Chapter 8

It’s Monday, and as I walk down the hallway towards my locker, I tell myself that there are only eight months to go, and then I’ll be out of this shithole.

I get through the first few periods with success, but then, during lunch, it suddenly downs on me that I have P.E., and the rest of my good mood goes away. I hate physical education not only because we sweat like pigs for no reason, but also because I am sometimes teamed up with Niall and I hate having to work with him.

And since it’s raining outside at the moment, we’ll do it indoors, which means that our P.E. teacher will force us into a game of dodge ball that no girl likes to play because if the ball hits us in the face, it will ruin our make up.

I grab my small bag from my locker containing a Nike bustier and jacket, my favorite leggings, and my trainers.

Jake, Sophia, and I walk towards the changing rooms that are located on the other side of the school, which is another reason to hate P.E. The only good thing about taking the ‘class’ is that it’s an easy A.

"Nicki, you’re a cheerleader and a dancer, how can you hate sports?" Sophia asks when she’s finally fed up with my mumbling.

I stand up from the bench and pull up my leggings, before I put on my jacket. "Because I don’t like sweating for nothing."

"Then you should’ve picked chemistry or some shit." She says, knowing very well that chemistry is the last class I would ever take.

We gather up in the gym, all twenty-five of us. The football coach tells us to do a lap and then warm up before we get started on a game of dodge ball, because there’s nothing else to do really. In the twelfth grade, we get marks basically on doing nothing, but if we did P.E. outside, the guys could at least play football while the girls either talked in the bleachers or rehearsed some cheerleading routines.

Jake and Niall get picked to be captains, and after the teams are done, we settle on each side of the playing field. I just want to get kicked out as fast as possible to be honest, because I’m not in the mood at all.

Sophia and Jake are the first ones out as per usual, and for some reason, I can’t seem to get kicked out. Niall probably hates me so much that he wants to keep me in the game for as long as he can.

That, however, changes, when I see a ball flying right at my face and hitting me in the chest, nearly knocking me over. I see a smirking Niall waving at me as a gesture of saying goodbye, so I flip him off and walk over to Sophia and Jake, who are already sitting down.

"Thank God I have small boobs right?" I say and they both laugh, which makes my day a little better.

The day ends up getting worse after the last period, when Poppy approaches me with a hesitant smile.

"Hi Nicki, you coming to dance class tonight right?"

I nod as I open the door to my car and throw my purse in the backseat. But I know her too well to know that this is not why she approached me.

"So what’s up?" I ask, leaning against the door as Jason, Jake, and Sophia climb inside.

"Well, here’s the thing. You know about Niall and I…" she trails off.

"Unfortunately, yes. Why?"

"Because I really want to go on a date with him so he can see me as more than a…you know, fuckbuddy, and asking him to go out, just the two of us, would be weird and he’d never say yes."

I frown, not liking where this is going. "And what does it have to do with me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could ask Jasper to talk to him."

"To ask you out?" I ask, hopefully.

"No, to go on a double date."

I inhale deeply. "Seriously? I think you have better chances of going on a proper date with him than going on a double date with me."

"Please? Can you at least try?" she asks, and I nod, giving up.

She leaves me alone, so I climb into my car and shut the door way too loud than I usually do.

"Why are you angry?" Jake asks, but I wave it off as I start the car.

***

To say I’m excited for my dance rehearsals would be an understatement. I can barely contain by happiness as I walk into the room after changing into my dancing clothes.

Sophia, Poppy, and my cousin Katy, who arrived last night from her holiday, are already inside doing their warm-ups and idly chatting about something.

"There she is." Poppy smiles and comes over. I’m in no mood to talk to her, because I know she’ll ask me whether I’ve talked to Jasper, and to be honest, that’s the last thing I want to be thinking about right now. A double date with Niall? No thank you.

I look at her as she comes closer, until she stops a few feet away from me, and smiles.

"So…I don’t want to be annoying, but have you talked to Jasper?"

I roll my eyes. "No I haven’t, but I will."

"I’m sorry to be annoying-"

Thank God our instructor, Danielle, walks in with a smile on her face, otherwise I would’ve probably ripped my hair out.

I know that at some point during the week, I’ll have to ask Jasper, because I wouldn’t get Poppy off my back otherwise, but until then, the only thing I could do was pray he’d say no.

For the next two hours, while Danielle talks about the upcoming shows and competitions, my mind trails off to an alternate universe where Niall and I actually get along.

