ANAS POV:

 

    I’ve been to this stupid private school since forever. All my life, I’ve attended this stupid school, in which the grades go from Kindergarten to 12th grade. As I walk around, determining if there are any new kids, I spy on a short-ish asian girl. She looks confused yet confident and happy. Hmm. I wonder why.

    “Hello, I’m Ana. Do you need any help around?” I try to sound nice as I walk up. The girl turns, then nearly jumps. “Oh, I’m Ashley.  And, yes, I could use some help.” This ‘Ashley’ speaks in a soft, gentle and quiet voice. “Alright. First, lets exchange schedules. Then, we can see if we are in the same class?” I speak in the same soft demur, just so I don’t scare Ashley.

    “Okay.”

    Ding! As the math class bustles, I find a second to check my phone. A text message from my boyfriend Chris.

 

Krease16: Hi Ana

 

ACLoved: Hi Chris, in math class, can’t talk

 

Krease16: plez!!!!

 

ACLoved: Ok. Hold on one sec

 

    I raised my hand. An old lady with powder white hair and the wrinkles of an elephant look up. “Yes…” she peers down at the attendance sheet. “Yes Ana?”

    “May I please go to the bathroom?” I asked and quickly

tacked on an innocent face,

    “Of course, sweetheart.”

    “Thank you” I say.

    I dash off and find myself lounging in a stall. The words “Chris and Ana 4ever” were scrawled on the stall wall with a black sharpie.

 

ACLoved: okayz! back

 

Krease16: Yay! Doing PE right now. Basketball is fun when I’m with my friends :p

 

ACLoved: Have high hopes for a girl named Ashley, she doesn’t look like she has friends

 

Krease16: Is she new?

 

ACLoved: yes…

 

Krease16: *slaps face*

 

Krease16 is typing…

 

Krease16: There’s actually a new kid in PE… His name is Kris. Almost like my name- Chris :) He says his friend Luhan is in love with a girl named Ashley Huang…...

 

ACLoved: brb

 

    Crap. Ashley was sitting next to me in math. Gotta ask what her last name is…

    I rush back into the classroom, cramming my phone into my back pocket. I slump next to Ashley, and quickly mumble, “Ashley, what's your last name?”

    “Err- Huang… why??” Ashley says this with a very scared look on her face. “Nothing…” I quickly extract my phone and pretend to be reading my notes…

 

ACLoved: OMG thats Ashleys name

 

ACLoved: teehee chemistry

 

Krease16: DUH!!!! you r dating me!!!:)

 

ASHLEYS POV:

 

    I throw my backpack on the floor and flop onto the bed. I extract my phone and start texting like the speed of lightning.

 

AshluvsL: Who woulda thunk.

 

Pooprincess: What?

 

ACLoved has joined this conversation.

 

Pooprincess: Who’s ACLoved

 

ACLoved: Who’s Pooprincess

 

AshluvsL: Ahem- Who woulda thunk. Luhan said he liked-

 

Pooprincess: you.

 

    I stared, dumbfounded. Where do people get all this information?

 

AshluvsL: How’d u know

 

ACLoved: omg u know luhan! poop, stay out of this convos. u don’t know nothin’.

 

Pooprincess: Rumor. It’s spreading like wildfire in school. People say Sehun started it…

 

ACLoved: Don’t ignore me!

 

AshluvsL: Jocelyn, meet Ana. She’s a friend of mine. Met her in private school. She’s an interesting gal, asking people for their last names.

 

Pooprincess: Hi ana.

 

ACLoved: So I guess everyone here knows Ashley and… a guy named Luhan?

 

Pooprincess: Yeah. Why?

 

ACLoved is typing…

 

ACLoved: My boyfriend Krease- I mean, ♥Chris♥ says that a guy named Kris, whose new, has a friend named Luhan

 

Pooprincess: OMG OMG OMG

 

AshluvsL: Don’t mind her… she’s just fangirling… omg omg…! anyways, continue?

 

ACLoved: Kris says that Luhan likes Ashley

 

Pooprincess: OMG OMG OMG

 

    I backed off away from the phone for away. So. It’s determined. He likes me. I’ve got 3 witnesses. I waited for my body to actually register it.

