I KNOW THIS IS A WHOLE LOT LONGER THAN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, BUT I HAD A LOT TO SAY. CLAIRE AND BENDER ARE COMPLICATED PEOPLE, WHAT CAN I SAY? HOPE YOU ENJOY, READ ON!

Claire Standish was a bitch. And she knew it.

She knew that if anyone, except Andy, came up to her in the hallway to say hello, she would ignore them without a second thought. Even if her friends, Becky, Lindsay, and Jenny, weren't around.

And that's why when John Bender looked at her in the hallway and nodded at her, the vaguest possible symbol of recognition, she looked straight at him, and then looked away like he wasn't even there.

This steamed Bender to no end. He decided that he was going to be nice today. A decent fucking human being, dammit. And what did he get in return? Some know-it-all richie giving him the cold shoulder.

That broke all rules, then. The gloves were off. And that's what prompted Bender to go up to Claire and say, "Hey, you left your earring at my house. I was gonna deliver your underwear too, but I figured we should do that in private. Bye,"

Claire turned eight shades of pink, until the embarrassment left and that anger set in. By now, all her friends were circling around her, giggling like first graders who heard the word 'sex' for the first time. All of Bender's friends were circling around him, high-fiving him and asking if he really did nail the rich girl.

Claire was so steaming mad, you would've thought smoke would come out of her ears. How dare he embarrass he like that, in front of her friends? She owed him nothing, and just because he was hot, funny (when the jokes weren't aimed at her, which they usually were), and an amazing kisser, didn't mean they were getting married or anything.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Andy and Allison, strolling the halls like nothing was wrong, like it was totally normal for the girl in all black to be dating the wrestler extraordinaire. How could they do that? Allison, she understood- she got odd glances all day, every day. But Andy? How could know these people were talking about him, and still walk through the halls with her?

Well, it looked like Claire was going to have to have a little talk with a Mr. John Bender.

When the bell rang, she ran to science class, even though she HATED science and the teacher was boring. Mrs. Chase, who wore thick glasses and wore the same dress everyday, was a total drag.

When Claire shuffled (almost late) into class, Mrs. Chase said, "Ok class, I'm assigning new lab partners. Don Bray, you're with Cassandra Cabot, Justine Fishman, you're with Holly White….."

Claire could care less about lab partner, until she heard Mrs. Chase drone, "Claire Standish, you're with John Bender."

Oh God, I'm fucked. Why do you hate me? Claire thought, wondering what she had done to deserve this. Bender didn't look all that thrilled either. She dropped her bags onto the chair, and shot Bender a dirty look.

"Okay class, take out your microscopes. Time for independent partner study. Fill out this worksheet, and, when finished, discuss it with you partner," said Mrs. Chase.

Bender started to peer into the lens of the microscope, but Claire snatched it away from him. "Whoa, touchy there, princess. What's up your butt?" Bender said, taunting her.

"You know why I'm mad, you jerk. How could you do that in front of my friends?" Claire snapped, not looking up from her project.

"Ex-squeeze me? You think I'm a jerk? Did that kiss in the closet mean nothing?" Bender asked, the temper in his voice rising with every syllable.

Claire looked at Bender for a real long time. Did it mean anything to her? Absolutely. Was she going to tell him that? Not on her life. He had tons of other girlfriends anyway He could live without one more.

"No, John, it didn't mean anything. Now, if you'd excuse me, unlike you, I want to pass science," Claire said, spitting out every syllable like it hurt.

Ouch. Bender was never one to let FEELINGS complicate things, at least with girls, but geez. It wasn't like he kissed her. It was her idea.

"Fine then. If you wanna be a bitch, have a grand old time. Fuck you and your diamond earrings." Bender said. He grabbed his things and left the room, despite the yelling of Mrs. Chase.

Claire bit her lip and sighed. Why was she like this? Why did she care so much about what other people thought? Why couldn't she shake it like other people could?

Well, like Mother, like daughter, Claire thought. Wasn't the whole point her parents weren't divorced, because they couldn't bear to think of what people would think of them if they weren't married with two kids and a white picket fence?

Claire bristled at the comparison. She had promised herself she would never turn out like her parents. She grabbed her bags, ran out the door, and went looking for Bender.

She found him outside, smoking a cigarette, alone. He didn't acknowledge her, so she ran over to him.

"What the hell do you want? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. Why don't you just go away with your stupid little friends and go talk about shopping or parties or your maid of the month or whatever the hell you richies talk about. Just get the hell away from me."

Claire was done. She was done with his stupid attitude and his annoying remarks about her and her friends. He had no right to judge her! Who the hell was he?

Claire walked away, trying to prove to her self that this was right. This is the way things are supposed to be. Separate cliques, separate people- it was the way it should be. Intermingling led to stress, and stress led to acne, and acne meant not being perfect little pretty popular girl.

She filed that thought away as she headed into the brick building of Shermer High School.

BRIAN AND CONTINUATION OF OTHER CHARACTERS NEXT. R&R!