Chapter 15: Material Girl

Marco's POV
"So, why didn't Sean come with you?" I kicked at a stone that was in
my pathway.
Ellie kicked it back to me. "He's working on Simpson's car today. I
am so happy that we are off school for one whole week! Ugh. It was really
starting to weigh me down."
I stuck my hands in the pocket of my jacket, "Yeah. I know how you
feel. It's hard keeping up with you. You and your perfect average."
She slapped me playfully, "Hey! I work hard for that perfect average.
God, I love shopping."
"Yeah, I can tell," I gestured to the three huge bags she was
carrying from Black Rose. "I didn't know someone could have that many
corsets."
"Be nice. I got some jewelry too."
"I don't think Sean really had to work on that car. I think he was
warned about how much you like shopping."
"This coming from you?" I threw her a surprised "who me?" look and we
laughed. I cleared my throat, "So when are you going to start looking for a
homecoming dress?"
"Never. I'm not going to homecoming."
"Why not? Ellie, you have to go. I won't have fun if you're not
there."
"Please. You'll have Dylan. Sean doesn't want to go... not like I even
wanted to go to some dumb homecoming dance anyway," She muttered. "Let's
hit Bomb Boogie. There was this killer brown jacket I wanted from there."
"Yay! Looking at all these clothes I want and can't afford," I
remarked sarcastically.
"Marco, if you want something, tell me. I'll buy it for you," Ellie
put a hand on my shoulder and then pulled open the door to the boutique.
"You're so generous Ellie, but I'd only feel bad. Come on. Let's find
you some hot clothes."
After an hour of picking out clothes, we ended up at Frankie B., with
me sitting in a chair while Ellie on just about everything in the store. I
twiddled my thumbs and checked my watch. How long was she going to stay in
there? "Um. Ellie. Any day now."
She threw open the curtain, and I could see why it took her so long.
She stood there, with an incredibly pissed look on her face I might add, in
the tiniest skirt I had ever seen in my life. "You think I can bend over in
this?" She asked batting her eyelashes at me.
I shrugged and leaned back in the chair. "You can try. I promise I
won't look."
She sneered at me and then actually did try. I chucked as she quickly
stood back up when a male sales attendant passed by, eyeing her the entire
time. "Okay. It's not working out. But the jeans were great and so was the
t-shirt dress. I don't to spend too much here so I'll just get those."
Thank. God. I almost started weeping in gratefulness that she was
finally ready to go. I love her to death, but her and shopping does not
mix. It's okay if she's helping ME find something, but when she's buying
stuff, it's pure hell. I tried to paste a smile on my face as Ellie walked
out of the dressing room, but I couldn't even do that. "Okay. I'm sorry,
Marco. I just want to go to RockRags and then we can go homecoming shopping
for you. I swear."
I grinned and shook her hand, sealing the deal. Finally, finally,
finally I would get to buy something for myself! I watched her prance
around RockRags for an hour, trying on just about any pleated miniskirt
possible. I was surprised though. She walked out of there with only five
bags. That was a light load compared to her usual endeavors there.
"Okay, so what do you need to get?" She asked me as we walked back to
my car (okay, okay my dad's car) to stash her bags in before we went back
to shopping.
"I don't really know what I'm looking for. I mean, it's pretty
dressy. But I don't want to be too classic. I'd like to have a little funk
here and there."
"I can't believe you just said funk. Anywho, we'll find you something
great. Dylan will be drooling when he picks you up."
I flashed her an excited smile and we walked back towards all the
boutiques. She stopped in front of an expensive looking boutique for men
and women. "How about in here? My dad really likes their dress shirts."
I was doubtful but I shrugged and followed her in anyways.
Immediately we were swarmed by an employee. "Hi! My name's Cherise. Can I
help you find anything?"
I was about to say no when Ellie cut in- "Sure, Cherise. My friend
here is looking for something to wear to a school homecoming dance. He
wants to be dressy but with a twist."
"Oh! We have some great items you can choose from."
Ellie tossed me a smug smile before following Cherise to the men's
side of the store. "Now, white suits are really in style. Plus, they're
great to pair up with a bright color without looking too cheesy."
Ellie fingered a pair of white dress pants and a jacket. "I agree.
This plus... ummmm... here! This burgundy shirt. Look at all the detail going
down the front of it. That's quirky, right Marco?"
I squinted my eye and smiled after a moment. Ellie was right. It
would look awesome together. I grabbed my size in all of the items and took
them into a dressing room. "Now let me show you some dresses that would
look just amazing on you..." I heard Cherise say. Poor lady. She didn't
realize that Ellie was just more of a plaid skirt and arm warmer type of
girl. Even at a dance... Wow. Yeah, the suit was amazing. Dylan would love me
in this. I checked myself out some more and then decided I might want to
check out the price tag. Oh... so the store was Gucci. Funny... I hadn't
realized that before. I held my breath as I flipped over the price tag.
Holy shit! There was no way I could afford this. No way in hell!
"Marco! Don't forget to come out. I wanna see how hot you look." Ellie
called from another dressing stall.
I stepped out of the room and waited for Ellie to come out of hers.
She peeked her head out from behind the curtain. "Ohmigod! Marco, you look
awesome. It reminds me of a total Rat Pack look. Tres chic."
"Yeah... and it costs more than I have. Way more. I can't afford it."
Ellie scrunched her face. "Huh? Oh no problem, baby. It's all on me."
"I can't let you do that. Wait, why aren't you coming out? Let me see
what you tried on."
"Oh, it's nothing special. Just this dress Cherise said I absolutely
had to try on. She thinks I'm going to homecoming."
"That's because you are coming to homecoming. Now let me see," I
swiped at the curtain and tore it away from her, letting me see her from
head to toe. "Oh my God. Elle, you look... wow... That's enough to make me
straight again."
"Marco!" But I was serious. She looked incredible. She had tried on
this short black dress, but the really sexy thing was that it had a really
deep V-cut in the front and in the back.
"Wow. I didn't think you could get that low in the back... is it
legal?" I teased. Really though. The back would have left little to the
imagination if the very bottom of the point wasn't covered by this sheer
material with little black beads sewn all over it.
"Harharhar. It's not like I'm even getting it. I wouldn't have
anywhere to wear it."
"Correction, you'd wear it to the dance. Ellie, if you don't buy this
dress and wear it, it might seriously be a crime."
She scrutinized herself in the mirror, turning around and looking at
the back before going back to looking from the side. "I don't know. I think
I look fat in it."
I almost choked... on nothing. I went up behind her and put my hands on
her shoulders. "Are you blind? You look so sexy right now. You're not even
close to being slightly fat."
She shrugged my hands off of her shoulders and looked away. "Well...
you know... I could buy it just in case Sean decided he really wanted to go
to the dance. Then I'd already have a dress. Even though I don't even
really want to go. Wait a second... would they even let me wear this? You
know how strict Mr. Radditch is."
"Honey. Mr. Radditch will be too busy looking at your legs. You know.
You're lack of chest is good for one thing. You can pull stuff like this
off."
Ellie growled and reached out to "pretend" choke me but I dodged her
hands. Finally she gave up and put her hands on her hips. "Well. Now I need
some shoes to go with it."
I groaned and slapped my hand over my face. Here we go again.

