Nose Bleeds and Locker doors.

Lately I been, I been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could be

But baby Ibeen, I been prayin' hard

Said no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars

Yeah, we'll be counting stars

My alarm on my cell phone blares "Counting Stars" by One Republic, waking me from my deep dreamless slumber. I had no intentions of waking up at all considering the long day I had yesterday. Also the fact that I barely got any sleep at all because of the constant tingling still on my lips left over from Olivia's kiss. I don't know what possessed her to kiss me. Maybe it was the outfit, whatever it was, it left me feeling confused. I didn't actually know what I should feel. Should I be excited or angry?

I knew for one thing that I was nervous; too nervous to go to school today because of how people might react towards me reverting back into my regular self or react to the kiss that Olivia had planted on me. Hopefully it would all blow over unnoticed by others and I could get the day without so much as a hitch.

I knew life wouldn't be so kind.

I threw my arm out to my white nightstand successfully grabbing my cell phone to shut off the alarm, but I managed to knock my plain black-rimmed Ray Ban glasses to the floor. I sighed heavily, not ready to use extra effort at 7 in the morning. I stuck one foot out of the cover and bent down to grab my glasses. I pushed them up on the bridge of my nose before climbing out of bed. Climbing was clearly the wrong word, because somehow in between getting my glasses I got tangled in my thick purple duvet. I crashed loudly to the floor, groaning in pain on impact. I could tell that this was not going to be a good morning.

I stood up once again, going to my closet and grabbing the first thing deemed fine for today. I went into my own private bathroom, brushed my teeth and quickly changed. I come out with a baby blue shirt that said " I'm not playing hard to get, I'm playing leave me the f**k alone." paired with some beige baggy cargo pants. Today I had some energy to run a comb through my bed head.

I shoved my phone in my pocket and slung my Nikon D3100 digital camera around my neck. Photography was one thing I had always felt was mine. I felt comfortable with my photos, I felt like they were always constant. I started it a couple years ago when Neal and me were cleaning out his atrocious room of his. We found some old camera his father had given to him; Neal didn't want it so I take it. I have been in love with photography ever since. Naturally, I bought a better, more efficient camera later though.

I exited my room and slowly walked, not wanting to trip and fall, down large semi spiral staircase leading into the foyer of the house. I slipped on some red vans and put on my backpack on which I had already sat near the door. I was about to continue on my way outside till I saw a hot pink large sticky note stuck to the door with an envelope attach.

The note said: "Your sister left for school already. Some of the Kissing booth earnings. - Melody"

I had no clue why she didn't sign it Mommy or Mom. Any term of endearment would have been nice.

Leaving left notes for me was a usual occurrence. My mother and father were usually never home, and when they were I didn't see much of them. My father was busy with work all the time since he was a surgeon. My mother was a housewife, but she always kept her self-busy with organizing charity events and hanging out with other country club members. The same goes for my sister. She was either always off with her bitchy friends, with the guy of the week, or just holed up in her room. I could say though that I knew my sister and father cared, they just didn't have time to show it. Sadly, I couldn't say the same for my mother.

I opened the envelope to find a mere 40 bucks. After all the hard work I put into the stupid kissing booth, I had somehow earned close to 300 bucks and out of it all I got was 40 dollars. I bet she didn't even think to pay Neal.

I shook my head not wanting to think about her any longer. I slipped the money in my pocket and crumpled up the post it and envelope and dropped them right where I stood just to irk my mother, knowing she liked her house spotless.

I went out the house, locked the door and walked to my white 2013 XTS Cadillac. Just because I was not shallow and spoiled didn't mean I didn't want nice things. My parents were loaded; why not buy what I wanted.

I hopped in, put the car in reverse and slowly exited the driveway. I drive down a block or so before I stop in front of Neal's house. I sometimes drove Neal to school when I was in the mood to put up with him. But I can't lie; I usually picked him up every day. I honked the horn loudly to let him know I was waiting outside.

