The final bell rang as Anny chased An, who was holding a doughnut high over her head, through the hallways, "IT'S MINE! GIMME BACK MY DOUGHNUT!" Anny shouted as she chased An around the school. An looked back at her short angry friend, running into the janitor's closet. She crashed through the door and got herself tangled in cleaning supplies and rope, which was pretty much her worst nightmare, but Anny stuck her head into the hole An had made in the door, "I SAW IT FIRST!" she cried, An kicked what was left of the door, pressing Anny against the wall as she tried to run away, but was hindered by the rope.
Anny yanked herself from behind the door as Double-N finally caught up, "Anny, calm down!" she said, "You know you're only encouraging her." Anny pulled herself free and ran after An, who did her best to flee as fast as she could, but the rope continued to hinder her. Anny pulled on the end of the rope and yanked it, sending An spinning deep into the ground.
Anny looked into the tunnel, confused and a little guilty. Double-N ran up behind her, sweating, "Oh, Anny! Now look what you've done!" she cried. Only for An to spin right back up from underneath her. Double-N shrieked as she ran atop the spinning An, trying not to fall, only for An to spin off into another direction, leaving Double-N running in mid air for a moment before crashing to the ground.
An spun off like a top of massive destruction as she began spinning towards the lockers, then crashing through an entire hallway's worth of them, papers and pencils spewing everywhere, metal doors flying off their hinges, crashing to the ground, bent and battered.
An finally fell out of the final locker, dizzy, hurt and stunned. Anny ran over and grabbed An's hand, which still held the doughnut, and bit the doughnut. An unintentionally head butted Anny backwards into a poster on the wall as she cried out in pain, "OWIE!" The doughnut fell to the ground, forgotten.
Anny glared at An as Double-N finally up to her friends, "Good gracious!" she cried, "Have you two no respect for the sanctum of school property?" she scolded, "Honestly, I…" Anny grabbed her shoulders as she used her brainy friend to help her peel herself off of the wall, making the poster behind her fall off the wall and onto Double-N's face. Anny went on to scrape her hips out of the wall as Double-N read the poster. Double-N began to shake and sweat, her eyes widened with horror, she juggled it for a second, before holding it firmly in her hands, she looked up at her friends, "Oh, um, I withdraw my last statement. No harm done, yes?" she said, scurrying with the poster away from the wall as Anny finally managed to pull herself out of it.
"Whatcha got there?" Anny demanded.
"Oh, nothing!" Double-N said, nervously folding the poster, as An happily licked her fingers of the last bit of doughnut. Her friends began to circle her as she shoved the folded paper behind her back, "Right ho! Let's make our way to…" she said, trying to change the subject, only Anny managed to snatch it out of her hands and read it.
Double-N hands curled up to her chest, as she winced and began to back away from her friends.
"A Sadie Hawkins Dance?" Anny read, "Tonight?" She pulled her head up and beamed at her friends, "HOW DID WE MISS THIS?" she asked, a happy smile growing on her face. Anny loved any opportunity to show off, and what better place then a school dance?
"Isn't it a shame?" Double-N asked, backing away towards a shaded window, "Why, if only we had known sooner! Oh well, there's always next year!" she said quickly, pulling the shade down over her and shaking like a leaf.
Unlike Anny, Double-N wasn't very confident when it came to social events such as these, and the very thought of her going to a school dance made her feel so nervous, she could be sick.
Anny and An joined her on either side, "Only losers stay home on a school dance night!" Anny told her, "And we ain't losers!" she said, yanking the cord of the shades down and sending An spinning up into the shades, "Right An?"
"Sure ain't, Anny!" An agreed.
But Double-N was nowhere to be seen. Anny noticed the window was open and peeked outside to see Double-N shivering in the snow. Double-N gave her a nervous smile as Anny yanked Double-N half way through the window by her satchel and yanked out a pencil and paper from her bag and ran towards the wall, an eager grin spread out on her face.
Double-N closed her bag with a huff as Anny cried, "Check this out!" An and the shades fell back down again, An smiling widely, even though she was now tangled in blinds.
Anny slapped a piece of paper onto the poster as her friends clambered out of their predicaments and walked over to her.
"Win a date with Anny, sign up here?" Double-N read, confused, she then turned to her friend, "You misspelled 'here' Anny. It's h-e-r-e not h-e-e-r." she informed her, Anny rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Sock head." She said as she began walking away, Double-N looked at her, panicked, "You're not seriously thinking of going to this…" Anny stopped as she heard the sound of pencil hitting paper, she dashed back to the paper and saw that An had written her own name on the list, she turned grumpily at her tall, dumb friend as she blushed bashfully, a pencil behind her ear.
Double-N turned Anny's head and cried, "Do you realize that for a Sadie Hawking's Dance it's customary for a girl to ask a boy to attend!" Anny's eyes widened at this new information as they watched Sam gnarl his teeth at Jenny, who was wrapped in her winter gear and holding a pink flower (pulled by the roots) in one hand and Plankette in the other. Jamie stood behind Sam, looking unsure what to do.
"I'D RATHER DATE A FROG, WEIRDO!" he roared, saliva dripping from his sharpened teeth, making Jenny fall onto her back, sweating nervously. Jenny listened to her wooden friend, then whispered, "Whaddaya mean I should've ate a breath mint, Plankette?"
