Stinky had not been his usual self since Lila broke up with him. She finally got the chance to do it earlier on a Monday morning, and was seen hanging around Arnie before he went back to the countryside. She was not going out with Arnie, but she could not deny that her feelings for Stinky were platonic at this point.
"Hey, it's not that bad being single," Sid said, trying to cheer his best friend up.
"Gosh, you're just saying that on the account that you ain't never had a serious girlfriend before," groaned Stinky, who had buried his face into his hands. "But once you found something as special that me and Miss Lila had, it's just so tragic when it's gone."
"Thanks Stinky," Sid said sarcastically. He knew his friend was hurting and all, but what he had said was not necessary. He wasn't too upset though and quickly changed the subject. "Didn't you think Gloria was really pretty?" he asked.
"I-I-I guess," Stinky sniffed. "But she's not Lila!"
"There are plenty of other girls out there, Stinky. You just gotta find one that you like even more than Lila."
"Don't say her name!" Stinky cried.
Realizing that he was unable to be much help, Sid decided to give Stinky some space. "If you need to talk to me, just let me know. I'll be there," he said as he left his friend's house.
He got onto a bus to Big Al's, where the rest of the gang sans Lila, were hanging out. They had decided to meet up to figure out a way to cheer Stinky up. When he arrived, they had already began to ask if Stinky was feeling better or not.
"Nope, I couldn't do anything at all. He's still miserable," Sid sighed. He ordered a chocolate milkshake as they began to discuss.
"I still can't believe that Lila would break up with him," said Phoebe, fidgeting with her straw.
"And because of that stupid Arnie!" Helga added with a scowl.
"There's nothing we can do about that," Patty chimed in. "She can't help who she falls in love with."
"Yeah... I guess..." everyone else mumbled in agreement. They knew they couldn't be mad at Lila for breaking up with him. That was just part of life but it's hard to forgive a person for breaking the heart of your close friend. Even if that person is also a close friend of yours.
And that was that conversation. Once everyone had finished their shakes, they no longer felt like talking to they all went their separate ways.
The next few days were a bit strained. The remaining couples had been extra lovey-dovey as if to prove that they were still in love with each other. Harold and Patty had finally declared their relationship as an official and exclusive thing. But there was still this tension that no one could shake off. The gang overall had kind of drifted apart after that, no one wanted to look like they were choosing sides.
Soon it was Thanksgiving break, which meant they got an entire week off from school. Sid decided it was the perfect opportunity to help Stinky get over Lila.
"How about it, Stinky? Just you and me. Let's crash Mike Wheaton's party tonight," Sid said over the phone.
"Mike Wheaton? That senior quarterback that still picks on Harold? I dunno, Sid," answered Stinky.
"Mike might be a dick, but that doesn't mean he doesn't throw a wicked awesome party. Think of all the hot senior babes that are going to be there!" Sid continued excitedly.
"B-but... I'm just gonna make a fool outta myself there. 'sides, I ain't over Miss Lila yet," Stinky argued.
""Come on, it'd be fun! I promise! You won't even remember that girl's name by the end of the night!"
"...Fine. But I'm telling ya, it ain't gonna work."
"Sure, sure, you can tell me that after the party. And please try to look presentable. It is a senior party."
Later that night, Sid and Stinky walked over to Wheaton's place. They managed to slip into the crowd that was entering the rather large house, and got in without any suspicions drawn to them. Stinky had managed to clean himself up and was wearing a white v-neck and a blue denim jacket while Sid was sporting his usual green cap with a gray button up. The house was filled with a ton of people, most of which the two did not recognize.
"Want anything to drink?" Sid asked loudly so Stinky could hear him over the loud, pounding music.
"A sprite would be nice," Stinky yelled back.
"Uh... yeah... I'll try..." Sid said, knowing that non-alcoholic drinks were hard to come around in parties like these. When he came back, he gave his friend a red Solo cup with something that was definitely not sprite. "It's... uh... root beer?" Sid lied. Well, he was kind of telling the truth... There was just more "beer" than "root".
Stinky took a sip and nearly gagged. "This is some funky tasting root beer, Sid," he said with a cough.
"It just takes some getting used to. All the seniors drink this stuff," Sid said, taking a sip himself. He was more accustomed to it, as he and his dad often drank while watching football together or whatever. Maybe he shouldn't be lying to his best friend, but the alcohol could give him the testosterone boost he needed to meet another girl and get over Lila.
A few drinks later, Stinky was flirting with almost every girl in sight. Man, did he feel good. He got onto the dance floor and danced with anyone who would dance with him. He was starting to attract some attention and the senior girls could not help but wonder who this mysterious person was. Meanwhile, Sid watched proudly in the sidelines. He felt pretty good and not just because he had some beers in him. It looked like he was able to get Stinky back into the game.
While on the dance floor, Stinky had spotted a pretty girl standing by herself by the drinks. Well, he assumed she was pretty. Her figure was smoking hot and she had long, black hair but he didn't get to see her face. He walked up to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "You are looking too fine to be all alone, miss," he slurred.
The mystery woman turned around, at first with a look of disgust and then shock. "Stinky?!" she gasped.
"How... do ya know my name, gorgeous?" he asked, somewhat surprised but too drunk to care. He placed an arm around her shoulder. "Why don't we go find somewhere quiet and talk for a bit?"
"Stinky... it's me... Rhonda?" the girl said, trying to push his arms off.
"Rhonda? Ha... I know a girl by that name. She's hot too!" Stinky continued, leaning his face closer towards her.
Sid, who had just realized what was going on, managed to dash across the room and stop Stinky from doing anything else to her. "Stinky! Whoah! Ahaha... buddy, that's Rhonda, remember? The one who used to make fun of us for wearing clothes that were 'so out of season'?" he said, pulling his best friend off of the girl he had been crushing on forever. "Haha... hey Rhonda. Whatcha doing here?" he asked, trying to laugh it off.
