I'm surprised there isn't too much of these two out there. Am I the only romantic who believes rivals/enemies can be lovers? Heh.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Thanks go to GrimGrave for his beta work :3
—Zinger—
Even amidst the general hubbub of the usual lunchroom crowd, it was impossible to miss the sound of Clover's voice:
"I can't stand her. UGH."
The blonde flopped down at the table across from Sam and Alex, her best friends and partners in crime fighting. The two shared a look, eyes still widened in response to the girl's outburst. This wasn't the first time they'd heard her complain, nor would it be the last. Across the room, they caught sight of a slender, dark haired teen who was openly gesturing towards Clover. Good thing she was facing away.
"What did Mandy do now?" Alex asked, wincing guiltily when Sam glared at her for breaking their don't-encourage-Clover rule.
It was their senior year and as such, they'd both decided to be done with the Mandy drama. Clover, on the other hand...
"Well, I was trying to get my lunch when that rude bimbo said—in a stage whisper, I might add-that swimsuit season is coming fast and that she'd be so embarrassed if her body wasn't beach ready. I mean, I guess I'd be beach ready too if I was built like a two-by-four, but whatever. She looked right at me when she said it and Caitlin said—"
"Is that why you went with a salad instead of your usual Friday double decker?" Sam interrupted before they got an entire play-by-play.
"I work my ass off all week! I should be allowed one double cheeseburger without people assuming I'm some kind of whale. So screw them. If Mandy knew half the crap we save the entire world from, much less her skinny, self-righteous—"
"So then why the salad?" Alex asked. "Didn't you just say you didn't care what people thought?"
Clover opened her mouth, then closed it with a huff and her friends grinned.
"Relax, Clover. We'll love you no matter how plump you get."
"You could always wear a one-piece with one of those cover-up thingies?"
"I hate you both."
There was laughter from two tables down: Mandy and her cohorts had been joined by some boys. Oddly enough, two of them were Caitlin and Dominique's boyfriends while Mandy remained single. Then again, she had most of the boys in their grade wrapped around her little finger, so why settle for just one when she could have several at her beck and call?
Clover exhaled sharply to move a stray strand of hair out of piercing blue eyes. "Do you think WOOHP could cover up a murder?"
"She's not worth it."
Speak of the Devil: Mandy flounced by them. "Jeremy come sit with us!"
Cue the twenty minute tirade that took up so much of her lunch period that Clover was still chewing furiously on the way to their next class. It was impossible to look cute while eating a salad anyway.
...
Clover tried to pay attention. She really did. History was an important subject and when you don't learn from history it repeats itself or some crap—blah, blah, blah. The teacher, at least, was kind of cute. She wondered why someone who looked like that wouldn't have chosen a much more exciting career like model or designer...
The moment her phone buzzed, the blonde is as all over it in a heartbeat.
Unknown (1:33pm): Hey
It was a horrible and incriminating habit, but the blonde looked around before typing in her response nonetheless.
Me (1:34pm): Hey :)
Unknown (1:34pm): Can i come c u 2nite? I miss u.
"Clover?"
She nearly dropped her expensive smartphone in her haste to hide it under her textbook.
"Uh... Yeah?"
"I hope you've been paying attention. You'll be having an exam next week."
Clover looked to Sam for assistance, blue eyes pitiably wide, and beautiful, brilliant Sam sighed and tilted her book so that the blonde could see the page number. To which she swiftly flipped.
"Of course I was, Ms. Reynolds. I was just thinking about.. um... the beneficial effects of centralized government and how the political climate has changed rapidly over the years..?"
"Hm."
As soon as she turned her back to the classroom, Clover mouthed a 'thank you' to Sam and was able to focus on the lesson. At least for a little while.
Me (2:03pm): I'll c u l8r gorgeous.
...
If only things had gone according to plan.
Clover was shoving books and papers into her locker when the floor disappeared from under her. Her terrified scream harmonized with that of Alex and Sam as all three of them were deposited into a seat that was quite a bit firmer than the usual office loveseat. When her head stopped spinning, Clover opened her eyes to see they were in the back of a helicopter somehow.
