A gasp unhinged my jaw as I lunged for Daniella, but she was already running. 

I hated how much she knew me. 

"Don't read that!" I yelled after her. My vision wavered. Beneath me the dirty water-colored speckled linoleum transformed into the red track outside and I was running after Daniella, but instead of a baton, I had a love letter. 

Daniella wasn't listening, her eyes darting around my page. She guffawed, her laugh like a crack in the mirror when I called upon bloody Mary. "I knew it! You stole a quote from Notting Hill!" She read from the page, and I stuffed down the feral childish need to scream and drown her out as she said, "I'm just a person, standing in front of a pretty girl, asking her to the dance."

My face burned, the heat and shame washing over me. Unfortunately, Daniella was correct. I didn't know what to say to Mona and that was such a good quote from Julia Roberts to that British guy. If Mona had never seen the movie, she'd be wooed for sure. If this quote was famous or something or she had seen it, Mona would understand the reference and think it was cute. Either way, I was a winner.

Daniella just really couldn't help herself.

She was human rot.

That was it. Two could play this game. I never tore open a letter open faster in my life. This was not ASMR (ruining your enemies' life in a library roleplay). I wanted Daniella to know I did it and she turned so fast, she nearly crashed into me.

"Don't!" This time she yelled, and I went running.

While my eyes skimmed the paper, I led Daniella down the hall. Not sure where I was going at all. Skipper called after me, "Yo! You're leaving your stuff behind!"

But I couldn't stop.

I cackled, an unnerved feeling whirling through me like a ripped wire still plugged into an outlet. "You're gonna make fun of me?!" I waved her letter back and forth over my head. "I've never read something so full of cliché in my life. I liked you from the first moment I met you? Don't you know love at first sight is a tired cliché?"

"At least I mean it! You sound so fake!" She shouted back.

"Fake?! This letter isn't anything like you. You don't even like people! Daniella James doesn't have the capacity to like others, which means no one is capable of liking her back."

"You don't know me at all, Summers! And you never did." Something contacted the back of my head and I stumbled to a stop, seeing my letter crumbled into a ball. I turned to face her, crumbling her letter back. Breathing hard, Daniella's blush spilled down her neck and up to her ears. I had never seen someone blush so red and bright before. Her eyes sparkled with the threat of tears. 

She stated, "You are the worst person who has ever existed. You're not even a real person, Summers. You're empty..." she filled my emptiness with her words, and it reminded me what dug the holes out of my heart, what made my soul evaporate. This reminded me I was somebody. Maybe not who I was originally, but I was someone.

Daniella shook her head. "If you thought Mona would ever like you for you, you're crazy."

I pointed to myself. "I'm crazy? You're crazy. Someone as nice as Mona is probably talking to you out of pity. She'd never actually go out with the rudest person alive."

"As if you're a prize." She stepped closer to me and I steeled myself, refusing to me. I wouldn't give her the power to make me back down. I just stared right back at her. "I would rather pull out all my teeth and fingernails before I went out with you."

"Keep your teeth and fingernails because that would never happen."

I shivered from my anger, my fists tightening so much my knuckles threatened to pop out as I just stared at her, ready for the next blow. Daniella glared back, her jaw clenched. Without trying, I had wrapped my hand around her letter, and I crumbled it inside of my palm. I tossed it at her chest, and she let it bounce off her.

The sound of steps ripped my attention from Daniella, and I could feel it fraying and curling around me. Panicked, we both shoved our letter into our pockets before anyone caught us. The girls appeared one by one, Skipper gritting her teeth, Elena joining the drama with a scrunched brow, Allison chuckling. I recognized immediately Allison had my stuff on her shoulder. She had gathered it all for me, but my thankfulness fizzled fast with Mona hurrying around the pack. She was bouncing to get to me.

No.

I eyed Daniella.

To get us. She was here for us both.

Her big brown eyes sparkled. "They you both are! Why are you all the way over here? You're supposed to meet me in the art room." 

She laughed as if this were funny, gathering a hand from us each. Skipper did what she does best and filled the silence before it could get awkward, talking about school today and she found a heated game of tic-tac-toe on the bathroom walls. My thoughts were louder, drowning Skipper out. I couldn't get "empty" out of my head. The way Daniella said it. The way she looked at me.

We walked all the way back, but before we walked inside, Mona let our hands go and instructed everyone to go inside.

"Here," Allison said, and handed me my backpack. Leaning in closer to me, she whispered, "And I always thought I was dramatic."

"Th-that wasn't really—" I stumbled over the words, but Daniella talked over me.

"Where's my stuff?" She asked.

Raising her hands, Allison admitted, "You guys ran off and I wanted to see what happened."

Rolling her eyes, Daniella moved her attention to Mona. "Hey, I'll be right back. I dropped my stuff back there."

"Oh, sure!" Mona said, obviously confused. "We'll be here."