An and Anny watched in horror as Sam slammed Jenny into a trashcan and kicked her away, then looked at her pitifully as she rolled past them, her legs poking out of the garbage. An suddenly relaxed and turned around, revealing Double-N clutching to her back, shaking in fear at the idea of asking a boy to a dance and unknowingly massaging An's back.
"Asking's for chumps, Double-N." Anny assured her, yanking her off of An's back. "My sister told me that really cool girls go solo, so they ain't stuck with the same guy all night!" Anny told her as she wrung the sweat out of her, then spun her to dry.
"COME ON!" she cried, grabbing their coats and bags and shoving them on to them, and leading them out the door, "I've got something that'll knock your socks off!" she promised, hopping onto a cement railing and sliding down the snow.
An and Double-N stopped at the last step. "Missed too many laundry days for that, Anny!" An called to her, she then took off her shoe. As Double-N turned to her to tell her how disgusting that was, An stuck her foot in Double-N's face, one of her smelly toes making it's way into one of her nostrils, "My socks and me are as one." She said proudly, wiggling her toes. Double-N yanked her head back, disgusted, "GOOD LORD!" she cried, then covered her mouth and nose as she broke out into a chorus of, "Stinky! Stinky! Stinky!" as they dashed after Anny.
The Kanker brothers popped up from behind the concrete railing and smirked, so their girls were going to the dance, huh?
"We can ask them to go with us!" Jay cried eagerly. His brothers looked at him, annoyed, then slammed him into the ground with their fists.
"Stupid!" Larie cried, "Weren't you listening to Double-N? Girls ask the boys at this dance!"
Jay shook the stars from his eyes, "So?" he asked.
"So." Tee said, yanking his younger brother out of the ground, "We'll need to look our best to get our girls' attention. We wouldn't want anyone else snatching up our Ans now would we?" he asked.
Jay and Larie shook their heads wildly, Larie looked back to a nervous and shaky Double-N while Jay scowled and said, "Any guy who tries to steal my girl will get the beating of a lifetime!" he then punched his open palm to make a point.
"Double-N doesn't seem very excited about it." Larie observed, then looked at his brothers, "You know the Ans, if one of them doesn't go, they all don't go."
"Well, then, let's just make sure they do go." Tee said as they slunk to follow their girls to Anny's house.
They then watched through Anny's bedroom window, where Anny ransacked through her closet, throwing clothes and shoes and accessories everywhere while poor Double-N tried to catch the falling clothing onto a large pile in her arms and while An dodged all the other items Anny flung out of her closet with a smile, as if she was playing a game. Until a drawer hit her in the back of the head, then she fell onto Anny's bed, in obvious pain.
Jay jumped up, ready to go inside and check on her, but his brothers yanked him back and bonked him on the head for almost blowing their cover.
Anny finally found what she was looking for, "Wait 'til you see this!" she cried, leaping onto the pile and straining Double-N until she hopped onto her bed from the pile. Just as Double-N had finally given in to exhaustion and let the pile slide through her arms. Double-N surfaced from the large pile of Anny's clothes and looked at Anny just as An had recovered from getting a drawer to the back of the head.
Anny proudly shoved a book into Double-N's face.
"Dudes, Dates and You?" Double-N read, confused, reaching for the book, but Anny snatched it away.
"It's got everything a girl needs to know about charming the tomatoes!" Anny said proudly, swinging her hips and making a sassy pose.
Tee's face broke out into a goofy grin, he loved it when his girl amped up the sass.
"My sis says so!" Anny continued, holding it open for Double-N to read.
"Just call me Charmin' Chelsea!" An said happily, grabbing the book and moving it from Double-N towards herself, "A tad dated, don't you think Anny?" Double-N asked them, covered in sweat.
Larie smiled and sighed, man was Double-N cute when she was nervous!
Anny and An clung to the book, Anny pouted, a little upset, while An read a passage aloud to her friends, "And so, Step number One, send that swinging sultan to cloud nine!" Anny pressed An's face away from the book with a finger, "Hands off my sister's book, An." she grumbled, pulling it back as she skimmed the book's contents. Anny then wiped the book onto her blouse, scowling at An, who was still reaching for it.
"Well, I'd best fly, ladies." Double-N said, wearing her big puffy orange coat, and opening the door, attempting to exit Anny's bedroom. The Kanker brothers stiffened, they were gonna get caught by one of their girls! How would they get the girls to ask them to dance tonight if they were caught spying on them?
"It just so happens that there is a documentary on slippers through the ages airing on television tonight…" Double-N continued on to say, her friends looked at her as if to say, 'you've got to be joking, right?'
"Should be... enlightening?" she tried, giving them a nervous gap toothed smile. Anny yanked her arm back, closing the door, much to the brothers' relief.
"We're ronde-whoseing, got it?" Anny snapped, then pushed Double-N up to her attic, "Go on! I have an old hat rack we can practice on." Anny said as they left her room, An followed, flipping through the book, excited.
"Hands off my sister's book!" Anny snapped, sending An backwards into the wall, book-less, only for her to smile and gallop back towards her friends, chuckling.
