Author's Note: I received inspiration to write this story after a few events that took place a month or so back. PhotoShop can be an evil thing!
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, etc belong to Stephenie Meyer. I don't own any of them and no copyright infringement is intended
Maybe I had been spending too much time with Lauren. I still believed I was the same person I had been before we had gotten "close", except there were now a few alterations. How easily Lauren influenced and affected me. I heard subtle hints dropped from other friends that I had changed, but I didn't think the change had been that drastic. So what if I had adopted Lauren's bitterness towards everyone she, and now I, resented.
I knew what Lauren wanted to hear, such as agreeing in her distaste for someone, and I couldn't deny that most of time, I did rather enjoy gossiping about others. Especially when it came to talking about Bella and the Cullens, mainly Edward and Alice. Even without Lauren there to fuel it, I didn't tend to hide my dislike for Bella and her oh, so perfect boyfriend. I didn't need to be at Lauren's side to talk bad about Bella, but having her there did make it easier. Not to mention, it was a bonus to have someone willing to back up everything that I was saying in total agreement.
I couldn't deny that tonight was only happening because of Lauren. Never would I have agreed to it had Lauren not guaranteed that it would be worth it. I was hoping that it would be. I wanted nothing more than for tonight to go exactly as planned. Lauren had conceived the plan, and my slight expertise with technology would be what would later clinch it. My stomach did flip-flops in excitement. The saying 'revenge is sweet' came to my thoughts, and I couldn't help but smile.
I reached for my ever-trendy Razr cellular phone, hitting speed dial one. Ever since Lauren and I had gotten close, I had moved her from number four to one. I wondered if I was on the top of her speed dial numbers. I knew I was on her MySpace, which I checked regularly to be sure. We both kept each other in the range of our top four.
"Hey," Lauren said after two rings.
"Hey, what time are you going to come pick me up?" I questioned, checking the time on the small alarm clock besides my bed. I hoped it was soon. My excitement had prompted me to get ready a little early.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," she responded, and with quick good byes, I headed into the living room, awaiting her arrival.
It was ironic how Lauren and I had decided to make our girl's night out with Alice and Bella at the movies. Seeing the sequel to the zombie movie Bella and I had seen while Edward was gone. It just made tonight that much more funny.
Despite Lauren's dramatic hairstyle change, she could still be considered pretty. Her hair had gotten a mild bit of length back. Her unrealistic tan for of our geographic location still looked good. And, standing beside her I couldn't help but feel slightly cynical of my appearance. My hair was too frizzy, except right now I couldn't complain; at least tonight it was a little bit tamable.
"Just checking, you have everything?" I asked her, and she peered, clearly annoyed, into her Coach purse.
"Yes, I have everything," she responded as we treaded our way into the movie theatre. I peered around the room, which seemed considerably more populated than usual. However, I didn't have to double-take to notice Bella standing beside perfect Alice Cullen. Alice seemed slightly tense, and Bella seemed anxious. I was genuinely surprised they had both agreed to come along. Were they really that oblivious towards Lauren's and my dislike of them?
"Hey," I greeted them, Lauren nearly choking on her attempted friendly greeting.
"Hello," Alice's silky voice responded.
"Hey, Jess, Lauren," Bella also welcomed back.
"Bella and I have our movie tickets," Alice stated.
"We should go get ours," I turned towards Lauren who nodded, and we left them for the line. I knew that Lauren waited before we were out of ear shot before she began her rant.
"Ugh! I can't wait for tonight to be over. It's so hard to pretend that I actually want to be around them! Are they really that stupid to think I want to hang out with them?" Lauren complained, reaching for money to pay for her ticket.
I waited until I had purchased mine before I responded. "They much be, but who cares? We just have to get through the next two or three hours and then, the real fun begins!"
We found them standing in the exact same spot, turning in towards each other, their voices low. Their conversation stopped as soon as we neared and I had a feeling it had been about us. I ignored it, instead, and decided that it would be best to let the lies begin to unfold. "Mind if we take a few photographs? Lauren and I were asked to get a few pictures for the yearbook," I said and Alice shrugged.
