I closed my eyes and groaned. Oh, CRUD! I’d forgotten to call Chloe and Zoey . . . !
They burst into my room like a hurricane.
“Nikki! Your favorite BFFs are here!” Zoey squealed happily. “Are you ready?”
“Don’t be TARDY for the PARTY!” Chloe shouted, and gave me jazz hands.
I slowly sat up on the edge of my bed, sniffed, and dabbed at my tears.
My BFFs immediately froze and stared at me in shock with their mouths hanging open.
“OMG! Nikki! What’s wrong?!” they both shrieked.
“I’m n-not going to the d-dance!” I muttered. “Brandon just texted me. He says he’s . . . SICK!”
“WHAT?!” they gasped.
That’s when I totally lost it and burst into
TEARS . . . .
I FEEL AWFUL! I CAN’T BELIEVE BRANDON JUST STOOD ME UP LIKE THIS!!
I had a complete and massive meltdown. Chloe and Zoey both hugged me. They were about to cry too.
“I’m really sorry,” I sputtered, “but you’re going to have to go to the dance without me.” Then I blew my nose rather loudly. HONK!
Chloe and Zoey looked at each other and then looked at me.
“Sorry, Nikki. But we’re not going to leave you here like this!” Zoey said, squeezing my hand.
“We care about you! So either we’re ALL going to the dance, or we’re ALL staying here,” Chloe said softly.
“I’ll be fine,” I protested. “You both have dates. Theo and Marcus are nice guys, and they don’t deserve to be stood up. It feels really . . . BAD!”
“Nikki, if you don’t want to go, we understand. We’ll just call the guys right now and tell them the situation,” Zoey said, picking up her phone.
“Please! You’re both just making me feel worse!” I yelled. “I want to be ALONE! Just GO AWAY!”
That’s when Chloe and Zoey stared at me in disbelief. I think I must have really ticked them off or something because they were not smiling.
“Sorry, Nikki! But we’re NOT going to let you have a nervous breakdown over some dude not taking you to a stupid dance!” Chloe fumed.
“So cry yourself a river, build a bridge, and get OVER it!” Zoey said, rolling her eyes.
I could NOT believe my BFFs weren’t being more sympathetic about my situation. Hey, I was heartbroken and in real pain! Hadn’t I earned the right to be a melancholy drama queen?
Note to self: Get a new CRUSH. And some new BFFs!
Even though I was mad at Chloe and Zoey for not joining my pity party, I had to admit they truly cared about me. They were willing to miss the Sweetheart Dance! AND their first dates! I mean, WHO does THAT?!
I sniffed and blew my nose again. HONK!!
“Okay, guys! You win! I’ll go to the dance. Against my will. But I’m NOT going to have fun! And you CAN’T make me!” I grumped.
Chloe and Zoey screamed happily and squished me in a hug sandwich.
“You are NOT going to regret this!” Zoey giggled.
“We’re going to have a BLAST together!” Chloe squealed.
“I. Can’t. BREATHE!” I croaked, gasping for air.
After prying myself out of their hug, I went to the bathroom to wash my face and freshen up for the dance.
OMG! I looked HORRIBLE!
My hair was a mess and my face was streaked with black tears from my mascara.
I looked like a zombie bride or something . . . .
However, thanks to Chloe and Zoey, I was starting to feel like maybe it WASN’T the end of the world. Most important, I was NOT going to let Brandon turn me into a sniveling puddle of SNOT and TEARS!! Well, not for more than fifteen minutes, anyway.
When we arrived at the Sweetheart Dance, I was surprised to see pretty much the entire student body there.
I barely recognized our drab cafeteria. It had been turned into a Queen of Hearts fantasyland. Dozens of red hearts hung gracefully from the ceiling while bunches of pink, red, and white helium balloons floated gently around the room like miniature clouds. The walls were strung with hundreds of tiny red and white lights that reflected off a giant mirror ball in the center of the room.
All of the girls wore gorgeous formal dresses that rivaled the dresses at any high school prom. I saw sparkles, glitter, sequins, and pretty much every color of the rainbow.
However, my most favorite dress was my OWN !