The boys looked at each other, their girls were definitely going to the dance alright, and if Anny's sister was as cool as the rumors said she was, then the boys were going to have to step up their game and look so good that their girls wouldn't be able to resist them.
They ran home and dug through their closets, trying to find something, anything they could wear to impress their girls.
Meanwhile…
Up in Anny's attic, An put the finishing touches on their stand-in man.
"Nice work, Lumpy!" Anny said, proud of her dopey friend, as she came closer to admire it. Then she bounced An back with her butt and cried, "One dreamy Hunk, check!" then looked at the book to see what their next step was.
"Oh, would you look at that!" Double-N cried as she clawed towards the door out of the attic, a chain attached to her waist and tied to a heavy chest near their make-shift man. "It's time to starch Mother's tea cozy, yes? Perhaps another time?" Anny slammed her friends only route of escape shut and spun the key to her chains around her finger, "Ready Sock head?" Anny purred as she unchained her anxious friend and lead her to the hat rack they converted into a stand in hunk.
Anny and An had no problem at social events, but the two worried about Double-N, who was very shy and emotional with things like school dances and the like. And having someone like Larie Kanker, who loved nothing more then covering her with kisses and tearing her skirt off, as a suitor didn't really help much. Anny was determined to help her friend break out of her shell a bit, and although this way seemed cruel, they couldn't think of any other way… Well An had come up with a another way, but it was really stupid, something about dressing up as a chicken?
An turned the make-shift man around it faced her panicky pal, then slowly backed away, giving the two some space. Anny pushed a sweating Double-N towards their man-stand-in.
"Ask him!" Anny cried eagerly.
Double-N glanced up nervously at the hat-rack-man, sweating and nervous, she pulled her shirt up on her body so she could hide her head in it. Then a high pitched scratch noise from behind made her jump.
She turned to see an old time record player on An's back, Anny standing on top and cranking it for it to play, both girls giving her an encouraging smile, "Well?" Anny asked, then pointed to the mass of random objects they had made to resemble a man, "He's waiting!" she urged, the scratchy and warped old voices saying how much they cared for one another and how much they loved how it felt when they kissed.
An's smile expanded on her face, "Squish the tomato, Double-N!" she cheered, then squished her own eye in her fingers to show her what she meant.
Double-N smiled at her friend's attempts to help her, while she didn't really feel comfortable going to this party, she didn't want to let her friends down or waste their efforts. Especially when they were for her benefit. So, with sweat pouring down her back, Double-N slowly turned back to the hat-rack-man. She first looked up at him with terror on her face, then tried, with great effort, to give An's creation a happy smile, managing to make a nervous one, then a decently happy grin, only for it to melted off her face and for her to slip her chin and mouth into the neck of her turtle neck.
The make-shift man smiled, unmoving as Double-N's own lips began to quiver. Her eyes widened in fear at the pile of junk in front of her, and she was sweating like mad. She finally cried out, "I CAN'T BEAR THE REJECTION!" as the music halted in mid song, and the poor girl fell to the floor, grabbing Anny's leg and began to cry. Anny hopped over to the trunk while trying to shake her nervous friend off of her leg, "Don't be a baby, Double-N." she said, trying to sound firm but also failing to completely shut out the comfort in her tone. She finally managed to shake her friend off her leg and onto the chest she had chained her to before. Anny flicked the tears off her friend's face with her fingers before Double-N pulled her hat over the entire upper half of her body, shaking and sobbing.
Anny shook her head, so much for this plan.
"Ooh!" An cried, rocking back and forth on an old rocking horse up towards the hat-rack-man, laughing, "My turn! My turn!"
She then hopped off the rocking horse and smiled at the make-shift man, "Pardon me, sir! I'm Charmin' Chelsea!" she then reached into her pocket, "and this is my little friend, Sheldon!" she said, holding a second smelly cheese chunk in front of the fake man's face, she contorted her face into a thoughtful expression as she tried to recall something else, then her face brightened, "Jr." she finished, proud she had remembered.
"An!" Anny cried, yanking her over towards her, making her drop the old cheese into the hat-rack-man's shirt pocket, "Nobody wants to hear about your stupid cheese chunk!" she snapped as An slid back onto the rocking horse, feeling annoyed that she had to help not just one friend when it came to parties, but apparently she had to help both of her friends. Anny stomped on the rocking horse's head to keep An right where she was without rocking, then slipped her arm around An's neck and pulled her close so she could glance at the book in her hand, "Talk about everyday stuff, you know?" Anny counted on her fingers as she began to list a few off the top of her head, "perfume, diamonds," she then paused and smiled and made a glamorous pose, "Me." She finished, then took her foot of the rocking horse and walked back to console Double-N, letting it tip way back and making An fall backwards onto her back.
An lifted her head, "TV?" she asked, unsure if that was what her short friend said, then brightened, "You mean like movies?" she asked, excited. An loved movies, especially old monster movies. An looked at the makeshift man again, an eager smile gleaming off her face, "So, have you partaked in watching 'Attack of the Fifty-Foot TV Tray'?" An asked, snagging a large, framed copy of Anny's embarrassing school picture and tossing it over her open mouth, swallowing it so she could have a similar shape to the monster in the film. She scowled and rose her hands above her head in grabbing positions, trying to seem more scary, "My favorite scene was when the angry TV tray spews forth and ranpages the city!" she cried, knocking the hat rack over as she spoke. "Kind of like this!" she said, then began to trash Anny's attic.
