The blonde slowly drummed her fingers on the metal table, her head propped up in her other hand as she leaned on her elbow. In front of her sat a food tray that held the lunch her friend had bought her, a now half-eaten sandwich, an empty bag of chips, and a nearly finished bottle of orange juice. The girl, Heather; wore a white, zip-up vest that looked a bit like a winter jacket without sleeves over an equally sleeveless orange t-shirt, itself sporting a collar similar to what one might expect on a turtleneck sweater, but generally not a t-shirt. Further down her body she wore an olive-colored skirt that, while not dangerously short, still only reached roughly the midpoint of her thighs, leaving her pale legs exposed to the cool, air-conditioned mall air, though only down to the bottoms of her knees, which was about where the brown leather boots she wore reached. "Pfft..." She exhaled a slow, lazy gust of air in boredom, blowing a lock of her dark-ish blonde hair out from in front of her right eye.
"Something wrong?" The redhead, who sat across from her friend Heather, slowly glanced over at her with a bored expression, her eyes half-lidded as she absently chewed on the straw of her drink, which, judging by the loud, hollow sucking sound she occasionally made with it; was by now little more than melting ice. The pink-eyed girl had her long, fiery-red hair done up in a ponytail and wore a lime-green t-shirt, snugly-fitting black jeans, and a pair of black and gray sneakers that she'd bought that very afternoon, the new soles of the shoes making a squeaking sound whenever she walked on the mall's tile floor, or now, as she bounced her right foot up and down on the tips of its toes with impatience.
"Hauh..." Heather yawned, covering her mouth with the hand she used to cup her chin. "Ah… Just… This conversation we're having is so exhilarating! I'm not sure how much longer I can bear to keep it going!" The blonde shot her friend a far too happy smile, which, given her usually calm, somewhat aloof demeanor; was about equal to the girl advertising her sarcasm with a brightly lit neon sign. "No offense Vicki, but being the fourth wheel to your third? Not exactly how I envisioned spending my Friday afternoon. I mean, I appreciate you buying me lunch and everything, but..."
"But hanging out at the mall with me is really cutting into your busy schedule? Is that it?" Vicki questioned in an equally sarcastic tone of voice, knowing that if she hadn't offered to give her best friend a ride to the mall, Heather more than likely would've stayed in bed all day, since she didn't have to work this particular Friday. "Or is this about that dream you had where you were trapped in the mall with a bunch of weird monsters?"
"Th-That was one time! And a while ago!" The flustered blonde pointed a finger at her red-haired friend defensively. "Knew I shouldn't have had ice cream before bed… Or told you about that dream..." She quickly snatched up her bottle of orange juice and gulped down the rest of it, before re-capping the bottle and returning it to her tray. "Anyway, it's not about any of that, or cutting into my schedule, it's just… Boring. I didn't exactly need to go shopping, and all we've done so far is pick out a new pair of sneakers for you and get lunch… Have you even heard from those two, yet?" Heather nodded at her friend's phone, which sat on the table just to the right of her drink.
'Those two' of course, referred to the missing pair of passengers that had been in Vicki's car during the drive up to the mall. One of them, Heather knew fairly well, as it was the same boy whose parents had essentially bought Vicki her sports car with the money they paid her to babysit their son, a one Timmy Turner. She had first met the brunet, who was now a few months into his fifteenth year of age, when she was sixteen, the same age her fiery-haired companion had been, at the time. Vicki had brought him along to her house due to a 'scheduling conflict' as she had put it. She and Heather had planned to hang out that day, but Timmy's parents called last minute and asked Vicki to babysit the prominently buck-toothed boy.
Not being one to turn down easy money, yet also not being the type to flake on her best friend, Vicki compromised and brought the ten year old along with her, without bothering to ask Heather if it was okay. The blonde had been, admittedly, caught a bit off guard by the small, somewhat shy brunet clad in a pink baseball cap, matching t-shirt, blue jeans and similarly colored sneakers standing on her doorstep and partially hidden behind Vicki's right leg, but the awkward, shy smile he shot her in response to her own rather awkward wave had to have been one of the most adorable sights she'd ever seen, especially due to his being partially hidden behind Vicki. From there they became fast friends, and she soon found herself asking Vicki to bring her 'Twerp' over a lot more often, while Vicki revealed to her in turn that Timmy would ask(and sometimes even plead) to go over Heather's house.
For a time, however; she noticed that Timmy tended to act nervous around her, though not necessarily toward her. She'd catch him looking over at Vicki on multiple occasions as though something was bothering him that he couldn't quite come out and say, or if there was a decision that needed to be made on where they'd go to eat, for example, he'd look to Vicki without saying anything, almost like he was silently asking for her permission to voice his own opinion on what they should do, or where they should go. Eventually, it came to light that her best friend wasn't entirely honest with her, though she supposed she never really asked, either.
