Shelly's World
Chapter 6
It had been two weeks after the incident between Shelly and Cliff. The two were still furious with each other, and Ann and Shelly were still best friends. It was the beginning of a bright new day as Shelly awoke from her bed...
"Morning already?" Shelly said groggily. "Whatever...." She sat up from her bed, put on her white fluffy slippers, and dragged her feet to the door. As soon as she turned the knob, out popped Ann excited as ever.
"BOO!" She screamed. Shelly jumped back about a mile, falling against the bed.
"What do you want?" Shelly said sleepily. Ann took out a piece of blue paper from behind her back- seeing as how she didn't have any pockets because she was in her pajamas as well - and shoved it into Shelly's face.
"I want you to come to my birthday party tomorrow!" She squealed, hopping on the bed. "It's gonna be lots of fun! We're gonna eat a big cake, some ice cream, watch some movies, and the girls get to spend the night together! Won't that be fun, fun, fun?"
Shelly eyed the paper, her eyelids half open. "Yeah, sure," she mumbled.
"Oh! And don't forget my present! It won't be a birthday party without presents!" She said excitedly.
"Okay," Shelly said. "Can I get dressed now?"
"Heh... sorry 'bout that," Ann said, giggled, then coughed slightly. "Anyway, Cliff's at the church so you can catch up with him there if you want!"
"How many more times do I have to tell you?" Shelly said, as she removed her shirt, "Cliff and I hate each other's guts!" She plopped down onto her bed as she took off her shoes. Ann stopped jumping on the bed and frowned. She took a spot next to Shelly.
"That's not true," Ann said. "I won't let you think that! You two were meant for each other! I can see it in your eyes... you love him, Shelly, you can't just forget about your friendship!"
"Oh, yes I can," said Shelly, unbuttoning her jeans, "and I will. Starting tomorrow, at your birthday party."
"You do know that if you do that, you'll ruin the party for me, for you, but most definitely for him. But if you really want to do that, it's your choice, not mine," Ann said firmly. She sighed.
Shelly looked up. "Oh, alright, I won't ignore him! But I'm only doing it for you... not him."
"That's more like it! Now, hurry up and get dressed so we can get some breakfast!" Ann coaxed Shelly. "I'll be waiting for you downstairs!" She then trotted down the stairs happily.
Shelly crawled under the bed looking for her favorite pair of bellbottoms. When she finally found them, she pulled them out from under the bed. Shelly also felt something hard near the end of the bellbottoms, too. She pulled it out, wondering what it might be. It was her diary.
"What is this doing under the bed?" Shelly wondered. "Oh well, I'll just put it back up where it belongs." She then placed it onto the desk next to her bed. That was when she noticed she had two diaries. She eyed the diaries suspiciously, and opened up the one she had found under the bed. She began to read:
Dear Diary,
Wow... today was rather interesting. Firstly, I came back from the mountains after a long search for lumber for Gotz.
Shelly read the sentence over and over again, pretty sure she had never written this in her diary. She then gasped, closing the diary on her finger. This was not hers. What was she doing, reading about someone else's life? Oh, but she was so curious! She continued to read:
Then, I walked in the Inn to find Ann. She told me about this new girl, Shelly.
Shelly couldn't believe what she was reading. This was Cliff's diary! She knew she shouldn't be reading it, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to read more!
So, I walk upstairs. And there stood the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen.
A crimson red blush glowed upon Shelly's face. Gorgeous? She never thought of herself like that. She began to feel sorry that she ever was mean to Cliff.
She told me she goes to church too. We also have a lot in common! We're both 16 years old and we both like to fish!
Shelly remembered that conversation they had that day. She also remembered how she thought Cliff was going to kiss her.
I think I really like this girl. She doesn't have a very good sense of humor though.
A scowl came across Shelly's face. Who was he to judge? Did it matter that she didn't have a good sense of humor? It wasn't her fault that she didn't like Doug!
She's pretty though, and that's okay, although I know that's not what counts in a person. It's the person they are that makes a good relationship. I would really like to get to know more about her.
Cliff
Shelly then silently closed the book and put it back under the bed. She then just sat there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then, all of a sudden, she came barging out the door, and started running down the stairs.
"Ann! ANN!" Shelly screamed. She saw Ann sitting down at a table.
"Shelly! What on earth took you so long?" Ann replied with a look of shock on her face.
"I was just... uh, looking for my pants. But, never mind about that! I'm going to tell Cliff tomorrow! At your birthday party!" Shelly screeched.
"Tell him what?"
