Massie and Mariah Complications of an Alpha

by StaceexTeagan

When Massie moves from Westchester to Beverly Hills with TPC, she's unprepared for the already-posed alpha, Mariah. Beautiful and powerful, Mariah decides to knock Massie into an LBR stage. Can Massie stand the fight? Or will she become and LBR?

HEY EVERYONE. It's Stacee Teagan.

I CREATED Mariah and her clique. But the Pretty Committee belongs to Lisi Harrison. REVIEWS PLEASE.

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Beverly Hills MS had a new year in front of it.

The A-line would be starting 8th grade.

And the Pretty Committee would be moving in from Westchester.

Alpha VS. Alpha

Mariah pushed past about fifty new outfits and sighed. Was their nothing to wear? It was her first day of school, dammit! She had to look ultra-perfect today. Everything else would be ultra-perfect. Her friends– Lindsee, Nicole, Celine, Natasha, and Kloe. Her boyfriends, yes, plural, – Oscar, Josh, and Austin. Only the best of the best.

Finally, her attire was chosen. A silky strapless nighttime blue Escada minidress, a short white Dolce & Gabbana unzipped cami, skinny light gray jeans, and white scruched 4" Jimmy Choo boots. She swung a white silk Escada bag over her shoulder. Ultra-perfect? Yeah, huh, done.

Beverly Hills MS smelled like soap and detergent as Mariah, Lindsee, Nicole, and Natasha paraded in. Automatically, they were surrounded by people, all gushing at them like hungry tigers.

"My goshies, Mariah! You look absolutely bee-u-ti-ful!" and "OOH, I missed you! Love your clothes!"

Nicole pushed the sqeauling girls and guys away and cleared the path for Mariah. Her locker was smack-dab in the middle of the hall. Center of hallway, center of attention. But she didn't exactly use her locker.

Mariah braced a Choo heel on the bottom of the locker and flipped her hair. "God, I can't believe the junior prom's next week."

Nicole joined her. "I know. It's so fucking retarded for them to put it at a time like this. We have no time–at all– to go shopping or preparing."

Natashe nodded in agreement.

Lindsee stood on Mariah's other side. "Totally. It's so–"

She was cut off by a group of four people, dressed in semi-okay clothes (Sevens' jeans, UGGs, Havaiana flip-flops, Puma cleats, and hoodies.) The one in the middle carried a Louis Vuitton bag and the one beside her hauled a Prada messenger, sort of like the one Mariah had used for half a week. Just cheaper.

The four girls stopped in front of Mariah. A blackhead wearing a pink cashmere hoodie that streched across her huge bust whispered to the brunette beside her, "they're surprised to see such hawtties like us." The other girls burst into laughter after a round of high-fives.

"Ehh, what are you, a total fashion disaster, a total immature crisis, or both?" snapped Nicole. She straigtened her Couture minidress that she wore over dark blue skinny jeans and flipped her dark blonde hair.

"Ehmagawd, like, we're the Pretty Committee!" The brunette scowled.

Lindsee false-slapped herself in utter fake amazement. Nicole laughed. Mariah rolled her eyes. "Pretty Committee? Are you like the Retirement Committee in LA? Do you guys have little weekly meetings? And, ehh, not a single one of you is pretty. Why don't you change your name to Droopy Groupie?" Mariah tossed her hair back in satisfaction and exchanged a look with Lindsee.

The black-haired busty stared at Mariah and pulled out a tube of Glossip Girl. "Opposite of true. We do nawt hold meetings, and, um, Massie was the alpha at our last school. I was the beta."

Nicole put a hand over her heart. "Are you serious? Your name's Massie?!" She snickered meanly.

Massie spoke up. "Yes, my name's Massie. Massie Block. That's Kristen Gregory," she pointed at the girl dressed head to toe in Puma, " Alicia Rivera," she motioned to the busty girl, " and Dylan Marvil." She tapped the fat girl on the side "And yes, we're the Pretty Committee. And I can see that you four LBR's–"

"LBRs?" Natasha fluttered her long eyelashes and cocked her head.

"Block," Nicole coughed, pulling her Chanel chain necklace out from under her dress.

"Losers beyond repair. Describing you, of course." Kristen put her hands on her hips.

Natasha snorted. Mariah rolled her eyes. "Who are you supposed to be? Puma's spokesperson?"

Kristen blushed, and Massie and Alicia shot her dirty looks.

"Come awn. I was alpha back in OCD," Massie said to the A-line.

Mariah flipped her hair and looked at Massie with disgust. "Just cause you used to be, it doesn't mean you still will be. You wait. By lunchtime, everyone will think that this 'Pretty Committee' is a droopie groupie. You wait."

Mariah was right. By lunchtime, the Pretty Committee was know throughout the school as the "Droopy Groupie".

The Pretty Committee couldn't believe the morning that they had just had. Being shunned by almost every single kid they saw.

"I can't believe this," Massie murmured, kicking the cafeteria's floor with her black riding boots. "What happened to my alpha status?"

Alicia pulled at her white hoodie string. "I don't know. All of a sudden, we're total rejects!"

Dylan burped and glanced at the daily food menu. "But you gotta admit– those girls are awfully mature."

Massie smacked Dylan on the arm and groaned. "We're way better then them."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

The Pretty Committee turned around to see who had just spoken. It was Oscar, wearing a black Ralph Lauren t-shirt, gray baggy jeans, Gucci shoes, and a wide Gucci belt.

