"At times it's not that complicated
Anything to forget everything"

-Razorblade, The Strokes

Claire woke up on Saturday morning, for the second time since the Monday after detention, in a state of confusion. Her head was full of thoughts of John Bender and how much fun she'd had with him on last night. She remembered how it felt when he kissed her after they'd fought. And she remembered thinking that if this was what it felt like to have an angry make out session with John Bender, then she would have to remember to make him mad every time she saw him. She also remembered the way his chocolate drop eyes got sad when it was really time for her to leave, and how she had started to think that maybe—just maybe—John Bender (he might even be her John Bender) was not just an angry, tough, wasteoid on the brink of manhood; but was actually a lonely, troubled boy forced to grow up too soon because of his circumstances.

And then there was the part of her that for the first time ever had mixed emotions about meeting her friends for their monthly manicure/pedicure/makeup/gossip sessions. On the one hand, Claire was a true girly girl and knew she needed to be around other girls right now to commiserate. But on the other, she knew she couldn't talk about John Bender to Erica, Charlotte, and Annabelle, and it was killing her to not be able to talk about him. So when Erica called to ask what time Claire was coming to get her and went on and on about her date with Martin Lansing, one of the cutest but jerkiest guys in the school, all Claire wanted to do was tell Erica about the obviously much better date she'd had with the hottest, sweetest, funniest, and coolest guy she'd ever met. But she didn't. What came out of her mouth, without her even planning it, was a cough and the words, "Erica I'm not going to make it today. I'm not feeling well."

When she hung up the phone, and found herself picking it back up to dial Allison's number, she realized that that had been the second time she'd faked a cough because of John Bender.

"Allison? This is Claire. I was wondering if you wanted to get together today. I thought you might like someone to talk to about your date last night, and I know I could use someone to talk to about mine. I could bring over some stuff to your house, and we could talk, and I'll give you a manicure and pedicure. It can even be black if you want."

And that was how she found herself skipping out on Erica, Charlotte and Annabelle for the first time, and instead making plans to spend a girly Saturday afternoon with none other than Allison Reynolds, the basket case.

Bender had a lot of thinking to do in the time it took him and Brian to walk from the school to the record store. He had come to the realization that his sweet, weird friend Saidie definitely was showing all the classic signs of someone who had the hots for old Brian the dweebie. Now, he just needed to confirm it.

And he also needed to find out if it was possible that Brian might be interested in Saidie too. This was a bit trickier. Bender knew that the one good thing about being raised the way he was, was the fact that he was used to being around all kinds of people and because he was so used to being judged and dismissed, he knew not to do that to anyone else. But not everyone had that point of view. And while he knew that his new friend Brian was probably not even close to being a racist, dating someone different, with all that that implied, was a totally different story.

While Brian talked away about his latest physics competition, and how great he thought it was that Claire and Bender were still at least trying to make a go of things, Bender spent the walk observing Brian. He knew what it was about himself that had put that look on Claire's face; now he just needed to know what it was about Brian that put that look on Saidie's face (that is, if he was right about what he'd seen.)

Okay, so he remembered hearing Saidie, his sort of short friend, mention once that she had a thing for tall guys, and Brian was definitely tall and seemed to be growing almost by the minute. He had a horrible sense of style, but it seemed to work for him. Saidie was a unique dresser herself, and maybe she liked Brian's uniquely dorky look. Bender was always hearing the girls he knew (girls he was "considering" and thought of as somewhat friends)talk about how attractive guys with nice blue eyes were. Brian had those. And if Bender's past encounters with guys that Saidie had dated were any indication, Brian's dimply grin was probably what she most liked about him. It was a trait that almost every guy she dated had, if Bender really thought about it. And it probably didn't hurt that they were both brainiacs. Yep, the more Bender thought about it, the more it made perfect sense that Saidie would be attracted to the Brain.

And then he thought about how Brian had described the girl for him. Someone really intelligent. Obviously Saidie. Someone who knew how to have fun. Saidie always made Bender laugh with her positive energy, and given that she was the only girl Bender hung out with (besides Allison) that he didn't want to sleep with, because all he needed was her company, Bender would definitely say Saidie was fun. Someone who had a nice smile. Well, on that one Bender couldn't be sure. He definitely thought Saidie was attractive, and the fact that he couldn't help but smile when Saidie did—that was something, but who knew what dweebie thought constituted a nice smile. And someone who had a unique fashion sense. Well, that Saidie had for sure. No other girl, black or white, dressed like her. She wasn't quite as weird as Allison, but she definitely didn't follow trends.

The more Bender thought about it, the more he realized that Saidie and Brian were perfect for each other. And while he normally wasn't one to get involved in other people's affairs, he really wanted to help his friend out.

Claire and Allison were trying on each other's clothes and giggling together. Claire had asked Allison what Andrew thought of her outfit, and she'd responded, "He looked at me like a starving man," with a devilish smirk, and it was all Claire could manage not to spit out her Coke. "Well, that's definitely not a bad reaction." She giggled.

"How did Bender like your new look?" Allison asked. Claire smiled to herself, remembering. "Well… he backed me up against a wall and basically attacked me with his mouth, so I think it's safe to say he, like, really liked it."

Allison laughed. "Claire Standish, coming on over to the dark side. One step on your journey toward becoming a non-virgin."

Claire threw a pillow at her. "Were you telling the truth when you said you'd never done it?"

Allison nodded. "Mostly because I always thought I'd be bad at it or something."

"I hear it really hurts." Claire said.

Allison smirked. "Would you be surprised at all if I told you I have a pretty high threshold for physical pain?"

Claire shook her head. "You? No way!" She smiled.

Then Allison got down to business. "So when do you think you guys will go out again? Do you think you guys will go out again?"

Claire sighed. "I don't know. I'd definitely like to. But you know Bender. He has to take two steps backwards for every step he takes forward. The fact that we went out and had a good time would mean that he has to spend the next two weeks treating me like shit just so I won't think he likes me too much."

Allison nodded thoughtfully and smiled. "That sounds about right for Bender."

"Anyway, it doesn't matter right now anyway, because we came to an agreement. See, we got into this…thing about Brian going out with you guys and it turned into a monster deal and it almost ruined our date. So we agreed to take it slow until Brian finds a girl, so he won't feel left out and he won't have to be a third wheel and so I won't have to worry about him so much. "

"Well. That's uncharacteristically….thoughtful of him."

"It was kind of my idea. So we won't argue so much. Yeah. So I don't know if we'll be going out anytime soon unless Brian finds someone. He was kind of quick to agree to it, so I think he was on the verge of saying the same thing. It would be just like him to look for any excuse to pull back from me. Anyway, how was your date?"

"Same. We had a little argument. But it ended up well. We're going out again sometime during the week, I think. It's kind of weird. I don't know if he's sort of my boyfriend now or not."

"You have a patch off of his letterman jacket. I think the whole boyfriend thing has already been established." Claire said, all smiles.

And the girls fell into another fit of laughter, brought on by their happiness at having each other to talk to.