A/N #1: Thanks to Kali Rose, an anonymous reviewer, for giving me an idea of what to finally write for this chapter. And again, thanks for your patience and for not yelling at me when I didn't update for so long. I kind of wish you had yelled at me, because then you wouldn't have had to wait this long for an update, but oh, well.
And now, without further ado...
Chapter Four - Games
Several days later, Stacey sat in her World History class. Her teacher was lecturing on the Crusades, but she wasn't listening to a thing she was supposed to be learning. She was instead focused on the boy whose heart she wished she could win her own crusade for.
This boy, she'd discovered, was named John - John Malcolm. He was a Cross Country star, apparently, and therefore in very good physical condition. Although Cross Country wasn't a sport most were interested in knowing anything about, she'd found out that the school's Cross Country team gained a lot of attention because of John. He had many fans who cheered him on at meets, the majority of those fans being girls - girls who she didn't have a chance of beating when it came to trying to get him to go on a date with her. And even if she did have a chance, she would never have asked him; she was too shy to approach boys unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Stacey? Stacey? Is anyone awake in that head of yours?"
Stacey snapped out of her trancelike staring as she realized that her teacher, whose name was Mrs. Weiss, was calling on her to answer a question she hadn't heard, and she immediately turned to Mrs. Weiss, raising her eyebrows.
"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head to further make herself pay attention to what was going on in class. "Could you repeat that?"
"I suppose so," Mrs. Weiss replied, sighing slightly. "I was asking you if you'd heard me say how long the Crusades lasted."
Stacey hadn't heard Mrs. Weiss say how long the Crusades lasted, but she knew the answer, for she'd read the information about the Crusades in her textbook the night before in order to have some idea of exactly what would be discussed. She therefore was able to reply, "Almost two hundred years... from 1095 to 1291."
"That's right," Mrs. Weiss confirmed, looking mildly surprised and nodding. "Good job."
Stacey smiled, darting a glance in John's direction to see if he was looking at her. He wasn't - he was instead passing notes back and forth to Blair Danwick, a Varstiy Cheerleader and one of the most popular girls in school.
Well, of course he's paying attention to Blair, she thought to herself with a soft sigh. Everyone pays attention to Blair - she's so pretty. And she knows it, too... she's so vain and rude... but I guess he doesn't know that for some reason. Surely he wouldn't be talking to her otherwise.
Just then, the bell rang, dismissing students from the class. Stacey rose from her seat, gathering her supplies and placing them in her backpack before walking out of the classroom and heading to her next class, which was Advanced English II.
"Hey, Stacey... wait up!"
Upon turning around, Stacey saw that Blair was waving at her, walking quickly in order to catch up to her.
"Good," Blair said, smiling as she linked arms with Stacey. "Let's walk together - you've got English next, right?"
"Yeah," Stacey replied, looking down at her and Blair's linked arms and wondering why Blair was suddenly making friendly gestures towards her when she'd thought that Blair hadn't even know she'd existed.
"Well, I've got English, too. I mean, you're in the Advanced class, but it's all in the same hallway." Blair paused for a moment. "So how are you? We haven't talked in a while."
Stacey's eyes narrowed a little. "Um, we've never talked."
"Really? Haven't we been going to school together from the beginning - ever since Kindergarten?"
"Yes. But we've still never talked."
"That's so weird," Blair replied, shaking her head in a rather incredulous manner. "Well, anyway, we're talking now. And I wanna tell you... I saw you making eyes at John today."
Stacey said nothing in response, but her cheeks turned slightly pink.
Blair smiled. "So you do like him. Good. Then I won't sound silly when I invite you over to my place this afternoon for a little study group."
At this, Stacey frowned a little. "What does my liking John have to do with a study group?"
"John's a part of the group, of course," Blair replied in an it's-so-obvious tone, laughing a little. "We meet at my house every day and study for a little while... and then we play a few games."
"What kind of games?"
"Old-timey kissing games... like Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven. Have you ever played Seven Minutes in Heaven before?"
"No. But I know the rules."
"Well, you'll be able to play it this afternoon when you come over. And when I tell John about you, he'll wanna play with you... see, he likes girls who are your type best - you know, the smart, shy type. It's just that he never knows who they are because he doesn't hang out in the same circles as they do, so they have to be pointed out to him. But whenever I tell him about you, he'll wanna get to know you... and one of the best ways to get to know a person is by playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with that person."
Stacey frowned again. "I thought going on a date was the best way to get to know a person that you might wanna date."
"No, no. You start with a kissing game like Seven Minutes in Heaven... and if playing Seven Minutes in Heaven goes well, you ask that person to go on a date with you."
"Oh," Stacey replied, feeling slightly embarrassed that she hadn't known this information about modern dating a long time ago. "Okay. So... when does your study group meet?"
