Author's Note: I'm a big fan of crack, so stuff like Dajan/Debrah just kinda happens…This is a oneshot I guess, it's really more blah than story though. There's a little bit of Jade/Alexy in here too. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, Lynn is the candy-type character in the Amor Sucre Manga. I also probably exaggerated how much Melody likes Debrah's band…But oh well.
Pink-accented steel blue orbs narrowed in disapproval at the sight before her. A girl, with waist-length plain brown hair and drab cadet gray skinny jeans, was walking with Castiel. Her Castiel, easily recognized, though since their last encounter he'd dyed his hair to an ostentatious scarlet red. A similar color was in the homely girl's face as the two walked, and her former lover was snickering and playfully poking her blush. This was unacceptable. Very unacceptable.
Debrah tossed her wild cascade of chestnut tresses over her shoulder and approached the two in a cool, confident strut. His eyes steadily widened the closer she got, mouth slowly opening in disbelief. She surprised him. Good. The girl was surprised too, but of lesser importance. "Don't be a stranger, Kitten," she purred as she stopped in front of him and held open her arms. "Give me a welcome back hug." Castiel stared at her a moment as if he were looking at something distant and shimmering, like a dream or a fantasy. But in a split second he snapped himself out of the disbelieving daze and embraced her tightly, holding her in a firm vise as if he feared she'd escape. A satisfied smirk curled up the corners of her fuchsia lips. She couldn't have asked for a better reaction.
"Well It's good to see you too," she murmured in a voice like honey, wrapping her arms around him. The leather beneath her palms was foreign to her, and a bit less pleasing than the faux suede had been. It mingled with his scent slightly, but aside from said touch of leathery aroma, that was the same. Good. With her head nestled into Castiel's chest, Debrah allowed her eyes to slide to the girl. She was looking at them with puzzlement and unease, and ah yes, jealousy. So this girl did like Castiel. She wasn't his girlfriend as Debrah had first feared, she knew, because otherwise her former boyfriend wouldn't be clutching her so tightly. But the girl did like him, she could see it plain as day. And he was still found in her presence. That was all quite unacceptable.
"Debrah…" Oh, she just loved it when her name left his lips! No matter how questioning or unsure the tone, she'd missed that. Not enough to sacrifice the opportunity for a career, but she had missed it. She'd missed him. "In the flesh, Kitten. Now how about you let go of me, and introduce me to your little friend?"
"Little?" she only just heard the girl mumble with displeasure.
Yes, little, Debrah thought, You're so small and plain compared to me. Inferior. She almost shot the girl a warning look that said so, but refrained. Blatant hostility wouldn't be necessary. In fact, it would likely complicate things. "Oh yeah." Castiel released her from the hug and stepped back. "Deb, this is Lynn. Lynn, this is Debrah."
"We've met," Lynn said tersely. "On the night of the concert."
Oh, that's right! Debrah had forgotten all about the girl she'd bumped into on the first night of her return. "Well it's nice to have an official introduction," Debrah chirped sweetly, "It's so nice to meet you, Lynn," she held out her gloved hand and smiled with all the false kindness she could muster. Which was, to give credit where it is due, quite a bit.
"Y-Yeah, totally," Lynn took Debrah's hand and shook it accordingly. She was taken aback by the singer's innocent front. But that didn't mean she trusted her, Debrah realized as her hand was released. She could see the flicker of uneasiness in Lynn's forest depths. It was impressive and annoying at the same time. Impressive because that smile had charmed almost every single person Debrah had ever flashed it at (annoying for the same reason). But the chestnut haired teen didn't lose a bit of nerve. She should expect that this Lynn be mistrustful of her, because this Lynn liked Castiel. All the ones that liked Castiel were harder to fool, because they were as green as algae with all their envy of her.
"Debrah what are you doing here?" Castiel asked, eyeing her with a multitude of emotions (the hopefulness more prominent than the shock, Debrah was pleased to see).
"Living here for the time being," she told him. And it was true, though Debrah wished it weren't. Stars of Nightmares was suffering business wise, much to the brunette singer's chagrin. However, she tried not to dwell on that at the moment. Staying with her parents for awhile wouldn't be so bad, and she was confident she could come up with some new material that would have everyone awestruck and rope in the fans. For now, she'd take pleasures in what she'd previously decided to give up.
