note1: thank you so much for all your reviews, you're the entire reason i reopen my word doc.

note2: i know i promised you all something dirty this chapter, but my writing just took on a life of its own. this chapter is all over the place, i'm so sorry. i didn't even bother with my outline; i'll try to get it back on track next chapter. i haven't had time all break to write, but hopefully this school year will be easier for me so i can devote more time to finishing all my WIPs. thanks again for your continued support. sorry my chapters just keep getting longer and longer!

note3: i'm just so glad to know that there are people still following this story. none of these characters are likable, but they're so much fun to write. i do separate POVs for a reason. what one character says and thinks is different from how another character perceives it. also, it shows you how oblivious derrick and massie are. and until this ch, i never realized we never had a claire analysis of massie! so here you go, hope you enjoy! i think you all know where this is going...

that's my motherfucking words too

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claire;

"…our new Student Council President, Claire Lyons!"

The entire Student Council was seated in a three waxy mahogany conference tables, pushed into an unfinished square, with a matching podium in the center. So when Claire stood up from her seat and walked over to where Massie was standing at the front of room, all eyes followed her. She had to fight down her nerves as she was once again in the center of attention.

The blonde should have been used to it. She had more than enough experience speaking in front of an audience and running meetings, but for some reason, being Student Council at Westchester Preparatory Academy seemed so much weightier.

The pressure was higher.

Westchester was more prominent, more important, more distinguished, and if Claire could really make a difference… It meant something. It meant more.

Motivated by this reminder, Claire felt all her nerves slip away as she switched places with Massie and looked out at the gathered members.

"Hi," she blurted with a giddy smile and everyone in the room laughed before greeting her back. She hadn't expected to make a speech, but as she stood in front of the room, the words just came to her. "I just want to say… thank you so much to all of you for giving me this opportunity."

Everyone gave her indulgent smiles, except for the Council Secretary, Liz Goldman, who was transcribing the meeting on her laptop, and Kristen Gregory, the Council Treasurer, who was frantically doing last minute calculations. Claire didn't really mind, because everyone else was listening intently.

"I am so humbled by your confidence that I will be able to lead you all. I know I've only been here a few months, so I have a lot to learn. But that's why I hope that we can all work together as a group to effectively represent all of Westchester Prep. When I first heard I was nominated for this position, I compiled a list of changes that I wanted to see happen over the coming school year."

The indulgent smiles of her crowd turned into considering ones, but Claire plowed ahead.

"There was a lot," the blonde joked and the Council gave small laughs. Claire relaxed as the tension broke again. She smiled and continued, "So, I'd love to get your feedback, hear your ideas, and just find out all the ways you guys think I can better serve the school. I promise to give each comment and criticism the consideration it deserves. It's just not about what you or I can do. It's about representing the entire school and our community to the best of our abilities.

Together, we can make this school a better place. Thank you again for your support."

Massie was the first person to clap and the entire room joined her a moment later.

"Thank you, Claire," Massie beamed, her amber eyes glowing. "That was really inspiring." She glanced out at the room casually. "We're all really looking forward to hearing what you have planned, but unfortunately, because it's Homecoming Week, we really have to iron out the next few days. We'll bring it up again after the dance."

"Of course," Claire reassured her, fighting off the disappointment. She slid into the empty seat on the left reserved for the Council President. Massie had assured her that her name tag was ordered and would be delivered before the next meeting. She hadn't been expecting to make waves her very first day, but it was still disheartening.

There was so much that needed to be done.

Still, she guessed that Massie was right. She could wait a short week.

It was the midst of Homecoming Week, so Claire settled down. Apparently, there was a lot to do and a lot to talk about. She had no idea what was involved in planning an entire week of events, but apparently, Homecoming Week, the parade on Friday, and the big soccer game right after were all a really big deal. The entire town, Westchester Prep alumni, the Mayor of Westchester, and the Governor of New York would be there.

This wasn't even including the Homecoming dance Saturday night. It was all Claire had been hearing about since she arrived. The events that occurred there and afterwards were legendary, according to the girls in her Creative Writing class. Glancing at Massie, the Student Body President, in charge of the entire affair, Claire felt relieved that she wasn't the one under all the pressure.

She wouldn't have even known where to start. That was what Claire really liked about Westchester Prep. Unlike her old school in Orlando, the duties of running a school were split between two heads. With Massie at the forefront of event planning and organizing fundraisers, Claire had so much more time to devote to actually making Westchester a better place.

