First Term: Crushes Crashing in

July's POV:

The rest of the night went way better.

Tammy and I decided to ditch the people we came with and just head inside to party again. Why let our evening be ruined by that? So inside we grabbed a drink for ourselves and went to find the rest of our friends. When Tammy and I said we didn't want to dance Ty suddenly grabbed each of us with one arm and just carried us to the dance floor while spinning us around. We got dizzy and decided we rather dance on our own two feet. When Ajax grabbed my hand again I was ready to shove him off, but he just pulled me further in and began that very cliché Egyptian dance fitting his costume. I just joined in laughing.

Nami and Ben and Raider joined us and even Ally came to the dance floor. Seeing her in a dress was probably more surprising than Ajax not trying to flirt. In the end, we all just had a blast with our friends and danced and joked till the party ended. In hindsight, we should have done that straight away.

…

On Monday it was back to the normal routine. Except I didn't pass by Vivian in the morning before breakfast with Tammy. I just spent my morning talking to her over a nice hot chocolate. Guessing by the looks Vivian gave me throughout class she was annoyed by that, but I didn't give a fuck about that. Every time she got a note to me, I just shoved it under my notepad. No reason to get in trouble over that again. Just for the show I took all of them at the end of each class and let them drop in the bin. It felt good. It was probably stupid though since shortly before lunch she pulled me into a corridor and cornered me against the wall again.

"What is wrong with you, July?" she asked with a very stern gaze.

"What's wrong with ME? What's wrong with you? You pulled me into this place." I returned, forcing my words to come out straight.

"You stood me up on our date, July. " She pointed out and leaned closer.

The smell of her perfume and the body heat radiating from her still aroused me. My first instinct was to just give in. To just say sorry and get her off of my back. But my rational mind kicked in instead and I took a deep breath to calm myself before looking into those smokey gray eyes that drew me in so much.

"Was it a date Vivian?"

"What do you mean? Of course, it was. You wanted it." she stated with that typical small smirk on her painted lips.

"Exactly. I wanted it to be a date. You didn't. You just wanted to toy with my obvious feelings." it took all my willpower to say it and keep my tears back.

"You are mistaken July. I also wanted-"

"I heard you talk to Veronica," I said bluntly.

I needed to put that out there. To get it off my chest and say it out loud to reaffirm myself.

"So spare me your lousy apologies, Vivian. If you want to play games then search for someone else, because I am not interested to have my heart broken and played with. Now stay out of my face." I continued and pushed myself out of the cornered situation I was in.

As I walked away she just leaned against the wall, "You're way too dramatic July. Don't pretend you don't want this. Because I know that soon enough you will come crawling back searching me out. On all fours, if I choose so."

For a moment I stopped. I was unsure what to say to that. If I should say anything to it at all. A part of me even considered turning around and punching her, just to wipe the smug smirk off her face, that she most likely had. But to my luck, I was saved.

"There you are July. Come on next class is Mr. Retzner's. I don't want to be late for that." Tammy said with urgency and narrowed her eyes at Vivian once she saw her there.

"Yeah, sorry. I had to deal with some shit, but I'm done with that now." I answered and turned to Vivian one last time before adding, "For good."

…

Tammy's POV:

I'm so glad July told Vivian off and didn't give in again. I saw in her eyes that she struggled. It's better this way. Vivian hurt her. And July is my best friend. I don't want to see her crying over her any longer. I want her to be happy and enjoy her time at this school as much as she can. She will not just instantly forget about Vivian. But I can at least make sure she doesn't get into a situation where she feels forced to get back to her.

She was way better off without that manipulating and calculating…

"Tammy?" I was ripped from my train of thought by Lucy talking to me.

I turned and spotted Dia beside her, "Oh hey Lucy. Hey Dia."

"So you are still talking, huh?" Dia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean? Of course, I am."

"Really? Because at the party you just vanished without even telling us you were. We went there together, and you suddenly were gone." Dia continued and eyed me curiously.

"Oh. That."

"Yes, that Tammy. I mean come on we are friends. You could have at least told us you wanted to spend time with the others." Lucy said and Dia crossed her arms.

I started to become a little annoyed, but did my best to not let it show, "I just didn't want to interrupt the both of you."

"Interrupt?"

"Yes. I saw both of you making out. Don't worry I get it. You both like each other and all. But if you wanted to have a date there you should not have invited me to come along. I don't care for being the third wheel." I explained, biting back my jealousy.

"It wasn't a date. Well, at least we didn't plan for it to be one. It just happened." Lucy tried to explain.

"It just happened? After I asked Dia out and then learned that you two were a thing?" I asked and tried to make a fist as subtly as I could before doing something I might regret.

"Asked me out? Wait you wanted to -" Dia started, but I didn't let her finish.

"Yes, I did. Well do.... well grr." I sighed frustrated. "Listen. I don't hold it against you. Either of you. It just isn't exactly the best feeling to have someone not like you back. Just ... be happy together. Don't expect me to be happy with all of it though."

