I had ever had in my life!

I quickly wrote his personality.

I would love it if he liked me, no, not liked, but loved. It would be nice if he was a little jealous, but not extremely jealous, just a little protective because he doesn’t want to lose me. I could go on and on about all the things he could be and do…

I looked at my clock-radio, I had only daydreamed for about a half hour, and I knew I wouldn’t fall asleep for another hour and a half so I thought I may as well have some fun.

What could he do to show me he loved me? I thought for a moment and it was so easy to see what he could do to make me love him. Just being there for me.

The littlest thing would make me so happy… getting me one lily and giving it to me one day, just because. Carrying my books for me, or just simply holding my hand in front of his friends and not being embarrassed.

I sighed sadly. I couldn’t think about this anymore, or I’d burst from depression. It was one thing to imagine or day-dream, but it was completely another to wish with deep passion for it to come true.

I turned off my light and willed myself to go to sleep.

That night I dreamed of Jason.

The next day I was running late and I pulled on a random top and jeans and mix-match jewelry, grabbed an apple and raced to catch my bus.

As I ran on the bus and sat down to my best-friend Mal I looked down at my outfit. “Ugh!” I moaned. “Bad outfit choice!” giggled Mal, stating the obvious. It wasn’t too bad… but the shirt had a sun on it… saying “Summer Days.” It was the middle of December for goodness sake!

“The good thing is; you’ll be a real conversation starter.” Mal smiled. I rolled my eyes. “That helps.” Mal simply shrugged.

Mal and I walked to our lockers which were beside each other (we pulled some strings… we are co-presidents of student council you know… suggest a dance with the theme a kid wants and he/she will basically do whatever!). We both had almost the same schedules because we both signed up for classes at the same time.

We both ran to homeroom and sat beside each other just until the bell rang, just like everyday. We used to sit beside each other all through class, but we talked too much so the teacher moved us to opposite sides of the room. I sat beside this girl named Jessica and an empty desk.

The bell rang and Mal waved at me from the opposite side of the room.

“Attention!” called Mr. Stern, our homeroom teacher. I absent-mindedly scribbled in my notebook, not really paying attention.

”We have a new student joining our class today.” Mr. Stern continued. Now I was all ears. A new student? In December? Seriously? I broke my gaze from Mr. Stern to the guy standing next to him.

I gasped. He was the most amazing looking guy I had ever seen in my life. My mouth hung open as I took him all in. I wasn’t listening to Mr. Stern anymore. The new guy had light brown hair, was slim, almost as tall as Mr. Stern, and a little bit muscular. He was looking at the walls absent-mindedly, just like I usually do. My mouth was still open as I absorbed his amazingness.

I thought about the wish I had made the night before… no, it couldn’t be. Besides he wasn’t that cute and he probably didn’t know I existed. All of a sudden I felt someone’s eyes on me and I blinked my eyes to get out of my trance. I looked up and saw the new guy looking at me. He had the most amazing eyes. They were aquamarine… just like the one’s I had imagined, only better. I realized he wasn’t just cute, he was… amazing.

We stared at each other for what felt like forever. Mr. Stern stopped speaking and motioned for the new guy to sit in the empty desk next to me.

“Now that Jason is introduced we can all get on with things.” Mr. Stern said with a grim look. I had a feeling all he wanted to was walk out the door and be anywhere else.

For the rest of class all I focused on was “Jason” (which was apparently his name). I mean, it seems like it was a pretty big coincidence that his name happened to be Jason. It was sort of like there was a person writing the story of my life and they thought this might be a fun joke.

When the bell rang Mal waved at me to join her and I was about to run to her side when I heard a deep voice behind me. “Hey.” I spun around startled. Standing in front of me was Jason, his beautiful eyes focusing on me. I glanced back at Mal who seemed confused. She motioned to the door as if to say “I’m leaving, see you soon, you have to tell me all about it!” and she left.

”Hi.” I finally responded. “My name is Kathleen, but you can call me Kat.” I smiled, hoping to look not as nervous as I felt. “My name is Jason.” He said as he smiled really wide and I could see the hint of a dimple.

A look of shock came over my face. Jason seemed startled. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking extremely concerned. I smiled a truly huge smile and replied with complete confidence. “I’m better then ever!”

Mal was waiting by our lockers to ask me for all the details. I smiled wide and said “I love him!” and Mal burst out laughing.

“You’ve only known him for what? 5 minutes? And you’re already in love with him? Though I can’t say he isn’t cute…” Mal winked and then burst out laughing again, falling against the lockers and sliding to the ground still laughing.

I rolled my eyes and searched through my locker for my history books. A couple of passer-byres saw Mal laughing and looked around to see what was so funny.

I smiled and turned around to walk to class when I saw Jason, but he wasn’t alone. Standing beside him was the most popular (not to mention the prettiest) girl in school. She was twirling her long dirty-blond hair and looking at him with her head tilted a little to the left.