"So, the past few days have been going so great," Massie praised and everyone in the room preened. "Dean Wiseman told me that not only is the WagMag covering the full story again, but Westchester Magazine and the Tattler will be as well!"

The room clapped excitedly, and Claire joined in, slowly.

"Since we have the rest of the week all set up and everything seems to be going better than planned, let's focus on the parade today. Any problems we need to address? Is everything ready?"

Liz, who had been typing quickly on her keyboard, finally looked up and cleared her throat rudely. She had been like that the whole meeting. Claire slowly realized that she had probably stepped on some toes. She had seen Liz hanging out with Becca before the girl had been 'asked' to take time off until the rumors surrounding the scandal cooled down. Liz must have been missing her friend and Claire replacing her so soon must have cemented that Becca might not be making a comeback.

Claire couldn't blame Liz for being cold towards her and Massie, who must have support her instatement. What had happened to Becca was horribly unfair.

"Well, I double checked with the Welcoming Committee rep today and all the floats are ready. Transports been arranged, but they'll be arriving a day early. Apparently, they're also booked for ADD's homecoming parade and that's the only time they can deliver," Liz intoed flatly, but quickly.

Several people on the Council scoffed in anger at the thought of Westchester Prep not being top priority and Claire raised her brows.

"Actually," Massie interrupted, making a quick note in her purple notebook. "That's probably better. The sooner they arrive, the more time we have to double check everything and get them in place. This guarantees no last minute traffic problems or delays. Give them directions to the spare field to keep them all out of site until time. Anything else? …No? Good. Now, what about the dance?"

"Mass?" Kristen spoke up, dropping her pen and shaking out her hand. "I just did the calculations. And I know we already confirmed and paid, but there's just no way we can actually afford Armin to DJ. The budget's going to be screwed for the rest of the year; we're going to have to put in two more fundraisers to keep our funds the way they were before. We have to go with our backup."

Alex Higgins, the junior rep, actually cried out in dismay at the thought of a second rate DJ. Other joined in instantly. Massie considered all of this for a moment.

"Make an announcement before the game. We can't afford a DJ and we're accepting donations. All the extra money, if we exceed, will go to Westchester's scholarship fund. I'm sure everyone in town and their parents will donate to the cause. Anything else?" she finally said and Claire was impressed and flattered. Weschester Prep only allowed three scholarship opportunities a year and Claire was one of them. More funds could go a really long way.

"Yeah," Kristen murmured, shuffling the notes in front of her. She glared at the room in annoyance. "Voting closes tomorrow and at least seven of you in here haven't submitted yet." There were curses and murmurs of apologies. "Whatever. I'll just take them here and submit them for you guys tomorrow." She dug in a gigantic binder and pulled out barcoded forms. She handed them to specific people around the room. Surprisingly, Massie accepted one with a sheepish smile too.

Then the other blonde turned to Claire and held one out to her. "Oh, and I still need to know your court nominations. You didn't submit it in time for the ballot. I'll just have to announce them at the game."

Claire accepted the form with a bewildered expression. "…Court nominations?"

She glanced down at the form and felt the world stop.

It was the Homecoming ballot and under the list of possible Homecoming Queens was the name Claire Lyons.

Claire's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "I'm… I'm no—nominated for Homecoming Queen?"

It came out as a high pitched squeak. Kristen looked at her like she was an idiot, then her face cleared and she laughed, "You didn't know?"

Claire couldn't speak. She was speechless. She was floored.

"That's explains why you haven't submitted your court nominations," Kristen said, accepting completed ballots from the other Council members and organizing them into her giant binder by name and ID number. She looked back up at Claire and grinned jokingly, "I forgive you."

Claire finally found the voice to speak in a pitch that wouldn't break glass. "What court nominations are you talking about?"

"We do things differently here in Westchester," Massie answered for her. Claire glanced up in surprise and flooded red in embarrassment. She hadn't realized other people could have been listening in on her surprise. It seemed like everyone except for her had already known she had been nominated. She turned her attention to Massie, who was still explaining. "Only seniors are nominated, but every nominee for King and Queen also nominates two other people in any grade on their ticket to round out the Homecoming Court."

"You were supposed to pick two other girls to run with you," Kristen continued to explain. "But it's too late now; just make sure that they're there at the parade before three for the float and then on the field at halftime when we announce the winners."

"Oh…" Claire muttered, still feeling completely bewildered and overwhelmed. She couldn't believe this was happening. She'd only been at school for a month. She was new! How was she nominated for Homecoming Queen? And against… Claire glanced down at the ballot at the other nominees for Queen and their Court.