"It's a party, why do you think I'm here?" Rhonda replied, slightly annoyed. "More importantly, what happened to Stinky? He isn't drugged or anything, is he?"
"No. No. No. He's just drunk. It's his first time," answered Sid. He turned to look at his best friend, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. "Damn it, Stinky..."
"I'll help you look for him," offered Rhonda.
"Thanks, Rhonda."
The two split up to look for their very intoxicated friend. It wasn't long until Sid found him flirting with a senior girl with dyed red hair. "You kinda look like my ex-girlfriend," he admitted, almost tearing up at the phrase "ex-girlfriend".
"Well, she's really missing out if she broke up with you," the girl said in a sultry voice. She put her arms around him as if to comfort him, but her intentions were probably less innocent than that.
"Thanks... That's awful nice of you to say," he sniffed.
Sid probably would have been happy for him if it wasn't for the fact that the girl that Stinky was hitting on was Mike's girlfriend. "Uh Stinky... we gotta go!" he said, trying to get his best friend to come with him.
"But why, Sid? You ain't letting me have any fun! First with Miss Rhonda and now with Miss..." his voice trailed off as he didn't know the girl's name.
"Aubrey," the girl said, filling in the blank.
"Thanks. Miss Aubrey," Stinky continued.
Before Sid could say anything, Mike stormed up towards them and was tugging on Stinky's shirt. "You think you can waltz in here and flirt with my girl?" he said in a menacing voice.
"Shut up, Mike! You were the one who said you didn't want to be 'exclusive'!" Aubrey complained. "I'm allowed to talk to whoever I want!"
"Fuck off, bitch!" Mike hissed at the girl. "This ain't got nothing to do with you." He then refocused his attention onto Stinky. After closely examining Stinky's face, he said, "What are you doing here, Sophomore? Who do you think you are, crashing my party and talking to my girl like that, punk?" He slammed Stinky against the wall, creating a loud thud that caused everyone in the room to gasp.
"Hey! Leave my friend alone!" Sid shouted and went over to stand beside his friend.
"Ugh... Another sophomore brat! Fine. I'll just have to beat the both of you up!"
"No one is beating anyone up!" interrupted Rhonda. She was holding her cell phone up that already had 9-1-1 entered into it. "If you even touch a single hair on their heads, I will call the police and let them know that there was a whole lot of underage drinking going on here!"
"What!? No way!" everyone at the party began to go in a panic.
"You wouldn't dare, bitch!" Mike said with a glare.
"Firstly, my name is Rhonda Wellington Lloyd! Secondly, don't test me," she retorted, dangling her phone as a taunt.
Mike hesitated for a moment, but gave in. He was going to get killed by his parents if they found out about the party, even more so if the police was involved. "Fine! J-just get out of here!" he said, giving up. He let go of Stinky and walked away.
"Come on, you guys," said Rhonda, heading towards the exit.
"We leaving already?" asked Stinky as Sid dragged him out of the house.
Once they safely mad it out, Sid and Rhonda sighed simultaneously. Before Sid could thank her for helping them out of a tight situation, she started lecturing them. "What were you guys thinking?" she demanded. "Stinky! I get that you're drunk but still! You can't just hit on everything that moves! And Sid! How could you let Stinky drink that much? He's never had alcohol before right?"
"I... don't feel good..." groaned Stinky and he threw up in the bush in front of Matt's house.
"Ugh... I'll get my driver to take you both home. But if Stinky pukes all over the limo, I swear I'm going to kill you both!" Rhonda said.
Rhonda quickly called her driver and the three went home. They decided to drop Stinky off first since he was a complete wreck. The two struggled to carry the tall, lanky boy who had fallen asleep during the drive. Fortunately, Stinky's dad was understanding enough and thanked them for helping his son out.
That left Rhonda and Sid in her limo.
"...Sorry Rhonda... and thanks for saving our sorry butts," Sid said, finally getting a word out.
"It's fine, Sid," she sighed. She kind of felt bad for yelling at them now. She was just so worried and didn't want them to get into more trouble. Mike was big and tough; if they got into a fight with him, they were surely going to the hospital afterwards. "I'm sorry for... being so harsh earlier."
"Nah, we had it coming. We were being stupid."
"What were you guys doing there anyways?"
"I just wanted to help Stinky forget about Lila. I thought a couple of drinks would help him unwind. I didn't think he'd become a casa nova and try to steal Mike's girl. What about you? Why were you there?"
"Please, if there's a cool party in town, I'm there," Rhonda said smugly causing Sid to laugh. "What? It's true!"
It didn't take long for them to arrive in front of Sid's house. "Alright, good night, Sid. Don't get into anymore trouble. I can't save you every time," she teased as he got out of the car.
"Hey! Maybe next time I'll be the one saving you," he returned with a cheeky grin. "Good night, Rhonda."
When he got to his room, he checked the time and saw that it was only ten. They were only at Mike's party for about an hour and a half. "Jeez, we got kicked out fast," he thought to himself. "It was expected, but not in the way that it happened... And man, was Stinky going to feel it tomorrow. Hopefully he won't remember any of it and blame me or something." Despite the fact that it was still early, he was freaking tired. "It was kind of a long day, I guess." He decided to call it a night and got ready for bed. Before he fell asleep, he glanced over at the green turtle that Rhonda had won for him a few weeks ago and smiled.
Author's note:
Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I've been busy with classes. Again, thank you all for your views and reviews and support. I'll try to make things less cliche... though I think it's kind of nice to have some cliches with this pairing since we never really get to see this couple. But that's just my opinion. I have more stuff coming up and hope that you will all keep following the story! Thanks!
