"Jeff, what are you doing here?" Adam asked walking into the living
room late Monday nite.
"Cinder and I have an art project to do together," he smiled.
"So why aren't you up there doing it?" Adam wondered curiously.
"Do I interrogate your guests?! No, I don't think so. So please don't interrogate mine!" Cinder exclaimed handing Jeff a glass of soda and placing a bowl of popcorn between them on the couch.
"Right, well, I'm goin to my room to do some homework. So if ya'll need me, you know where to find me," Adam shook his head as he walked up the stairs. Cinder looked over at Jeff and they broke into fits of giggles.
"He's so clueless!" she laughed popping a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
"What do you guys do for Halloween?" Jeff asked.
"Nothing. We hand out candy to the little kids, that's about it," she replied shrugging her shoulders.
"Why don't we become those little kids?" Jeff suggested with a giant smile.
"You mean go trick or treating?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why not?! Matt and I did it every year where we used to live. We could all get dressed up and go."
"Ya know, it sounds like fun. We'll all have to talk it over tomorrow at school. It's an awesome idea though," she smiled at him as they began watching Nick at Nite.
Around 11 Lizzie had joined them on the couch and Leeann had long gone to bed. They sat on the couch waiting for Adam to go to bed. They discussed the plan a little more while waiting. Not too much later Adam had grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen, like he always did before bed, and kissed Cinder's cheek. They heard his bedroom door shut and they ran up to Cinder's room to get the stuff ready.
"I can't believe I'm doing this. Ya know, if this was Matt, I'd never be able to move again," Jeff laughed quietly in Cinder's room.
"This gets him back for all the stupid shit he did to me as a kid. Like throwing me through a closet," Cinder sneered.
"He threw you through a closet?!" Jeff exclaimed.
"Yeah, that was pretty painful," Cinder chuckled.
"I remember that. Your back was so sore from that. You couldn't even skateboard!" Lizzie said as she cut up some of the hair.
"I know. Sometimes I swear I can still feel the bruise," she said.
"Do you think he's asleep yet?" Jeff asked glancing at the clock. Cinder nodded with a yawn and grabbed a bag of cut up hair.
"Yeah, probably, he went to bed an hour ago."
"You said he's a heavy sleeper right?" Jeff worried.
"Totally. Dude could sleep through a comet hitting the house!" Cinder joked. They hit fists for good luck before entering Adam's dark room. The only light in the room was the tiny little nite light that was lighting up the far corner of the room and the little bit of moon that hit Adam's face. Cinder nodded at Jeff to begin putting the color in Adam's hair while Lizzie put the scissors with bits of hair on them on the nite stand. Once Jeff had finished, Cinder began spreading around the cut up hair.
"Oh baby yeah. That feels great," Adam groaned happily in his sleep. Cinder looked up at Jeff as they both tried to hold in their laughter while Lizzie turned the hidden camcorder on. They quietly walked out of his room and back into Lizzie's.
"Mission accomplished!" Lizzie smiled as they settled on Cinder's bed. "Jeff, you spending the nite?"
"Might as well. It's kinda late for you to be goin back now, isn't it?" Cinder asked. Jeff nodded and Cinder pulled out clothes for her to sleep in.
"I'll see you guys in the morning. I can't wait for him to walk up," Lizzie said excitedly as she walked into her own room.
"She's quite the character, isn't she?" Jeff laughed.
"Yeah, I love her," Cinder smiled. "Pick your side while I go get dressed."
"My side of what?"
"The bed."
"Oh, I figured I'd crash on the floor or the couch."
"No way! I don't mind sharing," she said walking out.
"I hope Trish doesn't mind," Jeff muttered to himself as he climbed in the bed. Cinder came back shortly and climbed in next to him. Lying on her side, she quickly fell asleep.
"Good morning beautiful," Adam smiled to himself as his alarm went off. Still lying in bed, he stretched out his arms and then rubbed his face. He slowly sat up and felt the loose hair fall onto his bare chest. Adam raked a hand through his hair and pulled out more hair. "WHAT THE HELL?!" He looked over at his nite stand and saw the scissors. Finally freaking out completely, he stood up and ran out into the hall. "MY HAIR!!!"
"And we have lift off!" Cinder laughed to herself as she stood. She nudged Jeff awake and nodded to the door. She slowly walked to the door and put on her best sleepy face before stepping into the hall. "What is your..........oh my God!"
"My hair..............." She watched him begin to shake, trying to hold in her laughter, as Lizzie walked out of her room.
"Some people are trying to sleep. I don't know about you, but I get cranky if I don't get my 8 hours of sleep," she whined before looking at Adam. Her eyes seemed to jump out of their sockets as her jaw dropped to the floor. "What happened to your hair?!"
"I don't know," Adam cried. Lizzie ran back into her bedroom and grabbed a mirror off her desk. She tried to hand it to him, but he refused to take it.
"Adam, you should look," Cinder said.
"I don't wanna. I'm too scared," he said before Lizzie shoved it in his face. "WHAT THE FUCK!!!?" That's when they lost it. Jeff leaned up against the doorframe for support as Adam stared at them angrily.
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Adam. Happy birthday to you!" the three of them chorused.
"Are you fuckin serious?" he growled.
"Sorry bro. This was just too good to pass up!" Cinder laughed patting his shoulder.
"I hate you all! And what the hell is up with this color shit?! It better not be permanent!" he warned.
"No dude, it's temp. It'll wash right out," Jeff laughed.
"Who the hell else was involved?!" Adam exclaimed looking over at Jeff.
"Me, Lizzie, Jeff, and Jay," Cinder replied biting on her lip.
"Jay?! He's gonna die!! No way in hell am I giving him a ride this morning!" Adam roared as he stormed into the bathroom.
"I think we pulled off a good prank," Lizzie smiled while she grabbed Jay's camcorder. "Can't wait to show this to everyone!"
"Alanah's gonna love it," Cinder smiled as she walked back into her room.
**********************
"You guys should have seen his face!" Jeff laughed as he, Cinder, and Lizzie explained the morning to the gang at lunch.
"He was going ballistic!" Cinder said.
"When should we expect for him to get you guys back?" Amy asked with a smile.
"As soon as possible?" Lizzie guessed.
"I just saw Adam. Why does he have pink in his hair?" Matt asked sitting down next to Amy.
"It never washed out?!" Shannon laughed.
"I can't wait for the pay back. Should be interesting," Rob said.
"Dudes, Jeff suggested to me last nite that we all go out trick or treating tomorrow nite. How fun would that be?" Cinder said sipping her Coke.
