Friday approached more quickly than anyone expected. The day dawned warm and sunny, a final hot burst of Indian summer. Ashley was on her way to lunch when she turned the corner and ran directly into Jimmy. All her books where strewn on the ground and she quickly bent to gather them. He was swiftly on the ground by her side, helping.
"Sorry, Ash. Didn't mean to run you over." He spoke, handing her a book and standing to leave. "See ya."
"Wait, Jimmy. Please. I need to talk to you." She pleaded, standing up as well. He looked skeptical, but remained in place.
"Talk." He replied, leaning up against the nearby wall. Ashley began without another breath.
"I'm so, so sorry about everything. I can't believe how stupid I was last spring. It didn't even feel like me saying those things." She finally paused. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Ash." He finally replied, smiling weakly.
"Friends?" She asked, holding out her hand.
"Friends." He replied, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug. They pulled away at last and there was a pregnant pause. "So. You going to the party tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Good. See you there." He finished awkwardly, taking off down the hall.
"Bye." Ashley called after him faintly. Ashley raced off to the courtyard to tell Chloe everything. On the way she passed Emma and Manny standing at Manny's locker.
"So what did he say when he called?" Emma asked, thirsty for knowledge. Intense happiness appeared on Manny's face and a dreamy look came over her eyes.
"He said he'd be walking to the party, and that he could pick me up on the way. We're walking there together." Manny explained, and Emma veiled her mixed feelings about the situation with a thin smile.
"Well. What are you going to wear?" She asked, watching as panic slid across Manny's face.
"I . . . I have no idea!" She cried, grasping for the arm of her friend. Emma smiled as she wrapped an arm around Manny's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Manny. We'll pick out something." She assured as the two passed into the cafeteria. Manny smiled.
"Thanks Emma. You're such a great friend!"

That afternoon the school cleared quickly. Everyone was racing home to get ready for the night's events. Ashley walked home faster than usual to stand in front of her closet. What just that morning had seemed so full of options was suddenly devoid of anything she would even CONSIDER wearing. After her thirteenth clothing combination she could feel the panic starting to build. With shaking hands she picked up the phone and dialed.
"It's hopeless, Chlo. I'm never going to look good enough to go to this party." Ashley moaned into the telephone, voice thick with tears. On the other end Chloe was alarmed, then worked quickly to calm her friend.
"Take a deep breath, Ash. Everything's going to be fine. The first thing you need to do is stop crying. Can you come over to my house? Right now?" Chloe asked, and Ashley hiccupped a reply.
"Yes. Why?"
"You'll really have to trust me on this one Ash. I have an idea, for a makeover. A drastic one."
Three hours later Ashley and Chloe stood outside Jimmy's house. Ashley took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The room was filled with people, as the party was already well underway. Spinner and Jimmy each appeared from separate directions to welcome Chloe with hugs.
"I see the guest of honor has finally decided to grace us with her presence. Happy Birthday!" Jimmy spoke, before Spinner nudged him in the ribcage. "Who's your friend . . . "
As quickly as the question had begun, it ended, and all eyes turned to stare at the girl flanking Chloe. Jimmy was dumbfounded, and Spinner looked surprised and intrigued.
"Ashley?" Spinner asked, and Jimmy's mouth dropped open. "You look . . ."
"Hot." Jimmy finished, examining Ashley's new look. She had shorn her shoulder length locks for a wispy pixie cut, which she had dyed a lurid and foreboding black. She wore a pair of tight black pants and a black mesh shirt, obviously both on loan from Closet de Chloe. Her eyes were rimmed heavily with black kohl and her lips were smeared with a dark shade of lipstick. She smiled at Jimmy, who reached out and took her arm to lead her away from the crowd. As soon as she was gone Chloe was ambushed from behind and pulled into a tight hug.
"Happy Birthday Chlo!" Craig cried, kissing her cheek and smiling brightly. Manny hovered at his shoulder looking awestruck.
"Hey Craig. Having fun?" Chloe asked, tugging down the hem of her dress, which had come up during the hugging. Craig nodded vigorously.
