Dance Stress

The next morning was the Valentine Dance………and Odie, Herry, Jay, Neil and Theresa still didn't have a date yet!

"Ok, this is getting insane, just go and ask Theresa to the dance, it'll be fine." Neil chanted on and on under his breath.

Herry, meanwhile, had also decided to go ask Theresa out. "I mean, come on, who else would I go out with?" He muttered out loud.

Jay was sweating due to pressure of asking Theresa. "Ok, if I was in Brad Pitt's shoes and went to ask Ther-Aargh! Why does it have to be Brad Pitt's shoes! Ok, if I was in Odie's shoes-oh wait, that won't work! If I was in Herry's shoes-hm, what size are Herry's shoes? DO-NOT-GET-OFF-TOPIC! Ok, if I was in Archie's shoes…my first instinct would probably be to ask Atlanta out. Oh, just go and ask Theresa!"

Odie was stressing out in the school hallway. "'Hi Theresa, I was wondering if you want to be my dance partner for the Valentine Dance.' That will have to do." He slammed his locker shut and looked for Theresa.

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"Come on, Atlanta, I'm serious," Theresa said the next morning. "I really need a partner for the dance tonight."

"Ok, ok, I'm being serious, I'm being serious," Atlanta wiped some tears from her eyes after laughing and said. "Well, we can use one tactic to help figure out who you don't want to dance with."

Theresa blanked. "Like?"

"Grouping," Atlanta snatched a piece of paper, got out a pen and started scribbling furiously. "Ok, so we know there are cliques around this school. By checking each group's status, we can weed out the unwanted people."

"Hey, good thinking," Theresa cried.

Atlanta smiled and wrote down two words. Theresa leaned over eagerly to see what she'd written. "'Cool People'?"

"Yup," Atlanta smiled triumphantly. "A lot of the girls here really want cool guys as their dates. I'm sure one of them would do."

Theresa shook her head glumly. "That won't work; the cool guys are holding reserved tickets to see the new rock show in town tonight and tomorrow."

Atlanta wrinkled her nose. "Every single one?"

"Every single one," Theresa nodded.

The fiery red head shrugged her shoulders and continued. "Well, we have the jocks-"

"Scratch that one out," Theresa interrupted. "All of them have already got a girlfriend."

"So? Steal one!"

Theresa laughed. "Atlanta, I'm not here to be a criminal, I just need a boy. Besides, their girlfriends are, like, World's Miss. Beautiful."

"Ok," Atlanta drew a line through the word. "I suppose there's the optimistic group."

"You mean the sunny, cheery, We-are-family people?" Theresa made a face. "I'll only consider one of them when the day after tomorrow comes."

Atlanta cocked her head. "But the dances are tonight and tomorrow."

"Exactly!"

Atlanta laughed and said. "Well, how about…the nerds? I mean, some of them are pretty cool…"

Theresa suddenly imagined herself dancing with a bucktooth red haired boy with huge round glasses. "I don't think so." She shook her head weakly. "And anyways, most of them are on a debating trip out of town. They won't be back until next week."

"Alright, bad idea," Atlanta scribbled it off the chart. "There are always fashion experts,"

"Fashion experts? Would that include Goths?" Theresa asked. Atlanta nodded. "Pass, I don't go out with guys that wear extremes."

Atlanta sighed and blotted out the category. "Oooook, how about…lunatics?"

"Luna-pardon?" Theresa demanded. "I am not falling in love with somebody who believes in monsters underneath beds!"

"Another one down," Atlanta crossed it out. "Ok, I wouldn't normally suggest this but time is getting short."

Theresa didn't see where this was going. "Which group are you suggesting?"

Atlanta hesitated. "Snobby boys,"

Theresa shook her head, her hair swinging side to side. "Snobs are not my type; they're so-so-so-"

"Uptight?" Atlanta suggested. Theresa nodded.

"And they think they're always right," Theresa added.

"That's why they're called snobby," Atlanta reasoned. "Wait, I've got it," She snapped her fingers. "Every once in a while, we see them on TV so why not have one?"

"Who are you talking about?" Theresa asked, confused.

The red head grinned devilishly. "Bad boys!"

Theresa laughed, shaking her head. "Come on, Atlanta. I can't dance with a criminal; do you know how that's going to look on my reputation?"

Atlanta groaned and crossed that one out too. "Theresa, you've got to work with me! The only category left is, well, Neil!"

Theresa laughed again. "Yeah, Neil definitely deserves a category of his own!"

"But Neil's not going to work because, well, you know why, don't you?" Atlanta asked.

A thought suddenly occurred in Theresa's head. It was completely crazy but she was getting desperate. "I'll meet you after lunch, ok Atlanta?"

She raced off with Atlanta in a middle of a sentence. "Hey, wait a second, we've haven't talked about Jay yet! He's perfect!" She shouted excitedly and looked around. "Theresa? Theresa?"

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Odie spotted Theresa hurrying down the hall. "Hey Theresa!" He called out.

