Stryker – Thanks hun! Okay, so your review was on Chappy 1, but whatever. It was later than the others so your thanks is here on Chapter 3.
kimimay85 – I know! I think that was a kinda wishful approach on our French class… hopefully we'll have tons of fun this year in it, though. I hope we can convince Mrs. Cron to just let us watch movies in French! Wahoo! LOL… just not The Scarlet Pimpernel **Mondie shudders** And hopefully Mr. Pemberton can come back!! WAHOO!
Gypsy – Hey goilie! I don't know when I'll get around to finishing your story cuz I seem to be rather slow so far, but I promise I will! It's so good! Jade and Angel rock. :D
Rosa Lee – Hey! Thanks for the review! Your part is coming up, I swear. :D
Peg – Hey, you're coming up as well! LOL. I'm looking forward to the chapter about you and Skitts.
Tuffy – Don't worry goil! Your time will come. I've missed you! Yea, Gabriel ((Hades)) is getting Mush. But keep an eye out for a future story… wink wink, nudge nudge.
Blinks-Tiger – Just remember, to get your own Blinky story, you must keep reviewing… ::snicker::
Gemini Kelly – Ahh, I'm so glad we got to be friends through Misprint's story!! I love getting your reviews. And you'll soon find out Spot's reaction…
Jazz – Hey! Thanks for the review. I hope you keep coming to read more soon!
DragonflyCollins – Thanks goilie! You'll get your bowler soon enough! ;)
Misprint – YAY! Thank you for coming! Sorry the review didn't show up earlier. But now I'll give you two shoutouts:
Misprint – Here's your other one! Ah-ha! Thank you muchly for the compliments and the run-on review! ((I swear, my one lasting mark on this site will be just that: the run-on review. Wahoo for me!)) Oh, and WRITE MORE ECLIPSE!!!! LOLOL since I ran out of chappies in Bloodshot, now I'll just have to tell you in my own chappies… ((BTW, I think I'll read the Irish Mick thing next. I started it but only got about oh, one paragraph into it. But it's good!! I can't wait to get it read.))
Morning Dew – Thank you muchly!! More is here now. ^_^ **Oh yeah, thanks to Mis, I've started doing that face all over the place. Haha!**
Moody – Thanks hun! And thanks for the emails. I'm keeping my eyes open for more chappies from you too!
Mel – I'm much obliged to ya! Thanks for reading.
Untouchables
Chapter 3
"So, Nikita, what is this about?" It was the next day, at lunchtime. Nineteen girls were clustered around the tree. Nikita looked around anxiously. Somehow nineteen looked like a lot more girls once they were out of the classroom… She wasn't surprised that she only knew half of their names.
Kerrie, who had asked the question, tried to look aloof as she glanced around at the other girls. Some were friends, but even out here they had separated themselves into three cliques. She ignored the fact that she was the only one not in a clique and tried to focus on the truth that she had been invited to hang out with these girls. True, it was supposedly for some reason, but that didn't matter – she'd been invited.
Kat smiled at her. "Relax, Kerrie. We just wanted to discuss something."
Danielle and Jaclyn, who alone made up the third clique, exchanged glances. "Uh, Kat," said Danielle, standing up and dusting off her pants. "Not to be rude or anything, but we're not exactly… friends with you guys. So… could we just leave?"
Nikita eyed the two as Jaclyn stood up as well, then shrugged. "Fine." Kerrie couldn't help but notice the look of relief which flashed across Danielle's face as the two left, and was suddenly worried. What was she getting herself into?
"Now. Business." Nikita waited until the two girls, who she considered traitors, to get completely out of sight, then she snatched a notebook which was sitting neatly on Kat's lap (She didn't really mind that Danielle and Jaclyn had left, because in all honesty, they weren't needed for her plan). She flipped it open and began reading. "Nikita, Spot. Kat, Swifty. Gabriel, Mush. Nikki, Blink. Gabrielle, Bumlets. Becca, Racetrack. Vivien, Skittery. Erica, Davey. Margaret, Cowboy. Kerrie, Snoddy. Adrienne, Dutchy. Jess, Itey. Ana, Specs. Marissa, Pie Eater. Melody, Crutchy. Nina, Jake. Natasha, Snitch." As each girl's name was read and then her corresponding crush, mouths dropped open, and uneasy glances were thrown to fellow girls they weren't quite sure of.
"How did you know?" squeaked Kerrie.
Nikita gently handed the notebook back to Kat (who had been the one to re-write the list after Nikita ruined the first one), then nodded at Kerrie. "It was all Kat. She's too smart for her own good. She notices things."
"So we each like a member of the Crimson Gang. What's that say? That we're a bunch of pathetic losers?" Gabriel asked loudly with a grin. "Okay, so it is kinda weird that we're all in French 4 together, but so what?"
"So I've got a plan to make the untouchables suddenly touchable. And all I need is you girls." Nikita smiled mysteriously, then clapped her hands excitedly. "Gabriel, let's take you, for example. So you like Mush. Nice choice, the boy is obviously good-looking, and a bit on the innocently adorable side. So how do you get him to notice you? Sure, he might notice you, but then again, Mush notices about every single thing on the planet that could wear a skirt. So, the real question is, how do you get Mush to fall in love with you?