"That's great! I-I mean,-"
She shushed him by pushing a slender finger to his lips. "I know what you mean," she giggled teasingly, fully aware of Lynn stiffening in her peripheral vision. Also good. Be intimidated, little girl. With another light giggle, Debrah drew her finger from Castiel's lips and whirled around. "I'd love to stay and catch up with you, Kitten, but that old crone and blonde douche bag are all over me reregistering the 'proper way' ," she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers.
The redhead grunted in understanding. "I bet. Good luck with them, Deb. And later, if you're not doing anything…I'll be home so, uh…Feel free to stop over." A faint blush crept into his cheeks.
"Oh, I will," she smiled. "By the way, I like what you did with your hair." The singer winked and with that, she whirled around, making sure the ends of her own hair whisked Lynn's face. She gracefully strode off, swaying her hips seductively to tantalize the charcoal gaze burning into her behind.
In reality, Debrah was not off to reregister at the school in the "proper way." In fact, aside from being greeted by the principal, neither had spoken to her. She supposed there was paperwork and whatnot she had to complete, but she'd probably hear about that later from Nathaniel's little cheerleader. What was her name again? Melanie? Yeah, that was it. Nathaniel was too much of a pussy to talk to her himself, ever since she'd teased him with a few flirty words (actually pretty cute when you were turning red, Blondie).
But he won't outright ignore me, if I do the talking first, Debrah thought with a smirk as she pushed open the double doors of the building. A very faint tug of nostalgia followed her few purposeful steps into the school she'd left behind. Recognition followed it and a genuine smile briefly rested on her feminine mouth. Same old Sweet Amoris. It hasn't changed a bit. The muse left Debrah as quickly as it had come to her, and she continued on her business.
"Hellooo," the singer drawled coyly as she glided into the student council room. A familiar blonde teen lifted his head from flipping through a filing cabinet and nearly recoiled at the sight of her. Debrah wasn't sure whether to pout or giggle, so she went with the latter. "Oh my, Nathaniel, it's been awhile, huh? What are you wearing?" She tilted her head and studied the unfamiliar attire. A silky plan blue tie, crisp white business shirt, insipid taupe slacks, and…oh god, were those pens in his pocket? She critically lifted a chestnut brow. "You were much sexier back when you had your sweater vest."
Heat filled Nathaniel's cheeks, but he didn't dignify Debrah's comment with a reply. He cleared his throat and held a steady gaze on her, irritation thinly veiled by better judgement. "Can I help you?"
"Right down to business, huh? But maybe you can," Debrah replied lightly, "Do you know where Peggy is?"
"No," he answered stiffly and turned away. He immediately resumed his task.
"Too bad," she sighed with nominal frustration. She turned to leave, only to have her path blocked by that Nathaniel cheerleader. "Oh!" gasped the brunette in surprise, her cerulean eyes widening. "You're Debrah! Hi! You probably don't remember me, but I'm Melody and I love your band! You guys are great, I listen to you like everyday! I even made my own Stars of Nightmares groupie teeshirt with these fabric markers and this glitter glue," she rambled on with an excited, girlish voice that morphed Debrah's annoyance into proud pleasure. She had quite the fan.
"A groupie teeshirt, huh?" Debrah grinned. "That's encouraging. You should show me sometime, maybe we could make more."
"We could? We!? Oh my gosh, that'd be awesome!" Melody beamed.
"I'll be staying in town for awhile, I'll give you a call," Debrah promised, offering the blue eyed teen a warm smile. "But I was wondering, could you help me with something else?"
Melody nodded eagerly. "Of course, I'd be happy to."
"Can you tell me where to find Peggy?"
"Yep. She's in the teacher's lounge. Snooping around in people's private files again, I'm sure." Contempt crept into Melody's cheerful tone. Debrah almost responded to it, but the wavy haired brunette caught herself, hands going to her face. "Oh, that sounded so mean! I didn't mean that to come out that way!"
She was practically panicking. How cute. Debrah mentally smirked. "Hehe, I get it. Peggy can be difficult sometimes, no?"
Melody's stricken face relaxed and she vigorously nodded.
"And thank you Melody, I'll be off to see her now." Debrah flashed her an endearing smile and slipped out of the room with a feline grace. She went to the teacher's lounge, pleased to see that Peggy was indeed inside…As pleased as she could be to see Peggy anyway. The wannabe journalist got on Debrah's nerves. She pissed the singer off with her boundless nosiness. Nevertheless, the trait which she so despised in Peggy could prove to be useful.