Marcus and Theo were there, patiently waiting for Chloe and Zoey. I couldn’t tell who was more nervous, my BFFs or their dates. But as soon as they spotted each other, everyone was all smiles.
OMG! They were SO adorable! It was totally worth coming to the dance just to see them together.
“We saved six seats. Right near the wing-dings table!” Theo said, leading the way.
“OMG! I LOVE wing-dings!” I said excitedly.
Dealing with all of that drama and emotional turmoil had pretty much sapped my energy and left me famished. I was STARVING!
It looked like I had a date for the dance after all. I was going to spend most of the evening with a huge plate of yummy wing-dings. Woo-hoo !
Chloe and Zoey glanced at Theo and then whispered to each other.
“Um, Theo? Actually, we’ll only need five seats. Brandon’s sick. So Nikki will be hanging out with us tonight,” Chloe explained.
Theo and Marcus looked at each other and then at us.
“Brandon’s sick? Are you sure?” Theo asked.
“YES!” Chloe and Zoey answered tersely.
“But I just saw him five minutes ago. Did he leave or something?” Marcus asked.
“WHAT?!!” Zoey shrieked.
“NO WAY!!” Chloe screeched.
“OMG! Brandon is actually HERE?!” I gasped. “Are you SURE?!”
Theo and Marcus looked at me like I was crazy.
“Yes, we’re sure,” they replied.
“I can’t believe it! WHAT is HE doing here?!” I sputtered.
Theo shrugged. “I think talking to MacKen—”
“MacKenzie?! But he’s NOT supposed to be here!” I spat.
“He isn’t?” Marcus asked.
“NO!” Chloe and Zoey shouted.
“I can’t just sit here and pretend like nothing happened!” I fumed.
Basically Brandon had stood me up so MacKenzie could pay HIM to take HER to the dance.
Right then he was the last person I wanted to see.
“But the table is close to the w-wing-dings! Just like Zoey asked!” Theo stammered.
“I think I want to go home,” I said, panicking.
Theo looked worried. “Please don’t leave, Nikki. I can find us a new table! Maybe near the punch instead of the wing-dings?”
“Actually, Theo, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with wing-dings,” Chloe snapped.
“It doesn’t?” Theo blinked.
“Brandon told Nikki he was SICK!” Zoey huffed.
“Well, um . . . maybe he IS sick. We didn’t really ask him how he was feeling,” Marcus muttered.
Suddenly a wave of anger swept over me. “I can’t believe Brandon actually lied to me. I need to see this with my own eyes!”
“Okay. Then Zoey and I will come with—” But before Chloe could finish her sentence, I turned and marched across the dance floor.
It was crowded, and very dimly lit.
But finally my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Everyone was up dancing to the latest tunes by One Direction and the Wanted. Suddenly I saw the answer to my question just ten feet in front of me. Theo and Marcus were right! Brandon WAS, in fact, there . . . .
. . . WITH MACKENZIE !!
Blinking back my tears, I quickly turned and walked away before Brandon spotted me.
I brushed past Marcus, Theo, Chloe, and Zoey, and then ran out the door and down the hall.
“Nikki! WAIT!” my BFFs called after me.
But I just ignored them.
I rushed straight to the bathroom farthest from the dance and locked myself in the last st
all. No one would find me in there. I just wanted to be alone.
Brandon had LIED to me!
He wasn’t sick at all. I guess I wasn’t pretty or popular enough for him.
Why didn’t he just tell me he wanted to go to the dance with MacKenzie? I leaned against the cold stall door as my thoughts raced.
I could feel hot tears trickling down my cheeks.
Just great ! The last thing I needed right then was my face covered with black tear stains.
I angrily tugged at the roll of toilet paper and just stared blankly as twenty feet of paper rolled off.
I was buried knee-deep in paper, but I didn’t care.
I grabbed one end and dabbed my eyes and cheeks.
Then I blew my nose.
HONK!!
Suddenly the restroom door creaked open.
“Do you think she came all the way over here?” Chloe asked.
“It’s possible. All of the bathrooms near the dance are pretty crowded,” Zoey answered.
“Hey, I think you’re right,” Chloe said. “Look under that stall. Only Nikki would use that much toilet paper!”