 

    Three… Two… One. I did two cartwheels and three somersaults on my bed, finishing off with a star jump. I then grabbed my phone to resume conversation.

 

ACLoved: Yeah so-

 

AshluvsL: hi again

 

Pooprincess: Ashley where were you

 

AshluvsL:..chewing on my moms bones.

 

ACLoved: So Luhan used to date Sehun? #gay

 

Pooprincess: plot twist: Lay asked me out

 

OMG! OMG! OMG!

 

JOCELYNS POV:

 

    Well, I said it. But I still remember the moment. It was this morning. Lay and I had the same homeroom. I was being a good girl and taking notes, my ears almost bursting with Mrs. Tan’s high, screechy voice.

I remember that I felt a tap on my shoulder, and saw Lay. Holy crap, I nearly melted right there on the spot. Lay nudged me and eyed a slip of paper that appeared on my desk. I quickly grabbed it, but remembered that Lay was right next to me. I held it up very lady-like.

As I unfolded the note, my heart was pounding in my chest. What did it say? I shakily  unfolded the last fold and peered, daring my eyes to look away.

“Will you go out with me?” was scrawled on the note. My brain was still registering it in when I saw on the bottom, two little checkboxes. One said Yes, the other No.

I picked up my pencil, and had written a check in Yes.

 

I still remember the moment. And now I’ve said it. I still don’t have a clear idea who this Ana is…

 

.    .    .

 

    Lay had scheduled that we watch a movie. I still don’t know what movie, but who cares. I bet Lay lost the tickets already. Oh well. Wouldn’t matter anyways, I’ll be with my dream guy in 1 hour…!

 

I wonder what I should wear. I sifted through my wardrobe, and finally chose a comfy pair of a blouse and skirt.  

.    .    .

 

    Please Turn off all Cell Phones Before the Movie. And Remember, there are Soft Drinks and Popcorn at the Front Lobby. Thank you, and Enjoy.

A woman’s crisp voice rang throughout the theater as the people bustled to get comfortable for the movie. I sat all ladylike, waiting for Lay.

A minute later, I turned and saw Lay making his way toward me. My heart nearly jumped out. It’s so unbelievable… that Lay likes me. Still, so unbelievable. I straightened my hair as he got closer.

“I got popcorn!” Lay smiled shyly as he set a basket full of warm, crunchy, buttery popcorn between us. “Yummers!” I grunted and started cramming popcorn into my mouth. When I looked up and saw Lay staring at me, I immediately began wiping the butter off of my face. “hehe..” I started politely, gently, nibbling on a single piece of popcorn.

    “Here, I’ll get a soft drink. In case we get thirsty.” And Lay was off again.    

    I snuck my phone out and began texting Ashley.

 

Pooprincess: Hi Ashley

 

AshluvsL: Hi. Doing homework

 

Pooprincess: I’m on my DATE with Lay!

 

AshluvsL: OMG where?

 

Pooprincess: At the movie theater

 

AshluvsL: #romantic

 

Pooprincess: Lay is coming. gtg

 

    “Hi Jocelyn!” I turned and saw Lay coming over with coke. I stuffed my phone in my back pocket and got out of the slouching position I was in. “Herro Lay…” Act natural, Jocelyn.

 

Our preview will be starting now. All cell phones must be off, NOW.

I turned off my phone, and scootched closer to Lay.

 

.    .    .

    I got distracted by hearing weird kissing noises. Turning around, I gasped to see Sehun making out with Mahi, one of the nerds from school. I nearly gagged as the two embraced each other in the back row. As much as I hated it, I tapped Lay and told him that I need to go to the the restroom.

 

    I grabbed my phone as I dashed out.

 

Pooprincess: Eww. SEHUN was making out with Mahi!

 

AshluvsL: Eww. Who’s Mahi?

 

Pooprincess: This nerd at school. I guess you could say that she’s pretty…

 

AshluvsL: Never heard of her. How is your date with Lay?

 

Pooprincess: Fine, I guess. But he’s not showing any signs of real affection :(

 

AshluvsL: Look on the bright side. Isn’t Lay basically your boyfriend now?

