16 And Never Been Dissed
A Clique Fan Fiction Series
Chapter 28:Dial R For Rejection

"Perfect," Massie exclaimed, smacking her lips together as she leaned in close to the mirror, puckering her lips together to check her bright, deep red lipstick.

She drew back from the mirror and ran her fingers through her curled, finger tossed, dark hair pulled back by a thick, red headband. Everything about her outfit was cute, girly, and inspired from the 1950's, which had always been her favorite decade for fashion, restaurants, and life in general.

A red, flirty skater skirt fell just a few inched below her butt, leaving most of her long legs bare. She'd tucked in a black and white polka dotted crop top with a keyhole back, making her outfit appear like a dress. A pair of high heeled, black open toe sling backs had a tiny little bit over the top and a red, crystal heart hung around her neck. Black bow tie earrings were studded in her ear and a red crystal belly button ring was hidden beneath her clothes.

Blowing one more kiss at the mirror, she winked a neutral, sparkly amber eye at her reflection and turned on her heel, hair bouncing against her back. She made her way towards her door, grabbing her oversized, red, designer leather purse and her cat eye black sunglasses. She picked up her phone, covered in a red case, and made her way out of the room and down the hallway, towards the Range Rover.

It was the first day of October, and she had a Halloween party to plan and her sweet sixteen party. She was going to have to make sure everybody at OCD was reminded that she was the ultimate alpha, and if they had any questions about it, they could take it up with her-if they dared.

Claire was waiting for her, a blue Boston tote bag on the crook of her arm as she text away at a snakeskin, blue covered phone. White oversized sunglasses covered her eyes and she had added height from her high heeled, blue suede ankle booties-the 50's loving part of Massie giggled at the shoes mentally.

And the girl looked beautiful, in a blue leopard print dress with a white bodice, lacy at the top and a keyhole cut out at the back. Around the neck of her dress was a blue, elegant necklace giving it a collar effect. And she'd pulled back the front of her hair, providing a slight poof and showing off her pretty face, framed only by the loose, shorter strands in the front.

"Cute," Massie observed, not bothering to stop as she walked.

She pulled open the door of the Range Rover and slipped inside, sliding across the smooth, shiny leather. Claire followed in right after her, a confused look on her face as she studied Massie, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked, nervously twirling a strand of hair around her fingertips.

"I'm fine," Massie answered shortly.

She didn't need to tell the others about the text message she had gotten the night before. There was no reason to worry them. She really didn't have to tell them about the text she'd gotten from Skye the night before.

They didn't have to hear about her meeting with Skye that day until after it had happened and Massie knew just what was going on between the two cliques. Because she was not going to worry them until there was something for them to actually be worried about.

"Are you sure? You seem really….weird," Claire shrugged.

"I'm fine," Massie snapped.

"If you're sure…"Claire trailed off, searching through her purse and pulling out a clear, plastic bag, holding it out to Massie. "Want a gummy foot?" She asked, flashing that innocent Claire smile that made it so hard for Massie to get mad at her.

"I'm sure-and I don't eat feet," Massie replied, grabbing her phone and re-reading the text message from the night before.

It was threatening. It was hostile. But it was also helpful and reassuring-as reassuring as Skye could be, that is. It worried Massie, but at the same time, it reminded her that Skye wanted her to succeed as the alpha. So, it gave her a little bit of hope. Still, she knew better than to get too comfortable in what was happening.

Skye Hamilton: We need to talk. It's important to your future as an alpha. Meet me during third period in the first floor Girls' bathroom. The only one with the GOOD lighting in the school. I KNOW that you know which one I'm talking about. Every good alpha would. Be there, or risk your future. Make the right choice-I know that I would. And if you let me down, you will NEVER live it down.

"Mass?"

"Claire, I told you-"

"It's not Claire," Alicia said with a tone of disgust in her voice. "And I've been in this car for a good five minutes and you've just been staring at that screen, so excuse me for worrying about the sanity of my best friend," Alicia crossed one leg over the other, swaying one black and white, laced high heel clad foot back and forth.

"I'm fine-I'm just…impressed by this incredibly sweet text from Derrick, is all," Massie beamed, plastering on a fake smile.