Vicki, the girl she first met in high school and was close friends with, and Vicki, the Babysitter, were two wildly different people, and when Heather finally got Timmy alone long enough for him to tell her how the redhead actually was, she wasn't exactly thrilled by what she was told. There wasn't a doubt in the blonde's mind that Timmy was a sweet, well-behaved(for the most part) kid, and he most certainly didn't deserve to be treated the way he told her he was. At first, some of the things Timmy told her Vicki made him do just seemed so outlandish that they sounded absolutely ridiculous, but even though the redhead was her best friend, there was something about the ten year old's tone that just told her he was telling the truth.
Naturally, the next time she and Vicki were alone, she made sure to give her fellow sixteen year old an earful and a half. The blonde adored the little buck-toothed boy her friend babysat, and even saw him a bit like the younger brother she never knew she wanted, and what followed that earful was easily the worst fight the two teens had ever had. Vicki, for her part, never once lied or tried to deny what she put Timmy through, and her aloof, nonchalant attitude actually seriously bothered Heather. This was her friend, supposedly. The same friend who would likely drive her around town aimlessly if she asked, and would cover the cost of the rare shopping sprees they went on without a care in the world. How on Earth could she be such a witch to someone as sweet and innocent as Timmy?
Needless to say, her friend's uncaring attitude only encouraged Heather to make the redhead see the error of her ways, and that very same insistence nearly cost them their friendship, with Vicki storming out of the blonde's house that very same afternoon that she confronted her. She slammed the door behind her, sped off in her car, and didn't talk to her for just over a week. No texts, no calls, not one word was spoken between them… That is, until Vicki showed up on her doorstep the following Saturday with Timmy in tow. Both girls offered the other little more than a glare, before the brunet took the initiative and gave his babysitter's right thigh a quick, gentle jab with his elbow, prompting the redhead to apologize to Heather on the spot, and causing the blonde herself to wonder if she was still asleep, and merely having a very strange dream.
Shortly after she let the redhead and her charge in, Heather found that her day was only headed in an even stranger direction from there, as although Timmy still acted a bit nervous around Vicki, the tension the blonde had felt in the air between them was bizarrely absent. Vicki, for her part; still maintained a somewhat distant attitude toward the ten year old, but she'd occasionally joke around with him, or playfully tease him, rather than treat him as though he was barely there at all.
Meanwhile, Timmy had at some point become more willing to sit close to the redhead, and would rarely even fire back at her with a joke or little teasing remark of his own, though he'd still sometimes hesitate out of what Heather assumed was some small underlying fear of reprisal.
With a bit of prodding toward both Timmy and Vicki, Heather at last found out that, during the week where she and Vicky hadn't talked, Timmy had 'rescued' the redhead's younger sister, Tootie; from one of the nastier bullies that plagued their school. To be fair, it was Vicki who had scared this 'Francis' off, but Tootie assured her older sister that Timmy did indeed make an honest effort in getting her away from Francis, and it had only been thanks to the brunet's timely intervention that she'd been able to escape at all.
That, according to Vicki, had been what finally changed her mind about Timmy, though she admitted, much to her chagrin; that the scolding Heather had given her did make her take pause and seriously consider that yes, maybe she was wrong to treat the boy the way she did. He was willing to take a beating in place of Tootie, and in her book, that meant a lot. Enough that she resolved to try and start over with the boy she now affectionately referred to as 'the Twerp'.
Back to the present, however; Heather found her thoughts wandering to the fourth member of their little impromptu posse: a girl that Timmy apparently went to school with whom she'd only just met today. She appeared to be roughly Timmy's age, if maybe a few months older, and possessed vaguely Eastern features, along with a head of long, flowing black hair that nearly reached the small of her back, while the outfit she wore consisted of a snug, pink, designer turtleneck sweater, a pair of bright white jeans, and expensive-looking, girly leather boots with heels, easily putting Heather's plain brown ones with a single belt on each calf to shame.
They'd picked her up last, right after Timmy; in one of the wealthier suburbs of Dimmsdale, and while she seemed friendly enough to Heather, the blonde could practically feel the disdain radiating off of Vicki during the whole car ride up to the mall, and seeing as how it was just the two of them, the blue-eyed girl figured now was probably the best time to probe her friend for information on this girl that Timmy was very clearly enamored with.
"No." Vicki at last replied, flicking the corner of her cell phone and making it spin in place on the table. "The Princess is probably dragging Timmy all over the mall just so she can have him buy her stuff that she can afford no problem… Bet she just likes the feeling of someone paying attention to her and bending over backwards at her every whim..."
"Careful. All that envy's turning you green, Vicki." Heather replied teasingly, rolling her eyes at her friend's venomous tone.
"I am not jealous." The redhead responded adamantly, giving the blonde her full attention. "I just don't like to see the Twerp wasting his time and fawning over some dumb girl who's so obviously desperate for attention that she'd probably go crazy if the rest of the world ignored her for longer than thirty seconds!"
"Oh… Okay, you're just overprotective~!" Heather grinned knowingly, slightly flashing her teeth at the pink-eyed girl across from her. "And here I was thinking you just wanted your Twerp all to yourself!"
