Chapter Twenty-Six - Battle Lines.
"In conclusion, while the American-Canadian war of 1999 was not as great or long as other wars of the past centuries, it still remains an incredibly important example of how fear and miscommunication around the world can be taken detrimentally out of hand."
The words that flowed so effortlessly from Wendy's lips made Stan's heart thump adoringly in his chest. In every class of every day, she never failed to amaze and impress him with how brilliant she was. And as he stood a mere couple of feet away from her, smiling warmly and attempting to conceal his love-struck blush, today's history class was certainly proving no different.
At long last, it was Friday, and Wendy along with the rest of her team were finally giving their presentation that they had been assigned three weeks ago. It was such a relief for the four of them to have one less assessment to worry about. Looking down the line at her three friends, Wendy smiled at Clyde as he clicked over to the final slide of their presentation.
The dark haired girl then turned around to re-face the class, "Does anyone have any questions?"
For a short moment, the classroom was silent, as it normally was when any group discussion was initiated. All of a sudden, however, a hand shot up from the back of the room. The manicured fingertips belonged to a girl with long blonde hair, making Wendy clench her jaw and Stan's eyes widen in surprise.
Resisting the need to call on her, Wendy soon sighed through gritted teeth as Ms. Pocks raised her voice, "Yes, Leah?"
At the sound of her name, Darcy's best friend brought her hand back down and smugly laced her fingers together on the top of her desk.
Leah deviously licked her bottom lip, "I'm actually just wondering whether you referenced your sources properly, or if you just stole all the information, Wendy?"
Stan listened on in horror as he quickly glanced at Clyde, and then the two girls beside him at the front of the room. Before Wendy even had the chance to react, her brunette friend jumped to her aide.
"And you're asking that question, why?" Heidi snapped.
Leah narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest with a smirk. Her response was instant, "Wendy has a bad habit of stealing things that aren't hers."
Stan's stomach dropped as Leah spewed these last couple of hateful words and shot her wrathful vision towards him. There was an underlying sense of guilt bubbling within him. He knew that Darcy would still be understandably upset about what happened between them, but Stan had no idea that she or any of her friends were going to be filled with such spiteful vengeance. And what was more hurtful was that now it seemed the blame wasn't being even placed on him. It was all being directed at Wendy.
"Actually, Leah," the teenage girl suddenly spoke, snapping Stan from his worried trance, "Yeah, I did reference everything properly."
Clearly Wendy was not feeling as thrown back by the attack as what Stan was. And as the protective lioness brewing in her soul screamed at her to leap to Stan's defence, Wendy sharpened her coiled tongue, "Because, see, when you have the right history," she said, pausing, "You can take whatever you want."
Stan's heart stopped.
"Jesus, dude," Clyde offered lamely from beside him.
The sentiment certainly hadn't helped as the rage in Leah's face only expanded. Wendy and Heidi stood with their arms crossed, ready to combat anything the blonde was going to hit back with, until the situation was suddenly defused by a clearly frustrated Ms. Pocks.
"Okay, ladies, I'm not sure what's going on here, and quite frankly, I don't want to know," she grumbled, shaking her head at the snarky comments flying around her classroom, "So, if no-one else has any questions for Wendy and her group?"
An abrupt hush swept over the room. No matter the resentment and need for revenge that the teenagers may have felt for one another, none of them were stupid enough to cross their teacher, especially not when that teacher was Ms. Pocks.
The three girls all stubbornly bit their tongues while the heavy, older women cleared her throat, "Alright, well seeing as you have so much to say, Leah, how about your group goes next?"
Breathing a subtle sigh of relief, Stan shut his group's laptop while Clyde unplugged it from the classroom projector. Wendy was still seething as she began to walk back towards her desk. With clenched fists, she continued on with confidence and determination as she brushed past Leah.
Instantly, her ears perked up at the whispered hisses from the blonde girl as she nudged Wendy with her shoulder, "Enjoy the happiness while it lasts."
Watching the entire exchange go down, Stan hurried to Wendy's side as he nervously spied her whirl around and glare at Leah. He hadn't heard what Darcy's best friend had said, but he hadn't needed to. The expression on Wendy's face spoke volumes louder than any of Leah's actual words.
