Chapter Seven: Fate is a Cruel SOB
Michelle glanced away from the chalkboard where the teacher was trying to explain how to add the atomic weight of molecules to the sheet of paper Reid had just slid over to her.
You look pretty confused 'Chelle. Do you get any of this?
Michelle smiled and shook her head lightly before she scribbled a quick response.
Not really. I don't know why this guy is still teaching. He's a hundred years old and that mole is starting to talk to me I swear.
She could see Reid shaking with laughter out of the corner of her eye as he wrote. A quick glance at the teacher revealed he still had no clue that most of his class was bordering on a comatose state. Reid slid the paper back over and she quickly scanned what he had written.
He's been teaching here as long as I can remember. Lol. Really? What's it saying?
I don't know. It only speaks Spanish. Maybe we should have Tyler come in and translate?
Michelle laughed silently to herself for a moment before she heard Reid's quiet chuckle.
"Mr. Garwin. Maybe you would like to explain to the class what your amusement is with the noble gases?"
Reid's face smoothed into a charming smile and he shrugged. "Nothing sir, this is just one of my favorite classes." He said as he reproduced a set of perfect notes for all to see. Wonder where he got those? Michelle mused silently as she updated her own half finished notes. Reid sat down and the professor continued his lecturing in the same half-hearted monotone he had been using for the past hour.
Michelle sat chewing her lower lip as she hurriedly tried to copy down the notes before the teacher erased them. A piece of paper slid into her peripheral vision and she opened it with a sigh.
So Fall Fest is tomorrow night.
Michelle felt her face screw up in confusion as she wrote her reply while looking like she was trying to write notes. Professor Moers was known for making students go to the front of the class and read notes. No way would she survive that.
Yeah, so?
Fall Fest was one of the major dances at Spencer. They didn't do Halloween here. What with the Salem Witch Trials and everything. They called it sacrilege, something about disgracing those who had lost their lives during that terrible time. To an extent, she agreed. But to her, Halloween was dressing up and trick or treating, playing pranks, and having fun. She didn't really think about the "evil" part of it all, because it didn't apply to her.
Reid slid the paper over to her but she ignored it as her phone vibrated in the inside pocket of her blazer. She glanced at Reid as she slipped the phone out of her pocket and checked the text message from Tyler.
Hey Chelle, will you go to Fall Fest with me tomorrow night?
-Ty
Reid motioned for her to hand him over the phone under the table. She handed it to him silently with one hand while she turned her and Reid's note paper over with the other.
So will you go with me or not?
Michelle rolled her eyes. Go figure. She couldn't very well turn Reid down, simply because she'd read Tyler's request first. How ridiculous, why couldn't they wait and ask her in person and make the decision easier for her? She glanced at Reid out of the corner of her eye as he slid her phone into his pocket and leaned on the table with his arms crossed under his chin. She wrote her reply quickly but the bell rang before she could pass it back to Reid.
Irritated, she jammed the page into her bag with her books and stormed down the steps after Reid to get her phone back. He disappeared into the throng of students leaving her standing in the hallway.
Michelle grit her teeth as she stormed to her locker. Great. Just great. At least in the two classes she had with Tyler they were separated by several rows and Reid never talked to her in Drama Arts unless they happened to do an improv. scene together. That gave her most of the day to figure out what she was going to do.
Home Ec. with Pogue and Caleb. Yippee. They would get to bake cookies today. Michelle trudged down the hall towards the Home Ec. Room mumbling about stupid boys the whole time.
"So they both asked you? At the same time?" Caleb asked quietly as he leaned against his hand while Pogue was sent to the bathroom to put his hair back. Michelle rolled her eyes while she pulled out the necessary bowls in their tiny little kitchenette.
"Basically. And I can't pick. That's just mean." Michelle said quietly as she slid onto the stool beside Caleb and flopped her head pathetically on his shoulder. Caleb chuckled softly to himself as he pat her head lightly.
"You know, the answer is really simple 'Chelle."
Michelle jerked upright, her eyes bright. "Really? What is it?"
Caleb grinned and Michelle had a feeling she probably was going to have to beat him with a spatula. "You could always forget Reid and Ty and go with me."
Michelle stared at Caleb first in surprise, and then felt her face go completely blank. "You better be kidding because that is not funny."
Caleb looked serious for a moment then broke into an ear to ear smile. "Yeah. I'm kidding. Relax Michelle. I already have a date for Fall Fest."
Wait… What? Michelle stared at Caleb in surprise. She'd never actually seen him with a girl, or even talk about one. She sort of was toying with the notion that he was gay.
Caleb watched the suspicious look on Michelle's face in silence. This was gonna be fun.
