When I woke up yesterday, everything seemed perfectly normal. Normal weather, normal hair, normal jerks thinking that they were gods gift and that I should bow down and kiss their feet. And then he walked in. He didn’t say anything to me, didn’t even look my way, but I knew he was something special. He was someone who, while he knew he was cute, pretended he didn’t. He was someone who would open your door for you, no matter how long you had been together. He was someone who could change me forever, I jut wasn’t sure if it would be for the better. 

I’m just your average girl. Not fat, but not skinny. Brown hair, but not dull brown hair. Smart, but not a genius. You know the type. The type of girl that will always be your friend but never something more. I am perpetually stuck in the friend zone, and believe it or not, I’m okay with that, at least for now. I’m still in school at the moment, so there is still time for me to find someone and live all that mumbo-jumbo romance novels talk about. 

I grew up in a small town in Virginia, where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everyone’s business. Whenever someone got together, the whole town talked about it. Whether they thought it was a match made in heaven, or hell. They would take bets on anything from when the first pregnancy scare was going to happen to how long it would last until someone began to stray. I was never talked about that much in high school. You tend to stay off the radar when you are invisible. When you aren’t one of the pretty people, no one ever really cares what you do, or who you do it with. That was until Jack Roberts asked me out. It got the whole town buzzing. Jack Roberts had asked out plain Zooey Nicole. I think the only thing that saved me in their discussion over me and why he had chosen me over everyone in Stonebridge High is my name. It would have been a lot worse had my name been something plain and boring, like Jane or Judith. Zooey is an eccentric name, so that can only mean that I was eccentric. They were wrong, and as it turned out, they were also wrong about Jack asking me out. You see, my locker was right next to Britney Tiplady’s locker. Britney Tiplady is probably the prettiest of the pretty people. When Jack found out he had put his love note in the wrong locker, he made sure to tell the whole town as loudly and as quickly as possible. Because how could Jack Roberts, even know who Zooey Nicole was, let alone want to be with her. 

That is why the moment I could, I got out of that town. I went to a college as far away from everyone and anyone who knew that Zooey Nicole was nobody special. My plan was to go to the University of Oregon and start new, become one of the pretty people. My plan didn’t go work out exactly as I had planned. It turns out, it takes a lot more than just a front of confidence and nice clothes to be a pretty person. You need to not only have the appearance of greatness and eliteness, you need to actually be great and elite. I’m not talking about changing the world or winning a Noble Peace Prize by the age of twenty-five. You need to be a great athlete or dancer, and know that you are great at what you do. You need to be able to look at someone like me and know that no matter where we both go in life, you will always be better. I apparently am a Mother Teresa type. I pull over to help a turtle cross the street, and carries an old lady’s groceries to her car. Pretty people don’t do that type of stuff, and the moment they found out I was a fraud it all went down the drain. Now I am even worse than invisible, I’m an outcast. I am only on campus long enough to go to class, and the entire time I am there I keep my head down. 

If I had kept my head down yesterday, I wouldn’t be in the mess I am in now. I would have never seen Nick walk into the room. I would have never fallen in love. As it turns out, Nick isn’t a dick like the majority of pretty people. A girl, who unfortunately is deemed even uncooler than I am, dropped her books as she was coming into class. She is taking the History of War class as an elective, she is really one of those brainy types who will one day cure AIDS, hence the books. Well, while the other pretty people laughed and made jokes, Nick bent down and helped her pick them up. And, to top it all off, he introduced himself and went to go sit in the seat next to her. All the while, the poor girl, Elizabeth, stared open mouthed at him like he had grown a second head. Now, I can’t really fault her, because by the time she got to the seat next to me and Nick was seated behind me, my jaw was on the floor as well. And he talks to us until Professor Michaels walks in the door. Once class was done he said “See ya later”, gave a smirk, and left. It was the type of day that makes a million dreams. 

“Oh, my God. Can you believe that? What the hell was that?” Elizabeth asks as we are leaving class.

“I have no idea. I think we may have fallen into a parallel universe or something. He must be an alien.” I reply, because lets face it, he had to have noticed what we were. The outcasts.