They whispered to each other, then knocked on my stall door. I opened it a few inches and peeked out.
“GO AWAY!” I said glumly.
“Nikki, we are SO sorry about all of this! We had no idea Brandon was here,” Chloe said.
“Hey! It’s not your fault that Brandon is a lying rat!” I fumed.
“You need to forget him! The sooner the better!” Zoey said.
Of course I choked up again when I heard that.
“We’re only telling you this because we care about you,” Chloe said. “Just breathe, okay? Can I get you anything? A bottled water? Are you hungry?”
How could I possibly think about food when my whole world was crashing in on my head? “Actually, I want to go home now. I’m going to call my mom.”
“We totally understand,” Zoey said sadly. “This whole evening has been a nightmare!”
“Well, the least we can do is go grab you some wing-dings to take home with you. We’ll be right back,” Chloe said.
Actually, a huge plate of wing-dings sounded pretty good.
“Thanks, guys. I could eat a horse,” I muttered.
I was alone in the bathroom again with nothing but my jumbled thoughts.
What had turned Brandon into such a JERK that he would text-dump me less than an hour before the Sweetheart Dance?
MacKenzie!
Her plan had totally worked. Brandon had ripped out my heart, threw it in the dirt, and trampled all over it. Just like she wanted! And now they were probably flirting with each other during a slow dance!
UGHHH!!!!
I picked up my phone to call my mom but was interrupted by a loud commotion. Chloe and Zoey came storming back into the bathroom.
“Nikki!” Zoey shrieked. “You are NOT going to believe this! Brandon just walked up to us and asked us where you were. He says he’s been waiting for you!”
“What?!” I poked my head out of my stall. “Are you kidding me?!”
“OMG! I was livid!” Chloe fumed. “So I said to him, ‘You can keep waiting until heck freezes over! You’re just a phony, backstabbing slimeball who is supposed to be at home SICK!’ ”
“And get this! He said he didn’t have the slightest idea what we were talking about!” Zoey said.
“How could he just LIE right to our faces like that?” Chloe ranted. “That’s when I said really sweetly, ‘Okay, Brandon, maybe a refreshing drink will help clear up your foggy memory!’ ”
“OMG! You actually said that to him?” I gasped. “Then what happened?”
“I had to grab the Karate Kid before she dumped a cup of punch over his head and gave him a beatdown,” Zoey said, glaring at Chloe.
“Hey! Give me a break!” Chloe shot back. “I was trying to get a drink and he just happened to be in my way! Anything I almost did to him was purely accidental.”
“Chloe, just calm down! You’re not making this any better,” I scolded.
“You know what would make ME feel better? How about I ‘accidentally’ sock Brandon in the stomach?”
“Chloe, you can’t just walk up to a person and sock him in his stomach,” Zoey said. “There are laws against that!”
“Okay, then. How about I punch him in the nose?! Or give him a kick in the butt? He totally deserves that and more!”
“Chloe! This is a middle school dance, not the HUNGER GAMES!” I yelled. “I want to go HOME. Not to JAIL!”
Finally she regained her composure. “Sorry, Nikki! I just temporarily lost it,” she said quietly.
But I’d already had enough.
“Listen, guys! This is NUTS! I need to get out of here. I’m going to call my mom and have her pick me up. But the last person I want to see or talk to is Brandon.”
“Yeah, and he definitely doesn’t want to see ME!” Chloe said, making a fist and cracking her knuckles.
“Okay, Nikki. Chloe and I will go out and make sure the coast is clear. Then you can make your getaway. We’ll be right back.”
I glanced at myself in the mirror. I was a hot mess. But I put on two layers of lip gloss and gathered up all of my stuff, including my courage.
I was SO ready to leave that smelly stall.
Chloe and Zoey almost broke down the door rushing back into the bathroom.
“Nikki, you’re not going to believe what just happened!” Chloe screeched.
I rolled my eyes. “Please don’t tell me you punched Brandon.”
“Actually, I DIDN’T. But I REALLY, REALLY wanted to!” Chloe growled.
“We just saw Brandon again!” Zoey panted. “He says he wants to talk to you!”
