Disclaimer: Ok so I finally did it, its R now! I just did it to be safe, since its Lillian's first time in this chapter. Oh well, now I get to add some curse words instead of using creep and jerk all the time. Ha ha. Still, it's not that much worse then what you'd see on TV. (They had Marissa's first time on "The O.C." and Ephram's on "Everwood".) Sorry if this ruins anyone's enjoyment but I had it written in the plot and I kinda wanted to touch on it since it is high school and while not everyone does it, I wanted to keep it pretty realistic. Plus there is drinking and again they are underage. Still, pretty realistic although I do not condone it and I definitely do not condone drinking and driving, i.e. Chuckie does not drink. And yes, just because this is R now, there is like one swear word. I am a pretty non-swearing girl so there won't be a lot, if at all!
Splintered Reflections
By Heather [TinySweetHeart]
--
Chapter Eight: No Where Out But DownThis
love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore
-- "This Love" -- Maroon 5 --
--
Tommy and Chuckie sat in the Finister's living room, bored out of their minds. Tommy slouched into the cushions; he was dressed in a button down dark blue shirt and jeans. He looked frustrated when he exclaimed, "Come on, Chuck! Its Friday night, we have nothing to do. Let's just go to the party."
Chuckie was wearing a dark brown tee shirt and jeans, pretending to be watching the television as he flipped the channels. "Uh hu, and watch people drink until they puke or pass out? I don't think so," he remarked.
Tommy released a breath loudly and grumbled, "Then what else are we gonna do? Hang out here and watch TV?"
The red haired boy shrugged, replying, "There's a really good show on the History channel."
Tommy thought of something and smiled slightly, saying, "I bet Angelica will be there..."
Chuckie's face grew grave as he retorted in a hard voice, "That's not gonna work because Angelica is the last person on earth I'd want to see. Yup, now I'm sure I don't want to go to this party."
Tommy sighed loudly and looked up at the ceiling. Chuckie never wanted to do normal teenage activities, like go to a party; getting him there was like pulling teeth. But Tommy wasn't the type of guy to just ditch a friend. "Come on! We were invited, we should at least go," he tried again.
Chuckie stayed staring ahead and responded, "Correction, you were invited. I wasn't invited. I'm never invited."
The dark haired boy groaned and continued, "Does it really matter? Besides Phil and your sister are going. We can just hang with them."
Chuckie sighed exaggeratedly before turning off the television. Looking to Tommy, he relinquished, "Fine, fine. But if one wasted football player tries to pick me up and swing me around I'm leaving."
Tommy grinned and stood. "Alright. Let's just go already," he replied.
They went out to Chuckie's beat up car and drove to the place of the party. The white moon was already shivering in the sky, lighting the streets in metal. They arrived at around nine to see the place was already pretty full. Parking some ways down the road, they walked back to the house of some person whose parents were out of town for the weekend. Tommy just walked in, knowing if he knocked no one would hear, and Chuckie followed.
The big stereo system was blaring with some hip-hop and kids flooded downstairs. In the kitchen, they could see a full keg and people surrounding it with red plastic cups. There was a type of dance floor near there were some teens were dancing, couples making out. The television was on, showing a scary movie, and people were sitting on the black leather couches.
Tommy turned to Chuckie, shouting over all the noise, "You see Phil or Kimmi?"
Chuckie scanned over the crowd of laughing people and shook his head. "No but they gotta be somewhere. I'll go look. If I'm not back in an hour either the wrestling team gave me a swirly in the toilet or I was killed by looking Angelica directly in the eyes," he replied. Tommy just laughed and Chuckie walked off, weaving between clusters of people.
Tommy decided to head to the kitchen. He drank sometimes, after all he wasn't driving and he only had up to three ever. He had to admit he just did it because he thought he'd look stupid walking around empty handed. He grabbed a cup and then turned, looking around to see if there was anyone he knew. There were some guys from the football team; they were already pretty buzzed and laughing. One noticed Tommy and called to him, waving. "T dog!" the drunk guy shouted.