"As I'm his designated legal guardian he is technically my property, yes, but he's free to date whoever he wants! ...So long as they're not using him, that's all." She mumbled the last part out as she began to chew on the end of her straw again.
"You ever think maybe Timmy likes being used? I mean, I don't like the idea much myself, but it is his choice, isn't it? He's bound to wake up and realize what's going on eventually, right?" The blonde slid her tray over to the edge of the table, giving herself a bit more space.
"Heather, he's been following this girl around like a lost puppy for almost six years. The Twerp's not dumb, but he's definitely naive." Vicki, finally tired of the tiny gulps of water her cup provided, placed it on her friend's tray, then slid both arms up onto the table, standing them on her elbows as she brought her hands together and interlaced her fingers in front of her mouth in a contemplative manner, her brow furrowed in thought.
"That long…? Jeez, I hope he's gotten something out of the deal by now..." Heather frowned and shook her head as she slouched in her seat, tapping her lower lip with her index finger. "How do you, like, know anyway? Are you so sure they haven't found a secluded corner of the mall to make out in? Or even a dressing room in one of the stores? Teenagers tend to be pretty sneaky, Vicki. We had no problem giving Mister Watson the slip during all those gym classes in high school, so…?"
'Well for one, Timmy's not exactly shy about sharing when it comes to Trixie. He was coming home from school, frustrated, for three years before he one day bursts through the door, smiling from ear to ear and bragging about how Trixie finally gave him a shot and agreed to go out with him. I was skeptical, as I'm sure you can guess; but I kept my mouth shut and just congratulated him; y'know, trying to be supportive..." The red-haired twenty-one year old again flicked the corner of her phone, once more making it spin in place. "But then he asks me to drive up to her house and pick her up so the two of them can go on a date to see a movie together, and I agree because… I mean, I didn't really have anything else going on, and since he was only thirteen, I still needed to keep an eye on him… Plus it gave me a chance to actually meet this girl he's always going on and on about, so we drive up there, she comes waltzing out of this huge mansion and hops into the backseat with this big dumb smile, and the Twerp's got an even bigger smile on his face as he's practically shaking with excitement next to me..." Vicki trailed off, rolling her eyes at the memory. "I almost fell for her act, except Tootie had already been telling me for a while that this girl was just a hussy-her words, not mine-and just… Everything about her gave me a bad feeling. The way she carried herself, her weirdly too-happy smile, like it was forced or something, and just-... Just the fact that this girl had suddenly agreed to go out with Timmy on a whim after three years of turning him down; it just didn't sit right with me." The redhead took a moment to catch her breath as she finished, then awaited a response from the blonde across from her.
"So… You don't like Trixie… Because she gives you a bad feeling?" Heather questioned in an incredulous tone, tilting her head ever so slightly to the right. "Oh, and because Toots doesn't like her, either." She gave her lower lip a single tap, then continued. "Well Detective Valentine, I'm relatively certain 'bad feelings' don't hold up too well in court, so unless you've got more-"
"I was getting to it, Smartass." Vicki narrowed her eyes at the girl across from her, now sporting a sly, amused grin. "Look, you and I both know Timmy's not the type to lie, and he'll tell me just about anything if I ask him, probably'd tell you anything too, so explain to me why he's still never kissed this girl; after almost three years of 'dating'." The twenty-one year old raised her hands, forming air quotes with her fingers. "Tell me why she shrugs his arm off when he tries to put it around her shoulders. Tell me why he's spending his entire allowance on this girl, and not a dime for anything he wants!"
"Okay, okay, I get it, she's using him for crap she can probably afford no problem, judging by that estate she calls her house; but again, if he's cool with it, what's it matter to you? Is Timmy not free to make his own choices? Learn from the consequences of his own mistakes?" Heather attempted to shrug indifferently, but couldn't deny the pang of guilt she felt as the words left her mouth. "It sucks that someone like him is too naive to realize he's being played, but… What can she do? What can either of us do?" She pouted as the thought crossed her mind, realizing the seemingly nice girl that they'd picked up apparently just had a very convincing facade.
"Ugh…! He's free to do whatever he wants, I just-!" Vicki cut herself off, noticing that her voice was rising right alongside her frustration. "...I've known the kid for almost eight years, and you've known him for six! I know you practically adore the Twerp, and I-..." She pinched the bridge of her nose and let a huff of air out through her nostrils. "I just don't want him to waste his teen years chasing someone who doesn't give a shit about him, that's all." The redhead trailed off quietly, breaking eye contact with her longtime friend.
"...Hah… Well you know you're not alone there..." The blonde sighed out, reaching into her vest's left breast pocket to take out her own phone and check the time, which it indicated as ten past seven. "But I saw how he was in the car with her, and you've known how he feels about this girl for years now. Neither of us can forbid him from seeing her, and I seriously doubt his parents even know he's dating someone, or would care if they found out, judging by what little you've told me about them..." The girl rubbed her bare upper arms with her hands, the air-conditioned mall making her feel a little chilly as goosebumps broke out across her skin. "I should've put some pants on today..."
