Break You

BLAIRE

"You're not sick," Paige grumbled from where she stood at the doorway to my room. "You just need to come out of this sterile place you call a bedroom and have some damn fun."

The urge to chuck my pillow at her as hard as I could raged through me in a nearly overpowering rush. What didn't she understand about the word no?

"I have to study and I feel like shit," I said. The pillow I'd been holding over my head for the last few minutes was removed, but not by my hand. Somehow Paige managed to make it across the room and to the side of my bed without me noticing. Maybe it was due to the fact that my nose was still so stuffed up the muffle of my breathing was all I could hear."Seriously, Paige! I feel like dog shit right now. Dog shit that was ran over. Twice."

A chuckle escaped her and she moved to sit at the edge of my bed, unfazed by my outburst of melodrama at the situation.

"Then a night out is exactly what you need,"she insisted. "A chance to give your pretty little mind a freaking break. What good is all of this studying? You're burning yourself out before finals. You're just going to be exhausted and sleep deprived from it all."

I scrunched my eyes up and glared at her. Her face was serious, but she obviously wasn't paying attention to what she was saying. "Are you kidding me right now? You're not even making any sense."

She cocked her head to the side. "Yes I am."

A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth,because she was clearly repeating what she'd just said to me in her mind, struggling to figure out if it made sense.

"No, it didn't. You're trying to persuade me into going to that stupid party with you instead of studying,because you think I'm cramming too heavily for finals and need a break. Won't partying all night with you cause me to be more sleep deprived than studying would?"

She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder."Nope."

I laughed at her simplistic answer, which sent her into even more of a fit.

"All three of us are going out tonight, all right? Even if I have to drug your ass up with some Nyquil and you sleep right though all the fun, you're still getting out of this damn bedroom and away from these papers and books." She ruffled up my notebook papers and flipped my textbook over, making me lose my place.

"I can't breathe through my nose and I'm pretty sure my voice sounds like I've been a chain smoker my entire life, because of my sore throat." I attempted to fix the papers she'd messed up and flipped my book back over. "I'm not going outwith you and Lauren tonight."

"Please," she pouted. I knew if I glanced her way there would be big brown puppy eyes pleading with me and a fat bottom lip poking out. "Pretty please, Blaire, just this once. You know I just broke up with Karl and could really use a girls'night."

She was pathetic when she pulled the puppy-dog look-pathetic, but undeniable, and she knew it. After all, like she'd said, she had just broken up with Karl. In spite of her being the one to do the dumping, I still felt bad for her. Karl had been sleeping with someone behind her back. Which would have been bad enough all on its own, but add in the fact Paige had caught him red-handed, and it made a bad situation that much worse.

"Oh my God, fine." I slammed my book closed and tossed it to the side. "I'll go out with you guys, but I'm not staying out past twelve or getting sloshed.Understood?"

Paige's face lit up. "Understood. Now take a shower and some Sudafed and meet me in the living room in an hour.I'll text Lauren." She scrambled out of my room, her silky, dark hair bouncing across her shoulders as she went.