I turned and left. They didn't try to stop me. Maybe it was wrong to blow up on them like that, but I was frustrated. I liked Dia. A lot. And I kinda hoped to maybe turn it into something more. But now that was out of the picture. The best route would be to avoid them both for a while and maybe, just maybe, we could be friends again once I was over it.

…

July's POV:

The rest of today's classes were nothing out of the ordinary. We got a bunch of workloads from some teachers while others were going easier on us because of the party. All in all pretty standard school stuff. Right now I was sitting on my bed again and practicing some guitar songs again. Tammy was sketching on her drawing pad.

My phone went off with a message and so did Tammy's. That could only mean someone sent a message in our group chat. It wasn't one for the whole class. It consisted of Tammy and me along with Ally and Nami. The guys, meaning Ty, Ajax, Ben, and Raider, were also part of it.

Jaximus A: Guys me and Ty found some nice place to hang out.

Benster: Really? Where?

Jaximus A: It's a surprise. Meetup behind the stables tonight. Wear something sporty.

Nami: Define sporty Ajax.

Big T: Just no skirts and no heels girls. Probably no uniforms either.

I looked up at Tammy, and she simply gave me a shrug. In my mind, it sounded suspicious. Especially considering Ajax loved to play gangsters. It likely meant going against school rules and probably risking trouble. Even more so since Pogi, the school's security guard patrolled the grounds after dark.

"Are we going?" Tammy asked me a bit unsure.

"Well ... I mean we might get in trouble if we're caught." I thought out loud.

"And with Ajax making the plans it's certain to be something silly and crazy," Tammy added her two cents.

"But also hanging out with our friends is always fun," I added.

We were both silent and not going back to what we were doing for a few minutes. Probably both of us thinking about it and weighing it off in our heads. Then, searching each other's eyes, we both spoke at the same time.

"We're going!" and started to laugh together.

We knew each other too well.

…

Evening came faster than we thought so Tammy and I got ready together.

Tammy threw on one of her hoodies and a pair of jeans-shorts. Underneath the hoodie, you could almost think she didn't wear them though since it was quite oversized. She wore her over knees and a pair of sneakers. Thinking about it, she almost looked like on the first day I met her.

I decided on a pair of ripped, black jeans and a red band t-shirt from ‘Halestorm’ I owned. Also, sneakers since we were supposed to be comfy at running and walking. My hair I tied up in a high ponytail. We also both decided on no makeup tonight. I mean honestly, we were just meeting our friends. This wasn't like a major party or anything.

Both being ready we poked our heads out our dorm door. So far no sign of Pogi or any other person. Perfect.

"Looks like the coast is clear so far. Come on." Tammy said and began sneaking towards the main hall.

From our position up here on the small balcony we could see Pogi walk out into the yard with his flashlight before him. So he just started to make his round. We crept down the stairs carefully to not make a sound. It was easy to see where Pogi was because of the light.

"Hey!" a small cheer came from behind us and both Tammy and I jumped a little.

Ally stood there with Nami and giggled, "God you two are such scaredy-cats."

"Oh shut up Ally. We weren't scared. Just surprised." Tammy answered and turned back to watch Pogi.

"Sure."

"Come on guys no need to stick around here." I tied to stop the bickering siblings and made my way out into the yard slowly, darting for the nearest tree to hide behind.

The others followed me quickly, one after the other. Keeping up the same routine we slowly made our way over to the stables and managed to round the building out of sight of Pogi. It was pretty dark so the only things we could make out were the building and the small wall around the campus. And by small, I still mean almost two and a half meters high. The bushes rustled a bit and the guys peeked out.

"Damn you girls are slow. We beat you here easily," Ajax said with a sly smirk.

He had a backpack thrown over his shoulder and leaned against the wall.

"Shut it. Pogi is on patrol." Ally said dryly, and I could barely make out her slightly narrowed eyes.

"No fighting you guys. Come on let's get you over that wall." Ty said and moved close to the wall to give us a lift.

"Over the wall? Just where exactly are we going?" Ben asked and walked up to Ty.

"Who cares. Let's find out." Raider stated calmly, "Go first Ben, so you can catch the girls should they trip. I will go last to give Ty a hand once I'm up."

It was very obvious he liked to be in charge. Comes from being the only son of a rather rich hotelier. He would likely do a remarkable job of leading the business once his dad passed it over. Ben did as he was told and once he confirmed to be ready we girls went over. I was the last of the girls to go and being the light feather I was Ty had no problem boosting me up there. I scrambled up and over the wall.

Of course, I was also clumsy old me and managed to be the only one tripping, so Ben had to catch me, which ended with him holding me bridal style and me being embarrassed as hell.

"Thanks," I said sheepishly and hopped to the ground hearing the others snicker.

Ajax was next and tossed his backpack to Ben before he jumped down. I could hear some stuff clanking inside it, but gave it no second thought as I saw Raider ending up on the wall. He struggled a bit to give Ty a hand but soon enough we all were safely on the other side.

Ajax took no time to light his flashlight and point it at the forest, "Ty and I found a small cabin out here, so we thought it might be a nice idea to do a little chilling there."

"Do we want to know how you found it?" Nami asked a bit uncertain.