Ellie's POV

"You've got to meet my dad, Marco. He's so wonderful. He's going to
adore you," I chattered as Marco and I sipped at our coffee's at a little
café.
"I can't believe I haven't met him yet!"
"Well, he's uber busy all the time. He's either training, on a
mission, or working with his companies. But he said he's going to make time
to meet all my friends when he's home," I sighed happily and blew on my
caramel cappuccino.
Marco shook his head, smiling, "I bet you're mom is so excited."
Suddenly my mouth felt like there was sand inside it instead of
coffee. I hadn't even thought about that. I had been so ecstatic of just
the thought of my dad being home with me that I didn't even think of how
I'd break the news to him that mom was gone. I blinked away tears that
threatened to spill over. What kind of mom just abandoned her daughter like
that? Had I really messed up that bad? Was I that bad of a kid? My eyes
shot to the knife that was on Marco's plate with his sandwich and salad.
What would he do if I just grabbed it and sliced across my arm? Would he
just watch or would he try and stop me? I shook the thoughts out of my
head. That was crazy. I'd never let Marco into my crazy, messed up cycle. I
put a huge grin on my face, "Oh, she's soooo happy. Totally Mrs. Cleaver.
Her and dad are crazy in love." At least that much wasn't a lie.
What a hypocrite. I focused all my attention on bringing out the
truth in every situation. Except when it came to myself. I lived a freaking
lie. I had to change the subject. "Shoes!"
Marco shot me a confused look, "What?"
"I love my shoes. My new ones," I gestured towards the bag with my
shoes in them.
Marco did "raise the roof" and I about fell over in my chair. "Yeah,
Ellie is going to be kickin' it at homecoming."
I did a little shimmy in my seat and then settled down. "Okay,
confession: I really want to go. But I know Sean thinks it's lame. What am
I going to do?"
Marco stirred the straw in his coffee, "Okay. Sean got you little
kittens, right? If he'd do that for you, I'm sure he'll put up with a few
hours of bad dance music and meaningless conversation."
"Maybe... I'll be sure to tell him the punch will be spiked."
"Yeah, that'll get him there. Definitely. Really, Elle. He'd do
anything for you, I can so tell. I used to not like the idea of both of
you, but... well, he's really proving how much he likes you. I give him props
for that."
"Oh yeah G? You really give him props?" I mocked him.
"Let's go. But let me get the bill. After all, you did buy me my
homecoming outfit."
I agreed to Marco's proposition and followed him out of the café to
the car. He turned down the radio once we got in the car and started to
drive home. "A bunch of us are going out to dinner tonight. Kind of a get
dressed up and get together sort of thing. You and Sean should really
come."
I looked out the window. I didn't think Sean would really be up for
that. "I don't know. I'll ask him."
Marco glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "Seriously, Ellie.
Think about it. I'll call you later and give you all the details."
I gave him a half-smile, "I'll be waiting."

