Lataya was really upset about her mom committing suicide. She stayed home from school the next few days, for the funeral and everything. Marshall and DeShaun both felt really bad, and were there for her whenever she needed them, but she seemed distant and taken aback. They went to the funeral with her, and she barely said two words to them, just gave them helpless looks of sadness that broke their hearts.

She kept to herself, locking herself in the house, not letting Marshall or DeShaun talk to her. She wanted to be alone to cry for her mother, she didnt want anyone to see her cry, she didnt want anyone to cheer her up. She wanted to be miserable, and get it all out so that maybe after a few days she could return to school the same old Lataya.

Marshall had to deal with Kim when Lataya wasnt in school. If Lataya wasnt around him, Kim was. Kim would come up to him and flirt with him, insulting Lataya all she could by saying that she was a tramp, and a whore, and that she was going out with boys behind Marshalls back. Marshall ignored her, and let her comments slide off him, knowing they werent true.

Kim failed miserably at trying to take Marshall from Lataya, every damn time. It was really humiliating, to lose to Lataya, a scrubby, trashy, skinny, ugly little girl. Of course, Marshall didnt seem to think she was ugly at all, he liked her alot.

When Lataya came back to school, Marshall followed her around constantly, worrying about whether she was ok, how she was feeling, if people were giving her trouble, etc. He picked her up from her classes, walked her to her locker, and then to her other classes, and told her that they were going to meet up outside after school and take the bus home with DeShaun. She agreed, and after school ended, Marshall was no where to be found.

She sighed and leaned against a wall, looking up and down the crowded hallway, hoping for any sign of Marshall at all. He probably got kept after class, or couldnt get to his locker or something. But still, she wanted him to come out from behind her and hug her, and walk with her to take the bus.

"Lataya?" She heard a voice beside her and turned around. It was Ryan, one of Kims friends.

"Huh?" She looked up at him blankly. Why the fuck was he talking to her? He didnt usually talk to her, she was surprised he even knew who she was. He was really popular, on the basket ball team and-

Her thoughts were cut off by him leaning down and brushing his lips against hers softly. Immediatly she pulled back, and tried to step away from him, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to him. He was to strong for her, she couldnt go anywhere. She tried pushing against him, but she couldnt get away. She gasped as she felt his tongue press against her lips, trying to get into her mouth, and she tried to turn her face away from him.

"No!" She murmered as he pinned her against the wall with his hips, and grabbed her face in his strong hands, forcing her to keep her face still. She couldnt move away from him, and she couldnt think about anything but getting away from Ryan. Why the fuck did he do this anyways?

Kim looked down the hall and saw Ryan making out with Lataya against a wall. She grinned evilly, now to put her plan into action. She looked around and conviently saw Marshall on his way towards Lataya. She grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged on it, and he turned around, expecting DeShaun or Lataya, but instead saw Kim.

"What?" He asked annoyed.

"Um, I wouldnt go down there if I were you." She said glancing behind him as Ryan continued kissing Lataya. A few people were staring at them, but not very many.

"Why?" Marshall turned around and started walking towards Lataya, and Kim ran forward, catching up to him and walking beside him briskly.

"Because, your precious girlfriend is down there, making out with Ryan Jennings." She said simply, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah, right." He smirked and looked around for Lataya. "Shes not even down here, she must have already gone outside and found DeShaun." He shrugged and Kim tapped his shoulder.

"Shes right there, see who Ryan is making out with?" She asked innocently.

"Uhm," He shook his head. "Some girl...its hard to see. Do you always have to start trouble?"

"Look closer at the girl." She said, standing on tip toes and pointing at Ryan and Lataya.

Lataya sidestepped, trying to get away from Ryan, but she didnt make it very far. He caught her and pulled her back towards him, and found her mouth again.

Marshalls jaw dropped as he saw Lataya. He felt like his heart was going to shatter, right then and there, and suddenly he felt sick. He swallowed hard, and took a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm.

"Ryan!" Kim called out. Ryan turned around, hearing Kim call his name, and stepped away from Lataya. Lataya saw her chance and moved away from him, out of breath. She wiped her hand across her mouth and took a deep breath, moving away from him and looking around at the crowd of people that had gathered.

She felt her cheeks flush bright red as Ryan grinned at her and walked away, leaving her to be stared at by the whole freshman hallway. She looked down and walked slowly away, deciding to meet Marshall outside, and as she walked, she slowly looked up, feeling someone staring at her. Not the whole hallway, but-

She turned around and her eyes met Marshalls. He was about 5 feet away from her, standing next to Kim. Kim had a smug look on her face, and she tried to put her arm around Marshall, who shrugged her off. Marshall looked hurt, absolutely crushed and heartbroken.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to explain, but he just looked her up and down, gave her a cold look and stormed down the hallway in the opposite direction. She took a deep breath and took off after him, running. Kim shook her head and stepped out in front of Lataya, stopping her.