"Chloe, this is Manny, my date. Manny, this is my best friend, Chloe Davidson." Craig spoke lightly, introducing the two. Manny held out an awkward hand and Chloe grasped it, smiling broadly.
"Hap . . . happy Birthday." Manny offered, and Chloe's smile widened.
"Thanks. I like your dress." Chloe replied, and Manny blushed self- consciously. She had felt rather attractive in her dress, which was a peach one of Emma's that was only slightly too big. Now, standing next to Chloe in her elegant black summer dress she felt as though fate had played a cruel trick on her.
"Hey Craig, are you monopolizing the birthday girl?" Spinner asked, appearing from nowhere to slip an arm around Chloe's waist. Craig shook his head and held up his hands in a cry of innocence. Spinner grinned. "Good. Come look at all these presents . . . "
He led Chloe off to look at the stack of gifts and Craig led Manny over to sit next to Emma on the couch. As they sat, Emma turned to look at them. They both smiled at her.
"Having fun?" Manny asked, and Emma simply rolled her eyes and turned away. In the next room, Chloe was amazed.
"All these are for me?" She asked, gazing over the immense pile before her. Spinner nodded. "How am I supposed to get them all home?"
"Don't know. Didn't think about that." He replied, wandering off lost in thought. Suddenly there was a sweaty hand tugging at her elbow. She turned swiftly to find Vinny, the Stone Age tenth grader, pulling on her arm.
"Hey Chloe. Happy Birthday." He spoke, attempting an innocent smile.
"Thanks." She replied, and began to turn away.
"Wait, your friend sent me to get you." He told her, grasping her arm again. She looked confused.
"My friend? You mean Craig? Why would he send you?" She asked, suspicion growing. He looked puzzled for a moment.
"I was passing by. He's upstairs, he wants to talk." He explained, finally succeeding in pulling her toward the stairs. "He's in the first room on the right."
Chloe began to climb the staircase, glancing behind to see Vinny climbing after. She opened her mouth to question him when he turned off.
"Just using the bathroom." He replied to her unasked question as she turned into the room. As soon as she passed the threshold of the room she remembered the bathroom being on the ground floor, right next to the table covered with gifts. By then, though, it was too late, and Vinny had passed through the door as well. Quickly locking the door behind him he grinned.
"What are you doing?" She asked. His grinned widened. "Where's Craig?"
"Relax . . . " He told her, stroking her arm. She pulled away, shaking her head.
"No. This is really shady. I'm leaving." She replied, starting for the door. Within a second he was roughly gripping her by the arm.
"I don't think so. Not until we have a little fun." He said, pulling her back and pushing her up against the dresser. She landed hard against it and was quickly pinned there by the weight of his immense body. He had then grabbed both her wrists and was keeping her captive with one hand. Her silver charm bracelet dug into her skin.
"Let go of me." She demanded, trying to push him off.
"Quiet." He said, reaching down his free hand to feel the length of her thigh. She opened her mouth to scream, and he quickly clamped the hand over it. Chloe felt the panic rising in her chest as he forced her over onto the bed. She was pinned there for several seconds before he was forced to move his hand off her mouth to his own zipper. Chloe saw her chance and screamed as loud as she could. She continued to scream until he was forced to clamp his hand over her lips again.
Downstairs in the living room Craig was still sitting with Manny on the couch. As soon as he heard the scream he knew who it was. Without another thought he leapt off the couch and bounded up the stairs. He found the nearest door to be locked, and he could hear Chloe's muffled cries from within.
"Chloe! Chloe, can you hear me?" He called, pounding loudly on the door. Behind the door Chloe could hear Craig's voice. She thought quickly and sunk her teeth into Vinny's clammy hand.
"Craig!" She managed to yell before he recovered. Craig pounded desperately on the door for a moment before Spinner and Jimmy appeared from downstairs. Without a word Spinner helped Craig knock down the door. The three rushed in, and Craig reached Vinny first. He pulled him off Chloe and tossed him over to Spinner. Gathering her up in his arms, he carried her over to the head of the bed, where he set her down. She clung to him tenaciously, shaking like a leaf.