 

Pooprincess: Ya

 

    But it was true. Shouldn’t I be happy that Lay is my… omigosh… boyfriend…?! I quickly began skipping back into the theater.

 

KYLIE POV:

 

    I stormed into the kitchen. My ice cream was waiting for me on the polished granite counter. I took a baby bite out of it and brushed a lock of my hair from my face. I extracted my phone and checked Ashley’s recent “instagram post”.

    I smiled with pure delight as she supposedly said--

 

“@luexolu is so ugly! I hate him and I don’t want him to ever be in my life! He was put on the wrong planet! He’s a deer? psshh more like orgre… Shrek is love shrek is life reference… smh”

 

    Guess taking that tech ed class was beneficial. I remember in middle school I was such a geek. I had braces, three inch thick glasses, and big, bouncy pigtails. I was so obsessed with computers. That time I loved my family. I don’t remember when I transformed. I just remember first seeing Luhan. I ditched my glasses for contacts. I let my hair grow out and dyed it caramel.. I tried on mascara for the first time. I grew instantly in love with him. He was a drug. I know he doesn’t like me. But he’s the only reason why I’m alive… But I don’t know now. My brain was polluted with years of trying to impress Luhan. Now that he said it himself that he likes someone else, I felt like I had no life. I turned around with my Ugg boots and eyed the butcher knife.

 

ASHLEY POV:

 

    I flipped out my smartphone and opened instagram. In the right corner, it showed an icon that said I had more than 200 comments. Woah, I don’t even have that many followers…

    I opened up my profile and looked, horrified. So much hate.. When did I post this horrible post about Luhan? I quickly deleted the post and sent a direct message to Luhan saying--

 

    “Hey, I dunno who posted that post about you. Sorry. I think I was hacked or something. Please forgive me.”

 

    I closed the phone but immediately received a comment from Luhan. He said he was OK and it was good that things were cleared up now.

 

                        .    .    .

 

    The bell sung a beautiful falsetto before falling silent. I waded around the sea of caucasian people. They were all whispering. For some strange reason, I kept hearing people say the name “Kylie.” Could Kylie really be popular enough to have her name heard around PRIVATE schools? No. There are a billion Kylie’s in the world.

 

CHRIS POV:

    

    I threw on my gym uniform and neared Kris. He was a couple of lockers away from me and was hiding timidly in the corner as boys surrounded him. What the heck? As I neared Kris, he saw me and quickly escaped to me for my protection. “Whats going on bruh?” I asked. Kris took a shaky breath. “Well, I’m part of a band. I WAS, at least. The band is called EXO. These “EXO” fanboys are that they want me back. Don’t they know? I left EXO because my boyfriend Tao was caught having an affair with Sehun….”

 

    I had no idea of what he was talking about. He kept on rambling how this “Luhan” recently broke up with Sehun because 1. He was caught having affair with Tao and 2. He was caught having an affair with this nerd from Luhan’s school called Mahi…? I honestly don’t know what's going on.

    I slapped Kris’s . “Bruh you gotta protect your girl man,” I mumbled. “err- boy, I mean…” I quickly glossed over my mistake with a cheesy smile. Kris sighed. “I dunno. Luhan texted me recently saying he’s gonna leave EXO too… because of a girl! I mean, he shouldn’t follow my mistake.”

 

    I looked down. “Well… my girl Ana is a love expert. She could sort things out for you. I’m sure.” Kris nodded as he slipped on his shirt. “Thanks bruh,” he mumbled.

 

KRIS POV:

 

    Chris is my man. He doesn’t know EXO, but it’s not like anyone else does. Other than those nerds… I know one of them is named Chas. Thats all. Doesn’t really matter anyways.

 

    I trudged into the gym and was awakened by a crowd of whispering. People were mumbling the name “Kylie” over and over. I only know one Kylie and that’s the one Luhan always complains about. I shrugged and sat on a mat. I flipped open my smartphone onto Instagram. No one knows that I stalk my fans.

    

    I flipped through the new posts and almost every other post was about this KYLIE… about.. her committing suicide? I saw multiple selfies of this literal asian barbie doll, with the captions flooded with that crying emoji. Even LUHAN posted a photo of her with English captions, “I just wanna all of you to know that Kylie was one of my closest friends… @Smilie_Kylie”

 

    I reposted.