"That's a little childish, isn't it?" Trish asked.
"No way! It'd be fun. Come on you guys. We should do it!" Cinder smiled.
"Yeah, alright," Amy laughed at her excitement.
"SWEET! So we can all meet at our house after school," Jeff smiled.
"You're such a child," Trish teased.
"And you love it," Jeff smirked.
"Unfortunately," Trish laughed after kissing his cheek.
"Jeff, can you dye my hair?" Cinder asked.
"Um, sure. Yeah, come over early tomorrow morning before school and I'll do it," he smiled at her. She nodded and leaned up against Shane as he sat down next to her.
*****************
"Now this will ware out right?" Cinder worried as she sat in Jeff's bathroom the next morning, waiting for him to finish coloring her hair. He was just finishing up the black chunks to go with the dark blue ones. Her once long blonde surfer hair was no longer visible.
"Yeah," Jeff smiled pushing her head forward to get underneath. 'Eventually,' he thought as she re-clasped the clothespin holding the towel together around her neck. "Alright, you're done."
She bit on her lip as she turned to look in the bathroom mirror. "Awesome," she smiled before wrapping her arms around Jeff in a hug. "Thanks."
"Not a prob," he laughed as she let go. "So, now that you're all rocked out, you ready for school?"
"Hope so. Ya know, Adam's gonna flip out on me," she laughed. She let out a sigh taking the towel off and handing it to him. She let out a sigh as she straightened out her short plaid skirt, then began playing with the chains nervously.
"Are you okay?" Jeff asked as they slowly walked into his room.
"I, I................What if people don't like it?" she said standing in his doorway watching him gather his books for school.
"What if people don't like what?" Jeff laughed looking at her.
"My hair," she replied shyly.
"You look great. It works with the whole rocker thing you got goin on," he smiled.
"I know you like and I do too. But what if no one else likes it? What if Shane doesn't like it?"
"Babe, as long as you like it, it should matter what anyone else thinks. If I worried what everyone else thought about my hair, then I wouldn't do it!"
"But people don't just like you for your hair. You have so much other stuff goin for you. You're fun, sweet, creative, and just an all around good guy," she said following him down the stairs.
"C, you're a great girl. I wouldn't be friends with you if you weren't. You want someone's opinion?" She nodded at him and he pulled her into the den where Matt was eating cocoa puffs.
"Hello," Matt exclaimed slowly dropping his spoon into the bowl shocked once he saw Cinder.
"Matt, what do you think of how Cinder looks?" Jeff asked placing his hands on her shoulders from behind.
"Whoa. Cinder where the hell did you get that outfit?!" he said.
"Um, the skirt from Lizzie, the boots from Trish, the fishnets are mine, and the shirt from Amy. And of course Jeff did my hair," she explained as she studied Matt's face. "I look horrible don't I?"
"No! C, you look great!" he replied getting to his feet. He looked like he was the ultimate horror movie football jock. He wore a football jersey that had blood all down the front and the padded pants were stained as well. His face was pale and he had blood dripping down his chin as a football stuck out of the side of his neck with blood around it.
"Oh my GOD!" Cinder screamed in shock.
"What?!" Matt asked as Jeff doubled over laughing.
"What the hell happened to you?!" she exclaimed running a hand over the football.
He laughed at her while saying, "Death by football."
"So totally awesome!" she exclaimed as her surfer attitude returned to her.
"So, what are you supposed to be anyways?" Matt asked.
"A rocker chick in a chick band. Amy, Lizzie, and Trish are supposed to be dressing like this too," Cinder smiled.
"You four are gonna kill the guys at school if ya'll look this way," Matt laughed.
"Really? You don't think I look stupid?" Cinder asked seriously.
"Trust me, you look great. And as for you bro, what are you supposed to be?" Matt said putting his hands on his hips.
"Their roadie," Jeff smiled placing a baseball cap backwards on his head.
"Original Jeff, very original," Matt replied sarcastically carrying his bowl to the kitchen.
"How's that for an opinion on how you look?" Jeff asked.
"I feel much better," Cinder smiled.
"Good, now let's get to school," Jeff said as before yelling goodbye to Matt and climbing into Jeff's truck.
When they had arrived at school, Cinder jumped out of the truck, her leg almost all healed, and waited for Jeff. She smiled as she felt a chill and shivered a bit. Jeff chuckled and draped his leather jacket over her shoulders. She looked up at him and sighed.
"Ya know, this kinda hides my totally rock like tank top," she smiled.
"Well, put it on like a regular coat and it serves two purposes. One, it keeps you warm. And two, it's a leather coat and leather is a rocker thing," Jeff smiled.
"Well, aren't you the all knowing Jeffrey Nero Hardy," she said sarcastically.
"Yep, that's me," he replied smugly causing her to roll her eyes. They separated to go to their lockers before meeting up with the group and she dropped a book on the floor.
"Damnit," she exclaimed out loud before starting to bend down to grab it.
"Please fine citizen, let me get this for you. I am after all your neighborhood superhero." She looked up and cracked up laughing. He was decked out in a green and black spandex like outfit, complete with a green cape and a matching mask. His hair had been freshly died green and on the front of his top was an H. He picked up her book and tried to hand it to her, but she continued to laugh, having trouble standing in the process. "Oh gees. I knew it. It's the cape, right? Too superman like?"
"Shane," she started but couldn't finish as she laughed harder and harder every time she looked at him. After about 5 minutes she began to calm down and was gasping for air.
"Are you done yet?" he asked placing his balled up hands on his hips. His pose struck her as funny and she began laughing once again. "Oh Jesus. Come on, let's go meet up with everyone." He put his arm around her waist and started walking her down the hall, receiving many funny looks from fellow classmates on the way.
"Well, would ya look at that. A slut and her freak comic book boyfriend," Paul Levesque laughed as he and other members of the Evolution watched. Shane spun around and stood up to his full 6'1" height, nearly 3 inches shorter than Paul, and stared him right in the eyes.
"What'd you say?" Shane growled through clenched teeth.
"Come on Shane," Cinder pleaded softly pulling his arm. He shook her off gently and continued to stare at Paul.
"You heard me, freak. What are you supposed to be? Super dork?" Paul laughed pushing Shane away.
"As a matter of fact he's the Hurricane," Cinder said defensively.
