Title: The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case

Author: TWBasketcase

Disclaimer: Once again I don't own the movie.

Summary: Claire and Allison go shopping to blow off some steam; they are joined by some unlikely company. Please R&R. I promise more Andy and Allison next chapter…I know you all will like that so I guess I will be a nice girl and give it to ya!

Chapter 14 – Claire's Medicine

The day had dragged on slowly and luckily I had not run into any of my friends again; with the exception of Brian in Law class. The two of us vented our frustrations about being caught in the middle, but yet the venting kinda helped. I hated seeing my friends fight; when one of us is down it's bad enough, but when it's two of us the whole group seems frustrated and uneasy.

I was returning to my locker to go home for the day; a nice night to myself is definitely what I needed; all I need to do is get out of here without the others noticing me. I find it kinda ironic how I lived for so long hating the fact that I was invisible yet here I am, after finally coming over that, trying to be invisible! Ha!

I turned the corner quickly and noticed that Claire was chatting with one of her old friends at her locker; I stood still and cocked my head to the side…it was the friendlier girl I saw with Ashley last week at lunch, Michelle Manning.

I hadn't really noticed that I had stopped dead in my tracks amongst the bustling of students looking to get outta here until Michelle turned around and pointed me out to Claire.

"Hey Allison, come here," she called over.

I sighed and walked over briskly; as much as I didn't want to get involved any more I couldn't just leave my friend standing high and dry, now could I?

I looked from Michelle to Claire with a questioning look and spoke, "Hey what's going on?"

Claire smiled brightly, "Ally, this is Michelle. We were going to go shopping so I could blow off some steam. Shopping is like my medicine," she blushed slightly, "I want you to come."

I smiled briefly at Claire's friend; she didn't seem to be anything like Ashley so I guess she's cool with me. I hesitated for a moment; should I stay or should I go? "Yeah sure…I guess I can come. I still have to look for something to wear for the prom." I said the last part quietly and more to myself; I didn't want Claire getting down again because of John. I hope I won't be kicking myself later for accepting the invite.

"Great!" she squealed. I guess shopping really does make her feel better; she seems to be in the exact opposite mood as she was earlier.

"Well I just have to go tell Andy that I won't be needing a ride home, okay?"

"Alright we'll be waiting for you."

I walked past the two girls and turned the next corner to my locker. Andrew was already waiting for me with his jacket on and his back pack slung over one shoulder. I gave him a giant grin when I approached and pulled him into a huge bear hug.

"What are you so happy about," he asked chuckling.

"You…you're the only person around here that doesn't drive me crazy!" I laughed and then paused, "I gotta go shopping with Claire."

He gave me a half frown half smile, his eyes still shining with adoration. I love this man! "Do you need me to drive you?"

I bit my bottom lip, "That's the funny thing; her friend is coming with us."

He raised his eyebrows, "Who?"

"Michelle,"

He nodded his head, "She actually isn't that bad."

"So it seems," I paused, "Listen, I will call you tonight…and I wanna hang out tomorrow. Just us, you can come over to my house."

He nodded his head and gave me a bright smile, "Anything you want," he grabbed my hand, "I have something to tell you tomorrow, it's sorta important."

I frowned; I hate surprises, "Why can't you tell me now?"

He softly chuckled, "Because, I wanna tell you when we are alone and we have some time to talk about it."

My frown deepened. "It better be good, Clark!"

He let out a nervous laugh, "it all depends how you look at it I guess," He gave me a soft kiss and a hug, "Look I'll let you get going, have fun."

I gave him a half smile and looked down to the floor, "Okay, see ya."

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The three of us girls piled into Michelle's mustang; it seemed pretty new and she had mentioned she was working hard and paid for it herself. That's pretty cool I guess.

I sat quietly in the backseat while I listened to the two girls catch up. Claire had mentioned that the two of them were best friends, while Michelle was praising her for having the guts to tell Ashley off. She seemed pretty impressed with Claire's stories about the five of us Breakfast Club members. I couldn't say that it didn't make me smile that she talked so highly of us to her friends.

"So Allison, are you a senior too?" Michelle asked in a smooth tone. She didn't seem perky or ditzy at all; rather she sounded very intelligent and very kind. She was very pretty; she was about 5'9" and thin with gorgeous brown/red hair that fell down to the middle of her back. She didn't have to wear too much make-up because she had this very creamy white, smooth complexion, large green eyes with long eyelashes, and full pink lips. She would make any guy in the school turn their heads and any girl envious; the amazing thing about it was that she didn't seem self absorbed or fazed by it at all.

"Um, no I'm a junior."

"And you're going to the prom?" she asked seemingly interested.

"Yeah, my boyfriend asked me to go…it's not really my sorta thing but as long as it makes him happy then I don't care."

"You're dating Andrew Clark right?"