"Derrick? You expect me to believe that Derrick wrote you an adorable text message? This early in the morning?" She raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows, crossing her arms over her white, simple tank top with the silver neckline.

"Yeah, I do," Massie said, glaring at her friend.

"Let me see it," Alicia ordered, pushing her white sunglasses up into her hair, freshly highlighted with caramel streaks, lightening the entire mess of dark chocolate, perfectly straightened locks.

"No," Massie gasped. "God, it's private," Massie rolled her amber eyes.

"Massie," Alicia snapped, reaching into her white and black purse, pulling out her sleek, slender phone covered in a white case. "Don't make me call Derrick and catch you in a lie because you know I'll do it and you know how that will end," Alicia threatened, swiping a strand of hair behind her ear and showing off her black and white diamond, hoop earrings.

"What is your problem this morning? Are you that bitter over the fact that Josh doesn't like you that you have to try and take away my happiness with Derrick?" Massie smirked.

"Really?" Alicia asked, dropping her phone onto her black, stretchy, high waisted short clad lap. "Is that what you think the problem is right now?" She bit down on her red bottom lip.

"Well, I'm not sure what else you'd want me to think," Massie shrugged.

"Clearly you don't know me at all," Alicia said, sliding her black and white diamond, infinity ring up and down her finger. "Because somebody who knew me would know that I only want my best friend to be happy," she switched rings, moving onto a black and white diamond, criss-cross ring.

"You aren't acting like it," Massie muttered.

"Well you're acting like a bitch right now, but I'm not calling you that right now," Alicia smirked at her, lifting her arm up to admire her twisted, black and white diamond bracelet.

"I'm acting like a bitch? God, Alicia-you don't know the half of it. You don't know what's going on right now. So do us all a favor and just shut up," Massie said, releasing a sick, twisted laugh that showed just how truly crazed the situation was making her at the moment.

"Then tell me what's going on!" Alicia snapped, her infinity sign belly button ring showing against the thin fabric of her shirt as she leaned forward to force her friend to make eye contact with her.

"I can't!" Massie yelled.

And that did it for Alicia.

All of the anger faded from her eyes. Her thick, full, pouty lips parted and the corners turned downward. She leaned back in her seat, as though Massie's outburst had physically hurt her. And when she spoke, all of the anger was gone from her voice. She sounded concerned. And hurt. And worried. But no longer angry.

"Why not? I'm your Beta, remember? I'm supposed to be here for you through it all and help you through what you can't handle on your own. That's the whole point of having a beta-to support the alpha. So what could possibly be that horrible that you can't tell me? Because, unless you're the girl that Josh is into, I don't that I wouldn't be able to handle it," Alicia said, her tone softening with each word.

"Mass….just tell her," Claire sighed.

"You mean you know?" Alicia asked, whirling around to face the blonde.

"Claire doesn't-"

"She's covering for me," Claire explained. "I'm the reason Josh isn't into you," Claire blurted out, the words coming out in a rush.

"What?" Alicia asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she laughed. "Claire, I know you're trying to be sweet and help stop this stupid fight with Massie and me, but you don't have to lie to me to try and-"

"I'm not lying," Claire insisted. "Josh and I almost hooked up at the party. We would have hooked up, if Massie hadn't walked in," Claire explained.

"It's true-I didn't want to tell you, because they both swore it wouldn't happen again," Massie sighed, burying her face in her hands.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Alicia asked, looking back and forth between the two girls sitting with her. "I can't fucking believe you, Claire Lyons! I took you in-I helped you figure out how this school works. I introduced you to Josh so you could put in a good word for me and I gave you Cam! How the hell could you turn around and go after the guy that you knew I liked?" Alicia snapped, voice raising with every word.

"I didn't-"

"I can understand Massie not telling me. She knew how I'd react and she'd want to try and delay a fight, especially since we just let you into the group and I was the one who was your fucking advocate! But you? That was low," Alicia was still yelling as the car stopped once again and the door swung open, Dylan stumbling her way inside.

"What's going on? I could hear Alicia screaming from outside but I couldn't make our anything," Dylan frowned, her red, curly locks contained by a bright red beret.