Jerry, the impeccable (and mysterious) gentleman that he was, was sipping tea, the cart in front of him bearing snack cakes. Her stomach rumbled, dissatisfied with the meager lunch she had subjected it to earlier, but the man placed his teacup on the cart and its top flipped over to reveal a set of gadgets.
"Good afternoon, ladies. I hope you've had a good day at school."
Sam rolled her shoulders. "Jerry, your abduction team needs to work on the landing. I'm going to break my neck one of these days."
Alex, who she'd landed on, gave a thumbs-up.
He smiled minutely. "I'll pass that on. Now, if I can have your attention for a moment..."
"I swear to God, Clover."
"What?"
"What do you mean "what?"?!"
"Guys, please don't fight..."
"Shut it, Alex."
"Don't talk to her like that!"
If they hadn't been sworn BFFs, Clover would have swung at the redhead. She wasn't a fan of being on the spot and she didn't like when people got in her face, good intentions or not. Instead, she forced herself to be calm—which she totally wasn't feeling at all—and say, "I'm sorry, okay?"
"Sorry isn't going to cut it. You've been distracted and that's been affecting your spying. What if something had happened to Alex?"
"I'm fine, though, so—"
"Alex."
The peaceable brunette sighed. "Sam has a point. What's going on with you, Clover?"
"Nothing. Geez. I'll do better, boss lady, just get off my ass."
Sam and Alex watched the blonde's retreating back with worried frowns.
"I don't know where her head has been lately."
"Maybe she's got a lot on her mind. You could have been nicer about it..."
"Seriously, Alex? This is unacceptable." The redhead grabbed Alex's wrist, turning her arm over to examine the burn that had seared tan skin a cherry red. She almost let loose a string of not-so pleasant words, but refrained. The brunette was tearing up as it was. "Come on, let's get you patched up."
Living a double life is hard.
But then, Clover was already teenager by day and super spy by night so did that make this additional side of her that even her best friends and closest family members didn't know about a triple life? She'd never been great at math.
What she did know was that it was killing her to keep this a secret from Sam and Alex. She knew could trust them with anything and everything, but—
"Hey, you." The slender, olive-skinned teen lounging in her bed had snuck in through the second floor window and she was flipping idly through a magazine. "Where have you been all night?"
"Hey, baby. Sorry, something came up."
Mandy sat up so that she was perfect height to steal a kiss and who was Clover to deny the raven-haired beauty?
—this was difficult to explain.
She let herself get pulled into bed, though she protested her state of cleanliness. Despite her best efforts, she was pretty sure she still had soot on her from her latest mission.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"Not really. Your dad has been yelling at college football downstairs, so I didn't even have to sneak in."
Clover shook her head. Even now they could hear him berating the coach and the players.
Mandy rested a hand on her hip, only to frown and pull an object from the pocket of her cardigan. "What's this?"
Her lipstick laser. Clover snatched it back quickly, fearful that Mandy would hurt herself. She kicked herself when the raven-haired teen's expression dropped. "Uh..."
It wasn't even her shade-of course this looked way worse than it was.
"You'd tell me if you were seeing someone else, right...?"
Who would have thought Mandy of all people would have an insecure side? Though cheating was a more logical conclusion to arrive at than the truth as to why she kept odd hours and disappeared at random.
"I'd never do that to you, babe. I can't tell you what's going on yet, but I will. Okay?"
The sad glint in violet orbs tore her apart and she had to clench her hands into fists to stop herself from blurting out something stupid. The day she shared that particular detail would be the day she came out to her girlfriends.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She wrapped her arms around the other girl. "Sorry if I'm gross. I just couldn't wait to see you."
Mandy's laugh was muffled. "Wanna take a shower together?"
"Read my mind."
The water was nice and hot when Clover stepped under the spray, but hotter still was the dark-haired teen who was making it incredibly difficult to fulfill the purpose of said shower. The blonde squirmed as talented fingers found her every weak point, reducing her to a pile of goo, and mewled when Mandy reached down, between her legs.
"Looks like you made a mess, babe."
"Don't tease me, you bitch."
Clover gripped dark hair, tugging, but Mandy was already kissing her way down a flat tummy.
...
A shrill, loud sound broke the morning calm, its staccato rhythm jarring in all the worst ways.