Sean's POV

I rolled my eyes and shut the refrigerator door. "Sorry, but I really
don't find enjoyment in hanging out with Paige and Hazel."
"Well, I'm not going without you. And Marco really wants us to come."
"Wants us or you? I'm sure he doesn't really want to see me. On
second thought, I am a guy..."
She threw a pillow at my head. "And you're really rude to my
friends."
"Not to burst your bubble or anything Ellie, but we both are kind of
lacking in the friends department."
Ellie hopped up on the kitchen counter, "Shut up. Come on, Sean.
You're starving, I'm all dolled up. Let's go! I already told Marco we were
going to meet them there."
"Didn't you hear me? I don't want to go. Go by yourself."
She pouted and turned her head away from me. Great. Now she was going
to spend the rest of the night pissed at me. Since when did she become so
social anyway? I noticed a tear slipping down her cheek and I automatically
walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "I'm sorry. I'll
go."
She immediately burst into a smile and I realized she had been fake
crying. "Thanks pookie. Now let's go. Their reservations were at 8:00."
I quickly changed into something a little more... well... nicer and
allowed her to practically drag me the entire way to the restaurant. We
noticed Marco and the others in a huge booth and the back and made our way
towards them. "Wow. Sean. Did expect to see you here."
"Well, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to hang out with you,
Paige. It means so much to me," My voice dripped with sarcasm. She made a
face and turned her attention back to Hazel and their ever-so-important
conversation about haircuts.
"So Sean," Marco began. "Did Ellie tell you she picked up a
homecoming dress today?"
Ellie kicked Marco's foot underneath the table and started to blush.
Was he for real? Did she really think we were going? "Um, Ellie, care to
share?"
"I just... Well, I have to go for yearbook. I have to."
"Oh."
Marco looked at both of us. "Yeah, and Dylan was telling me about how
some of his friends can't wait to see you. They all want you to save them a
dance."
I clenched my fist. Was he for real? Were grade twelve's trying to
hit on my girlfriend? I looked at Ellie and how hot she looked tonight.
There was no way I was going to let some senior put his arms all over my
girl. The thought of Ellie dancing with any other guy made my stomach twist
into knots. "Well, you'll just have to turn them down because you'll be
dancing with me the entire night."
Did I actually just say that? I looked at Ellie and the satisfied
look on her face. Marco's expression matched hers, too. Yeah. I had just
said that. I had totally fallen for Marco's plan. Whatever. It would only
last a few hours. "So, Ellie. What does your dress look like?"
"Not telling! But you have to get me a corsage. And we have to find
you an outfit."
"Or I can just wear what I'm wearing right now."
"Or you can let me take you shopping for a new outfit. I'm not taking
no for an answer either."
I entwined my fingers with hers and bit the inside of my cheek. How
come she could do this to me? Make me lose any resolve and have me wrapped
around her little finger? The rest of the night I kept catching myself just
staring at her and how cute she looked with that off-the-shoulder top on
and her silly bantering with Marco. It was then that I realized that I had
completely fallen for Ellie- more than any other girl.