I started to panic. “NO! I can’t talk to him right now! You guys didn’t tell him where I was, did you?!”
“Of course not!” they answered.
“I’ve tried really hard to be friends with Brandon. And after Crazy Burger, I thought we’d finally worked things out. But I give up! He has made me cry, upset my best friends, ruined the Sweetheart Dance, killed what little self-respect I had, and, and, um . . . driven me temporarily INSANE!”
“Nikki, don’t say that about yourself,” Zoey said quietly. “You’re NOT insane!”
“JUST LOOK AT ME! Not only do I look like a zombie bride, but I’m having a complete meltdown. In a bathroom stall! While buried in a roll of toilet paper!”
“OMG!” Chloe quipped. “You ARE insane!”
“We’re really sorry, Nikki! We shouldn’t have made you come to the dance against your will,” Zoey mumbled.
“Don’t be sorry,” I replied. “It’s good that I finally learned the truth about Brandon. I just wish he had the decency to tell me himself, face-to-face.”
“I WOULD if you’d let me!” said a voice outside the bathroom door.
“BRANDON?!” I sputtered. “OMG!”
“I didn’t tell him you were hiding out in here! I swear!” Zoey whispered to me.
“Don’t look at me!” Chloe whisper-shouted. “I don’t talk to pathological liars!”
“Actually, I just followed Chloe and Zoey over here,” Brandon said. “Nikki, will you please come out so we can talk?!”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I shot back. “Just leave me alone. You should have just told me you wanted to go to the dance with MacKenzie and saved me a lot of heartache.”
“Nikki, YOU asked me to this dance. I think you owe me an explanation for why you decided to stand me up!” Brandon said.
“What?! I didn’t stand YOU up! You stood ME up! But I don’t want to talk about any of this. You’re supposed to be home sick with the flu! Remember?” I yelled through the bathroom door.
“Okay, fine! If you’re not coming OUT, then I’m coming IN,” Brandon said.
Chloe, Zoey, and I were speechless.
“NO WAY! He CAN’T be serious!” I finally gasped.
We stared at the door in disbelief as it slowly
creaked open and Brandon peeked in.
His face was flushed, and he looked totally bewildered.
I could NOT believe he’d actually come inside the girls’ bathroom to talk to me.
“I can’t believe I’m actually inside the girls’ bathroom. But I really need to talk to you!” he muttered.
Chloe and Zoey were about to protest.
But I think Brandon looked so utterly embarrassed that they felt kind of sorry for him.
“If anyone catches me in here, I’ll probably get detention for a month!” he said, looking around nervously. “Anyway, I really apologize for coming in here, but I’m desperate!”
“Actually, Chloe and I were just leaving,” Zoey said.
“I’M not going anywhere,” Chloe said, folding her arms. “There’s no way I’d miss any of THIS! I wish I had a bucket of popcorn and some gummy bears.”
“Chloe! Let’s go!” Zoey said sternly.
She grabbed Chloe’s arm and dragged her through the door.
“OW! That hurt!” Chloe complained, rubbing her arm.
Chloe turned around and shot Brandon a dirty look. “Hey, dude, you better watch your step. We’ll be standing right outside this door. Listening!”
“Um, Chloe, don’t worry. I’ll be just fine. Really!” I assured her.
Once Brandon and I were alone, my heart started pounding and my palms got sweaty.
“Nikki . . . you’ve been acting kind of strange ever since my birthday,” Brandon said. “But I don’t understand why.”
“ME?! YOU’VE been acting strange lately,” I said, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. “And those text messages! They’ve been just . . . CRUEL!”
“Text messages? What text messages?!”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t send them!” I glared at him. “They came directly from your phone. At first I didn’t want to believe you gave MacKenzie that crazy picture of me, but now I’m starting to wonder. If you don’t want to be friends with me anymore, just say so!”
“Nikki, it seems like YOU don’t want to be friends with ME. One minute you’re fine and the next minute you’re mad at me. This whole month has been crazy! I thought maybe it had to do with the Sweetheart Dance or something.”
My phone chimed, and I pulled it out of my purse.
Dork Diaries 6: Tales From a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker Page 9