Neal came racing out the front door with his hands full of papers and his backpack halfway on his shoulder. Some of the papers scattered to the floating in the wind.

"Damn it!" Neal shouted before ambling around trying to chase his papers before they blew away. I honked my horn again just to get on his nerves knowing he was already frustrated. I laughed when he threw up the middle finger my way before going back to gather his mess.

When he was done, he rushed over and got in the car. Neal exhaled loudly before putting his papers neatly in a folder. "I was up late studying so I sorta over slept."

I nodded before driving off towards our school.

At a red light I pulled one of the twenties out of my pocket and stuck it out towards Neal.

"This is your pay for helping out at the kissing booth. I know it's not much since we made almost 300 but it's something." He took it with a smile.

"I wasn't expecting anything, so thanks."

I nodded before staring back at the road. The rest of the trip was relatively quiet until Neal decided he wanted to give the new One republic CD I had just bought a listen. From then on Neal shouted out the lyrics, he had just learned very obnoxiously, not caring about the strange looks he was receiving from other people in their cars. I ducked my head and focusing on driving to hide my embarrassment.

When I had arrived at the school parking lot, I turned down the music not wanting any more attention. As I grabbed all my stuff from the car, Neal crossed his arms and leaned on top of the car, looking at me.

"So what are you going to do about...?" He paused before looking around like he was saying something top secret. "You know who."

After I gathered my stuff, I began walking towards the school building. Cranbrooke High had a wide parking lot in front of large stairs that half way circled the building. Kids loitered on the stairs, not really ready to start the school day yet. I didn't really blame them.

"You say it like Olivia's Voldemort or something." I say opening the door to the entrance of the school. I headed straight for my locker. Neal followed behind me since his locker was only a few rows down.

"I think she would fit more as a Dementor. Especially, how she was sucking your face yesterday." Neal said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I gave him an uneasy smile, not really comfortable about what he was implying.

"Maybe, she was acting weird because she had a little too much to drink. You know how kids like to drink when adults aren't around." I lied, knowing I didn't taste any alcohol on her sweet strawberry tasting lips. What was I just saying? I shouldn't care what flavor her lips were.

"Yeah, and I'm a Hitler's cousin." Neal scoffed. A distraction came along when a hulking lacrosse player bumped me on the shoulder when he walked past.

"Hey! Watch it!!!" Neal shouted always so keen to protect me. The guy turned and glared at Neal, which easily made him shrink back. With satisfaction, the lacrosse player went on his way.

"Close one." Neal mumbled. I nod my head in agreement. I thought I was going to have to go the rest of the day trying to find out the locker combo of the locker Neal had been shoved in. I grinned at him as a silent thank you.

We walked in a comfortable silence through the crowded noise filled hallway. Luckily, we didn't run into any more giant lacrosse player on our way over. When I made it to my locker Neal continued to his.

I quickly twisted the locker dial to the correct combination; it popped open with one try. My locker was full of pictures a couple of my sister and me; most were of Neal and me goofing off in some way. I admired the pictures before grabbing the books I need for the first half of the school day swiftly knowing the bell was about to ring. I also took my camera off and set it inside because I wouldn't use it till lunch.

When I closed my locker, Neal was leaning on the lockers adjacent looking towards the ceiling. "I just don't get it. Why would Olivia kiss you after only getting in line to see who you were? Really, she could have just walked away after getting what she wanted. But no, she locked lips with you instead." Neal said clueing me in on what he was thinking.

I sighed heavily. Why couldn't he let it go? I have been ready to just forget about it completely. "I don't know either." I walked past him towards my first class, Neal didn't have class with me, but he usually walked me to class, wanting to make sure no one bothered me on the way.

"It's very puzzling. Like I get that you looked really pretty." He grimaced, not wanting to think of me in that way." Or whatever, but you're still you, right?"