Anny and Double-N watched and dodged as An began throwing things and smashing stuff and shouting "I AM A GIANT TV TRAY!" Anny dashed behind the chest and snatched Double-N down with her, barely dodging a vase filled with fake flowers to smash into her head as An went out to shout, "YOUR CITY IS DONE FOR, PUNY HUMANS WITH HEAD OF HAIRDOS!" she then began to shout and make monster noises as she continued to destroy the interior of Anny's attic.
"Anny, please!" Double-N begged Anny over the sounds of An breaking things and pretending to be a giant TV tray monster, Anny was still flipping through the pages of her sister's book eagerly. Double-N tugged at the book as she continued on to say, "This school dance is destined to be yet another dejected, disturbing decrement in OUR ADOLESCENT LIVES!" she cried, tugging at her hair. Anny snatched her sister's book back from her, annoyed, "GET OVER IT!" Anny finally snapped, she was tired of hearing her brainy friend whining and making excuses to get out of going to this dance, Double-N was going to be more social whether she liked it or not! It was for her own good. Anny's face then broke out into a huge fervent smile, "This book is gonna to make us the Sweethearts of Swagger! The Poobas of Pizzazz!" Anny could barely contain her excitement, "HURRY UP AN!" she shouted, holding the book over her head and dodging more unidentified flying junk that An was hurling across the room and dashing towards the stairs, Double-N fleeing in terror of An's rampage right behind her, "THERE ARE TWO CHAPTERS HERE ON COOL, HAPPENIN' THREADS! I'VE GOT A TON OF 'UM!" she cried. An stopped throwing things and turned to her friends, who were now exiting the attic.
"Threads tickle, Anny!" An said with a laugh as she awkwardly tip-toed over towards her friends, the school picture still making her shaped like a giant TV tray.
.
.
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Later, at the dance…
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The Kanker brothers felt pretty confident that they'd get their girls, they were dressed to the nines and their hair was neat... well neat-ish.
Jay wore a nice, collared light blue shirt, a pink tie, pleaded dark blue pants with pink anchors on them and white shoes. He had curled his bangs a bit to make him look more distinguished and fancy and he had brushed his buck teeth until they shined like jewels.
Larie wore a black and dark gray striped t-shirt, a black vest, black slacks and black combat boots. He had brushed out his hair so it was still a little messy, but not as much as usual, he had also put on deodorant, just for his girl.
Tee wore a red and white striped t-shirt, a white jacket, tan slacks, a tan fedora that their dad had stashed away in their closet and forgotten about and white sneakers. He, like Larie, brushed his hair a bit, just so it would be out of his eyes but he angled the hat downward on his head, covering them so, while he could see out, no one could really see his eyes.
They had each eaten an entire pack of breath mints, so they knew their breath was minty fresh for any impending lip action and they each sprayed a bit of their dad's aftershave onto themselves so their girls would think that they were mature guys who had to shave in the mornings. They looked around at the other kids' clothing, surveying the competition for their girls' attention.
Jenny wore a white dress and a jean vest, a string of red beads hung around her neck and she wore her usual flip-flops, she had left her messy curly brown hair down and put on some lipstick, but otherwise she looked similar to how she normally did. Plankette was in her hand, wearing a string of white beads that looked kind of like pearls, lipstick, eye shadow, and blush. Jenny was munching on a cookie from the refreshments and looking pretty content.
Karen stood beside her, scowling at the sight of the trio and went back to staring at the other side of the room, she wore a green dress and her red hair was loose and flowing down her neck, her usual hat was nowhere to be seen. She wore her cheerleading jacket over her dress, a small silver heart locket hung from her neck and her face was smeared with make up. The boys winced at the sight of her, the heavy make up made her look kind of like a clown to them.
Rachel wore what looked like a giant puffer fish and stood beside her pig, Winifred. (Author: that's right, I gender-bended Wilfred.) Why she wore a puffer fish costume to a school dance, the Kankers didn't know, nor did they really care.
Then they looked at the final occupant of the dance, Nate.
Nate was the biggest threat to the boys' chances of dancing with their girls tonight, besides being the only boy (besides An's little brother) in the cul-de-sac, but their girls (along with Karen and Jenny) seemed to favor him, which made the Kankers dislike him even more then the rest of the annoying chicks (and Sam) that plagued their girls' cul-de-sac. But the thing was, the guy was too nice and friendly for them to hate too much. The guy held absolutely no ill will to anyone, even them. Nate feared the Kankers but he didn't hate them. Actually, if Nate wasn't such a threat to their chances of getting their girls then they could have actually probably become good friends, but the Ans came first. And, although Nate didn't seem to hate their girls, he didn't seem to really favor them either... but that didn't mean that he couldn't have a crush on one of the Ans.
Nate wore a yellow tux. Why he had decided to wear that of all things baffled them, but for only a few seconds after they remembered how they were dressed and decided that they looked much cooler and handsomer then the blonde pretty boy. Nate was sitting in a chair against the wall, looking around eagerly for something. The brothers had no idea what Nate was looking for, but they decided that they'd keep an eye on him.
