I know, I suck. Don't remind me.
Melody was bored, but thankfully there was another home football game that night to give her something to do. Not that she was relatively interested in sports, but there were a hell of a lot of hot guys there. Too bad that they were usually wearing helmets and she couldn't see their faces.
Speaking of hot guys, she thought as she found herself arriving at the stadium early. Poor Dean and Russell were bitterly sitting in the front row of the stands, not talking. Dean's foot was propped up on the fence in front of him. Privately wishing Dean wasn't there, she took a seat on the other side of Russell.
"Hey," she said, smiling, and got a glance in her direction for a response. She supposed that was a greeting. "You okay?" she asked though she already knew he was not.
"No," they both answered simultaneously. And that was it. Melody crossed her arms and sighed. No one said getting to Russ would be easy.
But, it wouldn't be as fun if it was easy.
"You know, it probably wouldn't be as bad if you didn't show up to all the practices still," Melody pointed out.
They stared out onto the field as they answered. She wondered what was so interesting about the empty field, as the team was getting talked to by the coach. "You can learn a lot from watching, actually," Dean said.
"Yeaaaaah," she said. She smiled seductively as she said, "But surely there's something that you'd rather be doing?"
"There's a lot of things I'd rather be doing," Russ said blandly. Melody was starting to get annoyed now. What was the point in the suggestive smiles if he wasn't even going to look at her?
"Well, I can think of a few," she said, stubbornly persistent. Dean peered at her in curiosity but it went unnoticed.
Slowly, the stands around them began to fill with students as the other team arrived and they, along with the cheerleaders and home players, began their warm-ups. "Not causing trouble, are we, sis?" Nick's voice said from behind them.
She turned and grinned. "Of course not!"
Nick shook his head. He knew exactly what she was up to and he couldn't stop her. He and Dean shared and exasperated look. He saw the expressions on both his and Russ's face. "You do realize that you guys are going to win, right? Despite everything?"
"Yeah, but we'd win better if we were playing," Dean informed him. Nick laughed but he knew that Dean was right.
"Maybe it's better to show them a little mercy," he offered and this time Dean laughed.
Meanwhile, Melody was not giving up her fight. "What are you doing after the game?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"Probably celebrating the victory," he shrugged.
"I think I'll have to join you in that," she hinted. She did not object to scooting closer to the boys as the front row seats filled up in seconds.
"You should," he agreed and she was grateful to actually get a decent response out of him. But soon the game began and then nothing else mattered to him.
Dean kept an eye on them the entire time. Sometime during the second quarter, he tapped Alice on the shoulder as the cheerleaders stood in front of them, in the sidelines. She turned around. "You're going to want to watch your little friend here," he muttered quietly, nodding to his right. Her eyes followed his indication and suddenly narrowed when she saw Melody.
"Be my spy," Alice ordered and he nodded.
…
During halftime, someone forced their way into the seat beside Claire, Brian, and Reggie with a large pop and a hot dog. "Hunter!" Claire exclaimed as she looked over. "How are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, do you want to go to homecoming with me?" he said casually.
It all sounded like one sentence to Claire and took her a minute to decipher and process it in her mind. "Uh… yeah! I'd love to!" she answered.
"YEAH! GET SOME!" Brian yelled and high-fived his friend. They both laughed. Many heads turned in his direction at his exclamation. "Umm… get some… touchdowns! Yeah! Go team!" he sat down again awkwardly.
"Brian, you're so embarrassing," Claire said through her laughter.
"You love me," he merely stated.
"Maybe, but I can't be seen with you."
…
Nearby, another person forced their way through the stands and collapsed onto the bleachers. "Where you been, Gunner?" Aaron asked curiously.
"Getting stuff done," he said shortly, simply, as he instinctively put a hand on his injury. He was not supposed to be active seeing as he was just released from the hospital (and earlier than they would have liked), but he completely ignored that.
But the mischievous gleam in his eyes did not go unnoticed. "You're up to something," Sandy said. It was not question.
"It was his idea," Gunner said as his excuse, nodding toward Aaron. Slowly, they all understood: their revenge plot was put into action.
…
A few miles north of them, Ravla was hosting a home football game of their own, and winning by a long shot. Also similarly to their rivals, they were missing two of their key players; Jone and Rocky were stumbling into the locker rooms at halftime.
"Where have you two been?" the coach demanded of them.
"Stuck in the dorm room," Jone said with much embarrassment.
"And how the Hell do you manage to get trapped in your own dorms?" he kept asking.
"Well… it seems that someone poured quick-dry cement over our doorknobs," he answered, expecting laughter, but his fellow teammates all scowled with disgust.