Coaxing his girlfriend back to her desk before she could lunge at Leah, Stan brought his voice to a murmur, "Just ignore her, babe."
Miraculously for all involved, the calming tone in Stan's voice seemed to compose Wendy. For now, anyway.
Reluctantly planting herself down in her desk, Wendy blew out a heavy breath as Stan squeezed her shoulder before taking his own seat behind her. While Leah's presentation with the two other former Middle Park students got underway, Wendy could only sense her irritation growing with each syllable that the blonde, skinny teenager spoke.
What right did Leah even have sticking her snooty nose into Wendy's business – what the hell did it have to do with her? Of course she was Darcy's best friend, and of course Darcy was still hurting, but Wendy and Stan were back in a committed relationship now. That didn't have anything to do with Darcy anymore, let alone her obnoxious best friend.
The raven haired beauty wasn't sure just how far Darcy and Leah may have been ready to take this sudden, supposed rivalry. But if there was one thing that was for sure – Wendy certainly wasn't afraid to find out.
"So, wait, that was the last thing she said to you?"
Swivelling around in her computer chair, Wendy glanced down at Bebe where she was lying on her stomach across the bed. The blonde girl was flicking through some trashy, teenage magazine and had Wendy's pillow comfortably nestled under her chin.
The final few hours of the school week had flown by, and now it was Saturday night. Bebe was sleeping over at Wendy's house and the two of them were indulging in some much needed girl time. After all, Wendy had been spending so much time with Stan over the past week that she definitely felt like she owed her best friend a quality night in together. From the very moment that Bebe had walked through the front door, the dark haired girl had been catching her up on all the Darcy and Leah drama from the day before.
Nodding her head to answer Bebe's last question, Wendy licked her lips to speak, "Yeah. It was, like, a total threat. She told me to enjoy the happiness while I still had it, or something."
"And you didn't see her again after class?"
"I saw her and Darcy together later in the hall, but they only glared at me."
"What a pussy! So, she only has the guts to say something to you when a teacher's there to step in?" Bebe commented with a loud laugh, "This whole thing barely even has anything to do with you. If anything, it should be between you and Darcy, not Leah," she argued, "If she wants to get involved purely because she's Darcy's best friend, then she can come and talk to me about it."
Giggling at her best friend's protective proposal, Wendy got up from her desk and plonked herself down on her bed next to Bebe.
"The entire situation is just so utterly ridiculous," Wendy groaned, "Like, if Darcy feels that she needs closure that badly, then just grow some balls and go up to Stan at school and talk to him about it – but don't step on my toes, 'ya know?" she pondered, "I've never purposely messed with either of them, why would they wanna' mess with me?"
"Because she's in love with Stan. But Stan loves you and not her. It's that simple," Bebe spoke blatantly, "She's jealous 'cause she has to sit there at school every day and watch you two drool all over each other," she added with a teasing roll of her eyes, "But that's not your problem, Wendy, and it's not Stan's either."
Ignoring her friend's hint of previous sarcasm, Wendy nodded her head, "I know, I know," she droned, "I'm just gonna' have to deal with it until they both grow up and get over it, I guess."
"Well, don't even think about laying off on the P.D.A. just for her benefit," Bebe mused with an evil smirk, bringing her cynical tone back to life, "You should make it your personal mission every day to leave her miserably wondering what the hell you two are getting up to once you get home."
"Ew, oh my God, girl," Wendy spat with a chuckle and a shake of her head. It amazed her how Bebe's mind always managed to be in the gutter in some way, shape or form. However, in this particular instance, the dirty remark from her best friend had actually sparked a fairly important topic of discussion within the raven haired beauty.
Pausing to gather all her thoughts, Wendy bit down on her bottom lip and fell back into the mountain of pillows at the head of the bed, "Actually, speaking of that…"
Bebe's eyes instantly widened as she snapped her neck around and stared at Wendy, "Ooh, this sounds interesting! Do tell?" she teased, flipping off her stomach and joining her best friend at the top of the bed.
Wendy sensed a blush cross her as she waited for Bebe to comfortably adjust herself beside her, "My mum asked me if I wanted to go on the pill."
A long grin stretched across Bebe's lips, "Oh, sweet!"
"So, you think I should do it?"
"Yeah, of course," the blonde girl encouraged her friend, "I got on mine last year for my cramps and it's just made everything, like, a thousand times better."
