A/N: I promise. I am working on this story. However, I have been working on others more. If you want me to update this before I actually do, feel free to tell me to update, but please give me about three days to do so.

Thanks

~Rissa

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"So, why is Clarissa here?" Eevie asked while she sat down at our normal table during lunch. She craned her neck and looked at where Clarissa was sitting with some other people before she looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, doesn't she go to a private school for a reason?"

"She used to go to a private school," I said while I viscously erased some sketch marks of a different dress that I was working on for a different little girl.

Riiip, the paper went, leaving a huge hole in the piece as well as smudges around the area I had worked.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath and slammed the pencil onto the pad of paper before my head followed suit with a loud thunk.

I let out a slow hiss while I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, annoyed and pissed about everything and everyone, especially with Cupcake.

"Are you ok?" Eevie asked and furrowed her brows. Concern filled her eyes, but she didn't touch me to make sure that I was fine and not hurt.

"Of course, she isn't," Ethan said while he sat down beside me. He lifted my head, and I looked at him and scowled before he gently set my head back down on the pad. "If she were, then she wouldn't be sketching. Nor would she be having her head on the book and look so pissed off."

"Gee, thanks," I grumbled and rolled my eyes. "That was a lovely explanation as to why I am not ok."

Ethan didn't respond and shrugged. Worry filled his eyes, and I knew that he was worried about me and silently wondered what was going on and why I was in such a bad mood.

"Hello, everyone," Marcus said while he and Cupcake sat down with us. "Hello, Princess." He looked at me and smiled.

I rolled my eyes and scowled but didn't lift my head from the table. "Hello, Marcus," I said, blatantly ignoring Drew while I tried to keep the jealousy at bay. "How are you today?"

"Doing just grand," he replied. "How about you? How are you today?"

"Swell," was my sarcastic response, earning a snort from Ethan. "Just swell."

"She is lying," Ethan said and looked at me before he looked at them. "She is not swell."

Marcus blinked and blinked again while he scowled at my best friend. "Gee, I didn't know that," he said sarcastically. "Thank you for letting me know."

I didn't respond and closed my eyes while Ethan snorted, and I had a feeling that he rolled his.

"Is it because your sister is here?" Marcus asked, and I had a feeling that he looked towards her before he looked at me again.

"No," I replied truthfully. "I don't care that she is here."

"Then what is it?" Drew asked, and I could hear feign concern in his voice, and I set my jaw. "Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I just am, Cupcake," I replied, getting snippy, and he scowled.

Ethan stilled beside me from where he was eating something. "It's not that time yet," he said, and I looked at him from the corner of my eye. His brows were furrowed, and he looked like he was thinking hard about something that I didn't understand.

"Uh... what?" Eevie asked, saying what I was thinking. She gave him a weird look, too.

"You know..." He looked at the group and shifted in his seat, looking bashful. His cheeks turned slightly red, and he looked away from us. "That time..." His eyes went wide while he looked at us.

I lifted my head and looked at him. "If we knew what you were talking about, then we wouldn't be so confused," I said. "What time?"

Ethan's face grew redder, and he looked down, not meeting our gazes. "Ummm, that time of the month?" he asked hesitantly.

Eevie and I looked at each other with a weird expression on our faces before we looked at him. "Are you talking about our periods?" she asked. "Is that it?"

Ethan hesitated but nodded while his face turned another shade darker while he nodded. "Uh, ya, ya," he said and cleared his throat while he shifted in his seat. "I am talking about them."

"Why?" she asked.

"How do you even know about my period schedule?" I asked, mildly impressed that he knew my schedule and also freaked out. "Is there a change in my mood or something?"

"Yes," everyone but Drew and Marcus said, and I rolled my eyes and scowled.

"But seriously, you aren't there yet, unless you are having it early," Ethan said and gave me a weird look. "I know that has happened once and then late a couple of times, which freaked you out."

I held back an eye roll, and my scowl deepened. "Well, you would too if you were late," I said and folded my arms across my chest. "I know that Eevie does." I nodded towards my friend, and she held her hands up in mock surrender.

"Uh, but I also don't have sex, and my father would freak out if I did," Eevie said. "I'd be grounded until I was married."

I shrugged. "You'd probably be grounded after marriage, too," I said, and Eevie shrugged and grimaced because what I said was possible.

"Why? I mean, is he like one of "those" parents?" Marcus asked and raised an eyebrow.

Eevie and I looked at each other before we looked at him. "Sort of," Eevie said before she shrugged again, "but he isn't "that" bad. There are things that I can get away with, and there are things that I can't. After my mom died in a car accident, he grew more overprotective of me, but he still lets me make my own mistakes."

(08/20/2022)

"Then why would he kill you if you had sex?"

Eevie shrugged. "Because he wants me to save it for the right person like he did with my mother." She shook her head and smiled sadly while she blinked back tears that I knew wanted to fall. "They did have sex before they were married, but they knew that they were going to be together."

Marcus slowly nodded and didn't push, and I had a feeling that Eevie was grateful he didn't. "What about you?" Marcus asked and looked at me. He raised an eyebrow, and I mimicked him and raised mine. "Are you waiting for marriage until you have sex with someone?"

I shrugged. "Depends on if I find the right guy or not," I replied. "I'm not looking for something right now because men suck and most of the time think with their other heads and their "needs," so it's not the right time for me." I shrugged and started to eat. "I am also kind of busy at the moment for something serious."

Ethan scowled and borrowed his eyes at me. "You do realize that my mom would cut off my balls if I think with that head, right?" he asked and raised an eyebrow. "Not all men suck."

"But most do want to get down to business with someone else," Eevie said. She looked at Drew and grinned. "Isn't that right, Drew?"

Drew held up his drink and tipped it towards Eevie. "It depends on the person," he said and took a swig of it. "I wouldn't mind having a few more nightstands before I settle down with that right person," he said after he finished it.

I rolled my eyes and held back a scowl. "I hope that you don't pick up any STDs to give to that poor girl," I said, and he looked at me. "If you do, then you should probably think about something called "safe sex.""

"I already practice safe sex, Sweetcheeks," Drew said and winked with a small smirk on his face, and I rolled my eyes and gagged. "I don't want to have any kids at this age."

"You won't be having the child," I said, "the poor girl that you have sex with will. Shit does happen; you do realize that, right?"

Drew nodded. "I do," he confirmed. "If the girl chooses to have the baby and says that I am the dad, then I will give her money to raise it." He shrugged and looked nonchalant, and I shook my head but stayed silent.

Eevie looked at me and then looked at Drew, frowning. Worry filled her eyes, and I had a feeling she knew why I was so quiet when he said. "Money doesn't solve everything," she said. "What if the child wants to get to know their dad?"

Drew shrugged and stayed silent. He didn't care or looked like he didn't care, and for some reason, that stung.

It stung because I thought he'd personally know how an absent father could affect the child, especially since from what I had gathered, his father was just as absent as mine, if not more.

I sighed and tossed my napkin onto my plate, barely eating any of my food. "I think I am done," I said and cleared my throat while I stood and packed my bag. "I'll see you all in class." I placed the bag over my shoulder and started to walk to the trash can to throw away my trash.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Marcus asked. "Baby, come back! You can blame it on me!"

I turned around just a bit to see that he was reaching out for me with a pout on his face, but I didn't say a word and only shook my head while I turned around again and went to the trash can again.

It didn't matter where I was going, anyway.

All that mattered was that I got away from Drew before I did something stupid and would hate myself later because of it.

Stupid, crush.