"They did that to every room in the whole school," someone said angrily. No one asked who 'they' were.
"They can't get away with this," Rocky said and the whole locker room cheered.
"Think of your little revenge plots later, Stellan," the coach said. "We've got a game to win. Get dressed."
The two latecomers scurried to their lockers.
Only to find that their locks were coated with cement.
…
Later that night, Emma was skipping out on post-game celebrations to hang out with her friend, Tamara. Because she was from Smarba and Tamara was from Ravla, they really didn't get to see each other that often, and usually not when their other friends were around. Since tonight, both teams would be celebrating a victory, they figured it would be safe to go catch up on each others' lives.
Emma seemed to be sitting at the Parlour forever, chatting with Tommy, by the time Tamara walked in. She gave her friend a quick hug. "Sorry I'm kind of late…" she apologized. Emma raised her eyebrows. "Okay I'm really late. But I have an excuse!"
"Oh yeah?"
"I was trapped out of my dorm," Tamara explained. "I was at the game, and then I went back to change and stuff, but I couldn't get in because the lock was sealed shut with cement!"
At this point, Tommy began laughing uncontrollably behind the counter and even Emma couldn't contain her laughter either. Tamara looked back and forth between them, confused. "Am I missing something?" she asked finally.
"It was us," Emma said breathlessly.
"What!" she exclaimed in outrage.
"Well, you didn't expect us to just sit there and take it when you cut up our fuses, did you now?" Emma began laughing again. Slowly, Tamara joined in.
"I doubt that we're going to let this slide, either, though," Tamara said eventually.
"Oh, I don't expect you to," Emma shrugged. "In fact, we're already brainstorming ways of revenge for next time you strike back."
"But it's all in good fun," Tamara said.
"That's the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard in my entire life," Emma said. "I doubt either of our schools will stop until someone gets hurt."
"From what I've heard, someone at your school did already get hurt," Tamara pointed out and this swept the smile off of Emma's face immediately. "What happened?"
"I don't know exactly," Emma frowned. "The local gambler, whore, druggie, alcoholic, badass, and rich kid all headed out into the city and got into some trouble. That's all I need to know."
Tamara was surprised at how little Emma knew about this incident. "That's all?"
She shrugged. "Something about Sandy and Gunner trying to hustle money off of the city's mafia leader. He wasn't too happy about that. He beat the shit out of Tyson, Aaron, and Gunner."
Tamara nodded. That wasn't any more than she already knew, but she wanted to check with someone trustworthy… the boastful stories of Tracey McQueen have been known to be slightly exaggerated. "Yeah, his daughter hasn't stopped talking about it. Thinks it's the funniest thing in the world."
"Who?"
"Tracey," Tamara said, not expecting to see the surprise on Emma's face.
"Wait, Tracey's dad is the guy who they tried to hustle?" Emma gasped.
"Yeah," Tamara nodded. "But you didn't hear that from me. Everyone's been asking Tracey how she knows all of this stuff about what happened, but unfortunately she's smart enough not to spill that her dad's part of the mafia."
"Well how do you know?" Emma said though she knew the answer before Tamara said it.
"My mom," she said simply. Her mom, Jen, was how the two of them met; as Emma got more and more into acting, she starting meeting the big-shot directors, stars, and managers. Jen was a manager of musicians, primarily, but Emma still knew her fairly well, especially since Tamara and Emma were now close friends. How she knew about McQueen's second lifestyle, she had no idea, but Jen generally knew these things.
"How's she been?" Emma asked, eager to change topics.
"Okay, I guess," Tamara shrugged, playing with the spoon in her ice cream dish. "With school, I don't hear from her very much. Plus, she's getting busier."
"Yeah? That's good for her, though," Emma said, knowing that Jen was a person who liked to be busy.
"I'm not sure it is," Tamara said sadly, but there was a hint of laughter on her face. "Have you heard of the LA band called Mirror Image?"
"Of course," Emma nodded.
"Well their old manager quit, so she took them on," Tamara said. "She had no idea what she was in for."
Emma decided she didn't want to know. "Aren't they doing that thing at the Roxy? The contest thing?"
"I think so," Tamara answered.
Emma nodded. "You should enter that!" Her friend was very musical, very talented, and very eager to have her talents recognized.
Tamara laughed. "I don't have a band," she said. "Plus, I think that I'm not as… hardcore as what they're looking for."
"But you're -," Emma began, but Tamara cut her off.
"Tell me, Wilson," she said with that sly smile on her face. "When is your homecoming?"
"October 9th," Emma answered, reluctantly letting the subject drop. "Why? You asking me?"
