A/N: A huge thank you to Marsetta for beta reading this story. Also, for reference as you read (though it is mentioned within the story itself), Angelica is fifteen.
"Did I dream?
After waking up, there was no place to hide."
— "I Caught Ya" by Miss A
The first bell of the day screeched throughout the halls as Angelica flung the door to the high school open. She'd been humming to herself, excited for her first errand of the day, but her grin fell from her face as she heard the familiar yet perpetually aggravating sound.
While the hallway in front of her remained as chaotic as before, several of the more eager students began making their way to class, sure to be the first ones in the doors of their respective classrooms.
Angelica knew that she only had minutes before she had to be in her own class or risk getting a tardy, but that was the least of her concerns. Class would come after she'd managed to find her boyfriend. A girl had to have priorities after all, and Angelica's was not listening to Mrs. Rigo re-enact Shakespeare for the third day in a row.
Luckily, Colin was easy to find. He was lingering beside his locker with several of his teammates from the football team surrounding him. They were laughing about something or other, the same sort of laughter that seemed to be a constant for them. Angelica ignored it as she pushed her way past one of the guys to come face-to-face with Colin.
"Hello, Sweetie," she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. He grinned back at her but didn't offer much in the way of a verbal greeting. Colin never was very chatty in the mornings, but Angelica had never minded as she always had so much to say after they'd been apart for such a long length of time.
The friends quickly dispersed. Angelica couldn't pretend like she'd made any effort to get to know them. She knew most of their names because everyone in school knew the names of the football team, but any other details about them blended together to make them into one person in her mind instead of a group comprised of unique individuals.
"So," Angelica began, leaning towards Colin alluringly, "today is the 15th of the month."
She waited for Colin to respond to what she was telling him, but all he did was raise an eyebrow of confusion. Pouting, Angelica crossed her arms against her chest.
"You do know what the 15th of the month means?"
There was a hint of panic in Colin's eyes, but he consciously relaxed his shoulders to try to appear nonchalant.
"We're halfway through January, and everyone should know what year to write now?"
Angelica felt anger rising up inside of her, but she struggled to control herself. "No, Sweetie," she said, keeping her voice as sweet as possible. "I meant about us. What does the 15th of the month mean for us?"
"Oh," Colin said. This time it was more difficult to tell whether he was faking to get himself out of trouble or being truthful. "Right. Us and the 15th of the month. I know what you mean now. Sorry. It slipped my mind, you know? It's early and all. I had to get my algebra homework done over breakfast, so my brain's even more fried than normal this morning."
Angelica giggled, leaning in close as her previous annoyance was forgotten. It was just like Colin to forget something, even something as important as this, before lunchtime.
"Of course," she agreed easily. "I knew you would remember. There was never any doubt. Not really. And I know I shouldn't bring it up since it should be a surprise, but I couldn't resist. I had to make sure about...you know? I mean, I keep bringing it up, so you have to know, but I needed to make sure, you know?"
Colin looked down at her, smiling uneasily. "Of course I know," he assured her. "I've completely got it. Don't worry."
"Good." She pushed herself onto her toes to press a kiss against his cheek. "Now, I have to get to class before I wind up in detention. I can't get grounded and ruin our special day."
Colin nodded along, smiling as she walked away. "Definitely can't let anyone ruin our special day."
With one last giggle, Angelica hurried off in the direction of her first class, feeling even more excited than she had when she'd entered the building.
XX
"One more week before Colin and I are having the most romantic night of our lives."
Susie and Harold both glanced up as Angelica dropped her lunch tray onto the table. Harold grinned at her opening statement, but Susie offered nothing other than a roll of her eyes. She was always such a downer in Angelica's opinion. Of course, the only reason she ate lunch with Susie and Harold was because Colin was in a different lunch period. It was one of the great challenges of their relationship.
"You still think he's taking you to St. Bonitus for dinner then?" Susie asked, her voice revealing how skeptical she was of the entire thing. She'd been that way since Angelica first declared that her boyfriend would be taking her to one of the most expensive restaurants in town for their six month anniversary. She hadn't asked him to, but she knew he would.
"I don't think," Angelica informed her, "I know. I confirmed as much first thing this morning, and you were entirely wrong, Susie. He knew exactly what I was talking about."
"Of course he did, Angelica," Harold said. "You've been dropping hints for days."
"Exactly!" Angelica exclaimed, showering ketchup across the table as she waved around one of her fries. "I knew there was no way for him not to know, but I made sure like you told me I should." She rolled her eyes in Susie's direction.
Susie sighed, looking like she already regretted this conversation as much as she regretted many of the conversations she had with Angelica.