"That I like him! That's what!" Shelly practically screamed.
"Good for you!" Ann said encouragingly. She then smiled a sweet smile. "I've made breakfast for the both of us! Bacon and eggs!" Ann then took off the lids from the plates on their tables as the steam arose. Shelly could almost taste the food that Ann had cooked.
"It smells delicious, Ann!" Shelly complimented.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in!" Ann replied. She took a mouthful of eggs onto her fork and then began to eat. Shelly took a small piece of bacon and did the same. The girls continued to eat until there was nothing left on their plates and they were left with their stomach's full.
"Oh," Ann groaned, rubbing her hand over her stomach, "I'm full..."
"Me too.... That was really good," Shelly replied. She laid her head back on the top of the chair. The two just rested there for a while as Doug picked up their plates and washed them in the Inn's dishwasher.
"Hey, since my birthday party is tomorrow, I was thinking maybe you could help me decorate the house!" Ann said eagerly. "Will you help me?"
"Sure thing!" Shelly replied.
"Great! Maybe we can go to the supermarket and buy a few party accessories!" Ann said. She ran upstairs to her room as Shelly followed her.
"All I need is my purse and then we can go shopping!" Ann said, scrimmaging around for her purse in her pile of clothes, which were scattered all over the floor. She then managed to find it, and pulled it out from the pile.
"C'mon! Let's go shopping!" Ann said cheerfully. The two girls ran out the door, giggling happily.
~*~*~
"Hey, Ann! Take a look at this!" Shelly motioned her over. Ann walked over to her friend.
"What is it?" Ann asked.
"This feather... it's so pretty!" Shelly remarked. Ann giggled and blushed.
"That's a blue feather," she replied.
"Uh... yeah, I realize that," Shelly said lamely.
"I wasn't finished," Ann remarked. "It's used for proposal... only men use it, though."
"P-p-proposal?" Shelly stuttered, gaping at the feather.
"Yup!" Ann said, nodding her head. "Maybe Cliff'll lighten up and ask you to marry him!"
"What are you talking about? I'm only sixteen! I can't get married yet!" Shelly said.
"Here you can! The minimum age is fourteen, but if you're that young, or anywhere from fourteen to eighteen, then you must marry someone the same age as you."
"Well, Cliff is sixteen, like me, so..." Shelly said nervously, putting her arm behind her head.
"So it'd work out!" Ann cheered, then patted her friend on the back. "I'm happy for you! Pretty soon, we'll see that beautiful white dress on you and Cliff in a hot black suit... I can see it now."
"Oh, quit it!" Shelly joked, nudging Ann in the ribs. Ann giggled as she walked away looking for more accessories for the party. Shelly found a few things, and carried them under her arm, while she sneaked in a present for Ann as well. When the girls had finished shopping, they met up, went to the cash register to where there was a man with jet black hair, with dark brown eyes, a white button-up shirt, and black jeans. Ann smiled at him as she and Shelly put down everything they had gathered. Ann then took out the money from her purse and placed it onto the desk.
"You don't need to pay me, Ann," the man said. "No one ever does anyway." He then clutched his stomach. Shelly gave him a weird look.
"What's up with this dude?" Shelly whispered into Ann's ear. Ann giggled.
"Oh, people never pay here! That's why this family is poor!" She replied.
"No, why is he clutching his stomach? He looks like he got attacked by a saber toothed tiger."
Ann began to crack up. "My goodness, Shelly! You're quite the joker, aren't you? He has stomach pains, due to his nervousness... he always ends up going to the doctor too, which makes me wonder if he's cheating on his wife with Elli." She laughed at her own little joke. Shelly snickered along with her.
"This dude's married?" Shelly said, tears flowing from her eyes, because she was laughing so badly.
"Shh!" Ann whispered between giggles, putting her pointer finger to her lips. "Yes! In fact, they've been married for almost a full generation now! When Karen gets married and has a kid, they'll have been married for one generation!" Ann and Shelly calmed down as they noticed that Jeff had been listening to their conversation.
"What about Karen?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing!" Ann and Shelly said simultaneously. They looked at each other and began to crack up as they picked up their belongings and extra money. They then ran out the door, laughing at what they had just said.
"Well... now that that's done with," Ann said, opening the door to the Inn, "now all I need to do is hand out these invitations and we'll be set!" She gave Shelly the you-better-help-me-with-this-too look. Shelly sighed, and then grinned.
"Oh, alright," she replied. Ann held out a few invitations for Shelly. She took them from Ann's hand and carried them under her arm.