Tommy laughed and waved back. He didn't feel like standing around, talking about football with them, that got boring fast. Or they would play some drinking game and he didn't feel like that either. Where were Phil and Kimmi? He was searching the people when he noticed her and he paused. Lillian was leaning against the counter, a cup in her hand. She was dressed in a brown stripped halter top and dark jeans with a thick woven chocker necklace, her caramel hair brushing her back. She was laughing with a friend and he should have turned away sooner only he couldn't. Then her hazel eyes flickered upwards and she saw him. His face flashed with a grimace and he moved past people, out of the kitchen, into a long empty hallway that led to bedrooms and a bathroom.
"Tommy! Tommy?" he heard Lillian call after him and he could tell there was a slur to her voice.
She touched his arm and he turned, his eyes hard. "What?" he questioned.
Lillian was searching her gaze over his face when she replied, "Hold up a minute. Look, are you mad? About like last weekend?"
Tommy gave her an impatient look and scoffed, "What do you think, Lillian? You know, Kimmi went out of her way to get you that ticket and you just turn around and ditch us at the last minute."
She seemed a little taken aback and her eyes were glossed over with a little too much alcohol. "Well I said I'm sorry. It's not like I planned it. It's not like I meant it," she breathed.
The boy rolled his eyes and turned around. "Yea well you don't mean a lot of things," he retorted in a low voice.
Lillian knitted her eyebrows together and asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Tommy shot over his shoulder, "Figure it out." Then he walked down the hallway and disappeared into one of the rooms. Lillian licked her lips, they tasted acidic, and turned to head back to her friends, her head light and floating. She just wanted to feel numb and vague, then she wouldn't remember so much.
--
Chuckie had wandered into a doorway that led to the garage. It was frosty in there and kids crowded around a ping-pong table, hooting as two people played against each other. It was funny to watch very drunk people try to play ping-pong and stumble around after a ball. It made Chuckie glad he wasn't a part of this group, just an observer. Chuckie shook his head and continued searching around for his sister and Phil.
Suddenly he heard an all too familiar voice say close by, "God, they are just letting anyone into these things now."
Chuckie turned to see Angelica standing alone, a drink in her hand. She must have decided to check out the rest of the house too. She was wearing a red long sleeve shirt with ties at the top and a dark brown skirt with suede knee high boots, her flaxen hair styled straight. "Wow, did it get cold in here or is it just you?" Chuckie retorted in a flat tone.
The girl tilted her head and smirked. "I'm surprised to see you here. You do know this is a party right? It's not the Math Club meeting," she scoffed.
Chuckie rolled his eyes and sighed, "Listen, as much as I'd like to continue this mature conversation, I have to go find Phil and my sister. So bye, have a good night, make out with a football player." Then Chuckie turned and headed for the door.
Angelica's ocean eyes grew wide and she stepped foreword, yanking his arm from behind. "Wait, I have to talk to you," she spluttered and dragged him past the doorway, through a part of the hall to the adjacent door. Then she pulled him into an empty room, it looked like a guest bedroom, and it was dimly lit by a table lamp.
Chuckie shook her grip off and exclaimed wearily, "What is it? Angelica, I don't want to do this anymore. First you're kissing me and then its like I don't even exist anymore. Well unless you want to make fun of me with your friends."
Angelica faced him and forced on a smile, laughing. "Do you really think that kiss meant anything? You poor boy. It was just a mistake. I mean, it was a moment and I was just thankful for the ride. That's all. Really. Won't happen again," she replied.
Chuckie was really tired of this, it was a game. He just wanted to go find Kimmi but well, there was a part of him that liked seeing Angelica. Old habits die hard, I guess. He groaned in frustration and said, "Whatever, Angelica. Tell yourself what you want, I know what I felt."
The girl looked down, swirling around the liquid in her cup. "So, why are you here anyway? I didn't think parties were your thing," she commented.
"They're not. Personally, I'd rather stay home then listen to a bunch of idiots play drinking games but everyone else wanted to go. So I was forced to," Chuckie informed.
