whoa.

i actually updated. thankssomuch to all you dedicated readers who pester me in reviews to update :D this is for you.

sorry for the suckiness- i was hoping to just get out a chapter to satiate your hunger, but i'll hopefully update over thanksgiving break (six more hours, woot!woot!)

the tall, dark, and handsome

"You can only blame your problems on the world for so long, before it all becomes the same old song..." her soft, giggly voice crooned in his ear as he leaned against his pillow, The Great Gatsby in hand, but not paying much attention at all. He let out a content sigh and she beamed up at him, laser-whitened teeth gleaming as she snuggled into his chest. He grinned lazily at the ethereal blonde in his arms and leaned down to place an unusually gentle kiss on her pale mouth. She giggled again, blunt gold bangs brushing at the golden lashes that framed crystal cerulean eyes, and he smiled because he loved to make her happy. Too bad he wasn't the guy who was meant for the job.

A slight scowl suddenly overtook his GQ-worthy face as he thought of Derrick Harrington- the guy who would inevitably end up with the girl who was lying in his bed, wearing his boxers and over-sized baby blue polo, looking every bit the urban princess- city royalty with a twist of wild spunk and the sweet, vulnerable side that hid beneath it.

"You okay, Kemp?" she mumbled against his earlobe, lips brushing his neck as she snuggled deeper into the warm duvet.

"Yeah, babe, I'm fine," he dead-panned, and Claire looked up, concerned.

"That didn't sound too convincing," she said accusingly, scrunching up her ski-slope nose with a small frown. "Something's bothering you. Don't even try to hide it."

He laughed. Hiding secrets from each other was impossible. He already knew her secret was brewing- an undeniable attraction between herself and her half-sister's boyfriend- even if she hadn't realized it yet. They had been best friends since the third grade (they had bonded over a shared passion for alternative rock and being the only kids in their class to lose their 'lip virginity') and swore on Gabe Saporta that they would never keep anything away from each other. And Kemp would have told her the truth about Derrick and everything but something unexplainable was stopping him.

"I'm just pissed that we haven't made out yet," he drawled and she smirked and licked her slightly chapped lips.

"I'm surprised you managed to hold in your feelings till now," she began, throwing a leg over his to straddle him. "A true gentleman, however, would ask permission of the lady," she continued, face inches from his own so he could feel her intoxicatingly hot breath against his mouth.

"Well, do I have your permission?" he asked politely, a roguish grin spreading across his face. She teased him by leaning in more, body almost completely pressed to his own, lips looking utterly kissable and sweet, before whispering in his ear,

"Nope."

And with that she untangled herself from the mess of sheets, tossed her white and gold trench coat over Kemp's boxers and Ralph Lauren polo and winked before whisking out the door without another word.

the devil incarnate

"You're a whore, you know that?"

"If you give me money, I'll prove it to you," she shot back, not turning around to see who was talking to her. Nikki's face appeared in the mirror alongside her own and Olivia grinned at her reflection, running a manicured hand through her white-blonde waves of silk. "Ooh, Dalton's got a potty mouth!" She smirked and rapidly began braiding her shoulder-length hair into two stubby, utterly adorable braids. Nikki's glare intensified and she set her jaw as she leaned against the white porcelain sink.

"I hate you for what you're doing to Cam. How can you be so selfish? He's such a good guy. You don't deserve him. And he doesn't deserve the crap you're giving him," she said in a deadly calm tone, huge, doe-eyes narrowing into slits. "You're such a- a..."

"Whore? Prostitute? Slut? Bitchy-skank-ho? All of the above? Honey, I know," Olivia smiled angelically and tugged at the hem of her pale pink v-neck shirt so that it revealed more than just a hint of decolletage- the white lace of her La Perle bra peeked through. "But Nikkums, you've got to stop hurting yourself like this," she continued in a faux-concerned voice. "Cammie's mine, mkay? And no matter what you say, he will never, ever believe anything bad you say about me. And you know why? Because he loves me," she enunciated slowly, smirking slightly as Nikki practically winced from the effect of the words. "And he will never love you. So build yourself a bridge and get over it, because there's really no point in trying to save a sinking ship."