Alicia gasped and taunted, "Hey, you!" Then she turned to Massie and whispered, "Gawd, he's so hawt!"

"Don't hey me. I'm just gonna say, hey, Mariah's not someone you want to mess with. She's sexier and prettier then all of you combined, so just suck it up and leave it the way it is," Oscar turned on his heel and went back to the center table where all the A-lined people sat. Mariah, Lindsee, Nicole, Natasha, Celine, Kloe, Oscar, Josh, Austin, and Randy.

"Gawd, what's his problem?" Kristen asked, watching him sit down next to Mariah and recieve a peck on the cheek. "He thinks he's all that."

"He probably is," Massie reasoned. She looked away, despite her friends' protests. Secretly, she was planning schemes to steal him from Mariah.

"Ah-kay, let's go sit down. I gotta get a look at the hawt guys around here." Alicia picked up her salad. Massie, Kristen, and Dylan followed her.

"Where are we going to sit?" asked Kristen, looking around her. The cafeteria had round tables and they were seated according to their social status. Mariah was in the middle, like said. The only table that wasn't completely filled yet was next to the bathrooms.

"Whatevs, let's just sit there." Massie pointed at the table. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the A-liners snickering in her direction.

"Kay." The Pretty Committee held their heads up high and marched over to the corner table. Two guys were sitting there. Nerds. But that totally proved that the Pretty Committee was much worse, because the two nerds got up and left in disgust as soon as they sat down.

"We never should have left OCD," murmured Kristen. She picked at her sandwich and sighed. Massie nodded in agreement.

"But we were LBR's back then, remember?" Alicia sighed too and rested her head on her hand.

Massie was quite for a moment. "Leesh, come awn. We're too old for this. Let's go and shun Mariah and the others." She grabbed Alicia and pulled her to Mariah's table.

"But.. but.." Alicia yelped.

"No buts."

Mariah was practically sitting in Oscar's lap when Massie stopped by next to her. "Gawd, Mariah, awn-estly, what's your problem?" she bellowed in Mariah's ear.

She saw Oscar nudge Mariah softly. Massie marveled over the way Mariah could have such a hawt guy at her knees.

"Ehh, Massie, I don't have a problem, but, huh, I think you do," Mariah tossed her glossy hair over her shoulder and turned around again, exchanging glances with all of the other girls.

"I have a problem with the way your sucking up to that hawtie next to you," Massie blurted, sneaking a glance at Oscar. He shot her a disgusted look.

"Point," Alicia raised her index finger. Across the table, Nicole stifled a giggled. Randy laughed at Alicia's finger and imitated her.

"Point!" Randy squeaked in a girly voice, rocking his head around. Everyone laughed. Alicia blushed and stuffed her finger into the back of her white Abercrombie pants.

Massie glared at Alicia, who buried her face in her hands. Massie stared into Mariah's makeup-perfect face and scowled.

"Bitch, get lost." Mariah shot Massie a look that made her shrink and practically run back to her table.

"How'd it go?" Dylan asked, her mouth full of chicken and tuna. But by the way Massie didn't even look up and Alicia rubbed her face with her hands, the Pretty Committee knew they had something hard coming up.

Massie wearily opened the door of the Block's Range Rover. She couldn't believe her state of being. How could her parents decide to leave New York? She fumbled for her key and opened the front door of the new Block apartment. It was less then a quarter of the size of her previous house. She just couldn't believe it.

She couldn't believe Mariah either. The way she talked, dressed, everything. The way her friends did everything she wanted without her even saying it. The way she could attract the hottest guys from all the grades.

Massie pulled out a tube of Glossip Girl and applied some gloss as she walked down the hallway to her room. She stopped next to the full-length mirror and scanned her appearance. Faded Seven's, riding boots, and a navy cashmere hoodie with a gold zipper. Massie slapped her fingers to her forehead. How could she had dressed so plainly on the first day of school? This was nawt the way she would normally dress. Sighing, she entered her ant-sized room and sat down at the dresser. She pulled open her drawer and sorted through her tubes of lip gloss. She needed real makup if she wanted to win over Mariah. But the closest thing she had to makeup was lip gloss. Sigh. She decided to call up the Pretty Committee for an emergency meeting at the huge Starbucks on Rodeo Drive.

Mariah giggled as Oscar pulled her sleeve lower and exposed her bare shoulder. On the other side, Josh was making out with her neck. Lindsee and Nicole sat around her, laughing. They were in Starbucks, and they were making a scene as usual. Mariah playfully pushed Josh and Oscar away and sipped her fat-free latte.

Massie walked into Starbucks with Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen. The first thing she saw wasn't the glossy wall menu, or the hot guy working behind the counter. She saw Mariah.

Of course, she was much more prepared for Mariah. She had changed into a light blue BCBG minidress, motorcycle boots, and a cashmere hoodie.

Mariah looked up mid-laugh and as soon as she saw Massie, her smiled faded. Oscar, who had been massaging her shoulders, stopped. Josh, who had been laughing with her, swallowed his laughter. And Lindsee and Nicole, who had been telling Mariah about a boy in math class who like her, stopped mid-sentence.