Debrah plastered on a suave face and tapped on the door's glass window. Abruptly Peggy straightened herself (unsurprisingly she'd been hunched over a filing cabinet), her curly bistre locks bouncing around her freckled cheeks as she whisked around. Dodger blue orbs lit up like a torch as they fixed on Debrah. Peggy looked like she'd just won the jackpot. Damn it, the singer knew what that meant. She's going to bombard me with questions.
Peggy took small hurried steps to the door and flung it open, ushering Debrah in. "There is a god and he loves me! You are proof because there has been NOTHING interesting at all to write about for the past month! The school newspaper was practically dead. Look at me, here I am reduced to raiding files! It's just that bad, but now you've come along," Peggy grinned broadly and shoved her godawful microphone into Debrah's face. "So Miss Singer, what's the deal with the band? What are you doing here? How's the fame coming? Been in any scandalous relationships? If so, how is Castiel taking this? Does Castiel know?"
The chestnut haired female resisted the urge to rip away the ancient microphone and shove it down Peggy's throat. "Get that thing out of my face. I'm not here for an interview. I want some information."
The journalist's eyes briefly flashed with frustration, but she honored the request and lowered her microphone. "Fine. But I'm not giving any info away for free. If I tell you what you want to know, you have to give me something I can put in the school newspaper."
Debrah sighed, not bothering to mask her exasperation around Peggy. "Keep my life out of your column. I'll pay you with cash, not news material."
Peggy frowned and crossed her arms. "I prefer information to money any day. Besides, the newspaper is in desperate need of something publish worthy and I'd be selfish to accept money over knowledge that can be shared with everyone."
Bitch. The singer took a moment to nibble ever so slightly on her thumbnail. It didn't take very long for her to come up with a bullshit just-barely-but-still-Peggy-Worthy story. "Okay, well I'm back in town because I need influence for my next CD. Real influence that means something to me, like my old school and the places I used to go to. Including past relationships. Sentimental inspiration. Is that satisfying?"
Peggy's mouth twitched in approval. "Yes. Of course, the way you put it is very vague and flat, so I'm going to have to embellish."
Debrah's steel blue pools narrowed and hardened. "You better not be thinking of anything that will hurt my image."
"Oh no, never. Doing that would piss off a few of the wrong people."
The chestnut haired teen smirked, brows lifting a fraction. "Funny, I never recall you caring about that before I left. And I thought everything had stayed the same." Everything except for that new girl. Her and the moony eyes she's giving my Castiel.
"Experience has made me a little wary." Peggy gave a shrug, then shot Debrah a pointed look. "Not to say that means I'll tiptoe around the brutal truth."
The singer shook her head. "I wouldn't expect it. But now it's your turn. Tell me about Lynn."
"Lynn?" Peggy fluttered a blink. "Well let's see. She got average grades on her last exam, and she has this very weird aunt who has come to school wearing-"
"No, no!" Debrah cut her off impatiently, waving a gloved hand for emphasis. "I don't care about that stuff. I want to know what's up between her and Castiel."
The short haired teen snickered quietly. "I'm surprised you care. To answer your question, they aren't official or anything, but they flirt with each other. Then again, Lynn is a little flirty with all the guys here. Not in a slutty way, more in a friendly teasing way, but still. She's definitely more into Castiel that any of the other guys from what I've seen. He's taken her out too."
The singer's steel gaze darkened. "He's taken her out on dates?"
Peggy shook her head unconvincingly, her bistre bob bouncing. "Not quite dates. I've seen them up on the roof together. She's walked his dog a couple of times too."
Debrah's stomach clenched. It would have been perfectly fine if this Lynn simply liked Castiel and that those feelings were self-contained. But apparently they'd flirted with each other. Her former boyfriend was engaging in Lynn's affections. He was indulging her. That may have even been somewhat okay if it'd happened occasionally, but the two were spending time together. That was not okay at all. It was simply not acceptable. She couldn't allow Castiel to get close to another girl that way. It didn't matter that they weren't together at the moment, that was how other things started. She couldn't allow Castiel to forget about her, to push what they had shared to the back burner in favor of Lynn. Whether or not Debrah was around, Castiel belonged to her and no one else, especially not this…this Lynn. This flat styleless girl who was, no doubt, undeserving of her Kitten's affection.