He was looking at her with the same dimple-smile he had been looking at me with earlier. I slammed my locker door and stormed to my next class. I guess Jason wasn’t my dream guy… he was just a guy that I had made up in my mind that I thought had come to life… like that wasn’t pathetic enough. I didn’t even know his personality! For all I knew he was stupid and rude. I had only spoken to him for about two minutes. What was I thinking? I contemplated banging my head against the wall, but decided against it, thinking it might draw too much attention to me.

I sat down at my next class and pulled out my trusty notebook. It was teared in some places and it had a couple of rips but the cover page was decorated by me, with rainbows and polka-dots and butterflies and all sorts of stuff, each holding another memory.

I opened it up and started drawing circles. Most girls would have drawn hearts, but hearts break, and circles go on forever. I smiled to myself and forgot all about my problems. I just focused on what I was drawing.

”Whatcha drawing?” asked a voice to my right. I looked up startled and saw aquamarine eyes staring back at me.

”Hi Jason…” I mumbled “could have given me a warning…” Jason simply shrugged. “How’s your first day of school going?” I asked curiously. “It’s okay, kind of strange being in a new place.” Jason said looking out the window.

“I’m sure your making a lot of new friends.” I mumbled, mostly to myself. “Pardon?” Jason asked. “Nothing… never-mind.” I replied blushing. Luckily class started before Jason could say anything else.

What kind of a joke was life trying to play on me? I mean now he’s in my History class TOO?! Come on! The person writing the story of my life must be an evil person!

As soon as the bell rang I bolted to my locker as fast as I could. I opened my locker with a grim face and searched for my books. I slammed my locker shut and there in front of me was Jason.

What the heck?! (Pardon my English)

“What are you doing here?” I moaned. Jason looked confused. “This is my locker…” he said pointing the locker on the left side of mine. Yup, the person writing the story of my life was DEFINITLY evil. Mal came up behind me on my right and opened her locker. She saw Jason and closed her locker.

“He-e-e-y!” and she was by his side in a half a second flat.

Why was I not surprised? Mal’s like that, and she never fails to make me laugh-
“So, you are the guy Kat’s in love with. I see why…” Mal winked-or cry.

Jason chose to ignore Mal’s comment-to my relief.

Mal opened her locker and - to my dismay - didn’t even notice the look of anger on my face. “Here.” She said and shoved a box into my hand.

“What’s this for?” I asked confused. “We met two years ago today.” Mal shrugged. I could never stay mad at Mal for long. I opened the box and saw a little silver charm bracelet with one charm dangling from it. A pen charm, because I love to write and draw. I smiled and hugged Mal.

We walked to lunch and stood in line for the café. Who was behind us, but Jason! What was he? A stalker now? Not that I would have minded… if you know what I mean ;-)
I went home that night deep in thought, my charm bracelet clanging against my wrist in the quiet of my house. My parents were out of town and my siblings were at their jobs. I went upstairs and looked around my room. I sat at my desk by the window and looked out at the snow falling from the sky, just as I had done the day before.

I opened my laptop and saw that, just like yesterday, there were 12 people online, none of which I remotely wanted to talk to.

My computer dinged and I looked at the screen.
”Your worst Nightmare” has just signed on, a pop-up said. I giggled.

Kat says: Hey Mal, cute username.
Your Worst Nightmare says: Thx, I made it just for you!
Kat says: Sure you did… Whatcha doin?
Your Worst Nightmare says: Tlkin to Jason
Kat says: Jason?
Your Worst Nightmare says: ya
Kat says: You have his MSN?
Your Worst Nightmare says: duh! Im not stupid!
Kat says: lol
Your Worst Nightmare says: Want me to add him in?
Kat says: Change your username first.
Mal says: Just did.
Kat says: k
“Jason” has been added into the conversation
Mal says: Hey J
Kat says: J?
Mal says: Short for Jason…
Kat says: I think I know that:-P, but I like Jason better
Mal says: J is cuter!
Kat says: J is just being lazy!
Mal says: This is MSN, duh!
Jason: Don’t I get a say in this?
Mal says: NO!
Kat says: sure

This basically went on for an hour, and Jason barely said a word, like we would let him fit a word in anyway!

I decided to go to my bed and think about my dream boyfriend, to escape the real world, for a little while.

I could imagine some of the conversations we would have… like maybe:
”What’s your favourite color?” I would ask.
”Beautiful.” He would reply.
”Beautiful is not a color silly!” I would laugh.
”Sure it is; it’s the color of your eyes.” He would reply simply.

I sighed. That would be SO sweet… but maybe I should change my dream boyfriend’s name to something OTHER then Jason… but I was still set on that name.

I decided to sleep, to forget about this “Dream Boyfriend”. Before I drifted off to sleep, I looked up at the stars and said “You’re enjoying this, AREN’T YOU?!” and went to sleep.