“He was so nice. And cute. He had the type of hair that looks like he just wakes up and it is perfect. And it must be so soft. I bet it is soft, do you think it is soft?” Elizabeth can be a bit weird when she wants to be, but she is one of my only friends here, so I don’t judge her.

“Elizabeth, this is exactly why people think we are freaks. It was just another guy, on another day, in another class. Nothing special, and we can’t read anything more into it because if we do nothing good will come of it.” I am the reasonable one, or at least I keep telling myself that as we walk across campus to grab something to eat. All the while fantasizing about what our kids will look like.

“I don’t believe that for a second, Zooey. I think we are on our way to something important. I can feel it. I don’t know if it will be good or bad, but it’s something.” If only we could have known just how right Elizabeth was.

“You are so weird,” Nick says as Elizabeth and I pile into our seats. 

“How am I weird? Glee is awesome.” It bogles my mind how anyone could not see how awesome that show is, especially someone who is a music major like Nick.

“It’s crap.” 

“Elizabeth, what do you think? Glee is awesome and Nick needs to stop being a neanderthal and embrace the awesomeness, or, hmmm, well there really isn’t an or in this scenario?” I can always count on Elizabeth.

“It’s crap”, Elizabeth states, while giving Nick a smile.

“You both suck”, and I thought girlfriends were always suppose to have each others backs. Bros before hoes, or vice versa as the case may be. With a nicer word than hoes. 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Marcus asks us as he meanders into class with the rest of his friends. 

“Marcus.” And that was all it took. Nick simply says his name and Marcus, and his posse of brainless drones, walk off. They give Nick the guy head nod for acknowledgement and then walk off. Like magic. 

“I’m sorry about that ladies. I’ll talk to him after class. I thought I had settled it, but it looks like he needs reminding.” With that simple statement, Nick has become our savior. 

A Few Weeks Ago

Nick has been sitting with us every class since the first day. We even have gotten together for lunch some days. Elizabeth and I have learned that Nick lives with his best friend Alex and is a music major, but likes history so has decided to make that his minor. He likes the color green, wants to one day live on a beach, and it terrified of flying. And best of all, he is a gentleman. He opens doors for us, asks if he can carry Elizabeth’s books for her, and sticks up for me when the pretty people decided they are bored and need a little entertainment.

“Hey Zooey, you wanna suck my cock, oh wait, that’s right, Mother Teresa doesn’t suck cock, do you? You pretend, you play the part, but when it comes down to it, you are still nothing but a tease,” Marcus, captain of the football team, screams across the quad.

Of course Marcus’s whole crew laughs at this, while the girls who they are sitting with sneer at me. Knowing that if I happen to decide to suck someone’s cock that they will more than likely lose a boyfriend or two. College football stars are not known for their great monogamy skills. Nick is friends with Marcus and his crew. They all go to parties together, hang out on Friday nights at the sports bar on campus watching football and making bets. Do the typical pretty people guy stuff that only really appeals to them. 

“Marcus, shut the hell up. You’re just pissed that when you offered your dick up she was smart enough to tell you to go fuck yourself,” Nick screams back before I can say anything. Not that I would ever say anything to begin with, but it was nice to have someone jump to my defense. 

“Oh man, you know I’m just playing with her. Nothing serious. Right guys?” Marcus likes Nick because apparently Nick’s family is super influential. Nick’s dad is a lawyer and Marcus’s brother is in law school right now, hoping the Marcus’s connection with Nick will be his ticket into Nick’s dad’s law firm. Especially since his grades suck and there have been a few complaints from women regarding his grabby hands.

“I didn’t think it was funny. Did you think it was funny?” Nick asks while looking in our direction. Of course we didn’t think it was funny, especially considering we knew the reason behind Marcus’s comments. Our blank stares must have been answer enough though, since Nick kept going.

“I didn’t think so. Why don’t you grow up Marcus? We aren’t in high school anymore and shit that people thought was cool then is definitely not cool now.” By know the entire quad has stopped to listen, everyone wondering what Marcus will say to that, and what exactly is going on between Nick and the nobodys.

