Chapter 12: Living with a Crush
"Are you still in love with me?" Abby asked sincerely.
Chester shuddered but managed to look up at her. "Yes." He reluctantly admitted.
They were back in the Grossologist interrogation room. The two sat opposing to one another, across the table.
Abby smiled wider than she ever had before. "I love you too." She happily confessed.
The scared boy slowly looked up at her again. "Wha-what?" He was so stunned by disbelief that his mouth remained agape.
"I love you." She repeated and slowly rose from her chair, leaned over the table and catched his lips with her own.
That was of course not how it really happened but it was the way Chester imagined it in his mind's eye as he laid on his bed at night.
He thought about Abby a lot nowadays. He thought about how her hand would feel like if he could hold it, how her body would feel like if he was allowed to hold her in his arms and he wondered how her lips would feel if he kissed her.
"She is nice to me."
Just thinking those words made his heart flutter.
"She is nice to me."
So few people in his life had ever been nice to him. Most girls he meet just sneered at him, like his mere presence was a pain but not Abby. She talked to him and listened to what he had to say. Abby wasn't just incredible beautiful, she also had an admirable personality. She was nice, smart, brave, caring and actually accepted him despite his obvious flaws. She wasn't perfect but even her flaws seemed to complete her.
Yes, he thought about everything Abby quit a lot even if it always came with the same bitter realization that he could never have her. She was too good for him. She was the kind of person that made other people feel good. The only emotion he seemed to inspire in people was disgust. Besides there was no chance she would ever see him as anything else but that poor guy that used to be Kid Rot anyway.
Chester sometimes argued with himself, reasoned that he should stop thinking about her but between being bullied at school, isolated at the orphanage and the horrible memories of his past his fantasies about her was one of the few things that brought him happiness. He reasoned he would get over her one day and Abby would find someone that deserved her and could make her happy.
Everything in Chester's life wasn't bad thou. Project Ernutet had been picked up by scientists in universities and institutes around the world. It had become the greatest scientific elaboration since the human-genome project. Everyone involved tried to perfect and test the formula in their own unique way. These scientist felt a lot in debt to Chester so when they heard about his situation they sent him a part of their income to the poor boy, but if you thought Chester was rolling in dough you would be sadly mistaken. Most of his money went to pay for all the damage Kid Rot had done. While most of the things he had destroyed was covered by the state the things that wasn't still added up to a pretty hefty sum. Ty and Abby thought it was unfair that Chester had to pay for the things Kid Rot destroyed but the money needed to come from somewhere and Chester was happy as long as he didn't have to go to jail. The Grossologists had given him a cellphone so they could contact him if they had too. They would not allow him to disappear out of sight. He was also allowed into the Gaglab as long as he was supervised.
When not in school Chester mostly did homework. He had two years of school to catch up with. At first the principle wanted him to redo eleventh grade but Chester insisted he could do it. Thanks to his genius intellect Chester handled all the extra homework with relative ease. Only the amount of it seemed to prompt a problem.
Socially he was doing better than he ever had before. Even thou he was still being bullied and feeling a bit left out he was grateful for the small friendly moment he had with the Archer siblings and Andy.
If only he could keep his emotions for Abby under control.
Ty, Abby and Chester walked thru the school corridor. It had been a bit over a week now since Chester had reentered Ringworm High. He felt the sight of the three of them resembled that of their first day together. Despite everything horrible that eventually happened that day, the memories still held a special place in the blonde boy's heart. It had been the first time he had ever mingled with people that shared his interests. Now however, it existed a rift between them and that rift was named Kid Rot. It was hard for Chester to see the Archers without thinking on all the times he had tried to hurt them. He also wondered if they thought the same. Still, any smile from Abby or shared joke from Ty made all uneasiness worth it.
The trio stopped in their tracks when they saw a large crowd of girls gathered in a half circle by a wall. They were all chatting & giggling. They all seemed rather excited about something.
"What are they all so heated about?" Ty asked.
"I don't know." Abby replied curiously before advancing towards the mass of girls.
'Maybe the vulture flock found something outdated to stick their beaks in.' Chester thought jokingly to himself.
Abby struggled thru the thick crowd of people. "Excuse me…Coming thru…Sorry…Ugh." Getting thru the hedge of female students Abby's discovery was disappointing to say the least. She stared at a large poster with the title Ringworm's Beauty Tournament.
"A beauty pageant! Seriously?" Abby lamented. Even thou Abby rarely judged anyone for liking anything, a beauty pageants for teenage girls just made her gut clench. She found the entire exercise of it to be vain and demeaning. Wasn't it enough for a high school girls to be judged by their appearance everywhere else.
"7. 6. 5. 4." Ty counted while checking his wristwatch.
"Um, why are you counting down?" Chester asked with a raised eyebrow.
"…and 1." Ty finished.