Clover blinked blearily and flailed for the off button on her alarm clock. It quieted before she could fall onto her ass fighting with it as she typically did in her morning dash and she sighed happily when a warm, nude body pressed into her back.
"Five more minutes..."
"You say that every morning." Mandy nibbled the shell of her ear. "Wake up."
"Four."
"If you're late again, Mr. Fitzgerald will kill you."
"Three."
"Your dad left already."
Suddenly, she was wide awake. "Do we have time to fool around?"
"Three minutes?" She didn't need to look at Mandy to know the girl was smiling.
With a playful growl, Clover rolled over and pinned Mandy to the bed, her hands finding purchase under the tank top the dark-haired girl had borrowed.
They were nearly late to their homerooms.
...
"Are you feeling okay, Clover?"
The blonde gave Sam a confused look. "Yeah. Why?"
"You were totally civil to Mandy even though she was being a raging c-u Next Tuesday..."
Oh. She hadn't thought anything of the exchange, but she supposed that was because of how awesome their relationship was going. Besides, Mandy's butt looked really cute in that mini skirt, so any braincells that could have come up with a scathing comment had died on sight.
Clover played it cool. "Was that her? I didn't even notice until it was too late; I usually hear her big mouth way before I even see her."
It was a weak lie at best because Mandy had been cackling with her lackies about something, the three of them managing to take up nearly the whole hallway, when a boy had tried to squeeze past. Clover, who had been at her locker, actually had time to close it just before Mandy's falling form pinned her against the neighboring one.
She had just barely been able to make out Caitlin and Dominique's bitchy comments over the sound of her own heartbeat as she righted Mandy and asked quietly if she was okay. After a quick glance at her horrible friends Mandy had made some equally bitchy comment about not touching her and how Clover had the nerve-!
The backwards glance she gave before she disappeared around the corner made the blonde feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"Uh huh..." Sam was staring, eyes narrowed, and Alex's smile was sympathetic.
Their surprise reaffirmed, more than ever, that she couldn't tell them about her and Mandy. Not yet.
...
The school day dragged by until, finally, the students were granted their freedom-at least for the weekend.
Clover bid Alex and Sam goodbye before getting into her convertible and making a beeline for Mandy's place. She actually managed to get there before the girl even pulled up and she took advantage of the moment to check her hair and pop a mint into her mouth.
Mandy arrived moments later and opened the garage so that Clover could pull in. There was enough room for three cars, but it was currently empty. Mandy's parents were constantly out of town on various trips for business and pleasure, and Phoebe was off to college so they had the whole place to themselves on the weekends.
The girls headed inside and Clover nearly tripped over Diva, an adequately-named miniature poodle who demanded her attention with shrill yips. While she kneeled and rubbed the pooch's tummy, her hostess went to the fridge and started taking things out for dinner. Shockingly enough, Mandy was a great cook.
"You hungry, babe?"
For food? No. Clover straightened and went over to Mandy, bracing her hands on the counter on either side of the girl and kissing her soundly.
"Mm..."
The Compowder in the backpack she'd dropped in the entryway trilled a warning and Clover was quick to detangle herself from Mandy. Her guilty expression was all the raven-haired teen needed to figure out what was going on and she sighed. "Just go. I expect to see you back here tonight."
"Of course." She kissed Mandy, lingering longer than she probably should have, given her impending abduction, and hurried outside.
WOOHP-blocked again.
One quick, terrifying slide through utter darkness later and Clover found herself in Jerry's office.
She quickly righted herself, but didn't say anything when she realized her cry of panic hadn't been echoed by two other girls as it usually was. Sure enough, when she looked around she saw that she was alone on the plush loveseat across from the elder gentleman's desk.
"Clover, it's time we spoke about your conduct."
She knew this was coming. Was it even possible to be fired from a spy job? Or... Would they have to wipe her memory? Kill her to stop her from potentially blabbing?
"I don't want to die."
Jerry blinked. "Pardon?"
"You're going to say I can't be part of the team, aren't you? I won't tell anyone about WOOHP-I swear."
"I... What?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, no; nothing like that."
"Oh." She reigned in her morbid, dramatic thoughts. "Okay, what did you want to say to me?"
"I'm happy you're exploring your sexuality as the teenaged years are essential to any young lady's development."
Oh God, this was NOT a conversation she thought she'd ever be having with her technical boss. Could you die from mortification?