The girls hadn't arrived yet, so they decided to enjoy themselves while they waited. Jay tore it up on the dance floor while his brothers relaxed in the chairs by Nate.
Then the doors to the gym opened, the boys leaned forward eagerly… only for Sam and Jamie came out onto the floor, Sam wore a pink dress shirt and black dress pants while Jamie wore a light blue dress that made her look like Little Bo Peep from a book of Nursery Rhymes. The two kids dashed out onto the dance floor, laughing.
"I'm a dancing fool, Sam!" Jamie cried.
The brothers slumped over and spread out through the gym. Jay then grabbed some grub while Larie and Jay pushed out of their chairs and walked towards the dance floor.
That's when they heard An cry, "RACHEL BROUGHT WINIFRED TO THE DANCE! Lucky Lady!" Jay heard his girl from the buffet and poured the tray he had in his hand down his shirt and rushed towards her, hoping that if he offered her some snacks that she might ask him to dance with her, only to accidently get stuck to the back of Rachel's stupid puffer fish costume.
"Rachel's ribs tickle!" Rachel said to a nervous Karen and her pig, "As a one legged mule could prance a foot better then these two legged nincompoops! Right Winifred?" The food Jay had put in his shirt was coming out as Rachel moved, so Jay shoved it into his mouth, feeling bad that he couldn't get to share it with An, but hopefully once she saw how nice he looked, she'd want to dance with him anyway, he quickly swallowed the food, not wanting to seem like a pig in front of An. Rachel and Karen went to get food, allowing Jay to see how his girl looked.
An wore a white denim dress with pockets and white cowboy boots, she wore pink lipstick and blush as well as icy blue eye shadow, she dashed forward into the dance, excited and filled with glee.
Jay loved how happy and joyful his girl was, he started feeling joyful when he realized that she was coming his way.
Jay tried to pull himself off, but it was no good. Larie noticed Jay stuck to the back of Rachel's puffer fish, he nudged Tee and pointed to their younger brother, smiling deviously. Tee nodded and they dashed out onto the dance floor, ready to mock and tease their blonde brother. Only for Tee and Larie to see their girls walking up to the snack table. Double-N clung to Anny's back nervously, while Anny walked into the dance as if she owned the place.
Larie smiled, Double-N was so cute when she was nervous, and it seemed as though she was extra nervous tonight.
Double-N wore an orange blouse and a brown vest, a black belt that wrapped around her stomach, and her long skirt was a black and white and vertically stripped and ended at her ankles, revealing stylish black boots. She wore her usual hat, but the hair coming out of it was wavey and down to her shoulders, her lips were a rusty red and her eyelids were a dusty purple.
Larie smiled, not only was she nervous and adorable, but she looked fantastic too.
Tee rammed into Larie's side, disorienting him and laughing at his brother as he wobbled, then let a goofy grin crawl up his face as he watched his girl strut through the gym with confidence, man, she was sassy, Tee liked it when she was sassy.
Anny wore a yellow dress with brown heels, a big white belt with a shiny gold buckle was wrapped around her waist. Her normal gold hoops had been exchanged for ones that were bigger, and her wrists were adorned with gold bracelets, her normal bright red lips were glossier then usual, and her short pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon.
While Tee admired his girl, Larie rammed him in the side and sent him flying into the wall, laughing that he had gotten his revenge on his older brother.
"Yeah, yeah, just remember what the book says!" Anny called out to An, who wasn't listening to her friends due to finding a balloon to play with. "Us Ans aren't chasing any guys, got it?" Anny asked both An and the shaking Double-N behind her.
"Anny! There's still time to reconsider before we set forth into the traumatic awkwardness of pubescent promenading!" Double-N cried, pulling on her friend's dress and tried to drag her to the exit. An dashed by them with a small bundle of balloons in her mouth. Anny nudged her scared friend and indicated An running around with balloons in her mouth, "You're staying here, Sock head. After all, who else is going to help me with Lumpy?" she asked, trying to help keep her friend's mind off of how nervous she was. Double-N saw An running around with the balloons in her mouth and, for a moment, forgot that she was nervous, "AN! YOU GET THOSE BALLOONS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH THIS INSTANT!" she cried as she began to chase An around the gym. As soon as she caught her and pulled the balloons out of her mouth, she retrieved a new one from the wall for An to play with when An started to sniffle and looked as if she was about to cry. An took it happily and the two returned to where Anny was standing. An played with the balloon as Anny wrapped her arm around Double-N's neck, "It's like picking apples out of a tree." Anny told her, "Go on, cut a rug." She urged.
Double-N began to shake again, her eyes widened in fear, and she began to sweat nervously.
Sam and Jamie were dancing happily in front of the trio, but they quickly danced away, revealing that Nate was sitting right across from them. He looked a little upset and lonely, but as soon as he noticed Double-N staring, he gave the Ans a small smile and a friendly wave. Anny and Double-N froze while An continued playing with her balloon, blowing it into the air before it reached the ground. Then Anny began pointing to each of them, trying to figure out who he was smiling and waving to. Double-N cowered for a second, then turned to face the wall. Both Anny and Double-N were sweating anxiously and shaking.
