A/N: Hey guys! Early update here yay! I think I owe it to you guys, especially since I've been a shitty writer to Bridgette's side of the story. So yeah, hope this makes up for the delay! I'm still trying to remember everything I've written since yep, I lost my files. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! Thank you for the support for both my stories!

- lostconcoctions - add me on mycandylove

PS: Answering reviews down below after this chapter!

Nine: Perks and Pains

This. Was. A. Nightmare.

Really, one of my darkest fears had finally come to life. This was the problem with being one of the queen bee's best friends. This was the problem with also caring just as much about her brother. God damn it why couldn't my life just be simple?

I couldn't even imagine what was going on through Amber's brain. Here we were: Nathaniel and I standing extremely close to each other, him holding both my hands in his, and there goes the "will you please, please go out with me?" Amber's words from meeting her were on repeat and fast forward in my head, 'we'll get along just fine if you stay away from Nathaniel'.

What was I supposed to do now? Expose her brother about Melody and our plans? Tell her about Nathaniel and I being close friends and he as my tutor ever since we met in August? The former one would put Nathaniel in a very bad place and allow Amber to bully him over his little ex-girlfriend crush. The latter put me in hell with her, Li, and Charlotte, who I considered extremely close. I was panicking and my mind drew a blank.

Is Nathaniel's window high enough to jump off without any hope of surviving?

Gah Bridgette stop being stupid! Think!

"Amber—" I started, though I didn't get the chance. She spun on her heel and stomped off into the hall.

"Amber it's not what you think!" Nathaniel called out, following the two of us out.

"Amber please—" I got her by the shoulder.

"Both of you shut up!" she screamed, swatting my hand away. "Stop saying my name! And you," she stepped close to me, "I actually thought we were friends. I trusted you when it came to secrets. And it turns out you're like all the other girls that try and talk to me!"

"Am…uh, I don't know what you're talking about! I am your friend. And you can trust me."

"No, no I can't trust you. I can't trust you to just want to be my friend. I should've known all you wanted was Nathaniel! Get out of my face!"

"Amber why the hell won't you listen to me!" I screamed back, tears starting to stream down my cheeks.

"Maybe because you're a big, fat, liar!" Amber fumed.

"W-What?"

"I came to my brother's room to ask for the keys to student files. Because I heard that bitch that's been after Castiel is your sister."

"Amber…" I breathed, suddenly defeated.

"You didn't know?" Nathaniel frowned at Amber, crossing his arms. "Here I thought everyone knew they were twins."

"Twins! Ha!" Amber looked crazy, and I didn't have an excuse. "For months I've trusted you with everything, Bridgette Whitman. But you've been telling her everything, haven't you? Now she probably knows that I'm in love with her boyfriend!"

"Castiel isn't her boyfriend!" I groaned. "And I haven't been telling her anything, Amber. I know, I kept it from you. But this isn't completely my fault."

"What the hell are you going at now, you bitch?"

"Maybe you would've known if you even gave a shit about me, or tried getting to know me. Because no, it seems like all I've been doing is putting up with your crap over my own sister. But you know why I did that, Amber? Because I cared about you too!"

"Don't give me a lecture about our friendship! You betrayed me the moment I met you! I told you to stay away from my brother, and you couldn't do just that!"

"It's not what you think!" I turned around to look at Nathaniel, who had a pleading look in his eyes.

"Then what is it then?" Amber challenged, her hands on her curvy hips.

I couldn't. I wouldn't. Not to him. Not to the only person that's cared about me enough to find out who I was, to ask about my life, my boyfriend, even though he's put me through a lot of weird, confusing feelings in the past.

"I knew it." Amber shook her head, rubbing her temples like Nathaniel did when he was stressed. With her blue eyes shut like that and her blond hair framing her face, I could tell they really were related. "Have fun on your date."

With that, she turned around on her heel and locked herself in her bedroom. I dropped my shoulders in defeat.

"I'm sorry about that." Nathaniel said, looking red in the face. "I know how close you are to my sister. I hate that I'm the reason for a bump in your friendship."

"If she's a true friend, she'll compromise." I said, putting on a weak smile.

"I can't believe she didn't know about you and Skye."

"I can't believe girls try and be her friend to date you." I chuckled. "Is it true?"

Nathaniel cast his eyes downward.

"Yes. It's happened. A lot. Since grade school."

"Oh God," I frowned. "Poor Amber."

"You know her. Sometimes she's just not…nice. People would be friends just for her if she wasn't so mean to everyone, including you. I love my sister dearly, sometimes, but you don't deserve to be treated like that by anyone."

"Thanks Nathaniel. So, let's think of a game plan for you and Melody, shall we?"

"I'd like that." Nathaniel grinned.

When we returned to school, everything was set. The weekend had been okay, and I was lucky enough to be busy helping out Nathaniel. I definitely owed Skye though since I left her with the baby, but from her little awkward Castiel encounter, she wasn't complaining. Since Amber was pointedly ignoring me and I was a bit terrified to face the rest of the girls, I had a good excuse to spend time with Nathaniel. We had set over some rules over the weekend, and agreed with them just fine.