"Sleeves probably would've been good too." Vicki chuckled quietly in response, the corners of her lips twitching up to form the slightest of grins.
"Yeah, well… The temperature's still well above ninety outside, so my clothes are appropriate for any non-mall excursions." The blue-eyed girl took a moment to slip her phone back into her vest pocket, only to look up at her red-haired friend and notice that Vicki now had her left eyebrow quirked up, as if intrigued by something.
"Hm… Actually, that's not a bad idea…!" The redhead mused to herself, again interlacing her fingers together in front of her mouth to hide the evil grin that had formed.
"Oh joy… I know that look anywhere, V." Heather rolled her eyes as a mildly uneasy feeling came over her. "That's that, 'we should sneak into the gymnasium's pool after school hours so we have it all to ourselves' look." The blonde recalled the time Vicki had showed up at her house in the middle of the night with a truly massive key ring that she'd more than likely pilfered from the janitor's office. She couldn't deny that it had been fun, and breaking the rules with her best friend was always infinitely more exciting than when she did it alone, but the evil glint she noticed in the redhead's eye suggested something truly naughty was forming in her mind, and Heather already knew she was going to be involved somehow.
"For the record, I recall you saying that that night was one of the funnest ones you'd ever had."
"For the record, we almost got caught by school security and my clothes were ruined from all the chlorine." The blonde shot back sternly, earning her a dismissive hand wave from Vicki.
"So were mine, big deal. You and I both know it was totally worth it, and this little idea of mine will be too!" The twenty-one year old remarked in an almost giddy tone of voice. "First things first though, we need to locate the two love birds, I wanna do a bit of recon before I settle on something concrete."
"Okay..." Heather replied hesitantly, realizing the redhead intended to involve her in a plan that she not only wasn't going to tell her about for now, but the girl hadn't even yet thought of the plan in its entirety! "So why not give them a text and tell them to meet us somewhere? It's getting kinda late now, anyway..."
Meanwhile…
"What about this one?" The dark-haired girl asked as she stared down at the sweater she wore, this one being a light shade of lavender, but very similar to the one she'd come to the mall in.
"Looks great!" The teen fifteen year old beamed at his girlfriend as he sat on a small ottoman in front of her, several shopping bags full of clothes sitting on either side of him. Honestly the sweater was no different than the last fifteen or so she tried on, save for the color, but he'd told her the same thing every time, as he was happy to just be around the girl, seeing her try on all sorts of clothes and outfits was just a bonus, not to mention some very pleasant eye candy.
"Aw, c'mon! You've said the same thing about nearly everything I've tried on! Heehee!" Trixie giggled girlishly, her cheeks sporting the slightest tinge of pink. "Do you actually think I look good in everything, or are you just telling me what I want to hear?"
"No, I'm being honest! You really do look good in everything!" Timmy replied in a similarly giggly tone, still a bit unused to the nuances of flirting.
"Well then I guess I know what I'm getting, huh?" She smiled and winked, then spun around and disappeared back into the dressing stall behind her. "You've got this covered, right, Babe?"
Almost instinctively, Timmy took out his wallet, now considerably thinner and lighter than it had been when he left his house earlier that day. "Er… Y-Yeah! Shouldn't be a problem!" "So long as we don't shop anywhere else..." The brunet thought to himself, hoping he wouldn't have to dip into his bank account, as his walking around money was nearly spent.
"Great! Thanks, Timmy!" Trixie shot the buck-toothed teen a wide smile as she came back out of the dressing stall, once more wearing her original pink turtleneck.
"Ehehe… N-No problem..." The brunet felt his cheeks heat up at the sound of his name. For the longest time, Trixie had seemed to have some kind of mental block when it came to his actual name, and she usually called him 'Tommy', or, after they began dating; affectionate little names like 'Babe' or 'Boo', occasionally even 'Pumpkin', though she oddly never did it again after Veronica heard her say it, which puzzled the teen, though not enough to think on it much afterwards.
That said, within the last year or so she'd finally managed to start calling him by name, and there was something so sweet and pleasant about the way his name sounded on her lips that his heart seemed to skip a beat whenever he heard her say it. He immensely enjoyed spending time with Trixie, and after having been shot down for so long, he'd felt like he was on cloud nine when she at last gave him a chance.
Picking up the various, brightly colored shopping bags, Timmy followed the girl through the store and over to the register, then carefully placed his cargo down to fish out his wallet and pay for Trixie's clothes, leaving him with little more than a five dollar bill and some pocket change.
With that, the two left, yet another extra bag tucked under the brunet's arm as he tried to keep pace with his girlfriend, who strode a few feet in front of him. "Hah… What… What do you even do with all these clothes anyway, Trixie? You almost always wear your older stuff, so…?" Timmy panted from the combined effort of carrying all of the girl's bags and trying to keep pace with and walk alongside her, though every time he managed to come up on her left, she sped up a little, causing him to trail a few feet behind her.
