What It's Like

Scene 1: Addington High (Locker room)

Jace Kendal

"Vienna Ridley?" He asked Garrett.

"I had to call for a week straight, meet her parents, and buy her a teddy bear, but yes." Locker room talk has become a series of complaints about how hard they have to work for dates now that the feminists have taken over. "After all of that, I'm getting a hotel room."

"Save it for prom," Novak suggested.

"Who said I wanted to take Vienna to prom?" Garrett replied. "New girl, new hotel room."

"Be careful what you say. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a hole in the wall the girls are listening by."

"If I see my name on one more goddamn thing," Edward Townsend huffed.

"I got my father to threaten a defamation suit against the school," Garrett said, proudly. "They gave him the runaround and said they're doing their best to find out who's behind it."

"I think it's Natalie. No one reads that news crap she pumps out every week, so she's doing these rag mags for attention," Novak scoffed.

"No one is taking her out either. She shouldn't have enough information to pull this off."

"Insider trading," Townsend joked.

"It doesn't matter. I got voted best abs, and it clearly made Vienna happy."

"I think that was supposed to teach us a lesson about reducing them to parts of their bodies," Novak rolled his eyes.

"Only you learned it, tiny hands." He tossed a lacrosse stick at him to catch with his below-average hand. "Kendal, do you have a date yet?"

"I'm working on it. Considering Heather..."

"Lame."

"She's never single, and when she is, she's a prude," Townsend agreed.

"Leave her alone," I sighed.

"It might be her. Heather, Audrey, and Alison—they all have a bone to pick, especially with the team."

"I guess we'll find out after Jace gets tired of the chastity belt," Garrett laughed.

I gave them all the middle finger before exiting the locker room.

It's not Heather. No burnouts made the list, and I'm sure she'd have something to say about at least one of them.

And she loves me too much to drag my name through the mud.

"Have you gotten a clue about who is behind the slander magazines?" I asked, casually leaning on the locker beside hers.

"No, but they look professional."

"Like Natalie?"

"Not her style."

I didn't think so either. She's in love with Ethan and whoever made his page clearly can't stand him.

"Are you still single?" I smiled at her.

"Are we no longer talking about the magazine?" Heather laughed, confusedly.

"Maybe not," I kidded.

"I am forever single. At least until I'm in California having a passionate romance with a Hollywood star."

"Don't leave me."

"It's set in stone."

"Remember the prom plans we made the second we started dating." The idea of it is much more exciting when it's farther away.

"Your idea to go in James Bond chic?" She said. "I was bluffing. I knew you'd forget about that movie, eventually."

"Does it seem like I forgot?" I replied. "If we can't have that...how about we wear crowns at the autumn ball together. Who's to say we wouldn't have won?"

"That is a nice offer, and I would, but I agreed to go with Lisa."

"Oh...great." I nodded and shrugged. "You should be with friends, they'll fall apart without you here, so...one last hoorah."

"You can ask someone else. You got some pretty good ratings on that list."

"Definitely," I scoffed, arrogantly. "I think I'll ask this girl I've been talking to. Her name is Venus. She graduated last year, and she's taking a gap year."

"She sounds interesting," Heather said as if it weren't true.

"I'll introduce you."

"Okay. If she doesn't mind, I'll save the last dance for you."

Scene 2: The Plaza Hotel

Audrey Michaels

"She has finally crossed the line," I announced when he let me through the door.

"Who, my dear?" Trevor asked.

"Maisilyn."

"Here I thought the line was crossed after the graffiti on your Michael Kors."

"She kissed me."

A devious smirk came across his face. "And Natalia was worried about me."

"I haven't told her."

"Will you?" He questioned. "Maisilyn kissed you. I can't blame her, but she is to blame."

"Yes...however..."

"Don't tell me you kissed her back..."

"I don't believe I did."

"Then you're off the hook."

"I didn't push her away..."

"And why not?" Trevor said, slyly. The answer he wanted was already in mind. "You liked it."

"This is horrible," I sighed and hid my face in a pillow.

"I am enjoying it."

"She's—not even my type."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you really not see it?"

"Okay, so she's a contender for a John Galliano runway," I admitted. "I prefer Mugler and Westwood."

"You've thought about what designer looks she'd be best showcased in?"

"I do now." My attention was on our feud, I didn't realize the moments I missed that could've warned me that she was hopelessly devoted to me.

"She's Natalia and Ethan combined, of course your loins are burning."