Tee and Larie were duking it out when they noticed their girls acting funny, they followed their line of sight to see…
Nate smiling and waving at their girls.
Tee and Larie began grinding their teeth and walked towards him, their fists clenched and pushing their sleeves up so they wouldn't get too dirty as they beat the snot out of Nate.
Anny pulled the book out from the top of her dress and flipped through it, panicked, Double-N quickly joined her and they searched through the book's pages for an answer for what to do next. They glanced back at An as she cried, "Balloons are so fun!" and started to laugh as she bounced her butt on the balloon, she continued until she hit it at a wrong angle and bounced away from her friends.
Anny slowly backed away, leaving her book in Double-N's hands, "Yeah, I've got to go wash off some of this perfume, it's driving the guys crazy!" she said, then ran off, leaving Double-N alone with nothing but Anny's sister's book to help her. Double-N looked down at the book and dropped it, terrified that she was now being waved at by Nate alone. And, although she liked him and thought he was cute, the idea of talking to him alone was terrifying.
Double-N looked fretfully back towards Nate as she backed up into the wall, cowering against it as if she was afraid he was going to walk over and punch her. But Nate's smile and wave just got bigger. Double-N didn't know what to do, she had been dreaming about something like this for a while now, but now that it was happening in real life, all she wanted to do was run home and crawl under her covers. She glanced around desperately, looking for a way out, until she finally saw what she was looking for, "Exit!" she read, relief flooding through her veins, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried…
Only to smack into Sam. She instantly recoiled, "SAM!" she cried. She then tried to slip past him, hoping that he'd be disoriented for long enough not to murder her for bumping into him, not realizing that as soon as she said his name, his face lit up.
Sam turned to her, a huge smile on his face, Double-N tried slipping past him again, but he quickly blocked her path, she recoiled, "Oh, I'm sorry…" she began. "Hi Double-N." Sam cut her off, his voice sweet, "Is there something you'd like to ask me?" he asked, his eyes wide and enthusiastic.
"Oh my!" Double-N cried as she retreated to the refreshments and poured herself a glass of punch, trying to busy herself. Karen and Rachel leaned against the table beside her. Karen was sweating, then she straightened herself, "I'm going in, girl!" she cried, determined.
"Casanova-Karen girl, yes?" Rachel said mockingly as Karen walked over to Nate, who was looking a little sad until he notices Karen standing there, "Hi Kar!" he said, happy to see her. Tee and Larie stop dead in their tracks and look at each other, after a quick game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, Tee lifted an annoyed Larie up onto the speaker as Tee hung out on the other side of it, waiting for Larie to give him a signal that Nate was either no longer a threat to them dancing with their girls or if they needed to crush him after all.
"Oh, hey Nate, didn't see you there." Karen said, trying to play it cool.
"Hey, wanna dance with me?" He asked her, looking hopeful to have someone to dance with. Karen was silent for a moment, processing what he just said.
"Punch!" she cried, "Got it! Be right back!" she said, then retreated back to the refreshments as Nate sulked and sunk back into his chair.
Nate sighed, what did a dude have to do to find someone to dance with?
Karen walked up to the punch bowl, Rachel smirked at her, "Backbone bruised? Courage crushed? Spirits squashed?" she teased, earning her a glare from Karen.
"Yeah, Whatever." She growled.
"Karen, pardon my intrusion," Double-N interjected, a half-full cup of punch in her hands, "But would you happen to know a back way out of this?" she noticed Karen reaching for the punch ladle, "Oh, may I?" she offered, then dipped the ladle into the punch bowl, only to have it come up with one of Anny's bracelets, the three girls looked at the bracelet, then into the punch bowl to see Anny holding her breath.
Anny gave them a grin from the bottom of the bowl. Karen leapt back in disgust, "GROSS! I ALMOST DRANK DORK-ADE! I'M GONNA HEAVE!" she cried, grabbing her throat and running back to Nate.
"Smooth move, Sock head!" Anny cried, popping her head out of the punch bowl and snatching her bracelet and putting it back on, "Where in the book does it say to blow your buddy's cover?" she demanded as she tried to climb out of the bowl. Double-N frowned at her angrily, "I assure you, only after the part about abandoning your friend in her time of need!" she screeched back, An pretended to reel Jenny onto the dance floor behind her.
"Aw, shut it and help me out of this thing!" Anny snapped. Double-N reached out to help Anny back down out of the floor, only for the bowl to tip and send Anny slamming into Double-N, knocking them both spinning towards Karen and Nate.
"Uh, they ran out of punch." Karen said nervously, pointing back to the refreshments, then perked up, "But check this out!" she said, then began doing a cartwheel. Nate rolled his eyes, bored out of his mind.
Larie leaned over to Tee and punched him on the top of the head, "You've got to watch this! It's so pathetic that it's funny!" he cried, indicating Karen's attempt to woo Nate. Tee glared at his little brother and looked past the speaker, then started cracking up as Karen flopped over in the middle of her cartwheel and Nate just looked really bored and kind of annoyed.
Then Anny and Double-N crashed into her, slamming the three of them against the wall. Larie and Tee looked at each other, not sure what to do. On the one hand, the girls crashing into Karen was pretty funny, however it wasn't funny if their girls got hurt because of it.