“Shit man, I’m sorry ok. We still cool? You’re still coming to the party tonight?” Marcus asks, almost as if he is speaking to a parent who just reprimanded him and not to a supposed friend who simply has a soft spot for the little people.

“Of course I’ll be there, I never miss a good party”.

Present

“So Elizabeth, Zooey, you ladies doing anything special tonight?” Nick asks as we are packing up our stuff. I am thanking the Lord that it is Friday, which means that I have a whole two days before I have to return to this hell hole.

“We were just going to have a girl’s night in, nothing too special”, Elizabeth answers, “It is the same thing we do every Friday night. Kinda like our own little tradition.”

“And that is exactly why I am asking this, wanna go to a party?” 

“We don’t exactly mesh well with your friends Nick, I don’t think it is a good idea.” I say as nicely as possible even though what I really want to do is smack him over the head and ask if he is crazy.

“It isn’t a party they will be at. My roommate is throwing it at a club in town, and while I was suppose to go with someone, they ditched me with someone who has a nicer accent. And so, I thought to myself, who else would I want to go with to this party? And you know what I thought to myself?” Nick questions us. 

“That maybe the real reason your date ditched you was because she found out how weird you are and did the only thing she could do, run”. I say, trying hard to keep the smile off of my face.

“No, but nice try on the whole insult thing, you may want to try not to look so proud of yourself next time. I thought, who better to hang out with than the two best girls I know, you guys”. Nick says, all the while acting like we should be so honored he offered. 

“Sure, I mean, if Zooey wants too” Elizabeth exclaims, she appears to be going for nonchalance, and is failing miserably. 

“Yea, I guess, how bad can it be? Hell, we might actually have fun.” 

And with that it is settled. Nick will pick us up at 8 for the night of our lives. If only we would have known before hand what was to happen, maybe Elizabeth and I would have decided that doing the same boring thing every Friday night wasn’t as bad as we thought.

While I didn’t want to blare it from the roof tops, like Elizabeth, I was excited that Nick had asked us to go to the party with him. Granted, we were his second choice since his nastified girlfriend decided to dump him for one of the French exchange students, but I was excited nonetheless. 

“Tonight is going to be different, it will be the first night to the new Elizabeth and Zooey, the first night of us living the lives we were suppose to and not the lives that we do,” I state as confident as I can manage while wearing a dress that feels like it is a size too small. 

“I agree. I mean, so what if I am slightly nerdish, and so what if the entire campus thinks you are some sort of Mother Theresa tease, we are mature, engaging women and it is time that the male population saw us as such,” Elizabeth replies back, sounding more confident that I do, I think it is because while she conned me into buying this nothing of a dress, she is wearing something practical, nice black pants with a sequin tank top. I on the other hand am wearing a barely there black dress with a bright pink belt. I don’t know why I let her talk me into buying the stupid thing. It’s not like I look all that good in it or anything. This is the type of thing that Nick’s ex would wear, not me, which may be in part why I let Elizabeth talk me into buying it. I would be lying if I didn’t say I thought Nick was gorgeous. He is the type of gorgeous that is seems so unattainable, it actually becomes attainable, if you know what I mean. If you look at the man to long, your eyes start to hurt from looking at it all. Elizabeth is slightly more vocal in her appreciation of him, but I totally agree with everything she ever says about him.

“Some sort of Mother Theresa tease? Really?”

“What? Marcus is always saying something or other about you and since you never care to answer any questions about the situation, I had to make my own opinion on one sided facts. And those one sided facts say you are a Mother Theresa in disguise. One of the worse kinds of teases from what I hear because you don’t know it until they hit you in the face,” Elizabeth explains. I know that she is only saying the truth, since I refuse to explain myself to her and to anyone. I want to forget that part of my life, and the only way I will ever be able to do that is to stop talking about it.

“Well, those one sided facts are wrong and I thought you would understand why I don’t feel the need to explain myself. It happened a long time ago and I just want to move on from it.” Sometimes I feel like Elizabeth is only my friend because I am worse off then her, and sometimes I feel like I am only her friend because she was one of the few people who weren’t around at the time the whole Marcus fiasco happened.