"Ugh, hush," I tossed the throw pillow at him.

"Maisilyn is an attractive, overachieving athlete. That appeals to you," he continued. "Natalia doesn't push your buttons or get her dainty hands dirty."

"I like that about her."

"May I interest you in the act of polyamory? Though, I must admit I have selfish reasons for it."

"Polyamory is an excuse for you to cheat."

"It's the 90s, AJ. Monogamy is out. We're young, undeniably attractive, and affluent—it's time to share the wealth."

"Natalia is mine, and I am hers."

"And Maisilyn's."

I huffed, "It's a fatal attraction."

"How did this happen?"

"She pushed me against the wall-"

"Mm."

"She said that all she wanted was for me to notice her...and now I have."

"To Natalia's dismay," he replied, amused. "The look on her face when she finds out it wasn't me you cheated on her with."

Scene 3: Milligan Townhouse

Alison Sinclair

I stood in front of the house, not knocking, not ringing the doorbell. I considered staying home and ignoring the desire to know why he invited me here, but-

My cellular starts to ring in my purse. I scramble to answer it as if bricks are thin enough to let him know I'm out here.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alison, it's Tony. I called your house but your father said you were out. I need to cancel on you today."

"What?"

"I am not in the best shape. I was hoping to catch you before you left."

"Tony, I'm already outside of your house. You want me to go back home?"

"No...never mind."

I huffed and ended the call. Whenever I need a reminder of why I have done everything I can to avoid you and them and everyone I need to, my feelings are threatened

My arms were crossed when the door opened, but my demeanor immediately softened when I saw his face.

"What happened?" I said in dismay at the bruise under his eye.

"I caught a door with my face."

"How would a door hit you here?"

"I'm not attentive."

"Yes, you are," I sighed. "Is this another way your perfect parents are shaping you into a man?"

"I don't want to discuss that. I asked you here to have a conversation with you while your guard is down," he replied and I scoffed. "Or at least I hoped it would be..."

"I won't be defensive if that's what you mean."

"Thank you."

"How have you been?" I forced myself not to worry about you.

"Great." He put on a smile, and I couldn't help but do the opposite. "Stop," he said quietly and turned away so I couldn't look at his face anymore. He walked toward his couch and sat down, speaking before I could make my way over. "I skipped practice to hang out with some friends, and my parents found out. They said I smelled of smoke, so..."

"That's not okay."

"I didn't want you to see it," he huffed. "Weak, coward, this is why you wrote that, right?"

"No, I would never make fun of you for this."

"You are the only one who knows. Unless you told your friends...who else could have written it?"

"It was me, but not because of your father. I thought you liked me, but then you and your mother called me a biblical jezebel...and I realized that was what stopped you."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Stopped me?"

"From being with me."

Tony shook his head. "Too many guys get into friendships with girls under false pretenses. I didn't want you to think that I would do that...and you chose Jace."

"I couldn't let you have the advantage. Boys aren't nice to girls they think they can screw over. Jace was a fling...I needed to show myself that I had other options and wasn't pathetically stuck on one guy who was only half interested in me."

"Then why were you so upset when I did the same thing?"

"It was less about your fling and more so about what you must think of me. I know what your friends say, I've heard the jokes about me 'getting around.' It felt like that was the reason you never made a move."

"So, it isn't about what I think of you, it's what you think of me. You believed I would let a few asinine jokes steer me away from you, yet you chose the guy making the jokes?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't find out..." Which sounds idiotic to say out loud. "I didn't know what to do. It seemed foolish to like you."

"You could've talked to me before you did everything else. It hurts that you didn't."

"I have an uncontrollable need to feel wanted, and Jace fulfilled that. You weren't supposed to get hurt." I laughed, weakly, "the nerve of me to be hurt by you wanting someone else. You deserved Sabrina."

He shook his head. "I wanted you."

I scoffed. "The whore that I am."

"Virgin, Jesus freak." He pointed to himself.

"Match made in the heaven I won't get into."

"That's okay, I won't go either." He shrugged and motioned for me to move closer to him until we were side by side on the sofa. "I forgive you."

"You shouldn't."

"I like you, even now."

I shook my head, shamefully. "You shouldn't."

"But we're taking it slow. Can you handle that?"

"Of course, I can."

"Good, because I'm going to kiss you-" His arm came across my waist before his lips were against mine, "without ripping your clothes off after."

