I didn't wake up in a pleasant way. I mean, unless you consider being kicked in the face and falling off a bed to be pleasant. In that case, stop reading right now. Anyways, back to the foot.

If I remembered correctly, I went clubbing with Nate last night (my massive headache would confirm that). So, it could either be Nate's foot or a random hookup's (I was praying to Christmas Miracle Baby it was the first one). I kept my eyes closed for a few more seconds until the hardwood beneath me started to become a bother to my comfort.

"One.. two.. two and a half... two and three-quarters... two in seven-eighth—ok, whatever." My eyes shot open, and I looked up at the wall. I almost cried in relief when I heard:

"Why the fuck are you counting so loud?" The familiar raspy morning voice calmed me down, and I silently thanked C-M-B. "Wait, why are you counting in the first place?"

It was not a hookup.

"Oh, thank Christmas Miracle Baby," I sat up and leaned back on my hands to look at him (thankfully, he was wearing clothes from the night before), "I thought you were some random guy."

"Okay one, stop worshiping that Christmas baby or whatever—he's not real. Two, no one would hook up with you in the first place."

"C-M-B is real!" He was, but that was another story. I ignored his last remark; he was jealous of all the possible sex I could get, but I didn't want to get into that argument again.

"Yeah, whatever." He yawned, still on the bed. "My head's killing me, Stiles. Have any Advil or some shit?"

You heard that right, my name is Stiles. And no, I do not have a werewolf best friend on the basketball team. When my mother was younger, her and my aunt were obsessed with Michael J Fox. Aunt Ana named my twin cousins Marty and Scott, and my mom wanted to keep the tradition up. When she got married to Connor Stilinski, she didn't squander her chance. My only concern? What the fuck was my dad thinking when he agreed to that.

"Yes, but not if you keep cursing. My child is in this house, and I will not have her learning that garbage." I scolded him.

"It's a cat, not a child."

"Ok, listen. I don't need your sass. You're not the only one with a headache." I forced myself up from the floor, only to subconsciously convince myself that the bed was where I was meant to be. And this, ladies and gentleman, is why I hated myself. What-fucking-ever. I thought to myself as I suffocated against the pillow. But of course, Nate wasn't having any of it.

"Get your fat ass up! I am in pain, Jesus fuck." Then, he pushed me off the bed.

Back to square one, my boys.



-



We didn't say anything. My parents were already waiting in the car, giving Nate and me privacy, but I could see my mother's window rolled down, and her head sticking out of it. Nate looked at our feet, while I stared at his shoulder. While I wasn't short (five-foot-seven going strong), Nate was one of the tallest people I've met in my entire life (like, six-four, really?). We stayed like that for another minute or two, ignoring my father's many groans, and my mother's overly loud whispers for him to shut up. Even though she stopped fangirling over that Michael guy, doesn't mean she wasn't still a fangirl. She shipped the two of us, which she had dubbed Niles (she thought it was more fun to say than State).

"So... well," Nate cleared his throat.

"So, well?" I mimicked him, hoping to lighten the mood. He laughed slightly and looked up. See, my plans worked. He looked into my eyes as if staring into my soul. I looked away. No one needed to be looking into my glamorous soul, thank you very much. I don't need anyone worshipping me; I already knew how amazing I was.

"I'm gonna miss you, you know?" He said in a quiet voice, one only reserved for our yearly departure. I roll my eyes at his dramatics.

"Dude, I'm gonna FaceTime, text, and Tweet you all the time. You won't have a chance to miss me." He said nothing, but continued to look into my eyes, "Besides, you're gonna be swimming with candy fish with your dad." Every year, while I was at that tragic school, Nate would fly to Sweden to go to a boarding school his father worked at. Yet he continued to act like I was the only one being shipped away.

"Stop saying shit like that," he chuckled, "you sound like an idiot. And how many times do I have to tell you? Sweedish fish are not made in Sweden."

"Are you sure about that?"

My dad honked the car twice, and we both looked over, "Connor!" My mother screeched at my father. I turned away from my bickering parents to face Nate, but he was already staring at me.

"You're my best friend," And he was. We'd been through thick in thin, never wavering. Yes, there had been fights, but we came out stronger than before. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes once more.

"Yeah, I do." He quickly pulled me into a tight hug and nuzzled his head into my neck. Ew, we were that cliché couple (well, friends) who got all emotional and touchy. No, thanks. I tried to pull away, but he just held me tighter. Okay, whatever.

"Stiles!" we heard my dad's booming voice loud and clear, "the train leaves at eleven, and it's ten-fifteen! You've been hugging him for seven minutes. Believe me, I counted. We need to go."

"I don't want you to leave," he mumbled into my ear, us not letting go of each other, "come to Sweden with me."

"It's our last year, Nate," I chuckled, "after this, we'll move to New York, just liked we planned," or Tokyo. I really wanted to go to Tokyo. Maybe even L.A. Maybe Rome or—

"I know you're probably thinking of other places right now, but we already agreed on New Your City," we were still hugging. I laughed quietly.

"I have to go now," my dad had started honking again, and even my mom was telling us to hurry up.