“I know Zooey, and I’m sorry. I just can’t help but feel left out on something that I feel as one of your closets friends I should know about. Whenever Marcus comes near you there is this change in the air, it is palpable. The contempt you each have for the other. But forget it. I didn’t even bring it up. Tonight is not about that, it is about the future. Right?”

“Right. Let’s go, our future awaits.” At that, Elizabeth and I linked arms, grabbed a cab, and headed towards our destiny.

By the time we arrived at the club, the party had already started. So as not to look to desperate or stand out too much we decided to hit the bar before surveying the club for Nick. 

“I’ll have a rum and coke,” as the bartender goes to make my drink I turn to speak to Elizabeth when I see a guy has taken her place next to me.

“Hey, are you a friend of Alex’s?” The guy asks me. No opening line, just wanting to know if I am a friend of Alex’s.

“No, I’m a friend of Nick’s. He invited me and my friend here tonight to hang out outside of class.” I know it’s not smart to give a guy too much information when you first meet, but I figure I can always have my knight in shining armor rescue should he get to creepy. 

“That’s cool. I didn’t take you for a friend of Alex’s, he tends to go for a different sort of person. Nick, I can see that,” he replies.

“What do you mean by that?” You can’t just say something like that to someone and not have to explain yourself.

“I just mean, Alex goes for the darker types. The pale faced, black hair, red lips type. Nick goes for the beachy looking girls with nice bodies and an even better sense of style. You know, the supermodel type.” 

I can’t help it, I laughed out loud at that. Here I tried so hard to be that type of girl and all it took was this one dress and a little bit of makeup, and maybe a rum and coke. 

“You think I’m the supermodel type? Really?” I can’t help it, I’m totally blushing. I know this guy is just trying to get in my panties and I know that I will never fall for it, but it is nice to be complimented, no matter what the reason.

“Whose your friend Brodie?” Nick asks as he walks up from behind me. As I turn around and face Nick, his mouth drops open and he just stares.

“Oh my God, Zooey, you look, I mean, you always look, but my God, I never knew, you look, damn,” Nick continues to stammer out his compliment while both his friend Brodie and I look on trying not to laugh.

“Thanks Nick, Elizabeth suggested I buy the dress. Since we are breaking with tradition, we might as well reinvent ourselves in the process.”

“Zooey? That’s an interesting name, is it a family name?” Brodie asks, like he legitimately wants to know.

“No, my mom is a bit weird and she felt like I need an unusual name that will make me stand out without ever saying a word.”

“Well, she obviously didn’t know how smokin’ you would be. You don’t need an unusual name to stand out, just stand there,” Brodie says, while giving me that weird look guys give to girls they find appealing. Meanwhile, Nick is giving Brodie a weird look if his own, one that I can’t place.

“Thanks”, I reply while trying to keep the goofy grin off of my face. And at that, Nick turns his weird look onto me.

“Have you seen Elizabeth?” Nick asks, in a tone that I’m not sure that I like.

“Yea, we came together. I thought she was right behind me, but after I ordered my drink she must have wondered off on her own.”

“Way to not sound concerned Zooey, she could be off doing God knows what with God knows who. Don’t you think you should sound slightly more concerned? Shouldn’t we go look for her?” Nick asks, in a tone I know for sure that I don’t like.

“What the hell crawled up your butt? One minute you saddle on up here like you want to have a threesome with the unknown girl and your buddy here and then all of a sudden you find out it is me here and you get all judgmental? Elizabeth is a big girl Nick and she can take care of herself. But since I am obviously such a loser of a friend, I will go and try to find her to make you happy”, I sarcastically reply to his questioning, trying not to turn and stomp off like a two year old. 

“Whoa, I don’t think Nick meant it like that. Don’t be mad at him or anything, he’s just being Nick” Brodie says, trying to smooth things over. As he does so, he lays his hand on my arm to keep me in place.

“No, I meant it like it sounded. Come on, I’m not going to let you disappear without a trace”, and with that Nick grabs the same arm that Brodie was touching and proceeds to drag me through the club like a neanderthal on crack.

“I don’t want you talking to Brodie, he isn’t a good guy. He uses girls like you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I scream over the music since we are now close to a speaker. Where does he come off telling me who I can and can’t talk to. 

