***Author's Note: Who didn't melt to the floor when Ryder found Marley in the bathroom and told her that story about his cousin crapping himself? *Sigh* So, so sweet! Also, I think that "Glease" may be the only episode where I have literally wanted to slap Finn and Rachel for interrupting a song. Haha, love you guys, R&R please XD
Some days I'm a super bitch
Up to my old tricks
But it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
Out to save the world
And it keeps getting' better
Kiss, kiss, gonna tell you right now
I make it sweet on the lips
I simply knock you out
Shut up, I don't care what you say
'Cause when we're both in the ring
You're gonna like it my way
Kitty sang along to her radio at the top of her lungs, her pristine white Mercedes purring to the beat of Christina Aguilera's "Keeps Getting Better." It was way better than that Grease crap, as far as she was concerned. Damn! Every time she thought of Grease, she thought of Marley, and then she thought of Jake. Why didn't he want her? She was way prettier than the brown-haired tree and way more popular. Why wasn't that enough? Was it because she was too much to handle? Yeah Jake was amazingly gorgeous and had a good voice, but that wasn't why she liked him. If it was only based off of how attractive he was, why would she still want him? After all, they had only dated for a week or two.
Her car pulled up into its usual parking space and she spotted, to her utter amusement, a clearly distraught Ryder chasing Marley across the front of the school. Maybe her plan had had a little success after all.
"Hey, JB 1.0, what's wrong with Fattie McPoor?" she called out of her window, trying to hide her laugh. Ryder looked up, his broad, muscular shoulders covered by a Spiderman T-shirt that showed off all the reasons why girls were crushing on him all over school. Even Kitty wanted to drool slightly. As soon as he saw Kitty's face, he gave her a glare worthy of destroying the Goliath.
"None of your business, Kitty. I mean, you're the one who caused this," he said, pointing in the direction of Marley who was clad in a red and white Cheerios outfit and surrounded by a pack of Cheerios and football players. She looked completely different with her hair pulled back slickly and her eyes done in dramatic makeup.
"Wait," Kitty snapped, closing her eyes and fighting the urge to vomit, "Please, please, tell me she is not wearing what I think she's wearing. I think Jesus just went blind."
"Well she is. I liked her a lot and you ruined her. You do realize that if you never kissed me in the hall, this wouldn't have-," Ryder began.
"Please just shut up. I think I have a migraine," Kitty said rubbing her temple.
"Coach Sylvester!" Kitty called as she ran into the coach's office, her ponytail streaming out behind her like a banner.
"Why hello, Kitty," Coach Sylvester said, stopping her religious trophy polishing routine for a second, "Did you feed my baby?"
"Of course, Coach. But why is there a Bambi-eyed, bushy-browed, bargain-basement Brat wearing a Cheerios uniform? It's like insulting your entire career! She-!"
"Are you referring to your new co-head Cheerio? I thought the board at Nationals would appreciate some diversity between Brittany and her, and, yes, hair color does count. Plus she's a hell of a tumbler."
"No, no, no. Coach, you don't understand. She is the most manipulative, cross-eyed slut that I have ever met. You can't trust her-!"
"Are you questioning my judgment, Kitty?" Coach asked, narrowing her eyes.
"No Coach, but-."
"There are no buts in cheerleading," Coach Sue replied, "The only time I ever use that word is when I'm telling my Cheerios to drop a few. Which you should consider. Kitty if this is all you have to complain about, then get out of my office. You're wasting my valuable, National-champ worthy time. And if you can't handle a little more competition, then lose the high pony. Simple as that." Kitty froze, completely speechless as the coach went back to scrubbing a Nationals trophy. Letting out a strangled scream of frustration, she stormed out of the office and—speak of the bitch.
"Oh, hey you," Marley said as she walked down the hall, her blue eyes nearly obscured by thick, fake eyelashes. Her lips were pursed in a very familiar expression, and her long brown hair was pulled up into the signature Cheerios pony. Two football players were on either side of her, carrying her bundles of schoolbooks.
Kitty snarled. Now was not the time to be up in her face. "Oh hey, Marley," Kitty said, making Marley's name sound like a curse word, "Nice to see you with so many friends. Too bad that poor boy, what's his name, Ryder is so left behind. Well, he won't have a problem finding someone new just like you. I mean, look over there." Marley smirked, but nonetheless swiveled to where Kitty was pointing her finger. Sure enough, Ryder was leaning against a locker, laughing at something that Sugar was saying. Marley visibly stiffened, but recovered.
