"ɪ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀᴅᴏʀᴇᴅ, ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ,"

Bianca said in a light voice. I had been let in by their dad for one of Kat and I's ritual sleepovers. "Where'd you get the pearls?" Kats neck moved back, in shock and I awkwardly leaned in the doorframe, Kat smiling to let me know she had seen me. Moms," she replied, fast, as if it was common knowledge. But at the same time, she moved more quickly now, and seemed to be a bit scared for her sister's reaction. She scoffed and whipped around to face her, And you've been, what hiding them, for three years?" I reached out for Kats hand, and she retracted before sighing, and grabbing mine, in a firm embrace. "No, daddy found them in a drawer last week." Kat's eyes widened, and her voice raised, "So you're just gonna start wearing them now?" Bianca turned back, her voice getting louder too as she responded, "It's not like she's coming back to claim them." Our mouths dropped open, and Bianca went quiet. It was silent before she added, "Besides, they look good on me." She played with them on her neck as we stood there. "Trust me, they don't." Kat stormed out the room, pulling me with her. I let go of her hand as I leaned back into the bathroom. "Even if those pearls are your most prized possession, it doesn't give you the right to defile you mother's name like that. And one day, you're gonna need Kat, and she's not gonna want anything to do with you, Bianca. You need her, your sister." I turned to walk away when she responded, "I don't need she-devil. I don't need to talk about my mother in any type of way. She won't hear it anyway." She chuckled bitterly as she added, "And I certainly don't need your advice." I walked away with my fists clenched. Their mom was like mine; I'd never had a mom, and she was the closest I had ever gotten to one. She was the reason I had turned out alright, and the reason I learned how a girl should be treated, something I had tried to teach my brother. I had learned one thing that night. That Bianca Stratford was a selfish person, and there wasn't any redeeming trait about her.

I walked into the room Kat was sprawled out on her bed. "What a bitch!" I laughed, hopping on next to her, "Yeah." I turned to face her as I asked, "Are you okay." She sniffed a bit, turning to face me with a nod. "Yeah, it just made me mad. Distract me, say something, anything." I nodded, thinking about what to say. "You know," I made eye contact and she gave me a serious look, fully engaged, "my brother wants to go out with you." She rolled her eyes, her body turning to face the ceiling. "Tell me something I don't know." I slapped her chest, "Hey! He's actually pretty nice once you get to know him, and really sweet. He's also really funny, and you guys are pretty much into the same things. Maybe, maybe you should at least get to know him! He seems to be really into you, and he'd be a great boyfriend." She sighed, staring up at the ceiling. She then turned back to me. "Really? He just seems like a player." I shrugged, "He does, doesn't he? But he doesn't really get girls. He can't talk to them for shit." Kat chuckled at me, "Yeah I can tell." She flipped to lie on her stomach, and turned back to look at me. "Yeah, yeah okay. If  I determine him to be slightly decent, I'll give him a chance. Go out with him, I mean." I mimicked Bianca's horrible guy squeal and she screamed, as I grabbed her, laughing.

--

"You crashed into Donner's car?!" I cackled as Kat did, in my ear. "Yeah, yeah I did, after your brother flirted with me. You were right, he's utterly horrible at flirting." I nodded, but then realized she couldn't see me. "Yeah, he's doomed. I heard a beep on the phone line. "Give me a sec, I've got another call on this line." She gave a slight, 'hmm,' and I pressed the transfer button. "Hello?" After a quick pause, I heard a voice respond, "Oh, hey, is this Y/n?" I responded, "This is she, who are you?" They guy added, "Oh, this is Cam." I sighed, "Give me a sec, Cam, I've got a call on the other line." He said okay and I pressed the transfer button again. "Kat, it's Cam." She laughed, making my face turn red. "Now I know, you're blushing. Hang up on me now!" I laughed slightly in embarrassment before whisper-yelling at her to stop. "Tell me how it went at school tomorrow!" With that, she hung up on me, and the call automatically moved Cameron to my line. "You little-" "Hey, are you back yet?" I realized he'd heard me, and quickly calmed myself down before responding, "Yeah, yeah I am. Hey Cam, how are you?" He said he was, "g-good. Yeah. You?" I nodded again, and then rolled my eyes. This is a phone, Y/n. "I'm good too. Is there a reason you're calling?" I heard a deep breath through the line. "I n-need your advice." I sighed deeply, realizing that he wasn't calling to talk to me. "On what?' My voice was light, with disappointment I hoped he couldn't trace. "On-on girls." My jaw clenched, "For Bianca?" I heard an um, and another deep breath. "Yup, Bianca. It's just-how do...how do you make a girl fall for you? You'll teach me, right?" I stared out my window for the longest time. "What do you mean?" I frowned, "What do they like? Um, what do you like?" I was still staring at the horizon, the sun going down, as I responded. 

"I like roses, poems, and electric guitars. I like MTV, movie dates, and Saved By The Bell. I like smart, funny, kind, and loving guys. But Bianca's a different story." He gave a 'hmm?' sound so I continued. "Bianca likes lilacs, pearls, and expensive stuff. She loves fancy restaurants, gold necklaces, and Cheers, because Donner introduced her to it. She likes rich guys who are mean to her, but also vaguely nice." He made a weird noise before saying anything. "This seems complicated. She's so pretty, and smart, and kind. I just want her to like me." I rolled my eyes; she was nothing  like that. And I was beyond livid that he would say all of that to me. "Just make her feel wanted. Like a first choice. Thats what every girl wants, isn't it? To be a first choice?"  I slammed the phone back onto the receiver and huffed.  want to feel wanted by him. I wanted to be a first choice. I grabbed my notebook, scribbling down everything that came to my head, before I feel asleep at my desk. 