I was sure that the next day of school would be better. Maybe there really wasn’t a new guy named Jason in school. Maybe I just dreamed up the whole thing. It is possible, isn’t it? I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

I ran to my bus and sat beside Mal, just like everyday. But today… it seemed different. I didn’t know how to describe it; Mal was talking, like she usually does. It was the same bus, same people… but something, and I wasn’t sure what… was different.

“KAT! HELLO?!” Mal finally screamed in my ear. “Anyone home?” she tapped my head. “Sorry,” I mumbled. Mal grimaced. “You’re still thinking about Jason, aren’t you?” she asked. Of course I was, what else would I think about in the boring place that was my life? “No, I am NOT!” I lied as convincingly as I could. Mal could see through my lies, I knew that, but she (thankfully) chose to ignore it.

We walked to our locker and saw Jason (of course). Mal giggled “Look, it’s our own personal stalker.” She whispered. I couldn’t help but giggle.

Jason turned around. “Hey Kat.” He said, his eyes focusing on me. That was the first time he had ever said my name, or nickname anyway. Suddenly, I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know why either, I mean he was just a guy. I talked to guys everyday.

Mal coughed. “Hey Mal.” Jason added. I giggled. Mal loved drama, as if to prove my point she said “How nice of you to say hello.” While rolling her eyes. I opened my locker as a distraction and a note fell to the ground.

It said;
“There are 12 things I love about you.”

Mal grabbed it out of my hand. Her mouth hung open. “YOU HAVE A SECRET ADMIERER!” she screamed and everyone in the hall fell silent and turned to look at her. “Thanks for the attention everyone, but please disregard what I just screamed.” She said in just a loud enough voice for everyone in the hall to hear. Mal wasn’t even embarrassed, but I couldn’t say the same about me. I flushed. I waved by to Jason.

As Mal and I walked to class she was thinking of all the guys who could have sent the letter. She came up with a list of 39 names that would know me and would have opportunity to slip the note into my locker.

All day Mal was talking to the guys and trying to get it out of them, but no one said anything of interest. Mal’s list of 39 turned quickly to 0, but it wasn’t like Mal to give up easily. That night I talked to her on MSN and (of course) all she talked about was the note. I was convinced that it wasn’t even for me, it could have been meant for anyone!

That night, I put my dream boyfriend in the back of my mind and willed myself to go to sleep. I would not let myself believe that the person who had written that note was Jason. I couldn’t. I mean it wasn’t! Right? Of course it wasn’t… why would it be? But it could have been possible… NO! IT ISNT!

The next day Mal and I walked off the bus to our lockers, Mal’s eyes wandering to all the guys who looked at me. “It could be that one!” Mal pointed “Or that one!” Mal guessed. “It’s not them.” I said confidently “Then why are they looking at us?” Mal questioned. “Could it be possible that the guys are looking this way because they see a random girl pointing at them shouting “OR HIM!” ?”

“Oh.” Mal said looking slightly embarrassed, but then she was back to her confident pose as we walked through the hallway to our lockers. Mal bolted to my locker and opened it. “How’d you open my locker?” I gasped. “I know your combination.” Said Mal like it was obvious… “Why do you know my combination?” I asked and Mal rolled her eyes. “Please, I’ve been your best friend for 2 years, give me some credit!”

Just as the day before, a piece of paper fell to the ground. This one said:
”1. I love how you never pay attention in class.” I flushed and giggled.

Mal shouted “EURIKA!” as 15 kids turned to look at her.

“Seriously Mal… is this going to be an annual thing?” I asked blushing. Mal was grinning. “What?” I asked confused. “If he knows you get distracted in class then that means he has to be in at least one of your classes!” Mal said happily. “I have 5 classes, there are like 40 kids in each class, except lunch which has like 90 kids! Half of these kids are girls and half are guys… that means that it could be 125 different guys!” I said rolling my eyes. “That narrows it down.”

Mal smiled “If he sends you a note everyday on what he loves about you then it’s pretty obvious we can narrow it down even further!” I felt my heart sink, oh no. I knew this was going to end badly.

I got home that night with no homework and I didn’t know what to do. I grabbed an apple and ran upstairs. I turned on my laptop and saw 22 people were online. That usually didn’t happen.

I saw my friend Nicole was online and I smiled.

Kat says: Hey
Nicole says: KAT! :-)
Kat says: NICOLE!
Nicole says: What’s new?
Kat says: I don’t know, you tell me.
Nicole says: That new guy is new… and I saw him talking to you.
Kat says: psh, that’s nothing.
Nicole says: psh, that is SO something.
Kat says: I have to go.
Nicole says: You can’t avoid me forever!
Kat says: Can’t I?
*Kat has signed off*

I giggled to myself and made my way to my bed. My dog jumped onto it before I could get to it and lay sprawled across my bed.