"Not so fast." She said slowly. She put an arm around Latayas shoulders and turned her around, walking her down the hallway in the opposite direction Marshall had gone in. "Whats up with you and Ryan?" Kim asked, grinning evilly at her.

Lataya just looked at her, and her eyes started welling up with tears. Her mother just died, Ryan forced her to kiss him, Marshall had seen, and now was mad, and she really needed to talk to him. Why did Kim have to come in when everything was falling apart, and somehow manage to make her whole world come crashing down around her?

"Fuck off." She said, her voice shaky, and she turned around back towards where Marshall was, and took off down the hallway.

Kim sighed, she knew that if Marshall talked to Lataya, he wouldnt blame her for it, so what she had to do was talk to Marshall first, and keep him away from Lataya. She looked around and quickly took off towards the front door of the school. She ran around the side of the building and luckily saw Marshall walking across the street in front of the school towards the bus stop.

"Marshall!" She called to him. "Marshall! Wait up, I wanna talk to you!" She yelled, running up behind him. He glanced back at her and groaned, rolling his eyes. He couldnt stand Kim, not right now.

"What?" He asked miserably.

"Im sorry, about Lataya and Ryan. I tried to tell you-"

"Im sure that you are. Look," He intertupted her. "I just wanna be alone right now, so please leave me alone?"

"But, I wanna talk to you. I like you Marshall." She persisted. Her eyes widened. She just told him that she liked him? Oh well, she didnt, but maybe he would talk to her since she said that.

He stopped dead in his tracks. Kim just said that he liked him? Why did she like him? She was so, hot, so, popular, and- She could never like him, he was just, he was Marshall Mathers. He hung out with DeShaun and Lataya, that cheating bitch. No one really wanted to talk to him, and when they did, they didnt always say the nicest things. He turned around and looked her up and down. "You like me?" He asked in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah." Kim cleared her throat nervously and nodded.

"Okay." Marshall didnt know quite what to say to that, so he just kept walking and didnt say anything else.

"Marshall! Wait, arent you going to say something?" She asked, starting walking again.

"No." He answered flatly.

"Well, cant we just talk? Please?"

"I have to get the bus." He said as an excuse.

"Oh I take that bus too, you can sit with me, I have to talk to you!" She said as he stopped at the bus stop. She looked over her shoulder and saw Lataya and DeShaun running towards them. "Sit with ME ok? I need to talk to you!"

"Fine, chill out, damn." He sighed as the bus pulled up in front of them, and Kim looked back at DeShaun and Lataya who were still not close enough to make the bus, but close enough to see Kim and Marshall. Kim grinned smugly at Lataya and linked her arm with Marshall, who didnt object, mainly because he wasnt paying attention, and stepped up onto the bus.

"That BITCH!" Lataya screamed in fustration as the bus closed its doors and sped away. "Ugh! I cant stand her! I cant believe this. DeShaun, he thinks I was making out with Ryan, he thinks Im cheating on him!"

"Why does he think you were making out with Ryan?" He asked, bending over putting his hands on his knees and taking deep breaths.

"Maybe because he kinda, saw him kissing me..." She said quietly and slowly. "But, IT WAS ALL RYAN! I tried to move away, and he wouldnt let me, HONEST I did!" She defended quickly.

"Ok, Ok. So, just tell him what you just told me. Doesnt sound like it was your fault, so he shouldnt be mad at you. Right?"

"He just walked away from me though, and wouldnt turn around when I yelled for him. And now hes getting on the bus with Kim-" She groaned and sat down on the bench at the bus stop. "Why does my life have to suck? Why is it that everything good in my life somehow gets ripped away from me? Does god hate me? Do I owe him money or something?"

"Yo, dont over react. Call him when you get home, tell him what you told me, and that you didnt want to kiss Ryan, and talk to him. Itll be good, trust me." He said, sighing.

She looked at DeShaun, and for the first time in days, smiled. She did trust DeShaun, she would work things out with Marshall and they would be happy again, right? She sighed, feeling better about what had just happened, and got up off the bench, allowing DeShaun to walk her home since they had missed the bus. She couldnt wait to get home and call Marshall, she missed him already.

Kim grinned as the bus started moving, leaving Lataya and Deshaun on the sidewalk, staring after it, out of breath. She glanced at Marshall and led him to the back, and they sat down. She sat next to him on the seat, as close as she could.

Marshall looked at Kim out of the corner of his eye. She was practically sitting on his lap, and there was a huge space next to her that was empty, why did she have to sit here?! He rolled his eyes. "Kim, why dont you move over a little?"