"If you need help with any of the people, just show me the card, and I'll tell you," Ann said.
"Okay," Shelly replied. The girls then walked downstairs and headed out the door once again.
~*~*~
"Hey, Ann, hey, Shelly! What are you two doing?" Karen said, walking up to the girls.
"We're just handing out invitations to Ann's party," Shelly replied.
"Oh, by the way, you're invited!" Ann said in a chipper tone of voice. She then handed Karen's invitation to her as Karen beamed.
"Thanks so much, Ann!" She said happily.
"No problem! See you at the party!" Ann and Shelly then walked off, waving at Karen.
"Next stop: The Clinic!" Ann said. She held the Doctor's invitation as Shelly searched for Elli's. When she finally found hers, the two continued on their journey to the Clinic. Ann then stopped in front of a small building with blue words that said, "Clinic".
"Remember this place?" Ann said, knocking on the door, "This is where you came when you passed out from that wine!" She then giggled as the door slowly opened and there stood Elli.
"Hi, Elli! We wanted to stop by to tell you that Ann is throwing a birthday party at her house tomorrow.... Oh! And you're invited!" Shelly said, handing Elli's invitation to her.
"And could you give this to Tim whenever you can? He's invited as well," Ann said. She handed the Doctor's invitation to her too.
"Sure thing! I'll give it to him right now!" Elli said, closing the door. She then began to open it again.
"I forgot to say... thank you," Elli exclaimed, smiling sweetly. She then shut the door quietly while Shelly and Ann continued walking. Shelly glanced at the letter on top.
"Hey, Ann, who's Gray?" Shelly said, holding up his letter.
"Oh! He's the boy that works at the blacksmith's with his bossy grandfather. He's often at the Library with Mary, and lots of times Popuri and Rick visit too, because they are both addicted to reading." Ann replied.
"So... we're going to the library now?" Shelly said, grinning.
"Right you are! We better hurry though, before it gets dark; the library closes at five o'clock, and right now, it's four thirty," Ann pointed out. Shelly and Ann grinned at each other.
"Last one to the library is a rotten egg!" Ann shrieked. She then started sprinting to the library.
"Hey! You cheated!" Shelly screamed. She ran as fast as she could to try and catch up with Ann. Shelly lost.
"I win!" Ann shouted as she ran right against the door. "Looks like you're the rotten egg!"
"Oh well, I never was a very fast runner to begin with," Shelly gasped for breath as she opened the door to the library. Ann's prediction was right; there were four people there, including Mary, who was behind the counter.
"Just our luck," Ann said with a hint of excitement in her voice, "all four of them are here! Let's go hand out the invitations while we still have time!" Shelly nodded her head to show that she understood as she walked up to the counter.
"Hello, Mary! You've been invited to Shelly's birthday party!" Shelly said, taking out two invitations, one that was for Mary and the other for Gray.
"Thank you, Shelly! But why do I have two invitations?" Mary asked curiously.
"The other one is for Gray," Shelly remarked, giggling slightly. Mary looked at the two letters with the I-knew-that look. Shelly then walked up to Ann who had finished handing out her letters to Popuri and Rick.
"Well, looks like our job is done," Ann said, putting her hands to her hips with a silly expression on her face. She giggled. Shelly sighed as she opened the door to go outside.
"No, we're not," she replied, "there's still one more letter we didn't give out."
"Who is it for?" Ann wondered aloud. Shelly turned the letter over and read the name.
"It's... it's Cliff," Shelly said, tears forming in her eyes. Ann's face turned empathetic as she rubbed her friend's back.
"Wow, Shelly.... You really love him, don't you?" Ann said sorrowfully.
"Yeah... I guess I d-do. I never really thought about it before, but sometimes, I really wish we weren't angry with each other."
"I know what you mean," Ann replied, "It sucks to be in love, especially when the other person is madly in anger with you.... Do you want me to give this letter to Cliff? I can do it in the Inn."
"Sure, I was thinking of getting a rest anyway; I'm exhausted," Shelly said, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"Yeah, we should be heading back now," Ann said as the two walked side by side. Shelly kicked clumps of dirt on her way, due to her depression. She kept her head low as a group of people pushed around her to the Inn. Her anger began to rise.
"Watch it, you bastards!" Shelly raged, flipping the bird at them. She opened the Inn's door and walked inside. There were millions of people sitting down, eating, drinking, laughing... anything you could imagine being happy.
"If only I were like them," Shelly said and sighed. She continued walking, until she reached the stairs, where an unknown stranger ran into her. She fell backwards, rubbing the back of her head as she looked up to see a man with long black hair in a small braid with a long yellow jacket. She glared at him.