I blushed a little; just the sound of his name does that to me, "Yeah, he's really great."

"You're a lucky girl," she said with a smile, "A lot of girls would love to be in your place. I think you guys are cute together, despite what Ashley or any of those guys would say."

I smiled, "Thank-you."

She smiled and nodded in response and turned back to Claire, "So are you going?"

Claire turned her head to face her slowly, "I'm supposed to be…things are kinda fucked up right now."

Michelle frowned, "Are you going with John Bender?"

Claire scowled, "I was supposed to…but he's being a jerk right now and I really don't want to talk about it."

With that Michelle had nodded her head and slightly turned up the Madonna song playing on the radio. We headed off in the direction of the Mall in Chicago in silence.

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I hadn't brought any money with me, for I didn't expect to be taking a shopping trip. I just followed the two girls around from store to store as they tried things on, bought like four pairs of shoes each and just chatted away like two old friends that hadn't spoken with each other in years; even though it had only been two weeks.

We entered a classier store with lots of dresses and expensive leather shoes and stylish clothes. Michelle said she too was in search of a prom dress; she was running for queen but was yet to find a nice date.

"Did anyone ask you yet?" Claire asked curiously while looking at a rich green turtleneck sweater. She eyed it closely before scrunching up her face and setting it back down on the rack.

"Oh yeah, five or six of the sports have asked me but they're all jackasses so I declined. This is my senior prom; I want someone who is polite, courteous, and not looking to get laid." She said sounding a little sad.

I frowned slightly; to think someone who was popular and pretty could get a great date. I guess things aren't always exactly how they appear to be.

"I have a friend I can hook you up with," I blurted out, wanting to be nice and not having her feel sad.

She spun around to face me with a bright, pearly white toothy smile, "Oh yeah? A sweet friend of yours?" She asked with a friendly giggle.

I gulped and smiled a bit, "Yeah his name is Brian. He is about your height, with blonde hair. He is really smart and probably one of sweetest, well-natured people I've ever met."

"Is he that other brainy kid that sits with you at lunch?" She asked with her eyes and smile wide.

I nodded my head praying to god she wasn't going to laugh in my face; I blurted it out, I didn't want him to get made fun of because of me.

"You know he is kinda cute," she paused, "And he is part of the infamous Breakfast Club, so he couldn't be that much of an asshole," she finished with a laugh.

Claire nodded in approval, "You really should meet him, Mic. You can sit with us at lunch tomorrow; he does kinda get nervous easily and he rambles a bit…but other than that he is the sweetest and funniest geek that I know!"

We all threw our heads back in laughter…it was so true. I love Bry with all my heart, but he will always be our little geek. A few moments later our laughter died down and we continued looking at the clothes on the wall. The store ended up being a little pricy for us teenagers so we moved on to the next one.

"Well prom dresses here we are!" Michelle announced as we walked into the colorful store. It was a fairly large store and looked as if proms, dances, and other parties seemed to be its specialty. I gulped in nervousness; I have never been in a store like this, and every time Claire and I have gone looking for dresses I have felt this way. I have never really had to dress up for anything, and I've never owned a single dress in my life; skirts, but never dresses.

There were pinks, blues, and yellow galore; I knew black was out of the question for sure, I just wasn't sure what color dress would suit me at all. I looked at Claire for help; it was a facial expression she has come to recognize in the last week and half very well. She laughed in spite of herself and made her way over, "What's wrong?"

I blushed and smiled softly, "I don't know where to start looking!"

"Well okay, I'll help you." She paused, "What do you want, poofy, not so poofy, or flat?"

I scrunched up my face and bit back a laugh, "Not so poofy."

"Okay, there's a start. Now you don't want to get anything too dark because you have such a light complexion; anything too dark will make you look like a ghost! You also don't want to get anything too bright because it won't match your dark eyes too well; so hot pink and bright yellow are out of the question."

"Thank-god."

She laughed, "I think we should go for light blues or greens…maybe purple."

I nodded my head, "That doesn't sound too bad…maybe a neutral color, beige?"

She grinned, "Now you're getting the hang of it!"

We went and looked through about a dozen dresses and each one just seemed so awkward to me, I couldn't help it!

Finally, after what seemed like hours Michelle and Claire both agreed that they found the perfect dress; it was true lavender with a slim upper body that came out at the waist. It wasn't puffy like a wedding dress, but came out just enough to make it look elegant. The straps tied up at the neck and zipped up at the back. I had to admit it was very pretty, and with my hair and make up done correctly it would look just right on me.

Claire beamed, "This is so excellent, I'm gonna put a small payment on it so we can put it on lay away, okay?"

"You don't have to do that…"

"Nonsense! You can pay me back later if you want but I'm doing it!" With that she placed it in my arms and shoved me towards the dressing rooms. Moments later I exited to show them my appearance. I felt pretty self conscious, so I needed to know what they thought.