Alicia swallowed nervously and stuffed her index fingers into her pockets. Kristen glared at the girls, sucking on her lip. Dylan bit one of her cuticles. And Massie jsut stared, her jaw hanging open slightly.

But Mariah was alpha. She never lost her cool. She simply lifted her legs off of Josh's lap, stood up, and walked like a model over to Massie. She put a hand on her hip, tilted her right leg to the side, put on a cocky smile, and stared at her.

Massie stared back, glancing nervously at Alicia. She was obviously losing her cool. Hah. Massie turned to walk around Mariah, but Mariah leaned over and hissed in her ear, "You have been an alpha at some other random school, but as long as I'm here, you'll never be any better then my sister."

Massie stood, shaking, as Mariah turned on her heel and resumed her position of laying in Josh's lap and gossiping with Nicole and Lindsee. Massie couldn'y believe the vanity of Mariah. She could be so vain, and yet so sweet. She watched as Josh and Oscar kissed her on either cheek, and she giggled and kissed them back. Massie let out a sigh. Dylan slid an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay," she assured her. But Massie knew it wasn't.

A couple days later, Massie was walking out of Seven-11 and flipping through the 5 magazines she had just bought for the Pretty Committee. The rest of the Pretty Committee were sitting in the Range Rover. Mariah passed the magazines out as she flipped through the latest Us Weekly.

"Ehmagawd! Massie, it's Mariah!" Alicia shrieked, her "point" finger hovering over the cover of Hot where Paris Hilton's face would normally be. Massie peered over. A glamourous photo of Mariah. She looked absolutely perfect. Heavy dark makeup around her eyes, perfectly applied lipcolour on her lips.

"Awnestly, I could do the same thing!" Kristen leaned against the car seats and tried to mock Mariah's perfectness. She couldn't.

The rest of the Pretty Committee just continued staring at the magazine cover. "She's featured with the rest of her clique on page five," Alicia whispered. She covered her forehead with her hand.

Dylan seized the magazine away and flipped to page five. A few other pictures were there. One of Mariah wearing a Louis Vuitton bikini, holding about ten Louis Vuitton wallets and purses. Another one of the whole gang, with Mariah looking like Christina Ricci, Nicole looking like Britney Spears, Lindsee looking like Paris Hilton. Massie snatched the magazine back and threw it out the window.

"Isaac, drive!" she commanded her driver. The Range Rover's tires rolled over the Hot magazine and left a muddy trail over Mariah's face.

But Massie was still a long way from sastisfaction.

It was 8:00. The Range Rover was on its way to school with the Pretty Committee in the backseat.

"Come awn, you guys, rate me. We can nawt be fashion disasters again today!" Massie smoothed out her clothes and looked at her friends. She was wearing a DKNY jean jacket, AK flare jeans, and a brown T-shirt with a horse on the front. A long OCD chain hung from her neck, and brown flats were on her feet.

"Um, I'd say an 8.5," Alicia reasoned. She wore a pink cashmere cardigan over a white cotton hoodie, a white linen skirt, and white flats.

"And you, Alicia, you're the same as Massie," Dylan murmured as she stuffed more biscotti into her mouth. The crumbs fell onto her Kimino dress that she wore over Abercrombie sweats tucked into cowboy boots. The Western-Japanese combination wasn't something that would be posted on Us Weekly.

"Gawd. Dylan, I'd say you're around 3." Alicia rubbed the heels of her feet. Her Steve Madden flats pinched her toes and heels. She realized she'd be stumbling around all day.

Kristen sighed. "What about me?" she asked. A purple Puma t-shirt and loose Sevens lingered above her black Puma cleats.

"8.5," Massie decided. She pressed her nose against the Range Rover's foggy windows and saw that they were approaching the school. Nervously, she squeezed some Glossip Girl gloss and spread it on her lips. Just as she dropped the tube back into her BCBG tote, Isaac had already parked the car at Beverly Hills MS.

Mariah was already in the 8th grade hallway when the Pretty Committee stepped in. She was sitting on the window sill, Nicole on one side and Lindsee on the other. Oscar and Josh flocked around her, flirting like crazy and recieving a peck on the lips everytime they pleased her.

Mariah saw the Pretty Committee and suddenly jumped off from her perch. She reached into her black Mahina Louis Vuitton bag and pulled out a stack of papers. Lindsee, Nicole, Oscar, and Josh peered over her shoulder to read the papers.

Make It Glamorous.

Be Glamorous.

Mariah Kindley's 3rd Annual Glamorous Party

The Kindley Estate.

You And Your Date.

September 7th, 2008 8:00-12:00 pm

"Oh, yeah, baby!" Josh let out a piercing scream and high-fived Oscar. The famously popular Glamorous parties were now in session. They were famous for always being a sucess and an amazing event. People planned their costumes for months. And everyone invited would be known as 'someone'. And anyone who wasn't invited would, well, just have to sit home and suck it up.

A group of B-liners stopped by to see what the commotion was about and when Josh snatched up a glossy invitation and showed the group, they all started squealing with delight. Everyone was crazy over the Glamorous parties. Everyone wanted an invite.

"Mariah. please, please let us all have one! Please!"

Mariah grinned, rolling her eyes playfully. She handed out a stack and the B-lliners went wild with emotion, cheering and laughing and 'yes!-ing' with utter delight. Soon, Mariah was surrounded by people, all pushing to get an invite. Not five minutes later, Mariah had no invites left.