"Oooo, the Hurricane. I shudder with fear," Paul mocked them before slapping Dave's shoulder with laughter. That's all it took for Shane's temper to get the best of him. He pulled back his arm and threw his fist at Paul, connecting with his flawless jaw. Paul immediately stopped laughing and pounced on Shane, throwing him to the floor. Paul straddled Shane and assaulted his face with punches. Cinder pulled on Paul as best as possible, trying to get him off her boyfriend. Dave shrugged at the scene and walked off, no doubt in search of his girlfriend. Randy stood by, the smile that had been on his face had faded as he saw the pain that this had cause his once good friend, Cinder. She screamed for Paul to stop, but he continued and threw her off him. She looked up at Randy, pleading with her eyes, from where she sat on the floor.
"Randy, help, please!" she exclaimed.
He stared at her, his facial expressions soft. He wanted to help her, but feared that Paul would think he had turned against the Evolution. He knew that he didn't want that to happen. He tried to explain to Cinder exactly why he didn't want to help, but the look in her eyes was just too much for him to bear.
"All right Paul! Enough! I think he's learned his lesson," Randy said pulling on Paul's shoulders. Paul stood up roughly and shrugged Randy off.
"Son of a bitch," Shane muttered wiping his bleeding lip.
"Don't mess with me," Paul smiled smugly.
Paul walked off, pushing some poor defenseless freshman out of his way. Randy turned back to Cinder who was helping Shane up. Randy sighed and against his better judgment helped Shane stand and handed him a towel from inside Paul's open locker.
"Thanks," Shane said ripping out of Randy's hands and wiped his mouth.
"Thank you Randy," Cinder smiled at him.
"No problem. Just don't try to go up against Paul in the future. Well, not by yourself anyways," Randy said.
"We'll keep that in mind," Cinder laughed helping Shane clean his face.
"By the way, Cinder, you look hot today," Randy smirked walking backwards.
She blushed slightly at his comment and watched him catch up with Paul. She turned back to Shane. "You alright?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine," he replied anger evident in his voice. He sighed and smiled at her. "Did he hurt you?"
"Does it look like it? I'm not the one Paul used as a punching bag," she joked.
"Randy's right," he said as they walked down the hall hand in hand.
"About what?"
"About you looking hot today. Not that you don't normally, but you're scorching today," he exclaimed.
"Thank you Shane," she laughed.
"So do I look like a joke?"
"No, you look very adorable."
"That's not what you thought before, was it? When you couldn't breathe?"
"Okay, so maybe you looked a little silly when I first saw you. But that was shock. Now I'm used to it."
"Whoa, C! Holy cow! Do the four of us look hot or what?!" Trish exclaimed wearing a tight mini-leather skirt, knee high boots, and a see through white t-shirt that was even tighter than her skirt. Jeff was practically drooling over her as Cinder noticed he couldn't take his eyes off the blonde bombshell.
"So, what are we callin our hot selves?" Amy asked from her seat on Matt's lap. She wore a cropped fish net top over a bright pink bikini top. Her cargos looked to be lower than normal and she wore short combat boots. Her red hair had streaks of pink in it and a pair of sunglasses rested on her head.
Lizzie approached them pulling Shannon behind her. He was dressed similar to Jeff in a white t-shirt and faded jeans, even had his baseball cap on backwards like Jeff. Jeff and Shannon looked at each other and smiled. "Dude, totally awesome idea!" Shannon exclaimed as they bumped fists.
"Roadies unite man!" Jeff laughed.
Cinder shook her head at Jeff and Shannon before looking over at Lizzie. "Are those my jeans?" she exclaimed noticing Lizzie was wearing a pair of Cinder's cut up jeans.
"Is that my skirt?" Lizzie shot back.
"Point taken," Cinder laughed.
"So, back to the name of our so called chick band?" Amy nagged.
"Well, since you guys are so hot, why not Inferno?" Shane suggested. Everyone looked up at him and broke out into hysterical laughter. "Oh come on guys!"
"What comic book did you pop out of?!" Matt laughed.
"Stand back! There's a hurricane comin through!" Jeff joked.
"At least I don't look like some back roads country hick," Shane snapped crossing his arms over his chest.
"Such judgmental words coming from a man wearing a cape," Lizzie laughed.
"You guys suck. SUCK ASS!" Shane yelled angrily. Cinder stepped behind him and rested her head on his shoulder, rubbing his arms softly.
"Awe, chill Shane. They're just havin some fun. I mean you have to admit you do look kinda foolish," she whispered in his ear before leaving a few kisses on his neck for him to think about.
"I look foolish? At least I was a little more creative with my outfit! Who are they supposed to be?!" he exclaimed pointing a Jeff and Shannon as they immediately shut their mouths and straightened up.
"They're our roadies!" Lizzie defended them holding Shannon's arm tightly.
"Well, hello Kiddies," Chris smirked walking up to his group of friends arguing.
"Come on Shane. We were just jokin. You look awesome. You did a good job with it," Matt smiled.
"Well, you girls are absolutely hot today," Chris said.
"Bull shit. I'm goin to class," Shane said starting to storm off.
"And none of you are paying attention to me," Chris said.
Cinder shrugged at them and ran off after him. She lightly put her hand on his shoulder and he spun furiously around to look at her.
"Shane, come on. If friends can't just joke around with each other, then what are they good for?" Cinder asked.
"Do you know how hard I worked on this?!" he steamed.
"I'm sure you worked very hard on it. You did do an awesome job. It's just it's not everyday you find people dressing up as someone they're not. And you happen to have chosen a person that doesn't even exist except in your comics. So they had a little fun. Big deal. You were much more creative then them and you have me. What more could you want?" she smiled sweetly at him, touching his bruised lip lightly.
"I'll talk to you at lunch," he said calmly walking off. Cinder watched him go and sighed. She went to turn to go back to her friends when she was grabbed by her left arm, right where the stitches were. She cringed in pain as she was pulled off to the side.
"Let me go you mother fucker," she cried harshly ripping her arm painfully out of his hands.
"What the hell is your problem?" he asked.
"Listen Charlie, I don't need your crap. So leave me be." She turned to walk away, but again he grabbed her tightly, where the stitches were. "God damn it!! Stop grabbing me!! Or at least there!" She lightly touched her arm as she glared up at him.
"What's the matter with your arm?" he asked and she was shocked to hear that he actually had concern for her in his voice.
She slowly pulled that arm of Jeff's jacket off and showed him her stitches. He grabbed her arm once again, this time gently and beneath the wound. He gave her a winning smile and helped her put the jacket back on. He stared deeply into her endless blue eyes and resisted the strong urge he had to attack her mouth with his.
"What happened?"
"I went to a surfing competition this weekend and crashed into some rocks," she replied softly.
"Ouch. Sorry to hear that. You at least got first place for your troubles right?"