“Brodie. I saw the two of you. You were practically taking your panties off right there. He had you eating out of his hand in a matter of seconds. And I would put money on the fact that you didn’t know his name before I came up. He isn’t good for you.” Nick says to me, like he is speaking to a child who has been playing too close to a fire.

“You saw nothing, Nick. We were talking. And we had only been talking for a couple of seconds when you came up. Brodie is not getting into my panties, haven’t you heard the rumors? I’m the Mother Theresa Tease. You have to defend me against the likes of Marcus almost every day. What made you think that Brodie would give me a few compliments and I would go off and find some hallway to screw him? What’s the real bug up your butt because unless you deal with it rather quickly you can hang out by yourself tonight.” With that said, I finally do what I had been wanting to, stomp off.

I don’t know what his problem is, I can understand being protective, but this is beyond that. And what gives him the right to yell at me like a child? I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions and my own mistakes. Not that I have any desire whatsoever to sleep with Brodie, but still. I am a strong, independent woman without any attachments. I can do what I want. Gah, men are so annoying.

As I was stomping off I could feel Nick’s eyes boring into my back, but I don’t care. He deserved it. 

“Hey, I’m sorry about Nick. He gets in moods sometimes and doesn’t realize what the hell he is saying until someone punches him or throws a drink in his face”, Brodie says as way of greeting. 

“Sorry to be acting like a creeper, I promise I won’t make your bones into wind-chimes or anything. I just know Nick and I know that this whole thing with Taylor is eating him up.”

So Taylor is the girl that dumped him, interesting. 

“It’s fine, although you are right about the drink thing, if they weren’t so expensive I would have thrown mine in his face and maybe have even punched him.” And it surprises me that I am telling the truth, Nick is no longer the “perfect” perfect person, he has his flaws. What sucks the most about that knowledge that instead of making me like him less and view him less as a god, it only makes me want to turn around and hug him.

“Well, how about this, when you are done with that one, the next one is on me. As a way of apologizing for how shitty your night has started.”

“I couldn’t ask that of you, its a nice offer, but it isn’t your fault that this night isn’t turning out like I had planned.”

“Well, then it is my way of making sure it ends the way you planned. Let’s go find this friend of yours and dance the night away, sound like a plan?” He asks, throwing in a grin for good measure. 

“Yea, you know what, I could definitely use some fun, and you haven’t done anything creepy.” I reply, adding my own grin in as I feel Nick start to hover around us. 

And with that, Brodie and I are in the search for Elizabeth. And where did we find her, in the VIP section dancing with Nick’s roommate, Alex.

“Oh my God, Zooey, you have to meet Alex. He is totally awesome. We were just talking about how much we have in common it is scary crazy.” She screams at me, I think she has had a few more drinks then me and it makes me worried.

“Elizabeth, sweetheart, how much have you had to drink?” I ask as nicely as possible trying not to sound too accusatory of either her or Alex.

“I’ve only had three”, she answers while holding up five fingers.

“She’s only had two, but she mentioned she came here with you earlier so if she got any worse I was going to have Nick and you come here.” Alex sounds so sincere and honest, there isn’t anything I can do but believe him.

“Holy hell, is she tanked?” Nick asks, coming up behind Brodie and I.

“NICK! How are you? I met Alex already, and let me tell you, you have an awesome roommate”, Elizabeth screams, even louder than when I walked in. 

“Did you see Zooey? Doesn’t she look hot? I told her that she is totally hot, but it isn’t the same thing when a girlfriend says it. Tell her she looks hot”, and with that yelled so the entire VIP section can hear, Elizabeth goes back to her version of dancing, twirling in a circle.

By this time I am so red, either from embarrassment or anger I can’t be sure, that I could feel the heat radiating off my face. Brodie doesn’t help matters.

“Well, aren’t you going to do what the girl said, tell Zooey she looks hot”, Brodie goads. I can see he is loving this whole exchange. 

After a few seconds go by I begin to realize that Nick isn’t going to say that, and the blush turns to one of shame. I knew this dress was a bad idea, I knew coming here was a bad idea, I knew nothing good could come from this night. Just as I am about to turn Nick grabs my arm holding me in place.