"Yes," Mara rolled her eyes. "I'd be honored to have you as my date for homecoming. But seriously, who have you got in mind?"
"Oh… I don't know," Emma shrugged, but the dull blush creeping onto her cheeks said otherwise. It was now common knowledge among the students that Hunter and Claire were officially going together, and more recently, Sawyer and Scarlett.
"Why won't you tell me?" Tamara said.
"You don't know him," Emma said, refusing to let herself believe that she'd actually want to go homecoming with anyone specifically. "Why do you care so much anyway?"
"Well…honestly… I was wondering if…" Tamara muttered, her turn to be embarrassed.
"You've got the hots for someone at my school," Emma said with eager realization. "Who is it? Sawyer? Russell? Dean? Reggie?" She quickly listed off the best-looking, most popular guys at her school. At no response from these first four, she continued with her list. "Hunter? Charlie? Boone? Brian?"
"I don't know his name, he's just kind of cute, kind of sporty, seems like a good guy…" Tamara said, shrugging as if it were not a big deal. Emma's eyes begged for more detail. "Brown hair, brown eyes. Freckles. Freakishly tall."
"GABE!" she shouted as she realized.
"Shut up!" Tamara hissed, glancing around the Parlour but seeing only Tommy, behind the counter. "Are you crazy?" Emma whispered her apology. "But anyway. Gabe? Gabe what?"
"Gabe Hill," Emma went on, her tone much quieter now. "Pretty much the nicest guy on the planet. And yes, he's single," she added as Tamara had opened her mouth.
Tamara pretended to be uninterested. "Ah, cool. Well, it's not like a guy from your school would ever go out with a girl from mine." She checked her phone. "I better go. Promised Alli I'd join in some celebration for football." The girls hugged and said their goodbyes.
…
"That's pretty hardcore," Reggie said as their first bassist, Joe, suggested the band name.
"I like it," Hunter nodded.
"It's like… a metal battalion," Brian said in awe. They stared at him. "Metallion. Yeah. I like it too."
"Cool," Joe said, leaping to his feet. "Well, I got to go visit my wife in jail. See you guys later."
They stared as he darted out the door. "Dude, we need to get a new bassist," Reggie said as soon as the door shut behind him.
"I know," the other two said in unison. Brian continued, "But he's the only one we could find on short notice. As soon as we find someone else, he's out."
"Just hope that's soon," Reggie said and Brian agreed.
"I want to do So Far Away for the first round of auditions," Hunter blurted out randomly and they both stared at him.
"Umm… what?" Reggie questioned. "By Avenged Sevenfold?" Hunter nodded. "Isn't that kind of… weak?"
"Dude, Avenged is anything but weak," Hunter jumped to their defense.
"I know, I know, they're awesome, don't get me wrong," Reggie said quickly. "But So Far Away is slow and just not very impressive to play, y'know? We could do Unholy Confessions, if you're up for the screaming, that's…"
"I want to do So Far Away," Hunter interrupted. "It's not always about the fastest double bass and the most shredding and the heaviest riffs. Sometimes it's about the emotion. The message."
Brian and Reggie were silenced for a second at this rare moment of sensitivity from Hunter. "Are you okay, man? You've been kind of quiet since you got back," Brian asked.
"My mom wants me to move in with her," he responded immediately, blankly, robotic. Their mouths dropped open.
"But like… I thought she lived in a van that travelled with a bunch of other hippies and protested across the nation," Brian said.
"She does…" he said in that same monotonous voice. It was scary from Hunter.
"That can't happen," Reggie said confidently. "As long as you're here, you have somewhere to stay. And over the summer, you can move in with me!"
"Yeah, try telling the psycho mother that," Hunter sighed.
"She won't even let you finish this year?" Brian asked.
"She thinks that I came back today to pack my bags and leave," he informed them.
"To Hell with that!" Reggie said, throwing his drumsticks to the ground angrily. "You are not going anywhere."
"Not if I can help it," Hunter said with as much confidence as he could muster, but there was a little sadness in his voice still. It lingered in their silence for a few seconds. "I want to win this. More than anything."
"Let's do it," Brian nodded.
"So Far Away?" Reggie asked.
"So Far Away," Hunter nodded.
"One…two… one, two, three, four…" he counted.
…
Ever since returning to school in the dead of the night last Saturday, Sandy had been very jumpy, paranoid for herself but moreso for her friends: Tyson, Aaron, and Gunner.
He approached her one day and said, "Hey Sandy, a couple of us are heading out to the city to get some Tommy Burgers - ,"
"No!"Sandy exclaimed before he could even ask. Gunner raised his eyebrows. "I mean, well, are you feeling up for it?" she asked.