A group of B-liners that called themelves The Gossip Girls walked past the Pretty Committee, talking about Glamourous.

"I'm so glad we got invites. Seriously, if someone doesn't get an invite, they're considered rejects!"

"Yeah, I know. I can hardly wait! This is going to be the best part of the century!"

The Pretty Committee stared at each other in horror. They had been watching Mariah from a distance. They had heard all the excitment over

"So, are we going to cuh-rash that Glamourous party or cuh-rash that party?" asked Massie, dropping her turkey wrap onto the cafeteria table and taking a seat beside Alicia. The sandwich rolled out of the plate and onto the table, but Massie didn't notice. She was way too upset about Glamourous.

Dylan, Kristen, and Alicia picked at their turkey wraps and didn't say a word.

"Come awn, you guys!" Massie pounded the table angrily with a fist. She glared at her friends, who refused to make eye contact. "Alicia? Dylan? Kristen?"

"Maybe we should just lie low." Dylan picked at her cuticles. Kristen nodded in agreement.

Massie was outraged. "Ehmagawd, what's wrong with you guys?" she exclaimed. She was losing her temper. In public. And that meant lame. But she couldn't help it. "What do you mean by lay low? We cant nawt just let Mariah stand in my postition. And you, Alicia. Don't you want to be in that Nicole's postition? And Kristen in Lindsee's? Dylan in Natasha's?" Massie paused and looked at the Pretty Committee.

The girls looked at one another, thinking over what Massie had just said. The Alicia stood up. "I think Massie's right," she announced. Massie air-clapped.

"Kay, so here's my plan. The party's two days away, right?" Massie looked at the Pretty Committee. They nodded back at her. "Well, we're going to get to that par-tay and impress everyone with an alpha show." She smiled and squeezed some gloss onto her finger, then applied it onto her lips.

The PC air-clapped and grinned. Alicia stood up. "I'm going to go retouch my gloss. Wanna come?" she asked Massie. Massie smiled. "Ah-kay."

They entered the bathroom to find Mariah, Nicole, and Lindsee standing in front of the mirror, applying eyeliner and mascara. Massie and Alicia stiffened.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Pretty Committee," Mariah turned around slowly and pouted slightly. Massie marveled over the perfection of her makeup and actions, but didn't say a word.

"In the flesh," Alicia blurted out.

"Yeah, you've got a lot of that," Nicole snickered and went back to dabbing concealer on her cheeks. Alicia blushed and pulled out a tube of Glossip Girl and smeared it over her lips wildly.

"Aww, Awee-sha, don't you know how to apply gloss?" Lindsee cooed. Mariah rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I do," Alicia muttered softly.

"Hey, Leesh, do you know why that Glamorous party is so popular? I think it's dumb," Massie said loudly, more to Mariah then to Alicia. Alicia shrugged.

"Maybe it's an excuse to look like strippers."

Nicole dropped her Chanel concealer into her Louis Vuitton cherry blossom clutch and turned to face Alicia. "We look like strippers? Well, you look like the Peter Rabbit's mommy. Besides, you couldn't look like a stripper even if you wanted too." Nicole shot Alicia a devilish look.

Mariah tossed back her glossy picture-perfect hair and glanced absent-mindly at Massie, who was dabbing on way too much gloss. She knew the right comeback. Not too snappy, not too girly, not too mean.

"Massie, if you wanna be alpha, then you gotta get kissable lips. 'Cause kissing you would be like kissing a wet butt."

Nicole and Lindsee shrieked with laughter and the girls left the bathroom. Oscar was waiting for Mariah at the door. Massie buried her face in her hands. It was all so bad.

Mariah rushed around the Kindley mansion in her zebra-striped pumps, making last minute preparations and checking the guest list and food list one last time. She stopped in front of a mirror and checked her apparel. Zebra pumps from Jimmy Choo, a little shimmering navy long-sleeved dress from Escada, a diamond bracelet and matching earrings from Tiffany's, and a zebra clutch from Dior. Her hair and makeup had taken hours. Kim, her stylist, had used about one hundred different potions on her to make her look perfect.

Mariah hurried down the main hall, glancing at the Swarvoski wall clock on the way. Twenty more minutes. The hall was decorated with huge silver posters that read GLAMOROUS § MARIAH KINDLEY 2008. A bar stood at the end of the hall, where three people recruited straight from Starbucks stood. The ballroom was located at the end of the hall, it's double doors wide and open. Inside was a huge stage for dancing, another bar for refreshments and drinks, a DJ stand where the 98.7 producer would be DJ-ing. And the French doors at the back of the ballroom would be open, so people could go out into the huge backyard, where tables and chairs were set up.

Donga-dong. The doorbell rang. One of the maids rushed to open the door. Dressed in the best of the best, Nicole and Lindsee. The girls greeted each other.

"So who's coming?" asked Lindsee, smoothing out her white D&G minigown. She was clutching a violet D&G clutch.

Mariah handed her the guest list and she skimmed through it, handing it to Nicole after she was done. "So who's not coming?" Nicole asked. She flicked a piece of lint off her little black Vera Wang dress and cocked her head.

"People like Stephanie." Mariah rolled her eyes and gave a small laugh. "No duh."

Nicole laughed too. "And the Pretty Committee, of course."