"Hm? I've worn plenty of the stuff you've gotten me, Timmy. You probably just didn't realize it when I did." Trixie shrugged as she took out her phone and began rapidly typing with it. "Besides, a lot of the stuff I get is seasonal. I'm not gonna wear a sweater or coat in the middle of June, and I'm definitely not wearing a swimsuit or short skirt in the middle of December. Sometimes I let Veronica have some stuff too, since we're both the same size in just about everything."
"Oh really? I never thought about buying clothes out of the season they're meant for… That's not a bad idea!" Timmy smiled at his girlfriend's wisdom, while making a mental note to pay attention to what Veronica wore, and if it matched any of the things he bought Trixie.
"Teehee! Smart and beautiful; you got yourself quite a catch, huh?" Trixie looked over her shoulder, winking at Timmy and shooting him a small, cute smile.
"Hehehe! Yeah I did..." The teen blushed again, quietly giggling to himself as he followed after his girlfriend. "So where do you wanna go next? Could… Stop by the food court, get something to eat?" "And give me a chance to rest?" He mentally hoped, starting to feel sore from carrying Trixie's purchases all over the mall. "Or… There's an arcade a little ways up ahead? Might run some of our friends-"
Vrrr!
The brunet cut himself off and fell silent as he felt his phone vibrate in his right pocket. "Ah, hold on a sec, Trixie! I think Vicki's texting me..." Setting the various shopping bags he was carrying down on the floor at his sides, Timmy took out his phone and looked at the screen, which read: 'Food Court, time to go.'
"Vicki?" Trixie spun around on her heel and strode over to Timmy, stopping just a foot or so in front of him with a quizzical look on her face.
"Yeah… Y'know, Vicki? The girl who drove us here? Red hair, pink eyes? My babysitter, Vicki." He tried to briefly describe the older girl to his girlfriend, wondering if she was perhaps just bad at remembering names, and had a better memory when it came to faces and physical descriptions.
"Oh! I just assumed she was your driver or something. Her name's Vicki? Huh… So what's she want, anyway?" The dark-haired girl dipped into a somewhat disinterested tone of voice as she slowly leaned toward Timmy to try to get a peek at his phone.
"Agh… She says it's time for us to go..." The teen responded in a voice heavy with disappointment, though deep down, he couldn't deny the relief he felt at receiving Vicki's text, considering he'd spent nearly all of his money on Trixie at this point.
"Ugh, really?" She crossed her arms and lightly stamped her foot in a mildly petulant manner. "We haven't even been here that long!" Trixie cast her gaze at the massive skylight that ran the length of the mall, only just now noticing the orange glow of twilight in the sky brought on by the setting of the sun.
"No, but… I mean, there's always tomorrow, right? And you did get a lot of shopping done today..." Timmy gestured at the shopping bags to his left and right.
"Hm… I guess so… But I already made plans to hang out with Veronica and a few of our friends tomorrow, and we were probably just gonna do stuff at her house..." Trixie rolled her eyes in annoyance, before refocusing her gaze on Timmy, the look she gave him making him feel like she was silently blaming him for Vicki cutting their time together short.
"Er… Well, we can still spend time together, right?" The blue-eyed boy questioned in a hopeful tone. "I can come over Veronica's and-"
"Oh, I wish, Babe, but Veronica and I are just kind of having a… Like a girl's night, know what I mean? We're probably just gonna talk about boys, do our nails, compare gifts we get from all the boys at school… That sort of thing. It just doesn't really sound like your scene, Timmy." Trixie shook her head back and forth, shooting Timmy an apologetic look. "Besides, would you really wanna hang out with a bunch of girls while we talk about gossip and paint each others' nails?"
"Well, when you put it that way… Kinda." Timmy's cheeks pinkened at the idea of being around Trixie and a bunch of her friends, many of whom were similarly easy on the eyes like her. Granted he wasn't interested in any of them like he was Trixie, but he was a curious, hormonal fifteen year old boy, so the fantasy was, at the least, intriguing.
"Oh, would you stop?! Heehee! It's just girls hanging out and talking like girls!" Trixie laughed in a cute, giggly manner. "You're not gonna learn some big conspiracy or secret if I bring you along!"
"No, not like the luxury couches and fountains of liquid candy that are in the girl's bathrooms…" Timmy narrowed his eyes in a mock-serious, playful way. "I'm onto you and your secrets, especially all that talk about cooties to try and scare us boys off."
The girl facepalmed to hide the wide grin spreading across her face, then shook her head as her body quaked with muffled giggles. "If it weren't for Veronica declaring tomorrow as a 'girls only' night, I'd take you along just to prove to them how ridiculous you are."
"You still could~… Just putting it out there..." Timmy smirked as he finished, quirking an eyebrow up at his longtime crush.
"...I'll try to convince her to make an exception for you, but no promises." Trixie winked at the buck-toothed boy, earning her a wide, excited smile of thanks in response.