"I wish. But no. I came in second. But it's a long story." For some reason she had a hard time tearing her eyes away from his. She felt this connection she had felt at Chris's party. For the first time in months she actually saw the guy that she had fallen for in the first place. "But anyways, what'd you want?"
He sighed, finally looking away, scratching the back of his head. "I wanted to apologize for all the shit I've done to you recently. Mainly the rumors I said about you."
"Oh."
"I know they hurt you and I'm so sorry. I really didn't want to hurt you. It just upset me that we weren't together anymore. And I thought by telling people you were a slut no one, including Shane, would want you and you'd come back to me. But I was wrong and I'm sorry."
"That's okay. It's all in the past now," she smiled up at him.
"Really?" he questioned receiving a nod. "Good. I do miss you C. I really do."
"Babe, we gotta get to class," Chris said stepping up next to her in a threatening way to Charlie.
"Yeah, class," she muttered. "I'll see you later Charlie." She hooked her arm with Chris's and walked towards their class together.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"He was apologizing for being a prick," she smiled.
"It would have taken a hell of a lot longer for that assclown to apologize for bein a prick than the 5 minutes you were talking to him for," Chris joked.
**********************
"Did we really upset Shane this morning?" Lizzie asked as she walked with Cinder towards Jeff's house after school.
"I really don't know. I would assume so. He hasn't really spoken to me," Cinder answered.
"Where were you at lunch?" she asked.
"Adam was giving me a lecture on my hair. He's so unimpressed," Cinder shook her head.
"I think it looks rather radical on you," her cousin replied. "Chris told us you were talking to Charlie this morning. Is everything okay?"
"Everything is peachy. He was just apologizing for all the shit he's done lately," Cinder shrugged walking into the Hardy household.
"Well, I think we've decided on a name for the band," Amy said excitedly as she greeted the two girls. They followed her into the den where Shannon and Jeff were busy fixing their white t-shirts to read SWEET DREAMS on the back with pieces of candy drawn around the script writing.
"So we're sweet dreams now?" Cinder asked making herself comfortable on the couch.
"Yeah, cool, huh?" Trish smiled from the corner of the room.
"It's different," Lizzie answered sitting on the floor next to Shannon and stealing a kiss before he went back to work on his creation.
"So where the football horror show?" Cinder asked starting to reach into a bowl of potato chips that sat on the coffee table in front of her. Jeff, Shannon, Amy, and Trish looked at her, almost in anticipation. She withdrew her hand deciding she really wasn't hungry and they all went back to what they were doing. Lizzie shrugged and moved to the bowl. As if in slow motion everyone looked up at her and had a look of fear on their faces, all but Cinder anyways, as she reached right into the bowl. She screamed out and quickly tried to pull her hand out of the bowl. Someone had her hand tightly in theirs. She pulled back with all her strength and was freed, all to fall back hard on the wood floor.
"What the fuck?!" she exclaimed angrily as Cinder sat staring at her with wide eyes of shock.
"Oh crap," a voice from under the table said. Slowly Matt emerged from his confined space and looked at Lizzie with a kind of fear in his eyes.
"You are going to die!" she screamed.
"Sorry! Really! I was supposed to scare Cinder! Not you!! Why the hell didn't you guys stop her!?" Matt yelled.
"By the time we looked up, it was too late," Jeff shrugged.
"You were gonna do that to me?!" Cinder exclaimed. "Ya'll should die a terrible and slow death!"
*********************
After they had filled up a bag each of candy they returned to the Hardy house, only to return home themselves. Shannon had given Cinder and Lizzie a ride home, noticing that there was a bright green person sitting on the steps. His head was down and he balled up his green cape in his hands. Twisting it around furiously.
"Shane, what are you doin here?" Cinder asked as she approached him, giving Shannon and Lizzie some alone time in his truck.
"I came to see you. I'm sorry I was such an ass to you today," he said standing, not looking at her face.
"Wow, everyone's apologizing to me today," she smiled.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. Shane, you were just upset. I completely understand. I probably would have reacted the same way baby," she said putting her hands on either side of his face. He looked at her and smiled. Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his body, he kissed her deeply. Lizzie walked by them shaking her head and into the house.
When they parted he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, bye Shane," she smiled.
"Wait, um, ya busy this weekend?" he asked.
"I'm getting my belly button pierced with you guys," she admitted.
"Are you really?!" he exclaimed. She laughed him along with a nod yes. "Sexy. Anyways, do ya wanna go to the beach this weekend? It's supposed to be beautiful Saturday. Maybe do another picnic? Then go to my house for some movies?"
"I'd like that," she said. She kissed his cheek and walked into the house. Her hair flopped forward into her face and she gasped. "My hair!" She breathed heavily in panic as she heard her mom talking to Adam in the kitchen.
"Cinder, hurry!" Lizzie whispered loudly to her from the top of the stairs. Cinder ran up and quickly ran into the bathroom to shower. She looked in the mirror and couldn't believe that her hair hadn't returned.
"Lizzie!" she squeaked. Her cousin walked into the bathroom, her mouth open wide in shock. "Get Jeff over here now!" Lizzie nodded at Cinder and quickly called Jeff over.
"Oh my God. I can't believe it didn't come out!" Lizzie said as they stood in the bathroom. "Are you sure he said it was temporary?"
"Yeah, he told me it'd come out!" Cinder answered.
"Cinder?" Jeff called from the hallway. Cinder threw open the door, her face bright red with anger, as she pushed him roughly into her room. "What's the matter? I came over as quickly as possible."
"You said this dye wasn't permanent!" she yelled forcing him on her bed.
"It's not," he said.
"Then why isn't it coming out?! If it's temporary, shouldn't it be washing out?!"
"Cinder, I said it wasn't permanent, that doesn't mean it's temporary."
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"What that means is that it's semi-permanent. It won't last as long as the permanent, but does not wash out. It'll fade over time."
"Jeff! My mom is gonna murder me if this doesn't come out right now!" Cinder cried.
"C, don't worry about it. If you want you can blame it on me and then she'll tell my Dad and then he'll punish me and you'll be fine," Jeff sighed.
She let out a loud growl and sat roughly on her bed. "No, I'll take the fall for it. But damn Jeff, you knew that if she saw my hair like this she'd kill me!"
"I just thought you wanted to do something daring, different, unexpected," Jeff replied.
"I do and did, but not something that I can't hide!"
"Sorry."
"Yeah, everyone's been sayin that to me today. Well, if I'm goin down, I'm goin down with you by my side," she smiled gripping his hand tightly and pulling him down the stairs with her.