Daniella nodded and stalked away, finally leaving me enough room to breathe. In her way, Daniella was a black hole, and I was the solar system, always lured in by her orbit and seeing the destruction right ahead. No matter how much I pulled away from her, I still always ended up getting sucked in.

"Okay, so!" Mona clapped her hands, whipping around to face me, her blonde and lavender hair whipping back and forth. Her eyes sparkled, looking up at me, a glint of some mischief in her eyes. "We still have a bet going! Allison might have spoiled the mug part, but you still have something to guess..."

Blinking back to reality, my brain wasn't quite catching up. "What? What's going on?"

Playfully, Mona shoved me a little and reminded me, "Don't try to get out of it! If you guess wrong, I'm going to get a free movie."

"And popcorn," I said, remembering in time to not look like an idiot.

"And a drink," Mona added, her smile returning. "But first, guess what I put on your mug."

"You put something on my mug?"

She nodded. "I carved something. To give you a hint, I gave Allison a mug covered in lobsters because she's my lobster—" She must've seen it on my face that I didn't get it and quickly said "—because of Friends. We spent the summer just rewatching everything from the 90s."

"Oh, cool," I lied to avoid being awkward. "Yeah, that makes sense. Um..." I made a little shrug, turning the mirror back on me, going through days and days of being with Mona. What has she noticed about me? What about me sticks out? I looked down at myself and my nerves shook me a little. Empty.

This was a surprise, and I didn't like surprises. Life was better with a plan. The biggest running joke between me and my friends was that I stayed up too late, so I could say stars... but I don't think I've ever admitted to Mona I had trouble sleeping. So, I went with something safe instead, "Did you decorate it with soccer balls?"

Mona grinned. "You owe me a date!"

And a few minutes later, Skipper left with Mona's first try, a mug covered in smiley faces. Elena was given one covered in hearts. I could see the cute little lobsters on Allison's mug. Brain empty, the smallest of small smiles pinch the corner of Daniella's mouth. My brow narrowed at all the hands on Daniella's mug. It was just a bunch of hands. One with fingers extending out was the largest, and I just didn't get it. It was like a room full of inside jokes and I was standing out in the rain, staring through a window.

Today was like getting hit by a wave, then getting sucked into the riptide. Now in the sea, I didn't know which way was up or down. The only thing I knew was crowns covered my mug. Simple little crowns.

And I had zero clue why.

Daniella met my eyes and I must've looked see-through. Her eyes ripped right through me like a bullet hole. Plastering a smile on, I looked away and just followed everyone out to the parking lot, until Mona cursed. "Oh, I forgot my mom's mug. I'll be right back!"

She was gone before we knew it.

I wasn't sitting comfortably in my skin as if I just put on a pair of jeans that weren't mine. Out of everything about me, after everything I made sure people could see... Mona thought of crowns when she thought of me? Why?

"Zoey?" Skipper said, dipping her head into my view, and I jumped a little. "What are you doing for the rest of the day? Do you wanna hang out? Elena wants to check out the Target clearance section and I really want a tiny pizza."

"Um..." I cleared my throat. "I'm actually going to wait for Mona."

"What about you?" Allison asked Daniella, who had been on her phone texting away. Daniella's eyes popped up. Her brow couldn't be more scrunched. She glanced behind her shoulder and back before she realized Allison was speaking to her.

She said, "I'm going to wait for Mona."

"Uh, oh," Elena said, a warning for worser weather.

"You're still going to ask her out?" I guffawed, smiling not just because it was funny, but I was relieved to have a distraction. "Even though you know I like her? And I have a date set up with her?"

"You are so full of it." Daniella shook her head, as if she couldn't believe it. She tilted her head, and all her focus was on me again. God, I wish she stopped looking at me like that, like she could read my thoughts, like she knew I was questioning my entire existence. She actually chuckled. I'm spiraling and she's laughing at me.

"Tell me," she said and, by the smirk on her face, I knew she was making fun of me. Therapy wasn't enough. I needed to rip her heart out and squeeze it like a stress ball until it popped. "Between the two of us, what makes you so sure she'd pick you?"

"And in what world would she pick you?"

Allison grinned. Her eyes sparkled in a way I've never seen.  "What a small world we live in."

Everyone's heads whipped around at her. My stomach dropped to the parking lot ground and immediately froze over.

Skipper laughed, her voice cracking amid all this tension. Eyes about to pop out, she asked, "Do you like Mona too? God! I want what she's having. How does she get all these girls to have a crush on her?"

"Like sapphic, catnip," Elena mumbled.

"No, no, no," Allison shook her head, grinning like we all weren't in on her joke. "No, Mona is my platonic soulmate. Only. And because I know my sister so well, I know that if she got popped the question by two people, she'd say no just to make sure she didn't hurt anyone's feelings."

"Well, then I should be the one to ask." I shrugged.

Crowns I didn't understand, but—this—this I understood. I could fight Daniella. I was the best at competing with Daniella, like I was the chosen one in a fantasy novel. Destined to fight the world's darkness and save humanity.

