AN – Okay guys, just a couple of things. First off, I know a couple of you said you don't like Lacey's Queen B attitude in this fic… that's kind of the point. Lacey (at the beginning of this) is really fake and self-absorbed. She's playing a role (much like she does on the show), and she does a good job at it. She's nice to who she needs to be, and to those she actually likes, but doesn't care much about anyone else. We'll explore that a little more as her character develops - hang with me, I promise it'll be fun.
Also – no shade to anyone named Ashley or Amber or Emily, I just needed some examples… you'll see what I mean when you get there. Enjoy!
What's Done in the Dark
The next several weeks passed in largely without incident. Lacey went about her usual activities in her usual way and it was all very… routine. On the upside, though, was the fact that her mother and sister had stopped treating her like some sort of mental patient that needed to be watched constantly lest she revert back to her less than savory ways. Still, the boredom and tediousness of it all was suffocating, and Lacey felt that she might explode from all the unspent energy she'd been holding onto.
School was only marginally better. Clara was doing well adjusting to high school, and the two of them had become much closer since Lacey returned from her father's house in August. Lacey hung out with her friends just about every night during the week, but usually opted to stay home on the weekends, because that was the time when her girls decided to let their hair down. While Lacey was confident she could maintain her good girl promise and still go out with her friends on the weekend, her mom wasn't quite as convinced. Lacey knew that arguing the point with Judy was a losing battle, so she just didn't bother.
The worst part about not going out with the girls was hearing the Monday morning re-cap of everything that had transpired over the previous two days. Lacey couldn't help feeling a little left out because she had to receive all the good "tea" (a term Regina had insisted on using after she'd heard one of her favorite gay boyfriends use it at one of the many parties she'd attended over the summer) second-hand. Today's recap was the worst to date, because it (unfortunately) focused on one person in particular.
"I can't believe he's dating that tramp this week," Regina said, malice dripping from her words as she looked across the quad to where Danny was standing talking to a girl who's name escaped Lacey at the moment. It was something typical… Amber, Ashley, Emily…? Whatever it was, it was about as memorable as the girl who wore it. Lacey silently appraised the girl, only half listening to Regina rant aloud about her attempts to get Danny to notice her at some shindig they'd both attended over the weekend. The girl was cute, she decided, if you were into that type. She smiled a lot and had long blonde hair and one of those squeaky voices that made it seem like everything she said was a question. She couldn't imagine that Danny was really interested in her – what could they possibly have to talk about? Then again, the vibes Lacey got from appraising their body language led her to believe there was very little in the way of conversation going on in their relationship.
Lacey shrugged her shoulders in dismissal, turning away from the nauseating couple and focusing her attention back on her friends. They were currently dissecting all of Danny's escapades since the school year had started. So far they'd been in school for just over eight weeks, and in that time, he'd been linked to six different girls – none of which were Regina. This, Regina had decided, was simply unacceptable.
"I just don't get it," Regina whined, looking to her friends for support, "what do any of those basic bitches have that I don't? How could he possibly prefer that" (she paused dramatically, giving each girl the opportunity to look back over at the nameless blonde still talking to Danny) "over this?"
Sarita snorted rudely, earning a glare from Regina as she said, "Maybe you're just not his type, Reg. From what I understand, he likes variety, and you're pretty much the standard around here. No offense."
Regina looked indignant at her friend. "I am anything but standard, Rita. I'm offended that you would even say such a thing. To compare me to these people is like comparing apples and tomatoes - vaguely similar in appearance, but one tastes so much sweeter than the other."
"Did she really just say apples and tomatoes?" Lacey thought, laughing to herself. Aloud she said, "Reg seriously, maybe you should just give up. It looks like he isn't interested in you, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of guys around here who are. I just saw Scott giving you the once-over like, five minutes ago. You've been saying how delicious he looks since we were freshmen – maybe you should focus on getting that instead."
It was the third time this morning that Lacey had suggested that maybe Regina should stop going after Danny, and it struck her as odd that her friend would say such a thing to her – clearly as her best friend, Lacey knew better than to think that she'd give up this easily. Regina looked at Lacey suspiciously before responding, "I'm not interested in Scott anymore, but thanks. Besides, when have you ever known me to give up so easily? You know what I think, Lacey? I think you're jealous. I think you want him for yourself and you're just trying to get me out of the way." Regina stood, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed, waiting for Lacey to respond.
Lacey looked around nervously, suddenly realizing that Regina had attracted the attention of several passersby with her outburst. She quickly calmed herself, situating her face with a look of stoic indifference before rising to Regina's challenge.
"Of course you would think that, Reg. How dare I be a good enough friend to try telling you as gently as possible that you should stop making a fool of yourself by throwing yourself at a guy who so clearly doesn't want anything to do with you? But whatever, don't worry, I won't be making that mistake again anytime soon."
Regina studied the other girl's face, trying to decide whether she was sincere or if she was just covering her own ass. "God, you're such a bitch Lacey."