"Cinder and I have an art project to do together," he smiled.
"So why aren't you up there doing it?" Adam wondered curiously.
"Do I interrogate your guests?! No, I don't think so. So please don't interrogate mine!" Cinder exclaimed handing Jeff a glass of soda and placing a bowl of popcorn between them on the couch.
"Right, well, I'm goin to my room to do some homework. So if ya'll need me, you know where to find me," Adam shook his head as he walked up the stairs. Cinder looked over at Jeff and they broke into fits of giggles.
"He's so clueless!" she laughed popping a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
"What do you guys do for Halloween?" Jeff asked.
"Nothing. We hand out candy to the little kids, that's about it," she replied shrugging her shoulders.
"Why don't we become those little kids?" Jeff suggested with a giant smile.
"You mean go trick or treating?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why not?! Matt and I did it every year where we used to live. We could all get dressed up and go."
"Ya know, it sounds like fun. We'll all have to talk it over tomorrow at school. It's an awesome idea though," she smiled at him as they began watching Nick at Nite.
Around 11 Lizzie had joined them on the couch and Leeann had long gone to bed. They sat on the couch waiting for Adam to go to bed. They discussed the plan a little more while waiting. Not too much later Adam had grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen, like he always did before bed, and kissed Cinder's cheek. They heard his bedroom door shut and they ran up to Cinder's room to get the stuff ready.
"I can't believe I'm doing this. Ya know, if this was Matt, I'd never be able to move again," Jeff laughed quietly in Cinder's room.
"This gets him back for all the stupid shit he did to me as a kid. Like throwing me through a closet," Cinder sneered.
"He threw you through a closet?!" Jeff exclaimed.
"Yeah, that was pretty painful," Cinder chuckled.
"I remember that. Your back was so sore from that. You couldn't even skateboard!" Lizzie said as she cut up some of the hair.
"I know. Sometimes I swear I can still feel the bruise," she said.
"Do you think he's asleep yet?" Jeff asked glancing at the clock. Cinder nodded with a yawn and grabbed a bag of cut up hair.
"Yeah, probably, he went to bed an hour ago."
"You said he's a heavy sleeper right?" Jeff worried.
"Totally. Dude could sleep through a comet hitting the house!" Cinder joked. They hit fists for good luck before entering Adam's dark room. The only light in the room was the tiny little nite light that was lighting up the far corner of the room and the little bit of moon that hit Adam's face. Cinder nodded at Jeff to begin putting the color in Adam's hair while Lizzie put the scissors with bits of hair on them on the nite stand. Once Jeff had finished, Cinder began spreading around the cut up hair.
"Oh baby yeah. That feels great," Adam groaned happily in his sleep. Cinder looked up at Jeff as they both tried to hold in their laughter while Lizzie turned the hidden camcorder on. They quietly walked out of his room and back into Lizzie's.
"Mission accomplished!" Lizzie smiled as they settled on Cinder's bed. "Jeff, you spending the nite?"
"Might as well. It's kinda late for you to be goin back now, isn't it?" Cinder asked. Jeff nodded and Cinder pulled out clothes for her to sleep in.
"I'll see you guys in the morning. I can't wait for him to walk up," Lizzie said excitedly as she walked into her own room.
"She's quite the character, isn't she?" Jeff laughed.
"Yeah, I love her," Cinder smiled. "Pick your side while I go get dressed."
"My side of what?"
"The bed."
"Oh, I figured I'd crash on the floor or the couch."
"No way! I don't mind sharing," she said walking out.
"I hope Trish doesn't mind," Jeff muttered to himself as he climbed in the bed. Cinder came back shortly and climbed in next to him. Lying on her side, she quickly fell asleep.
"Good morning beautiful," Adam smiled to himself as his alarm went off. Still lying in bed, he stretched out his arms and then rubbed his face. He slowly sat up and felt the loose hair fall onto his bare chest. Adam raked a hand through his hair and pulled out more hair. "WHAT THE HELL?!" He looked over at his nite stand and saw the scissors. Finally freaking out completely, he stood up and ran out into the hall. "MY HAIR!!!"
"And we have lift off!" Cinder laughed to herself as she stood. She nudged Jeff awake and nodded to the door. She slowly walked to the door and put on her best sleepy face before stepping into the hall. "What is your..........oh my God!"
"My hair..............." She watched him begin to shake, trying to hold in her laughter, as Lizzie walked out of her room.
"Some people are trying to sleep. I don't know about you, but I get cranky if I don't get my 8 hours of sleep," she whined before looking at Adam. Her eyes seemed to jump out of their sockets as her jaw dropped to the floor. "What happened to your hair?!"
"I don't know," Adam cried. Lizzie ran back into her bedroom and grabbed a mirror off her desk. She tried to hand it to him, but he refused to take it.
"Adam, you should look," Cinder said.
"I don't wanna. I'm too scared," he said before Lizzie shoved it in his face. "WHAT THE FUCK!!!?" That's when they lost it. Jeff leaned up against the doorframe for support as Adam stared at them angrily.
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Adam. Happy birthday to you!" the three of them chorused.
"Are you fuckin serious?" he growled.
"Sorry bro. This was just too good to pass up!" Cinder laughed patting his shoulder.
"I hate you all! And what the hell is up with this color shit?! It better not be permanent!" he warned.
"No dude, it's temp. It'll wash right out," Jeff laughed.
"Who the hell else was involved?!" Adam exclaimed looking over at Jeff.
"Me, Lizzie, Jeff, and Jay," Cinder replied biting on her lip.
"Jay?! He's gonna die!! No way in hell am I giving him a ride this morning!" Adam roared as he stormed into the bathroom.
"I think we pulled off a good prank," Lizzie smiled while she grabbed Jay's camcorder. "Can't wait to show this to everyone!"
"Alanah's gonna love it," Cinder smiled as she walked back into her room.
**********************
"You guys should have seen his face!" Jeff laughed as he, Cinder, and Lizzie explained the morning to the gang at lunch.
"He was going ballistic!" Cinder said.
"When should we expect for him to get you guys back?" Amy asked with a smile.
"As soon as possible?" Lizzie guessed.
"I just saw Adam. Why does he have pink in his hair?" Matt asked sitting down next to Amy.
"It never washed out?!" Shannon laughed.
"I can't wait for the pay back. Should be interesting," Rob said.
"Dudes, Jeff suggested to me last nite that we all go out trick or treating tomorrow nite. How fun would that be?" Cinder said sipping her Coke.
"That's a little childish, isn't it?" Trish asked.
