Sixteen and Never Been Dissed
A Clique AU Fan Fiction Series
Chapter 1: The Clique
A/N: I've had this idea for a while and just recently decided to start writing it. There are some complete and utter changes and there are some not so shocking changes made that are quite subtle. It's not going to be one of those carbon copies of the series though, so expect some plot twists. After all, the girls are sixteen and the child's play is over now. Also, feel free to check out my profile for pictures of what the girls currently look like at sixteen.
"Massie, wipe that confused look off of your face right this instant. It's really rather simple. I explained to you months ago that your father's old friend Jay Lyons would be coming in tomorrow afternoon and his family. I'm more than certain that I made it absolutely aware how important it was that you were here to great them, as our daughter, as they have a daughter your age and are going to be moving in to live with us for a year, or at least until they can find a place of their own. So if that interferes with any plans that you had made with your friends, I honestly couldn't bring myself to care." Kendra Block informed her sixteen year old daughter, Massie Block.
Massie didn't respond, knowing that it would only anger her mother more. She merely narrowed her wide, amber colored eyes as she reached up to swipe a strand of dark chocolate brown hair away from her pretty, round, angelic face. She kept her pouty, full pink lips in a tight pout as she slowly brought her arms across her perky B-cups to keep them locked tightly across her chest.
As long as she kept on a brave face and didn't argue with her mother about the subject any further, she would be alright. Her punishment wouldn't be too severe, as long as she just kept silent until her mother was done. She would merely miss one day with her friends and then she could be on her merry way, as soon as her mandatory lunch with her father's free loading friends was over. If things weren't according the schedule, she would be able to meet the girls at Pinkberry for frozen yogurt after they had their spa appointments and continue the rest of their shopping trip with them.
All she needed to do was contain herself and her anger until she got to the safety of her bedroom and got her best friends on the line. It was safe to rant with them. It was allowed for her to be angry and complain about the unfair rules her mother had. But to do so in front of Kendra? That was only asking for trouble and Massie had learned better than to do that by the time she hit sixteen-well, she wasn't sixteen yet, but she would be soon enough. She was about to start her sophomore year of high school, after all. She was close enough to the legal age of driving.
"I really don't understand why I have to be here all day to greet them. They're dad's free loading friends, not mine," Massie said before she could realize how much attitude she had backing up those words. "I just mean...is it really fair of me to cancel my plans with Alicia, Dylan and Kristen in order to have lunch with people I don't even know? Would it be so horrible if I met them after our appointments?" Massie suggested, immediately changing her pose into that of the innocent daughter.
That was a skill she had mastered over the years. The perfect daughter. The perfect student. The perfect friend. The perfect everything. There wasn't a single thing about her that didn't scream out something about her perfection and she loved it. Especially when it was mixed with jealous looks from her peers. Massie was all about being better than the girl standing beside her. That was why she was the alpha, after all. Because she had what it took to make sure everybody realized that she was just a step ahead of everybody around her.
"Massie, I understand that you want to honor your commitments, and I would allow that if it wasn't for their daughter. If there was any way you could include her-"
"Mom!" Massie gasped in outrage. "We have appointments! They've been scheduled for weeks. I can't just call up the spa and request that they make room for another girl! That could ruin our entire schedule." Massie said as if her mother were a complete moron for not realizing just how severe an addition to their group might be.
Besides, it was the last day that Massie would have with her friends before school started back up again and she needed to catch up on the drama she'd missed while she had been in the Hamptons with her parents.
The girls never all took a vacation at the same time. Not only would that mean one of the girls might be stuck in Westchester all alone, but it implied that they would be too far away from the gossip and the drama that helped them to stay at the top.
So, the day after school ended, Alicia took off for Spain. About two weeks before she was to arrive back, Dylan took off for whatever new, exotic place her mother's talk show would be filming from for that month. Kristen would head off for soccer camp a week after Alicia's arrival home and a week before Dylan was to return. As soon as Dylan was back, Massie took off for the rest of the summer, returning about a week before school began again.
It wasn't flawless, but it was their system and it had been working since the girls were in fourth grade and had met one another. So, they really didn't see any problem with keeping it up each and every year.
"Then it's settled. You and Claire will get to know each other tomorrow and the next day you and your friends can get all caught up." Kendra said with her victory smile already locked into place. She placed a loving hand on her daughter's shoulder to show her that she was proud of how mature she was being before she turned around and left the kitchen.
