Crushing On The Enemy (Crushing on You 1)

“I'm fine,” she told her.

“Then tell me what's going on,” her mother plead.

“Ryan made a fool of me,” she said trying not to cry again.

“Is that why you're fighting with Cody?” she asked arching a graying brow.

“What?” Alyssa demanded, “This had nothing to do with him! The world doesn't revolve around that jerk.”

“He's not a jerk, Alyssa,” her mother retorted, “I expect you to give him the same respect you would give me.”

“Respect is earned!” she retorted, “He's not my father! As soon as you let him move in, he tried to step right into Dad's shoes!”

“He has not!” her mother snapped, “He's trying to be a good parent!”

“Then maybe you should have him a baby, because he's not my dad!” Alyssa said and handed the plate of food back.

She shut the door and stormed back into the bathroom. This weekend was going to be a long one. She picked her cellphone off the counter and thought about trying Mattie's old number to see if it was still the same, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She had gotten herself into this mess and she knew she had to clean it up alone.

Alyssa spent most of the morning doing her book report and finishing her other homework. Her fingers tapped away at the keys as if she could rid herself of her sorrow if she typed quickly enough.

The afternoon seemed to drag on forever and Alyssa paced. She thought about going to the field to run laps, but what if someone else was there? Could she look them in the eyes? She finally forced herself to get dressed and head to the field. Alyssa refused to spend the next year avoiding people just because Katie had some fun at her expense. Her revenge would be to live like nothing ever happened, even if she felt like she was dying inside.

To her dismay, Katie and Ryan were already at the field running laps together. She could hear his breathless chuckle from the gate. Alyssa almost lost her nerve and went home, but she couldn't imagine spending the rest of the day locked in her room avoiding her mom and Cody. Running usually cleared her mind and she hoped that today's run would be no exception.

She jogged enjoying the feeling of her running shoes hitting the pavement. The sound they made was soothing to her wounded heart. Something was still normal and it made her smile. She quickened her pace until she was running at full speed, but soon regretted it. Her paths crossed with Ryan and Katie who were playfully pushing one another. She rolled her eyes and ran passed them.

Alyssa kept her head down as she began her second lap. When she passed the pair again, they had barely made any progress. For a moment Alyssa thought about tripping Katie, but then decided against it. She didn't want to sink to Katie's level.

“I heard you were out in the parking lot with one of the snakes, Alyssa,” Katie called after her.

“Shove off!” Alyssa called back.

“I guess it makes sense. You're a loser, he's a loser, so you should do well together!” Katie laughed.

Alyssa cringed and flipped them a bird when Ryan's chuckles joined Katie's giggles. She sped up even more forcing her tired muscles to run faster. Hot tears streamed down her face as she ran to her car. What else was going to go wrong?

She drove home and parked her car. Alyssa hesitated before getting out because she could hear angry voices coming from inside. What in the hell were they arguing about now?

“I'm going to the mall,” she said to her flushed reflection in the rear-view mirror.

She wondered around the mall for a few hours before her stomach began to growl. Alyssa made her way through the Saturday crowd to the food court. As she sat alone eating her tacos she realized it was the first weekend she had spent alone since becoming a cheerleader.

“This sucks,” she thought to herself.

Mattie walked by with her mother, but didn't make eye contact with Alyssa. It pained her, but she didn't blame her ex-best-friend for ignoring her. After all, she thought, what comes around goes around.

She was about to leave when a boy joined her table. Alyssa's eyes grew wide when she realized it was the boy from the parking lot.

“Go away!” she hissed.

“Are you always this foul tempered?” he laughed.

“No!” she snapped, “Just go away.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because everyone is already saying were an item,” Alyssa said.