Will Always Be by Kels Barnholdt Page A

hello, I don’t have anger problems. At least, I don’t think I do, anyway.) I pretty much bitched her out in front of her whole lunch period. And Austin totally stuck up for me and told her off, which was really sweet. It still gives me butterflies just thinking about it.
    Anyway, Austin has been my boyfriend ever since that day in the caf a few months ago. It’s still totally crazy to me that one of the most popular boys in our school noticed me and wants me. The great thing about Austin though, is that he acts like none of that even matters. He knows his popularity has nothing to do with who he is as a person, which makes me like him even more.
    After that day Melissa definitely laid low for a while. Neither she nor any of her friends bothered me. And for a while, I thought that was it -- that she’d forgotten about me. But just when I let my guard down she started back up again.
    Most of the time I’m really good about ignoring her. Probably because Austin’s so good about listening to me vent about it and making me feel better about the situation.
    He assures me that she’s just jealous and that ignoring her is the best way to make her stop. He thinks that sooner or later she’ll get bored, realize what she’s doing isn’t working, and let it go. She’ll eventually move on to some other victim. And I know he’s right.
    But sitting in English class right now makes it kind of hard to remember that. All I want to do is take the eraser that’s in my hand and throw it as hard as I can at the back of her perfectly straight-haired head.
    Just kidding. Kind of.

    ***
    “So then,” I say slamming my locker door shut, “she pretty much announces in front of the whole class that I have no sex appeal.” My best friend Alexa laughs and pushes her long blonde hair behind her ear.
    I’ve known Alexa since I was a freshman. I’d just moved here from South Carolina and knew absolutely no one. We had three classes together and by the third day of school she had taken me under her wing. We’ve been inseparable ever since. I doubt I would have made it through my freshman year without her. Actually, I feel like I wouldn’t have made it through any year without her. She’s a really good friend.
    “That statistic is totally false,” she assures me.
    “Of course it is,” I say as we start to walk down the hall together. “No way she knows that type of shit off the top of her head. She clearly just made it up to try to mess with me.”
    “Oh, hey, Alexa,” Austin says, walking up beside her. “You haven’t seen my girlfriend around anywhere, have you?”
    Alexa pretends to consider this for a second. “Hmm…I’m not sure, what does she look like again?”
    “Well,” he says slowly as if he has to think about it, “she’s kind of short with brown hair, brown eyes, this really cute smile…”
    “Oh her!” Alexa exclaims. “I think she’s somewhere obsessing over whether or not she has sex appeal.”
    Austin stops walking and turns to me with a confused expression on his face. I shoot Alexa a dirty look and she laughs nervously.
    “Well,” she says, “I better go. Don’t want to be late to class.” Then she takes off down the hallway leaving me to explain myself to Austin.
    “So,” he says, taking a step closer to me and brushing his lips up against mine,
    “no sex appeal, huh?”
    He smells sweet, almost like candy. He’s wearing a dark red long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans; his hair is spiked a little in the front. As he smiles at me with his perfect white teeth I’m reminded all over again of how completely gorgeous he is.
    “It’s nothing,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Just Melissa coming up with new ways to torture me. You know, the usual.”
    “Ahh,” he says knowingly, “well, you could always push her into a wall again if you want. I mean, it worked out for you so well the first time so…” He shoots me a cocky grin.
    I laugh sarcastically. “Ha-ha, very funny,” I say,