Massie Block – Kristen Gregory & Dylan Marvil

Alicia Rivera – Olivia Ryan & Sadie Meltzer

She swallowed heavily in surprise. Against the most popular girls in school!

Words couldn't explain the exclamation marks exploding in her head. Claire didn't understand this at all. She had never been nominated for anything like this in her entire life. Her old position as school president and now Student Council President had both been appointed to her and she had never cared about school events, Homecoming Courts, or Proms. She'd never been petty or shallow enough to even attend a dance, or even to care.

Homecoming and Prom nominations were all a glorified popularity contest. They added nothing of value to real society. It only served to make shallow people feel validated by other shallow people. Voicing those thoughts hadn't made her anymore well liked at her old school, but what did she care if people liked her or not? All she cared about was making a difference.

So to see her name printed on an official ballot for a dance she hadn't even been planning on going to was mind numbing.

She couldn't even think of what she did to be nominated. It… had to have been the Pretty Committee. Claire had scoffed when she had first heard of the superficial name, but she couldn't deny their influence now. All of the girls held influential positions in school and outside in their community, all running their own clubs and committees and participating in sports or cheerleading or dance. Dylan was actually Merri-Lee Marvil's daughter!

It… all led back to Kemp, didn't it? Everything seemed to. And Derrick Harrington. And the day Kristen invited her to sit at lunch with them. And Massie's support for her Student Council President appointment.

It all meant something.

But what?

Unlike what the rest of the Westchester thought, Claire wasn't really part of the Pretty Committee. It must have look like she was, but she barely knew any of them. Kristen and Dylan barely spare her a glance at lunch. Alicia was pretty on the outside, but Claire could tell she was rotten on the inside. Massie was… nice, but there always seemed to be double meanings behind everything she said.

Her friendships with all of them were nothing like the close bonds she had with her friends, Sarah, Sari, and Mandy back in Florida. Everything in Westchester was so superficial, the friendships most of all.

Claire huffed in disbelief. The rumor mill here was out of control. People would believe anything.

But scoring a spot at that lunch table had landed her a Presidential appointment. She just never thought a Homecoming nomination was next. Accepting a pencil from Kristen, Claire tuned back into the real world. She spared a glance at the Homecoming King nominations and blinked.

Kemp Hurley – Chris Plovert & Griffin Hastings

Derrick Harrington – Cam Fisher & Jake Shapiro

Josh Hotz – Dempsey Soloman & Geoff Micheals

Everyone at her lunch table was nominated for something. The blonde couldn't believe this. Was the school really that small? Kristen was urging her to hurry and submit her vote so they could get on with the meeting, so Claire quickly filled out the bubble next to her own name for the heck of it. She debated between Derrick and Kemp for a moment, before finally bubbling in the spot next to Derrick.

But the moment she handed her ballot to Kristen, she felt bad for snubbing both Massie and Kristen, who probably deserved her vote. It wasn't like she really cared about Homecoming. But then again, it really wasn't ethical that Kristen was in charge of submitting votes when she had a Court nomination, even if she was the Student Council Treasurer. That was also something Claire was going to change.

"Alright," Kristen said, placing everyone's ballots away in their proper places for submitting. She crossed people off her list. "There's still like, five people who haven't voted, but I'll find them before school ends Friday."

Massie called the meeting to back attention and Claire was once again overwhelmed by all the details involving making sure a dance went perfectly. Thank goodness she didn't have to really deal with all of this.

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derrick;

"Hurry up," Massie hissed at him as she slammed his passenger side door shut. She tossed boxes, Eagles gear, banners, and a megaphone into the back seat of his car haphazardly and Derrick scowled. "We're going to be late!"

He checked the time on his phone and scoffed. "No, we're not," he murmured, before tossing it back into his cup holder. Still, Massie was frazzled enough that he didn't tempt her barely restrained temper. He started the car.

"Maybe you're not," Massie hissed at him again, slipping off her flats and tossing them into a shoebox and fishing for something in his backseat. "But I'm supposed to be there by now! Dean Wiseman's waiting for me to double check the floats. Everything's ruined if there's a safety violation. Plus, Livvy Collins was put in charge of decorating the stadium, which probably means I have to take everything down and replace it. The vendors are arriving soon and I need to be there to direct them. And I haven't given the DJ the set list for today yet either. Not to mention—"

"Okay. You need to take a breath," Derrick told her firmly.