"I see," Debrah murmured as she focused her eyes on Peggy. Based on the unnerved glint in the journalist's eyes, her voice had come out frostier than she'd intended. "Here, take this." The singer continued on in a heartbeat, whipping out a laced denim wallet from her pocket. She took out a few crisp bills and took Peggy's hand without a second thought, smacking the money curtly into her palm. "Even though I already gave you a story for the paper, I'm in a generous mood today. Maybe you can use that to do something about that outdated outfit of yours." The chestnut haired teen was moderately comfortable with being herself around Peggy. She didn't care much for the short haired nuisance, and knew Peggy was not well liked in the school because of her prying nature.
Turning briskly on her heel and stalking out of the room, Debrah's eyes narrowed. Something had to be done about this situation between Lynn and Castiel. But of course, she'd couldn't approach either of them on the subject. That would make her look like the bad guy, it would make her look jealous and bitter. In truth, Debrah did feel a bit jealous, but how was that not justified!? Castiel was hers. Whether or not she was around to be with him, he was hers and only hers. And now that she was around to be with him, no matter how temporary this situation, she would stress this bond. But possession over someone was something that was best demonstrated, not spoken of or directly addressed.
The singer could not just hop in and steer him away from Lynn. Oh no. Well, I suppose I could. But I won't.
No, doing that would be much too easy. Too easy, too blatant, and too nice. She had to punish Castiel. The way she would go about that was a simple one really, and one of the oldest tricks in the book. She would go find herself a boyfriend; her Kitten's jealously would ensue. A plan so simple, and yet so deviously fun. And effective, of course. It didn't get to be one of the oldest tricks in the book by flopping.
As she strode toward the staircase, Debrah made a mental list of all the possible suitors in the school.
Nathaniel. No, not Nathaniel. Though that would certainly be an amusing situation, there was no way possible that it would work. Possibility there was just laughable.
Lysander. No…Unfortunately so. He was attractive enough, and the fact that he was so close with Castiel might have aided the jealousy turnout, but he liked her about as much as Nathaniel did.
Guy in military pants. Debrah did not know his name, nor where he came from, but he was a hottie. Not knowing him of course meant that she could not be sure if he was a good (pawn) boyfriend, but she had high enough hopes.
Those twins. Like the hottie in the military pants, Debrah didn't know either of the twin boys she'd only caught glimpses of.
Perhaps she should have asked Peggy about this while she'd had the chance. Oh well, she could figure these things out for herself. She had plenty of time..
The next day, Debrah actually went to class. It turned out being a refreshing experience that she didn't mind much. Dong so, she'd also been able to observe her possible candidates. Guy in military pants/Kentin was crossed off the list after about fifteen minutes. He was quite attractive so Debrah was naturally disappointed, but there was no chance she'd be able to snare him. She'd noticed him eyeing up Lynn, of all people. How ironic life liked to be sometimes.
Twin 1/Armin was also crossed off the list. He'd played his PSP in every single class. That was just so…So not something Debrah could tolerate. She had a minor (but still distinct) distaste for game nerds, and while being around them wasn't that bad, she could never date one! Even if it was pseudo dating.
She hadn't had any classes with Twin 2, but she had seen him in the hallway and gotten his name from Melody. Alexy. Well, he was still a possibility for the time being. And there was one other she'd indirectly heard of. A guy in the gardening club called Jade. Apparently he didn't go to the school, but Capucine saw him in the club today. Shrugging, Debrah figured she might as well go check him out.
She sauntered off to the garden club, her hips swaying with natural fluidity. What the singer stumbled upon stopped her in her tracks. Both Jade and Alexy were crossed off her possibilities list at once. The duo were in the greenhouse, lips locked together. Jade's gloved fingers raked through Alexy's flamboyant blue locks, Alexy pushing Jade right up against the glass.
Debrah knew she shouldn't just be watching them like some kind of sick voyeur, but incredulity kept her rooted to the spot. For a moment their lips parted and she could see tongues brushing and dancing together. But the pairs of lips were practically magnetic, and the closed around each other once again. As the kiss ended, Alexy took Jade's chamoisee hat and playfully tugged it down over his eyes. Though she couldn't hear them, Debrah could see the mischievous giggle on the lips of blue haired male. And the indulgent chuckle on that of the green haired.