"Right after school... at my house. Here, let me write down the address and the directions for you."
Blair then reached into her backpack and grabbed a half-sheet of notebook paper, writing down her address and the directions for how to get to her house with a pen. Then she handed it to Stacey.
"So we'll see you there?" she then asked of Stacey.
"Definitely," Stacey replied, nodding and smiling. She now felt that Blair clearly wasn't vain or rude at all - that she was actually quite nice. "Thanks for inviting me."
"Great. I can't wait."
Stacey nodded and smiled again, then walked into her Advanced English II classroom while Blair walked down the hall and to her own English classroom as the bell to begin the next class rang.
When the final bell of the day finally rang, and Stacey quickly made her way to James's house, where she wanted to make her appearance a little bit better before going over to Blair's house for the study group. She was very excited and immediately let James know it upon arriving to his house.
"James!" she squeaked as she ran inside the house, practically slamming the door enthusiastically as James rose to his feet and walked out of the living room and over to her. "You won't believe what's happened - I got invited to a study group, and guess who's a part of the group?"
She couldn't tell, as he was wearing his mask, but she was sure that he was raising his eyebrows underneath it. "Well, based on your enthusiasm, I'd guess it's that boy who you say is out of your league."
"His name's John," she informed him, still sounding thrilled, "and yes, he's part of the group! And apparently he really likes the type of girl that I am, so when we play kissing games after we study -"
"Kissing games?" he echoed. "You play kissing games at this study group?"
"After we study, like I just said," she reassured him. "But anyway, when we play, he's gonna want to play with me... and if all goes well, he'll ask me on a date!"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah! So I need to fix up my hair... my straightener's here, and I've never used it before... but I think today is a good day to start."
And without another word, she ran up the stairs and to the room where she slept whenever she spent the night at his house in order to straighten her hair.
He looked after her for several moments, and then he turned and went back into the living room, where he decided that he would have one of his "pretending to read" times until she came back downstairs and was preparing to leave.
As it turned out, he didn't have to wait too terribly long, for about fifteen minutes later, he heard the soft thud of her footsteps coming down the stairs, to the first floor, and into the living room. Upon looking up, he saw that she looked prettier than he'd ever seen her before.
Along with straightening her hair, which she'd done perfectly, she'd changed into a different outfit that consisted of a v-neck three-quarter-length blue shirt, which brought out the blue in her eyes, a pair of jeans that had a few fake gems lining the top of the pockets, and a pair of white tennis shoes with a few blue stripes. Her backpack was on her back, so she apparently was prepared to go.
"So?" she prompted, shrugging and glancing down at her outfit for a brief moment before looking back up at him. "What do you think?"
For several moments, he was silent as he simply looked at her, and then he said softly, "You look incredible, Stacey. I've never seen you look so nice. If this boy is really all you believe him to be and likes pretty girls who are your type, he should really want to play a kissing game with you."
She smiled, looking down at the floor in a rather shy fashion. "Thanks."
"But," he then continued, clearing his throat and straightening himself slightly. "I want to tell you that you need to be careful. Don't let the fact that you like this boy cloud your judgment. If you play this kissing game with him and it gets to be too... amorous... then you need to stop and leave. You don't want to do anything that could end up impacting the rest of your life... you know, like getting pregnant."
His chin and neck were red, telling her that he was apparently embarrassed that he'd given her a lecture about something rather personal. This caused her to smile, and she walked over to the living room and sat next to him on the sofa.
"I won't go making any rash decisions," she replied reassuringly. "But thank you for your concern."
He nodded. "You're welcome."
After they'd looked at each other for a few moments, she leaned forward and lightly pressed a kiss to his chin before rising to her feet and heading for the front door.
"I'll come back when it's over and let you know how it went... and we'll have dinner together," she announced, her voice floating from entryway to the living room. "Wish me luck!"
"Good luck," he replied softly, but he wasn't sure that she heard him, for he heard the door opening and closing as she apparently left at the same time that he spoke.
When several moments had then passed, he reached up and lightly touched the part of his chin that she had kissed. And then, much to his surprise, he began to wonder if there was any chance that Stacey might not much like this boy she was so excited to play a kissing game with...
He wondered if there was any chance that she might like him just a little bit better.
Several minutes later, Stacey arrived at Blair's house. There were several cars there, which indicated that those who were part of the study group had already arrived and that she was late - and she'd known that she would be, but if making herself look a little bit nicer proved to be some kind of factor in winning John over, she would feel it was worth it.
After she'd rang the doorbell, the door opened, and Blair stood there.
"Hey!" she greeted her in a friendly tone, smiling at her. "You changed your clothes and straightened your hair... and you look really cute!"
Stacey smiled. "Thanks. Sorry it made me a little bit late."
"That's okay," Blair replied, waving it away for a moment before motioning Stacey inside. "Come on in - everyone's in the living room."