A slight frown collapsed into Wendy's brow, "But wait," she spoke, confused, "Didn't you say that when you and Kyle… didn't you say that you used a condom?"
"Wendy, we were drunk," Bebe began to explain, "Like, so, drunk. I could barely even form a full sentence. When I spotted him putting it on and he told me he had gotten it off Kenny, I wasn't gonna' stop him. And anyway, it was only one time, but you're not in that same boat. How many times have you and Stan done it now?"
The typically unapologetic and blunt nature of her best friend made Wendy's blush deepen, "Oh, God…"
"Oh, c'mon, don't act like you don't know. Every girl will always keep count of her first few times until it gets up to at least six, or something," Bebe remarked, trailing off for a moment until an excited grin crossed her, "Unless it's already been more than six, oh my God, Wendy!"
"No!" Wendy immediately snapped back with a giggle and a roll of her eyes. She playfully smacked Bebe with one of her pillows and sighed in defeat, "Three. The first time, then when he came and picked me up in his car, and…" Wendy paused mid-confession and allowed a giddy grin to cross her, "And then when I stayed at his place last night… and we hit every other base, too."
The passion and love that lit up behind Wendy's deep, brown orbs with every word she spoke caused a grateful smile to cross Bebe. After everything that her best friend had been through, it made the blonde girl's heart soar to see her so happy again.
"Well, see. I'd say that's reason enough," she spoke sweetly. Pausing for a second, Bebe then shrugged her shoulders, "Kyle doesn't even actually know that I'm on it."
Wendy's brow creased once more, "He doesn't?"
"Nah," Bebe replied nonchalantly, "We're trying to take things slow and everything, and I don't think it'd be the best idea for the temptation to always be there, ya' know?"
Allowing this comment to cycle through her mind, Wendy chewed down hesitantly on her bottom lip.
When you subtracted all the little tiffs, and minor breaks, and the one huge breakup – Wendy and Stan had been together for a long time. A really long time. But having been truly back together for just one week, Stan and Wendy had skyrocketed to intimacies generally shared by only the most committed of couples. Not that Wendy was unhappy about this – she was completely over the moon. She just hated the terrifying prospect of her and Stan ever making any more mistakes.
Swallowing a nervous lump that sat in the back of her throat, Wendy glanced at Bebe with concern, "You don't think Stan and I are rushing things too much, do you?"
Instantly, Bebe's vision expanded as she confidently shook her head, "No! No Wendy, no way," she promised, "Like, Kyle and I care about each other… a lot, but we're still just two friends who accidentally got drunk and had sex. Stan's, like… he's the love of your life, right?"
Bebe's words made Wendy's heart pound lightly in her chest as her cheeks flushed a romantic shade of pink. No other statement could ever ring more true.
"Duh."
"Well, then it's fine!" Bebe yelped, giggling excitedly for her friend as she reached out for Wendy's arm, "Don't think, Wendy, just do what makes you happy."
Slowly nodding her head, Wendy soon brought a smile creeping back across her face. She knew that Bebe was right – Wendy needed to just stop feeling so insecure and worrying about every little thing. Stan was hers, and she was his again, that was all that mattered. All the other fiddly little details would fall back into place in due time. For now, the two of them just needed to concentrate on being back together and having fun.
And being in love.
"I'll talk to him about it on Monday," Wendy spoke softly.
As the idea became much more set in stone, and the reality of it settled more comfortably in the teenager's mind, Wendy felt and unbearable excitement bubble in her stomach.
If she was being completely honest, it wasn't even that much of a big deal. Wendy knew it wasn't. Teenage girls went on the pill all the time. But just the mere thought of getting closer to Stan, even in the slightest possible way, was a feeling that Wendy wouldn't minimise or trade for anything in the world.
Just before she was able to get completely lost in thoughts of her gorgeous boyfriend, Wendy quickly decided that maybe it was time to turn the tables on her best friend.
Smirking at Bebe, Wendy licked her lips, "So, when exactly are you and Kyle planning on speeding up this slow process a little bit, hm?"