"Hey Abby!" A high-pitched voice cut thru the air like a stabbing knife. Abby grunted before she even saw its owner. Turning around she meet Paige and her pose. She was holding a stack of permission slips in her arms. Abby rolled her eyes and kept down a sigh, mentally preparing herself for another figurative cock-fight with her old nemesis.
Chester turned back to Ty. "How did you know?"
"Abby & Paige bicker so often that I set my clock after them." Ty giggled and showed him his digital watch.
"I assume you are participating, Paige." Abby spat with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes sharp.
"Sadly no. I am judging the pageant." The popular girl happily exclaimed.
"Seriously?" Abby sighed tiresomely. Paige always picked on people for how they dressed or how they generally looked and now she was going to judge them as they offered themselves up like sheep to the slaughter. Abby wondered if even Lance Boil could come up with a plan this nefarious.
"Yeah, my mom sponsors the entire thing." Paige grinned before turning to the other girls. "It's going to be huge. There will be eighteen competitors in total and Granit McChin will be co-judge." She explained and some of the girls shrieked in enthusiasm.
Ty and Chester waited quietly for Abby to return when a heavy-set raven hair jock came up from behind and ruffled Chester's hair. "I think you should enter. You are as ugly as they come but you look more like a girl than anything." He laughed bemused and walked away.
Chester's face turned into a furious scowl that exposed his teethes but it soon faded into a sad whimper. He gave a depressed sigh and looked to the floor.
Ty frowned annoyed. Clearly crossed over the mistreatment of his friend. "Just forget him." He said but it didn't help, Chester was still upset. He had grown accustomed to people treating him like this but he still felt a sting of humiliation and sadness whenever it happened. He wished he was more like Abby that for some reason always was capable of standing up for herself. Then again, Abby was stronger than him.
Abby listened annoyed as Paige answered the other girl's questions about the pageant. The grossologist rolled her eyes. "Aw come on, was there really a big enough demand for something like this?"
Paige turned to her longtime rival with a poisonous glare. It then soften to an ironic smile. "Actually yes. I already gotten sooo many applications from devoted mothers that would looove to give their beautiful girls a chance to win this." The flickered thru the applications, pretending to look at them. "Hu, but no Archer. You should definitely apply Abby, you would be perfect as competition fodder."
"What is that suppose to mean?" Abby snarled with an arched eyebrow.
"Aw come on Abby, we both know you're not exactly model of the year material." Paige replied. "I mean you dress like a little kid, you dig around in the dirt, half of all the time you stink like a garbage truck and the only guys I can ever remember hitting on you are freaks & geeks."
Abby tried to interrupt but Paige just came coming with more harsh insults. Even thou Abby did like the way she looked and for the most part a very confident person not even she was a 100% immune to Paige's verbal abuse.
She was however not the only one feeling the pressure. Chester, already loaded with negative feelings clenched his fists and jaw. Being harassed was hurtful but he had gotten used to it but what he hadn't gotten used to was seeing the ones he cared for getting mistreated. Hearing all those horrible lies about the girl he treasured more than anything set his pent-up rage into overdrive.
"SHUT-UP! ABBY IS MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU CAN EVER BE!"
Abby and Paige, as well as everyone else in the hallway turned their attention towards Chester. Their gazes, disturbed and surprised. The scrawny blonde was panting violently and his eyebrows furrowed but once he realized everyone was staring he felt like he was shrinking to the size of an ant. He felt so humiliated, so vulnerable.
He took a weary step back before turning around and ran away. His eyes watery from tears.
After the initial surprise, Paige smirked and laughed full heartedly. "See. That proves my point perfectly."
"Shut up Paige!" Abby snapped.
Paige turned to the red head. She leaned in closer with an angry scowl. "What are you going to do? Run after him?"
"Maybe I will!" Abby almost shouted in anger and walked after Chester.
"Yeah, you do that. You two fit together like my mother's white gloves!" Paige shouted condescendingly as Abby made her way down the hallway.
She found Chester were she thought she'll find him, sitting in the school garden with his back slumped against the wall as he forced himself to breath calmly.
"Chester?" She said softly.
He looked up at her with mournful eyes. He gulped. "Abby. I am so sorry for embarrassing you back there."
"Oh, it's okay." Abby responded somewhat shyly.
"It's just that, well, you know how I feel about you and sometimes it-it's hard to control my emotions." Chester exclaimed half sobbing.
"Oh…" Abby felt awful. She wished she could help him, maybe even return his feelings but in the end she could just repeat what she had already told him. "Chester, you know I don't feel the same but I will always be your friend."
"I know. You and Ty are the best friends I could have asked for." Chester exclaimed. "You are so great for putting up with me."
Abby flinched in surprise. "Is that what you think? That we hang out with you just because we tolerate you?"
"Of course, what other reason is there?" Chester asked in a sad tone.
"Chester, we are your friends because we like you and we like being around you. Ever since you came back you have been nothing but a model friend."
Chester smiled. "Really?"
Abby nodded. "Really."
A crimson blush tainted Chester's cheeks and his smile grew twice as wide. He coyly looked to the ground. "You know, you are not making it easy for me."