Michelle silently mused over every possible exit she could make after dumping cookie dough in Caleb's hair but realized after a moment or two that it was pointless since he would probably catch her and break an egg in her hair or something… Ew….
"Why don't you just go with both of them 'Chelle?" Caleb suggested after a moment of mixing ingredients in silence. "I mean we're all going together in a group anyway."
Michelle cocked her head to the side as she handed him the chocolate chips. That wasn't too bad an idea. "I don't know if they'll go for that though. Those two don't exactly play nice." She murmured before moving over to the oven and setting the temperature to precisely 350 degrees. "Where the hell is Pogue?" She added as an afterthought.
Caleb just shrugged. "I don't think they'd have too much of a problem with it. I mean they both want to go with you. Why not just go together? The most they'd have to do is share you for pictures and a dance. That's it."
Michelle rolled the idea over and over in her head while they shaped the cookies. "I don't see why it wouldn't work. I'll see if they'll go for it."
"Let me handle that Baby Girl." Caleb said with a grin, wiping his hands off on a towel and sending a quick text to both Reid and Tyler. "Better make it seem like their idea anyway."
She shrugged lightly as she continued spooning cookie dough on the trays. He had a good point.
A grin slowly spread across her face that made Caleb nervous. "Do I even want to know what you're thinking Michelle? If it has anything to do with rabid penguins in Kate's room I don't want to know."
Shock blanked her features as she stared at him. "Penguins don't get rabid! They're under my mind control and I would never want to taint them with Kate's blood." She shuddered delicately to emphasize her point, earning a laugh from the tall brunette next to her. "Actually," She continued, "I was thinking of how I'll look like a pimp with a hottie on each arm." She grinned, causing Caleb to laugh again.
"Sometimes I wonder about you 'Chelle. You've got to be missing a brick or two."
Michelle rolled her eyes. Crazy or not it would be an interesting night.
"Michelle? Honey? Are you going to come down any time soon?" Mina called for the fourth time in the last half hour.
"I changed my mind!" They could hear her yelling from upstairs. "I don't want to go anymore! Sorry guys! I'm sure you'll find another date! Just walk up to some poor unsuspecting first year and smile! The poor girl will melt into a puddle at your feet!!"
Mina glanced at the surprised Tyler and the bored looking Reid before exchanging looks with Pogue. How were the going to get her down? Fall Fest started in less than half an hour.
"Why don't you want to go anymore kit?" Wayne Parry asked from his chair in front of the fire.
Her silky curls were twisted into a bun at the back of her neck, leaving her neck and face exposed with a few wispy tendrils caressing the cream colored skin. The dress she was wearing was pearl colored silk with an open back a mini-cap sleeves. The silk clung to her curvaceous form like a glove with a loose, flowing skirt that flared out perfectly when she twirled.
He didn't quite approve of such a risqué outfit for the young girl, especially when she was going out with some one like Reid Garwin and Tyler Simms.
Wayne Parry wasn't worried about Tyler, no the boy was a gentleman and knew how to keep his hands to himself. Reid was another story completely and he wasn't going to have his baby girl mauled by a hormone crazed teenage boy.
"Papi, I don't know how to dance." She sighed unhappily as she reached up to rake her fingers through her hair, paused and decided against it before wrapping her arms around herself.
"Who says you have to dance kit? Just go and have a good time. If you're worried about the Garwin boy just have Pogue break his arms."
Michelle stared at the old man in shock, a hysterical giggle slipped out before she could help it. The thought that Reid wouldn't behave himself didn't have her worried… until they mentioned it. Not only was she afraid that she'd fall on her face or tear her dress and be naked in front of the whole school, now she had to worry about Mr. Wandering Hands. Great. Just great.
"Why can't a vortex just conveniently open up and swallow me whole?" Michelle wondered aloud as she glanced anxiously at the pair of heels sitting by the door.
"I s'pose it's because I would miss you and the universe has decided that I need to be happy for awhile longer."
Michelle gave her father a reprimanding look before she crumpled into a pathetic pile at his feet, her head flopped onto his lap. "I don't think I can go through it tonight Papi. What if I fall on my face and totally humiliate myself?"
"Or you step on Tyler's foot and send him to the hospital?" Wayne wondered aloud as he stroked the girl's hair with a feather light touch. Mina would kill him if he mussed her hair after they'd spend the last four hours getting her ready. It was amazing she hadn't commanded Pogue to run up and get her yet.
Michelle shot him a terrified glance and he chuckled softly. "I'm kidding kit. Relax- everything is going to be fine. You'll have a wonderful time I'm sure of it." He murmured soothingly as he stroked her cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "Now get off your butt and tell your mother that you're coming down before she sends Pogue up to get you."