I sighed, obviously there was a sign that I shouldn’t go to bed right now… maybe I shouldn’t have, but I just had this feeling I should go on MSN, so I did.

Of course Nicole started talking to me again.

Nicole says: I told you, you couldn’t avoid me forever
Kat says: I am powerless
Nicole says: I know

I laughed.

Nicole says: So who’s this new guy?
Kat says: His name is Jason.
Nicole says: And?
Kat says: iunno
Nicole says: So… I hear you have a secret admirer?

I groaned.

Kat says: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!
Nicole says: Everyone’s been talking about it
Kat says: ugh
Nicole says: I’ve been trying to figure out who it is…
Kat says: any luck?
Nicole says: well… I think it could be…

*Jason has just signed on*

Nicole: That was really weird.

That was weird…

A new conversation window popped up.

Jason says: Hey
Kat says: Hey
Jason says: I’m bored
Kat says: Me too.
Jason says: What do you wanna talk about?
Kat says: random stuff?

My heart started racing and I don’t know why…

Jason says: Okay, like what?

I don’t know what came over me, I guess I just wanted my fantasy fulfilled, even though I knew it probably wouldn’t turn out the way I hoped it would.

Kat says: What’s your favourite color?
Jason says: Beautiful

I gasped, there was no way…

Kat says: Beautiful isn’t a color…
Jason says: Sure it is… it’s the color of your eyes.

I pinched myself, this couldn’t be happening. As if to prove that this was happening Nicole’s conversation window beeped.

Nicole says: What’s going on? Are you talking to him?

I burst into happy tears and I couldn’t make them stop.

Nicole says: Are you okay? SPEAK TO ME!

I was crying so hard I couldn’t type.

Nicole says: Don’t go near the light!

My hands were shaking…

Jason says: Are you there? I didn’t mean to offend you or anything…

And I burst into tears again.
Nicole says: That’s it, I’m calling you!

The phone rang and I picked it up.

“Kat? Are you there?” said Nicole. “Of course…” I mumbled. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” she asked urgently. “I’m fine…” I said through sobs. “What’s going on? Jason said you won’t answer any of his IMs… why?” she asked freaking out.

“I… I think I’m in love with him…”

Unlike Mal, Nicole didn’t laugh. She paused and said “Are you sure?” I nodded and then I realized we were on the phone and she couldn’t see me. “Yes.” I said quietly.

“Then why are you CRYING?!” Nicole asked incredulously.

“Because I can’t let myself believe this is true… that this is happening… that Jason really is my dream guy.”

Nicole was quiet for a moment, then I could hear the smile in her voice. “Why don’t you and I have a link conversation with Jason?” I groaned. “What are you going to say to him?” I asked. “Nothing…” said Nicole innocently, and oddly enough I believed her. We both hung up.

Nicole says: You ready?
Kat says: As ready as I’ll ever be…
*Jason has been added into this conversation*
Kat says: Hi Jason, sorry about that.
Jason: It’s cool, I crossed a line.
Nicole says: Nope, the line is very far away, why don’t you take a step toward it?;-)
Kat says: NICOLE!
Nicole says: Yes?
Jason says: What’s going on?
Nicole says: Nothing…
Kat says: NOTHING!
Jason says: I’m confused, maybe I should go…
Nicole says: NO! PLEASE DON’T GO! Kat needs you!
Jason says: huh?
Kat says: No I don’t!
Jason says: oh…
Nicole says: aww… you’re sad she doesn’t need you? Kat! He’s sad you don’t need him!
Kat says: … no, he’s just trying to be funny.
Jason says: Me, being sad… is funny?
Nicole says: Yeah Kat, what kind of sense of humor do you have?

I burst out laughing. This was kind of funny… KIND OF!

Kat says: Jason, seeing you sad, would make me sad.
Nicole says: aww…
Jason says: I’m glad you don’t find me being sad as funny…
Kat says: Why would I?
Jason says: Because you’re too good to be true.

I burst out laughing…

Kat says: ME?! Too good to be true? Are you kidding me? You’re the one who’s amazing...
Nicole says: ooo… and Jason will counter that with what?
Jason says: Name one thing about you that’s bad.
Kat says: My hair. My hair is horrible.
Jason says: I love your hair…

I felt like I would burst with happiness if I talked to him for one more second.

Kat says: I have to go…
Nicole says: aww… we were just having fun…
Jason says: please, don’t… I didn’t mean to…
*Kat has signed off*

I closed my laptop and went to my bed. I shooed my dog of it and lay down. I shut off my light and looked up at the stars…

“And to think I was once mad at you…” I whispered in the darkness.

“Sometimes life throws something horrible your way and you have to stop yourself from throwing something horrible back, because if you do then life will never throw you something good.”

I scribbled in my notebook proudly. I made that one up I realized that even though it felt like I was going through a hard time before, I didn’t make life ever regret making me it’s main character.