Angelica laughed and gestured with a hand. "God, lighten up! This is fun, this is high school! FYI, they're supposed to be the best years of your life. What're you gonna remember more? This or staying home to play Scrabble?" she retorted.
Chuckie sniffed indignantly and replied jokingly, "Hey I do have fun. I am the king of fun. They call me Mr Fun. Believe it or not, not everything fun involves getting wasted every weekend. And Scrabble is crazy fun." Angelica rolled her eyes at this and the boy went on matter-of-factly, "Anyway, all these guys are peaking now, in ten years they'll still be around here, trying to go to high school parties in their thirties."
Angelica's expression grew wounded and she stated in a hurt voice, "That's not me."
Chuckie was a little surprised Angelica could even show she was hurt. He shook his head and replied softly, "I never said it was."
Angelica nodded and twirled her cup some more, trying to act like that wasn't something she thought of often. If she'd be that girl that never felt as important as she did in high school, when she thought she owned the place. Absently she took a sip of her drink. Then she looked at Chuckie and offered, "Want some?" Chuckie just shook his head and Angelica laughed. "I forgot, just say no, right Chuckie?" she snorted. Her real plan had been to get Chuckie drunk and let him embarrass himself but that didn't seem likely to happen any longer. Besides that did seem pretty cruel, even for Angelica's taste. But he was asking for it, after what he pulled in Spanish class. Really, why couldn't she just let him go? Why was she enjoying this so much?
Chuckie continued to shake his head as he turned away. "Alright, this is all you wanted to say huh? I'm outta here," he replied disappointed.
Her crimson lips turned up in a smile and she blurted, "That's so funny."
The boy paused to look at her, his eyebrows arced. "What is?" he questioned.
Angelica seemed pleased with herself as she went on, "You, walking out on me."
Chuckie was still puzzled as he replied coldly, "I don't see the hilarity."
She raised her hands and informed smugly, "O come on! You like me, Chuckie. I leaned over and you just let me kiss you without a second thought. So however big you wanna talk right now, if I made a move on you, you'd crack in a minute."
Chuckie scowled and retorted in disbelief, "Right. You think you're just the hottest girl on earth don't you?"
Angelica propped a hand on her hip. "Pretty much," she said matter-of-factly.
He replied a little louder in frustration, "Well, you wanna know something? I do like you and it has nothing to do with how you look." And that was defiantly not how he'd imagined telling Angelica he liked her but what did it matter now? Now that he'd realized liking her was stupid and not worth it.
Angelica's face flickered with doubt and she cried, "O my God! Right! You're different from every other guy at this party! What else could it possibly be then?"
Chuckie snapped, "Well its not your personality, I'll tell you that much. Because your personality sucks. I'm not going to even tell you, you wouldn't understand."
The girl narrowed her teal eyes and challenged, "Try me."
Chuckie stared at her for a moment before looking away; he couldn't meet her gaze when he said this. "Ok, fine. We were all little still. We were at Tommy's house, hanging out. It was Mother's Day and everyone had cards they'd made their mom and everything. I didn't because it was just me and my dad then. You were leaving and you were putting your pink jacket on and you pulled this thing from the pocket and you gave it to me. Then you left because you didn't want me reading it in front of you. It was a card, it said 'I hope you don't feel sad.' And I was shocked because you were always so mean to me," he finally admitted and then glanced up.
Angelica swallowed air, her thoughts spinning. She could feel the razor pricks of tears forming and she took a minute to reply as even as she could, "I forgot about that." God, that was so long ago. He remembered?
Chuckie went on, sounding defeated, "From then on I thought I was the only one who understood, who really got you. And... And I keep thinking, you're still the same. Underneath it all, you're still a nice, caring person. But I don't know anymore, I think I was an idiot for ever believing you cared."
Angelica felt her mind reeling and she fumbled to sit on the bed, the shadows swirling in bruised patterns around the room. Chuckie didn't know what to say or do so he stood there, waiting. Angelica looked straight ahead, fingers gripping the edge of the mattress. He was there, he always had been. Even if she didn't know it, he did. He knew there was more to her then she let on. For a moment she forgot who she was supposed to be and Angelica glanced up. He could see tears welling and she whispered, her voice wavering, "No, don't stop believing."