"Awesome! You're smart, pretty, and cool!" The brunet beamed at his girlfriend, who shrugged in dramatic fashion.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Trixie asked haughtily as she turned toward the direction they'd been heading earlier, prompting Timmy to gather up her shopping bags and fall into step a few feet behind her. "So where did Vi- ...Your babysitter tell us to meet her, again?"
"The food court, right by where we first came in." Timmy relayed the information to Trixie, accepting the fact that due to her somewhat brisk pace and all the cargo he was carrying, he had little hope of walking alongside her, for now.
At the food court…
"Mm." Heather hummed quietly as she sat up and nodded at something behind Vicki, prompting the redhead to sit up straight herself and turn in place in her chair to look behind her; her Twerp and the girl she less-than-affectionately referred to as 'the Princess' coming into view.
"Jeez, she's treating him like a frickin' pack mule..." Vicki glared at the dark-haired girl, who didn't even seem to notice, as she was too busy looking at her phone to even watch where she was going, let alone notice someone practically glaring right through her. "A little over three hours, and she's got him carrying eight shopping bags. Willing to bet she didn't spend a dime, either."
"Alright, alright, calm down, Vicki." The blonde quietly chastised her friend. "You don't know for a fact that Trixie didn't buy anything herself, and besides that, Timmy might as well be in love with the girl; how do you think he's gonna react if you get pissed off and start throwing accusations around?" Heather still didn't know just what Vicki's plan was, but the redhead getting into an altercation with a high school student in the middle of the mall definitely wasn't part of it. "Hey, Shrimp!" Heather greeted the fifteen year old with a yell and a friendly wave. "You want some help carrying some of that before your arms fall off?" She pushed her seat away from the table and stood up.
Timmy let out a sigh of relief, his arms by now quite sore from carrying Trixie's purchases all over the mall. "Y-Yeah, if you don't mind, actually-"
"That's alright, Timmy's got it." Trixie suddenly interjected, making the twenty-one year old pause mid-step and turn her attention to her.
"Er… His arms are turning red from the blood pooling in them thanks to the straps from the shopping bags, and he can barely catch his breath…" Heather pointed out the male teen's obvious fatigue, her lips tugging downward into a slight frown as she looked at Trixie, then Timmy. "Really, I don't mind grabbing a couple bags to help him out…?" She glanced back in Vicki's direction as she heard a scoff escape the pink-eyed girl, then finally returned her attention to Timmy and took five of the bags he was carrying, taking a fair bit of the strain off his still somewhat small(for fifteen) body.
Trixie, only just now catching on to the fact that Timmy was indeed tired, caught herself, her expression immediately softening. "Oh, um… You didn't say anything, Timmy. I didn't realize you were having such a hard time, sorry..."
"Wha- H-Hey, no! I-I'm fine, just a little tired from walking all over the mall. It-It's no big deal anyway, I've lifted heavier stuff than this before, Trixie!" The brunet attempted to reassure his girlfriend, despite the fact that he was indeed tired, and immensely grateful for Heather's help.
"Oh, well if you're sure… I just feel bad for making you carry all that stuff by yourself… I wasn't thinking, I guess." The dark-haired girl remarked in a sad, apologetic tone, earning her varying degrees of sympathy from the three people around her.
Timmy was quick to try and reassure her that he was fine, and that she didn't need to feel bad, Heather reacted with a look of surprise, though it was mostly directed at Timmy and how gullible he was, while Vicki simply rolled her eyes in exasperation, muttering out an 'Oh get real' under her breath.
"Trixie, I'm fine, really." Timmy lifted the remaining bags up and over his head. "See? No sweat!"
"That's a relief, I don't know what I'd even do if you somehow got hurt on my account..." Trixie stepped a bit closer to the teen, giving his shoulder an affectionate little rub.
Heather was quick to notice this subtle display of affection, and turned to face her red-haired best friend, one eyebrow raised as she shot her a lopsided smirk.
Vicki met her friend's smirk with yet another glare as she loudly slid her chair away from the table, making the legs screech against the tiled floor. "Alright, let's get going. Heather's gotta work tomorrow-"
'No I don't-" The blonde began, only to quickly fall silent as Vicki shot her a wide-eyed look, silently asking her to play along. "Ah… No doubt this is the part where she wants me to come in… But for what, I wonder?" Heather mused to herself, before quickly backpedaling on her previous statement. "Er… Oh, that's right, I actually have to… Cover for someone tomorrow, morning shift, probably gonna hit the hay as soon as we get back…?" She punctuated her statement in a questioning tone, earning her a hesitant nod of approval from the redhead.
"Aw! You're busy too?!" Timmy exclaimed in disappointment, his blue eyes now cast up at Heather's to meet hers. "Trixie's hanging out with Veronica, you're working, Chester and AJ are still out camping with their families..."
"And you're stuck with me, Twerp." Vicki, having sidled up next to Heather, Timmy, and Trixie, roughly grabbed Timmy's cheek and pinched it, then gave it an upward tug, stretching it out and eliciting a cry of discomfort from her charge.