Thrown slightly by the rapid turn in conversation, Bebe stumbled over a reply with surprised eyes and an awkward giggle, "I dunno'," she reluctantly mumbled, burying herself deeper in Wendy's bed, "We're good for now… I think…"
"You think?" Wendy immediately echoed, "Why, what's wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing. Nothing's wrong," Bebe answered. She sighed to herself, running her hands down her face as she tried to figure out what the heck she was even attempting to say, "I mean… I didn't think I wanted to deal with all the commitment and shit with having a boyfriend," she spoke bluntly, "But now after seeing you and Stan back together again, I just… I dunno'…"
Wendy's heart started to race in delight, "What, you think you might be ready?"
Heaving another muted groan, Bebe shuffled back up the bed and stared her best friend in the eye. Even as those words had innocently crept out of Wendy's mouth in the safe space of her bedroom, the reality of it all still sort of scared the hell out of Bebe. If anything, though – for whatever reason, it didn't feel quite as scary as it did even a couple of short weeks ago.
What did it all mean? Was Bebe's heart of stone finally softening up a little bit? Was she actually kinda', sorta' ready to dive into this with Kyle?
Her voice came to a timid volume, "Maybe?"
"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Wendy spat elatedly. It secretly felt pretty damn relieving for the dark haired girl to know that she wasn't the only one of her friends dealing with complications relating to boys, "He's obviously crazy about you, Bebe, he wouldn't be waiting around, otherwise. You should talk to him!"
There may have been layers upon layers of logic in everything Wendy was saying, but somehow, for some reason, Bebe still wasn't convinced. She and Kyle had done things so backward that the thought of a normal, real relationship was still completely foreign to her. And for another thing, Bebe would be willing to bet that Kyle wasn't necessarily "crazy about her"… but she did take comfort in knowing that he seemed to be waiting for her just as long as she had been waiting for him. That had to mean that he still felt as strongly as her about it all. Didn't it?
Quickly giving herself a headache amongst all of her twisted thoughts, Bebe slowly shook her head with a subtle sigh. She and Kyle were in a pretty good place. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible, either. And Bebe just wasn't sure if she was willing to push her luck.
"I'll think about," she finally agreed, "I'll see how this week goes, and then… I dunno'. I'll just see."
Smiling in gentle understanding, Wendy decided to let her friend be and not speak any more of Kyle or their relationship. She couldn't imagine the feelings of slim confusion that must have been consuming Bebe from being stuck in such an indefinite limbo.
Even when she and Stan hadn't been together and had been arguing, Wendy had still secretly known deep, deep down how he really felt about her. Despite all their low points, it hadn't ever really been a question. But things were different with Bebe and Kyle. They didn't have the same kind of history… well, nowhere near to the extent of Wendy and Stan, anyway. There was no way for either of them to know what the other was thinking unless they quit being so stubborn and agreed to talk about it. And as much as that time to talk seemed to be slowly creeping up just around the corner, Wendy certainly going to push it upon Bebe.
Her best friend would be okay. Bebe and Kyle would sort everything out. Just like Wendy and Stan had.
"Well, hey, I went a bit crazy on makeup at the mall the other day. Do you wanna' look up some tutorials online?" the dark haired girl asked, changing the subject.
The happiness in Bebe's face quickly answered Wendy's question as the two teenagers sprung up from the bed. While Bebe raced over to the computer, Wendy pulled open her closet and reached for her makeup bag on the top shelf.
Gazing back over her shoulder, she shot a small smirk at her best friend. Wendy's mind was still uncomfortably swarming with anxious thoughts of future run-ins with Darcy and Leah, and deep concern for Bebe's stance with Kyle, and – of course – constant images of Stan. But despite all of this messy clutter filling her head, Wendy could rest easy knowing that she and Bebe were always going to be there for one another.
No matter what the coming days at school had to throw at them, the two girls would face it together.
Mondays in the school cafeteria were always much more easy going than the rest of the week. Many of the students would start the week off a little less lazy and have their own packed lunches, usually until Wednesday afternoon rolled around when they all quickly decided that it was much easier to just bring lunch money, instead.
On this particular Monday lunch time, Stan and Kyle were sitting across from each other at their regular table. The two best friends were excitedly chatting about how much they were looking forward to going to Phoenix on Thursday for Stan's football tournament. Kyle had been one of the first students in the whole school to reserve one of the spectator spots, and now he got to take Thursday and Friday off school, as well as cheer Stan on in the competition.