"Uh, yeah..."
"It's my duty to ensure that you agents are performing at your best and I think the girls would be hurt if they found out you were keeping this from them."
Her shoulders sagged. "I know... I just... I'm not ready yet."
Jerry frowned at that. "I trust you know what's best for you, but I will have to intervene if this becomes hazardous to your spy work. Samantha was very concerned about the incident the other day."
Damnit, Sam. "It won't."
He cleared his throat. "I'd like to think you girls can talk to me if you need to."
"I know." When she hugged him, the man tensed before petting her awkwardly on the head. "Thanks, Jer."
"Yes, of course. Ahem. You're dismissed."
"I'm so looking forward to the weekend. It's been forever since we've hung out."
Partially because she'd been spending any moment she could with Mandy, partially because their schedules clashed. Even the looming threat of the exam that 2pm couldn't squash her excitement.
"The usual place?"
"Hell yeah. I want French tips and a facial."
"Trust me, you'll need a whole lot more than that to fix that mess," a new voice said.
Clover's eyes narrowed, but she didn't turn to face the black-haired menace. "Do you girls hear something?"
"Cute. What are you, five?"
Game on. She whirled and came face to beautiful face with Mandy. Full lips glistened with a fresh coat of gloss and she so wanted to kiss them.
"No, dear, a five year old wouldn't have curves like this. You wouldn't understand."
A perfectly plucked eyebrow rose. "Who are you kidding, Clover? If it wasn't for the invention of the push-up bra, people would mistake you for a little Dutch boy."
"Girls, please," Sam groaned. "Grow up."
"Stay out of this, Sam."
Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let's get out of here, Alex."
"Coming."
Their departure went most unnoticed by the squabbling teens.
"Ooh. Big Bad Clover is putting her foot down."
"Speaking of which, where are your hench-morons?"
"We're not the ones joined at the hip."
Clover blinked, the actual bitterness in that quip catching her off guard.
"Ba- Mandy-"
"Move out of the way." The shove was a little more forceful than it needed to be. "I'm not going to be late to class because of you."
The blonde would have given chase, but the bell rang. She stood in the hallway, staring dumbly in the direction Mandy had gone and not seeing the other students who were also hustling to their classes.
"Crap..."
...
The problem with living in a small town was that you were always running into people you knew.
Sam and Alex seemed convinced that they'd have to pick another nail salon, but this was Clover's favourite, damnit. Besides, the fact that Mandy was sitting in Clover's usual spot wasn't even the problem. So long as Tweedledee and Tweedledum were present they had to act out-because that was what was expected of them.
Before they could start their usual routine, she said loudly, "Can we all agree to have a nice mani-pedi day without all the drama?"
Unable to think for themselves, Caitlin and Dominique looked to Mandy for guidance. Violet orbs glinted with amusement and the corner of her mouth twitched, but she disguised the reaction with a scoff as she turned her nose up. "Fine. Whatever."
The tense silence that followed was interrupted by the muted clicks of cellphone keyboard feedback as all six teens busied themselves with their phones. There were three chairs on either side of the room-they we're literally divided down the middle. The salon employees set to work and Clover closed her eyes, trying her best to relax despite the obvious tension.
"Oh, look at this: there's going concert downtown next week. We should get tickets."
"Who's performing?" Clover asked. Alex relinquished her phone so that the blonde could see the lineup. She had a hard time focusing, hyper aware that a violet gaze was trained on her. "Sounds like fun. I'm down."
"Let's go to the mall next, Mandy. I want to get new shoes for the party."
'Party?' Mandy hadn't told her about any party... She wasted no time opening her messaging app.
Me (3:08pm): Wat r they talking about?
She didn't expect to be invited, of course, but the fact that she didn't know Mandy was hosting one bothered her. All sorts of crazy things went down at parties...
Unknown (3:11pm): "Cool kids" party
Me (3:11pm): So it's co-ed
Unknown (3:11pm) Yes.
Clover stole a glance at Mandy and her expression answered her next question, but she still asked it anyway.
Me (3:12pm): ...and alcohol?
She knew how Clover felt about her drinking, much less boys and drinking. The blonde has seen too many television dramas where a pretty girl was taken advantage of because she wasn't one hundred percent in control of herself.