Taking a deep breath, Stacey stepped inside the house as Blair closed the door behind her. She then followed Blair down the hall and to the living room, where five or six of the most popular people at school were sitting. John was one of them.
"Everyone, this is Stacey," Blair announced to them, motioning to Stacey. "I invited her to start studying with us, and it'll be really good for us because she's really smart - she takes advanced classes. So whatever we're learning, she'll understand it better and will be able to explain it to us if we don't understand."
There were several appreciative-sounding murmurs from the group. When John's and Stacey's eyes happened to meet, he flashed her a perfect smile, and she rather shyly smiled back, feeling her face grow slightly warm.
"Yeah. So Stacey, go ahead and sit wherever you want."
"Okay," Stacey replied, feeling that it would be a little too forward and obvious if she sat by John and therefore sitting on the floor by the coffee table. She placed her backpack on the floor and opened it, bracing herself to take out whatever was going to be studied.
"So we're talking about Jane Eyre - are you reading that in your Advanced English class right now?" Blair inquired of Stacey.
"I read it in Advanced English last year," Stacey said. "I still remember most of what I learned about it, though. What about it?"
"Well, we've got these study questions, and this one question asks what one particular person and one particular thing in the book symbolize."
"Bertha Mason for the person... and the red room for the thing. Right?"
"Yeah. I guess you got the same study questions as we did. So anyway, we think we got down what Bertha Mason symbolizes... but we don't really know about the red room. Do you remember what you said about it - and if you got it right?"
Stacey looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know I got it right. I'm pretty sure I said that it symbolizes what Jane has to overcome in order to find freedom, happiness, and a sense of belonging. It means physical imprisonment and exile whenever she's actually placed in it, and she remembers it whenever she's in some kind of bad situation that's indicative of imprisonment and exile - you know, like financial troubles, social ostracism, and exclusion from love."
"Wow," Blair said, and she and everyone else in the room appeared to be impressed. "That was really deep... and I'm pretty sure you're right. Thanks."
Upon receiving this apparent approval from the people who were higher than she on the social ladder, Stacey smiled.
"And that's enough studying - for now, anyway; I guess we can come back to it later if we really want to," Blair continued. She and the other popular students in the room shared glances and rather secretive smiles. "Now we wanna play a game involving a room that's not red... that doesn't indicate imprisonment and exile. So let's put our stuff away and sit down on the floor in a circle so we can play Seven Minutes in Heaven."
The popular students cheered, and Stacey shot John a fleeting glance. He didn't notice, however. Then everyone put their study materials back into their backpacks and then sat on the floor in a circle, with Blair obviously being the center of attention even though she wasn't separate from the others in the circle.
"So we have to pick a God who'll pick who goes into the room," Blair announced. "Anyone wanna volunteer?"
"No, I wanna be able to go," one boy said. "God isn't allowed to go."
There was a murmur of agreement amongst the other popular students while Stacey said nothing, so Blair shrugged and said, "All right. Then I'll play God for a little while... but then someone's gonna have to switch off with me so I'll have a chance to go."
Everyone nodded.
"Okay," Blair said, taking a deep breath and smiling. "For the first couple, I pick... Stacey and... John. So get up, Stacey, and I'll walk you to the closet."
Stacey nodded silently, rising to her feet and walking to the other side of the living room with Blair. There was a door there, and when Blair opened it, it was revealed to be a walk-in linen closet.
"So I told John all about you," Blair then told Stacey quietly so that the others wouldn't hear, motioning for Stacey to step inside the closet, which she did. "And he practically begged me to make sure that you two got picked at some point. So I told everyone else about what was going on..."
Stacey felt a little embarrassed at that. She wasn't exactly thrilled with everyone in the group being in on trying to get her and John paired up for Seven Minutes in Heaven.
"... And they all agreed to pick you and John if they got to be God, so even if I hadn't been God, you two would have gone first." Blair paused for a moment. "But anyway, don't mess this up. You want it to go well so he'll ask you out, right?"
"Yeah, of course," Stacey breathed, nodding fervently and feeling excitement run through her veins as she thought about what it would be like to be able to date the guy she liked.
"Then make sure you do things right. Let him take the lead... but don't let him make you uncomfortable."
"Okay," Stacey replied, nodding again.
Blair smiled. "Okay. Good luck."
And then she was gone and the door was closed, and Stacey was alone in the closet.
There was a silence for a few moments, and during that time, Stacey took a deep breath and closed her eyes, silently hoping that she wouldn't mess things up and that she would take James's advice and not let things get too out of hand.
The door opened, and in stepped John.
"Hi," he said, giving her another beautiful smile like he'd done earlier as he closed the door behind him. "I'm John."
She nodded. "I know. I'm Stacey."