"Chloe, are you okay?" He asked, smoothing back the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. She nodded and he held her tighter.
"What's wrong with you, man?" Jimmy asked, shaking his head as Spinner pushed Vinny up against the wall. Ashley appeared from the hall.
"What happened? Are you okay Chlo?" she asked, crossing the room quickly. Chloe sunk into Ashley's arms as Craig turned, finally remembering about Vinny. All the rage returned and he was furious at the thought that someone had tried to hurt her.
"You bastard!" he yelled, launching at Vinny. He got in several punches before Vinny could strike back. Vinny knocked Craig to the ground with a blow to the face before Spinner and Jimmy could pull him off. Paige appeared in the doorway.
"What's going on here?" she asked sweetly. Chloe left Ashley's arms to help Craig up off the ground. Jimmy turned to Vinny, who was struggling in Spinner's arms.
"Get out of my house." He ordered, and Vinny shook off his restraint.
"Not a problem." He replied, stalking toward the door holding his bruised face. He stopped briefly to regard Paige. "See if I ever do you a favor again."
Five pairs of eyes turned to Paige, who looked rather sheepish.
"This was your idea?" Ashley asked, shocked.
"It's not like that . . . " Paige started, but Spinner interrupted her.
"That's low, Paige. Even for you." He spoke, shaking his head.
"I just asked him to keep her quiet for a while, so she'd miss the party. I never asked him to do anything like this. You've got to believe me." She tried to explain, but no one was buying it.
"I think you should leave too, Paige." Jimmy spoke, gesturing with his head toward the door. Paige merely stood in place, speechless. After several moments she mustered up the courage to speak.
"Leave? But Jimmy, I . . . " she began, but was cut off again.
"Get out of here, Paige!" Ashley cried, and Paige started to back away. When she was finally gone, Spinner turned to Chloe and Craig.
"You guys going to be okay?" Spinner asked, and together they nodded.
"You want to come back to the party?" Jimmy asked Chloe, who shook her head.
"No, I think I'm just going to head home. Do you mind?" She asked, standing up from the bed.
"Of course not, Chlo. Go home and get some rest. I'll call you in the morning." Ashley told her, enveloping her in a hug and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Spinner and Jimmy started to leave, and Ashley started to follow when Craig called her back.
"I'm going to walk Chloe home. Ash, can you tell Manny where I've gone? Tell her I'm sorry." He spoke, taking off his leather jacket and slipping it over Chloe's shoulders. Ashley nodded.
"Okay, so I tell Manny that you'll talk to her later?" She asked, and Craig nodded. Chloe started out the door, pausing as she passed Spinner and Jimmy.
"Thanks for the party, guys. It was really sweet." She told them, giving them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "My brother will be home from college in the morning, I'll send him over with his car to get the gifts and things. Is that okay?"
"Not too early, okay?" Jimmy joked with a wink, and Chloe smiled.
"Don't worry, my brother's dead to the world till at least noon. Have fun, all." She said finally, heading down the stairs and out the door, into the now cool night. Craig followed after her, shutting the door behind him. Manny had arrived in the foyer just in time to see his retreating form closing the entryway. She started to call after him when Ashley appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
"Manny, right?" She asked, and Manny nodded. "Craig wanted me to tell you that he's sorry he has to leave you, but he wanted to walk Chloe home. He said he's talk to you later."
Manny looked crestfallen as Emma appeared behind her.
"Manny, what's going on?" She asked. Manny started to look teary- eyed. "Where'd Craig go?"
"He's walking Chloe home. Something happened to her, upstairs with Vinny, that thick headed sophomore." Ashley explained.
"What happened?" Manny finally asked. Ashley shook her head.
"Paige asked Vinny to keep Chloe away from the party, you know, just long enough for Paige to steal the spotlight. I guess Vinny got the wrong idea and tried to force himself on her." She explained. The other girls were shocked.
"He tried to rape her?" Emma asked, jaw dropping. Ashley nodded before turning and walking away to find Jimmy. Emma and Manny shared a glance before returning to the living room.