"Shh, I need to talk to you." She said, turning to him and looking him right in the eyes. "Okay, see, Im gonna tell you a story. Ok?"

"Kay..." He said slowly, feeling a little frightened by Kim.

"Well see, a few years ago, before you move here, Lataya had this boyfriend, his name was um," She hesitated. "His name was Joe."

"Joe?" Marshall raised an eyebrow.

Kim coughed. "Um yes, Joe. So anyways, she told this kid that she really liked him alot, and uhm, they were really couply and close, kinda like you guys are. Well, one day, Joe saw her kissing this kid Derek Masterson, and well, Joe got really mad. But see, Lataya told Joe, that Derek had forced her to kiss him, and that it wasnt her fault, and that she still liked him and that she didnt want to break up with him."

"Ok?" Marshall shrugged.

"Ok, so, Joe bought it, the stupid ass. Well anyways, Joe and her went back out, and like, Lataya was lying. So, one day, Joe realized it, but it was too late. She was playing him behind his back. She was doing that the whole time, playing him with other guys." Kim finished and shook her head sadly. "Poor Joe huh?"

"Uhm," Marshall nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well anyways, The same thing happened today. Lataya has been going behind your back with Ryan, and lots of other guys." Kim nodded.

"Like who?" He asked.

"Uhm, D-Darnell!" She said, after a second. "Thats why I broke up with him! Because of Lataya." She shook her head. "Im really sorry Marshall."

"Fuck." He muttered.

"She just doesnt know how to treat you." Kim said as the bus stopped at another bus stop. They looked out the window as a few people got onto the bus. "She doesnt know how to treat someone like you. You need a girl that doesnt play you. Believe me Marshall, I know how to treat you right." She said, putting her hand over his hand in his lap.

He looked down at her hand and moved his hand away from hers. "Ok." He said simply. He didnt want to hear about this, he wanted Kim to leave him alone. He didnt want Kim right now, he wanted Lataya.

"Im sorry Marshall, really." She said, leaning over and trying to give him a hug. He held a hand up and pushed her away from him gently.

"Im sure you are, I just need, to uhm, be alone."

"But, are you sure theres nothing I can do to help you?" She asked, feeling her grip on him slip. She was gonna lose him if she wasnt careful.

"Yeah." He said, looking down.

"Look, just dont believe what shes gonna tell you. Ok? Remember the story ok? I mean, come on. I know you really liked her and stuff but like, shes gonna keep playing you. She doesnt know how to love you Marshall. And you need someone who does. Someone like me." She said grinning at him.

"Aight." He wasnt even listening to her anymore.

She sighed. He looked miserable. She felt really bad. She was hurting him while she was trying to hurt Lataya, he had never done anything to her really. She didnt have a reason to hurt him, except to get to Lataya. She felt bad, but she couldnt stand Lataya. She had to do this. But maybe she could find a way to make Marshall feel better about this whole thing.

"Marshall?" Her voice was gentle and caring, something he hadnt heard in her before. He looked over at her. "Will you go out with me?"

Marshalls jaw dropped in surprise, the third time that day because of Kim. Kim Scott just asked him out. That couldnt be right. What did she really say? Something, that sounded like that maybe, but Kim Scott would never ask him out. She was, Kim Scott. She was beautiful, looked exactly like a supermodel, the only thing that he could see that was wrong with her was that she had an attitude like a bitch. But really, this chance didnt come up often. Any guy in the school would love to be in his position right now. He would be stupid to say no. But what if he said yes?

What about Lataya? He was still going out with Lataya, and he really loved her. But if the story that Kim just told him was true, he didnt want to keep going out with her, he didnt want to go through this again, this hurt. He thought about this for a few minutes as he stared into Kims bright green eyes. Her blonde hair framed her face, and fell down a little past her shoulders, shiny and beautiful. Her cheeks had little dimples in them, and her cheekbones were high. Her lips were thick and big, and her make up was applied perfectly. He couldnt help but stare.

Kim waited with bated breath for his response. If he said yes, this was what she was looking for, Lataya would absolutely die. Plus, Marshall wasnt half bad. She could turn him into something awesome if she tried. If he said no, he was stupid, because Kim was the unattainable beauty of the school that everyone wanted and very few people got. She only had a few close friends, even though she was surrounded by a cligue of around 50 people.

Marshall was speechless. What was he supposed to say? He couldnt say yes, could he? But, if he said no, he would regret it for the rest of his life. She was just one of those girls that had that kind of power over someone, to make them want to go out with her. She was so, hott.

"Marshall?" She prompted. "You wanna be my boyfriend?" She moved her hand up his leg and he fidgeted and tried to move away from her a little, but didnt have anywhere to go. Something about those eyes...

"Yes." He said helplessly. She smiled at him and immediatly he didnt know what he had just done, or what he had just lost, he probably never would either.