Scene 4: The Helmsley Hotel

Leo Rylin

"Hey..." Heather approached me cautiously.

"I wasn't going to come here but I need to talk to you."

"I would've let you in."

"Yeah, but-" I shrugged, laughed, and shook my head. I'm crossing enough lines just by showing up. I could've called, instead. I still know her number by heart, but I wanted this to be face-to-face.

She raises an eyebrow at me. "Have you been drinking?"

"A little," I admitted. "It's probably why I'm here."

"You're giggly."

I smiled and shielded my mouth from her until I could stop. "Me and Trey drank some beers after work and then had his uncle come get us. I told him to drop me off in front of your hotel."

"Let's go," she moved toward the elevator.

"No...I shouldn't be in your house."

"You shouldn't be drunk in the lobby, either," she argued, and even if I agreed, I knew going with her wasn't the right thing to do. "We can stay in the living room. Would she mind that?"

"Yes."

"Then talk fast," Heather shrugged, walking off and not caring if I didn't follow her.

It irritates her that I respect the boundaries of my relationship. She's annoyed that I have to change the way I interact with her. It can't be the same as before we were dating and definitely not how it was after. We're in uncharted territory.

"Sorry," I said once the elevator doors shut.

"For what?"

"Getting on your nerves."

She sighed. "I'm going to have you driven home."

"I'm not wasted. I can make it back by myself."

"I've already decided."

I scoffed and chuckled at the fact that she wasn't going to listen to a thing I said. That's one thing that stays the same no matter what. Heather gets her way.

"It's empty in here," I said in confusion, hardly recognizing her place. All the decorations are gone and now there's only furniture.

"You get used to it."

I laid across her couch and watched as she stood a distance away. "How long until your..." I gestured toward the door.

"It'll be a warm Christmas."

And that's all I'll think about when it's snowing here...

"I haven't been able to focus since we last talked. I didn't handle it right after you said everything."

She shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself, uncomfortable at the mention of it. "You don't have to say anything."

"I do. You caught me off guard, so I didn't respond how I should've. I was gonna write you a letter, but it made me overthink even more and would've been shit and said all the wrong stuff. I need to talk to you so you understand."

"I'm listening."

"I needed to get over you, I was a fucking wreck when you left. I was snapping on people all the time, and no one wanted to be around me, so I had to move on quickly. I had to. It's not because I didn't still love you, it's because loving you fucking sucked when you left."

"Well, then...I'm glad you found someone."

"No, you're not." I chuckled. "Stop being polite."

"Okay, I'm not..." she admitted, "but I wish I was."

"Don't, I get it. It's why I can't stand Anderson."

"Adrian."

"You can do better."

"But if I say that I get called a mean girl."

"You've said enough."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you're happy...even if I'm not happy for you."

"Thanks, butterfly..." Heather nodded and shrugged again. "I don't regret you more than you regret me. I don't regret you at all...you're my favorite memory."

She frowned, it was a split second, but I caught it before she looked away from me like there's too much sincerity in eye contact. "That's sweet..."

"I mean it—you are," I reassured her because I can feel the sadness here. "And forget what I said when we were fighting, it was all crap. You were right, I did need you to be clingy because I do get jealous easily, and I loved that you never wanted to get off me."

"You called me boring, you asshole."

I smirked. "You called me a loser, you bitch."

She gasped and contained the smile I almost got to see on her face. "I took it back."

"And you think I could fall for you if I thought you were boring?"

"I never knew what made you like me."

"I know, so I used it against you. But I liked a lot, you were never boring."

"Thank you...for talking to me."

"I didn't want you to think I had the upper hand or something. I know how you get when you think things are one-sided."

She laughed to herself. "I'm that transparent?"

I shook my head. "I told you, I know you."

"I suppose you do."

I can't remember if we used to have these moments of just...quiet. It's not the bad kind that feels awkward if we don't say anything, but it's different. We must have filled these moments with something else.

"I should go now."

"Okay. I'll see you...around."

"Yeah." I nodded and she stood there while I made my way toward the door.

"Leo?"                               "Heather?"

"I'm sorry, you can go first," she apologized.

"No, what were you going to say?"

"Do you have Halloween plans?"

I smiled, slyly. "Why?"

"I'm having a party, and you're welcome to come...if you don't already have something."

"Thanks. I'll try to make it."

She nodded and shyly held herself for comfort. "Your turn."

"I miss you, too."