"Wow…" Michelle said, "You look like a different person!"

Claire put her fingers over her mouth and squealed, "Andy's gonna drop dead looking at you!"

My eyes widened, "I hope not…"

The two girls burst out laughing at my comment and Claire shook her head, "Go get changed and we'll put it on hold."

I did as I was told and no sooner were we walking out of the store. Claire had told me she had the perfect shoes that would match the dress and that she would do my hair and make-up herself. Every time I'm out with her she just gushes at the possibilities with me. The girl is an absolute nut when it comes to fashion, and she just adores me for letting me be a canvas for her work. I couldn't help but wonder though if she was thinking about John; what am I talking about, of course she was! She just does a marvelous job of hiding it.

We stopped in the middle of the mall and looked around; it wasn't too busy since it was Monday night, just a few stragglers here and there. I turned around at the sound of Michelle's voice,

"So what are you going to do?"

Claire swallowed, "I don't know, I don't know if me and John will end up working out or not. Maybe I should just go either way." She looked to the ground and swallowed.

"You're not getting me all dulled up if you aren't going to go Claire," I started.

She nodded her head and hesitated, "You're right…I'm gonna go, I'm not going to let him spoil my fun senior year!"

I blinked at her and sighed; I hope she's on the right track. I don't want to see the two of them fight forever, especially since I know both sides of the story. They both want each other back and the problem is completely fixable…they just have to get their heads out of their asses and realize that.

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Claire had picked out her dress and seemed completely happy; at the same time though her eyes showed sadness. I could tell that she was feeling really bad and hurt still, but she insisted on putting up a tough act for us. Little did she know we could see right through her.

The red mustang pulled up in front of my apartment complex while the two girls chatted away. I smiled briefly to myself and took off my seatbelt.

"Thanks for the ride home Michelle."

"No problem, hun, it was so great meeting you and hanging out with you guys."

I smiled, she was so sweet, "You should really think about eating lunch with us tomorrow…we're a lot more fun than Ashley."

She threw her head back and laughed, "Sure, I'll eat with you guys…I wanna meet your friend!" Claire turned around and gave me a big smile. I returned the gesture, "Well I guess I will see you guys tomorrow then."

They both departed with a simultaneous good-bye and sped off back to their neighborhood. I looked up to my complex and sighed; hot bath, here I come!

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I grabbed a towel and locked the bathroom door behind me; my dad and what looks like his newest girlfriend were in the living room just talking away. It really blows my mind that he can actually talk so much considering it never gets directed my way. I smirked and began to discard my clothing as the bath tub filled up; I had dumped my favorite apple scented bubble bath in…a relaxing bath is just not the same without bubbles! Sometimes I can be such a girl!

I flicked the small radio on that sat on the scattered bathroom counter; Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time' was playing. I smiled to myself; her music may be pretty poppy but I love her style. She is just so flamboyant and carefree…in a way she reminds me of a more colorful and happy version of myself. I settled myself into the scolding water and sighed happily; hot baths were just so comforting and private.

I sat back and thought about the day's events to myself. My friends were fighting, a potential prom queen was interested in dating Brian, and Andy had big, important news to tell me. I really hope John and Claire work their problems out; I think they both need each other a lot more than they think. Claire would just go on an emotional downward spiral at the thought of losing him – hell she was a damn wreck when I met her at my locker this morning and couldn't for the life of her stop crying. Then John, damn I wouldn't want to think what he would do to himself if he lost her. This whole situation is just self-destruction in the making for the both of them. Not only that but it makes the rest of the group feel totally uncomfortable. At least things are looking up for Brian.

He was the only one that walked out without a new found love on that Saturday and in a way I wondered if he ever felt like a fifth wheel to the rest of us. I think I would. But now, holy shit, he has this gorgeous, wonderful, popular girl who wants to get to know him better. That makes me feel so happy. I'm a damn genius setting that up! Ha! He isn't gonna know what hit him!

Speaking of not knowing what's gonna hit you, I wonder what Andy has to tell me. I hope to god that it is good news; I don't need anymore bad drama unfolding. I don't really think it's gonna be bad or else he would probably be acting funny around me. I just can't for the life of me figure out what it could be. Anything he needs to tell me though he can. I think I'm starting to fall in love with this guy, and his happiness is the most important thing to me. He did say it could be good news depending on how you think about it. I wonder if it has anything to do with wrestling? If it is wrestling, I don't know if that's good or bad; it is still really hard to tell if he loves doing it or not. It confuses me so I just go with it. He has the State Championship tournament next month, and that can make or break him. Either way I will be right by his side supporting him, as well as Claire and Brian…and John if he can ever get out of detention. Ha!

I slid down a little further in the comfort of my tub; I know this peacefulness will only last the night as I have to go back to the circus we know as Shermer High tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see…again.

TBC