All Grown Up copyright Viacom
Chapter 10
Posted: 26 Nov 2009
It wasn't until American History that Chuckie had gotten the chance to see Angelica again. But unfortunately it seemed that she wanted nothing to do with him. Every time that he had tried to talk with her before class, she would pretend that he wasn't there. Once she had even asked if he was ever going to show, despite his standing just three feet away!
Needless to say, none of this made Chuckie feel any better.
Sighing in resignation, he went to his seat. It was time to face up to reality. He was never going to get anywhere with Angelica. Not ever.
And it had all been his fault too. If he hadn't butted in on their date, everyone would have much happier. Himself included!
It wasn't until class actually started that he was able to be distracted from his depressing train of thought. Class time had never seemed so appealing. But that was only after the teacher took roll and began the lecture for the day. Though he was loath to admit it, hearing about other people's problems helped his mind get off of his own.
The hour passed quickly. But as soon as class was over, he remembered what had depressed him in the first place. He dropped his head onto his desk. "Oh great. Now what am I supposed to do?"
"Do you really want an answer to that? Or are you just asking your desk rhetorical questions?" Chuckie looked up. Susie seemed to be concerned about his welfare.
Chuckie sighed. "I just want to make it up to Angelica for ruining her date. But how am I supposed to that when she won't even let me talk to her?"
Susie smiled. "I think I might know of a way."
After she had told them the plan, he smiled as he nodded. "Yes. That could work."
Chuckie could only hope that it will work as they went their separate ways.
-OOO-
In the little time they had between Math and English, Susie found Angelica taking a sip from the drinking fountain. Susie waited until she was done before speaking. "Chuckie has something special planned for you."
"I bet that he does." Angelica straightened up. "Is he going to ruin my next date too?"
Suzie shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Do you that for a fact?"
She didn't answer.
"Exactly. You aren't exactly Finster's keeper here, Carmichael." Angelica began to walk away.
Suzie hurried to keep up. "Somebody has to."
"Ha! That boy can take care of himself." Angelica smirked. "And besides, even if somebody had to take care of him. That somebody is hardly you."
There was nothing that Suzie could say about that. She was hardly big sister material. Despite all the helpful advice that she had given Chuckie and his friends over the years.
The conversation sort of went into a lull as she followed Angelica. Angelica didn't seem much in the mood for talking just now. So Suzie let her be for now. She would come around sooner or later. But for now the best thing to do was to keep her mouth shut and not nag her to death. Nagging would probably just push Angelica further away from her. Hardly something that she wanted just then.
Suzie followed Angelica all the way to Angelica's locker. Angelica replaced her Math book with her English one before looking back at Suzie. "What is it, Carmichael? Why are you still following me? Don't you have a class to get to?" She practically was growling at this point.
Suzie checked her watched. "It three minutes until class. I still have time."
"Well I don't."
"Tell me, Angelica. What was your real reason for dating Phil?"
Angelica slammed her locker shut. "I don't need to explain my actions to you of all people. We aren't exactly friends here!"
"I know that. But…."
Angelic shot her a glare. "But what, Carmichael? Are you going to tell me that you actually like Deville?"
"I'm not going to, Angelica. Do you love him?"
She shot Suzie a look. "That's not the point, Suzie. I-" She stumbled and seemed a little light-headed.
"Are you coming down with the flu, Angelica?" Suzy asked pressing her palm against Angelica's forehead.
"No, you idiot! I'm pregnant!"
"Ah." Suzy looked toward Angelica's still-flat stomach, shocked. Did she really do what I think I did? was her first reaction. But was it really true? Angelica wasn't the most truthful person in the world after all. It must be, though, Suzy decided. Angelica wouldn't have said that she was pregnant if she wasn't. But who was the father? It must have been Benny. "That would explain a few things."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you have been moody lately, Angelica. We've been worrying about you."
"Don't bother, Suzy. I'm perfectly all right." And without a further word, she stormed off.
Suzy watched her march away, wishing that was true. But since Angelica wouldn't accept any of her help, there was nothing that she could do for the moment.
For the moment anyway.
Angelica
But one question remained.
Did Benny know that he was going to be a father?
-OOO-
The rest of the day passed well enough.
Chuckie walked home. Alone.
But Chuckie just couldn't stop thinking about Angelica. Or what he had done to her on her date. He had acted like a complete jerk. And for what? He completely alienated all his friends and family that's what.
No wonder they all hated him. He would hate him too if he ever got the chance.
Susie's hadn't a chance in heck of working. Chuckie had been a little more enthusiastic about it in the beginning. But he had done a little thinking since then. He had hurt Angelica's feelings the night before. He was sure that would a real long time before she had it in her to forgive him.
That kiss was a little much.
He walked the rest of the way home in silence.
-OOO-
The girls met after school at the shoe store. Lil needed to get a new pair of sandals. And they needed to come up with a plan to cheer Angelica up. And, conveniently enough, there was a shoe store right next to the Java Lava. They had spent several minutes looking at shoes and chatting before they got to what was really bothering them.
"Chuckie is really starting to worry me, guys," Suzy told them.
