A/N From just over 1,500 words this chapter climbed to over 4,300.
Outside the Cafe...
He knew that she was right, that Kolio was the person to call but was it really the best idea? Try and pull off some elaborate thing that could make or break his reputation the day before school officially began? Against his better judgment, he pressed the button next to the name of his best friend, praying that this would go well for him. Honestly, part of him also hoped that Kolio wouldn't pick up to begin with. Of course, two rings in, his hopes were dashed.
"Hello. My life sucks." It was nice to know that some things never changed as Beck let out a nervous laugh at the response. The familiar voice had a calming effect on the young man and all he wanted was for his friend to be right there with him, telling him that everything would be okay.
"You're telling me," Beck muttered, with only a hint of joking in his own tone. "Call me a turkey cause I am done. Finished. Finito." Beck couldn't see it, but his friend was indeed cringing on the other end. Beck had a flair for the dramatics at this point, and he was sure this was another one of those moments. If it really had gotten that bad, Aubrey would have called him. "Aubrey told me you may know what to do." Oh, so it is bad. Kolio thought to himself, chewing on his thumbnail. There had to be more to the story.
"What are you talking about? It's been two days, how can you be done?" Kolio inquired, knowing this may come from Beck's confidence problem. He had none. He knew it was a matter of time before he would receive this type of phone call, but it was a lot sooner than he had expected.
Beck couldn't help but sigh, raking a hand through his hair as he thought about what he could say to sum up the situation. "Everybody thinks I'm a loser deviant, I got second-string, my roommate barely wants anything to do with me, and if I don't up my rep either I stick out like a sore thumb or I just fade into the background, both not being very good choices. Classes start tomorrow and my only friend is my sister. You know sad that is? Apparently, she adores her roommate." This wasn't really how he thought school was going to go, and Koolio didn't even are to point out that he was being pretty premature in all of this but still, he loved a good plan.
"Look, Beck. I can't exactly help you with the soccer stuff. For the social stuff, though, I have an idea." Beck could hear the smirk through the phone and made a mental note to punch him in the arm for it later. "We will be there in an hour."
"Wait, we? What do you mean by -" Beck attempted to question the other male, but it was clearly too late as he heard the sound your phone lets out to make you aware you have been hung up on. "This... was a horrible idea," Beck muttered as Aubrey rounded the corner.
"Well?"
"I think he has a plan," Beck said simply, making Aubrey swallow a lump in her throat. It was going to be an interesting night, that was for sure.
"This is probably the most idiotic plan you have ever come up with. Aubrey remarked as Kolio grabbed the small listening device that he had gotten at a spy store that seemed less than legit, but he hoped it would serve their purpose. Stacie swung her legs back and forth off the edge of Aubrey's bed, looking on curiously. She always looked for a reason to dress a little more scantily clad and what better time than when she was trying to make Beck look cool and desirable? Her black spandex and maroon tank top hugged her in all the right ways and if he didn't know her any better, Beck would probably have fallen down at her feet. Emily sat on Aubrey's desk chair, playing Angry Birds on her phone as Beck sat on the desk, much to his sister's dismay. "You are actually letting him do all of this?" She gave a pointed look to her brother who only shrugged in response, making her groan. She was thrilled her new roommate wasn't here to see the chaos that was her social life.
"I personally think I'm a genius," Kolio said as he tossed Beck one of the small earplugs that would serve as the way he would deliver instructions. Beck gave it a skeptical look but still slid it into his ear, turning the small device on. He cringed as a high-pitched ringing struck his eardrum and he had a mind to rip it from his ear, but he didn't. It subsided within two seconds and he was left just glaring at his friend. "You want some reputation in high school? All you need is a few girls fawning all over you, and you will get in good with your roommate and his buddies."
"Hate to admit it, but he's right," Emily spoke up quietly as she finally put her phone down, taking her own device from Kolio and learning Beck's lesson, turning it on and waiting to put it in her ear. "You can't dump Kommissar in a big way to gain rep, so why not have us help you out?" Emily had gone a bit more casual than Stacie had, a white flowy tank top and some jean shorts. Aubrey refused to play any part in this trainwreck besides watching it happen, so she just chose a black hoodie and a pair of jeans. Beck had on a white t-shirt under a leather jacket paired with black jeans and his favorite converse. Kolio said he looked like a bad boy, Beck just thought that he looked like a dork.