Unknown (3:15pm): Sry babe. U kno how they r.
Me (3:15pm): Wow.
Clover put her phone down and refused to look at it even though it buzzed several times after, turning her attention to the woman who was drying off her feet. "Can I get French tips, please?"
"Of course."
She didn't look up even when she heard Mandy and her friends leave.
Unknown (3:15pm): Sry babe. Don't b mad...
Unknown (3:17pm): Don't ignore me
Unknown (3:24pm): babe
Unknown (3:38pm): Clover pls...
Me (4:08pm): We'll talk l8er.
...
"Any time now, Alex!"
Clover fired her grappling hook, cleverly disguised as a hairdryer, and it hit the guy who was advancing on her square in the chest. He crumpled with a cry, but three more guys filed in to replace him. The blonde swore, whipping her head around to seek an exit. The hook was literally the only gadget she had been able to save from falling off the side of the roof and it looked like she'd be joining the rest of her arsenal soon.
"Sam? Anybody?!"
Damnit. Maybe her Compowder wasn't working. The blonde took off at a run, flinging herself from the rooftop and managing to catch herself on the lip of the next one.
"Oof." Movies made rooftop fights/chases seem so fast and furious when in fact they were painful and exhausting. She hauled herself up, clutching her rib, and broke into a sprint.
Worst came to worst, she was willing and able to fight. In fact...
Clover came to a stop, whirling to face her attackers. They all looked like ninjas for some reason, complete with swords and all that jazz. She was outnumbered, but then that was the normal heroine thing.
"Who wants some?"
The first person to come at her got snap-kicked in the chest and Clover used her foothold to flip backwards and avoid the swipe of a katana. She had to duck to avoid simultaneous slashes and they met with the grating screech of steel on steel. An uppercut disarmed the man on the right and she picked up the sword in time to parry another blow from the man on the left, her muscles straining.
"You picked the wrong day, dickhead."
She smashed her head into his and he released a surprised cry as he staggered backwards. Stupid douchebags. Stupid spy work interfering with her personal life. Stupid Caitlin and Dominique driving Mandy down the path to bitch-dom.
Stupid, stupid, stupid-!
"Clover, it's me!" Sam deflected her kick with crossed wrists, dropping into a crouch a moment later and kicking the blonde's feet from under her.
She landed on her ass with a grunt, the wind knocked out of her. Or perhaps she'd already been breathing this hard? The exertion of kicking the asses of a dozen men caught up to her just then and she collapsed onto her back.
"Ugh."
Sam's face appeared upside down above hers, red locks tickling her nose, and she smiled sheepishly. "Guess I got carried away."
"Hm." Sam helped her to her feet and the two squinted upwards as the propellers of a helicopter stirred up wind and dust.
Alex came sliding out of it on her grappling hook. "Are you girls okay?"
"Ready to go home."
"Holy crap, Clover, I thought that outfit was adorable... until I saw it on you."
The blonde sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. "You wish you looked half as good, Mandy."
"Screw you."
"You wish."
"As if?"
They were close—almost touching. Clover had to remind herself not to close that gap.
"Ew, are you a lesbo, Clover?"
"Figures with that hairstyle. I bet her and that little chubby girl, Alex, are all over each other."
Dominique and Caitlin tittered and Clover scowled. That struck a nerve. Alex was sensitive about her weight, even though her full figure totally suited her. Before the blonde could go off on Dominique, Mandy rounded on them both.
"Okay, what the actual fuck. Since when is it wrong to be gay? Do you even realize how ignorant and bigoted you sound?"
"Um..."
"Not cool, Dom. Not cool. I don't hang out with those kinds of people so either get your shit together or get out of my sight." Mandy stormed off, leaving her confused peons to gather what little wits they had and scurry after her.
Clover smiled, her heart beating fast as she leaned back against her locker. That had been very brave of Mandy. There would be talk later because this was exactly the kind of thing that got the rumour mill spinning, but she had stood up for her girlfriend nonetheless. Maybe someday they'd both be ready to come clean about their relationship.
Someday soon.
—Fin—
What happens at the party? Do Clover and Mandy ever come out? Find out next time and in a more m-rated setting! As always, let me know what you think in the box below~