"Sandy, I'm fine," Gunner sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time. It had been a week and a day since the adventure in Los Angeles.
"For now," she muttered. Gunner just rolled his eyes.
"Well I'm going now, feel free to join us," he said shortly, turning and leaving through the door he'd just entered through. Sandy sighed and got up and followed him.
"Gunner, I don't think you should…"
"I know you don't think I should," he said, clearly frustrated. "But I'm going to. What could possibly happen?"
Sandy opened her mouth for her argument but nothing came out. Gunner waited for a second. "I need money," she said finally, not sure where this had come from.
Gunner did not seem to know either. He gave her a confused look. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"
"I'm thinking… wait, what?" Sandy said.
"It was an empty threat," Gunner went on. "McQueen's got so much money that he doesn't know what to do with it."
"I know, but -,"
"He was also drunk and probably doesn't even remember a thing."
"I know, but -,"
"And even if he does," Gunner interrupted one last time. "He doesn't know where to find you. You were all dressed up that day and if he saw you walking by on a casual day he wouldn't recognize you. He didn't even know your name."
"But he knew yours," Sandy said.
Gunner stopped in his tracks. "Is that what this is about?" Sandy nodded. He resumed his walking. "Why didn't you ask me earlier?"
"Because... Because I was afraid," Sandy admitted. "I thought you'd be mad at me, I thought you'd hate me for almost having you killed..."
"I don't want to hear it," he interrupted. "Don't worry about me, Alessandra.
"Well I'm going to," she said stubbornly. "I already asked Alice, and she won't -,"
"What about Alice?" a voice said, none other than Alice herself, who was emerging from her dorm room with Scarlett. They were part of the group that would be going to get burgers with Gunner.
"She's pestering me for money," Gunner answered before Alice could.
Alice sighed. She'd heard it several times in the past week. Sandy would just not let it go. "Sandy, just listen to us, okay? We know what we're talking about."
"No, you don't! You weren't even there," Sandy was getting frustrated.
"I appreciate your concernSandy, but I'm not even worried," Gunner agreed. "So there's no reason you should be."
"Since when do you ever worry about yourself though?" Sandy protested, and Alice even had to silently agree with that one. "McQueen knows who you are Gunner, and he's not going to forget any time soon, you heard that Lucy guy say your name."
"Okay, okay!"Alice said, finally hearing enough of it as they approached the rest of their group. "You win. But I'm paying him. You're not going back there. And neither are you," she added fiercely as Gunner opened his mouth to protest.
"Let me go," Scarlett said randomly from beside them. They turned to her.
"What?"Alice said finally.
"I'll go. I'll bring him the money." Scarlett said very seriously.
"No, Scarlett, Alice, you two have nothing to do with it,"Sandy said. "The whole point is that I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."
"Look, I don't even want to talk about this anymore,"Alice waved her comment down. "Let's just go and get these burgers. I'm freaking starving."
Reluctantly the subject was dropped, but for Scarlett it was not going to end that easily.
...
The burger joint was so small that it could not fit the entire Smarba group so they elected to go to a park and eat there instead. Tyson sat beside Matt, Jack, and Juliet as they relaxed at a picnic table.
"Aren't you guys going to play?" he asked Matt and Jack, nodding over to the group of boys who'd just initiated a game of football.
"No way man," Jack laughed. "You think we don't get enough of that during the week?"
"Seriously," Matt agreed exasperatedly. "It's only these lunatics that seem to appreciate the pain and sore muscles," he nodded at the group of boys that included Sawyer, Russ, Dean, and Sayid.
"Can't blame Russ and Dean for wanting to play though," Jack said sympathetically.
"Can't blame Alice and Scarlett for getting pissed off because they want to play injured," Juliet added.
"True that," Matt agreed, and noticed that Tyson had kind of trailed out of the conversation. He was staring off into the distance at the mention of the last two names. "Dude, just ask her out. Homecoming's coming up. It's perfect."
"Perfect chance to get my ass kicked by El Capitano?" he said, watching as Alice angrily consented to letting Russ play football despite his injury. "No thank you."
"You really don't have anything to worry about with him," Jack said. "We've known the guy for a year now, and let me tell you… he's…"
"He's an asshole," Matt finished bluntly. "And I'd bet good money that he won't even ask her to homecoming. But someone else will. She's got a lot of admirers. So you'd better do it soon."
"Yeah, I might," Tyson said, sounding slightly reassured. "But I don't know. I don't know her all that well and I wouldn't know what to say."