"Ah-! Ow! I-! I was getting to tha-a-at! I was-Ah! About to say, at least I still get to s-spend time with my f-favorite babysitter!" The brunet, despite the pain, managed to smile up at the older girl, who grinned down at him in return and released his cheek.
Vicki hummed out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. "Mhm… Good save, Twerp."
"Aow..." Timmy groaned as he brought his left arm up and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. "Watch the cheeks, Vicki… I've only got four of those..." He smirked as he continued to rub at his sore cheek, causing Vicki to roll her eyes at his little joke.
"Pfft, bet you would've liked it if I pinched your other cheeks, little perv..." The redhead settled her hands on her hips and shook her head back and forth. "Look at the bright side though, since I pinched your cheek so roughly, now you've got an excuse for your girlfriend to kiss it and make it better…!" The twenty-one year old's lips curled up into an evil grin, her eyes narrowed somewhat menacingly at Trixie.
"Wha- Me?" The dark-haired stammered out nervously, her lips forming a slight frown as her eyes widened at Vicki's suggestion. "I… Th-This isn't really the… The place for that, is it…?"
"For what?" Vicki shrugged in amusement, crossing her arms and curiously quirking an eyebrow up at the girl. "I'm not telling you two to make out in the middle of the mall or anything. In fact, I'm not telling you to do anything, merely suggesting." Noticing Trixie's growing discomfort, the redhead took the opportunity to press her further. "I mean, you two have been dating for what, three years now? Give or take a month, maybe?" She cast her gaze upward at the mall skylight, bringing her arms up behind her head and interlacing her fingers together. "A little thing like a kiss on the cheek, that shouldn't be too much of a big deal, right? Should be second nature, really; don't you think so, Heather?"
"Eh… I would… Think so? I guess?" The blonde responded hesitantly, caught between her loyalty to Vicki as her best friend, and the fact that she was putting Timmy's girlfriend on the spot. As was said before, she adored Timmy like a little brother, and she didn't really know Trixie enough to have much of an opinion on her. "It's-Uh… It's probably not really any of our business though… Maybe Timmy and Trixie aren't big on public displays of affection, y'know?"
"Y-Yeah! What Heather said!" Timmy suddenly cut in, stepping in somewhat between his girlfriend and his babysitter. "Trixie and I… Just don't like to flaunt that we're in a relationship, that's all!"
Upon hearing this, Vicki's smile dropped a little, causing her to hesitate for a moment as she looked back and forth between her charge and his 'girlfriend'. "Oh~… Well I guess that explains it then. And here I was thinking she was leading you on to take advantage of your generosity and all the attention you pay her… My mistake…!" The red-haired girl grinned down evilly at her charge, who merely stared up at her blankly, his babysitter's words taking a few seconds to sink in.
"A-Ah… So we should… Probably get going, right?" Heather interjected anxiously, realizing that, despite the fact that they were in a mall swarming with people, the air between her, Trixie, Vicki and Timmy had become uncomfortably tense, especially since her best friend had just unabashedly spoken her mind regarding Timmy's girlfriend. "Eheh… R-Right, Vicki?"
"Mm, yeah, guess we ought to head out." The redhead responded confidently, continuing to shoot her charge an evil grin for a few seconds as she watched the gears in his mind visibly begin to turn, before she finally turned away from the group and headed for the mall exit.
Heather was the first to begin to follow after her, and was quick to catch up with and walk alongside her friend. "Subtle, Vicki." The blonde remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I don't do subtle. Even if I did, the Twerp never would've gotten it anyway." The redhead spoke in a hushed tone, noticing out of the corner of her eye as she looked at Heather that Timmy and Trixie were now following several feet behind them, with her charge giving his 'girlfriend' a sympathetic look every few steps, but otherwise just looking forward as he walked, his gaze trained neither on her, nor Heather; he just looked ahead, his expression far-off and contemplative. "Besides, this is all part of the plan, trust me."
"...The plan that you not only have told me almost nothing about, but also haven't even fully thought up yet, right~..." The blue-eyed twenty-one year old shouldered the shopping bags on her left arm, freeing up her hand so she'd have an easier time with the exit doors the four of them were fast approaching.
"You don't remember? I told you I needed to do a little recon first, and I did. Ya notice the way Timmy clammed up when I mentioned she's just leading him on? He's been thinking it too!" The redhead tried to hide her excitement from the two teenagers behind her and Heather, but there was no hiding the smirk forming on her lips. "The first step to this plan is planting the seed of doubt, and I think I did a fine job, don't you?"
"Eh." The blonde brought her left hand up, palm facing down as she tilted it from side to side. "I would've waited until we dropped Trixie off at least, would've been hard enough to convince Timmy to dump her in the first place; now you probably just gave us more work..." She trailed off as Vicki took the lead and opened the first of two sets of doors, allowing Heather to step into the small vestibule; Timmy and Trixie following close behind.