"And you are sure this is going to work?" Beck asked, feeling a deep sense of dread in his chest. Stacie was the last to be set up and took her own earplug, repeating what Emily did and smirking a bit at Beck when hers didn't give loud feedback. He just rolled his eyes at her, crossing his arms as the attention was now on Kolio. He clipped a little mic to his jean jacket, sliding on some sunglasses that looked ridiculous before he nodded, switching on his own tech and speaking into the mic.
"Yes, I do. We're going to show everybody the man that you really are."
Kolio and Aubrey took a seat at a booth in the back, away from prying eyes as Aubrey glanced over the menu of Cesario's. She had heard from her roommate this was the place to be, after all, so she had no doubt in her mind that most would be following the traditions of going there the day before school started as one last night of fun. Her night, however, was not going to be fun. "You guys are idiots, have I told you that lately?"
"Love you too," Kolio muttered, making a fake kissing noise at her. He felt his phone vibrate and smirked slightly. It was go time, and he couldn't wait to see how this genius plan of his unfolded. He noticed a group of guys heading inside the restaurant and taking a seat at a larger booth, more than enough room for the three of them. The nerves began to set in for him, but they were this far into the plan, they were going to have to follow through. He cleared his throat quietly before finally speaking into the mic. "Go, Beck."
Beck had to swallow his nerves as he took in a deep breath, wrenching the door open. The girls were already positioned in the very back of the restaurant, just waiting for their own cues so they could make an entrance. A lot felt like it was riding on this, and part of him worried if this thing went south. He would never recover from that type of thing, especially with how many kids from school were slowly but surely starting to fill up the place. He had to wonder if the fiery redhead from before was also in attendance, but he couldn't worry about that now. He had other things he needed to work on, after all. As he crossed the threshold and looked around, he could see a look of recognition move across Jesse's face. He nodded slightly at the smaller boy before Beck noticed he muttered something and the three spread out so that there wasn't room or a fourth. That. That was why he was doing this. He shook out the nerves and put on his most confident fake smile before walking towards their table, but instead of stopping he just walked past them, nodding his head at Jesse. "Sup?" They all echoed his sentiment and that was that. This may be harder than he thought.
"Alright Stacie, it's your time to shine," Kolio muttered, giving the leggy brunette all that she needed to push the beads away, allowing her spandex to move up slightly as she walked like she was a supermodel on the runway.
"Is that Beck Mitchell?" Stacie called, making sure that people heard her but ensuring it wasn't loud or overdramatic enough to raise suspicions. She could see out of the corner of her eye that his little friends were gawking at her and she couldn't blame them, but she didn't even give them a second glance. Like she was a shark circling its prey, her eyes were on one person. Beck turned to fully face his best friend, giving her a small smirk as she ran over, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug, her body flush against his own.
"Stacie, how you doing baby?" He sounded way more confident than he felt when he felt the eyes that were on the two of them. He was the transfer boy, after all, everyone wanted to know what he was about. This could help or hurt him, and as he pulled away from Stacie he had to put his best foot forward as he leaned onto a wooden part of the closest booth, one of his hands sneaking down to take her own. Stacie stayed close to him, one of her hands flirtily moving across his other arm as she gave him a smile.
"Not the same without you." Her voice was dropped from her usual tone into a sultry, seductive type that he had never heard aimed at him before. He had to blink once or twice to bring himself back into reality and play the part he needed to play, tilting his head to the side.
"I know, I'm sorry." His voice told anyone that was listening that he wasn't really all that sorry. Jesse, Nicholas, and Benji all just watched the interaction with wide eyes, not sure what to make of someone they had viewed as a dork being hit on by walking sex. "New school, new me, and all that."
"I get it," Stacie said as she pouted at him. He couldn't count on his fingers just how many guys have fallen for that little pout, but that was the good thing about viewing someone like a second sister, it normally didn't work on you. "But I miss you, Beck. I've been thinking about you so much." And with that she leaned in close to his ear, her voice dropping lower but she ensured that the boys could hear her. "Especially at night." Beck had to fight a flinch that came on when he felt Stacie's teeth gently nip at the soft skin of his earlobe, sending a shiver through his whole body. She smirked slightly before she pulled away.
Jesse blinked a few times, shaking his head slightly. "Did she just say that to Beck?" He muttered to his table and realized the two boys also had a dumbstruck look on their faces. Both boys nodded, their eyes still glued to Beck and Stacie.
Kolio had to smirk slightly when he realized from the reactions of his peers that this was all working far too well. Stacie and Beck had sold the first part of the plan, now all that was left to do was for Emily to sell her own. He had high hopes for the younger girl, and even Aubrey looked impressed, though she would never dare say it out loud. "Okay Stacie, I need a big, mournful sigh. You're his plaything baby." Stacie pulled back, giving a small nod to indicate that she understood as she let out a sigh, finally pulling back from Beck a little.
