As It Seems

Theme 187: Ended Friendship

A/N: This is a two-shot but I'm going to post both parts in this one chapter. Enjoy the piece:)

Part One: FUBARed

Elwood City High was bustling with activity as Muffy Crosswire stepped out of her family's shiny limousine. She adjusted her designer duds as she looked over the campus. She slipped on a pair of expensive sunglasses as she began her walk towards the front entrance, a knowing smile on her lips.

All around her, teens were going about their normal before-class business. Band geeks were rushing to deposit instruments in the band room, a few of the smaller ones struggling to get past some large jocks standing near the door. Across the hall, cheerleaders were easily going in and out of their locker room, depositing their gear bags and picking up a newsletter from their coach. The coach was eying a young assistant principal standing at the entrance of the cafeteria, a soft smile on her lips. Muffy grinned as well. Those two had been sleeping together for months, years maybe, and no one knew except her.

Knowledge was power in this bustling landscape. As Muffy moved through the cafeteria and into the small courtyard where her friends usually gathered, she eyed the crowd seated inside. Binky, Rattles, Molly, Slink, and a few others sat crowded around a table, Molly's ears plugged with headphones as the boys had an intense conversation around her. Muffy didn't know her secrets, but she knew Binky had been crushing on her for way too long, and in Muffy's eyes, neither were deserving of a relationship, not until she got who she wanted.

As she entered the courtyard, she saw him: Buster Baxter. He'd grown tall since childhood, towering over Arthur and Alex as he spoke to them, probably explaining the latest video game. He had every new system and all the greatest games, but it was his looks that first caught Muffy's attention. Just seeing him made her blush and her steps skip a little as she walked along. She didn't mind the video game conversations because they told her the second thing she needed to know in order to fall madly in love with him: Having all those new systems meant he had money and lots of it. She researched the subject when the first waves hit her—the blushing, the dreams, and the constant thoughts—and when she realized how expensive those games were, her heart pounded like a stampede of wild animals, each of them eager to steal Buster away from all the other girls.

Muffy was determined to do this. Buster hadn't exactly fell for anyone yet, but plenty of girls had fallen for him. Cheerleaders, band geeks, bookworms—every single social group in school had one girl or guy who was dying to be with the stud muffin that was Buster Baxter. Muffy knew everything thanks to her best friend, Cassandra Michaels. Everyone who was anyone called her Cassie, but Muffy had the sole right to call her just plain Cass. As she approached the young blonde, she did just that.

"Good morning, Cass. Did you see the latest gossip article?" Muffy greeted. Cassandra grinned, turning around. She was talking to a young man, a senior with sleek black hair. Muffy was stunned. She didn't recall seeing this guy before, and she would definitely know because he was g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.! "Well, who's this?" Muffy blushed.

"Don't kid yourself, Crosswire. This is Mitchell. He's a new senior transferring from some place. He was just telling me when you interrupted, you little diva, but I'm sure he won't mind repeating himself," Cassandra smiled, turning back to him, "Will you, Mitch?"

"It's Mitchell, and I already told you I just got kicked out of military school for being too bad ass," he sneered. Muffy stepped back. This was NOT the guy for her, not in a million years. What made Buster so great is that he had no idea he was so gorgeous. He wasn't full of himself like Mr. Military School, and he definitely wouldn't try to upstage Muffy with his dashing good looks. No, Mitchell was Cass's problem, and Muffy was happy to join her second best friend, Jasmine Smith.

Jasmine was a red-headed junior who was really into makeup and hair. Her best friend from preschool was Catherine Thompson, a fellow makeup artist in training. The two were comparing techniques on their smart devices when Muffy sat with them, glancing over at Buster as the two girls babbled about their art form. Muffy drowned them out. She had more important things on her mind, and as she looked across the courtyard, said important thing entered the field.

Fern Walters was her biggest competition. Once mousy, invisible, and just all-out pathetic, Fern was now a confident bombshell after a bad freshman year breakup. Now, she was just as powerful as Muffy and any of the other divas, and her intelligence and kind personality gave her the upper hand. She didn't need petty gossip to get ahead, and while Muffy's attempts to infiltrate the Arthur/Buster strong friend group, Fern waltzed right in, and it made Muffy furious. Buster was HERS, not anyone else's, Fern in particular.