"Whatever, Midget-Barbie, don't be jealous. I'm sure you'll get a boyfriend again…someday. How long did your last relationship last again? Like ten seconds?" The football players chortled and high-fived behind Marley's back, even though they clearly didn't get the joke, and all three of them walked away, surrounding Kitty in a haze of pure rage and freesia-scented perfume. No way. No freaking way was a cheap-perfume wearing, boyfriend stealing, five-thousand-pounds-in-the-making tree of a bitch going to take away her popularity. Hell no. Marley was going down. Hard. Kitty was done playing nice.
Marley's P.O.V
Ryder wouldn't. He couldn't possibly have moved on so fast. Just this morning he was chasing Marley around the school like a puppy chasing a porthouse steak. But ever since Kitty had planted that idea in her head, her school periods had become even more torturous. Seating choices were permanent and the past week Ryder and Marley had been awkwardly ignoring each other in English, Spanish, and science. Now, she literally was fighting every urge in her body to lean over and apologize to him. Trying to become Kitty was a stupid idea. Sure you had plenty of friends to go around and guys checking you out every five seconds, but nothing was real. Especially not the heavy lashes glued to her face that were starting to feel like two-ton bricks. She was popular, sure, and Coach Sylvester referred to her as "Top Bitch Number Two", but she missed her old friends. She missed Ryder and Unique, who had stopped talking to her when she made fun of his/her shoes as being "Cher, Madonna, and Ke$ha's crap all blended together." But would anyone even take her back? She wouldn't have.
"Ryder," she said quietly, praying he wouldn't spit in her face.
He looked up from "A Prayer for Owen Meany", looking very surprised, "Yeah?"
"Um," before Marley could even choke out an apology, she burst into tears. Trying not to show how hard she was crying, she sprang to her feet, "I'm really-really sorry," Then she ran for the bathroom.
Fwip. Fwip. Fwip. The strange sound of objects whizzing through the air caught Marley's attention just before the paintballs hit her. The sharp, stinging ricochets of pain bounced her along her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She barely had time to think about how Coach Sylvester would kill her after seeing the stains on her uniform. Bam! A paintball caught her chin and made her eyes blur with tears, but she could still make out the faint outline of Kitty towering over her, surrounded by a band of hockey players. She wasn't sure, but she thought she could see the fuzzy outline of Jake's leather jacket. Had he been shooting her too?
"What the hell is going on?" Mr. Schuester yelled, throwing himself in front of Marley. Instantly, the noise of paintballs flying stopped. A box of supplies lay by his feet so, obviously, he had been in the middle of packing for Washington. "Kitty, what are you doing?! All of you go to Principal Figgins' office. NOW." The band of hockey players tried to play off the command, but clearly they were afraid of expulsion. Even Kitty seemed a little scared as they turned the corner and she shot Marley a glare before her swishing skirt disappeared.
"Th-thank you," Marley murmured, clutching her chin. The pain was like hot fire searing at points all over her body, but she reminded herself of something. She deserved it. She was the one who had become insufferable in the first place.
"No problem. Do you want to go to the lost and found and find something to change into? Or do you want me to get the nurse-?"
"What happened?" Ryder's voice cut through Marley's quiet, shaking sobbing and she could hear the English teacher behind him, begging him to come back to class. "Who did it?" Marley had never heard him sound angrier.
"I'm going to go make sure they actually made it to the principal's office," Mr. Schue said, giving Marley a quick hug, clearly noticing Ryder's I'll-freaking-murder-them face.
"No one," Marley said as soon as Mr. Schue had rounded the corner, "It's fine, Ryder. I deserved it."
"You deserved it," Ryder choke out like the words were poison, "Are those…paint stains?" he practically spit the last word, his hand tightening around Marley's with a half comforting- half angry squeeze. "It was Kitty, wasn't it?"
"Ryder-,"
"Just answer the question, Marley."
"Yes, but please just let it go-,"
"But what?! You expect me to just think this is okay? You expect me to not wanna beat every single one of those idiot's asses?"
Marley paused, running a hand under her eyes to find streaks of black dripping down her face. Not very attractive. But she didn't care right then. She could feel the smallest glimmer of hope fluttering in her throbbing stomach. "Does this mean you forgive me?"
"I figure you've been punished enough for one day." Marley thought she could hear a smile in Ryder's voice as a slow grin crept out over her lips. Then before she could protest, Ryder picked her up and cradled her in his arms like a child. "We should probably get you to the nurse." As they began walking away, Marley spotted something over Ryder's shoulder that felt like a final slap in the face. Jake's leather jacket lay in the middle of a hallway like a silent message from Kitty, and she knew then that the blonde Cheerio couldn't have cared less that she might be suspended or even expelled. She had already reached her goal. To Marley, that jacket represented two words and two words only.
I win.