I looked at my watch and groaned. If I didn’t run right now I’d miss the bus. I ran to my washroom looked in my mirror and brushed out my long brown hair. My blue eyes brightened in excitement as I ran out the door.

The bus was driving away just as I reached the stop.

“STOP! STOP!” I yelled. But it was no use. Either the bus driver hated me, or the person writing the story of my life is laughing her head off right now. I groaned.

It was only about a 6 minute walk to school anyway. I started walking and looking around. It really was a beautiful day. There was a soft blanket of snow on the ground and the branches on the trees whooshed in the breeze. I smiled as I looked up at the clear blue sky. I never would have noticed this if I had taken the bus, maybe this was the reason the person writing the story of my life thought it would be a good idea to make me miss the bus. I wondered how she might make this story end.

I walked into school and I was right on time, I guess the traffic was heavy. I walked to my locker and opened it. Of course a note fell to the ground, but I crumpled it up and threw it away. I was done with my secret admirer; I only liked one guy… Jason.

Speaking of him…
“Hey.” Said a voice behind me.
I whirled around. “Hey Jason.” I said smiling.
“Hey Jason,” said a voice behind me. I whirled around again.
There was Nicole, smiling bright.

Nicole paused for a moment, deep in thought, like she was considering something.
“Kat likes you!” she said and then ran away. I stared after her in disbelief.

I looked at Jason, who was smiling and I bolted to homeroom as fast as I could. I sighed with relief when I sat down at my desk until I realized that Jason sits beside me in this class. I groaned again. I heard Jason laugh behind me.

“You always groan.” He commented.
“And? Do you have a problem with that?” I asked.
“No, I like it.” He replied.

The whole morning went like this, I thought he was going to say he hated something about me, but everything he said about me was that he liked me… I mean COME ON! How realistic would THAT be?

Finally it was lunch time and I sat between Nicole and Jason. Nicole was talking to this new guy… he was kind of cute. He had dark brown hair at just the right length, he was sort of muscular, just like Jason, and he had amazing chestnut brown eyes.

I nudged Nicole and winked. She smiled.
“Kat, this is Drake, Drake, this is Kat.” She said.
“Hey Drake, are you new here?” I asked.
“Yeah, Nicole was the first one to talk to me.” He replied.

I guess Nicole must have pushed 5 other girls out of the way to be able to manage that.

Just as the “end of the lunch” bell was about to ring, I went up to Drake and said “NICOLE LIKES YOU!” and ran away. I heard Nicole yell after me “now that, that was uncalled for!” I laughed to myself and went to my locker.
“Hey Katie,” said a voice behind me. I whirled around. There was Amber Stanley, the most popular witch of the wicked west. “Are you talking to me?” I said in a harsh tone, I couldn’t believe myself. “Cause my name ISN’T Katie, its Kat, get it right next time.” And I walked away.

I don’t know what came over me. I’m so scared of hurting people’s feelings and I’m an overall nice person, so why did I say that? Did I have a death wish or something? Because Amber would definitely use this against me!

Amber caught up to me and said “Back off.” “Of?” I asked. “Jason, he’s mine.” She said with determination, and when Amber Stanley wants something… she gets it.

I went into class confused. I decided I didn’t care what Amber Stanley WANTED, because she wasn’t going to get my Edward Cullen, and my happy ending. Not if I could help it. I sat down in class and couldn’t focus on my work. What was the worst Amber Stanley could do anyway?

I went out in the hall and saw the whole cheerleading squad eyeing me up and down. It seemed like they were all mentally saying “You take one step to close to Jason, and you’re going down.” I looked away from their gaze and walked to my locker. There was Jason, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the cheerleaders looking like they were ready to pounce. I opened my locker and Jason asked “Do you really like me? Or are your friends just trying to embarrass you?” I laughed “Both.”

Jason smiled his dimple-smile and I almost melted.
“Oww!” I groaned. Something had hit me in the back of my head. It was a crumpled up piece of pink paper sprayed continuously with perfume. That was the trademark of the cheerleaders. I opened it up and read “This is your last warning.”

“Are you okay?” Jason asked concerned. I smiled “I’m fine. Do you like me?” I asked curiously. “Nope.” Jason said simply. My heart sunk as low as it ever had before.

“I don’t like you, I love you.” He said. My heart melted. Jason pulled out a lily and gave it to me. “I heard these were your favourite.” He said smiling. I hugged him and we walked to class together hand in hand, I noticed Nicole holding hands with Drake too and we both winked at each other.

I noticed a bunch of water right under my shoes and I don’t know how it all got there, I started to slip and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Amber with an empty opened bottle of water in her hand, only a couple of steps away. I almost fell on the ground, but Jason caught me just in time.

“Thanks.” I said breathlessly.
“Maybe I should keep you steady till we get to class, who knows what other things might be dangerous in the halls.” Jason said laughing. He put his arm around me. And we started walking to class once again. I glanced behind me and saw Amber glaring at me. I stuck out my tongue as Jason and I walked to class together. I had a feeling Amber doesn’t give up so easily.