"Claire and Josh almost hooked up at the party," Alicia said, the words perfectly enunciated and crisp.

It was clear that she wanted each syllable to be like a dagger towards Claire. And it was just as clear that it pained her to get each word out. So, she wanted Claire to be just as damaged by what was going on as she was herself.

"What?" Dylan gasped, her large, oversized red sunglasses sliding down her button nose. "How did I miss that?" She asked, pulling her straw wedged, red canvas sandals up onto the seat beneath her.

"Only Massie knew about it. She caught them, but you know how Massie is. She doesn't like to start a fight," Alicia rolled her eyes.

Still, it was clear that all of her annoyance was at Claire. She didn't care that Massie knew and didn't tell her. She only cared that Claire had gone behind her back and done such a thing. Massie telling her wouldn't have changed the fact that it had happened. It would have just caused drama.

"I'm so confused right now," Dylan shook her head, loose strands of hair tangling around her red and gold, studded earrings. "How did they even get together in the first place?" She asked, reaching up to place with her golden, triangular, dangling necklace.

"That's so irrelevant. The point is that she majorly betrayed the girl code," Alicia insisted, slamming her fist against the leather seat.

"Okay," Dylan reached up to massage her temple, pulling at her red and tan romper with the lace short and the criss-cross strapped tank top. "I just need a second," She reached in her red leather purse for her red covered phone and stared at the screen. "Let's just wait until Kris is here to work everything out, okay?" She asked.

But, she knew where it was going to go. And her statement told everybody that Kristen was her best friend once again. Nobody else was in their little group. It was just the two of them, just like it was Massie and Alicia.

Claire was out of the picture, as far as Dylan was concerned, because she knew that Claire was going to be kicked out as soon as the girls actually talked it all through. She had, after all, betrayed Alicia's trust. She'd broken the number one rule of Girl Code. And she had gone against everything that the Pretty Committee stood for. There was no way they could allow her to stay in the group, especially when her first offense had been made before she was even really in the group.

"You guys don't understand," Massie sighed. "That wasn't what was bothering and that wasn't what I wanted to tell her," she insisted.

But nobody seemed to be listening. Dylan was too busy texting Kristen, clearly letting her know about the drama that had already happened. Alicia was shooting daggers at Claire. And Claire was curled up in a ball, trying to fight back tears, because she knew what was coming her way.


Kristen crawled into the Range Rover and tossed her blue, leather, sack styled purse onto her seat besides Dylan. She dropped her white on blue, paisley print covered phone into the bag and removed her blue, large sunglasses from her face. She gave her blonde hair a slight shake, allowing the curled ends to bounce around, the majority of her hair pulled back by a blue headband.

"Well?" She asked, raising her pale, thin eyebrows as she reached up to twirl the pendant of her gold necklace around her fingers.

The pendant consisted of a golden circle, framing a cursive letter K. The gold metal perfectly matched her long, teardrop earrings and her cuff bracelet. It even matched her butterfly belly button ring.

She tapped her cork-bottom wedge sandal with the blue canvas on the floor impatiently, dropping the necklace and crossing her arms over her blue, mock turtle neck tank top that she'd paired with tribal print, high rise shorts.

"Will somebody tell me what happened?" Kristen snapped, her turquoise eyes scanning through her friends, narrowed into harsh slits.

"Claire thought it would be fun to try and seduce Josh," Alicia said bitterly, refusing to look at the blonde sitting next to her, her eyes locked firmly on Kristen, full of hatred that wasn't directed towards the soccer star.

"Josh had a hard on for Claire and they almost hooked up at the party because Claire's innocently naive and fell for his charm. I walked in on them with Cam and Cam freaked out in some sort of insane jealous rage," Massie sighed, shaking her head at her best friend's behavior.

"Wait-Cam likes her too? What the hell is happening to the world? I can't get one guy to be interested in me and Claire has two? And those two boys both rejected me!" Alicia whined, whirling around to glance at Massie, her face full of self-loathing and self-pity, showing the true reason behind her anger at the situation.

Alicia was angry, sure. She thought that Claire had betrayed her-and she was right to think that, because she had. She had gone behind Alicia's back-behind all of their backs, really-and gone after the boy that Alicia had repeatedly said she was into.