"Whoa, you've got a sick look on your face, Muffy. Is everything okay?" Jasmine asked. Muffy nodded curtly, glaring at Fern across the yard. She was sitting directly in front of Buster now, looking up at him with glazed over eyes. She certainly had it bad for Buster just like all the others, and Muffy couldn't stand for this, not for a moment.

"I know what she's looking at," Catherine grinned. "She's looking at that gamer kid again. You know he eats like a pig, right? How could you ever put up with that?"

"Yeah, I mean does he even know what a calorie is?" Jasmine laughed darkly. Catherine joined in but Muffy remained quiet. She grew up with Buster. She'd sat right next to him in elementary school while he shoveled spoonfuls of unrecognizable contents into his mouth. Despite maintaining this habit into his teen years, he was still as fit as the athletic boys, if not even more fit.

Muffy composed herself, "Well, maybe I want to be with someone who isn't afraid to try new things. He's always experimenting, just like you two. Would you really want to put down a fellow artist?" she asked darkly. Jasmine grinned but shook her head. Catherine's grin was even larger, but she too shook her head. Muffy nodded with a hint of satisfaction as the bell rang above. These girls might be older, but she controlled them, and that control is what she needed if she ever wanted to win over Buster.

But as the bell rang overhead and the teens began following each other to their designated classrooms, Muffy noticed someone in the distance, another figure from her elementary school days. This person was someone Muffy was hoping to forget. They'd been friends once, but now, they were sworn enemies. And as Muffy walked past, this enemy looked in the opposite direction completely, not out of anger but out of pure fear.

It was Muffy that kept Arthur and Francine apart. Francine never forgave her for her acts even though they were ancient history. Muffy honestly didn't know why she was so mad. She was too sporty for him, always putting him down. So Muffy told Alex to tell Arthur that Francine had hit one of her fellow teammates in a game and she didn't get in trouble because the coach was afraid of her. The boys didn't believe the story, so Muffy worked her magic with an acquaintance who wrote stories for the school newspaper. A fake article was posted on the school's website, but it had undesired effects. Everyone now thought Francine was a brute on the field and off, and an untimely outburst shortly before the article's appearance helped nothing. Her reputation was tainted. When it came out days later that Francine had a crush on Arthur, Arthur made it known that he wanted nothing to do with her, and that if she ever asked him, he'd tell her NO as loudly as he could.

And that was exactly what happened. The story was retracted, so Francine thought it'd be safe to approach. Muffy's seeds had been planted and her garden had grown. Now she was harvesting the rewards as Francine ran through the Grebe Middle School lunchroom sobbing like a preschooler. Muffy's plan had worked.

Francine passed without incident, and Muffy soon arrived at her first class. In this class was Maria, another former classmate with a wicked crush on Buster. She was a writer now like Fern, and both were on the school paper together, as well as in Elwood City High's Creative Writing Club. They weren't necessarily close friends. Maria was close with Jenna until she became some big-shot badminton star and moved away, so now she was a loner drifting between groups. Fern was close with Sue Ellen still, and since Sue Ellen befriended every kind of foreigner or exchange student that walked the halls, they had a well-defined yet exotic friend circle. Each group had their own activities, so despite their similarities, they rarely crossed paths. It was this fact that made Muffy want to use Maria in her battle for Buster.

As class began, the students were asked to find a partner for a group assignment. Muffy quickly claimed Maria, sitting next to her with a soft smile. Muffy was the daughter of a salesman. She knew exactly how to approach Maria to keep her from suspecting anything peculiar was going on, and as their work began, Muffy started working her magic gradually.

"I don't know about number three. I was thinking it was more B than C, but you're probably smarter than me. I bet you're smarter than Fern too," Muffy grinned. Maria gave her a perplexed look as she shrugged, erasing her circle around C and putting another around B. Muffy shifted in her seat, "I was just thinking that because I heard her talking about Arthur the other day. I mean, those guys accepted her as a friend, and here she was telling one of his darkest secrets to someone she barely even knew!" Muffy gasped. "Isn't that just terrible?" she exclaimed.

"I doubt Fern would do such a thing. What would she even know about Arthur anyway, and it's not like she'd have anything to gain from it? I think you misheard her. Maybe she was talking about Arthur Fitzpatrick, the other guy on our paper, and it might've been his story, not a true secret," Maria countered.