Okay, the singer thought and shook herself out of her stupefied daze. Wasted enough time there. Her heels clicked only loud enough for her own ears as she fleetly left. So with Alexy and Jade crossed off the list, that left her with...No one. Great. Debrah's brow crinkled as she frowned indignantly. She silently cursed the school's low male population.
Debrah supposed it wasn't exactly necessary to get a boyfriend from Sweet Amoris. She could easily pick up a guy from elsewhere. But having one at the school would have been the most convenient for obvious reasons. In her quick escape from the gardening club, the singer had ended up in the gymnasium. She was so caught up in her frustration that she didn't hear the rapid pound of sneakers on the gym floor, or the furious ensuing bounce of synthetic rubber. She caught a flash of vermillion and orange just as he collided with her.
A gasp flew from her lips as she slammed into the laminated hickory. Stars exploded in her across her vision. As they faded, she saw a basketball rolling across the floor.
"Hey! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't see you." An unfamiliar male's voice beckoned. Debrah rolled over onto her back and propped herself up on her elbows. She was fine all and all, a little winded if anything. She blinked slowly and lifted her unique orbs to meet vivacious amber ones. Though Debrah did not make a habit of being flustered, her breath nearly caught in her throat. Handsome would have been an understatement to describe the young man that leaned over slightly and extended a hand in her direction. A thin sheen of perspiration glistened on his chocolate skin, and he was panting quietly. The baggy vermillion jersey hung loosely from his wiry form and gave her a good view of his chest. It was hairless, appealingly so. She wondered how smooth and firm it would feel beneath her fingers.
"Yes, I'm okay," Debrah answered, flashing him a smile. She took his hand anyway and she studied his toned biceps as he hauled her to her feet. "Sorry again, I really didn't see you. I was getting pretty into my practice." He smiled sheepishly as he dropped her hand, but the singer could see the determination revive in his alluring amber gaze. A competitive one, huh? This could definitely be the solution to my predicament. "That's fine," she chirruped. "I admire a man with passion." His dark brows perked and a good-humored grin pulled up the corners of his mouth. "That's cool, not enough girls do. So what's your name?"
"Debrah. And you?"
"Dajan."
"I like it." She smiled coyly. "So are you a new student, Dajan? I wouldn't know since I just came back yesterday."
He shook his head. "I'm just apart of the basketball program. I don't actually go to this school."
This disappointed her a bit. But it couldn't be helped, and she could manage. "Ah, I see. So what would you say to a round of one on one?" A smirk twitched on her fuchsia lips as she strode over to the abandoned basketball. She seized it from the floor and dribbled it, fixing Dajan with her playfully taunting pools. The competitive spark in his eyes gave her an answer.
Dajan won, of course. Debrah wasn't much of a basketball player, but she held her own for as long as she could. It was fun really, and what was more important was that it achieved the desired effect; he treated her to lunch. It was fascinating how easy things would fall into play if you set them up right. In just three days after that little game, she'd managed to blow off her ex twice in favor of the basketball player. And just three days after that chance meeting, she'd kindly given him a tour of the rest of the school. She gleefully feigned ignorance to the pained charcoal eyes that bore into her as she led Dajan about with small talk, and brief explanations.
The very next day after that, he pressed his lips to hers and held her in a surprisingly needy embrace. She catered to his need all too eagerly, pushing her pliant lips back to his. Her supple fingers twirled through his tight braids until the ponytail holder fell loose and soundlessly dropped to the floor.
Dajan had no problems holding her hand by the fifth day. He was pleased to do so, as was she. Debrah happily stroked the smooth-skinned hand with her thumb, in all honesty finding an enjoyment in doing so that had nothing to do with her ulterior motives. Nonetheless, she was sure to giggle twice as loud and press twice as close when a certain redhead made his appearance. She never looked him in the eyes. It wasn't worth the risk. Though Debrah was great at masking her real emotions, she wasn't sure if she could manage to hide the satisfaction she felt when he was watching. It was just too immense. But this was fine, not looking at him was all very fine. Because she could feel the pure heartbreak pulsing from him in waves. Poor little Kitten, but what else was I supposed to do? You're simply not allowed to forget.