"Ugh," Massie groaned as she slid from the stool she was position on and slid her phone out of her back pocket.
She was in desperate need of a four way phone call with her best friends. They would have something to say that would cheer her up. She was sure of it. After all, they weren't her loyal companions for no reason.
When Alicia Rivera's iPhone started blaring Like It's Her Birthday by Good Charlotte, she could resist dancing across her Princess Jasmine-inspired bedroom until she reached her bed where her phone was vibrating. She jumped onto the bed, twirling midair so that her long, tanned body landed on its back with her dark black hair sprawling out around her in a glossy, soft, shiny pillow. When she grabbed her phone, she could see her dark chocolate, doe-like eyes brighten at the name flashing across the screen with the beautiful picture of two girls who could almost be sisters in the background.
"Mass!" She said cheerfully as her best friend answered.
"Leesh! How ah-mazing was Spain? Wait, hold on-don't tell me yet. I'm going to get Dyl," Massie said.
Alicia giggled at her friend's multi-tasking as she squirmed her way further up her bed, positioning herself in an upright position against her multitude of throw pillows in deep shades of oranges with golds and rich browns mixed in. She rolled onto her side to release her canopy to frame her king sized, low to the ground, bed and smirked at the fact that there would be no interruptions. That was what the canopy meant. If her parents entered her room and the canopy was released, it meant she was busy and no to be intruded upon.
"Dylan!" Massie's voice startled Alicia as she greeted the third member of their clique. "Hang on, I'm going to get Kris-Leesh is already here," She instructed.
"Hey," Alicia said cheerfully as she scanned her room, re-checking her outfit for the first day of school while she had all three girls at her disposal, and with enough time to alter her outfit in any way that might be needed.
The outfit was cute-a pair of rich, chocolate brown silky shorts with a high waistband and an orange wrap cropped shirt, with that one-armed Roman style neckline that would show off her D-cups without bragging about their obvious presence. For shoes, she was opting for a pair of orange wrap-around-the-ankle flats, because she knew that by the first day her Spanish buzz would die and she would be over her orange, high-heeled open-toe boots.
"Kris!" Massie said breathlessly.
"Mass!" Alicia teased back in the same tone. It was a usual habit for the girls, as they all liked to tease Massie about how she always made four-way-phone-calls out to be some huge hassle that took more energy out of a person than a day-long shopping trip at the Westchester where they hit every single store.
And believe Alicia when she said that was exhausting. She and the girls had done that on a dare right before freshman year. Their closets had been stocked with brand new wardrobes and their legs had been throbbing with brand new muscles. Of course, they'd all lost a few pounds and gone down a size from the work-out, which made it all worth it.
"Everybody's here? What's going on?" Kristen asked and Alicia could hear the panic in her voice.
As often as the girls had phone calls like these, Kristen never got used to the fact that the reason was not because she was in trouble. She always assumed that she had done something horrible to deserve a public punishment when Massie arranged one of these calls.
"I can't go tomorrow," Massie complained bluntly.
"What?" Alicia gasped, shooting forward on her bed.
"Why not?" Dylan asked.
Everybody knew that Massie never got grounded. She never got punished. She, Alicia and Kristen might all be only children and Alicia and she might have the world's most lenient parents, but Massie never got reprimanded for anything that she did. She was merely told not to do it again and sent on her way.
For her to be told she couldn't go on the last shopping trip of the year with her friends when the plans had been made forever ago was a complete shock. There was no way her parents would ever try and stop her from it, no matter what she had done wrong.
"You're not suddenly poor now, right?" Alicia wondered, scrunching up her face in disgust at the mere idea of it.
If Massie's parents had lost their money, Massie would need to switch schools. There was no way they could continue to pay for OCD with the expensive tuition and her grades weren't high enough to get her a scholarship. That resulted in Massie being forced to attend public school and if anybody was more frightened of public school than Alicia, it was Massie.
"What? Gawd, no!" Massie laughed. "I needed that-thanks. Anyways, I can't go because my parents are forcing me into attending this stupid lunch with my dad's old friend from college and his free loading family. They're staying in our guest house for a year because they can't afford their own place. And their daughter is our age so I have to meet her." Massie said and Alicia was sure she was rolling her eyes.