"No way! It'd be fun. Come on you guys. We should do it!" Cinder smiled.
"Yeah, alright," Amy laughed at her excitement.
"SWEET! So we can all meet at our house after school," Jeff smiled.
"You're such a child," Trish teased.
"And you love it," Jeff smirked.
"Unfortunately," Trish laughed after kissing his cheek.
"Jeff, can you dye my hair?" Cinder asked.
"Um, sure. Yeah, come over early tomorrow morning before school and I'll do it," he smiled at her. She nodded and leaned up against Shane as he sat down next to her.
*****************
"Now this will ware out right?" Cinder worried as she sat in Jeff's bathroom the next morning, waiting for him to finish coloring her hair. He was just finishing up the black chunks to go with the dark blue ones. Her once long blonde surfer hair was no longer visible.
"Yeah," Jeff smiled pushing her head forward to get underneath. 'Eventually,' he thought as she re-clasped the clothespin holding the towel together around her neck. "Alright, you're done."
She bit on her lip as she turned to look in the bathroom mirror. "Awesome," she smiled before wrapping her arms around Jeff in a hug. "Thanks."
"Not a prob," he laughed as she let go. "So, now that you're all rocked out, you ready for school?"
"Hope so. Ya know, Adam's gonna flip out on me," she laughed. She let out a sigh taking the towel off and handing it to him. She let out a sigh as she straightened out her short plaid skirt, then began playing with the chains nervously.
"Are you okay?" Jeff asked as they slowly walked into his room.
"I, I................What if people don't like it?" she said standing in his doorway watching him gather his books for school.
"What if people don't like what?" Jeff laughed looking at her.
"My hair," she replied shyly.
"You look great. It works with the whole rocker thing you got goin on," he smiled.
"I know you like and I do too. But what if no one else likes it? What if Shane doesn't like it?"
"Babe, as long as you like it, it should matter what anyone else thinks. If I worried what everyone else thought about my hair, then I wouldn't do it!"
"But people don't just like you for your hair. You have so much other stuff goin for you. You're fun, sweet, creative, and just an all around good guy," she said following him down the stairs.
"C, you're a great girl. I wouldn't be friends with you if you weren't. You want someone's opinion?" She nodded at him and he pulled her into the den where Matt was eating cocoa puffs.
"Hello," Matt exclaimed slowly dropping his spoon into the bowl shocked once he saw Cinder.
"Matt, what do you think of how Cinder looks?" Jeff asked placing his hands on her shoulders from behind.
"Whoa. Cinder where the hell did you get that outfit?!" he said.
"Um, the skirt from Lizzie, the boots from Trish, the fishnets are mine, and the shirt from Amy. And of course Jeff did my hair," she explained as she studied Matt's face. "I look horrible don't I?"
"No! C, you look great!" he replied getting to his feet. He looked like he was the ultimate horror movie football jock. He wore a football jersey that had blood all down the front and the padded pants were stained as well. His face was pale and he had blood dripping down his chin as a football stuck out of the side of his neck with blood around it.
"Oh my GOD!" Cinder screamed in shock.
"What?!" Matt asked as Jeff doubled over laughing.
"What the hell happened to you?!" she exclaimed running a hand over the football.
He laughed at her while saying, "Death by football."
"So totally awesome!" she exclaimed as her surfer attitude returned to her.
"So, what are you supposed to be anyways?" Matt asked.
"A rocker chick in a chick band. Amy, Lizzie, and Trish are supposed to be dressing like this too," Cinder smiled.
"You four are gonna kill the guys at school if ya'll look this way," Matt laughed.
"Really? You don't think I look stupid?" Cinder asked seriously.
"Trust me, you look great. And as for you bro, what are you supposed to be?" Matt said putting his hands on his hips.
"Their roadie," Jeff smiled placing a baseball cap backwards on his head.
"Original Jeff, very original," Matt replied sarcastically carrying his bowl to the kitchen.
"How's that for an opinion on how you look?" Jeff asked.
"I feel much better," Cinder smiled.
"Good, now let's get to school," Jeff said as before yelling goodbye to Matt and climbing into Jeff's truck.
When they had arrived at school, Cinder jumped out of the truck, her leg almost all healed, and waited for Jeff. She smiled as she felt a chill and shivered a bit. Jeff chuckled and draped his leather jacket over her shoulders. She looked up at him and sighed.
"Ya know, this kinda hides my totally rock like tank top," she smiled.
"Well, put it on like a regular coat and it serves two purposes. One, it keeps you warm. And two, it's a leather coat and leather is a rocker thing," Jeff smiled.
"Well, aren't you the all knowing Jeffrey Nero Hardy," she said sarcastically.
"Yep, that's me," he replied smugly causing her to roll her eyes. They separated to go to their lockers before meeting up with the group and she dropped a book on the floor.
"Damnit," she exclaimed out loud before starting to bend down to grab it.
"Please fine citizen, let me get this for you. I am after all your neighborhood superhero." She looked up and cracked up laughing. He was decked out in a green and black spandex like outfit, complete with a green cape and a matching mask. His hair had been freshly died green and on the front of his top was an H. He picked up her book and tried to hand it to her, but she continued to laugh, having trouble standing in the process. "Oh gees. I knew it. It's the cape, right? Too superman like?"
"Shane," she started but couldn't finish as she laughed harder and harder every time she looked at him. After about 5 minutes she began to calm down and was gasping for air.
"Are you done yet?" he asked placing his balled up hands on his hips. His pose struck her as funny and she began laughing once again. "Oh Jesus. Come on, let's go meet up with everyone." He put his arm around her waist and started walking her down the hall, receiving many funny looks from fellow classmates on the way.
"Well, would ya look at that. A slut and her freak comic book boyfriend," Paul Levesque laughed as he and other members of the Evolution watched. Shane spun around and stood up to his full 6'1" height, nearly 3 inches shorter than Paul, and stared him right in the eyes.
"What'd you say?" Shane growled through clenched teeth.
"Come on Shane," Cinder pleaded softly pulling his arm. He shook her off gently and continued to stare at Paul.
"You heard me, freak. What are you supposed to be? Super dork?" Paul laughed pushing Shane away.
"As a matter of fact he's the Hurricane," Cinder said defensively.