"He explicitly said, 'I'm taking you to St. Bonitus for dinner on our anniversary, Angelica.' He said the name of the restaurant and everything?"
Angelica scoffed. "Susie, will you trust me to know what my own boyfriend does or doesn't know? Honestly, you're getting ridiculous. I told you that I talked to him about it, and he knows."
Susie looked at her. If Angelica cared a bit more about observing others, she might have noticed the slight look of pity in Susie's eyes.
"He didn't say those words, did he?"
This time Angelica didn't bother to give Susie an answer. She turned to Harold instead. He may have still annoyed Angelica at times, but at least she could count on him to believe her. Harold never told Angelica about what she should or shouldn't do.
"Just wait, Harold," Angelica said, ignoring Susie's eye roll. "It's going to be marvelous. Absolutely spectacular. Everyone will be so jealous when I tell them about the romantic night and the delicious food and my gorgeous dress. I've already picked that out."
Harold nodded along although even Angelica knew that he could care less about what dress she planned to wear. That didn't matter. What mattered was that he'd let her talk about it as Susie continued to be a buzzkill beside them.
XX
Another morning, another day to push through Colin's group of friends, causing them to disperse. Angelica pushed herself up on her toes to give her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, grinning as he smiled down at her.
"I can't wait until Friday," she informed him. "Just a few more days to go."
"A few more days until what?" Colin asked her, genuine curiosity coloring his voice.
Angelica frowned at him. She watched him for a moment, trying to decide whether he was joking or not, but she'd never been good at reading people. It had always seemed like a useless talent. What did she care if she knew what someone else was thinking?
Now her abilities were failing her, but it made no difference. He had to be joking. Colin knew, after all, what Friday was. That much was certain.
So, Angelica laughed, shoving him on the arm in the way she sometimes did when she wanted him to think that she found his jokes hilarious.
"Good one. You really had me wondering for a minute if you'd forgotten."
"Um, right."
Angelica could tell now that he was looking at her in real confusion. Sometimes, the continual grin threw her off, but in that moment she knew that there was something that was lost on him.
The bell rang, knocking Angelica out of her worries. With a quick goodbye, she hurried off to class, but the moment didn't leave her mind for the rest of the day. Never before had she realized how little she saw Colin during the school day either. They didn't have any classes or lunch together, and in addition to that, Angelica realized that they never ran into each other in the hallway except for that one encounter first thing in the morning.
Even after school it was a rare day that she saw her boyfriend. So often football practice took up his time, but Angelica knew that wasn't where he'd gone off to today. When her mom picked her up outside the school, there were no players on the field like there always was when there was a practice.
No, Colin was nowhere to be found, and Angelica had never needed to speak to him more.
The thing was, Angelica had decided weeks ago that she was going to eat at St. Bonitus for her anniversary, and when Angelica decided that she was going to get something, she was going to get it.
There had been plenty of times over the years when others told her she was a brat or, more recently, a bitch because of it, but she didn't care. If there was one thing her mother had taught her, it was that she was only going to get what she wanted if she fought for it, so she fought like hell for it.
When she'd been a toddler, fighting for what she wanted had often looked like a temper tantrum. At fifteen, Angelica liked to think that her methods were more sophisticated. She was learning more every day about how to get what she wanted while also keeping people happy. That was precisely what she'd thought she was doing effectively with Colin. Now she wasn't as sure, and it left her feeling frustrated with both herself and her boyfriend.
It wasn't that hard to get away from Charlotte once they were at home. The car wasn't in park before Charlotte was answering a business call over her headset, and she'd done nothing but wave Angelica away with a slight nod when Angelica mentioned going for a walk.
Colin's house was a block away. It was one of the things Angelica had considered fortuitous about their relationship since the beginning. Everyone wanted to be within walking distance of their significant other, especially when you didn't yet own a car.
Colin didn't own a car either, but Angelica knew what each of his parents drove. Yet neither one of those cars were the one currently sitting in the driveway when Angelica reached his house. Instead, Angelica found a car in a garish shade of green that left her feeling appalled from first sight. Her disgust surrounding the car might have been something she made a bigger deal out of if it weren't for her overwhelming confusion as to whom the car belonged.
One of Colin's friends? It seemed the most plausible explanation, but for some reason, Angelica didn't think that was the case. That car just didn't look like something Angelica could imagine one of those guys driving. Then again, she reminded herself, she didn't know them well.
Her knocks on the door weren't immediately answered. Stepping in close, Angelica tried to hear something from the other side of the door but was unsuccessful. The door itself was thick and heavy when you pulled on it. It was very well soundproof even if someone was talking right inside of the house.