“You look hot in that dress Zooey.” And that is it. He turns and stomps away from me, the exact same way that I had done to him minutes before.

What am I suppose to read into that? The way he said it, he looked me right in the eye, like it was just the two of us. I think I felt it in the pit of my stomach, but why just walk off? I’m just beginning to contemplate it when all of a sudden Elizabeth screams, “OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SONG!” and proceeds to drag me down to the dance floor. 

“Nick was totally giving you the eye up there,” Elizabeth calmly says to me while we are dancing our butt off to Katy Perry’s Firework.

“Oh my god, were you faking it up there? What are you up to?” I ask, beginning to grow suspicious of not only her, but of Alex as well.

“Nothing, I’m not up to anything. I just figured what better way to not have a guy want to buy you drinks when you already seem tanked enough to pass out.” Elizabeth answers, which would usually be enough to appease me since I know that is something she would probably think up, but since I also know when she is lying I don’t believe her for a second.

“You’re lying, what are you up to?” I ask, growing more worried by the minute.

“Fine, Alex and I were talking and we realized something. That Nick is perfect for you and you are perfect for Nick, and with the right prodding, you could be perfect together. And don’t lie to me, I saw him speak to you before he left. There is something there, whether you to idiots are smart enough to realize it or not.” And with that said, Elizabeth turns her back to me and continues to dance. 

“Oh no, you don’t get to say shit like that to me and then drop it like it is no big deal. What were you and Alex talking about that made you guys all of a sudden compare notes and realize that we are perfect together? You were by yourself for like thirty minutes.” Some times I really think that she is crazy, not the psycho crazy, but the crazy where you don’t know you are until it is too late and you are locked up in some asylum somewhere petting imaginary bunnies. I must have looked at her as such.

“What?! Alex just mentioned that since Nick has been hanging out with us, he has kinda distanced himself from some of his former friends and hasn’t brought a girl back to their place.” 

“And that is all it took for you to realize that we are meant to be?” See what I mean, crazy.

“Zooey, don’t you find it odd that the man changed his habits when he started hanging out with us? Don’t you find it odd that his “date” ditched him and he asked us to this thing? And don’t you find it odd that the entire time we have been dancing a blonde bimbo has been trying to get her hands on Nick and he has been ignoring her, choosing instead to stare at us?” 

As I turn around, trying for nonchalance, I realize she is right. Nick is staring at me while a blonde bimbo whispers things in her ear. To not appear like I am looking for him, I quickly turn back around and continue to dance with Elizabeth.

“That doesn’t mean anything, we had an argument earlier tonight, over you by the way, and then you go and make him tell me that I’m hot. He is probably thinking of a way to let me down easy since I’m sure he is assuming that I am planning our wedding and what our first born will be named. You’re crazy to think anything else,” and with that said, I hope the topic is dropped.

“Fine, but I’m telling you. That boy wants you, and I think he doesn’t know it, and if he does, he doesn’t know what to do with it since you are so different from previous girls. He can’t get you like he gets the other ones, you are a mystery. And I am betting by this time next year, you both are doing the humpty humpty.” 

I could talk to her until I am blue in the face, but I know it won’t do any good. I will just have to prove to her that there is nothing between Nick and I. That there never will be, it’s just impossible. And with that thought, I continue to dance, and try to ignore Nick’s eyes staring at me.

“Listen, I was an asshole.” Nick states as way of greeting.

“Yea, I know.” I’m not going to let him off that easy. The entire night I have had to deal with his eyes boring into my back while I danced with Elizabeth and Brodie. He made me feel even more self conscious that I normally do and I hated that he had that effect on me. It is all Elizabeth’s fault. If she hadn’t put these crazy thoughts into my head about Nick and I, I could have ignored the looks. 

“I just care about you, and I don’t want to see you hurt. I know how much Marcus and them get to you.”

“Nick, I appreciate what you are trying to do, but do you seriously think that I would slip my panties off after a guy says a few sweet words to me? In case you haven’t heard, I’m the Mother Teresa Tease, not some hoebag that gets with every man in a mile radius.” I think that is what has upset me the most through out this whole night, the fact that Nick insinuated that I would fall into bed with Brodie just because he said he liked my name.