While Alicia had constantly gone back and forth between Cam and Josh, it had always been Josh that was coming back, too. Besides, Alicia had gone to the party with the intents of helping Claire get together with Cam, on the condition that Claire put in a good word or two for Alicia with Josh.

So, Alicia had every right to be mad. She'd been lied to. She'd been used. She'd been taken advantage of. She had been betrayed, and she had been betrayed by somebody who was supposed to be her friend. By somebody she had stood up for and fought to make a part of the group. And the girl didn't even have the decency to apologize to her for it.

But, what made it all worse was the fact that Alicia was also suffering from heartbreak and rejection. And rejection wasn't something that the Spaniard had had to deal with on many occasions. She hadn't even really known what the feeling was like until that day.

She had lost out on Cam, being placed in the friend zone that was impossible to escape from. And he had chosen Claire, a girl who he barely knew and who he had used and ditched before. But Alicia had dealt with that, because she wasn't sure if Cam was a real crush or just somebody who was there for her at the right time.

Then she had lost out on Josh, which made everything worse.

Not only did she lose him before she even got a fair shot, but he had also picked the new girl-the dork who had been transformed into an A-lister. It was unfair. It was ridiculous. And killed Alicia, because it made her question the only thing she had ever been sure of before-her appearance.

How could she go on claiming to be the hottest, prettiest, most seductive girl on campus if she had lost out on two boys because they would rather be with a girl like Claire?

Girls like Alicia should be able to walk by a boy and have them immediately break up with their girlfriend just to stare at her without getting in trouble. She shouldn't have a problem getting a date. She shouldn't be the one putting the popularity of the entire clique at jeopardy because she was making Skye's demands harder to meet.

Nothing was making sense anymore, and since Alicia didn't do well with showing emotions that made her look weak, she was going to cling onto that anger and focus on facts that would make her even madder. That way, when she walked around school, she wouldn't be a crying, hysterical mess with mascara streaking her face.

She would, instead, be the head bitch in control, focusing on making everybody else's life complete hell-especially Claire Lyons' life.

"Yeah…I may have sort of messed up that particular relationship," Claire admitted with a sheepish giggle.

"Are you seriously laughing right now? You messed with Alicia and you made her sad-you can tell that she's sad because of how angry she is right now. You'd know that if you were a real friend," Dylan scoffed, shaking her head in disgust.

"Are you kidding me? Who was the only one there for you when Plovert broke up with?" Claire asked, jaw dropping.

"Yeah, before you were really in the Clique. You might treat people well when you need them for something, but once you get what you want, you couldn't care less about them," Dylan accused.

"Are you trying to say that I was only nice to you because I wanted to be accepted?" Claire gasped, hurt flooding her baby blue eyes.

"Well, if the shoe fits," Kristen muttered.

"Will all of you just stop?" Massie snapped.

"Will you take action?" Alicia glared.

"What are you talking about?" Massie asked.

"She betrayed me. She made Dylan question her loyalty-and Kristen agrees that Dylan made a good point about Claire tricking us into a false sense of security when we let her in the group. So, I think you should send her on her merry little way back into loser-ville. I mean, we gave her the means to survive without being completely friendless-at least, until the rumors start," Alicia flashed Claire a warning smirk.

Massie glanced back and forth between her longest friends-the girls who were all sitting there, staring at her expectantly. The girls who had helped her to transfer to OCD and adjust in her new school, rising to claim the alpha status. They were the girls who had defended her to her supposed best friend. How could she let them down?

But…Claire was just so….Claire.

She was sweet and she was loving. She was innocent. She was naive and unaware. She was still trying to figure out how everything worked in Westchester. How could Massie just send her away? It would be like kicking a wounded puppy. Buying a pet bunny and setting it free when it started to nibble at her favorite purse.

Still….Alicia had that look that showed that she'd walk if Massie didn't do what was right. Kristen-who had always been the nicest in the group-had on a bitchy glare that showed even she wanted to get Claire out of there. And Dylan looked so broken, as though she had been tricked and lied to by yet another person.