Michelle gave a defeated sigh before slowly pulling herself to her feet. A light tap on her hip turned her attention back to her father and she gave him an inquisitive look. He held up something wrapped in tissue and she gingerly took the parcel from him. "So we don't have any unexpected visits to the ER." He said to explain her curious look.
She carefully unwrapped the tissue and smiled at the pair of pearl colored ballet-style slippers in her hands. One crisis avoided. She wouldn't break her legs on the stupid heels Ma had picked out.
"Fine. I'm coming down!" She called as she slipped the shoes on easily and gave her father a light kiss on the cheek.
Her heart gave a nervous squeeze as she slowly trekked down the stairs, one hand on the banister. The trio of males looked surprised while Mina beamed proudly.
"Wow." She heard Tyler mutter with a grin before he stepped up and kissed her cheek.
Reid just gave her a little smirk before stepping up and pressing the lightest kiss against her jaw line.
"Enough slobbering all over my little sister." Pogue complained as he snatched Michelle's hand and pulled her away from his two friends with a grin.
Mina gave the petite girl a squeeze and smiled. "You look beautiful baby. You're going to have a great time."
Michelle gave the older woman a wobbly smile before turning and beaming at the three boys who were still stunned at her appearance. "So, where's Caleb?"
"Picking up his date." Reid supplied when the others wouldn't. "Speaking of, shouldn't you be picking up Kate?"
Pogue glared at Reid before smiling sheepishly at his little sister. "See the thing is, Kate's going to kill me if I show up with my bike, so I was wondering…"
"If you could borrow my baby?" Michelle asked acidly. She watched the blonde grin sheepishly.
She felt her eyes narrow automatically and she sighed nodding at Tyler to grab her keys off the rack behind him. He threw her the keys and she gave Pogue a withering look. If you have sex in my car you will die. She laced the thought with as much poison as she could before handing him the keys.
"So…" Her Cheshire cat smile made the blonde shift uncomfortably. "Does this mean I get to drive the Bumblebee?" She said, referring to Pogue's yellow bike.
"Baby girl, I don't think you in that dress on a bike would be the best idea." Reid murmured quietly in her ear as he came up beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Besides, Baby Boy would be so upset if he didn't get to drive."
Michelle rolled her eyes before giving her mother a bright smile. "Well, then I s'pose I'll see you later Ma."
She shivered delicately in the crisp autumn night air before an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her tightly against a firm male body. She glanced up at Reid and gave him a light half smile. "You better watch out Garwin, my Poppa is gonna kick your ass if you get frisky."
Reid chuckled softly under his breath as he opened the passenger side of the Hummer and nudged her inside. "Well then I better keep a three foot distance. Wayne scares the hell out of me." He said tonelessly but the grin kind of killed it. "Don't want you getting sick Baby Girl." He added as she hopped into the warm interior.
Michelle stared out the window in silence before speaking. "So what sort of thing do they do for Fall Fest?"
"Same boring routine they do for most dances." Reid commented from the back seat.
"Basically there's pictures, dancing, stuff like that. Plus it's Caleb's birthday tomorrow night so we're going to definitely have fun then." Tyler added from beside her. "Haven't you ever been to a dance Baby Girl?"
Michelle slowly shook her head, she could feel the heat rising, coloring her cheeks a bright red. "Not really. I mean, I never really had a reason to go."
"Guys weren't falling over you in California? I find that hard to believe." Tyler said with a chuckle as they pulled into a vacant spot on campus.
Michelle slipped out of the Hummer and ran her hands lightly over her dress to make sure it was smoothed out right.
Reid walked up behind her and she gave him a small smile as she held her hand out to him. Their fingers intertwined before he stepped closer, cradling her against his front with the tiniest smile as he lightly kissed the silky skin at the junction of her neck and shoulder.
She repressed a shudder as his lips caressed her skin before Tyler came up behind her, effectively sandwiching her between them.
"Not to ruin the mood boys," Michelle drawled quietly, her voice a seductive contralto although she herself was unaware of it. "But I believe if we do not proceed soon, we may as well have an orgy in the parking lot here."
Instead of the smart ass remark coming from where she expected it, Reid, Tyler chuckled softly behind her. "Suddenly the dance doesn't seem as much fun in comparison."
Reid smiled at her in the darkness with a mere quirk of his lips as if to say, 'I swear it wasn't me this time.'
He kissed the corner of her mouth slowly, lingeringly before he stepped back, leaving her quivering from head to toe.
Ah God….
Tyler's hands ghosted down her shoulders and waist, sending shudders through her body before each boy took one of her hands and carefully tucked it under their arms. Those… punks.
Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. I bet most of you have already stopped reading this. Ah me. Oh well. I went back through this thinking about how I could add to it and I realized that it's actually really good this way. Gives me more to work with. =) ENJOY!