'Darn, she's really good at avoiding me!' Muffy thought, shifting a little, "Well, I know what I heard. Are you sure you really know her? I mean, there was this one time in middle school when she plagiarized a story from Ladonna."

Maria scoffed, "It was the other way around. We all know Ladonna was such a fake journalist. She could only do creative writing, not professional writing. And before you ask, yes, they are different. Ladonna didn't realize we weren't just making stuff up," Maria said quickly, trying to work on the next problem.

But Muffy was determined, "That's not how I heard it. I mean, I know you've been doing this for a while, but I only know what people have told me, and they had solid evidence. Do you think a Crosswire would tell you something if they hadn't researched it first? My daddy sells cars for a living, and if he doesn't do his research, someone could get hurt. Just last week, he decided not to sell a car to a nice family because a mechanic friend of his said the company might be issuing recalls. Blam! It was in the news this morning. He probably saved their lives!" he gasped.

"Well that's cars, Muffy. This is people's lives. Now, are you actually going to work on this stuff? If you're not going to then I want to work by myself," Maria said firmly.

Muffy sighed and kept working. Maria was only one person who knew Fern. There had to be others she could persuade to spread poor rumors about her. Fern's entire life story was filled with such rumors popping up everywhere, from elementary school on. The Ladonna scandal was just one benchmark, and with the hick back in her own world now, Muffy didn't have to worry about her. Muffy only had to worry about herself, as well as any female looking to get in her way to Buster. Right now, that person was Fern, and Muffy just had to find the right connection.

A few classes later, she knew she'd have the opportunity. Clara Marshall was a freshman journalist who was very eager to please. She looked for stories everywhere, specifically 'human interest' stories. Muffy knew this Clara might be the person to spread the word about Fern's ill deeds whether they were true or not. As Muffy had learned in the past, the details only matter once you need them, so you might as well say what you can while people are listening and worry about the rest later.

So Muffy sat next to Clara, who was eagerly discussing an upcoming journalist meeting or something. Muffy could barely get the brace-faced girl's attention, agitating her. She was thinking poor thoughts as Clara finally turned to notice her. She smiled to Muffy...and immediately began questioning her about her fashion friends.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll talk to you. Can I ask you something about Fern?" Muffy asked. Clara was taken aback but nodded. "Well," Muffy began, a devious grin forming on her lips before she could even control it, "I was wondering how she was doing. I heard she said some pretty unkind things to someone earlier and that she was really upset."

"Who would provoke her? She's seriously like the nicest person I've ever met, so I doubt anyone would confront her on anything. Doesn't she sit with that hot guy in the mornings?" Clara asked with a dreamy expression.

"I have no idea," Muffy said through gritted teeth. 'Great, someone else with a crush on Buster,' she thought, growling in her head. She cleared her throat, "All I know is someone told me Fern said really mean words to someone, and they assumed she must've been confronted by someone. Otherwise, she would've said mean things to just be saying them. Either way, she must be upset, so I was concerned for her."

"Well I think a girl like Fern can handle herself. You probably got her mixed up with someone else, or at least your contact did. Just talk to Jasmine and Catherine for me, okay? Keep your drama to yourself," Clara said sternly. Before Muffy could protest, the teacher began class, starting with a wicked pop quiz that threw Muffy for a loop. Her mind was elsewhere and it would definitely show in her grades, not that Muffy cared about those. Popularity, money, boyfriends—these were Muffy's sole concerns. And people like Clara should just let her keep this power and stop questioning her.

Muffy was in a foul mood, and she was eager for lunch. Bailey had packed a delectable sandwich made with some of the finest ingredients available in Elwood City. They were works of art that always made the other students jealous, and Muffy couldn't wait to sit there with her friends, eating her delicious lunch and exchanging the day's gossip with friends.

As she entered the room and moved towards her favorite table, she noticed Cassandra was already there with Mitchell and some other guys. She pulled away from them immediately, greeting Muffy before she could even sit down. Cassandra has an almost sick look on her face and she seemed to be having trouble speaking...

But she didn't have to say a word. Muffy looked up and saw the two sitting side beside, hand in hand. Fern and Buster weren't just hanging out anymore. They were a couple, and judging by her morning's efforts, Muffy would not be successful combating this nemesis, not without some serious firepower.