"Simple. You've been hanging around Nikki! And in this supposed example, Nikki has recently been hooked up with Kid Blink. How did she get these connections?" Nikita continued, whirling in place so that she was looking at Nikki. "Because she has been hanging out with Becca, who has gotten Racetrack to notice her finally! Becca got Race because she's friends with Adrienne, who's convinced Dutchy she's irresistible. Around and around and on and on the cycle goes, until we get to the two ends. One is Kat, who is our foot in the door of this operation because she, my darlings, has somehow been bestowed with the gift of Swifty's affections. Don't ask me how or why, I'm not sure. And the other end is Nikita, aka moi. Once all of you have your men, mine won't be able to say no. His gang of tough boys will have disintegrated right around his feet. And that, my new friends, is how we are going to get our guys."
She had said the majority of this without taking a breath, and now she let it all out and grinned around the circle, waiting for a response. Finally Margaret let out a laugh. "I'm in," she said. "I've been itching to rope me up some Cowboy for some time now."
The other girls laughed too, and agreed the plan was golden.
"But one question, Nikita," asked Erica, a girl Nikita barely knew. She was quiet, and a quick overview of the girls in her mind reminded Nikita that her crush was on Davey. "How are we going to convince everyone suddenly that we're good friends? I hardly know half of these girls."
"That, dear Erica, is the best part of all," said Nikita, and she motioned to Kat, who dumped out the contents of her bookbag. Now lying on the grass was a pile of deep green, satin ribbons. "Crimson Gang? Meet the Clover Gang."
The girls all giggled in delight, and snatched up ribbons, which they hastily tied around their left arm, much like the Crimson Gangs' ribbons.
"We need names," called out Kerrie. "Like, stupid names. Like the boys have."
Nikita checked her watch. "We've got half an hour left of lunch. Here." She tore out pieces of paper and handed one to each girl. "Get out a pencil or something, and write your name at the top." Everyone did so, and then they passed the papers around the circle. Every girl looked at the name on the top of the list and wrote what she thought her new name should be.
"Fifteen minutes," Nikita said, once all the papers were handed back. "Everyone pick out your favorite, we'll spend five minutes memorizing each other's, and then we'll go make our entrance onto the courtyard. I can't wait to see the look on Spot's face."
All the girls giggled rather nervously, then scanned their papers. Some laughs were heard, and some groans. Soon, though, they had each picked out one name. They decided the wisest thing would be to go around the circle and announce the name, then everyone would repeat it to get it down.
"Relic," said Nikita. "And I'm getting Spot." Everyone repeated her new name.
"Taffee," said Kat. "Swifty."
"Hades," Gabriel said, grinning devilishly. "And Mush."
"Braces," Nikki said, the obvious reason glinting in the sun. "Blink."
"Blaze," murmured Gabrielle. "Bumlets."
"Divinity," said Becca. "I want my Racetrack."
"Pegasus," said Vivien. "I'm going for Skittery."
"BonBon," Erica said shyly. "Davey."
"Princess, and I want Cowboy," Margaret announced.
"Tunes. I'm Snoddy's girl." Kerrie grinned, finally beginning to feel accepted.
"Klips," said Adrienne. "Dutchy's mine."
"Stress," said Jess. "And I love my Itey."
"Aki," said Ana. "Specs."
"Squibble," said Marissa. "Pie Eater."
"Bittah," Melody decided. "And I want Crutchy."
"Coneflower, and Jake's for me," said Nina.
"And I'm going to be Dragonfly, and I want to be Snitch's girl," finished up Natasha.
Nikita looked around proudly at all the faces, which were grinning happily at her. "Now let's go show some Crimson what Clover's all about!" she cheered, standing up. The other girls followed, and as a large group, they set across the lawn.
The activity in the courtyard was dwindling down. The smokers in the Crimson Gang were just lighting their last cigarettes while everyone else stayed outside as long as possible, aching not to go back into their hell.
"Hey, Spot," said Cowboy with a little laugh. "Ain't that the girl that kept falling all over you yesterday?" He pointed out, across the grass, to an extremely large group of girls.
"What the…" Spot said, standing up on the Quad for a better view. Everyone still in the courtyard turned around, too.
"What's on their arms?" Mush asked quietly.
Spot narrowed his eyes at the bright green ribbons, which accented as clearly as the crimson. His eyes flashed and he angrily crossed his arms over his chest.
The Crimson Gang gathered around behind him, standing on the very edge of the Quad. The Clover Gang marched up, gathered behind Nikita. Nikita stood up as close as she could to Spot, so that their noses were half an inch apart.
Then she kissed the tip of his nose.
For half a second Spot stared at her. Then he uneasily looked around at his friends, as if unsure what to do. He didn't like to fight girls. But this one—who had also punched Snoddy, as he'd heard from Mush—had done something which he couldn't excuse.
He put out his arms and, as lightly as he could, shoved her backwards. She fell onto the girls behind her, and most of the Clover Gang fell over onto the grass.
"What was that for?" Nikita screamed, struggling to her feet. "Don't you dare mess with the leader of the Clover Gang!"
Spot just glared at her. "Don't go around punching my men, then," he answered. "And never – and I mean never – kiss me. I don't care what little group you're pretending to lead. I am Spot Conlon! The Spot Conlon. And I don't want to fight girls. But you? I just might make an exception." He growled, then turned to the Crimson Gang. All of them slapped the amused looks off their faces. "C'mon."
The girls of the Clover Gang (who were all now standing again) watched the Crimson Gang walk off.
Nikita couldn't have been happier.
"I kissed Spot!" she shrilled on her way into the building. "And he touched my shoulders!"