"It was really great to see you, Beck." She said, bringing her arms back up to his neck. Beck didn't return the action, almost wanting it to seem like he was fully uninterested in everything that had just happened. "Call me anytime." Stacie saw what he was doing, and went in for a kiss. Her lips were met with his cheek as he turned his head at the last second, and she only pulled back and pouted before releasing him from her grasp and walking out of the restaurant, doing a little dance when she was outside.
Beck turned to the booth when she was out of eyesight, shaking his head slightly. "Women." Without even second glance, however, he turned as if he was leaving. Jesse wasn't really used to being blown off, and he could only give his friends a look as Beck walked away from them. He seriously needed to ask his roommate what the hell that was all about later on. Maybe he had thought too little of the shorter male.
Meanwhile, Kolio allowed the small group a little time to digest what they just saw as he smirked at Aubrey. "Looks like my 'idiotic plan' is work like a charm." He pointed out, to which she only rolled her eyes. He waited another few seconds before he finally spoke into the mic on his collar. "Thank you, Stacie, you are gorgeous. Emily, your time to shine."
She wasn't anywhere near as confident as Stacie normally, but the younger girl could pretend like no one else as she drew the bead curtain back to reveal the rest of the restaurant, strutting through. "Beck Mitchell is that you?" She exclaimed, causing Beck to stop in his tracks and turn around to face her. The eyes of his roommate and his friends were back on Beck to see what this was about. Emily's hips swayed as she walked the short distance before engulfing Beck in a hug.
"That's my name, don't wear it out." Beck teased slightly as he returned the hug. He was not one for physical contact of any kind, but this he wasn't much minding because he was more than comfortable with both Stacie and Emily. "What's up, Em?"
"You have got to be kidding me," Nicholas muttered from the booth, receiving a swift kick under the table from Jesse.
Emily pulled back from the hug, her hands moving down to his forearms as she looked at him, giving him the most flirty smile she could, though later one he would have to tease her that was why she was single if she looked at anyone she had an interest in like that. "Oh, nothing." She said with an overexaggerated sigh as her hands moved across his arms. "I mean, our school lost its top gun, Beck Mitchell, so what else is there to do?" Oh, she was way better at this than Beck thought she would be.
God, he felt more than a little awkward during this situation. Sure, there were quite a few eyes on them, but they were for all the wrong reasons. Beck wasn't a playboy, he could hardly even talk to girls. Yet, this was a bit exhilarating, and no one at this school knew who he was. He could be anyone that he wanted to be. A player, apparently, was one of those things. "Well, the time comes for a man to move onto greater things." He said as he flexed his arms slightly, and though the leather jacket was thick she could feel it and ended up giggling before giving him a sad, puppy dog look.
"I know, Beck." Her arms snaked back up to his neck, one of her hands getting lost in his hair. "In the end, I wasn't woman enough for you." She said with a sniffle accompanying her words as Beck's hands moved up, gently taking her hands away from him. "And that's something I always have to live with. It just... hurts, you know?" Her eyes appeared to be misting over and Kolio thought that she deserved an Emmy for this performance.
"Love is pain," Beck said nonchalantly in return, almost at a loss for words. She was selling this far better than he could ever dream of. Even Aubrey felt bad for Emily, and she knew this was all fake. Beck appeared bored with the conversation, and in turn, Jesse was highly interested in how someone could be bored with this girl throwing herself at you. Emily noticed the impressed look on the faces of the boys so she reached down, grabbing Beck by the hips and turning him so he would face him, which brought him a centimeter away from her.
"Just know, I'll never forget you Beck!" Her voice was far too loud and everyone that hadn't been looking at them now was. Just what she wanted. "And I mean never, ever, never!" She turned around from her fake sobbing, looking back at him and sticking her butt out slightly. It took everything in him not to break character as he gently tapped her, and Emily ran off, hiding her face in her hands and pretending to cry. When she was outside, she dropped the act and hugged Stacie tight. "He is so in."
Stacie hugged her best friend back, but their little win felt very, very far away as she noticed a familiar face walking into Cesario's. "Oh no..."
As soon as Beck walked away the second time, there was a small buzz in the booth that contained Jesse, Nicholas, and Benji. "Did that really just happen?" Nicholas was the first to break the stunned silence, and Jesse only nodded his head to confirm that wasn't all just some fever dream.
"Are we just missing something? Like, those girls made half the girls here look ugly."Benji pointed out, though the second girl, in particular, is what had caught his own eye. How does one guy get blessed with two beautiful girls?