Abby raised a puzzled eyebrow. "What do you mean not making it easy for you?"
Chester looked up at her with a smile that was both mischievous and shy. "…For me not to love you."
Abby looked absolutely shocked. Her body stiffen and a red blush covered her face. She felt immensely flattered but also very humbled from being complimented by her sweet and admittedly cute friend. She almost regretted rejecting him. Almost. She averted her gaze, trying to hide her blush.
Chester thought he had offended her. He immediately felt guilty. "O I am sorry Abby. I know I must be making things hard for you but I am genuinely happy to have you as a friend. I promise I will be more careful with-
"No, no Chester it's alright." Abby reassured.
"You are not actually going to compete in the pageant, right?" Chester asked, trying to redirect their conversation.
"No."
"Good." He nodded and stood up. "Cause you have nothing to prove to anyone." He then smacked his forehead. "Was I being to flirty again?"
"No, no. I liked it, I mean its fine." Abby said, finding herself more nervous than usual around the guy that for the last week had become one of her best friends.
"Alright. Come on or we will be late for history class." He said and started walking. It took Abby a second to react due to her confused state but she soon followed Chester.
"Did you know that in some states they have beauty pageants for insects but instead of the prettiest, it is the ugliest bug that wins?" Chester said.
"Aw, but they are so cute." Abby cooed.
"I don't know about that but flour beetles and bed bugs looks really cool thru an electronic microscope. Did you know that flour beetles can resist a higher dose of radiation than all other insects in the world?" Chester started enthusiastically explain as the science geek so often did. Abby didn't mind.
A few nights later in an abandoned warehouse.
Insectiva's two humanoid cockroach-henchmen waited excitedly for their master along with the colony of dog sized termites and normal insects. The warehouse was so cluttered with insects that a human being wouldn't have enough room to stand. All of them had their attention directed at a massive metal slide-door.
Soon enough Insectiva appeared on a platform next to the metal door but she was dressed a lot differently than usual. Instead of her purple pants and sleeveless shirt she wore a white toga and a wreath made out of green leafs. She looked like a Greek goddess or rather like someone's demented version of one.
"My dear children, four thousand years ago the Greeks told tales about a monster. A lion with a snake for a tail and a goat's head mounted its back." Insectiva spoke vividly. Her expression turned angry in a flash. "THAT PROVES THOSE PILLOWBITTING PITTA-MUNCHERS HAD THE INTELECT OF THE MARMOR STATUES THEY RAISED!" After the outrage her voice softened but still retained an aggressive edge. "Instead of mangy beasts and scaly reptiles they should have told stories about the creatures that deserves to be adored and feared." She smirked egocentrically. "Insects! That is why I have brought to life the true and superior Chimera."
The mad entomologist grabbed a remote control that was hanging from the ceiling in an electric cord. Her thumb pressed down on a red button and the giant steel door slowly opened, revealing a dark room on the other side. At first nothing seemed to be in it but soon everyone heard a nightmarish hiss followed by a loud footstep.
"I'll bring you the ultimate Grossologist hunter." Insectiva proclaimed.
Out of the dark room came a six feet tall, metal green head with huge black pincet-eyes and a powerful set of mandibles. Like a huge green wasp.
The two cockroach-henchmen quivered in fear and took a few fearful steps back as their eyes couldn't avert from the terrifying beast.
As the Chimera advanced, it revealed a pair of long green forelegs aligned with sharp hooks. Its clawed feets almost crushed some of the other insects on the floor but they managed to scatter in the last second. Next out came a pair of long crystal clear wings, adored with a pair of large red spots. These wings almost obscured the creature's four shorter legs. Last out of the room was its pitch black abdomen that in comparison with the rest of the armored beast seemed softer and more moveable. It ended in a long spear like stinger.
As the Chimera came into the room, the flies and gnats took to the air. Swarming in whirls out of fear. The moths flew backwards, trying to put some distance between them and this new insect. The humanoid cockroaches covered in fear, one of them even put a hand above his head for protection and the termite colony pointed their jaws at the monster in a feeble attempt at threating it from getting closer.
The Chimera seemed to pick up on the hostility radiating from the other insects. It heightened its head and thorax, spread its enormous wings and gave out a deafening shriek. That silenced every bug in the building.
Insectiva smirked devilishly. "Let the hunt begin."
Author's Note:
It took me a while to write this chapter. Mostly because I couldn't figure out how the dynamic between Abby, Chester and Paige would work out in the scene. I was also worried to use the pageant as a one-note plot device but I actually do have a planned chapter were I use it again along with a certain demented fairy we all know and love to hate. This was mostly just an establishment chapter so you all know how Chester's living conditions are now and how he feels as well as what happened to project Ernutet. The next chapter will be more action-packed with Insectiva returning to action (seeing forward to that).
Ps. I hate Flour Beetles. I find them in my kitchen all time and I can't get rid of them!
Your reviews are greatly appreciated.