Chuckie looked concerned as he sat down by her. "Are you ok?" he questioned, pools of slippery light drifting over his face and his mahogany eyes. Angelica neared closer to him and kissed him, lips pressing to lips. He felt warm and she ran a hand up, twisting fingers in his hair. She wanted to remember, she wanted to see herself the way he did.
--
Kimmi wandered down from the upstairs, where she'd been talking with some girl from her Biology class. She was dressed in tight fitted dark jeans and a black sleeveless shirt, a silver watch the only accessory. Her black hair was scrunched into soft waves that reached her shoulders. She brushed by people towards the kitchen, searching around for anyone she knew. Phil said he'd be here but she hadn't seen him yet, she had talked to Tommy for a little bit before some drunk girl had forced her way into the conversation to flirt with him shamelessly. She still hadn't seen her brother yet but she was sure he was hiding out someplace quiet or something, maybe even in his car listening to the radio.
She entered the kitchen to see a group of some guys standing around laughing. Of course the center of attention was Phil, telling a joke or some story. He was dressed in a plaid button down shirt open to show a white tee shirt underneath and jeans. He was gesturing wildly and spilling alcohol from his cup.
Kimmi approached, smiling. "Hey, Phil, there you are. I've been looking for you," she greeted.
Phil looked over and his eyes were glassy from intoxication. The guys around him glanced at Kimmi too as Phil exclaimed, "Hey, Kimmi, my old pal! I was looking for you too."
She'd never seen him drunk really, he wasn't big on drinking. She wondered what had changed all of a sudden. "Well I wasn't at the bottom of a cup," Kimmi joked. The group surrounding Phil laughed uproariously at this and Kimmi suspected a lot of them were three sheets to the wind as well.
Phil chuckled and said, his voice slurred, "Hey, that was funny. You're so funny. No, I was telling them about the time I got called to the principals for stealing the gym teacher's golf cart during class. Remember? He always used it outside and he was chasing after me. God, that was funny."
Kimmi nodded and smiled good-naturedly. It was pretty hilarious to see a drunk Phil, even if she was concerned for him. And where was Abbey? It was a girlfriend's job to make sure her boyfriend was ok when he was drunk, not hers. "Phil, how many drinks have you had?" she questioned.
Phil pressed his lips together and shrugged, causing more liquid to slosh around. "Uh, dunno. Half a keg?" he responded with a laugh, followed by more chuckling from the guys.
Kimmi laughed and informed, "Ok, drunky, I think we need to get you home. We'll grab a ride with someone. Come on, let's just go get our jackets." She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and allowed him to rest his hand on her waist, guiding him away from the group. There were a few chortles of "Let him stay" by some of the guys but she just kept him walking foreword.
Phil stumbled into the dim hallway, leaning heavily against Kimmi. "I think we should stay. I mean, you look so nice. You look really pretty, Kimmi," he said unclearly.
The dark haired girl laughed and responded, "Thanks. But since you can't even see straight, I'm not gonna listen to anything you say. Nothing personal, lush."
There was a pause as they hobbled along before Phil suddenly announced, "Hey, did you hear?"
"Hear what?" Kimmi humored, not really paying attention because anything he said she probably couldn't believe at this point.
Phil threw up his hand and sounded dejected when he replied, "Me and Abbey aren't going out anymore. She dumped me, Kimmi. Just dumped me."
She looked over at him but kept their pace up. "What? Why? I thought things were great," she said in surprise.
The boy nodded and met her gaze. "So did I! But nope, guess not. She said its 'cause I couldn't tell her if we were steady or not," he explained.
They came to the door now of the room with their coats and Kimmi pushed the door open, helping Phil walk inside. "I thought you were gonna ask her to go steady at the concert?" she inquired. Kimmi did really feel bad, Phil had seemed to genuinely like this girl... Even if what had happened before left a sour taste in Kimmi's mouth. Still, Phil deserved to be happy.