"Okay. We might need to do a little re-evaluating here." Jesse stated, still a bit dumbfounded by the event that had just unfolded. There was no way that they had been that far off of their assumptions of him, or so he thought. It wasn't that they even really disliked Beck by any means, it was just a bit odd to have someone come into their already strong dynamic. Beck interested him, and he had the potential to be a great player. Maybe the two had potential to be friends, clearly, they had enough to talk about with everything that had just happened.
Jesse was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Benji clear his throat. He was about to ask what had happened when Benji smiled what he thought was a charming smile at someone nearby. "Hey there, pretty lady." Jesse's own gaze moved up to look at the new arrival, a blonde girl that he didn't recognize from being around there. Just by her walk, she looked a bit too uppity for his own taste, but Benji was a bit shameless at times.
Clearly, she was not having it, however, and her face contorted in a way that made it seem like she smelled something bad. "Are you hitting on me? Seriously?" Kommissar asked though she didn't give Benji a second to try and think of what to say. "Let me stop that little brain fart right now. Girls with asses like mine do not talk to boys with faces like yours." The german-born girl said, and it took everything in Aubrey not to stand up from her own booth and run over to put Kommissar in her place. Man, she hated that girl. Beck was about to take a seat at one of the nearby tables just to catch his breath before he heard that accent. He had been ignoring her calls and texts for the last few days and, of course, like a bloodhound she had followed his scent. He silently prayed that she wouldn't notice him, but that was quickly foiled. "I'm looking for my boyfriend, Beck Mitchell. Have you guys seen him?" Jesse gave her a look of utter disbelief as he glanced behind him, spotting the shorter boy and pointing. What is it with this guy?
"Beck?" He could feel his blood run cold as he heard her say his name. He had hoped that she would be able to take a hint when he told her that they were done, but she never had in the past. Why would this time have been any different? There were very few ways that one could get through to Kommissar, and he had a feeling that he needed to figure out a better way. A more public way. A... scene.
Beck stood from the table he had sat at, straightening the collar of his jacket as he turned around to face her. Kolio felt a small amount of panic for his friend, praying that he wouldn't make the wrong decision this time yet again. Aubrey was just stunned into silence, she doubted that Kommissar really cared enough about Beck to come all this way without an ulterior motive. She honestly doubted the girl cared at all, so she just gave Kolio a look that stated Let him handle this.
It took around two seconds for Beck to go on the move. "Keep away from me." He said as he tried his best to put distance between the two of them. He knew that the coffee shop breakup had gone far too well, mainly because he had barely allowed her to get a word in before he had left. This, however, was a whole different ballgame and she was hot on his heels as he tried to take himself out of the situation.
"I beg your pardon? I know you did not just say that to me!" She shrieked, and if every eye in the place hadn't been on him before, they sure were now. There was no easy way to go about this, he knew that for a fact, so he just kept moving. His next destination was behind the counter where a few of the employees were spinning pizza dough.
"I don't want to talk to you! I told you we were done, and there is nothing you can do about it!" The boys were all watching with extreme interest as this beautiful woman was attempting to chase their teammate down. As Beck moved to the exit to try and just get out of the situation entirely, Kommissar blocked him, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"This isn't over, Beck!" With that, he gently attempted to push her hands off of his shoulders as he tried to look for a better exit. What he saw, however, was the eyes of now the employees even watching him like a hawk. He took in a deep breath as he faced her, arms crossed and gaze as hard as steel.
"You're hot, Kommissar. Smoking hot, but there are plenty of hot in the world. Hell, even in this school. And the truth? You have absolutely nothing else to offer." He pointed out as he took a step closer to the tall blonde, not at all backing down from his state that they were done. "And when my eyes are closed, I see you for what you truly are. And you want to know what that is? Ugly. We are done." It was like she now realized exactly the type of situation she was in because a look of recognition crossed her features. She just screamed in his face before making a hasty exit. As soon as she was out, the whole restaurant erupted into applause. Jesse hopped up from his own booth, moving an arm around Beck's shoulders.
"Make some room for the man!" Jesse exclaimed as he offered Beck the last seat in their booth, happily looking at his roommate. "You're officially my idol now, man."
"Told you it was going to work," Kolio said with a small smirk as their dinner was delivered, Stacie twirling some of her pasta onto her fork and stuffing it into her mouth and Emily happily tearing her chicken fingers into smaller bits so it would cool faster. Aubrey just rolled her eyes in response as she stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork.
"I hate it when you're right." She muttered, causing the man to just grin.
"I know."