Angelica glanced towards the window beside the door, tempted to try to sneak a peek. She contained herself only because she knew that she'd be caught when Colin came to the door, and that was not something she wanted to try to explain away. Not even she was positive why she felt so uneasy after seeing that car.
The door was tugged open, startling Angelica. She flushed a slight pink as she wondered if Colin had noticed that her gaze was directed towards the window when he'd opened the door. If he had noticed, it hadn't gotten a reaction from him. He was too busy looking between her and the inside of the house. His eyes flickered around, never staying on her long.
Angelica's pulse began to echo in her ears.
"Colin," she greeted, struggling to keep her usual smile for him on her face. "I wanted to come talk. It's been awhile since we've spent time together."
"Has it?" Colin asked, a quiver in his voice. "Surely it hasn't been that long. We saw each other at school this morning."
Angelica hummed. "I guess it depends on your perspective." She took a step forward, as if it were a given that he would let her into the house, to see what he would do.
Sure enough, he sidestepped to block her path, and Angelica felt what had been an uneasy feeling in her stomach erupt into something much more serious. She contained it, doing everything in her power to keep him from noticing her suspicions. It was one of the more difficult things she had done in her life.
Instead of exploding in anger, she raised a wordless eyebrow at him, challenging him.
"My parents," Colin responded as if the answer startled him. "My parents wouldn't like it if they found out you were here when they weren't home?"
Angelica bit back a retort about that never meaning anything to him in the past. Instead, she said, "Your parents aren't here? Well, then who is?" She motioned towards the car over her shoulder. "I wasn't expecting us to be alone after I saw that."
Colin's eyes widened as he took in the car as if seeing it for the first time.
"Oh. That's the neighbor's car."
"The neighbor's car?" The disbelief was clear in her voice. If Colin had thought he was being convincing, he didn't anymore. "Your neighbor parked their car in your driveway?"
Angelica looked pointedly at the houses on either side of Colin's, both of which included their own driveways. She glanced across the street to the same sight.
"Colin, who's actually here?"
She watched the defeat take over Colin's features. He sagged as he realized how useless the whole thing was. Instead of answering, he stepped outside, tugging the door shut behind him with one nervous look back into the entryway. Angelica looked too. Nothing looked out of place, but she still scanned what she could see for clues until the door was pulled shut.
"Her name is Jacqueline," Colin admitted. "She's a sophomore."
Angelica gasped. She knew Jacqueline. They had a class together. She was one of the older girls that Angelica pretended to despise but was actually quite jealous of. It figured that Colin would cheat on her with Jacqueline.
"And you're not going to try to convince me that you two were working on a class project or something?"
Colin's cheeks darkened, and he had the decency to stare at the ground instead of at Angelica.
"Would that make it better?" he asked.
"Not in the slightest," Angelica all but spat at him.
She watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he would say or do something else. He didn't.
The anger inside of her was close to reaching its boiling point as she stepped forward, invading Colin's personal space.
"Listen," she commanded, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "No one cheats on Angelica Pickles without consequences, so I don't want you to think you're off the hook. However," she took a step back, "I'm not in the mood today. You go back to whatever the hell you were doing with Jacqueline What's-Her-Face. Have fun. God knows I'll have a hell of a lot of fun destroying the stuff you've given me back home. Don't think you're ever getting your jersey back by the way. Good luck explaining that one, asshole.
"But, none of that's the real payback. Just wait, Colin. Just wait."
She made a sharp turn and hurried down Colin's porch steps, not glancing back. It felt like steam was escaping from her ears. Every part of her vibrated with tension. It was a miracle she hadn't fully exploded, but she did intend to follow through with her revenge. Implying that she knew what that would be might have been a bit misleading though. She didn't have a clue.
While she craved payback, it was the furthest thing from her mind as she stomped back home, tears stinging at her eyes.
There was nothing she wanted more than to go up to her room, collapse on the bed, and cry her eyes out, but Angelica knew that going home meant facing her mom. Charlotte would never let her pass without an explanation for her tears. An explanation would lead to a rant about how Charlotte had always known that Angelica was too good for Colin anyway. It would be a while before Angelica actually made it to her room. None of it sounded appealing.
Yet she also had no car, meaning that the only way she was getting anywhere was by walking.
So walk she did. All the way to Susie's house.
Angelica wasn't one for exercise. She loathed it actually, so her feet were beginning to ache by the time she reached Susie's house. It only served to exacerbate her other negative feelings.
Unlike at Colin's house, there were no cars in Susie's driveway, including those of her parents. Angelica knocked, hoping beyond all hope that Susie was home.