Rules

This is all a secret and we will not, under any circumstances, tell anyone about our not-real relationshipNicknames are allowed but only in the presence of Marmalade (that was our code name for Melody)Holding hands are okay but no weird touching especially in publicDates are mandatory. Nate always pays.Gifts are good tooNo denying the teasing of other people since it's going to happen anywayCouple jokes better be wholesomeStick to the plan(And for good measure) No having real feelings whatsoever (not that it would actually happen, but it was better to put it in writing)

First thing in the morning, I tried to look my best with a pleated denim skirt and a regular white tank top. My hair was being a pain so tied my hair up into a ponytail, my curls brushing right against my nape. When I got to school, I headed straight for the students' council room, but not before putting my game face on. I had always wanted to do this and now was the opportunity right there.

"Good morning, babe!" I called out, throwing the door open casually.

"Babe?" A voice came out from behind a file cabinet. Brown hair, big eyes, it was none other than Melody.

"M-Mel…Hi." I greeted sheepishly, suddenly red in the face.

"Oh hey you," Nathaniel poked his head up from under the desk with a wink. "I missed you already. Sorry Mel," he turned to Melody suddenly, "Bridge here doesn't really know how to keep her voice down."

"You weren't complaining last night, Nate." I chuckled. Nathaniel's eyes widened at the innuendo, and he turned a beet red. Melody noticed his blush to and turned slightly pale in the face.

"B-Bridgette!" Nathaniel grumbled. His discomfort only made the conversation more believable. I wanted to laugh.

"Well," Melody straightened up and straightened her skirt. "I'll leave you both to your er…talk. See you in class Nate. Bye Bridgette."

She walked out of the students' council room briskly. When she was gone, I burst out laughing.

"That was priceless! Did you see the look on her face?" I asked Nathaniel, leaning over the table.

"Y-Yes I did. Though I can't believe you said that…now she probably thinks we're doing, um, things."

"Oh Nathaniel you are way too innocent." I shook my head. "We're fake dating now. We're allowed to make people think we're doing fake things."

"S-Sorry, it just takes some getting used to. But hey, she looked really affected. Maybe your plan is going to work after all."

"Trust me, you won't be single after this."

"What are you talking about, babe?" Nathaniel whispered into my ear, sending a shiver through my whole body. "I already have you."

I blinked. Why did that sound so…sexy? Nathaniel wasn't sexy! No way! Ugh! He's like a brother! God!

Why did he leave his shirt a bit open like that again? It's not that hot in school…

"Very believable." I didn't back away. Instead, I put my hands to his chest and starting to fix his shirt. He had buttoned everything wrong and the two sides of her shirt were uneven, so I started redoing from the bottom, making Nathaniel blush profusely. Ha, take that. I win this one, Bristol.

"B-Bridgette…what are you…"

The door suddenly swung open.

"I'm sorry I left my—" Melody's calm voice suddenly came to a halt. I swallowed and turned my head, my own cheeks starting to fill with color. Oh God what did I do to myself? "…bag."

"M-Melody!" Nathaniel stepped one foot back, but as if he just remembered what we were trying to do, stepped forward again and tried crossing his arms, only making it worse and having more buttons come loose from their slots.

"I didn't—I didn't see anything!" Melody gushed, grabbing for her messenger back and holding it up to her eyes. I let go of him and grabbed for the back of the chair, unable to steady myself from embarrassment. She hurried out of the room, in so much of a hurry that she forgot to shut the door.

"Oh God we must look like a bunch of horny teenagers…" Nathaniel sighed, rubbing his temples.

"My fault I guess." I admitted, reaching over to fix his buttons up again.

"Thanks sweetheart." Nathaniel said when I was done.

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Peggy and her recorder, listening in on our whole conversation.

"School president Nathaniel Bristol finally moving on from his painful break up with fellow student, Melody Keith." She said into her mic.

"P-Peggy! No!" I threw the door open and pulled the girl inside. "You are not publishing that!"

Peggy cleared her throat and said into the mic, "That was a direct statement from Nathaniel's new girlfriend herself, Bridgette Whitman. A secret affair going on, maybe? That's why she doesn't want this story published? And how would her best friend, Amber Bristol feel about this relationship with her brother? Does she even know?"

"I'm going to smack you right in the face if you don't turn that recording off right now." I said exasperatedly.

"Just for that rude comment, I will publish it." Peggy smirked. Nosy bitch.

"Peggy will you please—"

"Let her go." Nathaniel cut in. "Come on Bridgette, it's just a rumor. Peggy, you may go."

"No comments yourself, Nathaniel?"

"No. Out please, I have work to do."

I turned around.

"Nathaniel, if Amber reads that story, I'm screwed with her completely!"

"Bridgette, you're forgetting that this is Amber. She doesn't read." Nathaniel said.

Right.

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to laugh because that was pretty damn funny.

The week went by quickly. I still hadn't talked to Amber, but Li and Charlotte were nice enough to keep me company when we were in class. Li even praised me in Geometry once.

"Okay I know I'm completely devoted to Lysander and his one sided love for me, but damn, score, girl!"

"W-What?!" I yelped.

"On Nathaniel! He's a total cutie and you are too."