It was certainly going to be one kick-ass weekend.
As these same eager thoughts consumed Stan's mind, too, the quarterback suddenly cringed with a quiet groan through his gritted teeth.
How unbelievable was in that even when the cafeteria was vastly emptier than usual, Stan was still force to come face to face with the last people he felt like seeing?
"Oh, Jesus Christ…"
Kyle frowned as he went to gaze over his shoulder at what Stan had abruptly spotted, "What?"
"No, no, don't turn around," Stan hissed under his breath.
For a split second, Kyle was stunned, until his eyes widened in realisation. Just off to Stan's left, behind where the Jewish boy was sitting, was another lunch table. And Kyle was not only certain that someone had just sat down at it, but he wouldn't mind guessing who that particular person happened to be, either.
"Darcy?"
Stan answered his best friend with a reluctant nod, "And Leah. They're both glaring at me like I'm an actual piece of shit."
The looks on the faces of the two girls made his skin crawl. He knew he had done a lot to hurt Darcy's feelings, but Stan at least thought he gone about apologising in the nicest and most sincere way possible.
"Why don't you just try and sort this all out with her, dude?"
The sudden sound of Kyle's voice snapped Stan from his daydream and made his brow collapse into a frown, "No! Are you kidding me?" he asked with a sarcastic laugh, "If she wants to talk to me and have a normal conversation like a mature human being, then I'd be all ears. But I'm not going out of my way to fix something that is clearly her problem."
Kyle merely shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of his lunch. He supposed Stan's argument was pretty reasonable, "So, they haven't said anything else to you?"
Stan shook his head, "Neither of them even said anything to be in the first place. They've both just been bombarding Wendy."
"Well, she did kinda' steal you from Darcy."
Noting the cynicism in his best friend's voice, Stan simply rolled his eyes. A smile then unexpectedly leapt to his face as he spotted Wendy and Bebe swiftly approaching their table from the other side of the cafeteria, "She didn't steal me, dude," he spoke, pausing as he felt his heart thump happily, "I was always hers."
Trying not to gag on his food, Kyle held in a shudder at the sudden romance, "Well, regardless, I guess I will say that they're being totally harsh on you."
"Oh, totally," Stan repeated, "They're taking things way too far."
With her ears perked up and her interest peaked, Bebe giggled with a shake of her head as she and Wendy finally arrived at the boys' table.
"Are you serious?" she asked with a chuckle, referring to what she had just overheard from Stan and Kyle, "Stan, you've gotten off so easy so far!"
Frowning at the blonde girl as she sat next to Kyle, Stan then turned to Wendy who was now by his side. He didn't even need to say anything before his girlfriend nodded her head in agreement, "It's true."
"Yeah," Bebe carried on, "Girls are spiteful and vicious and manipulative and full of vengeance. Darcy and Leah haven't even done anything directly to you yet."
Feeling a sudden panic sweep through him, Stan swallowed nervously, "Okay, so, what might they have in mind?"
Hesitating with a sarcastic humming sound as she bit down on her fork between her teeth, Bebe smirked evilly, "Well, just for example," she began, holding her hands up in defense, "If this entire little situation had panned out in the opposite way and you had screwed Wendy over, I probably would have ripped your balls off, put them in a blender and then made you drink the,."
Spitting out a laugh through her mouth full of food, Wendy grinned sweetly at Stan. He stared at her with a scrunched up nose and another roll of his eyes as he folded his arms against his chest, "Well," he said, looking back to Bebe, "I was planning on changing my decision and asking for Darcy back but now that you've said that…"
Gasping in mock horror at the tone of absolute sarcasm coating her boyfriend's voice, Wendy playfully shoved Stan away from her. All that the dark haired boy could do was smirk at her teasingly, earning himself a slap across his upper arm.
While all this was going on, Kyle shook his head, ignoring the loved-up couple and instead deciding to inch his way closer to Bebe. The smile she shot him as she spotted him out of the corner of her eye made Kyle's heart flutter for the briefest moment.
The red-head casually shrugged his shoulders, "I'm pretty sure mutilating my best friend like that would have definitely caused the end of anymore dances or dates between you and me."
Smiling at his joke just as she normally would, Bebe abruptly felt her mind cycle back to her weekend spent with Wendy and one of the many topics of conversation that the two girls had shared.