"She's not in the clique, right? Because I thought we agreed after the Allie-Rose Singer incident that the Pretty Committee needed to remain a foursome forever," Dylan wondered, finally putting her own opinion into the conversation that had been Massie and Alicia centered for so long. As their phone calls usually were.
Massie and Alicia were the best friends. The alpha and the beta. They were like sisters and people often asked them if they were related when they were seen together. Kristen and Dylan had one another, the two gammas. The tom-boy girls in the group who were always up for a good time. They could communicate with a mere look and they had almost everything in common. Even when they fought, it was humorous to even themselves.
"Of course not! She's from Orland-ew," Massie gagged.
"Ew!" Alicia cringed.
"Tourist," Kristen muttered under her breath and the four girls burst out into an extreme fit of giggles.
"Do you want us to come over and endure the pain with you?" Dylan offered.
"Gawd no! You guys need to be at the mall getting your spa treatment and buying new clothes to make sure the hottest trends aren't taken by some B-listers or LBRs, got it?" Massie said.
Of course, Alicia had already known Massie would say that. That was why she hadn't suggested it herself.
"If anybody asks us about you, we'll say you're home sick," Alicia smiled.
"You're the best. Anyways, since I'm not going to see you tomorrow, I was thinking we could go over first day outfits now, and then if we have any changes to make we can handle it tomorrow and you guys can pick up whatever you need. Would you mind dropping off whatever I need?" Massie wondered.
"Of course not!" Alicia beamed.
"This is why I love you. Kris, what are you wearing?" Massie wondered cheerfully.
Dylan Marvil studied her completed first day of school ensemble.
With the help of her friends, she had opted for a black pleated mini skirt from Juicy Couture. The skirt was meant to show off her curvy figure while hiding the fact that she had (according to herself) large thighs. With the skirt she was wearing an emerald green fitted polo shirt, tucked into the waist of the skirt. She would be completing the ensemble with black Mary-Jane styled high heels.
While Dylan's friends were always telling her how gorgeous she was, with her thick, curly, fiery red mane of hair and her emerald green eyes that cut right through people, she disagreed. She found her skin to be too pasty and her body too big. She was the shortest out of her friends and easily the largest out of the group. They could all be models-Massie with her regal appearance, Kristen with her all-American beauty and Alicia with those exotic features-and then there was Dylan who was just a little too much of everything.
In order to stand out among her friends-because being Merri-Lee's daughter didn't do that for her already-she took on the persona of the class clown. She wasn't afraid to belch during class and she told dirty jokes that usually only guys wanted to laugh at openly. But the happy character she played at school was tucked away when she was alone with her friends and tucked even further away when the insecure girl was all by herself.
She was fat.
That was her opinion on herself. She was a size six. Alicia had curves that Kim Kardashin would have died for at her age and she was a perfect size 2. Kristen was made of all muscle and stood at five foot ten, one of the tallest girls in the grade. She was only a size 0. And then there was Massie who was perfect in every way. Standing at five foot eight, only an inch shorter than Alicia's five foot nine, she had features that made her look like a queen and a curvy body that always turned heads. And she was a perfect size 00 which always made her chest and butt look just a little bit bigger than they actually were.
Dylan wanted to hate her for that, but she couldn't.
Because it wasn't like Massie was just a twig because she had a high metabolism. She ate healthier than any other person Dylan had ever met and the will power she had was unbelievable. But she wasn't skinny because she constantly worked out either. Massie dedicated two hours each weekend to a work-out. She opted for healthier foods because they were better for her health, not her figure.
Massie was just that perfect type of girl that everybody always wanted to hate but couldn't.
And Dylan was the girl that everybody thought had all the confidence in the world, but she didn't. She lacked confidence more than Massie lacked an ounce of skin. More than Alicia lacked a training bra. More than Kristen lacked a chest.
So maybe none of her friends were perfect. Maybe Massie hated her eyes because she thought they were too big. Maybe Alicia wished her boobs were smaller and maybe Kristen needed a few more curves on the front of her body. And Maybe Dylan was fat. What did it matter? Despite the flaws they found in themselves, the rest of the school refused to notice them. The rest of the school preferred to call the four girls perfect and worship them.