Lauren, a sinister smile tugging across her lips, reached for the camera in her purse. "Get together," her tight voice commanded, as she took two quick shots of Alice and Bella. I nearly wanted to jump with joy. Now, if I could just contain it until the movie ended and we were back at Lauren's.
"What
about of you two?" Alice questioned and Lauren and I complied. She
took two of us before handing the camera back and we headed to our
movie.
We all sat silently, waiting for the previews and then the
movie to start. Alice sat on the end, Bella to her right, then myself
and Lauren. Lauren occupied the arm rest on either side of her, but
Bella kept both her arms plastered to her side, so I at least had the
one to my left. The silence made the time drag, and the prospect of
later made it even slower.
I
didn't pay much attention to the movie. Bella barely seemed fazed
by the movie, even though the first one had terrified her. A wild
grin spread across my face as I began to imagine all of the things we
could do tonight. There were so many options open I knew it would be
nearly impossible to decide.
The movie finally ended and all of us
seemed more than eager enough to leave. "Maybe we could get
something to eat another time," I suggested, though I knew it would
never happen. Everyone zealously agreed and with short good-byes, we
parted ways.
I followed Lauren to her bedroom, a bounce in my step. Her room was large, done in a light blue and purple mix, with a rather expensive looking computer upon her desk. She took the seat in front of the flat screen monitor, forcing me to stand. It didn't bother me, it was, after all, her computer that would enable us to do this now.
Lauren
removed the camera from her purse and connected a plug in the side of
it. After the computer 'awoke' from being 'asleep', she
clicked on a few files until she pulled up the two shots of Bella and
Alice. She enabled another program by the name of Photoshop before
standing. "You know what to do from here," she said, and I
practically lunged for the chair.
I had mild experience with the
program. I understood the basic concepts, and even with just the
basics, I knew the wonders I could create. Using computer tools that
would allow me to 'cut' the photo enough, I made it so Alice and
Bella each had their own photos. With a few more clicks of the mouse,
only their faces could be seen.
"What should we do?" Lauren asked and I shrugged. There were so many options, I couldn't decide for sure which one would be best. It had to be humiliating and funny, well, at least funny to Lauren, myself, and anyone else lucky enough to see them.
I gasped when I realized exactly what I should do. It took roughly twenty minutes to perfect it, but I had managed to Photoshop their pictures in a way that would definitely be humiliating, maybe even demeaning to them both.
"Hit print," Lauren commanded, and I obeyed.
I
approached the lunch table slowly; the printed pictures tucked neatly
in my notebook. I was nervous. What if no one else found these
pictures to be as amusing as we did? There was only one way to find
out. I took my new, usual seat beside Lauren and gave her a small tap
with my elbow.
"Want to see something hilarious?" she
questioned everyone, taking the photos from me and passing them into
the middle of the table for everyone to see. I held in my breath,
waiting for everyone's reaction. It wasn't as I wanted it to be.
It was silence, everyone glaring at the photos. Why didn't anyone else think the way we manipulated the picture's of Bella and Alice was funny? It was funny! Lauren and I got a kick of it.
"Wow,
Jess," Mike said and I turned to him. His beautiful blue eyes were
filled with anger and disappointment. "That was a really childish
and stupid thing to do," his voice had a cruel edge to it and I
looked away.
No one else thought the photos were funny. Not in the
slightest. To make it worse, Bella had managed to catch a glimpse of
them from the other end of the table and before anyone could say
anything, I dashed to the girl's bathroom.
I pulled out my phone, wondering whom I could possibly talk too. I couldn't let my mom know what I had done; she wouldn't be to pleased. I remembered an old friend who had moved to Kentucky and hoped I had her number still in my phone. "Yes," I whispered when I saw that I did.
I dialed the number, waiting for her to respond, but she didn't. "ugh!" I groaned, remembering why she hadn't answered. She and I weren't on talking terms after I had been a "bad influence" over her, or, at least that's what her other friends had convinced her. After they had her believing I was, she stopped talking to me. Now, where I was? Lowering myself to Photoshop pictures of old "friends" and nearly crying alone in the bathroom. Senior year wasn't going as great as I once thought it would.