"We went for a walk." Ajax just said with a shrug and began to walk forward.

"Aw, how romantic. A moonlight stroll with your lover, and you just stumbled over a cabin." Ally teased.

It got a snicker out of everyone except Ty and Ajax of course.

"He could only wish for me to show any interest in him." Ty returned and walked with his hands behind his neck.

"Yeah sure. As if." Ajax returned. "Now if Nami would like a moonlight walk with me-"

"Don't even finish that sentence Ajax." she laughed and shook her head.

I did catch her steal a glimpse at Raider though.

We found the small cabin soon enough and Ajax opened it up with a lock pick. Of course, he knew how to do that, and we made our way inside. It wasn't much to behold. Just a simple log cabin with a bed a table and two chairs. A small room to the side of it with a very basic toilet and shower. Likely some person's weekend getaway.

"So. Time for the main fun." Ajax exclaimed and pulled a few bottles of vodka from his backpack.

Great. Alcohol.

The whole group cheered and smiled, except me. I knew what was coming. And I was a lightweight when it came to drinking. This night was going to be interesting.

…

"Okay, July. Truth or Dare" Ally asked for like the sixth time tonight.

Of course, it ended with Truth or Dare. It always ended with that game when a bunch of people our age got together. It was like the silliest game ever and considering my company here it just had to become overly sexual at some point. You were always allowed to chicken out, but you had to down a shot then. And I am not going to get wasted tonight.

"Truth," I said as calmly as I did every time the question was sent my way.

"Oh come on. You can't always choose fucking Truth. You do have to take a dare at some point." Ajax groaned and leaned back.

"Do I? I never heard that rule before Ajax."

"That's because all of us did choose dares at some point. I mean come on." Ben said and gestured around the room, which was already littered with most of the guys' shirts.

It was true. Everyone chose ‘Dare’ at some point. That's why Ally's hair was so messy from the sports exercises she had to do and why Nami was sitting in Raider's lap. To be fair the dare only said like five minutes, but at this point, neither of them seemed to want to change that. Even Tammy did a cartwheel and took two shots while being held upside down by Ty.

I know they just wanted to mess with me, and they likely wouldn't mind too much if I kept on choosing Truth, but I wanted the teasing to stop and sighed.

"Okay fine. I'm going to give you guys one shot. Just this once though." I said and crossed my arms. "Hit me with your silly dare."

"Oh! Now we need to make this good." Raider said and sat up more straight, which forced Nami to adjust her seating position and wrap her arms around his neck.

"How about a full-on striptease?" Ajax suggested and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah ... No. I won't do something like that or any sexual pleasantries for either of you. If you're going for that I will just take a shot." I said and gave him a challenging glare.

"How about something milder then?" Ben tried to calm everyone a bit.

Ally seemed to think for a moment and her eyes darted to Tammy, "Oh. I know. Kiss Tammy."

"What?" we both asked in unison.

"You heard me right there. It's nothing sexual it's just a kiss," she said with a shrug.

Both Tammy and I looked at each other. We were friends all right, but after the party and the whole bull crap with our respective crushes, I was certain neither of us felt like doing that. I glanced one more time at the others before shrugging and positioning myself opposite Tammy. She just closed her eyes and tipped her lips, likely wanting to just get it over with too. I leaned in to give her a quick peck and sat back up to my original position.

"Boo. That was like the lamest kiss ever." Ally exclaimed and sat back.

"Yeah. Any real kiss lasts at least like five seconds." Ajax said.

"That's likely longer than you last in bed anyway." I returned annoyed.

Everyone chuckled, but Ally still addressed me, "I still say you need to do it properly. No reason to be that much of a fucking chicken."

I rolled my eyes again and looked over at Tammy.

"Just get this over with, so they stop complaining," she said and rolled her eyes too.

I shrugged and got in position again. Tammy closed her eyes and so did I as I guided her closer and pressed my lips against hers. I barely felt it the last time, but her lips were soft. They felt heavenly against mine and the faint smell of her perfume was nice too. This kiss was way different from any I shared with Vivian in the last weeks. It wasn't greedy or demanding. None was trying to take control of it. It was just gentle and pleasant and almost felt loving. If I didn't know better I would have thought she was kissing back.

That would be silly right? I mean she's just my best friend.

…

Tammy's POV:

You know those corny teenage romance movies where the two people who are supposed to love each other kiss the first time, and it's all fireworks and roses? Well, it wasn't like that, but July's lips against mine felt so soft. Her perfume also wasn't that flowery it was just this very feminine and delicate aroma wafting around me. I tried to resist the urge to kiss back but gave in just a bit. I maybe even zoned out for a few heartbeats.

"Five!" Ally said loudly and both me and July broke away, sharing a short look into each other's eyes.

I didn't know what was in hers. I could not read them. Was it fear or uncertainty? Was it longing or shock? I really couldn't tell.

July sat back down and leaned back with a smile, "Happy now?"

Her question was directed to the others for pressuring her into it, but for someone like me, who saw her each day I could tell there was the faintest of blushes o her cheeks.

Why is she so flustered? Could it be ... No, that would be crazy to assume. We're best friends.