"Just drive," his stepsister huffed, glaring at him from the side, still reaching in his backseat. She pulled up a pair of navy slingback heels.

Derrick rolled his eyes, but he did pull out of their driveway.

"Oh, and you better be on the field by three thirty. We're not waiting if you're late."

Derrick slid his eyes from the road over to his stepsister, who was now wrangling with a pair of tights. He was momentarily distracted by the amount of thigh visible for his viewing pleasure. When he didn't respond, Massie huffed, "Are we going to have a problem, Derrick?"

"A problem with what?" he croaked, trying to keep his head in the game. He turned back to the road and made a quick motion. He had almost missed the next turn.

"Your car. I know how much you love to show off, but you can't drive it in the parade this year. You're stuck on the stupid float with the rest of us."

"Are you going to hunt me down if I don't show up?" he asked, making another right turn.

Massie shot him a dirty look, before turning her attention to back to changing for the parade. "No, but Claire might," she said. She slipped on her heels and pulled down his car visor for a mirror to draw on her face paint. Derrick reached out and slapped the visor closed on her. No way was he letting her get paint on his custom leather seats. He ignored her furious glare and turned back to the road.

The blond's brow furrowed as he considered her statement. "You're going to have to be more specific."

He hadn't been thinking about Claire at all. Why would it matter to Claire whether or not—Ah. He got it. Derrick had accused Massie of being jealous the other day, and it seemed like she was still resentful. He'd thought it was just the stress of Homecoming Week, but it seemed like Massie was just being especially snippy to him for his teasing.

The realization almost made him grin.

"Oh right. I forgot you were slow sometimes," Massie remarked snidely and his grin broke free. He must have really rubbed her the wrong way for her to resort to petty, immature barbs at his intelligence. She had allowed him to get under her skin. Maybe she was jealous? Derrick slid his eyes over to his stepsister again, prepared to give her a smarmy retort, just in time to see her snort from the back of her hand and toss her head back against his passenger seat headrest in relaxation.

"What the fuck?" Derrick removed one hand from the wheel, gripped her chin, and forced her to turn her head so he could get a good look at her. Her pupils were already dilating. "Did you just take a bump?"he demanded incredulously.

"Oh, like you aren't packing enough molly for the entire soccer team right now," Massie snapped back at him, but then she did a full one-eighty and giggled as her high kicked in.

"Yeah, for the after party," he replied angrily. What the fuck? He slapped his hand against his steering wheel, fighting the urge to slap her. He couldn't believe her stupidity. "Aren't you meeting up with Wiseman? Jesus, Block, think!"

"Oh, whatever," Massie told him, relaxing her head back again. "I needed this, okay? I've been running on two hours of sleep this entire week. If everyone wasn't incompetent, I wouldn't have to—"

Derrick slammed on the brakes. Massie jolted forward, her seatbelt saving her from slamming her head against his car dashboard.

"Do you hear yourself?" he demanded over her instant, offended cursing. He couldn't believe how nonchalant she was being about this. "I can't believe you. What's going to happen when you start tweaking out halfway during the parade?! If you think I'm going to take time away from my game to peel your coked-out ass off the floor again—"

"No one asked you to do that!" Massie shouted back at him. Derrick forced himself to take a deep breath to clear away the red in his vision. He relaxed his tight grip on the wheel. Massie had a reason for being shrill. She was probably hitting her peak now, but Derrick had no excuse… but Massie's unremorseful, petulant face pushed away the last of his calm.

His vision of her sitting next to him now blurred with finding her in the country club coatroom floor, coked out of her mind, in a fit, blood pouring from her nose. He could still hear her stuttered pleas, incoherently begging him not to tell anyone, to not to let their parents know.

She wasn't even sorry.

"Kemp did," he hissed. His phone call to Derrick in the middle of practice had been frantic. Derrick almost hadn't called back, pissed that his friend had ditched again, but at the amount of calls, he finally picked up. A devious, zealous Massie Kemp could handle, but the moment shit got real, it was Derrick who had to deal the pickup and aftermath. Kemp, who Massie had proudly called 'the one', had been useless.

Derrick eyed the small bag of coke, partially hidden inside Massie's purse on his car floor and clenched his jaw. The fact that Kemp had witnessed Massie's reaction firsthand just before summer break, and had still given her more…

The fact that Massie still took some right in front of him after what happened last time…

It was an aggressive hit. In his face. With a chair. Made out of metal.