Lindsee checked her mascara briefly. "There's no way in a million years they're going to get in."

Massie pulled on her gray BCBG dress and silver tights. After smoothing out the crinkled folds at the bottom, she slipped on black Steve Madden flats and finger-combed her hightlighted hair. She re-glossed her lips for the thirtieth time and then flipped open her Motorola. She texted the Pretty Committee

guyz, i'm picking u up in 5 minutez. do nawt be L8.

Massie opened the front door and jumped into the Range Rover. The car raced to pick up Alicia, Dylan, and Kristen.

"How do I look?" asked Dylan as soon as she jumped it. "Do I look too wide?"

Alicia glopped on more lip gloss and shook her head. "Does this dress match my clogs?" she asked doubtly, pulling at the green material.

"Miu Miu clogs go with everything," Massie assured her. "And your Ralph Lauren dress is too in to look bad." Alicia smiled triumphantly.

"And me?" asked Kristen.

"Hmm..." Massie tapped her fingers on her chin. "The super-long Puma shirt looks fine with yellow tights and white flats. You're good."

"Ah-kay, so we're ready to cah-rash that party!" Alicia smeared another lump of lip gloss on her upper lip. Her lips now looked gooey and gross. No one bothered to mention it to her.

"Ehmagawd, we have to be the bomb tonight!" Massie decided. She looked out her window to discover that they were at the Kindley Mansion. "I'm so excited!"

The Range Rover stopped and Dylan kicked the door open. Massie got off and looked around. They were parked on a marble circular driveway. A long line of dressed up people, holding gold cards, were standing at the front door, being checked by a man dressed in black. A whole army of maids were leading the way to the ballroom. The Pretty Committee didn't want to admit it, but they were stunned by the size of Mariah's mansion. Massie's old house, back in Westchester, had been considered huge, but was puny compared to Mariah's house. And it was attractive, too.

"Massie, how are we going to get in?" Alicia wondered. Massie bit a cuticle and looked around nervously. She wasn't sure.

"Let's just blend in with someone and slip in. One by one. I'll go first," Massie replied. She waved good-bye to the Pretty Committee, and then started across the circular driveway. She cut to the front of the line and said to the man, "I already gave you my card. I just came outside to get my wallet." She held up her lavendar Splendid wallet. The man nodded at her.

"This way, miss," he said. "Barbara will show you to the ballroom."

Barbara was dressed in a silky blue maid's dress. She nodded politely at Massie and asked her to wipe her feet on a fluffy carpet. Then she led her up a grand marble staircase, down three hallways, and to a great glass door that said GLAMOROUS § 2008.

Massie pushed the door open and looked around. A huge, spacey foyer leading to the ballroom. Beats of Fergie's Glamourous was being blasted and everyone was dancing either on the stage or stag on the floor. Massie suddenly realized something– she was way underdressed. Everyone else was dressed exoticly. Everyone but her.

"Move it, freak!" A girl wearing a shimmering dress shoved Massie aside and tottered past in black suede boots. Massie watched as she hurried towards where Mariah was standing with her friends. Like always, Mariah was surrounded with crowds of people, praising and complimenting her about her clothes, hair, jewelry, whatever.

Where's the rest of the Pretty Committee? Massie wondered. It had been a full ten minutes since she left them. Right then, Dylan and Alicia and Kristen poked her from behind.

"Ehmagawd, what kept you?" Massie exclaimed. They shrugged.

"Bad sushi," they answered.

Massie rolled her eyes. "Come awn, guys, it's time for the alpha show!"

The Pretty Committee nodded enthusiastically and climbed onto the center stage. All of the members of the PC were great dancers, but especially Alicia, who had taken dance classes before.

But the people who had been dancing on the stage previously all moved away from the Pretty Committee.

"Eww, what are these people doing here?" A girl in a halter dress pointed to the Pretty Committee.

"I don't know, but they sure are ugly," a girl wearing a silver boa replied, rolling her eyes.

Massie glared at the girls, but they responded with middle fingers and gags. Massie felt like crying.

A crowd of guys stopped in front of Mariah. "Hey, Mar, wassup?" they asked.

Mariah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, huh, have fun," she murmured.

"Where did Oscar go?" Mariah asked Nicole. She bit her lip and looked around.

"Oh, over there. On the stage." Nicole pointed at him.

Mariah's Escada phone beeped. She flipped it open. It was Kloe.

omg. look ahead.

Mariah stole a glance across the room. Kloe was pretending to be completely absorbed in her chat with an eighth grade hottie, but her fingers were pointing at the stage. At the Pretty Committee.

"What the hell..." Mariah couldn't believe her eyes. "Nicole, look." She pointed at the Pretty Committee dancing on the stage.

Nicole let out a small gasp. "How did they get in?!"she exclaimed.

Mariah didn't answer. She pushed past dancing and talking people and made her way to the stage. Hopping on, she stood behind Massie and waited for Nicole and Kloe to catch up with her.

"Massie." Mariah's glare was deadly. Massie turned around.

"Ehmagawd! Look who's here!" Massie puckered her over-glossed lower lip and put a hand on her heart. The rest of the Pretty Committee turned around.

"Ehh, maybe I'm here cause I live here," Mariah tossed back her hair and put a hand on her hip. "And I can kick you out, right now, cause I make the rules around here."

Alicia half-laughed nervously. "Huh?"