And if Claire was the one who had caused all of this drama, how could she be as innocent as Massie wanted to believe she was? There was no way that she could possible be the sweet and loving girl that Massie wanted to protect. Claire wasn't naive-not if everything that had happened had really happened.

And Massie had seen it all unfold with her own two eyes. Really, Claire had done this to herself.

"I'll kick her out," Massie relented with a sigh.

"I knew you'd do the right thing," Alicia beamed, the anger already fading away, already forgotten.

"We really shouldn't have rushed into things like this, anyways," Dylan agreed.

"Completely-it threw off the entire group dynamic, you know?" Kristen shared a smile with the other girls.

"But," Massie cut off their celebrations, refusing to look at Claire, who she was sure looked absolutely broken. "I don't want anybody to know the truth behind why. No rumors, no gossip-no trying to destroy her. We're kicking her out, but we aren't giving anybody any reason to hate her," Massie declared.

"What?" Alicia asked, jaw dropping.

"Leesh, think about it," Dylan sighed. "Do you want everybody to know that Josh and Cam picked her over you?" she asked.

"Point," Alicia sighed.

"It's better to just say that she was flirting with Josh and Leesh flipped so her membership was revoked because she was on probation, as all new members are," Kristen pointed out.

"Point," Alicia agreed.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Massie said, refusing to look at her.

But Claire didn't say anything. The Range Rover had stopped while the girls were fighting and debating on what to do. They were already at school. And Claire as already on her way out of the vehicle. She didn't even say anything to the girls as she slammed the door shut behind her and stormed off towards the building.

"She's pissed," Alicia said, a joyful tone in her voice.

"No," Dylan shook her head.

"She's about to cry," Kristen whispered.

"I did what you three wanted. Majority rules, remember?" Massie said, unable to fight the bitterness from her tone as she grabbed her things and climbed out of the car.

She had nothing else to say to her followers. The day had been stressful enough, without adding on all of the nonsense with Claire and their first removal from the group. And she still had to have her talk with Skye. It was going to be a very long day.


"Oh, look what we have here-Massie's newest little minion," Heather rolled her eyes, leaning against the brick wall of the school with a cigarette dangling between her fingertips. "To what can we owe this pleasure?" She raised her pale, almost invisible eyebrows up towards her perfectly sculptured, white-blonde hair, all pulled towards the center in a big, large poof.

"Heather," Meena snapped, shaking out her blonde hair, lacking an any additional colors. "Can you just be nice for once?" She asked, holding a cigarette of her own.

Claire took a step back, not wanting to smell of smoke or breath in the toxic air. She was surprised Layne, who was sitting against the wall with a book propped up against her knees, would want to be around her friends when they were smoking, but she guess it was better to be ignored around people than to be isolated.

"Relax," Heather insisted, dropping her black phone case with the white script onto her music note covered backpack. "Come stand by me-it's not even lit, see?" She held out the long, slender stick towards Claire.

"Then why do you have it?" Claire asked, walking tentatively towards the member of the group who had always been the cruelest to her.

"It's a metaphor," She rolled her eyes, dropping it onto the ground and stomping the unlit cigarette beneath her black, lace up, combat styled boots with the high, skinny heel. "I take what has the power to kill me and I put it right between my lips. But I keep the control in my own hands, by never lighting it. That means I'm not giving it the power to kill me," She explained, reaching up to slid her large, oversized black sunglasses onto her head.

"That…actually makes a lot of sense," Claire admitted.

"I'm big on metaphors," Heather shrugged, playing with her music note necklace, various notes and clefs and accents decorating a musical staff. "Besides, haven't you ever seen The Fault In Our Stars? Augustus Waters is, like, known for the metaphor quote," Heather explained.

"Yeah, Heather's over there smoking a cigarette to prove the fact that she isn't going to die. Meanwhile, I'm standing here smoking to die," Meena said, exhaling a perfect smoke ring.

She moved the cigarette away from her mouth, letting it dangle between her fingertips, down by her leather, form fitting mini skirt, the red and black bracelets on her wrist sliding down towards her hand. She shook out her hair, using her head to push it over her shoulders and showing off her red on black Pretty Little Liars themed earrings-simple studs, each with a different word or letter written on them. She smirked, raising one corner of her mouth and forcing her red plastic sunglasses to tilt. She was clearly proud of her handiwork.