 

LAY POV:

 

    Don’t tell me. Kylie committed suicide? Why? She’s always so happy. She doesn’t cut, she’s not depressed… what's up? I checked my iMessage and saw that Kylie had sent me a message:

 

Smilie_Kylie: My drug left me.

 

What? Jocelyn must’ve felt my body go tense, because she sat up from leaning her head against my shoulder.

    “What’s wrong?” She asked. I looked into her large eyes and mumbled, “Kylie committed suicide.”

 

JOCELYN POV:

 

    What. Just what. Should I be happy or sad.

 

ASHLEY POV:

 

    I checked my texts and found that Kylie texted me. How does she even know…? It just said 4 simple words:

 

Smilie_Kylie: My drug left me.

 

    Who/What is she talking about? What’s her drug? She looks pretty clean, so I’m sure its not substances. She’d better not be talking about Luhan. Does she know I like him? I shivered. My whole body trembled, and goosebumps rose out of my arms. I felt this felt this feeling before… but when? Than it hit me. When my dad died, I felt this. It was… it was… it… was guilt.

 

LUHAN POV:

 

    Kylie’s a pest alright, but why did she kill herself? I tried to pretend I liked her. I hope it was not because of me. I checked my texts.  

 

Smilie_Kylie: You left me.

 

I did not leave Kylie! I know she is obsessed with me, but just because some information that I like Ashley leaked, doesn’t mean she has to be all suicidal, right?

 

    I felt bad. I felt bad for liking Ashley. I forget that behind the mask of foundation, mascara, lip gloss and blush, is a human being. I forget too many times.

 

    I hate being a celebrity. I hate being rich. I hate being famous. I hate being good-looking.

 

                .    .    .

 

    That morning, I cashed in all my clothing for a couple of jeans, t-shirts, and plain sneakers. I donated my money to charity and put on a pair of sunglasses and mask before heading out.

 

    “I want to leave EXO. I want to leave SM.” Those were the final words I said before an official-looking lady stamped a stamp on a paper. Those were called important documents. Even though the lady was aged, her eyes were sparkling with tears. She handed me the papers and said, “you’re good to go.”

 

    I originally wanted to leave EXO a little while ago to, as the fangirls say, “go to Ashley.” That was only partially true. But when Kylie died, I could handle this drama of girl VS. girl.

 

ASHLEY POV:

 

    Ana smirked as she looked at me. “Girl get your love life together,” she said. I looked down at the cafeteria floor. My eyes welled up. I killed Kylie…

 

    Suddenly an explosion of screams erupted within the cafeteria. Ana slapped my arm and motioned me to look up. I looked up. There was Luhan.

 

FIN.

 

Epilogue

 

    Jocelyn and Lay continued dating all the way until Jocelyn became a senior in high school. Ana and Chris broke up, but got together just a few years later. It is still not certain if Luhan or Kris will join EXO again, but Mahi had ditched Sehun for a dude named Alex. Mrs. Tan was eventually fired for scaring the children and pursued her life as an Olympic swimmer. In fact, she broke multiple records and is now making millions.

    Ashley never really dated Luhan. They just became really good friends. Ashley’s mother had finally decided to do intervals around the year, so they live!d in America for one half of the year, and South Korea for another. More than once had Luhan joined her and Ashley.

    Uncle died a few years late due to diabetes.

    Kylie’s parents were released from their slavery and was interviewed. They had said that it was all bad parenting and love. They never knew they were hurting their child. They wanted to make their child the most happy in the world.

    Mr. Weasley was sent to rehab when he was caught being drunk in school this whole time. It was finalized when Mr. Weasley nearly bit off a Junior’s neck when she asked to go to the bathroom for the 5th time.”

    A random bystander named Iman became a billionaire. She made Youtube videos and had thousands of fans. She never got married.

Ms. Wright was sent to America to teach Kindergarteners. Chris and Kris, by the way, became the best of friends.

As for Kylie? She’s still in the sky today. During the daytime, if you look up, you will see and feel an overpowering ball of light and heat in the sky. At night, she will disappear. And as much as you took her for granted, you would yearn for her for light and warmth.