"People need a way to cope, you know. A brief respite. Not everyone has the privilege of being allowed to fuck away all their problems," Massie sneered, brushing her hand across her nose again to clear away any evidence and Derrick clenched his jaw so hard it ached. "Just because you can't convince Kuh-Laire Lyons to give it up doesn't mean that everyone else is putting their life on hold. And Kemp won't be asking you tonight, will he? I don't need you to take care of me, so unclench, Derrick, god."

Derrick finally turned away from her, easing his foot off the break and pressing hard on the gas. He couldn't believe he ever entertained the thought of Massie possibly being jealous. Massie was Ice Queen personified. Cold-hearted down to her core. She didn't have an emphatic-feeling bone in her body, and he should have realized that the moment he heard her bring it up casually to Kemp on the first day of school.

Massie didn't give a shit about any of the worry she had put him through, so why should he give a shit about her?

He always did this to himself. Even as children, Derrick had always strained to find ways to convince himself that Massie was more than she appeared. And she made it easy sometimes; everything about her was a contradiction. Her words always had double meanings, her actions bled hot to cold on him, her prissy charade at school melted into a freer devil-may-care attitude at home, and there were moments.

Moments where she seemed lonely or insecure or vulnerable. Moments where she needed him.

But everything about her was calculated, wasn't it? It must have all been manufactured to reel him back in. And Derrick falls for it; time and time again.

His stepsister rolled her head over to look at him when he didn't respond to her. The car fell silent, except for his harsh breathing. Derrick could feel her eyes burning into him as he pulled into Weschester's old town center and parked at the first spot he saw, all without saying a word. He made to pull his keys from his engine, when Massie's hand shot out and grabbed his.

He looked up, taking in the fast rise and fall of her chest and the way her eyelids fluttered. The moment his eyes met hers, she gave him a slow, wry smirk. "And just when I was thinking that you didn't give a shit about me anymore."

And there it was…

The contradiction; the push and the pull, the hot following the cold. Massie lashed out hard, but then the moment she realized her prey had reached their limits, she fell back, reached out, pretended to be helpless.

Derrick pulled his hand out of her grip. He didn't allow himself to forget.

Massie was a bitch. She'd never been helpless in her life. She didn't allow herself to be.

"You thought right the first time," he told her, grabbing his keys. He pulled open his door and stepped out of his car. He didn't give a shit.

Cancel his subscription. Derrick was over her issues.

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massie;

Massie stood on the edge of the soccer field, hidden between the stadium's wrought-iron gates and the rising chair-back bleachers, rubbing her arms to fight off the cold as the sun started to set across the field. Massie had brought a sweater, but she didn't want to cover up her school spirit outfit until at least the Homecoming Court announcement, but she also didn't want to step out of the shadows and rough wind into the fading sunlight. Her coke was gone and her final comedown had hit her harder than ever, but she was still jittery as fuck.

Plus, it seemed like she wanted to torture herself. She couldn't stop watching Derrick and Claire on the other side of the field. Her stepbrother was already dressed for the game, but they were huddled close and talking quietly.

Massie rubbed at her chest roughly, missing her high. Anything would be better than this feeling right now.

But what did she care what Claire and Derrick were doing anyway? If she was being honest with herself… Maybe it was because if Derrick really didn't give a shit about her, he wouldn't have any incentive to want to destroy Claire? Massie's skin rose in goosebumps at the horror of the thought.

Massie shook her head roughly. No way, Derrick was a skeeze. And a class A asshole. He would hit it and quit it and come to her to collect anyway. Even if he didn't care about her. He was just that type of person. He would want to win their bet. Even if he didn't want her, he would want to beat her.

But Massie wouldn't give in. She had no intention of letting him win. He couldn't, because the moment he sent Claire crying back to Orlando with her tail between her legs was the moment Massie won. The brunette watched Derrick tuck Claire's messy blonde hair behind her ear and forced herself to breathe through the ache in her chest.

"Here," someone spoke and Massie whipped around, her heart racing again.

But it was only Kemp.

Massie looked down and saw that he was offering her a white styrofoam cup. From the lack of logo, Massie could tell that he had just grabbed it off the drinks table for the players, but knowing he ex, he probably had it spiked with something. "No, thanks," she muttered, rubbing her arms again.

Kemp smiled slightly. As if he knew that she was only being stubborn. "You look like you need it," he explained, his hand still outstretched. "You're freezing."

Massie stared at the steam rising from the top of the hot coffee for so long that her vision started blurring again. She blinked rapidly and grudgingly accepted. "Alright, thanks," she murmured. She felt the warmth of the cup seeping into her hands the moment she took it.