"Yeah. Tell me about it." Kimi was showing Lil a pair of just darling sandals with a rose on the thong. "Just last week he-"
"No, I'm serious, Kimi. He interrupted Angelica's date with Phil." She lowered her voice. "I think that he's in love with Angelica."
"What!"
"No way."
"Get out of town."
Lil paused. "Oh wait. We already figured it out."
"You did?"
Both of Susie's friends nodded.
"Oh shoot. I thought I was the first one to have figured it out."
"Nope."
Lil handed the sandals back to Kimi after having tried them on. "Too tight."
Kimi sighed. "Are you ever going to find any shoes that you like?"
"Why?" Lil sounded surprised.
"This was the fifteenth pair that you said was too tight, or too loose, or too tacky, or too brown, or too boyish, or too…"
"It is?" She frowned. "I could have sworn that I tried on fewer than that."
"Guys," Suzy said, trying to get the conversation back on track, "what are we going to do about Chuckie?"
"We would like to help," Kimi said.
"But what could we do?"
"Everything we do to help Chuckie only seems to make everything worse."
Suzy smiled. "Don't you worry about that, guys. I have a plan."
-OOO-
Dil had a huge stack of Puppies & Kittens magazines on the floor by his desk that Tommy hadn't seen before. Heck he hadn't even known that Dil was even interested in that sort of thing. "Uh, Dil? What's with the puppies and kittens?"
"Don't know," Dil replied without looking up. "Mom asked me to keep them in my room for a while." He was working at his desk, presumably on his inventions.
"I didn't know she had a subscription."
Dil shrugged.
"You asked to see me?"
"Yeah." Dil turned his chair so that faced his brother, who was standing at the door. "I think I came up with a plan to help Chuckie."
"Oh?" Tommy slipped into the room. "What do you have in mind?"
Dil grinned. "Just have a chat with him. He'll know what to do."
"But you know that I'm not good at that sort of thing," Tommy said, sitting on the bed.
"I didn't say that it would be easy, bro. But it has to be done. And better than his best friend?"
"I know. His sister!"
"Yeah. But you knew him longer."
Tommy nodded. "True." He looked to Dil. "Will be there with me? To provide moral support?"
"Would to love, bro. But I can't."
"Don't tell me. It's a surprise."
Dil nodded.
Tommy sighed. "Why am I not at all surprised?"
-OOO-
Suzy found Angelica moping in the kitchen, eating chocolate chip mint ice cream and apparently not noticing the globs of it stuck to her sweatshirt. "Yeah, what do you want?" she said when she saw them come in.
"We're here to patch up things between you and Chuckie," Suzy said.
Angelica looked at her funny. "Now why would you do a silly thing like that for anyway?"
"Because he's our friend, and-"
"Pfft! Whatever!"
"Ah, don't tell me that you're still sore over last night."
Angelica didn't. She just shoved another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
"Come on, Angelica. All this sulking can't be too good for you."
"Yes it can."
"But Chuckie didn't mean to break up your date with Phil. He-"
"Oh? And you would know this how?" Angelica laughed. "At least you didn't hatch some of kind of harebrained scheme to get Chuckie and me together."
Suzie sweat dropped. That sounded suspiciously like what Kimi and Lil were up to. "Uh oh."
They stared at each other for a moment. Before rushing to head off disaster. Nicole's date shouldn't be ruined too!
In their hurry the had left the ice cream unattended.
-OOO-
Chuckie met Tommy at the door. "Can I come in?"
"Why? Are you going to mock me too?"
"No, of course not, Chuckie. Why would even ask me that?"
Chuckie sighed. "Better than just assuming that you're going to."
"True."
After Chuckie let him into the house, they sat down on the couch.
Tommy spoke first. "It's Benny, Chuckie." He hesitated before continuing.
But Chuckie interrupted him before he could. "What about Benny? Is coming back from wherever he is to beat ever-loving crap out of me?" He sure did deserve such treatment.
"No, Chuckie." Tommy took a deep breath before answering. "He's dead."
"What! How can he be dead? He's so young!"
Tommy laid his hand on Chuckie's shoulder. "It's war, Chuckie. These things happen."
Chuckie brushed his hand away. "Not to me they don't."
"Come on, Chuckie. He died a hero. Not very many people can say that."
"I don't care, Tommy. He was going to be the best man at my wedding."
Tommy was taken back by the admission. "He was?"
"Yes! He was!"
"But, Chuckie. When were you planning on getting married?"
"You know." Chuckie shrugged. "After I find some girl naïve enough to marry someone like me."
"Would you let your sister marry me?"
"But I haven't a sister, Chuckie."
"If you had a sister I mean."
"I don't know." A moment passed. "It kind of depends on the sister, doesn't it?"
Chuckie had to chuckle at that. He didn't really want to, but that didn't stop from laughing a little.
But then he sobered up. This was some serious business they were talking about here. "But is there any proof to this claim?"
"Yeah. It's in the death notices from the other day."
"Do you have a copy of to show me? Do you?"
"Not at the moment. But I can get-"
"Then get one." Chuckie had crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
Tommy sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "Okay. Let's just say that Angelica and Benny are no longer a couple."
"They broke up?"
"You can say that."
The doorbell rang.
Oh crap! He had forgotten all about his date with Nicole!