The mention of the word 'date' that had slipped so harmlessly from between Kyle's lips had made Bebe's heart skip a beat. Thinking back to how she felt when she had been talking to Wendy on Saturday night, Bebe knew for certain that she still felt the exact same way as she stared at Kyle in that very moment.
The next step in their relationship was a huge one – it was going to be a huge risk. But it was what Bebe wanted, and even if it eventually didn't work out, she was still willing to try.
Holding in a deep breath, Bebe shrugged her shoulders, trying to play herself off as calm and collected, "So, how's about a real date sometime?"
Kyle's eyes instantly widened as he gazed at her, his food falling off the end of his fork, "Wh-what?"
"Yeah," Bebe went on, "We could see a movie and grab a bite and… I dunno', see how it goes?"
The blatancy from the beautiful, blonde girl surprised Kyle so much that for a moment, all he could do was stare into Bebe's eyes with his mouth hanging open, "Uh…"
The uncertain tone in his voice sent a flash of disappointment across Bebe's features, rapidly snapping Kyle from his bemused trance, "Oh, no, no," he stumbled, "Well, I mean, yes! Yes, Bebe, I would really… really like that."
A sense of relief settled in Bebe's soul at just how enthusiastic Kyle sounded. There was a delighted twinkle in his eyes that mirrored her own and sent tender shiver racing up her spine.
"How about we try to find a day when we get back from Phoenix?" Kyle asked sweetly.
This was the very last thing he had been expecting to hear from Bebe anytime soon. Despite the fact that even as little as a week ago the red-headed teenager had put his foot down and refuted any idea of he and Bebe transforming their relationship, for whatever reason, Kyle just hadn't been able to say no to the teenage girl when she asked him on an official date.
It was almost as if his brain had lost all control and his heart was doing all the talking for him.
Losing grip on this intimidating thought, Kyle blinked and flinched only slightly as Bebe's hand joined his where it sat on the bench seat. Glancing up and locking their vision with one another's, both teenagers felt their chests race.
Bebe smiled at him, "Okay."
Completely oblivious to what was occurring between their best friends on the other side of the table, Stan and Wendy, on the other hand, continued to playfully mess around with each other. Stan tried to pull Wendy into an apologetic hug for his previous joke, but the dark haired girl only shrugged away from him, cheekily folding her arms across her chest.
"I had some really exciting news to tell you, ya' know," she teased, "But after that comment, I don't think I will now."
Deciding to push his boundaries that little bit farther, Stan cocked a sarcastic eyebrow, "You're going to let me date you and Darcy?"
"Stan!"
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" he immediately consoled her, "I'm totally joking."
Still not one hundred percent impressed with him, Wendy rolled her eyes and soon surrendered to Stan as he swung one leg over the bench seat and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer towards him.
"C'mon, you know you wanna' tell me," he coaxed her.
Glimpsing into his baby, blue eyes, Wendy soon felt herself melt in his imploring vision as she licked her lips, "My mum said I could go on the pill."
Instantly, Stan felt his jaw drop and excitable testosterone flow throughout his body, "Really?!"
"Shh," she hushed him with a giggle, quickly gazing around to see if anyone was staring at them. Wendy placed her eyes back on Stan, "Do you want me to?"
Falling to a sharp silence, Stan paused for a moment as he tilted his head to one side, "Well, yeah, of course I do…" he offered softly, "But it's your choice, Wendy, not mine."
Wendy's heart skipped a beat at Stan's response. An uncontrollable smile crawled across her lips. While Stan may not have necessarily realised it, the dark haired boy had just answered with the perfect words to confirm the choice that his girlfriend had already made.
Stan was always putting Wendy first.
"Good, because Mum and me have already made a doctor's appointment for Wednesday after school."
Grinning at her in anticipation, Stan found Wendy's knee with his hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. His happiness was completely untameable. There was a slight nervousness that dwelled within him at the thought of just how serious he and Wendy actually were now, but it was nothing that her beautiful smile couldn't quell. The two of them were definitely ready for this.
"Well, hey," he suddenly burst with renewed cheek, "At least now you don't ever have to face your worst nightmare and go condom shopping again."