Phil pulled Kimmi a little closer to keep him upright and exclaimed, "I was. I thought I was. But... But I couldn't say it. I don't know why. It was like, she was great you know. A cool girl. But I don't know, something wasn't there."
Kimmi halted them and met Phil's dark glass gaze. She gave him a sympathetic look and replied, "I'm sorry, Phil." So that's why he'd gotten wasted, he was feeling bad over what happened with Abbey. That made Kimmi feel even worse for him, Phil must be pretty hurt for him to want to drown it all away. The girl then rummaged around the huddle of clothes before grabbing out Phil's black jacket. He started pushing his arms in but she quickly helped and began pulling up the zipper.
Soon she realized he wasn't moving at all and as she brought the zipper up, she looked at him to see he was staring intently at her. The pallor light swelled over them as Kimmi flushed and asked with a faint smile, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Phil's eyes were still on her and he replied, almost clearly, "You look really pretty." She paused, the air catching in her throat. She could feel his hands cling to either side of her waist and the space between them grow warm with his breath as he moved foreword. Kimmi's eyelashes flickered and then she pushed him off with her arms.
"What? What's wrong?" he questioned, a little confused.
Kimmi stepped back a bit farther and her eyes were shivering with dampness. "Phil, you're drunk and you just broke up with your girlfriend! I'm just a good substitute, that's all. But I'm not gonna let that happen again," she breathed and then swung around on her feet. Kimmi walked quickly down the hall and Phil followed as best he could, touching against the wall when he needed to.
She was just opening the back door when he came to the kitchen. "Kimmi! Kimmi, stop!" he yelled, which wasn't that audible over the din of teenagers. Kimmi pushed past the door and disappeared outside. Phil watched after her, his shoulders sagging, and then mumbled swears under his breath.
"See, I knew it," a guy's voice butted in.
Phil glared over in the direction and saw Izaac close by, standing with a few girls. He had auburn hair that reached past his ears and wore a black button down shirt over a dark brown shirt with jeans. He was tall and lanky, he was a pretty good player on the basketball team if just because of his height. "What the Hell are you talking about, Izaac?" Phil retorted.
Izaac smirked and said matter-of-factly, "The girl's a total prude. She's hot but really, she's a total Mary."
Phil glowered at him and snapped in his raspy voice, "Look, I know what you said to her, alright Izaac. You're already on my shit list so shut up."
The boy shrugged. "Fine but I don't see why you're defending her. I bet you tried to make a move and she turned you down too. I don't think she even knows what to do with a guy -" he started to sneer.
Before he could finish, Phil stepped foreword on woozy feet and extended his fist hard into Izaac's face. Knuckles contacted with bone and blood trickled from Izaac's nose. Izaac's eyes swelled with tears and he grasped at his bruised face. "O man! Not again! That hurts so bad!" he belted in a high-pitched voice. The girls by him shrieked and one ran to grab some ice. Most people just glanced over before resuming whatever they were doing.
Phil shook out his hand, still too drunk to know what he was doing. "Just leave Kimmi alone," he warned and turned to wobble off and find someone to bring him home. He was done drinking; it didn't seem to ever make anything better.
--
Tommy headed into the kitchen, already sick of this party. It had taken him forever to get that girl to go away, she had even tried to make him dance with her before she ran off to throw up in the bathroom. Then he'd gone back upstairs to find Kimmi wasn't there any longer and neither Chuckie nor Phil were anywhere around either. This night was turning out to be a bust, Chuckie was probably right, they should have just hung out at his house.
He grabbed a plastic cup and turned towards the keg. A girl was already at it and when she turned around, cup overflowing, he saw it was Lillian. Yup, this night just kept getting better and better. Her moss eyes met his and then she looked away, saying sarcastically, "Sorry, I won't talk to you. I'm not here." Then she pushed by him, her steps uneven and her face a pallid white.