“I know that, I just got carried away. I’m not used to seeing this Zooey. It got me freaked out.”

“Why would it freak you out, Nick? Because I look like the girls that get you to take off your boxers with just a glancing look?” I mean wasn’t I allowed to change and grow? Was I suppose to stay invisible or an outcast my entire life?

“Now isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” Nick asks, sounding slightly hurt. 

“Whatever Kettle, if it’s true than you can’t get offended. It’s fine that you are a manwhore, that’s your thing. But, you don’t see me coming up to you and saying that the bimbo you are talking to looks like she has VD.” I knew Nick, long before I actually knew him. His reputation was one of legend on campus, which is one reason he was one of the pretty people. Who have to be talked about to join that crowd, and everyone talks about Nick.

“Well what if I told you I was over my manwhoring ways, as you so eloquently put them. What would you say to that?” 

“I’d ask you what drugs you were on and who your drug dealer was so I could go kick his ass.” I state, because seriously, Nick in a monogamous relationship is like saying I’m the next Queen of England. You can say it, it just doesn’t make it true.

“I’m serious. I’ve had enough of the bouncing around, sure it was fun, but I’m ready.” Nick says, looking at me with eyes that are pleading me to believe him. Unfortunately, I can’t.

“Whatever Nick, I’ll believe that one when I actually see you saying ‘I do’ to this lucky lady.” With that said, Nick gives me a look and turns around and stalks off. I can’t believe he could be mad at me for not believing that he wants to be in a relationship. And where did this come from? There most be something in the alcohol. First Elizabeth and now Nick. 

A little later that night, as the party was winding down, Brodie and I started making our way to the door. At this point I hadn’t seen Nick all night since he got his boxers in a bunch and Elizabeth was off doing who knows what, probably plotting something against me with Alex’s help.

“So, do you have a ride home?” Brodie asks while weaving a hand through his hair.

“Yea, I’m her ride,” Nick states. Just like that. I’m her ride, if I wasn’t as tipsy as I was at the moment, I probably would have said something stupid; however, Elizabeth beat me to it.

“Yea, Nickers here is her ride. You know, ‘ride’?” Elizabeth says while hanging onto Alex’s arm and laughing hysterically.

“Sorry Brodie, Nick’s gonna give me a ride home, he was suppose to drive us here but we got held up and took a cab.” I was trying to take some of the tension out of the air that Elizabeth’s stupid comment made. I don’t know what Nick’s problem was, it wasn’t like Elizabeth was serious. Besides, I think at this point she might have been really drunk. 

“I’m catching a ride with Alex. We’re gonna go grab something to eat, I’m starving.” Elizabeth says, still hanging onto Alex. 

“Well, then it’s settled,” Nick says, and starts leading me out the front door. 

“Hey, wait up,” Brodie calls to me, just as I’m about to get into Nick’s car.

“Would it be alright, you know, if you wanted, if I could get your number?” Brodie asks, sounding so insecure, the only thing I can think of doing at that moment is giving him my number to make him feel better.

“Yea, it’s,” and at the moment Nick decides to honk the horn and yell at me to get into the car.

“I’ll see you around Brodie.” And with that, I get into Nick’s car and he speeds off down the road. 

I don’t know if it was the alcohol, or the fact that I was still pissed about how Nick has acted all night, I couldn’t stand the awkward silence and decided to fill it with yelling.

“What the hell was that?”

“What the hell was what? You were taking forever and I need to piss,” Nick says while staring out the windshield. He doesn’t even have the courtesy to look at me while he speaks which only makes me angrier. 

“You knew Brodie was out there, that I just wasn’t taking my sweet ass time, what the hell is your problem? I thought we had moved past the whole Brodie just wants in your panties thing?”

“I just can’t believe after all that I have told you about him you were still going to give him your number. He doesn’t just want to be your friend Zooey, no man does, I thought you would have learned that by now.” I can see that he is gripping the steering wheel harder and harder as the seconds tick by, and I don’t understand why he is so mad over a number. 