Lacey leaned back in a relaxed stance, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at the redhead in front of her. "Takes one to know one, Reg."
For a moment the courtyard was silent as all eyes were trained on the two teen queens. Every eye in the near vicinity flitted anxiously between the two girls, wondering what was about to go down. The tension continued to mount as neither girl spoke for a long while, so long in fact that even Sarita and Phoebe began to worry that the girls were about to engage in a full on catfight.
Then, just as quickly as it started, the tension seemed to dissipate. Regina broke out into a wide grin and opened her arms, pulling Lacey in for a hug which she stiffly reciprocated. "You know I love you Lacey- you may be a bitch but I'm glad you're my bitch."
Suddenly everything returned to normal between the girls as they grabbed Sarita and Phoebe, making a chain four wide and heading into the building to their classes. The rest of the audience stood momentarily dumbfounded at what had just occurred, before moving on to their respective destinations for the day. Only Danny hung back from the crowd, deciding to stay outside and continue to enjoy the fresh air in lieu of crowding into the biology classroom he was assigned to first block. As he watched the foursome head into the building arm in arm, he noticed Lacey turn back. For just a moment their eyes locked and he felt as if time itself had stopped. But the moment was fleeting, and she refocused her attention on her friends as she made her way through the doors. Their connection had been powerful but brief, and it left him wondering if it had ever really happened at all.
The rest of the school day was largely uneventful, and Lacey arrived at home both tired and restless. Her mom and sister were gone for the next few hours to Clara's horse riding lessons, and so Lacey had the house to herself. She briefly considered inviting Sarita over, but thought better of it when she remembered that the girl had plans with Regina that afternoon. She definitely wasn't in the mood for another showdown with Regina today – they might have called a truce in the quad earlier that morning, but Lacey knew that their disagreement was far from over.
Deciding that she needed to get away from her house for awhile to avoid going stir crazy, Lacey went upstairs and changed into her workout clothes. Running was one of the few things that had always been able to calm Lacey's nerves when she was frazzled – actually, aside from Danny, running was the only thing that helped her clear her mind. "Wonder what he's up to this afternoon?" she thought to herself, letting her mind wander idly as she stripped out of her school clothes and grabbed a tank and compression leggings from her dresser drawer. She closed her eyes briefly, remembering him from earlier this morning. He'd looked so perfect standing in the courtyard before school, his hair pulled back in a loose bun at the nape of his neck and his signature white Henley and jeans ensemble covering the rest of him. She remembered watching him lightly brush some loose tendrils behind his ear as he spoke to the dumb blonde that'd been standing in front of him and imagined pulling his hair loose from its elastic and threading her hands into it as she pulled him in for a kiss.
"Danny always did have the best kisses," she thought wistfully, bringing herself back to the present as she bent to tie the laces of her running shoes. Lastly she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail and picked up her iPod as she made her way downstairs. She stopped at the refrigerator just long enough to grab a bottle of water and headed out the door, already jogging as she advanced down her driveway. She turned on the Pop Fitness station on Pandora and set about running to the track that circled the nearby park. Once there, she completed her normal routine, alternating between a steady jog and full on sprints for a full four miles. Finally, once she'd sufficiently tired herself out, Lacey decided it was time to head back home.
She jogged the four blocks back to her house slowly, using the distance as a cool-off period for her to come down from her workout. When she arrived, she noted that her mother and sister still hadn't made it back, and so she went inside, wanting to take a shower before starting dinner for the family. She'd barely made it to the stairs when the doorbell rang, forcing her to turn around. She approached the door, opening it after checking to see who was on the other side.
"Are you Lacey Porter?" the delivery man asked. When she confirmed, he handed her his digital scanner so that she could sign for the package and then handed her the thick envelope he was holding in his other hand. "Thank you ma'am – have a great night."
Lacey returned his pleasantries before closing the door behind him, looking curiously at the envelope in her hand. "What in the world is this?" she wondered, moving over into the kitchen and sitting at the bar. She stared at the package for a long time, speculating about the contents and debating whether or not she should open it. Finally her curiosity got the better of her, and she grabbed a butter knife from the utensil drawer, skimming it across the top of the envelope and opening it in one fell swoop. She looked inside, confused as she pulled out a folded letter and another, smaller envelope. The second envelope looked to be the kind that she remembered getting when her mother picked up film that'd been developed from the pharmacy when she was younger. She looked back and forth between the two items, an uneasy feeling rising in her gut as she tried to figure out why someone would be sending her old school films.
"Too late to turn back now," she thought to herself, sighing as she placed the film envelope on the counter, opening the letter first. As she unfolded the heavy paper, she became even more perplexed when she realized that there was only one line on the note:
"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."
That's it – cryptic and confusing. Lacey furrowed her brow, turning the paper over and looking inside the original envelope to make sure that she hadn't missed anything. After a minute or two she'd convinced herself that there was nothing more to be gleaned from the strange message, and so she instead focused her attention on the photo envelope. Steeling herself, she picked it up and opened it, suddenly horrified at what she saw inside.
"What the fuck?"