"Just go for it, bro," Matt said. "It's easy… Hey Juliet, how'd you like to go to homecoming with me?" he asked.
"I'd love to," Juliet laughed.
Matt shrugged. "No problem," he clapped Tyson on the shoulder.
"Yeah, you know, I think I will ask her," Tyson said confidently.
"Now?" Juliet asked.
"Hell no!" Tyson answered and they laughed.
Nearby, Gunner was informing the students about a party that he was going to be holding the following weekend at his house. "My parents are going to be out at some important-people party all night so I figured it would be a perfect opportunity," he explained, to much celebration from the rowdier bunch.
"I don't think I can make it," Emma said sadly.
"Why?"
"Probably going to the same 'important-people party' that your parents are going to," she guessed.
"But you're not important?" Dmitri said in confusion.
She hit his arm lightly. "I love you too Dmitri."
And in another part of the park, Reggie was walking around quietly and alone. Now if you knew Reggie at all, you'd know that Reggie is rarely quiet, rarely alone, and seldom both at the same time. And taking in consideration that there was talk of a no-supervision party at a mansion going on and he was missing it… well, you get the point.
Reggie was up to no good.
And he soon found his victim. Shannon, Ana Lucia, Charlotte, and Melody were all sitting on a bench gossiping over whatever the latest gossip was. Wondering vaguely for a moment why Melody was included in this group (she always jumped around), he approached them.
It was like magic. The cease of their talking was instantaneous as Reggie joined their little social circle. It was as if their vocal chords stopped functioning as soon as a male entered the vicinity.
"What are we talking about here, ladies?" he said in his most falsely charming voice that none of them fell for.
Again, magic. "Nothing," they all said at the same time. He wondered whether their brains were wired together somehow.
"Well as fascinating as that sounds," he said slowly. "I'm going to take a stab at what you were really talking about. Homecoming?" Their silence astounded him. "Boys? Dates?"
"Which one is your guess?"Charlotte asked boldly.
Reggie laughed. "Touché. You have dates yet? Surely someone's asked you beautiful women by now."
"If you're asking one of us, Greenberg, then get to the point," Ana Lucia snapped.
"Me? No," Reggie said in surprise. "But I know that a friend of mine," he said, turning to Shannon now and completely ignoring the other three. Finally he was getting to the point that he had come over for. "- Brian – who would be honored to take you as his date for homecoming."
Shannon looked surprised at this, which Reggie didn't understand because he thought it was common knowledge that Brian had the hots for Shannon. "Yeah. I'd like that," she answered.
"Great!" Reggie jumped to his feet. "It was nice talking to you!" and he ran off in the direction that he came.
And then he froze. Sometimes he could get so focused on doing something – like hooking up Brian and Shannon without them knowing – that he would forget what is most important in life.
Such as spying on girls.
So he turned back, just as quietly as he had approached before. Being as tall as he was, it was difficult for him to hide, but he was thrilled to see that the girls had become so engrossed in their conversation again that he was able to skulk in the background without being noticed.
Ana Lucia was clearly unhappy. She wasn't exactly a cheerful girl to begin with but she was even more agitated now. Reggie was eager to find out why. It didn't take long.
"I heard they're just going as friends," Melody offered.
"Oh, bullshit," Ana scowled. "You know as well as I do that Scarlett's liked Sawyer for the longest time."
"That doesn't mean that he feels the same way though," Shannon tried to reassure her.
"And since when has Sawyer been known to turn down a pretty girl that throws herself at him?" Ana questioned bitterly.
Reggie felt that this was a little harsh. Scarlett was too sweet to be throwing herself at anyone (and plus, if she threw herself at guys, Reggie would have known about it a long time ago).
"Look, it doesn't even matter," Ana was saying dismissively. "It's really not a big deal."
"Honey, if you feel that strongly about it," Melody said with a glint of malice in her eyes. Reggie braced himself for what Melody was going to say next. "Then you better do something about it."
"Like?"
"Oh, I don't know," Melody said. "But revenge is sweet in all forms."
"For example," Charlotte said, also sounding mischievous. "How much would Sawyer like her if she was, say, bald?"
"Or had green teeth," Melody suggested.
"Or smelled like a skunk," Shannon threw in.
Reggie figured he had heard enough. He did not want to know what the girls would come up with as 'revenge' for Scarlett. He made a mental note to warn her.
He found his friends again and sat beside Charlie and Brian. "Where you been?" he asked.
"Hot date," Reggie answered casually.
"Oh, yeah?" Brian asked skeptically. "With who?"
"Not for me, dude," Reggie said. "For you!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Brian demanded.