"That-that's not true," Nikki whispered, shaking her head adamantly. "He'll find out one day about your whoring, slutty ways and he'll dump you. I know he will. He's smarter than that. And he deserves better."

Olivia sighed resignedly and slid her pink, rhinestone-covered EnV into the back pocket of her barely-there, dark-wash denim True Religion miniskirt. Gazing critically at her tanned, golden legs and ensuring that every rhinestone was in place on her gold DKNY pumps, she winked at her reflection.

"Whatevs. But I intend to make sure that day never comes," She puckered her ultra-glossy lips at Nikki and smirked. "Off to go find Vader now. He's already called me for some late-night rendezvous in the boy's locker room. If you want, you can come watch. Pick up a few pointers, you know? God knows how little you must know about sex. Still a virgin, yeah? Thought so. Maybe I'll mess around with Cam tonight too. Reenact whatever me and Vader end up doing," She smirked as Nikki's fists tightened till the knuckles were mottled purple. "Ciao, darling!"

And with a final flip of her chemically-straightened silky white-blonde hair, she sauntered out of the bathroom, leaving an enraged Benetton girl behind her.

the sweetheart

This was definitely one of the strangest groups he had ever found himself with.

Massie, who was drunk and loud, wrapping her bangle-covered arm around his shoulders, whimpering, Come 'ere, Cammie, give your girlfriend a kiss.. to which he simply shoved her off him, causing her to land on the carpeted floor with a muted thump.

Derrick, who, besides being drunk, was busy mumbling something about blonde hair and golden girls to the excited freshman he had grabbed out of nowhere, who looked practically giddy from the attention she was getting from the big man on campus.

Todd, who was busy flirting heavily with what appeared to be his tuna fish sandwich, stoned out of his mind.

The scene- oh, Massie started to confess her deep, passionate love for the carpet and was trying to seduce it- was undeniably just screaming for trouble- suspension, probation, expulsion... and all those other "ion" words.. Cam thought absently, rubbing his temples to soothe his growing migraine.

"Fishy, are you have girl problems too?" Derrick mumbled, sidling up to him, hunched over with his dirty blonde hair plastered to his slightly sticky forehead. The freshman he had been babbling to must have ran away to brag to all her friends about how Derrick Harrington "hit on her". Cam shot him a withering look and his frown deepened, as the headache just got worse and worse.

"Uh, yeah- well, no. I mean, kinda. Listen, do you think Olivia loves me?" he asked in an overly-loud voice, causing Massie to glare from her spot on the carpet. Derrick chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully and his glazed-over eyes looked unusually vulnerable.

"Dude, you're like her bitch. I mean, she parades you around like you're on a collar and plays you and-"

"What?" he cut in, eyes flashing dangerously. "What do you mean, 'she plays me'?"

"I mean, you're not the only one tapping that ass, man," Derrick slurred, winking, unaware of the volcanic effect it was causing his friend. "I mean, sure, she's smokin' and all, but damn man, you must really fucking love her to be dating such a-"

"Shut up!" Cam snapped, stifling the urge to punch him in the jaw. It was against the bro-code to hurt a friend who was under the influence of ADHG- alcohol, drugs, or hot girls. Derrick merely let out a chuckle and held out the tequila in his hand toward Cam.

"Your loss, C-fish. Lemme know when the wedding is. Shall we toast to that?"

"Fuck you, man," he mumbled in an uncharacteristically harsh tone, but grabbed the drink anyway. Derrick laughed and took a swing of his Spanish-imported alcohol.

"You know you want to."

"Girls cause so much shit," Todd muttered from his fetal position on the ground. The four of them were in the now-deserted student lounge of the Science building. It was the notorious place known for being a drug hideout (Cam knew that Josh and Derrick came by regularly for pot), a place to get drunk out of their minds, and a rather trashy hookup spot. Teachers rarely came by, knowing fully well what was going on, but with they couldn't very well kick out students whose parents practically ran the school with their constant stream of donations. Between the A-list parents alone, they could probably fund a brand new elite prep school.