Lo and behold, she was. The door swung open for Angelica quicker than it had at Colin's house. As soon as she saw Susie's face, Angelica burst into tears and threw herself at her friend. Susie's arms wrapped around her, tugging her into the house so that she could close the door.
"Come on," Susie urged, voice gentler than usual. She ushered Angelica up the stairs as best as she could while Angelica was still gripping onto her shirt and wailing.
When they reached Susie's room, Angelica's crying came to an abrupt stop as she discovered Lil and Kimi perched on Susie's bed.
"Why are you here?" Angelica demanded as if it was her own bed that she'd found them on and she couldn't figure out why her permission wasn't granted first.
Lil and Kimi glanced at each other before shrugging in unison.
"I didn't know we needed you to sign a permission slip for us," Kimi quipped.
Angelica wasn't in the mood for bantering. She threw herself into Susie's desk chair, allowing it to spin without her stopping it. When it did slow down, Angelica was more or less facing the window. She glanced over to see that Susie had joined the others on the bed, and all three of them were watching Angelica as if waiting for something.
"What?" Angelica snapped.
All three of them shrugged this time, but they didn't look away from her. Angelica stared out the window for a moment, trying to ignore the feeling of their eyes on her. She couldn't.
"Colin cheated on me."
She could hardly get the words out before she was in tears again. She didn't launch herself at anyone this time, just cried in Susie's chair. The eyes of the other three girls were still on her. She could feel them, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. At that point, they'd seen her break down. There was no going back. Angelica took it as permission to let it all out.
"I guess it doesn't matter whether you were right about the restaurant or not," Angelica said once her crying had calmed down enough that she had the power of speech again. "But you were probably right considering everything else. I doubt Colin planned to do anything for our anniversary. The day was meaningless to him."
There was a moment of silence without Susie's response, but then Kimi spoke up.
"Susie told us about that," she admitted. While Susie and Lil both looked hesitant to say anything that might set Angelica off, Kimi pushed on with what she wanted to say. "I can't believe you thought a guy in high school could afford that place. I don't even think my parents can afford that place."
Angelica never would have assumed they could have, but she resisted the urge to point out that Colin's parents made significantly more than Kimi's parents.
"What else is an anniversary good for?" Angelica asked instead. "You don't ask to go to some fast food place for a special occasion. You go somewhere fancy."
Kimi and Lil looked at each other, expressions a combination of amusement and a reluctance to admit that amusement to Angelica.
"Kimi and I went to Burger King on our anniversary," Lil informed her. "And it was very nice, thank you very much."
Angelica watched the younger girl. Normally, she would have no problem telling them what she thought about having a date at Burger King, but she wasn't in the mood for more conflict today.
"Well, if that's all you can afford," she said.
Both members of the couple rolled their eyes, too used to Angelica to feel offended. When Lil sighed, it was more out of sympathy than real annoyance.
"Angelica," she said, "you came in upset about your breakup, but you sound more upset that you didn't get an expensive dinner."
"I'm upset because the entire romantic night I had planned got ruined."
Susie spoke up again. "But you're not upset that you lost a boyfriend?"
"Of course I'm upset about that too," Angelica exclaimed, shocked that anyone would suggest otherwise.
"I'm not so sure," Kimi said. "Sure, you're angry that he cheated like anyone would be, but you're not going on about how much you'll miss Colin the person. If you're more bothered by missing out on dinner than anything else, then I'd consider you pretty lucky."
Angelica's instinct was to jump in and defend herself, to emphasize that of course she was upset she had lost her boyfriend. That's what her complaints about her ruined anniversary were about.
But then she took a moment to think about it, and she wondered if Kimi wasn't right.
Angelica was angry that someone had had the nerve to cheat on her. Someone, not necessarily Colin. She was angry that her plans had been ruined. But she couldn't say she was that upset about Colin himself being out of her life. He was...expendable for a lack of a different word. Dating him had been enjoyable, but Angelica couldn't say that he'd created a hole in her heart that she would be unable to fill. As a person, he'd just been okay.
"Maybe you're right," she admitted, causing the other three girls to stare at her with wide eyes. "It serves him right, doesn't it? No one who has the nerve to cheat on Angelica Pickles is someone worth being mourned. I told Colin I'd get revenge, and I'll get it. If he expects me to come into school tomorrow with racoon eyes and a tissue in my hand, he's not going to get it. Angelica Pickles does not cry over men." She paused for a second. "Publicly at least," she amended.
The other three girls offered her grins. Kimi even gave a short round of applause.
"That's the spirit," Susie encouraged her. "You'll be over him in no time at all."
The smile on Angelica's face might have belonged to the devil.
"It's already done."