The teenager turned around and headed towards Odie's direction. "Hi Odie,"

"Hi," Odie suddenly forgot the line he was rehearsing so many times. "Um, well, heh, you see, Theresa-" Theresa was standing in front of Odie, waiting for him to speak. Odie took a deep breath and said. "Um, Theresa?"

"Yeah?" She waited for him to continue.

"I-I, well, I was wondering if, um, you want, uh-" Odie stammered, his eyes darting around. Theresa just stood there, puzzled. "I was wondering if you want…some coffee."

"No thanks, Odie," Theresa replied. "I don't drink a lot of coffee."

"Oh, right, no problem," Odie stepped aside and waited for Theresa to disappear around the corner before bursting out. "Coffee? Smooth move, Odie!"

During lunch time, Atlanta was informing Jay about Theresa. "No, Theresa doesn't have a date."

Suddenly, Neil bounded over to their table, excitement clearly showing on his face. "Guess what? Theresa just asked me to the dance!"

This silenced everybody. Jay, completely stony-faced, looked at Atlanta who was also surprised. "Well, Theresa didn't have a date." She joked weakly.

Jay rolled his eyes and covered his face with his hands. "I suppose she was rather desperate for one because she was in a huge hurry and everything-" Neil continued rambling on and on and on about this and he only stopped when Odie came.

"Hi guys," He greeted them, bringing a tray of food with him. "So, who's got a date for today's dance?"

Atlanta raised her hand, biting into her tuna sandwich. Neil also raised his hand. Suddenly, Theresa came out of nowhere, bringing a tray of food with her as well. "I've got a date for tonight." She announced happily and plopped her tray down. "Now I don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Who are you going with?" Odie asked, interested. He had decided at the last minute who he'd really dance with; Odie no longer desired Theresa (A/N: which is a good thing because she's already got so many lovers).

"Neil," Theresa answered without hesitation.

Odie choked on his juice and gasped. "What? You-you're going with-you guys are-Neil?"

"Yeah, Neil," Theresa said. Atlanta was looked at Theresa in disbelief and Odie was still gawping at her and Neil. Jay's expression was hard to tell because he turned around and started staring at a bit of dirt on the floor but judging from what Odie knew Jay was probably upset by this.

Atlanta got up, pushed her tray aside and started walking briskly to the door, tugging on Theresa's red tank top.

Once they were outside, Atlanta blew her head. "NEIL? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE NEIL? THAT COULD EASILY GO DOWN AS THE WORLD'S DUMBEST ACT!"

"Atlanta," Theresa waited for her to finish her shouts. "I was getting desperate, the dance is tonight and right now, I should be worrying about what to wear, not who to dance with."

"But…why Neil?" Atlanta asked curiously. "I mean, what has he got that Jay doesn't have?"

"Jay?" Theresa asked blankly.

"Oh cut the nonsense, Atlanta," She muttered to herself loudly and said. "Jay loves you!"

There was a huge, blank silence between the two. Theresa was staring at Atlanta with her mouth slightly opened. "What?"

"Jay loves you!" Atlanta repeated. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was always the first one helping you? Didn't you ever wonder why he always grouped you with him when on missions? Well now you do!" She cried out triumphantly.

Theresa could not speak. She just hung there, too flabbergast with the information. Atlanta was looking at Theresa, waiting for her to speak. "Hello? Theresa? Have you died on me or something?"

"I have to go," Theresa said quickly and went back into the lunch hall. Atlanta was about to go in when Orlando came.

"Atlanta!" He cried joyously and ran towards her. "Hi, anything new going on?"

Atlanta gave him a grim expression. "Theresa had just made the stupidest mistake ever! She asked out Neil," She explained to Orlando's blank expression.

"Ooooooh," Orlando nodded. "Hey listen," He lowered his voice. "My mom asked me to run an errand for her so I'm going to be 10 minutes late for the dance tonight. Is that ok with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Atlanta replied.

Orlando smiled and gave her the thumbs up. "Thanks, now I've got to hand in an assignment to our Social Studies teacher. See you," He waved and ran off.

Atlanta waved back, suddenly feeling remorseful of Archie's death. She remembered one time where Archie had to hand in an English report and dashed off, waving to Atlanta. Her eyes started welling up again and she hurried to the bathroom, muttering "Stupid tears".

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"Jay! Jay!"

Jay pretended he couldn't hear Theresa calling out his name as he shoved his tray onto the tray rack, not feeling very hungry. Theresa, breathless, ran up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Jay," She repeated, out of breath. "Can we, you know, talk?"

Unable to think of an excuse (was it because of his upset mood), he nodded. They walked off to a far corner, away from eavesdroppers. Theresa turned around and just stood there, unsure on how she was going to say what was on her mind.

"Um, Jay," She started, and then stopped. Jay what? Theresa thought, panicking. Jay was standing there with a waiting expression, his eyes clearly showing small amounts of pain in them. "Listen, about Neil, I know that was a tacky choice but, well," She lowered her voice so much Jay had to strain to hear them. "I was getting pretty desperate."