Well I was right about Amber not giving up so easily… I just never thought it would be this horrible. It’s like the cheerleaders had a day to day schedule on what they would do to me. Here’s how the “schedule” seemed to go:

Monday: “accidentally slip” and pour tomato juice all over her
Tuesday: spread a rumour about how she got suspended last year
Wednesday: steal her notebook
Thursday: photocopy her notebook and throw the sheets all over school
Friday: “pretend” to be sorry about what they did and “pretend” to be her friend

Basically, I’ve had a horrible week. I’ve been starting to wonder if it’s even worth it… I got yelled at for saying that to Nicole and Mal…

I went to my locker and crumpled the twelfth piece of paper up. I never found out who my secret admirer was and I seriously couldn’t care less.

I closed my locker and bumped into someone accidentally. Books went crashing to the floor. “Sorry,” I mumbled as I picked up the books.

“It’s cool,” said a voice. I looked up. “Hey Shaniece!” I said smiling “I haven’t seen you since grade 8.” “Yeah, it’s been a while…” she said.

I noticed she looked kind of sad. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Ugh, just a big test that I didn’t study for.” She said sadly.

“Hmmm…” I said thinking hard. I smiled.

“Oh no…” she said giggling.

“What?” I asked innocently. “I know that look, all the way from grade 8… you just had an idea and you’re going to pull me in with you…”

I laughed. “You know me too well.” I mused.

“What are we going to do?” Shaniece asked curiously.

“I’m not going to do anything… except take you to the nurses’ office.” I said smiling.
Shaniece smiled. “So I’m “Sick”” she said, it was more of a comment then a question. “But… doesn’t it take a lot to convince the nurse of that?” she asked. “Course” I said simply. “Then what do we do?” she asked confused.

“We make it realistic.” I smiled evilly.

“Okay, I am scared now…” she said giggling.

I pulled out a red marker. “Have you ever had chicken pox?” I asked. “Yeah…” she said wearily. “Well, you’re about to have it again.” I said smiling.

It only took about 3 minutes for me to cover Shaniece in realistic dots. I even had some fake blood from Halloween to make it look like she picked at one. I took Shaniece to the nurse and found out it wasn’t the regular nurse. It was this old lady who squinted.

“Are you okay?” she asked me, obviously not seeing that Shaniece was covered in dots and assuming that something was wrong with me.

“I’m fine.” I said, trying to hold back my laughter. “Are YOU okay?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “Oh, I’m fine.” She said in a quiet tone, “I just lost my glasses,”

I had to pinch myself really hard to keep myself from jumping up and down. Shaniece was about to speak up when I nudged her to keep quiet.

”My friend has caught the flu and isn’t feeling so well.” I said. Shaniece opened her mouth in protest but closed her mouth when she caught the look on my face.

“Well maybe you should go home before you infect any other students,” said the nurse kindly. I sneezed and Shaniece looked at me suspiciously. I coughed and held my stomach. “I suddenly don’t feel so good…” I told the nurse. Shaniece looked like she was about to burst out laughing, but of course the nurse didn’t notice. “I suppose I could let you go home… as long as I call your parents first.”

“Of course,” I smiled. Shaniece looked at me as if to say “That is NOT okay!” I shrugged.

15 minutes later we were out of the nurses’ office and the school.

Shaniece and I were walking “home” (actually toward the mall across from our neighborhood). “I guess all those dots were for nothing…” Shaniece said moping. “They make a great story!” I said giggling.

We reached the mall and entered the doors. “What if we get caught?” asked Shaniece quietly.

”We won’t.” I assured her.

Shaniece looked really confused “How can you be so sure?” she asked. “If any grown-up sees us here we can say we were picking up cough syrup and orange juice to help us get over the flu. They’ll believe us.” I said shrugging.

”But what if a kid our age sees us here? They won’t buy it!” said Shaniece discouraged. “What would a kid here our age be doing other then skipping school?” I asked. Shaniece thought for a moment and said “well… no other reason.” “Exactly,” I said “If they’re skipping, they can’t tell on us without admitting they were skipping too.”

Shaniece smiled.

We were walking when we bumped into, who else, but Amber. I glared at her.

“You are going to wish you didn’t do that.” She said harshly.
“We already do, because now we have to look at your face.” Shaniece said without hesitation. I tried to hold back laughter, but I couldn’t.

Amber glared at me and then Shaniece.
“Coming from someone covered in dots,” Amber threw at Shaniece and then she glared at me. “We’ll see what a laughing mood you are in tomorrow.” She said, an evil smile forming on her lips.

“Oh, I am sure she will be in a laughing mood, because she’ll have the guy you want and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Shaniece said with a confident smile.