"What makes you think I'm going to let you attend this year's hottest party?" Mariah exchanged a glance with Nicole.

"Um..." Kristen pulled at her Puma shirt.

"Why are you guys dressed so ugly?" Nicole grimaced, as if the Pretty Committee was ruining her view.

Kloe batted her super-long eyelashes and stuck her arm in front of Massie's torso, her manicured-fingers dangling. "Get lost, bitches," she snickered. She lightly pushed Massie an inch below her neck with her fingers. Massie crashed into Alicia, sending them both toppling down from the stage.

The Gossip Girls shimmered by. "Mariah, why are these losers here?" The queen of the group asked, pointing at the Pretty Committee.

Mariah half-smiled. "I don't know, but they'll be gone. Soon."

Paris Hilton's song Heartbeat was blasting from the DJ stand, and everyone was cheering. Oscar yanked on his black Gucci shirt and shoved his way past excited dancing people. He had to find Mariah. Almost everyone around him was dancing with their date. Where was Mariah? Suddenly, he crashed right into a girl. Her over-glossed, sickening lips smushed agaisnt his.

It was Massie.

Horrified, Oscar stared into her eyes. She looked back at him, a slight smile playing on her lips. The Pretty Committee stood around her, cheering.

"Yeah, Massie!" and "Ehmagawd! She kissed Oscar! Hawt!"

"Gross, slut!" Oscar shoved her roughly into her cheering friends and darted off. He collided straight into Mariah, nearly tripping over her zebra-pumps.

"Hey!" Mariah exclaimed. She leaned over and gave him a tiny peck on the cheek.

"Sorry about that," Oscar draped his arm around her neck and kissed her back on the lips, guilty about kissing Massie.

"Where were you?" Mariah brushed a stray strand of glossy hair out of her face. She glanced momentarily at Kloe, who was staring back at Mariah, her face full of concern.

"Umm.. I was over there with some guys..." Oscar's voice trailed off. He blushed and looked away.

Mariah narrowed her eyes and slipped out from under his arm. She turned to Kloe and pulled her aside. Nicole and Lindsee and Natasha followed them.

"What is it?" Mariah asked, pulling out her tube of Chanel Precision hand cream.

Kloe inhaled deeply. "Hayden told me to tell you that Oscar kissed Massie."

The tube of Chanel Precision dropped out of Mariah's hands and fell to the floor. She stared at Kloe in horror, then pursed her lips tightly. She looked away, her gaze falling on the Pretty Committee.

"Well, we're going to see who's in charge around here," Mariah muttered.

"Hayden!" Mariah set her martini glass onto the marble bar. Hayden turned around and faced her.

"Oh my God, Oscar kissed that new girl!" Hayden shrieked. Several people around her gasped and started whispering.

"I know. I'm so tired of immature guys." Mariah sighed and gulped down half of her mimosa. "But where did they kiss?"

"On the dancefloor. LIPS." Hayden tsk-tsked cockily and pulled on the bottom of her short-short shimmering babydoll dress.

"Great," Mariah murmured sarcastically. "Hayden, do one thing for me."

The ninth grade alpha nodded and looked at Mariah expectantly.

"Make sure everyone knows that Massie was the one who kissed Oscar."

Austin tried his best to look excited as Randy babbled on about how Lindsee looked great in a bikini. But he was daydreaming about Mariah. He wanted to dance with her the way Josh and Oscar did. But he was too shy.

"Hey, man, are you listening?" Randy punched Austin in the shoulder and grinned.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go get another drink," Austin muttered. Then he darted out of Randy's sight. He darted through the ballroom and found Mariah leaned against a wall, gossiping with her crowd of friends, her eyes darting around as if she were keeping an eye on someone.

"Hey! Mariah!" Austin grinned at her in admiration.

"Austin!" Mariah broke through her friends and slipped under his arm. "What's up?"

Austin shook his head. "I was over there with Randy... oh, right, Lindsee, Randy wants to see you."

Lindsee tossed back her ripply blonde hair. "I'm going to go find him," she told Austin. Then, to Mariah, she said,"I'll see you later."

Mariah rested her head on Austin's shoulder. He kissed her gently on her forehead.

Kloe started signaling to Mariah and Nicole glared at someone behind Mariah. Confused, Mariah turned around to see the Pretty Committee.

"Ehmagawd! Mariah's sucking up to this hawtie cause Oscar kissed me!" Massie exclaimed a little too loudly.

"Why don't you get a life, Massie? Oscar doesn't like you," Nicole snapped, standing next to Mariah. Mariah suddenly felt glad that Nicole was smooching away with her boyfriend, Carl, who was a ninth grader. She was glad she was here.

Austin gave Mariah an inquiring look and she looked away. She didn't want to talk about it. Austin hugged her with one arm and gave her another kiss, on the top of her head.

"Massie, get off your high horse. Why would Oscar kiss you? You've got about five tubes of three-dollar lip gloss smeared on your chapped lips." Mariah flipped her hair and cocked her head curtly.

Massie rolled her eyes. Alicia stuck out her chest and exclaimed, "Our lip gloss is from Coach!"

Nicole exchanged a disgusted glance with Mariah. "We outgrew Coach a couple of years ago. We aren't as cheap as you. And what the hell are you guys wearing? This is the hottest party of the season and you show up wearing this crap?"