Ellie's POV

I sat back on my heels in front of the toilet. Ugh. I had definitely
eaten too much at the Italian restaurant. Ashley kept stealing looks at me
when she thought I wasn't paying attention. Every time she did I tried to
pretend like I hadn't just taken a biteI truly don't understand why she is
acting like this. Maybe she's upset with her own weight so the only way to
build up her own confidence is to tear me down? Seriously, though, does she
feel like she needs to tell me I'm fat to make herself feel better? I wiped
the back of my wrist across my clammy forehead. I always get like this
after I throw up- all shaky and exhausted. No matter how much I threw up,
though, I could always feel the food sitting at the bottom of my stomach.
It was so heavy I could barely stand it.
When I was sure I was finished I flushed the toilet and brushed my
teeth. All of a sudden I wished I had asked Sean to stay over. It gets
really lonely in this big house by yourself. I headed downstairs into my
dad's study and logged on to the computer. Hmmm... Nothing too interesting in
my e-mail. Ooh! Free health insurance. I made sure to save that one. I
clicked onto my journal. Okay, I probably don't look like the person who
keeps a diary, but it's not really for any personal thoughts. I just put
goals and motivational stuff in it. Stuff that gets me through the day.
Okay, let's see:
Lunch- Caramel Cappuccino---- 278 calories
Dinner- Chicken Alfredo---- 344 calories
Water--- 0 calories!!! (
Total: 622 calories
I furiously typed in the last amount. I was getting sloppy. I had
eaten 22 extra calories. Tomorrow I'd be paying for it, though. I'd run
four miles. I remembered my homecoming dress. Make that six miles. I
quickly typed in at the bottom of the page:
Lose 10 pounds by homecoming! Two weeks! You can do it!
I smiled. I was so nice to myself. I jumped when I an instant message
from Ashley popped up on the screen. I had forgotten I had been logged on
to my messenger service.
AKRocker: Hey. How are you?
Ellie.: I'm fine. Why?
God. When had I gotten so paranoid? I was about ready to have a
nervous breakdown wondering what Ashley was going to type next. What she
was going to say to me next.
AKRocker: No reason. Just wondering. Can't a friend be nice?
Ellie.: Sorry. I've been in a completely different world lately.
AKRocker: Planet Sean?
Ellie.: Harhar. No. More like Planet Stress.
AKRocker: Yeah. I know how you feel. Probably been under more stress
than you.
No you don't! You have no fucking idea how I feel, I wanted to type.
No, I wanted to scream it at her. Why were her problems always so bigger
than mine? Why were they so much more important? So what. Her boyfriend
cheated on her like ages ago. My mom left me, my dad was in a war, my
boyfriend and I have been fighting lately, and I'm being pulled in so many
different directions at the same time.
Ellie.: yeah... so... homecoming. Who are you going with?
AKRocker: Craig! We're going to win homecoming court for our grade.
At least, that's what the plan is.
Ellie.: Didn't think you were into that.
AKRocker: Well, we did win Luau King and Queen, didn't we?
Like she'd let anyone forget.
AKRocker: So I heard you and Sean are going. Didn't think you were
into that.
Bitch.
Ellie.: Well. Now we are. Maybe you'll have competition for court.
Sean's quite the popular guy.
AKRocker: No he's not. Plus, that can't happen. He's a grade lower
than us so you guys can't win. Didn't think a person like you would be into
that. But go ahead and try anyway. I'm not too worried.
Couldn't she tell I was joking around? What did she mean a "person
like me"? Am I so totally different from everyone that I don't enjoy being
in the center of attention for anything? Or I don't enjoy having friends or
being liked?
Ellie.: That was harsh.
AKRocker: It's the truth. Like you always say. The truth can be
brutal.
Ellie.: Step off.
AKRocker: What's wrong with you?
Ellie.: People like you.
I logged off. I didn't want to talk to her anymore. I grabbed a
nearby pen and started to tap it against the desk. It's sort of a habit of
mine. Ashley thought she was so great. Everyone loved her ever since her
performance at the rock contest. She used to be the most popular girl in
school. I guess she was slowly regaining back that title. I scowled. And I
was just the underdog. Her sidekick. It was time for the sidekick to get a
little piece of the limelight, though. I smiled. She wasn't too worried
about anyone beating her out for court. Well... maybe she should be.

Sorry if this chapter was totally boring. I was sort of having writer's
block today but I have some good ideas on the direction this story is going in. I hope Ellie or Sean or anyone for that matter don't seem too out of character or anything. I just thought that everyone gets jealous or competitive at some point. Sorry for Ashley supporters out there if I'm making her out to be a complete bitch. I'm not trying to be but at this point I'm fed up with how whiny and self-involved she's become. I'll redeem her character later. I guess that's it. Thanks for all my reviewers! Glad you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!