I was having a less shitty weekend than usual for once…that is, until she had to come along and ruin everything.

Thing is, I’m used to feeling like shit. Everything around me is godawful. Except my idiots, but not even they can save a bad day sometimes. 

Problem is, sometimes the universe feels like fucking me over more than usual. As if my childhood wasn’t enough, it has to keep. Fucking. Going.

That day happened to be one of many, as I heard someone taking pictures of me when Rain and I were walking back to our place.

We groaned in unison somehow and turned around, finding Melanie having appeared out of thin air and “taking selfies” right behind us.

“Omg!” God, I hate her voice so much. It's grating on the ears. “I didn't even see you guys!”

“You should get your eyes checked.” I deadpanned.

“Or stop stalking us.” Rain hugged herself; I stepped in front of her, just to be safe.

“Ugh! Stop calling me a stalker!” Melanie snapped, stomping her foot like a little kid. “Maybe if you guys would be friends with me again—”

“Maybe if you weren't a freak we wouldn't have dumped you in the first place,” I snapped back at her. 

I'm not gonna bother going over her crimes against humanity—I'm sure the others will tell you. The long story short is that she is a bitch. And I’ve spent too long having to watch her be one to my friends for stupid reasons.

 “Will you just listen to me?!” She screamed; I noticed an old couple on a neaby porch start whispering about us. Great. “I have something important to tell you!”

“No.” I turned around and tried to usher my sister along, only for her to run in front of us. 

“My dreams! Listen to my dreams for five minutes!”

“You once had a ‘dream’ that Mitch got hit by a car and told him to help you reenact it because it was a ‘premonition.’” Rain grabbed my arm as she spoke, so I pulled her behind me again.

“This one is—!”

“Bullshit.” I snapped again. “Because that's all you're full of. We're not ‘destined’ to get married, we aren't friends, now get out of our lives.”

Melanie's face turned red with anger.

“Yes. We. Are! Not only that, but if you keep hanging around those losers—”

As I was mulling over whether or not I should break my “Don't touch girls” rule, Rain pulled me aside.

A car drove by; it had been raining in the middle of the night, so there were some puddles, and the car just so happened to send water in our direction—luckily, all over Melanie. We both burst into laughter (giggling and snickering respectively) at that.

Melanie screamed again—a genuinely ear-grating sound—and started fake crying. 

Rain and I quickly moved around her and started running; we could still hear her screaming, which only made us run even faster.

Once we made it to our house, we locked ourselves in my room to catch our breath. Luckily, our guardians weren’t home to lecture us about how we weren't allowed to lock our doors, so we just sat on the floor and leaned on each other.

“Are you okay?” Rain asked me after a while.

I shrugged and didn't give a verbal response.

Rain reached around and hugged onto my arm. 

“Don't worry. Maybe we can get into college, or get jobs…far away from here, and her.”

I let out a hollow chuckle.

There's no way Mitch and I are getting into college, and the only good jobs around here wouldn't hire someone our ages. Rain was about average with her grades…Sarah was the only one who actually did well, but her parents don't even want her leaving town yet.

There's too many reasons why it won't get better.

…But for a second, I let myself pretend that there weren't.