Nate smiled widely at the pile of moaning girls, "WAY TO BUST A MOVE, DOUBLE-N!" he shouted as he pulled her out of the pile by her hand. Anny, Karen, Double-N, Tee and Larie looked at him, surprised at his sudden outburst.
"Come on! Let's twist!" he cried, dragging her out onto the dance floor, Double-N was so confused, one minute she was trying to help Anny out of a bowl of punch, the next, Nate was pulling her out onto the dance floor with him. Anny pulled herself up, "Hey! That's my move she busted! She didn't even want to be here!" she howled, then pouted.
On the dance floor, Nate put Double-N's hand on his shoulder, "Like this Double-N!" he instructed, then put his hand on her waist. "Oh my!" Double-N cried, unsure of how to handle what was happening. It was like a dream, only more confusing and scary. Nate then began to spin her on the dance floor, "WOOHOO!" he cheered as the two spun into the middle of the dance floor.
An walked over to Anny and Karen. Anny had calmed down a bit, she may have been upset that Double-N was dancing with Nate, but it also meant that Karen wasn't dancing with Nate. Anny smirked at her, "Ha! Way to get burned, Shovel Head!" she mocked as Karen looked at Nate laughing and having a blast dancing with Double-N. She then looked at Anny angrily, Anny was sneering at her. Karen punched Anny in the face then stomped to the girls room before Tee could snag her. He looked at the door, she was going to have to come out sooner or later, and when she did, Tee would give her the beating of a lifetime for punching his girl. An looked down at her hurt friend and helped her back up, a worried expression on her face.
Tee looked up at Larie, who was so angry that he ripped the metal mesh off the speaker he was sitting on, he gritted his teeth so fast sparks flew out, his face was red and steam screamed out of his ears, his fists were clenched, his body was shaking.
Larie was really mad that Nate took his girl out onto the dance floor.
Tee jeered at his brother, a grin on his face, "You gonna let that loser take your girl, Larie?"
Larie wanted to murder Nate, he wanted to crush him, he wanted to destroy him, he wanted to wipe that stupid pretty boy off the face of the Earth! He glanced around, looking for a weapon of some sort, then saw An helping Anny up, stars still circling around her head. He hopped down and grabbed Anny from An's hands, "Get up, shortie." He growled, "we're dancing." He then pulled her out onto the dance floor near where Nate twirled a nervous Double-N, a huge smile on his face as he cheered her on.
Double-N was still kind of anxious, but not as much as she had been when she had arrived earlier. Actually, dancing with Nate was not really all that scary as she had previously believed. Honestly, it was actually kind of… well, fun.
She was still nervous as she danced with him, after all, she'd had a crush on him for a while now, but she was actually starting to smile too. Nate was a very nice dance partner, he was encouraging and easy going. If Double-N accidently stepped on his toes, he'd laugh it off. If she messed up, he'd go along with her, making it seem as if it was part of the dance. He was so nice to her, and he seemed to be having fun dancing with her, too.
She felt her face flush as they danced. She felt like one of those princesses in the fairy tales her mother used to read to her before bed.
Maybe school dances weren't just another disturbing decrement in her adolescent life. Maybe school dances were just… fun?
Larie and Anny made their way towards Nate and Double-N, Anny was so confused, why was Larie dragging her out onto the dance floor? Larie was obsessed with Double-N, not her… then Anny's eyes widened in comprehension, Larie was out for blood and he was gonna use Anny to do it. She tried to struggle, but she was still a little woozy thanks to Karen punching her in the face. Not that she could break free of a Kanker's death grip anyway. She looked over at her friend, terrified of what might happen, was Larie going to hurt one of them because Double-N was dancing with Nate?
Larie watched Nate dance with his girl. That was supposed to be him dancing with Double-N, not Nate. Then, to Larie's horror, he saw a small smile growing on her face, as well as…
Was Double-N blushing?
Larie couldn't take it anymore, he took Anny and smacked her into Nate, making him go limp for a minute, Double-N looked over at him, confused, then frightened. Her smile was gone, her eyes were wide and she began to shake. Larie had no idea how scary he looked at that moment, all he knew was that his girl was nervous again and that he was still mad. He looked down at Anny, who was wobbling and her face was scrunched up, her mouth barely poking out…
'Wait a second'… Larie thought, his mind began to reel…Could Double-N be jealous that he was dancing with Anny? He thought about that for a millisecond as he glanced back at her face. She looked sad, hurt even as she glanced from him to her friend.
Double-N felt awful, while she had been out here, having fun, Anny had been taken captive by Larie. Would he hurt her? Was this a punishment for dancing with Nate? Double-N was lost, she began to sweat, her eyes widened in horror. Was An also in danger? She felt as if she was about to cry, she was such a terrible friend!
'She has to be jealous.' Larie thought, feeling confident again as she looked as if she was about to cry. She looked so cute like that. His mind reeled as a devious grin crawled up his face, Double-N hadn't even asked Nate to dance with her, he recalled. Nate had just grabbed her and pulled her out onto the dance floor with him! She probably only complied because she was so nice but wanted Larie to dance with her all along! 'Oh, I'm gonna dance with you.' He thought, 'After I make you watch me kiss your friend.' He glanced down at Anny in his hands and puffed her face back out, he got a good look at her, then wondered how his older brother could love her as much as he did. She wasn't exactly pretty like his girl, or brainy like his girl, nor was she strong or funny like Jay's. Larie glanced back at Double-N who had grown pale and reached for them, only for her to notice that Nate was coming to.
