"Things just aren't working out." I kept my eyes pointed at the floor. "I thought we were doing alright." "Aden," Katy breathed, holding back her bangs from her face. "I'm sorry but I think it's time we"—she sighed—"well, we broke up." I peeked up at her. "Did I do something wrong?" She scanned the hallway. "No, Aden. You're a great guy. The spark, it just isn't there anymore." Katy shrugged. "Sorry." Nodding, I adjusted the book bag strap on my shoulder. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I glanced at the group of students who had stopped across the hall. "It can be a fresh start for summer. I understand. Don't worry about it." I forced a smile. "We can still be friends if you want." She tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah"—I gave a half-hearted laugh—"of course we're still friends." She smiled and put her arms around me. "Thanks, Aden. I knew you'd understand." I hugged her back and stood there as she hurried off with her friends. Closing my locker, I banged my head against it. Why did this keep happening? "Hey." A hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped and spun around. "Chris, a little warning." "Quit daydreaming, then, and let's go to class," he laughed. "I wasn't daydreaming," I muttered as I marched down the hall. "What's wrong?" "Katy broke up with me." Grabbing my shoulder, Chris gave it a little squeeze. "Sorry about that, man. I thought you two were getting along. She seemed fine when we hung out last weekend." I shrugged. "I guess the spark between us is gone, or something like that." He slapped me on the back, which stung more than comforted me. "Oh well, there'll be others." "I'm running out of girls," I breathed as we entered the classroom. "That's your fault." "Hey," called Katy. She waved and gave me an awkward smile. "Chris, can we talk about our next final?" He looked at me. "Go for it," I said with a shrug. He slipped past me and went to sit in my seat. I bit my lip. I didn't mean that! Trudging to the row of desks next to the wall, I plopped down in the one at the end. It was just a dumb seat, but the fact that I lost it because of Katy ticked me off. Laying my head on the desk, I wrapped my arms around my face to block out the world. Today sucked. I lost my girlfriend, my seat, and now I was going to fail math. Maybe it would start raining on the way home to top everything off. The bell rang and Mr. Phillips walked to the head of the room. "Alright, clear off your desk except for a pencil." He started passing the test packets down the row. I rolled my head to the side and waited to receive my death sentence. Math and I didn't get along. Chris dropped the packet in front of me. "It won't be that bad." "Says next year's valedictorian," I muttered under my breath. I heard Chris laugh, so he must have heard. "Alright," said Mr. Phillips as he sat down behind his computer. "You have until the end of class. Once you're done, put your test on my desk and you're free to go." Everyone around me flipped over the cover sheet and started writing. I stared at mine, reading the class section information over and over. Forcing myself to sit up, I turned the page and felt my stomach tighten. God had my number today and he just kept pushing it. *** Five minutes before class ended, I handed in my test, gave Mr. Phillips a death glare, and trudged to the door with my backpack dragging along behind me. That man hated me. It was the only possible explanation of why he would make the test ten times harder than any of the homework. I threw open the door and left it wide open, before marching off to where Chris was sitting with Katy on a bench by the wall. They were looking over Chris's notes. The man was a genius, so it wasn't a surprise. I had taken advantage of his brain plenty of times. I laid across the bench next to them. I had been to war and barely made it out alive, and they were having a great time. Being friend-zoned sucked. Katy could have at least pretended to be a little upset that we broke up. "So how'd you do?" asked Chris. I crossed my fingers. "I'm praying for a C. I don't want to have to retake it next year." "I think you'll get at least that." "Maybe." Chris went back to talking about chemistry with Katy while I laid there, defeated. I wanted to go home and whine to my mother about my horrible day. Closing my eyes, I heard the bell sound through the halls. Letting out a sigh, I sat up and slowly climbed to my feet. "English will be better, right?" said Chris with a smile. "Yeah," I muttered as I shuffled away. Anything was better than math. *** I handed in my test to my English teacher and slipped out of the room. My brain was working on fumes. As soon