"I asked Shannon to homecoming for you! Just like you asked!" Reggie said.
"What the-? I never asked you to do that!" Brian exclaimed.
"Oh yeah," Reggie said. There was an awkward silence. "Well she said yes!"
"Oh, Reggie," Brian said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You're welcome," Reggie said.
"What about you, then?" Brian asked. "Who are you going with?"
"Me?" Reggie asked in surprise. This happened every year, it seemed. He got so caught up in getting everyone 'together' that he forgot that he would need a date for himself. "Didn't think of that…"
"What a surprise," Brian rolled his eyes.
Reggie shrugged, not worried by any means. "I'll think of someone. There are plenty of girls to choose from."
…
Little did he know, the amount of girls to 'choose from' was about to get smaller.
Nick, too, was out wandering by himself. But unlike his classmate, he was not being mischievous. He was merely wandering.
And though he was not being mischievous, he was, in fact, looking for trouble.
He soon found her. He saw her sitting on a swing, laughing, as a younger child ran away crying. He did not want to ask.
At least, not about that.
Nick sat down in the swing next to her as her laughter subsided. She shot him a look; he couldn't figure out if it was a good look or a bad look. "May I help you?" She said in a voice that clearly stated she did not want to help anyone but herself.
"Just wanted to say hi," Nick shrugged, not phased at all by her rudeness like most of their classmates were. He actually found Zoey intriguing, and felt that there was more to her than meets the eye.
"Well, hi," she said shortly, looking down at the ground and kicking some rocks around as she wrapper her arm around the chain of her swing.
"And I was also wondering if you were interested in coming to homecoming with me," he added, not really sure where that had come from. Sure, he found Zoey to be an interesting character, but all in all he did not know her very well.
Zoey seemed as surprised as Nick was. Yes, they really didn't know each other, but from what she did know, she could assume that he really wasn't her type. He was the nice guy. The smart guy. The caring guy. Zoey was everything but that.
"Yeah," she said. Both of them were surprised at themselves and the conversation that had just ensued. The silence was uncomfortable.
"Well, this is awkward," Nick said finally.
"Got that right," Zoey agreed.
"You going to Gunner's house next weekend?" Nick asked, though he already knew the answer as she nodded. If it was a Sosa party, then everybody was going to be there. "Cool. You're going to have a blast; he always makes it a lot of fun."
"I always make it a lot of fun," she corrected.
He laughed at this. "If you say so."
…
There was so much arguing.
Everyone was clearly getting frustrated, but Scarlett had accepted that there was no safe way to do it. She also refused to let anything happen that wasn't her way.
Sandy was the one that was having a fit over safety. She insisted that it was her that should return to the Afterlife and find Jensen McQueen so that nobody else get hurt. Mostly, her protests were just being ignored.
Alicewanted it to be herself for the same reason. She thought it should be a new face and, since it was her money, she should be the one.
Gunner argued against her on many points. He persisted that he should pay Jensen back with his own money becauseAliceshouldn't be dragged into it. He also was being very protective over the girls, and wanted to go himself. Sandy said it didn't matter whose money it was because she would pay them back as soon as possible anyway.
But all of them could agree on their shock at how stubborn Scarlett was. "I don't care who gives me the money, just let me go!" she exclaimed, nearly ripping out her hair in frustration.
"Let me pay for half of it," Gunner said, trying desperately to reach a compromise. "Since it's half my fault anyway. Then Sandy, you can pay Alice back once you get the money since she had nothing to do with it."Alice shook her head but did not argue this.
"And there is no way you are going down there alone,"Alice said to Scarlett, letting her 'best-friend instincts' kick in.
"What, just so more of us can be in danger?" Scarlett scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."
And thus, another argument ensued.
Darkness had long since fell upon them by the time they all reached an agreement. Gunner and Scarlett would take a cab down to the very same alley that they were at the week before. Scarlett would head in alone while Gunner waited in the limo. He gave her ten minutes inside alone before he would go in and act.
They put their plan into action right away, per Sandy's request, and before they knew it, Gunner and Scarlett's cab pulled to a stop.
"I won't be long," Scarlett said quietly to the cab driver. She felt like she needed to whisper, as the night was eerily quiet for LA. She walked a few steps into the unusually dark alley and glanced over her shoulder nervously.
She could no longer see the cab.
She took another deep breath, knowing that she had to act quickly because her minutes were timed. Her footsteps resumed.
"Hey girlie, got anything for a poor man?" The voice came from right in front of her. She didn't see him until she was face-to-face with him and she let out a small scream in response. "No need to be afraid…" the raspy voice laughed.