Amber let her look of confidence waver and fade off her face for a moment, but then she regained control and said in the most menacing tone you could ever imagine a girly-girl cheerleader to speak in “Jason will be mine.” And she stomped away.

“Oh, I am SO scared!” Shaniece called after Amber sarcastically.

As soon as Amber was out of view I hugged Shaniece and started jumping up and down. “Thanks so much! That was awesome!”

Shaniece rolled her eyes “Amber had it coming.”

I giggled, “That was still amazing, I just wonder what she will do to me tomorrow…” I sighed.

“Tomorrow is Saturday… what can they do to you on a Saturday?” Shaniece asked in an awed voice.

I shivered involuntarily. “I don’t know,” I said “But whatever it is… it can’t be good…”

It was Saturday. Nothing so far, but the day was young.
DING DONG!

I went to the door, what if it was them? What if they did something terrible? Like throw a pie in my face and take a picture? Okay, so that’s not so horrible… but still!

I ran to the door and opened it, ready for the worst.

Standing there was… Mal, Katie, Sarah, Nicole and Shaniece?

Not what I was expecting.

“What are you doing here?” I asked suspiciously.

Mallory, Katie, Nicole and Shaniece were about to speak up when Sarah covered all of their mouths. Sarah has been my best friend for… forever. I’ve known her since we were toddlers and she pushed me out of the sandbox!

“We’re here to protect you!” She smiled widely and Mal rolled her eyes.

“From?” I questioned suspiciously. “Amber!” they all said simultaneously.

“Duh…” muttered Sarah rolling her eyes.

“I don’t need PROTECTING!” I said shaking my head in disbelief.

They all looked at me with blank stares.

I sighed. “Fine, come in… I guess we could have fun while you’re ‘protecting’ me.” I said rolling my eyes.

They all smiled their evil little smiles and I got a sick feeling in my stomach that I shouldn’t have said what I said…

“Oh, we’ll have tons of fun!” They said and they all pulled out make-up.

“MAKEOVER TIME!” They all said simultaneously…

I wonder how long they practice saying things all at the same time.

I looked in the mirror. My long brown hair was tangled in braids all over my head. I guess it kind of looked cool… if you were 5 feet to the right and you closed one eye… and squinted a little, and then closed the other eye.

Wait… no, it was still horrible! But that wasn’t the worst of it. I looked like a clown; my friends seriously over-did the eyeliner. I looked a little gothic, which would have been fine, maybe even kind of cool if they hadn’t also over-done the bright red lipstick and blush; like my cheeks weren’t red enough already.

DING-DONG!

All of my friends and I looked at one another.

“Amber.” We all whispered simultaneously. I was starting to get the hang of this…

DING-DONG!

I ran for the door, and my friends looked at me like I was crazy.

I opened the door and smiled at the look of shock on their faces, I really didn’t care WHAT Amber did anymore. I wasn’t scared of her.

I turned my head toward the open door and it was my turn to gasp.

“JASON?!” We all said simultaneously.

This whole “simultaneously” thing was seriously getting annoying.

Sarah ran up to me “This is Jason?” she said with a huge smile and wide eyes. Oh yeah, I forgot Sarah has never met Jason before.

“Jason, this is Sarah, Sarah, this is Jason.” I said quickly.

Jason smiled at me. Why was he looking at me like that? Did I have smudges on my fa-SHOOT! I completely forgot about the make-up and hair! I slammed the door in his face and ran upstairs. My friends stared after me.

“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!” Shouted Mal.

“I look horrible!” I whined from upstairs as I was pulling out the braids and trying, desperately, to wipe off all the make-up.

“Oh, well, you’re welcome for the amazing make-over we spent hours on!” said Katie rolling her eyes.

We were silent for a few moments.

“Um… did we all forget about, I don’t know… JASON?!” screeched Shaniece.

“Oh, him.” Said Sarah looking down. “Oh, yeah…”

I giggled.
“THIS RANDOM HOT GUY IS STANDING OUTSIDE IN THE COLD AND WE ARE STANDING AROUND INSIDE NOT LETTING HIM IN!” shouted Mal.

“Hey! He’s my random hot guy, thank you!” I screamed from upstairs.

“The random hot guy is freezing!” said a voice from outside.

We all burst into laughter. I came downstairs with my now frizzy hair (that actually looked okay) and just a tiny bit of mascara and some lip-gloss. I didn’t look that bad anymore…

Jason was already in the hallway with his little “fan club” (a.k.a my friends).

I stood at the bottom of the stairs with my arms at my side.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Jason.

“Not that she doesn’t want you here,” Interjected Shaniece.

“Oh, she really wants you here!” nodded Nicole.

“I can speak for myself!” I said defensively.

“Well, not very well.” Mal added. Sarah high-fived Mal through giggles.

I rolled my eyes. I love my friends, but…

I burst out laughing. Okay, okay, I just love my friends. I can never stay mad at them. When I finally looked up after laughing everyone was staring at me with this face that simply said “Have you gone mad?”