Looking offended, Alicia frowned. "But everything looks good with clogs?" she half-asked, half-stated. Massie was busy applying even more gloss. Her lips looked seriously gross now. Previous gloss layers were dripping onto her chin.

Mariah grimaced at the sight of Massie's lip. Kloe let out a short laugh at Alicia's remark. Her long eyelashed stood out even further then they normally did as she said, "Yeah, sure, clogs go with everything. Paris Hilton totally wore clogs at the Oscars with her Prada cocktail dress."

Standing behind Massie, Dylan laughed. Massie and Alicia turned around and glared at her. Dylan mumbled a quick sorry and then shrunk behind Kristen.

"Ehh, what are you wearing?" Massie eyed Kristen up and down. "Don't you know how to dress?"

Nicole and Kloe burst into laughter.

Blushing beyond comprehension, Kristen pulled her Puma shirt over her knees and looked at Dylan, her eyes expressionless.

Mariah turned back to Massie. "And you look like the tinman from The Wizard Of Oz. And I've got plenty more to say, but I'm going to stop myself before I get nasty." With that, Mariah turned around and stalked off, Nicole and Kloe at her sides.

Massie clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Alicia draped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. At least you've got Oscar on your side now." Massie sighed. Did she really?

"I'll be right back," Massie promised the Pretty Committee. They nodded at her. She darted past boogying people and found Oscar slouched on a leather couch, his hair strewn across his forehead in desperate waves. She dabbed some lip gloss on her lower lip and smiled. "Hey, Oscar."

Oscar looked up momentarily, then frowned and dropped his head. "Just– I don't want to see you." He blew up on his bangs.

Massie cooed loudly, and sat down next to him. "It's okay, Oscar, Mariah is so nawt a girl worth fighting for anyways. Wanna dance?"

Oscar shot her an annoyed look and shook his head. "No," he mumbled. He pulled out his cellphone and messaged someone. Massie got up, discouraged, and walked off.

Mariah shimmied right and leaned left, her lips gently pressing on Austin's. They were in the bathroom, making out. Mariah was doing it because truly, she was heartbroken over Oscar. Austin drew his arms towards her waist, pulling her tightly into her lap. Giggling, Mariah drew herself away from Austin and leaned against the marble wall. Austin kissed her again, pulling on her sleeve and causing her dress to slide down slightly, exposing her bare shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Mariah asked, smiling coyly.

"I don't know," Austin grinned and pulled her dress down lower. Mariah giggled again, leaning in and kissing him again. His hands left her shoulders and dropped to her thin thighs, running his fingers up and down her silky skin. Mariah parted her lips and found his tongue enter her mouth. Austin's hands moved to her butt, then to her thin waist. Suddenly, Mariah heard her Escada slider beeping.

"Catch up with you later," Mariah unlocked the bathroom door and bolted out, leaving Austin confused.

"Wait! Kindley, wait!" Austin exclaimed, but Mariah paid no attention. She dashed around the stage and nearly crashed into the speakers, where the song Buttons by the PCD was playing. She hid behind the speakers and flipped open her ringing cellphone.

"What?" she asked, adjusting her dress.

Lindsee's was on the other line. "This is really bad, Mariah."

Mariah's pulse picked up speed as she replied. "What is? What's going on?" She couldn't imagine anything too bad.

"Massie seriously pissed Oscar off and he was screaming about how he just lost his last chance with you. He left the property already."

Mariah's jaw dropped open. "How do you know?" She didn't really suspect Lindsee of lying to her, but she was speechless and she needed time to make her recovery.

"The Gossip Girls told me." Lindsee replied. "Where are you?"

"I'm behind the speakers. Get over here now with the others." Mariah jabbed the END CALL button and checked the time. Eleven thirty. She still had half an hour before the part ended.

Lindsee came flying over with Kloe, Nicole, Natasha, and Celine and they formed a tigh circle inbetween dancing people. They all looked fabulous, with the heavy makeup and expensive dresses, but Mariah took no notice. "Where's Oscar?" she asked.

Brushing her white-blond hair out of her heavily-lined eyes, Lindsee replied, "I don't know. He looked really messed up when he left. He just stomped out and was gone. Where were you?"

Mariah brushed her question away with a shake of her hand. "It doesn't matter. Did you try texting or calling him?"

Nicole nodded. "Yeah, I did. Turns out he left his phone and wallet here. But it doesn't matter, because his phone's out of money anyways." She drew out her slim, glittery arm and revealed a Gucci wallet and Blackberry phone. "And I surfed through his messages and found this." She opened a file and held the phone out to Mariah.

Sent Messages:

9/07/08 11:25pm: mariah, im really sorry. i didnt mean to kiss massie. i know you arent going to believe me but i still love you.

9/07/08 11:26pm: stop ignoring me. i know youre getting these messages. reply. i love you.

9/07/08 11:27pm: mariah please. im begging for one last chance. i really do love you. massie would never mean anything to me. youre the only one i want.

Mariah let out a small gasp and gripped his Blackberry tightly. Nicole put an arm around her sympathetically. Mariah pushed away from her and asked, "Why didn't I get these messages?"

"His cell has no more money in it." Kloe pointed out. She sighed and gave Mariah a tiny hug.

"We could call his house," Celine offered. "He might have gone home." Natasha nodded in agreement.