"Your mom's yelling," when my mom started yelling, you listen. And this time, she was screaming for us to leave. We finally break apart from each other.

"You're not lying, right? you are gonna keep talking to me?" he sounded so scared, and it broke my heart.

One thing you need to understand about Nate is that he has attachment and trust issues. His mom left him when he was five, leaving him in the care of his aunt and abusive uncle, who thought of Nate as nothing more than scum on the ground. When we met in grade two, I was his first friend. I was so young; I didn't notice how he flinched and the bruises on his arms.

While I was his first friend, he wasn't mine. I was the girl who was friends with everyone. One day, a group of kids started making fun of him about how small he was, and since I was his friend, I defended him. After that, people thought of me as a loser, and I lost all my friends except Nate. He didn't understand why I stayed friends with him or why I stood up for him. His whole life he'd learned that he was worthless and all of a sudden someone treated him nice?

As it turns out, his dad was not only abusive towards Nate but his wife as well. When he died when Nate and I were nine, his life got significantly better. He gained weight and stopped coming to school with bruises. He smiled a little more and had more lunch. But still, I was his only friend. When I was eleven and got that letter to that fucking wizard school, the both of us were heartbroken. I didn't want to go, but my parents wouldn't let me waste this "opportunity." So, I left.

A few weeks before my first year at Hogwarts, we found Nate's dad (apparently, he didn't know he had a son until Nate's bitch mother told him). He offered to let Nate move in with him in Sweden permanently, but of course, Nate refused. Eventually, they came to a medium of Nate going to his dad's school in Sweden while I was at Hogwarts (of course, he thought it was some random ass borking school my parents wanted me to go to), and back to London during the summer. At that point the iPhone 4 was out, so we texted each other as much as possible. During the summers, we spent every second with each other (literally... we alternated houses to sleep at. we even waited outside the bathroom for each other).

Slowly, he quickly he started to grow more and more handsome. Apparently, girls began to become interested in him when he was thirteen. He always bragged to me about how much pussy he could get and how handsome he was. But every time I asked him about a girlfriend, he said I was the only girl he needed in his life. Goals, right?

But even though his life had changed drastically since we were nine, doesn't mean he was completely fixed.

"No. I am not lying. I will talk to you, even if it's the last thing I do. You're my bestie for the restie, remember?"



-



The screeching of the train made me scrunch my nose in disgust. What a turn-off. My parents were hugging me, and telling me they'd miss me, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't stop thinking of the look on my best friend's face as we drove away. How sad he looked; like it was the last time he'd ever see me. I nodded at my parents, told them I'd miss them, hugged my mom when she cried.

When we had arrived at the station, it was ten-forty-seven. The whole twenty-five-minute drive, my dad wouldn't stop scolding me for being "so mushy I took too long" (what does that even mean?). Anyways, the important thing is that I won't be seeing my best friend of ten years for like, four months.

Eventually, my parents stopped whining, and I stepped on the train with my cat, Harvard (the college I wanted to go to before finding out I was a witch), about thirty seconds before it left. Most compartments were full, and the halls were empty. I looked through the window of every compartment, looking for Adri. When I passed the second to last compartment, I heard a thump and a loud groan of despair. A smile graced my face.

"Adri, why do you fall off the seat every year?" I busted into the compartment.

"it was an accident, okay? I adjusted my position and realized too late that there wasn't as much space as I thought there would be."

Adri Samuels was my best friend and a fellow Gryffindor. On the train, before we were even sorted, she came running into my compartment, screaming something about wanting to get away from her brother. Ari had a twin brother named Jake, who is in Ravenclaw. When Adri came running into my compartment, she fell into a seat, immediately collapsing into the seat across from me. I stared at her for a good three minutes, while she caught her breath and ever since then, we have been attached to the hip.

"Harvard!" Adri looked at my cat with a huge grin on her face, "I missed you so much!"

"Wow, okay, I feel loved."



-



When Adri and I sat at the Gryffindor table waiting for the ceremony to start, I heard a buzz from my phone, and I had to put my hands under my thighs to stop myself from checking it. Suddenly, the group of first years stumbled in, and it took my attention away from the text (probably from Nate). The first kid went up on the stool and is announced a Ravenclaw. The whole Ravenclaw house cheered and clapped as she shyly made her way to the front of her house's table. We didn't get a Gryffindor until about ten kids in, but when we did, we went wild. He blushed bright red and went to the closest seat available. Soon after the sorting was over, the headmaster, Professor Hopkins stood up to the podium. The room went silent.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts, I hope it will be full of fun and learning," he smiled to all of us, "now, before the feast begins, I have a very important announcement. As you all know, the Triwizard tournament is held every four years," at this, the room went wild with chatter. "Silence," the room was once again, silent. "This year, it is held at Hogwarts, and as usual, only students seventeen or older are allowed to enter. On October thirtieth, students from both Durmstrong Institute and Beauxbatons Academy will arrive, and I expect your best behavior."

I rolled my eyes and concealed a yawn as he rambles on about the tournament. Everyone else, including Adri, was on the edge of their seats, hanging on to every word. And to think, all I wanted to to get out of here and go to New York as simple and boring as possible.

Oh, and I was right. The text was from Nate.