"No… nothing, sorry," she said, boldly taking a step aside and hurrying through the alleyway. Almost gratefully, she located the half-lit sign reading AFTERLIFE. The door creaked open and she was almost blasted back.
After the seemingly-hours long walk through the pitch-black silent alley, the light and noise from the club was startling. She stepped in and the door shut behind her. Surveying her surroundings, she tried desperately to keep her eyes away from the couples and the clouds of drugs surrounding certain areas.
Almost as soon as she stepped in, a man swooped down on her out of nowhere. "Hey pretty lady, what brings you here on this fine evening?" he said.
Scarlett was finding it difficult to hide her fear. "I'm…. looking for someone," she said, just now realizing that she had no idea what Jensen McQueen even looked like.
"Well you've found me," he said with an evil snarl as he took a step closer to her.
"Stay away from her!" a powerful, raging voice said over the din of the club. This voice filled Scarlett with thankfulness and relief, but at the same time dread and disappointment. So it was true.
"Who're you to stop me?" the first man snarled to the one who'd rushed to Scarlett's defense.
"Her father."
…
The girls had some shopping to do. They did not get it done that weekend asShannonhad originally planned, so they rearranged for it to happen during the week after class. After much frustration and changes of the plan, the girls were finally ready to hit the local mall to look for some dresses.
Bethany had just finished up tallying the most recent amounts in the Penny Wars fundraiser. She was very nearly late as she met up with many of her fellow classmates in the center of the mall. Like many, she did not particularly want to be there, but she'd been asked by Desmond to go so she had to get a dress sooner or later.
"Hey, Collins," Claire smiled as she arrived. "Barely made it."
"Yeah, I was -,"
"Working on the paper, yeah, we know," Claire finished for her. "Penny Wars, right?"
Bethany nodded but said nothing. She knew exactly what was the next thing to come out of her mouth, and sure enough, Claire asked immediately, "How much do we have so far? Who's winning?"
"That's confidential,"Bethany said robotically, as she did every time someone asked her. She did not want to imagine the looks on their faces when she told them that the money they raised so far was nowhere near enough to save their beloved Tragic Torrent. She told herself, though, that there was still plenty of time for the students to raise the money they needed.
"We wouldn't tell anyone," Nix said, also curious. She'd grown to like the little club and its student-friendly environment. She had a good time every time they went their after school, even though there was a gloom that fell over the place every time the students entered.
"I know you wouldn't,"Bethany sighed as the group slipped into the first store and split apart. "It's just… policy." She felt awkward as she wandered around the store with her friends. She didn't exactly know how to begin.
The others decided to drop the matter as the search began. "You're going with Hunter, right, Claire?" Micah asked. She nodded. "Hmm. He's been a bit odd."
"I've noticed that," Claire frowned. "Not as social. I wonder what's up."
Bethany listened with interest. As much as she was against gossip, she really did like to know all that was going on. A strong curiosity took over her as to why Hunter was behaving in this manner. "Who are you going with again, Bethany?"
She was snapped out of her thoughts with this question. "Um, Desmond."
"I didn't know you two were an item," Nix said.
"We're not,"Bethanysaid awkwardly. "It's just like a… friendly date type thing."
"What about you and Hunter, Claire?" Micah asked curiously. "I highly doubt that he had just a 'friendly date' in mind when he asked you."
Blushing wildly, Claire sputtered, "I – well, we haven't really – we've been friends forever -,"
"Save it,"Bethany grinned. "We all know there's something more."
"Well even if there is," Claire said defensively, finally regaining her composure. "It's not – ooh, this is cute!"
All other things were momentarily forgotten as they gathered around their friend to look at what she'd found. It was a simple lacy white material.
"I don't know if that'll suit you, Claire," Ana's wise tone said from behind them as she was looking through a rack of her own. "You're so pale and blonde already."
"True," she said. "Well, I'll just remember this one is here."
"So, Micah, Nix,"Bethany said, not having forgotten their previous conversation. "Nobody's asked you yet?" There was something very knowing in her tone that Claire picked up right away. After all, they still did not who it was that had captured their friend Sam's affections.
"Well, a freshman did ask me," Micah tilted her head curiously. She did not seem to detect the hidden meaning behind Bethany's question. "I'm not sure who he was, though. He was a little scary, actually."
The girls laughed momentarily. "I don't think I'll be going," Nix said sadly.
"Why?" Claire asked, freezing in the middle of examining a dress.
"Well," Nix said. "I've never been a huge fan..."
"Oh, bullshit,"Bethanysaid as Micah and Claire nodded. "You're going."