I simply laughed it off and asked again “Jason, What are you doing here?” He laughed.

“I can’t visit you?” He asked.

“Aww…” my friends chorused.

I laughed. “No, seriously, why are you here?” I asked curiously.

“I kind of… um… came to give you these.” He said smiling and he handed me a bouquet of roses.

“Aww…” My friends chorused louder.

I smiled. “Thanks,” I said.

“I should probably be going home, I want to finish the book I’m reading.” He said as he was going out the door.

He likes to read, I thought to myself. Again; it could be just another coincidence.

When he left all of my friends stared at me, but in awe.

“Where did you get him?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah! I want one!” said Shaniece.

“Yeah! How’d you meet him?” Mal asked.

I looked at Mal with a blank stare. “Mal, you were there!” Mal looked deep in thought. “Oh yeah…”

Nicole looked at me. “I want one too.” I laughed.

“Nicole, you have one! Remember? Chestnut eyes?” I said through giggles. Nicole smiled.

“Oh yeah.” She said and seemed to be on another planet for the next 20 minutes while my friends asked me every question about how I met Jason and I told them everything.

Well, everything except that he was my dream boyfriend, literally. I also didn’t tell them about the wish, or about how I love Jason.

But other then THAT I told them everything… in other words I just told them mindless nonsense on our first conversation.

Everything still seemed too good to be true.

I was really tired so I went to bed early, simply glancing at the stars and smiling.

The next morning I woke up with a smile plastered on my face and I could help but smile the whole day.

The bell rang signaling the end of the most perfect day of my life. Amber seemed to have given up, I had my best friends at my side and maybe, just maybe, my dream boyfriend.

I smiled as I opened my locker and grabbed my notebook because I had no homework (again; the perfect day). I closed my locker and wasn’t even surprised to see Jason staring back at me. I smiled.

“Wanna go to the park for a walk?” He asked. I looked at my friends who were trying to not look disappointed. We already had plans, and I wasn’t going to break them, even for my dream boyfriend.

Jason seemed to understand my dilemma and smiled. “I was hoping your friends could come too, I would like to introduce you to my best friends from my old school.”

All of my friends faces brightened amazingly and we all followed Jason out the door, except Nicole who had a date with Drake.

The park looked better then ever, with the sun setting 2 hours ahead of schedule. It was beautiful.

We saw a picnic table with 4 guys sitting at it.

One for Sarah, Mal, Katie and Shaniece? I could only hope, but I bet they were hoping too.

We reached the table and I realized all the guys were really cute. Instantly I could see which ones would be matched with which girls.

“Hey guys.” Jason said “This is Kat,”
I smiled.
“This is Katie,”
She curtsied.
“This is Mal,”
She did the peace sign.
“This is Sarah,”
She bowed.
“And this is Shaniece,”
Shaniece waved.

After Jason finished introducing us he started introducing the guys.
“This is Josh,”
Jason pointed to a guy who looked like a serious soccer player, and a very funny, dramatic type of guy. My eyes shifted to Mal, perfect.
“This is Chris,”
Jason pointed to a guy who looked like a sporty, funny, interesting guy. My eyes glanced at Sarah, perfect.
“This is Jacob,”
Jason pointed to a blond hair, green eyed cutie that looked really rich, a little shy and funny. My eyes shifted to Katie, perfect.
“And finally, this is Mark.”
Jason pointed to a guy who was obviously perfect for Shaniece. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

Oddly enough; Josh and Mal went off to the right, Chris and Sarah went off to the left, Katie and Jacob went south, Shaniece and Mark went North and Jason and I stayed where we were.

I smiled, “They make perfect matches.” I said.

“I was hoping so…” Jason smiled. We both sat on a bench.

“I have a question… about the roses, I’m a little confused.” I admitted.

“Why?” Jason asked confused.

“Well, 11 of the roses were real and the last was fake,” I said, confusion flashing on my face. Jason smiled.

“Because I will love you till the last one dies.” He said simply.

I smiled, we leaned in, and…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I woke up with a start. I looked up at my alarm clock.

7:00 in the morning on Tuesday December 16th… the first day Jason “supposedly” came to my school and changed my life. So that means that everything after my wish on a star was a dream… nothing else had happened… no Jason, no Dream Boyfriend, no envious cheerleader… nothing.

I hurried and got dressed for school and ran to my bus stop just as the bus was about to leave… but it stopped for me.

I walked up the steps of the bus and a tear rolled down my cheek, because I knew my dream boyfriend was too good to be true.

Never say forever cause forever isn’t real,
Forever is what you think and forever’s what you feel,
So if you say forever, please promise that you’ll try,
But never say forever because forever makes me cry.

I thought sadly as another tear rolled down my cheek and I sat beside Mal. I finally understood what it meant.