A/N: hey peeps ^^ this is another new chapter~!!! xDDD anyways, besides adding this chapter, I have also updated the Characters second in the foreword and the Author's Note section. I hope that you guys can all read that bit before/after (you're choice ^^) you read this chapter~ it's going to say a lot ^^ thank you<3

***

I could never believe that Darren would do something like that to me.

***

“Darren! Hey!”

I ran up to the back of the boy that had only just transferred to this school a few weeks ago.

He turned around with a bright smile on his face.

“Hey Chaeri!”

I felt my heart beat quicken for a second but then it continued on calmly, at its normal pace.

“So, what’s up?”

He smiled at me.

“Not much I don’t think. Just really tired. I stayed up all night chatting to my friends back in Australia that I forgot I had school today.”

He yawned to make it clear.

I laughed.

“I was like that too at first but then I thought, we all have our own lives to live and I’m just dwelling onto my past. But yeah, I still really miss Australia. I go back every year because my mum promised me.”

He nodded along with me.

“I totally get what you mean…”

I smiled and patted his back.

“You’ll feel much better once you’ve made more friends.”

He turned towards me.

“You’re my friend.”

He says to me quietly, and I don’t know why, I blushed.

I rarely blush.

He laughed out loud.

I pouted and slapped him playfully.

***

I stopped running and just stood there, my eyes staring ahead, unfocused.

Tears were still running down my face.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

I looked down at the caller ID and it showed Darren’s number.

I gulped.

I really know who to believe now.

My best friends since I came to America, or the new transfer student.

“Hello?”

I said into the phone.

“Hey Chaeri! What’s up? How’s the beginning of your Thanksgiving?”

Without intending to, I smiled when I heard his voice.

“He would never do that to me…”

I said to myself quietly.

“Come again? What did you say?” Darren said through the phone.

“Nothing, nothing. I said my Thanksgiving is…”

I trailed off.

I was now standing in front of the shopping centre that was quite far from my house.

I hadn’t realised that I had already run that far.

But, there, sitting under an empty maple tree, was Darren, two girls by his side.

His unoccupied arm was draped around a girl on his left and the girl to his right was feeding him.

“Chaeri? What’s wrong? Why did you stop talking?”

I couldn’t believe that this was actually happening.

With a restricted voice, I said quietly to the phone,

“I have to go. I’ll call you later. Bye!”

I snapped my phone shut and watched Darren’s reaction to my sudden hang up.

He frowned at his phone and I saw an unfamiliar figure walk towards him.

“Who was that dude?”

The person spoke.

Darren scoffed, snapped his phone shut and put his other hand around the other girls shoulder.

“My play toy.”

I put my hand over my mouth and willed myself to not run up to him and slap him.

“You mean Chaeri?”

Darren laughed.

“Who else?!”

The two boys laughed.

I took a staggering step back and then turned around and ran off, back in the direction of my house.

When I was halfway on my way back, I couldn’t take it anymore and stopped running.

I dropped onto the floor and began to full on sobbing.

Suddenly, I felt another presence in front of me.

I didn’t need to guess who it was.

“Let’s go honey…Angel and Jackie’s really worried about you…”

Cyndi tried to lift me up but I stayed rigid on the concrete pathway.

“Why…why would he do something like that to me…?”

“Because he’s a dickhead.”

At that, I had to smile.

But my smile only lasted a second.

I got up and felt Cyndi’s arms wrap around my shoulders as she gently walked me back home.

The whole journey was silent as I recalled the scene by the shopping centre.

I was glad that Cyndi didn’t ask me anything.

When we arrived back at my house and the two of us walked into the living room, Angel rushed towards me worriedly and Jackie ran into the kitchen to pour me something to drink.

I sat down on the couch with Cyndi and Angel by my side.

Jackie ran back into the living room with a glass full of water and put it in front of me.

I smiled at her slightly and took it gratefully.

She sat on the glass table.

After taking a sip of the water, I just held onto it.

It was a warm day outside, but I felt so cold within.

“I saw…”

I began.

I knew they were going to ask me some time or another so I thought why not just tell tem now.

“I saw…I saw him…sitting with two girls by his side…”

My three best friends didn’t make a sound while waiting for me to continue my story.

“His friend came and asked him what was up…he called me a play toy…he called me a play toy…”

At this, tears began to fall off my face once again and Angel hugged me.

Cyndi stood up.

“Where the *u*k is he?!”

Jackie stood up as well.

“He needs to be taught a lesson!”

I smiled tightly and shook my head.

“Don’t worry about him now…let’s just have fun together okay?”

Jackie and Cyndi looked at each other and then slowly sat back down again.

“I’ll deal with him later.”

Angel patted my back.

“But I really need to say sorry to you guys…because of…”

I didn’t want to say his name.

“Him…I wasn’t spending as much time with you guys anymore…I’m really sorry…”

No one said anything for a moment.

“You’d better be!”

Jackie broke the silence and everyone laughed.

I suddenly felt as if everything that had just happened less than half an hour ago just didn’t matter anymore.

My friends were with me that was what really matters.

I stood up and they followed suit.

“I’m going to shower. Although I already showered today, I wanna start anew.”

Cyndi, Angel and Jackie smiled at me encouragingly.

I walked away from them.

“It’s time to start anew…”