I wonder how that would be…no fights, no stress, and definitely a lot less nose scrunches. Oh, how wonderful that life must be…

***

I finally ask Jasper about the double date on Thursday after school, because I’m hoping he has plans with his friends or something, so he won’t be able to attend.

"Hi babe." He greets me by my car, because I texted him to wait for me so we could talk. "What’s up?"

"Okay, so there’s this thing I have to ask you, but don’t feel at all obligated to say yes."

He nods, frowning. "What is it?"

"Poppy asked me if we’d go on a double date with her and Niall tomorrow, because she’s afraid of asking him if he wants to go out…you know, just the two of them." I say, just to get it over with. "But if you have any other plans, then I understand and we don’t-"

"Sure, let’s do it." he says.

I smile. "Aww, I knew you wouldn’t-wait what?"

"Why not? I mean, Poppy will get what she wants because she likes him, and maybe you’ll start getting along with Niall."

I snort. "Okay…the chances of that happening are like…the chances of Jake turning straight."

I hear Jake laugh from inside the car, but I don’t bother with him. I look at my boyfriend with puppy eyes.

"Babe pleaseeee…don’t do this. If you truly love me, make up something-"

"Nicki. Come on, that’s not fair. Poppy is your friend, I think you can manage two hours. Plus, I’ll be there to keep Niall and you occupied." He laughs, and I end up agreeing with him.

"Fineee." I sigh and he pulls me into him.

"It’ll be fine, you’ll see."

"Well, we’ll see about that. Because Niall has yet to find out, and I think he’ll be as excited about it as I am."

***

Turns out, Niall actually agreed to the date, so those news were enough to ruin the entire Friday for me. Which is something really big since I love Fridays. I even have underwear that spell "TGIF" on the back.

I hate everything and everyone for the rest of the day, until I get home and finally throw myself on the bed, defeated by life.

I’m supposed to meet Jasper, Niall and Poppy at a restaurant in the city centre at seven, so I have three more hours to get ready. Which means, I have two hours to watch my show, and then an hour to get ready.

As I stare at the screen, trying to understand something from the show, I can’t help but trail off to a dark place in my head, where I actually get along with Niall.

And it’s the fifth time in three days that I do that, which isn’t like me at all. When I usually think about Niall, the first instinct is to throw up, so something is definitely wrong. The only solution to this problem is to get tipsy on wine, but in order to do that, I have to get dressed and actually get moving.

I get out of bed and hop into the shower, before I get started on my makeup while Rosa irons my black Moschino dress. My phone is already buzzing, which means it’s either Poppy to ask what I’m wearing, or Jasper to ask if I’ve started my makeup, because he knows how long I usually take. I don’t check it though, because I’m in the middle of applying my eyeliner, which needs exact precision and maximum concentration.

Once I’m done, I come out of the bathroom to see that Rosa has already laid my dress up on the bed for me, along with the Louboutin’s I told her I’d wear. I smile as I dress up, trying not to smear my makeup, and then check myself out in the mirror.

I walk back to the closet and take out a golden blazer to complete the outfit. It’s a quarter before seven, so I’m going to be right on time.

After I call an Uber, I send a message to Poppy, asking why she called me.

"I’M LEAVING!" I yell as I walk down the stairs.

"BYE!" Jason answers back right before I fix my hair in the mirror by the door and exit the house.

I get to the restaurant ten minutes late because the Uber driver apparently didn’t know the route, and now I’ve definitely pissed off Poppy, and probably Jasper.

They’re already at a table of four, looking at their menus when I walk up to them. Now that I look around, it seems that I’m way too dressed up for the place, and for the occasion. Poppy is dressed in a nice lace dress, Jasper is wearing a white button-up, and Niall has a simple Grey t-shirt on. I’m way too overdressed, and judging by the way Niall is looking at me, I’m also a pathetic rich girl.

I don’t mind him as I kiss my boyfriend on the lips, Poppy on the cheek, and then sit down. Jasper hands me the menu before he continues talking to Niall about football or whatever they were talking about.

Poppy looks at me from behind her own menu, and mouths "thank you" to me. I smile and nod. So far so good, so there’s no reason for me to be annoyed at her.

That, however, changes one hour later, when we’re eating our main course and idly chatting about the affair between a teacher and a student we think is going on at school. I can’t help but notice the way Niall looks at me as I eat, like he’s judging me or something. It all gets too much when he literally snorts as I put another bite into my mouth.