"Don't worry about it," Jay tried to throw off the situation. "I'll find someone."

"I know you will, Jay," Theresa giggled, glancing over his shoulder. There were a group of girls standing behind them a couple of feet away, whispering excitedly and shooting swooning glances at Jay's back. "But I still feel kind of bad. And, well, I want to make it up to you."

Jay stood there for a while, thinking. Then he smiled. "Are you dancing with somebody on the 2nd one?" He asked.

Theresa smiled back. "Wear something nice, ok?" She walked off, suddenly so light-headed.

The brown haired teenager stared ahead at Theresa's back, lost in thought. Then he shook himself out of it and glanced at the group behind him. They were still watching him. Jay saw a short blond haired girl wearing a green tube top and one of the shortest miniskirts he'd ever seen.

He steeled himself and walked cautiously to the girls. They now stopped talking, their eyes on him. "Er, hi-" Jay started but then, all of the girls shrieked in delight and scampered off, shooting looks at him from behind.

Jay found this rather weird. "Um, ok," He shrugged and looked for another girl. A tanned, pink haired girl stood in a cotton white shirt and navy shorts. She was acting totally oblivious to Jay's staring yet her green eyes flickered onto him once in a while.

"Ok, in love or not in love, this girl had better not run off." Jay grumbled to himself and approached the girl. "Er, hi," He greeted her. She turned her head around. Jay was surprised to find such iciness in those pupils. They seemed pretty warm from a farther distance. "I'm Jay," He extended a hand.

She took it. "Caracara," Her eyes did not thaw.

"Um, nice name," Jay attempted a smile. "Well, I really need a date for the dance tonight so is it ok if you'll go with me?"

Caracara first looked Jay over before answering sharply. "That seems ok,"

"Great," Jay breathed out a sigh of relief. "Then I guess I'll see you tonight." He quickly walked away, trying to put a good distance between those frosty eyes and her sharp mouth.

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It was stormy for miles and miles. A 900 meter cliff sat hovering over the middle of the sea. Great waves crashed onto the surface, threatening to break the cliff and lightning cracked menacing in the cloudy sky. At the very top of the cliff perched a wooden cross, bearing a pitiful, overweight god, whimpering in the cold rain.

"Having fun?" A sinister figure smirked at Apollo, tied up so tightly that the rope cut into his skin. Apollo, too cold and miserable to speak, only moaned through chattering teeth.

The giant stepped out of the dark and stared at the god with eyes full of hatred, coldness and just a flash of pity. "You know, it didn't have to be like this. If only you didn't interfere, you wouldn't be in this state, Apollo."

Apollo didn't respond but just sunk his chin down, his eyes closed. The giant stared at him a bit more, hatred has fluttered out of his eyes and now they only bore coldness and pity.

"Well done," Cronus appeared, clapped the giant on the shoulder. Scowling, the giant pushed his hand out of the way. Cronus didn't seem to notice.

"When will your plan be set into motion?" The giant asked.

Cronus paused a bit, thinking. "Perhaps right in the middle of the party. After all, we do need time to block the exits."

"I'm not included; I've got better things to do." The giant strode to the edge of the cliff, watching the waves roaring in the storm.

"What are you going to do?" Apollo chattered through frozen lips, stammering horribly.

"Oh, that," Cronus laughed menacing, his voice even audible over the crack of a lightning bolt. The giant, however, didn't laugh. His eyes were no longer cold but completely blank; maybe even a slight dash of pity showed for the God of Sun. "It seems that the lovers at the Valentine Dance will be receiving a surprise. A big surprise," He emphasised on the word "big".

Apollo didn't even show emotion on his face. He just lowered his head again, his face completely miserable once more. Unable to stand looking at him, the giant continued to gaze at the waters.

"Well, I'll be off, still plenty of stuff to do." Cronus created a portal in midair and was about to step into it when he remembered and turned around. "Oh and make sure you keep an eye on my son. I don't want anything fishy to happen." He jerked his thumb at Apollo and walked through his portal.

The giant cast a glance at Apollo again. "So pathetic," He kicked it in the stomach. Apollo whimpered and hutched up in pain. The giant turned around and stared into the sea. "Soon the storm will rise and crush this rock." He turned around and grinned. "Well, if I can't kill you, then I can at least damage you."

He continued to stare into the waters. "Wait a minute," He narrowed his eyes. The giant cursed underneath his breath. "Her!" Apollo lifted his head up and looked but couldn't see much. "Well, it's too late to get Cronus, I can't leave here. I'll just have to deal with this myself."

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Far off, much too far off to see, in a damp little cave, there was a small flicker of light.

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Ok, so the beginning was suckish and the ending had too many narrations. I'm sorry for this, everybody! But I swear, the juicy stuff is in the next chapter (so please don't throw tomatos at me yet!).