"I mean," I stated the obvious, "we already have a date. She obviously likes me."

"You don't know anything about me or Mona or what we have," Daniella argued. "I should be able to ask her out."

"You two should ask for my opinion," Allison said. She looked at us with a knowing smile.

"That's true." Skipper held her chin and nodded. "You're her best friend."

"Are you encouraging this?" Elena asked.

Skipper straightened, only now realizing she was getting swept up in the moment. Her eyes sparkled, not even a little embarrassed or ashamed. She just smiled and shrugged a little. "What can I say? I love watching Zoey compete."

That one off-handed comment hit me like a pat to the back, so encouraging that it emboldened me to stand up taller. If someone pressed their ear to my chest, they would hear the cheer of a crowd. Sometimes it was the only thing that propelled me forward was that they could witness me winning.

Elena rolled his eyes and softly tapped Skipper's arm. "Don't encourage them."

Skipper made herself comfortable and dropped her chin on Elena's shoulder. She ignored Elena's wishes and kept her dazzling dark eyes on Allison. Nothing kept Skipper from having a good time. "Hey, has Mona ever talked about these two at all?"

"Yeah, she's talked about them both."

"This is stupid. We should just ask Mona," Daniella huffed.

"And she'll be too nice to go with either of you," Allison reminded her. She shrugged a little. "I can choose. I'm not as nice as Mona, and I can pick one."

Daniella rolled her eyes. "That's not fair. You're just going to pick Zoey."

My back snapped straight. Ears caught fire. She hasn't called me by my first name since we were freshmen and it caught me by surprise. I didn't like the way she said it. She didn't say it right.

"I wouldn't say that, but I don't know if I'd definitely choose you either. I'm not sure which one of you would make the better date to a dance. I mean, obviously you both get along, but does that make you a good dance date?"

Something within me snapped, and I piped up, "I can provide it! I'll be the better date."

Allison grinned. "You wanna compete?"

"I wanna win."

"Oh, well, if it's a competition you want," Daniella said and dropped her arms. She took a step at me, and I steeled myself so I wouldn't flinch away. Daniella smirked. "I'm down. I can win against you in anything. I've already proven that."

"Man. I wish I was as delusional as you. I bet your life is so pretty."

"Are you saying I'm pretty?" She sneered and Zoey blushed hotter and faster than a red firework exploding into the sky. She curled her fists by her side. So, not only did the Loch Ness Monster possess the ability to strike fear in their enemies, but apparently, she also had a sense of humor.

"Ohhh, I'm so sick of you!" I grumbled and took a step at her. She just made me want to ruffle her icy exterior. I wanted to shake her apart and reveal her true form. Not this poised little goth princess. I wanted her edges tattered, her hair a nest, and her make-up smudged. I wanted her rolled around the dirt with a busted lip and blood in her mouth. Just like me.

"Okay, ding ding. End of round one. Let's break it up," Skipper said, putting her arms around me as she began dragging me off, but I struggled.

Flailing around, I still shouted at Daniella, my vision and focus all narrowed in on exclusively her. "If you want a fight! I'll give you a fight! I can prove to you and everyone here that I am the perfect choice!"

The distance was growing, and Daniella had to shout, "In your dreams, Summers!"

"Are you too scared to fight me?"

"Get in the car," Elena said, helping Skipper stuff me into my backseat. I crawled over the seats and rolled down the window so I could keep yelling at her.

"If you're too scared, you can just say I win!"

Daniella shook her head. "You're such a child! You're not gonna bully me into competing with you. It's stupid!"

"Buckle your seatbelt," Elena snapped.

And as I did what I was told, I shouted, "Let's meet back at the field tomorrow after practice! Allison will come up with the rules and then you can decide there if you'd like to partake or not, but if not, I will know it's because you can't beat me."

Gripping her bag, the look in Daniella's eyes said she wanted to throw it at me, and I must've looked like a crazy person because I was grinning, all teeth and gums. I could see it. The starting line. I could feel the buzz of the crowd.

Daniella was going to say yes.

Because there was one thing Daniella liked less than losing to me.

Me being happy about it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello friends! Back with an update and looks like the girlies are fighting ~ ! This is why I love enemies to lovers so much. I love the drama, the tension, and most of all: the fights! Bickering to me is always the best form of flirting 😌

But anyways! Let me know what you think! Was Zoey right to read Daniella's letter back? Are you with Daniella? Was it cheap to rip off a quote? Or who cares? And Mona gave everyone cute mugs! And Zoey's had crowns... why do you think it did? Cause Zoey doesn't know 😂 And a challenge has been made! Do you think Daniella will agree to it? Should they tell Mona? 

And! If you like this book, please consider reading my other novels! All three, "The Irresistible Mickey Holly", "30 Day Trial Period," and "Ned Gets Stood Up" is all completed! And they're all super fun and great. Take it from me. Lol.