"Make like an octopus." He hissed, pressing Anny's lips together, "and suck face!"
Tee watched his brother smush Anny's face into a kissy face. "Hey!" Tee shouted, scowling at his brother. He knew Larie was pissed at Double-N and Nate and was trying to make his girl jealous, but Anny was his and only his. He glanced around trying to find something, anything to help his girl as Nate began to snap out of it and go back to dancing with Double-N.
"Winifred sure has some fancy footwork, huh Jenny?" An asked loudly. Tee turned and looked over at the tall red head happily dancing with a pig. Sam and Jamie were playing some sort of kiddy clapping game on the sidelines while Jenny and Plankette cheered An on. Rachel stomped forward and scowled at her, Jay still stuck to her back, "An girl!" she scolded, "You have broken the customary laws of Rachel's tradition!" An smiled at her blankly. Tee made a quick analysis, she was big and probably heavy, her head was probably hard enough and since Jay was stuck to Rachel's back, he'd never know, or at least not be able to do anything about it.
"You must have permission if you shimmy shake the swine!" Rachel continued to reproach as she grabbed An and began to shake her, "Have you no shame!" she demanded. Tee grabbed An by the neck and snatched her from Rachel, An let out a cry as he pulled her away. Jay managed to finally get most of himself free from Rachel's back when he heard An, he looked over his shoulder to see his older brother holding his girl by the neck.
"Hey!" he cried angrily.
Tee had one hand on her ankles and one on her thighs, he pushed up on her thighs and turned An into a human mallet. He ran up to Larie, who was holding a struggling Anny in his grasp.
"Get your paws off my girl, Larie!" he shouted, ready to smash his brother with An's thick head.
"How about you get your paws of my girl, girlfriend stealer!" Jay cried, running towards them with his hair still stuck to Rachel's costume, pulling her along with him.
Rachel scowled. The Daughter of a Shepherd would not put up with this! She slammed her costume into the floor with a smirk. She would see just how much the blonde Kanker would drag her when she was stuck to the ground!
Jay continued to run towards his brothers, leading to the costume being yanked off the floor and rolling towards them with great speed and destruction. Rolling Jay back onto the costume, then rolling over Tee and Larie as well, sticking into their clothes so they got stuck to it as well, freeing Anny and An from their clutches. The out of control puffer fish then rolled over Nate, the barbs snagging on his suit and yanking him away too, leaving a confused and concerned Double-N behind as it went on to roll over and grab everyone else at the dance, then the dance itself, then the school. An grabbed Anny by her belt and scooped Double-N so she'd be sitting on her shoulder and made a dash to the only way out while the ball of kids and school finally nabbed Jamie as she screamed for Sam to save her.
"Faster An!" Anny shrieked as An picked up speed and got them outside and up onto a hill, safely away from the dance wrecking ball.
"THAT STUNK!" Anny yelled, angry that the Kankers ruined their fun, "I'M DONE WITH GUYS! WHO CAN FIGURE 'UM!" An then carefully put her friends down just in time to watch the entire school collapse.
An and Anny's faces lit up with enormous smiles while Double-N just looked shocked.
"NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!" An cheered. Double-N smiled and looked up at her friends, "Seems I did learn something from your book, Anny. After all, I did get to dance with Nate!" she squealed.
"And I got Winifred's phone number, guys!" An declared proudly, holding up her arm to show them. Anny and Double-N looked at her, concerned.
"You're an idiot, An." Anny informed her as she smiled widely.
The girls looked at the destroyed remains of the school and smiled for a bit, all proud of something.
Double-N had danced with Nate.
Anny had stuck that fact into Karen's stupid face and wouldn't have to go to school tomorrow.
And An'd had a wonderful and fun time at the dance, she even got Winifred's phone number.
The three girls then brushed themselves off and walked home, not knowing that the Kankers had managed to peel themselves off after destroying the school and saw them smiling down at them in the destroyed school.
The brothers blushed in unison as they watched their girls go home.
"You think they were smiling at us?" Jay asked, wondering why, since from where he had been stuck all night, all he had seen was he and his brothers screw up their dance.
"Of course, dummy!" Larie said confidently, feeling proud that he had made his girl jealous tonight.
"Yeah, why else would they smile at this place?" Tee asked, shoving his hands into his pockets, glad that Larie was under control and that Anny was far away from him.
"Hey! You think they need someone to walk 'um home?" Jay asked his brothers, "It's pretty late."
His brothers looked at him as if to say, 'are you an idiot?' then brightened.
"Yeah." Larie said, a smile growing on his face, "Wouldn't want Nate to try and steal one of our girls again." He said.
"And what kind of guys would we be if we didn't walk our girlfriends home?" Tee agreed, shoving his hat up a little on his face so he could see up the hill.
The brothers then raced after their Ans, smiling and decided that for the next dance, they'd just snag their girls first thing.