Nix shrugged, not wanting to argue. "We'll see."
After getting their fill of that store, the large group of girls left elsewhere. None had made any purchases because it was so early on in their search. Trying to be inconspicuous, Melissa made a bold attempt at sneaking into a soccer store. Kate grabbed her sleeve. "Oh no you don't," she said, laughing.
"But let me just -,"
"No," Kate said firmly. "You think I want to be here either? No."
"You have a date," Melissa pointed out. "You have to go." Kate and Jack had agreed to go as friends as well.
"You'll have a date soon enough," Kate said, thinking of how close she had Miles had been since they met. You would think that they'd been friends forever.
Melissa seemed to guess what she was thinking. "No, absolutely not," she said defiantly.
"Whatever you say," Kate said, smiling, in a tone that said she clearly did not believe her friend at all.
"Not going to happen."
"Not yet, maybe…"
They continued to argue like this until they caught back up with their friends. They ran into Emma, who was telling Elizabeth, Melody, and Juliet something that they all found very interesting.
"…and my manager said he'd look into it," she was just finishing up her story.
"Are you in this movie at all?" Juliet asked curiously.
"No," Emma shook her head. "He's just involved with some other actress that's in it."
"Well still, that's bloody awesome," Melody said.
"What?" Kate inquired curiously.
"My manager said that some director wants to make a movie and film it on a campus like ours," Emma explained. "They're coming around in a few weeks to check the place out and see if it works for them."
"No way?" Kate exclaimed. "That's so cool!"
"I know!" Emma said with just as much excitement. "I don't know how it's going to affect our school day, but…"
"…but who cares?" Melody completed for her. She pulled out a very revealing top that looked like it would fit in her wardrobe very well. "I like this…"
"Please tell me you're planning on wearing a normal dress to homecoming like every other girl,"Elizabethsaid as she raised her eyebrows.
"I am," Melody said but she didn't put the top back on the shelf. "But this can be for the party this Saturday."
There was so much suggestiveness in her voice that it left no doubt in anyone's mind regarding what she was talking about. "You better watch yourself," Kate warned. "Alice is going to kick your ass."
"I'd like to see her try," Melody scoffed. She didn't even bother to deny it.
Kate shook her head but knew it was no use arguing. "Whatever… This is not going to end well…"
She would end up being very right, but that's another time.
…
As the day at the mall closed up, only a few of the girls actually committed to a running her mouth off about how they could come again this Sunday to keep searching. She stopped short, however, at the sight of Tracey McQueen, flanked by Alli Rockchester, Tamara Addams, and Liv Wyllie.
"Well look who it is," she said maliciously. "Your future classmates," she said to Liv, who did not look pleased at this mention.
"What are you doing here, McQueen?"Shannon hissed, her anger matched by the other girls. Alice and Sandy, however, looked as if they needed to be restrained from jumping Tracey and pummeling her.
"Does it matter?" Alli scowled. "This is a public place, hon… can't kick us out like last time."
"Can't kick you out, but we can kick your ass!" Scarlett scowled. She and Shannon, standing with their arms crossed and scowling menacingly, made for a pretty threatening team. Of course, in any other time, they'd be arguing.
"Speaking of getting your ass kicked," Tracey went on as she flipped her blonde hair sickeningly. "Surprised you made it back here in one piece… wish the same could be said for your other friends."
Many of the girls had no idea what she was talking about but Sandy about lost her mind. Angry, she opened her mouth to start screaming at Tracey, but Scarlett held up her hand to silence her. She knew that if Sandy spoke, then Tracey would know that she was at the Afterlife that night. Jensen had Gunner's name, but he needn't know anyone else who was there.
"Your dad will burn in Hell, but he'll have you for company," she whispered so that no one else could hear it.
"So will yours," Tracey said just as quietly with just as much venom. Speaking loudly again, she added, "You and most of your little friends may be under protection, but those of you who aren't… better watch yourselves."
Alli laughed evilly beside her. At this, Tamara and Emma locked eyes. There was a certain shadow in her friend's brown eyes that told Emma that she had some other information. "Let's go, we've got… business, to attend to," Tracey said. Alli followed haughtily, Tamara did reluctantly. Liv stayed behind for a moment.
There was an awkward moment as she stared at them. She didn't seem to realize that there were so many of them. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, looking down at her feet before following as well.
WOW.
Did it take me long enough to get this one out, or what? Don't even tell me. I don't want to know. Well… there you have it. I don't really have much to say. But I'd love to hear what you have to say… reviews? (:
Creds to blink-182 and their song FIRST DATE for the chapter title.