"Look, I really just want to move on. Olivia probably already has, so why can't we?"

"I know Joey. But it's just killing me, you know. Like could there be a possibility that Olivia......... Might like you?" Neal said in a sort of whisper. My head whipped towards him in shock.

"W-Why would you think that? I mean, it was just one kiss." I said, my voice going up an octave with nervousness.

"I was just......" Neal started before I cut him off.

"We haven't even had a full conversation. It would be impossible for her to like me. I'm just me and she's all popular and stuff. I'm not even gay for crying out loud." I ramble.

"Joey....."

"Just because she kissed me doesn't anything. It was a kissing booth you're supposed to kiss people!" I continued on ignoring Neal. What if she does like me? I didn't understand, I dressed differently just once and now things are all confusing. But I couldn't figure out if I was more worried about a popular girl paying actual attention to me or the fact that I might have secretly liked the kiss. Just a little.

"Joey, watch it!" Neal shouted to get my attention. It worked because I finally looked away from him and looked in front of me, which was a mistake. Apparently, while I had been rambling and thinking about Olivia, I hadn't noticed that we had drifted closer to the rows of lockers. So unfortunately when I looked ahead, I was slammed directly in the face with someone's metal locker door.

The force of the locker door was enough to make me fall backwards on my ass. My glassed flew somewhere in the middle of the door hitting me and me falling. I groaned as a sharp pain traveled through my nose, ignoring the fact that my butt ached too. My hand flew to my nose to clutch it to try to ease the pain, though it only made it worse.

"Oh My God!" a voice shouted, I assumed it was my assailant. I couldn't look at their face, though because my eyes were tearing up from the pain and my vision was blurred because I was blind as a bat without my glasses.

"Joey! Are you alright?" Neal shouted kneeling down to the floor next to me, the other person stooped down as well.

"I'm so so sorry. I didn't even see you there. Are you okay?" I didn't say anything; I just wiped my eyes of tears so I could see who smacked the shit out of me. I gasped when I realized I had recognized that voice. I was looking in the face of none other than Olivia Winchester, well what I could see of her anyways. Obviously my plans of avoiding her all day have failed. Olivia and Neal gasped for a different reason.

"Oh god, your bleeding Joey. Like I mean a lot." Neal said with a pitched voice. I looked at my hand and notice it was an orange red tint from the blood getting on it when it held my nose. I also looked down at my shirt, which was completely ruined now since it was slightly covered in blood. If the police saw me like this right now they would most likely accuse me of murder.

"I am so sorry." Olivia repeated once again. "We need to get her to the nurse." She said to Neal, who nodded his head in agreement. Neal put his arm around my back and slowly lifted me from the floor. I soon noticed that everyone in the hall was staring our way. I really didn't want the attention right now. It was already embarrassing enough to have gotten hit with a locked door, and Olivia's no less.

"I got your glasses, but I can't put them back on because I don't know the condition of your nose." Neal told me shifted his arm around my back so that we were standing comfortably.

"Tilt your head back." Olivia said, putting her hand lightly on my chin to tilt my head back. The gesture made me remember how she touched my chin before she kissed me, which only made my face glow more in embarrassment.

"I'm fine. R-Really, it's just a nose bleed." I said out of Neal's and Olivia's grasp. Without the support of Neal I suddenly felt a little unstable. Olivia must have noticed my eyes drooping and my legs wobbling because she rushed back into my personal space and wrapped her arm around my waist.

"I don't think so; Neal and I will help you walk to the nurse's office. I couldn't look her in the eye, knowing how close we were and feeling how nice her arm settled around me. I pushed her arm off, not wanting to look weaker than I had already. I may have looked like an ax murderer with blood all over right now, but I still had some piece of my dignity.

"I can walk." I started turning towards the direction of the nurse's office. I didn't even make it a step before my vision blurred dangerously and I fell to the ground. The last thing I coherently remember is the same lean from before arms circling my body again.