Tommy paused, thinking about whether he should just do what was smart and ignore her or go after her. It didn't take long to decide, it was reflexive. He turned and lowered his empty cup, questioning, "How many drinks have you had?"
Lillian released a short wet laugh and kept walking away. "O yea and you care? Right," she retorted.
Tommy followed as they entered the shadowed corridor. "I never said that," he countered coldly before continuing a little more concerned, "But you look like you're about to pass out."
They went down the hallway and she stared ahead, glaring. "Hey, news flash, Tommy. This isn't my first time at a party. I know my limit. And you're not my brother, in fact we're not even friends," Lillian snipped, her words slightly garbled. There was a flight of stairs they came to and Lillian started climbing them, trailed by Tommy who mostly was there to make sure she didn't fall backwards in her intoxicated haze.
"If you know your limit then how come Phil's always saying your friends have to carry you home at two in the morning every weekend?" Tommy prodded knowingly.
The girl paused, swaying on her feet. She turned her head sharply to glare at Tommy and object, "So what, I went overboard a few times. And again, not your problem." Then Lillian continued onward, up the thinly lit steps.
They reached the top and Tommy retorted evenly, "You're right, its not. It's not my problem you're doing all this just to fit in."
Lillian's eyes narrowed and she stepped foreword down the small hallway. She slammed her hand into a door, loudly pushing it open, and remarked, "Shut up."
Tommy followed but stopped a little ways in. It was a dark bedroom, the only light the swollen moon hanging in the windows. "You've really changed," he stated, staring at her.
The girl rolled her eyes as she turned around, smiling bitterly. "I'm a new improved Lillian. I thought you'd be happy. Don't act like you ever noticed me before," she declared. Lillian was trying to make him feel guilty, she always was doing that, so she'd never have to blame herself for anything. It was her way out.
Except Tommy wasn't falling for it this time and he shook his head, ignoring that she even said anything at all. "I get these flashes... of who you use to be. Like in my room or in Chuckie's car or in your kitchen that day after school. When no one's around and you're like you use to be. But that's all they are huh? Just quick glimpses and this is who you want to be now? Ok fine, I see it now. I finally realize and I feel like an idiot for ever caring," he thought out loud.
Lillian wavered in place and glared at him. "Yea well. It's about time," she replied cruelly.
Tommy just nodded, not recognizing who he was looking at right now. "You're right, it is. You've really changed and it's too bad. Because all these people? This act? It's not real and you're not like them," he told her.
Her eyes were wet pearls now in the light and she cried, "How do you know what I'm like! You don't know me anymore, Tommy! You don't!"
Tommy met her stare and exclaimed, "I do! I know that in the second grade you went home crying because Paul Depont looked up your skirt in the playground and in seventh grade you won second place in the talent show! And I know none of those people out there are half as smart or funny or caring or..." He trailed off wearily, breathing in a swell of air. There was a pause and then he finished, "No one out there will ever know you as well as I do." Tommy gazed at her a moment longer before looking down and turning around. He opened the door and then closed it behind him, she could hear his footsteps treading down the stairs as he went.
Lillian stared after him, her breath slipping in currents from her lungs. She sat down on the bed and then placed her cup on the side table, her eyes flickering ahead damply. She felt dazed and fuzzy along the edges but still, there wasn't enough numbness. She ran her thumb along her bottom lip and tears slipped silver threads down her cheeks. Minutes passed like this before the door creaked open.
"Hey, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" she heard a voice exclaim and she looked over to see a smiling Brett. He was dressed in a green long sleeved shirt and jeans, his sandy blonde hair a little mused.
Lillian sniffed slightly and forced on a smile as well. "Oh, hey. Sorry," she greeted.
Brett raised his shoulders once and started walking foreword. "It's ok. Michael's car broke down so it took us forever. We had to call a tow truck and everything-" he began to explain before he paused. He could see the dampness to her face in the metallic moonlight and his eyes widened in concern. "Are you alright, Lillian? Did something happen?" he asked.
Lillian tried shaking her head and reply, "No, I'm ok." But her words broke on the end with new tears and she turned her head away from him, pressing her eyes shut.