"Can't you see I'm in the worst state of my life right now? Just leave me alone," Shelly said, pushing him away.
"I just wanted to know if you would like to buy some flowers from me," the man said indignantly.
"Have you no brains? Of course I wouldn't!" Shelly shouted. She then pushed him out of the way as she started up the stairs. When she reached the top, she walked in front of her room and opened the door. Just then, she heard the downstairs door open as well. The room roared with cheer and happy greetings. Shelly peeped her head slightly over the rail so she couldn't be seen. She then spotted who had come in; it was Cliff. Shelly gasped, ducking back so he wouldn't see her, as she crawled back into her room and began to get undressed. She could hear everyone talking downstairs.
"Hey there, Cliff, what took you so long?" One voice said.
"I was at church the whole day, praying to the Goddess to forgive me for my sins," Cliff replied.
"Well, scoot yourself over here and order yourself a beer!" another voice shouted. Shelly thought that maybe it was Kai.
"Well, I guess maybe I'll have one, but I'm pretty exhausted right now.... Besides, I don't want to upset the Goddess anymore than I already have," Cliff replied. Then nothing more happened that Shelly could hear. She climbed into bed to see if she could hear anything more. A few minutes later, she heard someone else speak, louder than anyone else who was already having a nice conversation.
"Here you go, Cliff, one beer fresh from the vineyard," Doug said. "Drink up!" Shelly heard the sound of glass clinking against the table as everyone rooted.
"Whoa! You practically gulped that down in one swallow!" A voice cheered.
"You're going to be the world's fastest beer drinker someday," another voice said.
"Heh, thanks guys," Cliff said, "but I'd like to go upstairs now; I'm really tired."
"So, you're going to talk to your girlfriend, Shelly, huh?" Doug said teasingly.
"She's not my girlfriend, dude, get it straight. I hate her," Cliff said. Shelly felt a sting of pain in her heart, as if a hole had just been drilled into it. She wished that she had a pair of earmuffs, or that she was deaf. A silent tear trickled slowly down her cheek, until it got to the very middle. It stopped right there, not moving.
"Now that's no way to talk about other people," a high pitched Jersey accent piped in. Shelly smiled weakly knowing who said that: Ann.
"Well, it's true. It's the way I feel about her. And there's nothing you guys can do about it," Cliff snapped. Everyone continued to talk. Shelly continued to listen until the people's voices sounded nothing more than a few silent words until the room grew silent. She had gone out cold.
~*~*~
"So, are you going to get some rest or not?" Ann said to Cliff as the two walked upstairs, trying to get away from the millions of people who wanted to see Cliff drink again.
"Yeah, I probably should," he replied. He sighed.
"Okay, then. Goodni- oh my gosh, I almost forgot! You're invited to my birthday party tomorrow! We're going to eat cake and popcorn, watch some movies, and maybe play a nice game of spin the bottle," Ann said as she covered her mouth and coughed out, "Shelly". Cliff gave her a look.
"Look, I told you already. I don't like Shelly. In fact, I hate her. I wish I never met her in the first place, because she is a conceited jerk," he said angrily.
"Heh, if that's how you really feel about her..." Ann said.
"Then what?" Cliff said back. Ann shook her head.
"Never mind," she said. She walked down the stairs as Cliff opened the door to his and Shelly's room. He saw Shelly lying in her bed. He walked over to the edge of it.
"She looks so pretty, like an angel," he thought to himself. He then looked around to make sure no one could see or hear him. "Shelly, I know you probably can't hear me... nor would you want to, but... I really do care." He whispered. Cliff then gently tucked a small strand of her hair behind one of her ears as he continued to sit by her side. He noticed the tear that was still lying on her cheek. He put his finger on the tip of it as it disappeared quickly.
"Well... I-I guess I'll just..." he said softly, not being able to continue. For a minute he just sat there doing nothing, until he finally got up a little bit, and came closer to her. He then kissed her softly on the cheek as a dark red flushed upon his face. He then walked quietly to his bed and crawled under the covers, feeling as though he had accomplished his dream.
(A/N): Ooh! *Cheers* LOL, JK! How'd you like this chappy? It was fun to write it! ^__^ I know it is really long, but at least the long ones have more to read! XD LOL, so if you could do me a big favor and review this fanfic, I would be more than happy! =D See? Look at how happy I am because I KNOW *ahem!* that you're going to review! =P LOL!
~*~*Fairy Friend*~*~