"Will you two please stop with all of the John Greene references? I'm trying to finish Looking For Alaska and you're spoiling it!" Layne pleaded from the ground where she was sitting, her black hair falling just past her shoulders and the bangs pulled back into a poof.

"You should have been more of a hipster," Heather smirked, examining her manicure-all black nails-and reaching up to flick her white and black rubber bracelet, matching her necklace, back into place. "And read his novels before they started turning them all into books," She shrugged, reaching up to touch her finger to her black, pointed gauges.

Claire had never noticed it before, but she had been wrong to define Layne and her friend's as punk-rockers. They didn't really have a definite label in how they dressed, and it wasn't until Heather's comment about hipsters that Claire realized where she could actually place them-as such.

After all, Heather was wearing combat boots, but all of her accessories-minus her gauges-were simple and musical, very girly. She even had a dainty, silver treble clef belly button ring handling out from beneath her tight, off the shoulder black crop top that she'd paired with denim cut-off shorts, covered in a black and white paisley design that belonged on a bandana.

And while Meena was wearing a red and black leopard print crop top with her skirt and an I LOVE TATTOOED BOYS belly button ring, she also had on black heels with a pointed toe and elastic strings wrapping around her foot and up her ankle. Her black and red phone case had a teddy bear poking out of the sides, and her purse was all sparkly, half red and half black.

Then there was Layne, wearing her skinny jeans with the torn up knees. An antique looking cropped tank top displaying Hollywood covered her chest and she wore suede, lace up black ankle booties. She had a simple black satchel over her shoulders and long, dangling Chanel earrings. A black belly button ring was poking out from beneath her shirt. She had a Doctor Who circular necklace around her neck and a complicated looking band bracelet around her slender wrists. With the case facing up, her phone sat besides her broadcasting on a black surface in white ink that BITCH was the new BLACK.

Layne shot her friend a warning glare. Heather held up her hands in a sign of surrender and made a mock-scared face. Then she turned back to Claire and her usual expression-one that showed no emotion besides annoyance and boredom, took over her face.

"So, what can we do for you?" She asked.

"Massie kicked me out of the Clique," Claire blurted.

"What?" Meena asked, so shocked that she dropped her cigarette. "Fuck," She swore, reaching into her purse and pulling out her pack. "Fuck," She repeated, dropping the empty pack onto the ground and stomping on that and her former cigarette with her heels.

"She kicked me out because Alicia got pissed that Josh picked me over her," Claire explained.

"That's so fucked up," Heather shook her head, but she was laughing as she spoke. "I mean, props to her for the loyalty, 'cause I never thought she was capable of it, but, that's so fucked up. Did she even listen to you?" Claire asked.

"She had the others decide for her," Layne spoke up, not looking away from her book. "That's how Massie operates. They do her dirty work and they get all the blame, while Massie does the hard part. It sucks for all of them, but at least they share the bitch status-makes them all seem a little more humane," Layne explained, still reading her book.

"That's still ridiculous," Heather said, gathering up her things.

"I know," Layne sighed, slamming her book shut and getting her things together. "But that's how the Pretty Committee works, so why bother stressing about it?" She shrugged, rising to her feet.

"Massie Block is never going to change," Meena replied with an eye roll, grabbing her things as well, but leaving her litter.

And just like that, the three started to walk away, leaving Claire standing there in shock, wondering how they could be so outraged about Massie kicking Claire out, but not say anything to try and make Claire feel better. To try and befriend her. To do anything more than comment on how big of a bitch Massie was and then walk away.

"Well?" Heather asked, pausing for a second and turning back to face Claire. "You coming, or what?" She asked, cocking a single eyebrow. She didn't wait for a response, though. She just went right back to following after her friends, leaving Claire with a decision-run after yet another group that was already well defined, or continue to try and stand on her own.

It actually wasn't as hard of a decision as one might thing it would be. Claire immediately hurried after them, falling into step with them in a breathless state from her hurried sprint. The Pretty Committee might always walk together in a near and orderly fashion, to the beat of whatever song Massie had picked for that day, but these girls all walked to their own beat, and the only thing it had in common was that it was fast.