With it being her turn, the blonde pushed the outer door open with her free hand, letting the two teenagers go ahead of her as she hung back to continue talking to her best friend. "Ahah! You said 'us'!" Vicki exclaimed in a subdued tone, her voice coming out as a rather loud whisper.
"Well, you already seem pretty dead-set on me being a part of this plan, and it's not like I'm gonna lie and say I'm not interested..." Heather moved away from the door she was holding open, and directly into Vicki's path. "But actually knowing where I come into this would be nice…?"
"Hm..." The redhead hummed in thought, blinking her eyes closed as she balled her right hand into a fist and settled it under her chin, her left arm holding up the elbow of her right. "I haven't quite put it all together yet, but… I'm gonna need you up early tomorrow, gonna pick you up from your house about… An hour and a half before I go pick up Timmy; think you can be ready for… Let's say, ten?"
"I don't see why not…" Heather shrugged, the corners of her mouth curling downward to form a bemused frown. "But why should it matter whose house we're at?"
"Part of the plan, you'll see!" Vicki smiled at her blonde friend, then reached forward and took the pair of shopping bags from her right hand before stepping around her and walking off toward her car. "So you're in?" She called over her shoulder, not quite looking nor bothering to stop.
"Yeah, guess so!" Heather called after her red-haired friend, quickening her pace to catch up with her. "Tomorrow's gonna be an interesting day..."
Meanwhile…
"Thanks." Timmy muttered under his breath as he stepped out into the uncomfortably warm southern California evening, the fingers of twilight slowly receding across the sky as the sun began to disappear below the horizon. To his right walked Trixie, for once slowly enough that he didn't need to put much effort in to keep up with her. The door behind him finally shut, and he soon heard two pairs of footsteps that seemed to lag behind him; Vicki and Heather, their voices too low for him to gauge what they were talking about. "So, this was… Fun, huh? You were able to get a lot of shopping done, and we… It was kinda like a date, right?"
"I guess." Came the terse reply from Trixie, her eyebrows titled downward and her brow furrowed with what could only be anger-or at the very least-annoyance.
"Ah… S-Sorry if Vicki… She can be… Like that, sometimes. I think she just… I dunno..." The brunet spoke in short sentences, many of them simply trailing off into silence as he struggled to come up with a reason behind why Vicki did what she did back at the food court. He knew he was partially to blame, as he'd made the mistake of telling his babysitter on numerous occasions about how Trixie rarely showed him any sort of affection, despite them being in a relationship. He'd even gone so far as to lie to the redhead about Trixie preferring to only be affectionate in private; the truth of the matter was, the dark-haired girl had still not yet once hugged him, kissed him, or done anything that he imagined most people did when they were dating. The little pat she'd given his shoulder had actually been the first physical gesture he'd ever gotten from the girl, and her touch had well and truly made his heart skip a beat. "But… If she didn't want to be my girlfriend, she would've dumped me by now, right?" The fifteen year old thought to himself, casting a sidelong glance at Trixie.
"Hmph, you could've told me she was mean… Where did that even come from, anyway? She's always been cool before, maybe a little quiet, but I never figured she had something against me..." The dark-haired girl walked with a bit of a stomp in her step, the heels of her boots clacking against the pavement of the mall parking lot. "I'll see if there's anyone else who can drive us around, maybe Hans, or-"
"That… Um… You know Vicki is still my babysitter, right? I can't-… I don't think she'd really be too cool with me getting a ride from someone who used to shoot me into the trash cans like a basketball, Trixie..." Timmy winced as the somewhat painful memory flashed to the front of his mind. The popular kids' bodyguard always seemed to be careful enough to keep from really hurting anyone Trixie and her friends didn't want around, but getting thrown across the cafeteria and into a trash bin certainly wasn't a painless experience. "I… I know that what Vicki said was kind of mean, but… You know she's not normally like that, so… You think maybe we could just call this an off-day for her and let it slide?"
"Hm..." Trixie frowned and crossed her arms as she walked, her mouth forming a thoughtful frown. "I suppose so… But you need to tell your driver, babysitter, whatever she is, to not be so rude and claim that I'm using you. You said yourself you don't mind buying things for me, and we're dating, how can I possibly be using you?"
"Th-That's what I'm saying! She just- She doesn't know what she's talking about, I'll make sure to set things straight, Trixie. Count on it!" Timmy nodded happily and smiled at the dark-haired girl, earning him an equally happy smile in return.
"Great! Thanks, Timmy!" The two teens at last made it to Vicki's car, the trunk making a metallic popping noise as they did. "Ooh! I can't wait to show Veronica all the stuff my awesome boyfriend got me!"
"Hehehe! Hope she's not too jealous!" The brunet laughed lightly as he loaded the bags he was carrying into the trunk of his babysitter's car. Outwardly, he was smiling and happy, especially since Trixie didn't seem to be all that mad at him after all, but inwardly, he had a feeling his day alone with Vicki tomorrow was going to be less than pleasant...