Luckily for the young couple, Stan wasn't speaking as loudly as he may have thought. Their conversation wasn't able to be heard throughout the cafeteria – much to the unwilling disappointment and chagrin of Darcy.
From where she sat a few feet away at her own lunch table, the auburn haired beauty had her eyes squinted and was concentrating as hard as she could on attempting to figure out what Stan and Wendy were talking about. She watched as Wendy tried to playfully wrestle with him, before Stan captured her in an inescapable hug and pulled her against his torso.
What she saw next made Darcy's blood run absolutely cold.
Stan kissed Wendy on the top of her head, affectionately holding her for a few seconds longer. He breathed in the intoxicating scent of her hair and then delicately parted from her – glancing into her eyes and speaking two words that were easily recognisable to Darcy or any amateur lip reader.
"Love you."
The phrase was like a dagger through Darcy's chest as she blinked and turned away, desperate to try and keep her eyes off Stan. Every notion of affection that she saw him bestow upon Wendy, when it could have just as easily been her, was like a punch in the gut. She blew out a sad sigh, catching Leah's attention as the blonde girl shook her head in disgust.
"God, they make me sick."
Darcy could only shrug off her friend's attempts at making her feel better, "I never should have started seeing him in the first place."
"Darcy, this isn't your fault," Leah forcefully cut in, "You didn't know that any of this was going to happen."
"I still should have at least seen the signs," the red-head argued in frustration. She heatedly pushed her lunch tray away and collapsed her head into her hands. Pushing her hair back out of her face, Darcy heaved another breath as she tried to find the right words, "I mean, even after he kissed me at school and I went back to his place and… and we…"
Abruptly cutting herself off as she realised what she was about to say, Darcy bit her tongue, shooting her vision down to the table. Wide-eyed and amazed at what she had heard, on the other hand, Leah gasped in surprise and brought her hand to her best friend's arm.
"And you what?" she begged her.
This was not like Darcy at all. She and Leah had been best friends since they were toddlers – they told each other everything, always. But why did Leah suddenly have the feeling that Darcy had been keeping a distressing secret from her?
Leah gulped, "Darcy, you didn't?"
Darcy cringed and shuddered at the thought, "No, of course not," she confirmed, "Not that I didn't try…"
Leah breathed a deep sigh of relief as she shuffled closer to her friend and lowered her voice, "So, what did you two do?" she eased gently, "Will you please just tell me?"
Darcy stubbornly pressed her lips together. She subtly glanced back over to Stan, instantly sensing a sick feeling bubbling in her stomach at the sight of him with his arm wrapped around Wendy's lower back while he happily chatted away to Kyle. She blinked back a solitary tear and turned to Leah.
Stan's life was perfect. He had absolutely everything he ever wanted, and Darcy had nothing. It just wasn't fair.
"We…I just went down on him…" Darcy paused, quickly skimming over the gross details, "I was giving him a blowjob, and then I told him I was ready, but he said no and just asked me to finish him like that."
With gritted teeth and clenched fists, Leah used every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from standing up, marching over the Stan and punching him right between the eyes.
She remembered being so happy for her friend when Stan had finally kissed her in front of everyone at school. It made her sick to know that it had only been the very next night that the teenage boy had carelessly thrown Darcy to one side when Wendy came back into his life.
At this thought, however, a lightbulb flickered on it Leah's mind.
"And wait," she mused, "This was all just the night before Stan and Wendy got back together?"
Darcy nodded her head with a shrug, "Yeah. I dunno' whether he told her not, though."
Leah's lips parted in a devious smile. Bingo.
"Well, maybe it's about time somebody did."
Glancing at Leah with a wave of confusion, Darcy narrowed her brown eyes. As the threat slowly began to make more sense in her mind and she realised what her best friend was eluding to, the auburn haired girl stared over to Stan and Wendy once more.
By now, the young couple had finished eating their lunch. Stan stacked his tray on top of Wendy's, picking them both up and taking her by hand as they walked out of the cafeteria. Darcy followed them the entire time, her eyes glowering more with each step that the two took together.
She was sick of feeling miserable. And more than that, she was so sick of seeing the two of them happy. Leah was right – maybe it was up to Darcy to let Wendy know exactly who Stan had been with and what he had been up to right before she managed to worm her way back into his life.
Uh-oh... how is that conversation going to go? Any predictions?
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