Brett sat down by her and whispered, "Are you ok?" Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him, and she dropped her head to his shoulder, pressing her wet cheek to his shirt.
Breathing in deeply to start to regain herself, she pulled away and nodded. "I'm fine," she responded and smiled faintly. His eyes were questioning still when she pressed her lips to his, a mix of alcohol and salty tears. She pushed herself along him so there wasn't even a fracture of space between them, running her fingers up his neck. And it all happened too fast.
Later that night, she stared at the wall. The grayness was melting from her and she was starting to think a little clearer. She could hear Brett breathing nearby. She knew she had wanted to prove Tommy wrong, this was really her now, not some attempt to fit in. But now, staring at the wallpaper pattern, she felt like this whole thing was a lie. The numbness was gone and everything felt really hollow. She was alone.
--
Chuckie had been awake for a few minutes already, the morning light filtering in through the windows. Angelica was lying by him and no, it wasn't a dream. He remembered there had been some kissing but nothing else. Then Angelica had passed out and he'd fallen asleep and everything was very innocent. He yawned and propped himself up by his elbows.
White light puddled under Angelica's eyelashes like sand and she flickered open. There was red spiked hair and chocolate eyes and... O my God, Chuckie Finister! Everything rushed back to the girl in a tidal and she sprang up into a sitting position. "O wow. O my God. I uh, I better get home. My bedroom window better be unlocked," she started to fumble for words, climbing from the bed.
The boy sat up and questioned, "So what does this mean?"
Angelica was combing her hair straight with her fingers when she cocked an eyebrow and responded, "Huh?"
Chuckie shrugged, continuing, "Are we dating? What?"
Angelica forced on a strained smile and paused from making her hair perfect. "It means... I had fun, you had fun. Let's call it a day," she said.
The boy stared at her, his eyes hurt. "Are you ditching me?" he went on.
Angelica winced and then sighed. "Chuckie, come on. You know who I am. I'm captain of the cheerleading team, I'm on the school events board. You're... Well, I wouldn't have many friends if they knew what happened," she explained, brutally honest.
Chuckie looked confused, his eyebrows raised. "But... everything you said?" he stumbled to say.
She seemed regretful, her eyes creased. "I know but nothing's changed, Chuckie," she replied softly.
Chuckie gave her a hard stare and stood up, straightening out his clothes. "I guess not. You don't have to spell it out for me, Angelica. Just leave already," he retorted as unfeeling as he could.
Angelica nodded and went to grab her purse on the chair. Then she looked at him and tried to say, "Chuckie, I'm..." She halted and then glanced down again. Angelica turned and was out the door.
Chuckie watched her go and brushed himself off. Once again she'd played him for the fool and he was done. There wasn't going to be any more of this game, no more public insults or even speaking to her. He was wrong, she was never anything more then who she was on the surface. He was done.
--
Closing Notes: Happy Valentine's Day! Well what a depressing party! Lol. I seriously had no intentions of making this R but I really wanted to make it more true to life and hey, now I can. And yes, Lillian is only a Freshman and she's way too young to have done what she did. (She's 15 in this story) But Brett's older and sometimes those things do happen, of course I'm not saying its right. Also that's a negative aspect of drinking in high school. I didn't want to make it like parties are so great because in reality they're not.
So Abbey is gone! About time, ha ha. But she may have made Phil realize something that he never let himself think before. Will it finally give him the courage to do something he should have a long time ago? And can I just say, even if I don't condone drinking, I liked drunk Phil. He was silly. Lol. Sorry C/A people! I felt like such a jerk when writing this chapter, I'm so screwing around with you guys! At least they made a little progress but Angelica needs to get over her image thing first and realize there is a life outside of high school. And she's use to getting what she wants when she wants it, but it may not be that way for long. Tommy and Lillian aren't what you'd call friends. (Wow, that's putting it nicely.) He's sick of her selfishness and taking him for granted whenever she feels like it. There will be a nice change for them in the future that I think T/L people will appreciate, at least I know I will! Lol.