"Agreed," Derrick nodded, and Cam could practically see him envisioning the Lyons-Gregory blondes in his alcohol-muddled mind.

"No, it's you stupid-ass guys that cause problems," Massie spat from the carpet, absently raking her fingers through her luxuriant chestnut curls. "You and your stupid mind games- you flirt with one girl one second, then chase after another one the next. Just make up your fucking mind!"

"Hell no, Block," Derrick's eyes darkened. "Girls are the ones that play all those mind games. It's like we're pawns in your little board game, and you just play us because you know you can get away with it!"

"Oh, sod off, you guys," Todd slurred, letting his British vocabulary show, which happened whenever he was stoned. "Derrick, we all know that you're obsessed with my sister, okay? And you know that she never goes for just one guy, so just grow some and get over it. And Massie, save the bitchiness for the soap operas. Your love lives may be fucked, but don't take it all out over here. Just shut the hell up."

"Thank you, Todd," Cam grinned, glancing at Derrick and Massie's mutinous faces. "I think that did the trick."

"Oh, and for the record Cam," Todd mumbled again, standing up shakily to make his way to the door. "Olivia is cheating on you."

the new girl

"Dylan..." a shaky voice whispered loudly through the darkness.

Dylan shot up in bed, whipping her head around to see where the noise was coming from. Blinking around the darkened room, she spotted a shadow by the balcony, where silvery moonlight was streaming through. Glancing over to her sleeping roommate's form, she slipped out of bed and tip-toed toward the large French doors that led to the balcony.

"Todd?" she whisper-giggled, shivering slightly under the silky Victoria's Secret robe as she softly closed the balcony door behind her. "Is that you?"

"I'm hoping I'm the only guy who would climb up a tree to sneak into your dorm at night,"

Her head whipped around to see the familiar redhead grinning at her from the branch of the large maple tree that stood beside the balcony. She smiled ecstatically as he, in a deft movement, swung from the branch onto the balcony, landing with a soft thump. He wobbled for a moment, but regained his balance and held out his arms as she ran toward him, throwing her arms around his tanned neck.

"Tarzan, I've missed you," she laughed softly, placing a kiss near his mouth. He smiled down at her, cerulean eyes looking clouded but mellow, and she pulled away slightly, frowning. "Were you doing pot?"

"Maybe," he laughed and she pursued her bee-stung lips disapprovingly. His smile dropped when he realized her expression and he placed his arms up in the air in surrender. "Okay, yes, I did. But not too much, I promise. I just needed to... mellow out."

"I see..." But her words didn't match with the deep frown that graced her face.

"Oh, Dyl, come on. It's really not that big a deal. Just..." he trailed off when he saw her stony expression and groaned. "Crap, did I actually make the mistake of dating someone responsible?"

This elicited a tiny smile out of her and he whooped, punching his fist in the air.

"Yeah, you smiled! Don't even try to hide it, Marvil, I see you!"

At this, she burst out into frenzied laughter- the scene was just so ridiculous.

"And if it helps, I promise that I will snort responsibly," Todd bowed and saluted. "Boy Scout's honor."

"You're a freak, Lyons," Dylan rolled her jade eyes and shook her unruly curls. Todd grinned in the darkness and grabbed her by the waist to pull her closer. Her breath hitched as he settled his striking cerulean gaze on her pale, moonlit face.

"I'm your freak, Marvil," he whispered and she giggled as he brushed his lips against her earlobe.

"Of course you're mine. No one else would even want to date you- this is practically pity-dating. It's not like you're actually attractive or anything," she teased in response and he chuckled before bringing his lips closer to her mouth. She tilted her chin up and let her eyelids flutter shut in anticipation.

"Dylan? Is that you outside?"

The two of them jumped away from each other like they were on fire as Kristen's voice, thick with sleep, cut through the balmy summer air like glass and the sound of footsteps came closer and closer.

haha, the first time i've ended with a cliff-hanger. don't hate ;)

all reviewers get to have todd lyons sneak into their room tonight for some clandestine romance. you know you want it.