And as long as Dylan was the only one who saw the flaws in herself, she was pretty sure she could live with it. After all, it wasn't like she was missing out on very much because she was a size six. She got invited to the best parties. She had the prettiest friends. She was picked first for everything. So, maybe she thought she was born with plenty of flaws, but the rest of the school called her flawless.
Kristen Gregory had a secret. She was not rich, as she tried to make her friends believe. She was lower middle class, and in any other society, she wouldn't be ashamed to admit that. But when she lived in Westchester and attended OCD, it was hard to be anything other than dirty, filthy rich. The kind where you were rolling in dough and could snap your fingers to get whatever you wanted whenever you wanted. And Kristen would admit, it would be nice to have that for once in her life. But her dad had lost his job and their money had gone into a bank account so they could survive until he got back on his feet.
That had been back when Kristen was in the third grade.
They still had not gotten back on their feet, but they had money. Just not enough to make it in Westchester the way most families did.
It was fine with Kristen, as long as nobody found out about her dirty little secret. As long as she got to stay in OCD and that meant following some very strict rules by her mother. Which she was able to live with, with the help of Massie, Alicia and Dylan. They didn't ask questions and they didn't try to figure out the weird ways she acted sometimes.
They just shared a knowing glance and mentally thanked god that their mother wasn't as strict as her mother was. Which was fine with her because it saved her from having to deal with awkward questions if her friends ever wanted to come over. If they ever wanted a ride. If she ever couldn't afford something.
Which would explain why, for the first day of school, she would be leaving the house in a pair of ancient Juicy Couture velveteen sweats in a bright shade of yellow with black stripes down the sleeves and the side of her legs with black Puma sneakers.
In actuality, for her first day, she would be showing up to school in a pair of black satin shorts with a yellow off the shoulder top and black chunky heels with chunky yellow jewelry.
She smirked at the masterpiece she had placed together, twirling a piece of dirty blonde hair around her finger tips while her sea-blue-green eyes narrowed in appreciation at just how clever she was sometimes. She impressed herself every now and then, and when it came to deceiving her mother and her friends, she especially impressed herself.
After all, lying to Massie meant lying to the ultimate liar. And not many people got away with it. Yet Kristen had been doing it since they met one another, and she'd never once come close to getting caught. It was a pretty big accomplishment for her.
Still, every now and then it would be nice to just open up and tell her friends the truth. And sometimes she even got the notion in her head that maybe they wouldn't ditch her for it. Maybe they loved her and enjoyed her company enough that nothing bad would come of speaking her mind and telling the truth.
But then Alicia would say something about how she hoped none of them suddenly went broke and Massie would give off a sigh of relief because she was still wealthy and Dylan would brag about the newest celebrity she'd met or the newest grab-bag she'd received from some party her mother had been to and Kristen would remember that no matter how tight their friendship was, they were girls who didn't know how to deal with financial issues.
They didn't know what they had to do in order to survive without daddy's credit card or their mother's name. They'd never had to do anything for themselves, so how could they be expected to understand Kristen's problems and still love and appreciate her for them?
It didn't matter though. She had a system and she did a good job of hiding the truth. Would it be a relief to delete some stress from her life? Totally. But she didn't want her friends to feel like they had to treat her special, if they didn't decide that the awkwardness would be too much for them to handle. She didn't want to become a charity case, whether they realized they were doing it or not. So she just bit her tongue and kept a stiff upper lip. When they complained about their rich-girl problems she laughed right along with them. When the talked about money as if it grew on trees, she just rolled her eyes.
And when it came to needing money when she didn't have it? She just used her strict mother as an excuse, claiming that Marsha wanted Kristen to learn how to handle money responsibly so she gave her a ridiculous allowance that was barely enough for her to make it through a Starbucks run each day before school.
That only added fuel to the fire that made sure the rest of the PC refused to ever meet Marsha outside of the required settings when they had no choice.
It wasn't that Kristen wanted her friends to spend their money on her, though. They just opted to do that because it was easier than dealing with her trying to manage her money. Besides, nobody wanted to spend money while they friend sat there and watched. It was like torture and none of the PC members were horrible friends.
