"Angelica!" Tommy called.
She pushed open the girls washroom door and went inside. Tommy went to enter in after her, Lillian pulled him back.
"What are you doing?"
"She's my cousin."
"So? You're not a girl."
"Who cares?"
"You're not going in there."
"Yes I am."
He defiantly swung open the bathroom door and wandered in.
"Angelica?" he asked cautiously, when he heard someone nearby sniffing.
"Are you ok?"
The sniffing stopped.
"Pickles? Are you in the girls washroom?"
Lil's voice came from behind him, she sounded beat, "he just walked right in!"
"Well... get out of here! Both of you!" She demanded but her voice sounded on the verge of sobs.
"What's wrong Angelica?" Tommy continued.
Deep down he cared about her, especially when Angelica cried or showed that she had a more... human side.
"I'm fine you idiots. Go back home to loserville and leave me alone."
Tommy didn't leave. It was Pickles against Pickles and they were just as stubborn as each other.
"Is it because you had a fight with Chuckie?" He inquired innocently.
"Pffft. Why would I waste my time fighting with poindexter extroadinare? If anything I was trying to save that poor girl that obviously didn't know what she was doing by dating that reject." She sighed dramatically. "Some people. You go out of your way to help a person..."
"I'm sure had her best interests at heart" Tommy said sarcastically, but Lil stepped in to her defense.
"And why wouldn't she?"
Tommy stared wide eyed at Lil. Why wouldn't she? Angelica rarely did ANYTHING for anyone other than herself, and it was almost unheard of that she would 'help' a stranger (unless it was a particularly cute stranger, then she'd certainatly make an exception).
"Why can't you just let Chuckie go for once?"
"I'm providing a public service, Pickles. Sometimes it benefits the dork, sometimes it doesn't. He's used to it."
"I'm just asking you to be nice."
Angelica stopped, she had just been absent-mindedly carving a 'C' into the wood of the stall door with a pen. She scratched it out furiously.
"Well, YOU don't ask me for anything. I don't listen to juniors."
"I wasn't saying it as a junior, I was saying it as your cousin."
"Ok. I don't listen to boys who hang around in girl's washrooms either"
Tommy groaned. He'd tried his best. He mumbled "whatever" and left.
---
Lil smirked "Good one Angelica"
Angelica let out a sigh again.
Lil spoke again, making it sound like she was just making casual conversation, "You know, Chuckie looked kinda cute today - all dressed up for his date."
Angelica snorted with contempt, "That loser tries too hard."
"Yeah, but you've got to feel bad for him. All that effort... and then..."
She stopped conveniently for Angelica to fill in the blanks. Angelica did. She stopped and frowned, her heart beating faster at the thought of actually having to apologize, but Lil continued to speak.
"Chuckie's a real cutie you know..." she thought aloud.
Angelica sounded bitter, she didn't need this. "Then why don't you go out with him?"
"I'm a bit afraid of you."
This was ludicrous. "Well you can have him. I don't want him."
"Then why did you embarass him in front of that girl today?"
"Didn't you hear me? I was TRYING to do a service to society."
"If you want to believe that."
Angelica threw the stall open and walked out "I know what you're trying to do Lillian. And it won't work."
She eyed her reflection in the mirror and reapplied some lip gloss.
"You think you have too much to lose Angelica. But you really don't."
"Like you can talk," Angelica sneered before storming out "you only hang around my dumb cousin OUTSIDE of school."
She slammed the door and left Lil feeling like quite the hypocrite.