“Why can’t Brodie and I be friends? We’re friends, aren’t we? And you’re a man. Weren’t you the one that said that Elizabeth and I should get out more, enjoy life, and once I actually start to get one you get mad. It doesn’t work like that Nick.” And with that I turn around and stare out the window. I’m so upset with him that I don’t notice us slowing down until Nick has stopped the car on the side of the road.

As I turn to look at him to see why he stopped, he says something that changes everything.

“No, Zooey. I don’t want to be your friend.”

Talk about a shocker. I just sat there for what seemed like eternity, not saying anything and not looking in his direction. What was that suppose to mean anyway? I know Elizabeth had her ideas of what it was suppose to mean, but really? My brain couldn’t fathom that he would actually be speaking in terms of a commitment. Because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to believe him or not, and believe that he was in fact talking about a commitment to me, I did the only thing I could do at a moment like this. I got sarcastic.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Nick. So you can cross hump buddies off the list of things you would like us to be.” What else was I suppose to say? People like him don’t go for girls like me. If they did, I would be married to Ryan Gosling right now with fourteen of his love babies. 

“Why do you do that?” Nick asked, beginning to sound even more annoyed with me than when he spoke to me about Brodie, if that were even possible.

“Why do I always do what? Say what everyone else is thinking? Do the most awesome handstand in the world? What Nick? Why do I always do what?” Now I was getting annoyed. 

“Why do you always think everything is a joke? I’m serious. I don’t want to be your friend, and no, I just don’t want to fuck you either. Why is that so hard to believe?”

“I don’t take everything as a joke. The only reason that I’m taking this situation as a joke is because it has to be a joke. That is the only reason a person like you would be saying this stuff to a person like me. I’ve seen the people you go for Nick, and I am certainly nothing like them.” I can start to feel tears build up in my eyes and now, instead of getting annoyed with Nick, I get annoyed at myself. I knew nothing good could come from whatever friendship this is that I started with Nick. Now all I need to do is cry in front of him and the humiliation would be complete.

“Why does it have to be a joke? I know you aren’t like the other girls I’ve hooked up with, that is why I don’t want that with you. I want something more than just to be your friend or fuck buddy.” With that being said, Nick put the car back in drive and began the longer than normal trip to my apartment. 

After awhile I couldn’t stand the weird tension that filled the car, and I had to fill it with something. It was like a dark cloud had descended on us, and even though I wasn’t sure what needed to be said to make it better, I just knew that I had to say something.

“Nick, I don’t know what to say. It’s just that, I’ve gotten so used to people either ignoring me or making fun of me the last couple of months, that it’s hard for me to take something like your saying to heart. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything.” And I was being honest. While I wasn’t sure if Nick and I were meant to be, or even if we were going to be talking tomorrow after this disaster of a night, I knew that I didn’t want to hurt him. He had been my knight in shining armor for what felt like eternity, I couldn’t just forget that.

“It’s fine. If it makes you feel better I kinda decided the “I want more” thing tonight. Not that I hadn’t thought about it before, it was just seeing you with Brodie, it got to me.” I couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt that he hadn’t been having a hard time over his decision to be more than friends with me for longer. I guess the good thing was he was being honest, even if it did suck that he wasn’t agonizing for weeks over it. 

“You’ll always be my number one Nick, if that’s what you are worried about. You have been there for so much, and helped me so much. No one, not even skanky Brodie could take that away. We don’t need to be together for me to depend on you. You know what they call that, don’t you? They call that friendship. When one person leans on another, and vice versa. Without making out.” After I had said it, I knew that I didn’t mean it. I did want to make out with Nick. I just didn’t want to be thrust into the spotlight again after the whole Marcus fiasco. 

“I know, we’re cool, right?” Nick asked as he pulled up in front of my building. He sounded happier than he did five minutes ago, but there was still something there that I couldn’t place. Like he was deflated somehow, still confident, just not as sure of himself as before.

“Yea Nick, we’re cool.” And we were, we would get over whatever this weird night had done to us. If we didn’t, things would go back to before he picked up Elizabeth’s books that one day in class. 

Just as I was about to shut the car door I heard Nick mutter, “Just don’t hang out with Brodie anymore.”