--

"Lowenstein's having a party later. You and Kat wanna come?" I walked down the halls with my brother, taking him to his class before I would go to my locker. "I do. But Kat doesn't. I'll make her if you're gonna make some move tonight." I smirked, knowing I had gotten under his skin. "Yeah, yeah moves galore. I heard you on the phone last night. You got pretty mad." I froze, stopping in the hallway. "You simping on Cam, Verona?" I didn't respond. Then, I did. "I-I don't know. I used to like him, maybe I was falling in love with him. But then we left, and now he likes Bianca. I don't know if I still feel the same way. But I'm scared. That he likes her, not me." I looked up at him, confident enough to look him in the eye. He held a sympathy, and he sighed, grabbing my hand. "He's a dork. You're amazing; even better, you're my sister." I laughed and shook my head, "You're gonna have millions of guys begging for you." I started to walk again, giving his hand a squeeze, and he did the same. "What does she like, anyway? Kat, I mean." We stopped in front of his class. "She likes stuff that raises your adrenaline, like huge rollercoasters, Jared Leto, which is great cuz you're a pretty boy. And she likes when people are real with her. Stop flirting, she thinks it's cheesy. Also, climate change, Letters to Cleo, her favorite band, and absolutely no smoking." He smiled at me as he walked inside. "Thank you." I shrugged, saluting him and walking away. What are twins for?  As I reached my locker, I was tapped. I turned around to see Donner holding up two pictures. "Now, let's try again." Bianca rolled her eyes, walking away. "This is important." I scoffed, what could you say that would be this important? "Pick one." 

He held up two identical pictures, only differing in shirt color. "I could care less, but black. You look like a little bitch in white, and slightly less idiotic in black." He smirked, "Damn, I was going for thoughtful, but whatever my lady says, I do." He held up the black one, kissed it, and put the two in a folder. I rolled my eyes, grabbing some books out of my locker. "Hey, are you going to Lowenstein's party tonight?" I shrugged, "Maybe, why, Donner?" He closed his locker as I closed mine, with a smirk still present. "Because I won't bother if you're not gonna be there, Verona. Stratford two is going; maybe she'll get kissed." He winked and I walked away, wishing I hadn't joined the conversation in the first place.

--

"I need some agua." Kat walked away from me, and I continued to dance. We were at a concert for our favorite band Letters to Cleo. Hopefully they'd sing my favorite song. It was why I'd bought the tickets in the first place. It kinda reflected how I felt about Cameron now, although I was confused on how much I felt about him. I wondered what was taking her so long. I walked towards the bar, my head leaning to see around the crowds.  And I saw her, with my brother, a smile on his lips. They walked towards the crowd of people, and the music stopped, for half the club to hear him flirting with her. I laughed as I saw her smile, a smile forming on my lips as well. I was still staring at them when my phone rang, ruining the beginning of my favorite song. "Hello?" It was him. "Hey, Y/n. It's Cam again." I rolled my eyes, "How did you get this number too?" I heard an apprehensive pause before, "Your brother. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you last time." I sighed, bitting my lip slightly. He clearly didn't know when to leave a girl alone; I'd been avoiding him since the last time I'd saw him. 

I didn't wanna hear anything about Bianca again. "I don't know what I said to hurt you, but I'm really sorry. You're my best friend. Or, you were, we were, and I hope we still are now." I heard a crackling in the phone. "Right?" I picked at my thumb, looking back up at the band. "Yeah, yeah, we are." He gave a thoughtful hum before he said anything else. After an awkward silence, "Hey, what's that music in the background?" I rolled my eyes, laughing slightly. I realized he probably thought I was at home, even though it was super loud around me. "It's my favorite band. Letters to Cleo. They're playing my favorite song right now." I could practically see his smile through the phone. "Oh, really? How does it go?" I chewed the inside of my cheek before I decided to sing a part for him. "Only a small part, okay?" He laughed, replying, "Okay, okay, fine." I smiled wide, looking to the floor. "I want you to want me, I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. I'm beggin' you to beg me," I sang lightly into the phone. He made that little sound he always made with his mouth when he smiled. "You always sang so beautifully." My face turned a little red, and I grinned at the ground. When I looked up, I saw that I had caught the attention of Kat. And, surprisingly, my brother. They were smiling at me very smugly, and I walked away, to avoid their looks. 

"Hey, um, Y/n?" I gave a 'hmm' in response, listening to what he had to say next. "I know you don't like her," I realized what direction the conversation was going and groaned. "but, something I've always loved about you was your honesty. And I wanted to thank you for helping me the other day. I started watching Cheers, and I'm gonna hang out with her at Lowenstein's party." I picked at my thumb again, getting my nail caught on some piece of my skin. I kept picking at it until it bled. "Great. Goodbye, Cameron." I pulled my Nokia from my ear with an emotionless face. "Bye, Y/n. See you at school." I flipped it shut, turning around, and walking out of the club as the band finished playing. Relationships are a bunch of bullshit.