"You do it." Mariah pulled out her silver Escada slider and tossed it to Celine. She thumbed through her contacts and then pressed her sleek, gold thumbnail into the green button. Mariah worriedly tapped her zebra stripe heel on the marble floor. "Switch it to speaker," she instructed. Celine did as the alpha said. The girls waited impatiently and expectantly. But all Mariah heard was beep . . . beep . . . beep . . . .

Mariah unscrewed three bottles of Essence herb waters and dumped them into the bubbling jacuzzi. She decided that a cooling jacuzzi soak would take her mind off Oscar. She had been worrying about him since the night of her Glamourous part a week ago when he disappeared and Celine couldn't reach him by phone. And since he still hadn't shown up, she was getting very, very tense.

Sighing nervously, Mariah slipped into the Jacuzzi. She wondered why she was the one pondering over Oscar when he had cheated on her. Suddenly, she felt scared and alone. She jumped out of the jacuzzi and pulled on her D&G skinny gray pants, cream lacy Stella McCarteney tank top, and black cropped top. After slipping on her suede Ferragamo booties, she slid open her Escada phone to answer a call from Nicole.

"Oh my God. Guess what." Nicole was half-screaming and half-whispering. Her voice quivered slightly.

"What." Mariah didn't put it much effort to sound amused.

"You know how Oscar and Carl have been missing for a week already?" Nicole didn't wait for Mariah's yes. "They've been hospitalized."

Mariah froze to the spot. Her jaw dropped open. She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were wide with fright, her lips parted, her waxed eyebrows arched.

Nicole continued. "It was some crazy drunk truck driver that knocked them over on the road. They were unconscious for six days but they've woken up."

Mariah finally forced some words out of her mouth. "Is he alright? Where is he?"

"My dad told me about it on the paper. He's at the BH Medic Center."

Mariah slid her phone shut and let the horror sink in. She couldn't believe it. She started pacing nervously around her room. How could this happen? Was he okay? She wanted to go see him, but she was supposed to be mad at him. Sighing, she decided to go see him before she got mad at him again.

The hospital was full of dinging noises. It smelled like detergent and medicine. Nicole and Mariah hurried across the tile floors of the lobby. A woman at the counter stared through them as they walked up to her.

"Oscar Renolds," Mariah stated firmly. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and gripped her silver Louis Vuitton clutch nervously.

"And Carl Hamilton," Nicole added, gripping the counter.

The lady behind the desk looked incredibly bored. She pulled on a strand of her curly brown hair and didn't look up.

"Uhh, excuse me?" Nicole snapped her fingers in the lady's face. "Wake up."

Finally, the woman exited her trance and mumured, "Are you close family?"

Mariah nodded. "I'm his sister," she lied. Nicole nodded in agreement.

The woman grunted and powered up a lowly old computer. She scanned through the patient's files, looked for Oscar and Carl. She opened a window, and then accidently closed it. She tried again, but this time she kicked the computer plug and the computer powered out. "Huh," she snorted.

Mariah exchanged an annoyed look with Nicole. "Look, just give us the info before I sue you," Mariah snapped. She glared at the woman.

The woman grunted again. "They're in ward number two, room nine."

Heaving a great sigh, Mariah darted away from the counter and into ward two with Nicole at her side. They stopped outside a door that read "9". Mariah nervously tugged at her cropped top and brushed her hair out of her face. Nicole bit her lip.

"C'mon, let's go in," Nicole pushed open the white wooden door. Gingerly, they stepped inside the bare room. Two beds were shoved against opposing walls, each with a small chair beside it. A curtain seperated the beds. Oscar and Carl lay in the beds.

Mariah gently pushed Nicole into Carl's side of the room. Then she braced herself–– and peeked around the curtain. She almost gasped out loud. Oscar was slumped in the corner of the tiny bed, his eyes concetrated on the ceiling. His arm was bleeding and his right foot was bandaged. But nonetheless, he still looked hotter then ever.

"Mariah?" he lowered his head in disbelief. "I'm so sorry." He pulled himself to a sitting position.

Awkwardly, Mariah sat down in a corner of the bed. "Are you okay?" she asked, brushing her silky hair out of her eyes. She wanted to say, 'Oh my God, Oscar, I'm so glad you're alright! I love you!' but she didn't.

Oscar slouched into the white pillows. "Yeah. I just don't remember much from yesterday... but I do remember I was thinking about doing something."

Mariah nodded, crossing her legs and dropping her gaze. "What were you thinking about?" she asked softly, her hand finding its way to Oscar's.

He smiled. "I wanted to do this." He leaned up and rested his lips on Mariah's soft mouth for a split second. Then they parted. Mariah gazed into his soft brown eyes and couldn't help smiling. She ran her thin fingers through his messy brown hair.

"Mmm... I'm going to take a nap," Oscar faked a yawn and grinned mischeviously.

Mariah laughed and stood up. "Then I'm gonna go!"

Oscar laughed too and pulled her back into his lap. "The reason I'm telling you is because you're going to take the nap with me!" He pulled her under the covers and hugged her. Mariah squealed softly and snuggled up against his torso. He was warm and soft. Mariah kissed him softly on his neck and closed her eyeshadow-covered eyes. She felt safe, nestled up against his chest. She felt loved. She felt . . . happy as she slid her hand onto Oscar's cheek. She was satisfied.