as I got home, I was going straight to bed. I wandered through the hall, occasionally waving at someone as I passed. My head was done for the day and I didn't really know who I was saying goodbye to. "Aden!" I flinched and glanced over my shoulder. Chris was jogging toward me with Katy close behind. I really didn't want to see her at that moment. There should be an unwritten rule that said it took at least a week to shift from boyfriend to friend. I needed a grieving period. "How'd it go?" I shrugged. "Fine." "Are you done now?" "Yeah." I glanced toward the door. "Well, so are we." He motioned to Katy, who had caught up with him. "Katy asked for a ride. That's okay, right?" I let out a deep breath. "Yeah, that's fine." It wasn't fine. Chris had just won the award for the worst best friend to ever exist. I didn't understand why he thought putting me in the same car as my ex of maybe four hours was an okay idea. However, I didn't feel like walking home, either. "Great." He led the way to the parking lot. I walked behind them, glaring at their backs. Their constant flirting and laughing was grinding on me. We reached Chris's silver four-door Dodge, and I skidded to a halt when I saw Katy go for the passenger side. If there weren't people standing around, I would have blown up right then and there. She had given away my seat and now, she was taking it. I stomped over to the back door behind the driver's side and flopped inside. Tossing my book bag across the truck, I put my knees up against Chris's seat. "You're on one today," laughed Chris. "I failed all my classes, so leave me alone." "I need to stop by the bank and deposit some money for my mom. Is that okay?" I shrugged. "Yep." Chris laughed and pulled out of the parking lot. "Was he always this cheerful with you?" I glared at the back of his head. "I'm right here." "Yeah, we know," he chuckled. Katy started to laugh, too. Chris was my best friend, so I was fine with him teasing me, but she could shut it. I was not in the mood to be tormented by someone who just stomped on my heart, which probably put out that stupid spark she said was missing. "Aden has always been that way. If he doesn't get what he wants, he pouts about it," said Katy. "Dramatic." Chris glanced at me. "Overreacts over the little things." "I do not." I narrowed my eyes at him. Katy giggled. "You should've seen the first time we kissed. He blushed so hard." "No, I didn't," I snapped, glaring at the floor. She wasn't telling it right. She surprised me in front of a bunch of people, my parents being among them. My face reacted naturally. I couldn't help it. "Aden is the old-fashioned type," said Chris. "He takes things slow, extremely slow." I shoved my knee into the back of his seat. "Not every guy is obsessed with sex." I folded my arms across my chest. "Some of us have morals." "Ha!" Chris laughed. "Just admit you've never had a girlfriend long enough to reach that point." "Shut up," I said through clenched teeth. "So, it's true." Katy turned around in her seat. "You're still a virgin?" My eyes grew wide and I felt my face heat up. "What?" I faked a smile. Chris was having trouble breathing; he was laughing so hard. "Where did you hear that?" Katy turned forward. "It's Aden. Everyone knows he had a ton of ex-girlfriends and they've all said he'd never take advantage of anyone. So we started to wonder if he's even done it yet." I was shooting death rays at Chris. "Yeah—" "Don't you dare," I snapped. "So it is true?" said Katy, looking back at me. "You're probably the only seventeen-year-old virgin boy in the whole school." She stuck out her tongue. "There could be others." I laid across the seat and hid my face in my book bag. "You don't know for sure." "Like I said, he's old-fashioned," chuckled Chris. "I guess holding on to his V-card goes along with it." "Shut up," I shot back. "It's not a requirement to lose it to graduate." "It explains a lot, though," breathed Katy, facing forward in her seat. "Maybe you're asexual." "Shut up!" I glared at them both. "My sexuality is none of your business." They gave me amused smiles as we pulled into the bank's drive-through. A flaming red sports car zipped in front of us, and Chris slammed on the brakes. Katy was thrown into the dash, and I couldn't help but smile. She deserved that. "Idiot." Chris cursed under his breath. "Stupid, faggot. He'll get someone killed driving like that." The two kept complaining as I laid there. So what if I hadn't done it yet. I didn't see a problem. I hadn't found the right person. Though, I've dated most of the girls in my class, and a couple older and maybe a few younger, too. Katy was right. I should just accept I might be asexual.