His smile widened a little as he stepped closer to her. "I know. Blair told me about you today... and I couldn't believe I hadn't met you before. I wish I had; she made you sound really great. We could have been together for a long time by now if I'd known about you."
"Yeah, maybe." She felt her heart pounding.
"Not maybe. Definitely." He got a little bit closer. "Have you ever played this game before?"
"No."
"But you know how it goes, right?" He placed his hands on her hips, lightly massaging them with his thumbs.
"Yeah." She took a deep breath.
"Are you nervous?"
She bit her lip, feeling slightly embarrassed as she confessed, "A little."
"Well, don't be. I'm a nice guy. I wouldn't hurt someone as amazing as you... and I won't even do that thing that has a chance of hurting you. I wouldn't wanna do something that could defile you - I mean, we don't know each other that well yet."
"You think I'm amazing?" she breathed, awestruck at his use of that word and the fact that he'd said an older word like defile.
"I don't think. I know." He then reached up and softly stroked her hair with his hands. "You're really beautiful, too."
All of a sudden, she felt herself growing a bit weak at the knees.
"Have you ever been kissed, Stacey?" he then asked.
"No," she whispered.
"Well, allow me..."
He began leaning his face forward so that it was coming closer and closer to hers very slowly, his hands now resting on her shoulders, and she closed her eyes and started leaning in, too.
But then, suddenly, his hands were gone from her shoulders, and she heard the sound of the closet door opening and laughter. She opened her eyes as she started to fall forward, managing to catch herself by taking hold of one of the shelves in front of her.
The laughter continued, and she turned to see that John, Blair, and the others who had been part of the study group were standing outside the closet, laughing - at her.
"Oh, my God!" John exclaimed, and he and his friends kept laughing. "She totally fell for it! She thought I thought she was amazing and beautiful and that I was actually going to kiss her!"
"Wasn't this an awesome idea?" Blair demanded, grinning.
"Definitely!" John agreed enthusiastically, and the two high-fived each other.
And then the group all turned and looked at Stacey, their laughter beginning to grow back to the level it had originally been.
For a moment, Stacey stood there, feeling totally shocked and at a loss as to what to do. But then tears welled in her eyes, and she realized that all she could really do in a humiliating situation like this was run. So she ran out of the closet, picked up her backpack, and ran out of the house and all the way to James's house, crying.
"James!" she cried out, sobbing as she entered James's house and closed the door behind her. "James...!"
After a few seconds during which she stood in the entryway alone, James came from wherever he'd been upstairs and joined her. She could see in his eyes that he appeared alarmed and angry upon seeing that she was crying.
"What happened to you?" he demanded, sounding rather infuriated and stepping closer to her before seeming to come to a halt. "Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?"
"No," she whimpered, letting out a little hiccuping sob. "But we were in the closet together... and he was telling me all these nice things... and we were about to kiss when he moved away and opened the closet door... and then he and everyone else started laughing at me! It was all some kind of practical joke to them!"
She then started fully crying again, and he sighed. "Well, that's a lot better than what I thought he did... but now you know that he's clearly not worth your time or your affections."
"Yeah," she replied shakily, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "But I still feel so embarrassed. I totally fell for all of it."
"Well, you trusted that things were going to work out the way you were told they were." He paused. "But now you know what kind of person he really is... an immature, foolish person who has absolutely no idea that you're likely to be the best thing that never happened to him because he didn't see how valuable you are."
"You're just saying that."
"No, I'm not," he insisted, shaking his head in a rather fervent manner. "You're an intelligent, attractive, wonderful young woman and any man should consider himself lucky to merely be in your presence. Those who don't are fools. So come on, now, and stop crying. That boy isn't worthy of your tears."
She said nothing and instead removed her glasses, wiping her eyes and gradually ceasing her crying. In the process, he took her glasses from her and wiped them off on his shirt.
"Here you go," he said when he'd finished, at which point she'd also stopped crying and wiping her eyes, holding her glasses out to her. "There. Do you feel better now?"
"I guess so," she replied with a sigh as she took her glasses from him and put them back on. She sniffed a little. "Did you really mean what you said... that I'm valuable and attractive and all of that?"
He nodded and gave her a small smile. "Of course. And anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot."
She somewhat weakly smiled back. "Well, thank you. That's very sweet of you."
"You're welcome," he replied, shrugging. "Now how about you go upstairs and freshen up... and I'll fix dinner. Is there something in particular that you'd like to eat?"
"Anything that involves pasta sounds good to me."
"All right."
She nodded silently, and then she turned and made her way upstairs without another word.
For several moments, he looked after her, and then he turned and made his way into the kitchen so that he could prepare dinner for the two of them.
Good God, he thought to himself as he got a box of tortellini from the pantry so he could cook it. I think I just started to have a crush on her.
A/N #2: In case you didn't catch the reference, Blair is our modern Carlotta. So there. :)