"Oooo, the Hurricane. I shudder with fear," Paul mocked them before slapping Dave's shoulder with laughter. That's all it took for Shane's temper to get the best of him. He pulled back his arm and threw his fist at Paul, connecting with his flawless jaw. Paul immediately stopped laughing and pounced on Shane, throwing him to the floor. Paul straddled Shane and assaulted his face with punches. Cinder pulled on Paul as best as possible, trying to get him off her boyfriend. Dave shrugged at the scene and walked off, no doubt in search of his girlfriend. Randy stood by, the smile that had been on his face had faded as he saw the pain that this had cause his once good friend, Cinder. She screamed for Paul to stop, but he continued and threw her off him. She looked up at Randy, pleading with her eyes, from where she sat on the floor.
"Randy, help, please!" she exclaimed.
He stared at her, his facial expressions soft. He wanted to help her, but feared that Paul would think he had turned against the Evolution. He knew that he didn't want that to happen. He tried to explain to Cinder exactly why he didn't want to help, but the look in her eyes was just too much for him to bear.
"All right Paul! Enough! I think he's learned his lesson," Randy said pulling on Paul's shoulders. Paul stood up roughly and shrugged Randy off.
"Son of a bitch," Shane muttered wiping his bleeding lip.
"Don't mess with me," Paul smiled smugly.
Paul walked off, pushing some poor defenseless freshman out of his way. Randy turned back to Cinder who was helping Shane up. Randy sighed and against his better judgment helped Shane stand and handed him a towel from inside Paul's open locker.
"Thanks," Shane said ripping out of Randy's hands and wiped his mouth.
"Thank you Randy," Cinder smiled at him.
"No problem. Just don't try to go up against Paul in the future. Well, not by yourself anyways," Randy said.
"We'll keep that in mind," Cinder laughed helping Shane clean his face.
"By the way, Cinder, you look hot today," Randy smirked walking backwards.
She blushed slightly at his comment and watched him catch up with Paul. She turned back to Shane. "You alright?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine," he replied anger evident in his voice. He sighed and smiled at her. "Did he hurt you?"
"Does it look like it? I'm not the one Paul used as a punching bag," she joked.
"Randy's right," he said as they walked down the hall hand in hand.
"About what?"
"About you looking hot today. Not that you don't normally, but you're scorching today," he exclaimed.
"Thank you Shane," she laughed.
"So do I look like a joke?"
"No, you look very adorable."
"That's not what you thought before, was it? When you couldn't breathe?"
"Okay, so maybe you looked a little silly when I first saw you. But that was shock. Now I'm used to it."
"Whoa, C! Holy cow! Do the four of us look hot or what?!" Trish exclaimed wearing a tight mini-leather skirt, knee high boots, and a see through white t-shirt that was even tighter than her skirt. Jeff was practically drooling over her as Cinder noticed he couldn't take his eyes off the blonde bombshell.
"So, what are we callin our hot selves?" Amy asked from her seat on Matt's lap. She wore a cropped fish net top over a bright pink bikini top. Her cargos looked to be lower than normal and she wore short combat boots. Her red hair had streaks of pink in it and a pair of sunglasses rested on her head.
Lizzie approached them pulling Shannon behind her. He was dressed similar to Jeff in a white t-shirt and faded jeans, even had his baseball cap on backwards like Jeff. Jeff and Shannon looked at each other and smiled. "Dude, totally awesome idea!" Shannon exclaimed as they bumped fists.
"Roadies unite man!" Jeff laughed.
Cinder shook her head at Jeff and Shannon before looking over at Lizzie. "Are those my jeans?" she exclaimed noticing Lizzie was wearing a pair of Cinder's cut up jeans.
"Is that my skirt?" Lizzie shot back.
"Point taken," Cinder laughed.
"So, back to the name of our so called chick band?" Amy nagged.
"Well, since you guys are so hot, why not Inferno?" Shane suggested. Everyone looked up at him and broke out into hysterical laughter. "Oh come on guys!"
"What comic book did you pop out of?!" Matt laughed.
"Stand back! There's a hurricane comin through!" Jeff joked.
"At least I don't look like some back roads country hick," Shane snapped crossing his arms over his chest.
"Such judgmental words coming from a man wearing a cape," Lizzie laughed.
"You guys suck. SUCK ASS!" Shane yelled angrily. Cinder stepped behind him and rested her head on his shoulder, rubbing his arms softly.
"Awe, chill Shane. They're just havin some fun. I mean you have to admit you do look kinda foolish," she whispered in his ear before leaving a few kisses on his neck for him to think about.
"I look foolish? At least I was a little more creative with my outfit! Who are they supposed to be?!" he exclaimed pointing a Jeff and Shannon as they immediately shut their mouths and straightened up.
"They're our roadies!" Lizzie defended them holding Shannon's arm tightly.
"Well, hello Kiddies," Chris smirked walking up to his group of friends arguing.
"Come on Shane. We were just jokin. You look awesome. You did a good job with it," Matt smiled.
"Well, you girls are absolutely hot today," Chris said.
"Bull shit. I'm goin to class," Shane said starting to storm off.
"And none of you are paying attention to me," Chris said.
Cinder shrugged at them and ran off after him. She lightly put her hand on his shoulder and he spun furiously around to look at her.
"Shane, come on. If friends can't just joke around with each other, then what are they good for?" Cinder asked.
"Do you know how hard I worked on this?!" he steamed.
"I'm sure you worked very hard on it. You did do an awesome job. It's just it's not everyday you find people dressing up as someone they're not. And you happen to have chosen a person that doesn't even exist except in your comics. So they had a little fun. Big deal. You were much more creative then them and you have me. What more could you want?" she smiled sweetly at him, touching his bruised lip lightly.
"I'll talk to you at lunch," he said calmly walking off. Cinder watched him go and sighed. She went to turn to go back to her friends when she was grabbed by her left arm, right where the stitches were. She cringed in pain as she was pulled off to the side.
"Let me go you mother fucker," she cried harshly ripping her arm painfully out of his hands.
"What the hell is your problem?" he asked.
"Listen Charlie, I don't need your crap. So leave me be." She turned to walk away, but again he grabbed her tightly, where the stitches were. "God damn it!! Stop grabbing me!! Or at least there!" She lightly touched her arm as she glared up at him.
"What's the matter with your arm?" he asked and she was shocked to hear that he actually had concern for her in his voice.
She slowly pulled that arm of Jeff's jacket off and showed him her stitches. He grabbed her arm once again, this time gently and beneath the wound. He gave her a winning smile and helped her put the jacket back on. He stared deeply into her endless blue eyes and resisted the strong urge he had to attack her mouth with his.
"What happened?"
"I went to a surfing competition this weekend and crashed into some rocks," she replied softly.
"Ouch. Sorry to hear that. You at least got first place for your troubles right?"