So what if they were superficial and believed that money was the key to happiness? That was how they had been raised and they couldn't help that. So if Kristen was broke and refused to tell them, it wasn't because they would think less of her. It was because it would make things uncomfortable in their friendship. And besides, sometimes it was fun to have a secret. It helped Kristen learn a lot of secrets when she played the 'secret for a secret' card. Even if she never used her biggest one, she was allowed to have time to think of its replacement and have a back-up if the need ever came up.
Claire Lyons played with the hem of her overall-dress that she had on over a hot pink tank top. The short girl was extremely petite, lacking even the slightest of curves that most girls had by their sophomore year when they were about to turn sixteen in a few months. Her blonde hair was thin and fair, so light it was almost white when the light hit it and her eyes were a baby shade of pale blue.
In Florida she was a beauty that was found on every corner.
Here in Westchester, as she had noticed by the people she'd seen on her drive from the airport to the Block Estate, she was nothing special. She was just another pretty face among gorgeous young women who belonged on the faces of a magazine.
"Claire, this is our daughter Massie," Kendra Block introduced a beautiful brunette with thick layers of wavy, dark, soft and glossy hair that fell right down her back. Her eyes were wide and innocent, a deep shade of amber that grabbed attention and she had a soft, round baby face with soft, rounded features. She was tall-much taller than Claire-and extremely thin with defined muscles.
And she was dressed in a stunning ensemble that made Claire feel immediately under dressed.
Massie was wearing an adorable purple and white stripped sun dress that landed mid-thigh with a diagonal hemline so that one side was much shorter than the other side. It had a high neckline but the dress fit her like a second skin and broadcasted her chest size as well as her butt.
Todd, Claire's thirteen year old brother, immediately straightened up and took a step forward at the sight of the gorgeous girl before them. Claire couldn't do much more than stare.
"You're cute," Massie observed.
Claire was startled at the blunt comment.
"Huh?"
"You're cute," The way she said it made Claire positive it wasn't a compliment. Massie wasn't being insulting, but she wasn't telling Claire that being cute was a good thing. It was pretty much saying that she better watch out, because cute didn't make it very fair in Westchester. Being like Massie was what got you noticed.
"Thank you?" Claire asked, immediately regretting that she made it out to be a question.
Massie seemed so mature. And there was Claire, the blubbering idiot.
"What are those on your arm?" Massie asked as the parents made their way inside the house, leaving the teenagers to themselves. "Are they friendship bracelets?" She scrunched up her nose as she held out her own arms. One was weighted down with a silver charm bracelet, flooded with more charms than Claire could count. The other was full of bangle like bracelets. Claire recognized them as Alex and Ani bracelets, which were just becoming a hit in her home town. Clearly Massie was either ahead of the times or had started the trend early.
"My friends made them for me before I left," Claire explained as Massie lowered her arms.
"My friends get me an Alex and Ani bracelet every time we do something memorable. And I do the same for them. I buy Kristen's, Kristen get's Dylan one and Dylan gets Alicia one. Alicia buys me mine." She explained. "Who are you?" She turned her attention to the gawking teenage boy standing besides Claire.
"Todd-unfortunately, I'm her brother," He said, holding a hand out hopefully.
"I'm sorry for you," Massie said to Claire with a sympathetic smile on her face. She turned on her heel and started towards the house. "You coming?" She called over her shoulder.
Claire couldn't believe how well the girl was walking in the purple wedges she was wearing. She quickly followed the brunette, scowling down at her converse.
There was definitely no chance she was going to make it in Westchester. Her nature appearance was all wrong for it, clearly-Massie had already confirmed that. And if how Massie dressed and acted told her anything about the town she'd just moved to, she dressed too much like a child and she acted too immature to ever last in Westchester.
Massie was confident, cool and collected. She was sophisticated and mature while not acting like some sort of mini-adult. Claire acted like an over grown child.
Still, if Claire could befriend Massie Block, her life would be set once she started school. She was sure that there was nobody who could be more New Yorker than Massie, after all. It just didn't seem possible to her. So, she was going to have to start acting like her very best. Because she only had a day in order to make Massie want to be her friend. And she wasn't off to a very good start at the moment.
Especially since Massie was speed-texting on her iPhone and had a devious smile on her face that almost made Claire think she was planning a way to get away from her and meet up with other people. But she doubted that Massie could be cruel enough to do that to her on her first day. To leave her with the parents when she had just moved into Westchester and just arrived at the house. Nobody was that evil. It wasn't possible.