"T-Thank you, Li." I sunk into my seat, blushing. I wanted to tell her the truth, that I was really just helping Nathaniel out with Melody, but kept it to myself.

"So…have you guys, you know?" She blushed, bumping me on my shoulder.

"Have we what?"

"You know! Sex!" she whispered loudly.

"L-Li! No! We just started going out!"

"That's not what Peggy's been telling everyone." She mumbled.

"You know better than to listen to that girl." I shook my head, frowning. Damn Peggy.

Though Amber was messing with my mind, I just wanted to get the stress of it out of my system and focused one something a lot better. Halloween. I loved dressing up, putting on make up, being someone else and just not yourself. That was what I wanted. An out from my complicated relationship, messed up friendship with Amber, and even the pretend thing I had going on with Nate.

Charlotte volunteered to come with me and pick out a costume. When we entered Leigh's shop for the hundredth time, Leigh immediately recognized us and didn't make any move to volunteer for anything. Amber was especially rude to him whenever it came to sizes and buying so I couldn't blame him for acting a bit cold even as he said, 'Welcome'.

We skimmed through the aisles stocked with Halloween costumes of different kinds. Charlotte decided to go with a sexy Cleopatra outfit, which I thought suited her cool and dominating personality. I couldn't find much though, and felt a little bit hopeless. Mostly the things on the shelves were common Halloween outfits, nothing that really stood out. Devil/angel costumes, fireman, policeman, fairy outfits, mermaids, and the rest were found but nothing seemed to pop right at me. I decided to just try my luck at my closet when I got home, so I gave up. Charlotte approached the counter with a stack of clothing and a headdress in her arms.

"Hi, er, can we have the key to the dressing room please?" she asked. Leigh nodded and handed over the key.

"Could you get that, Bridge?"

"Sure." I said, taking it from him. But once I tried to pull it away from him, his skinny fingers wrapped around the chain harder.

"Did I hear that right? Bridgette? You're Bridgette?" He asked me, his dark eyes questioning. He looked really handsome, slim jaw and high cheekbones with dark, dark eyes. I heard he was dating Rosa though so any jealous thoughts that came up, I pushed to the back of my mind.

"Y-Yes." I said, "I don't think we've met though, maybe you're talking about another—"

"Oh please," He waved his free slim hand, still gripping the keys with his other. "This is a small town, and Bridgette isn't a common name. And neither is Skye, your sister, right?"

"How did you…"

"Leigh Ainsworth," he stuck his hand out, freeing the keys, "Lysander's brother. Your sister comes to the house a lot and I suspect more than a friendship with those two."

"Oh my God!" I gasped, holding my hand up after shaking his to give him a high five. "I think that too!"

"It's going to happen eventually." Leigh shook his head, his oddly cropped black hair tousling. "Trust me."

"I agree. Definitely. They'd be cute together."

"Yes, they have a similarity about them…and contrasts too."

"Got that right." I smiled, relieved to find a conversation topic between Leigh and I.

"Are you two done?" Charlotte asked both of us coolly. I handed her the key sheepishly and watched as she stalked off towards the dressing room.

"God, wait, since you're her sister, and I'm currently making her costume which my own little brother designed, I think you should get a few perks."

"Perks? For knowing your brother?"

"He's quite fond of both of you both." Leigh smiled sweetly.

"That's sweet." I grinned at Leigh. "Lysander's pretty cool to me too."

"Well, on that note, I think I should show you something out back."

"Me? Back? What is it?"

"Keep your shoes on, it's just a little something." Leigh winked. Darn, he really was cute. And very tall.

He opened up the swinging door to the inside of the counter, and let me inside. Pushing a few racks of unfinished outfits out of the way, he pulled me into a small corridor that could barely hold the two of us without making us brush sides. There, he led me to a tiny storage room.

"Hmm, I'm guessing you're a five on the waistline and a 34B on the bust." He muttered more to himself. "Alright, I've got the perfect one."

Leigh swiped past more racks and exposed a wooden closet very hidden behind the stacks of shoeboxes and fabric. He flung the doors open and took a few seconds to ponder. Inside the closet where gorgeous costumes, definitely flashier and more interesting than the ones being displayed outside. They had to cost at least 200 bucks each with the cool, different designs. Leigh's slim fingers flipped through the outfits like pages in a book, there went a Phoenix outfit, a Bollywood belly dancer one, Athena the goddess, an ancient African tribal member with its warm and exciting beads, an Indian with a big feathered head dress…

"Ah, here. We can do some alterations but that won't be a problem." Leigh plucked one out and held it out to me.

When I took it in my grasp and checked it out with my own eyes, I never wanted to let go.

A/N: Leave some reviews and let me know what you think! Thanks guys!

1. I Know I'm A Dreamer - got that right about the oh snap. Cat fight time!

2. SeaCatt - I know it's been a pain :( especially when you know you've already finished a lot and had to start over...But yay, I'm glad some people are sticking to this one! I've been a bit more diligent to Tongue Tied, and I hate that. But thank you for your reviews, seriously I enjoy reading them and they make my whole day :D thanks!

See y'all soon!

- lostconcoctions