"I wish. But no. I came in second. But it's a long story." For some reason she had a hard time tearing her eyes away from his. She felt this connection she had felt at Chris's party. For the first time in months she actually saw the guy that she had fallen for in the first place. "But anyways, what'd you want?"
He sighed, finally looking away, scratching the back of his head. "I wanted to apologize for all the shit I've done to you recently. Mainly the rumors I said about you."
"Oh."
"I know they hurt you and I'm so sorry. I really didn't want to hurt you. It just upset me that we weren't together anymore. And I thought by telling people you were a slut no one, including Shane, would want you and you'd come back to me. But I was wrong and I'm sorry."
"That's okay. It's all in the past now," she smiled up at him.
"Really?" he questioned receiving a nod. "Good. I do miss you C. I really do."
"Babe, we gotta get to class," Chris said stepping up next to her in a threatening way to Charlie.
"Yeah, class," she muttered. "I'll see you later Charlie." She hooked her arm with Chris's and walked towards their class together.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"He was apologizing for being a prick," she smiled.
"It would have taken a hell of a lot longer for that assclown to apologize for bein a prick than the 5 minutes you were talking to him for," Chris joked.
**********************
"Did we really upset Shane this morning?" Lizzie asked as she walked with Cinder towards Jeff's house after school.
"I really don't know. I would assume so. He hasn't really spoken to me," Cinder answered.
"Where were you at lunch?" she asked.
"Adam was giving me a lecture on my hair. He's so unimpressed," Cinder shook her head.
"I think it looks rather radical on you," her cousin replied. "Chris told us you were talking to Charlie this morning. Is everything okay?"
"Everything is peachy. He was just apologizing for all the shit he's done lately," Cinder shrugged walking into the Hardy household.
"Well, I think we've decided on a name for the band," Amy said excitedly as she greeted the two girls. They followed her into the den where Shannon and Jeff were busy fixing their white t-shirts to read SWEET DREAMS on the back with pieces of candy drawn around the script writing.
"So we're sweet dreams now?" Cinder asked making herself comfortable on the couch.
"Yeah, cool, huh?" Trish smiled from the corner of the room.
"It's different," Lizzie answered sitting on the floor next to Shannon and stealing a kiss before he went back to work on his creation.
"So where the football horror show?" Cinder asked starting to reach into a bowl of potato chips that sat on the coffee table in front of her. Jeff, Shannon, Amy, and Trish looked at her, almost in anticipation. She withdrew her hand deciding she really wasn't hungry and they all went back to what they were doing. Lizzie shrugged and moved to the bowl. As if in slow motion everyone looked up at her and had a look of fear on their faces, all but Cinder anyways, as she reached right into the bowl. She screamed out and quickly tried to pull her hand out of the bowl. Someone had her hand tightly in theirs. She pulled back with all her strength and was freed, all to fall back hard on the wood floor.
"What the fuck?!" she exclaimed angrily as Cinder sat staring at her with wide eyes of shock.
"Oh crap," a voice from under the table said. Slowly Matt emerged from his confined space and looked at Lizzie with a kind of fear in his eyes.
"You are going to die!" she screamed.
"Sorry! Really! I was supposed to scare Cinder! Not you!! Why the hell didn't you guys stop her!?" Matt yelled.
"By the time we looked up, it was too late," Jeff shrugged.
"You were gonna do that to me?!" Cinder exclaimed. "Ya'll should die a terrible and slow death!"
*********************
After they had filled up a bag each of candy they returned to the Hardy house, only to return home themselves. Shannon had given Cinder and Lizzie a ride home, noticing that there was a bright green person sitting on the steps. His head was down and he balled up his green cape in his hands. Twisting it around furiously.
"Shane, what are you doin here?" Cinder asked as she approached him, giving Shannon and Lizzie some alone time in his truck.
"I came to see you. I'm sorry I was such an ass to you today," he said standing, not looking at her face.
"Wow, everyone's apologizing to me today," she smiled.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. Shane, you were just upset. I completely understand. I probably would have reacted the same way baby," she said putting her hands on either side of his face. He looked at her and smiled. Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his body, he kissed her deeply. Lizzie walked by them shaking her head and into the house.
When they parted he smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, bye Shane," she smiled.
"Wait, um, ya busy this weekend?" he asked.
"I'm getting my belly button pierced with you guys," she admitted.
"Are you really?!" he exclaimed. She laughed him along with a nod yes. "Sexy. Anyways, do ya wanna go to the beach this weekend? It's supposed to be beautiful Saturday. Maybe do another picnic? Then go to my house for some movies?"
"I'd like that," she said. She kissed his cheek and walked into the house. Her hair flopped forward into her face and she gasped. "My hair!" She breathed heavily in panic as she heard her mom talking to Adam in the kitchen.
"Cinder, hurry!" Lizzie whispered loudly to her from the top of the stairs. Cinder ran up and quickly ran into the bathroom to shower. She looked in the mirror and couldn't believe that her hair hadn't returned.
"Lizzie!" she squeaked. Her cousin walked into the bathroom, her mouth open wide in shock. "Get Jeff over here now!" Lizzie nodded at Cinder and quickly called Jeff over.
"Oh my God. I can't believe it didn't come out!" Lizzie said as they stood in the bathroom. "Are you sure he said it was temporary?"
"Yeah, he told me it'd come out!" Cinder answered.
"Cinder?" Jeff called from the hallway. Cinder threw open the door, her face bright red with anger, as she pushed him roughly into her room. "What's the matter? I came over as quickly as possible."
"You said this dye wasn't permanent!" she yelled forcing him on her bed.
"It's not," he said.
"Then why isn't it coming out?! If it's temporary, shouldn't it be washing out?!"
"Cinder, I said it wasn't permanent, that doesn't mean it's temporary."
"What the hell does that mean?!"
"What that means is that it's semi-permanent. It won't last as long as the permanent, but does not wash out. It'll fade over time."
"Jeff! My mom is gonna murder me if this doesn't come out right now!" Cinder cried.
"C, don't worry about it. If you want you can blame it on me and then she'll tell my Dad and then he'll punish me and you'll be fine," Jeff sighed.
She let out a loud growl and sat roughly on her bed. "No, I'll take the fall for it. But damn Jeff, you knew that if she saw my hair like this she'd kill me!"
"I just thought you wanted to do something daring, different, unexpected," Jeff replied.
"I do and did, but not something that I can't hide!"
"Sorry."
"Yeah, everyone's been sayin that to me today. Well, if I'm goin down, I'm goin down with you by my side," she smiled gripping his hand tightly and pulling him down the stairs with her.