"There! That wasn't so hard, was it?" Kemp tucked his hands into his soccer sweats over his uniform, and leaned against the bleacher railings next to her.

"I don't know. I might have sprained something," Massie joked slowly, taking a sip. The sharp taste of alcohol hit her instantly. She knew she shouldn't drink when she was just coming down from a high, but it was already right in front of her. The come down was making her feel even more out of her element. It probably didn't help that she hadn't talked to Kemp on her own in ages.

The brunette turned to really look at him, only to find his attention across the field now. Massie slowly followed his line of vision over to Claire and Derrick. She watched as Claire turned around to shield herself from the wind, allowing both of them to see that she was still wearing Derrick's sweater, flashing his soccer number emblazoned brightly on her back, like a brand.

"Give it up, Kemp, they're dating." As much as it pained her to admit it. What the fuck was Derrick doing? What the fuck was he thinking?

And she wasn't wondering because she was jealous like he thought. She wasn't. She was confused, nauseated, pissed, but not jealous. Massie hated being accused of being jealous. The thought of her coveting something someone else had was awful enough, but the idea that she didn't have the power to obtain it for herself was worse. Massie could get anything she set her mind to. She knew it in her heart, so nothing rubbed her wrong way like that word did.

Kemp brought her back to the topic at hand with a scoff. "Derrick doesn't date," he assured her. Massie shot him an annoyed look at his stupidity and he turned to consider her. "Except you," he amended with an ironic grin. "But that was years ago."

Massie took a sip of her drink quickly to stave off her temper and to avoid wasting perfectly good alcohol by throwing it Kemp's face. No, she was saving all her anger for people who deserved it more. Kemp, who had brought her something to warm her up, was off her shit-list, but only for the moment. She still hadn't forgotten how he had cast her aside for Claire this summer.

"I'm not into her," Kemp told her. He stepped closer and leaned over her, shielding the both of them from the wind beyond the railings and giving them privacy.

Massie laughed out loud before she could stop herself. She stared up at him in disbelief, "Please! I just saw you pining for her. You're so hot for her; I could reheat my hot chocolate with your libido!"

"I'm not," he assured her again. Kemp shook his head slowly, watching her intently, and Massie stared back at him with raised brows. She didn't believe a word of it. "But I know what you're doing." Kemp reached over her head and grabbed at one of the bars holding up the stands. Massie didn't bother leaning away from him. He was warm, even at the distance they were standing at. "You think that you can scare her back to Florida by aiming Derrick at her, but it's not going to work."

Massie pursed her lips and drained the rest of her hot chocolate. She crushed the cup in her grip. "What makes you say that?"

"Claire's mom is working at Kori Geldman's law firm through my dad's recommendation."

Massie brushed her hair back from her face, knowing that her ex could read her confusion without her having to ask.

"They were childhood friends," he explained with a shrug.

Massie crossed her arms and snorted. "So, what? You're looking out for her?"

Kemp smirked. "Well, we might become stepsiblings."

Massie's jaw dropped. "You're fucking joking."

"Nah," he told her, and laughed when Massie chucked her crumpled sytrofoam cup at him. It bounced off his chest and landed on the ground between their feet. Massie ran her hands through her wind-blown hair in frustration and watched as Kemp playfully started his warm-up on the bars right in front of her. Her eyes didn't even register the sight that would normally amuse her.

It seemed like every day she was getting further and further away from her chance to knock Claire off her pedestal.

It'd be harder than she thought to do it now if Kemp's name and reputation was attached to hers, officially.

"Doesn't mean you aren't still hard up for her," Massie retorted when she finally regained her equilibrium. Maybe she could work with this…

Kemp dropped down from where he was doing pull-ups in astonishment. He caught her drift immediately though, because he cast a glance back at Claire and Derrick across the field, but they were already gone. Derrick was probably starting his own warm-up and Claire was probably heading up to the stands for a seat. Kemp turned back and considered her for another moment. Her ex finally huffed out a laugh and shook his head at her, "You know, sometimes the way your mind works scares me."

Massie tilted her head and blinked up at him charmingly. "Only sometimes?"

"Maybe all the time," he admitted wryly. He peered out over at where the rest of his team was crowding around for the group warm-up and pep talk at one end of the field before turning back to her fondly, "We cool now, Mass?"

The brunette eyed him with her arms still crossed, taking in his lazy eyes, wide smile, and fading sun-kissed hair. Only Kemp would think that a hot drink two months too late excused him from her wrath. Still, in a round-a-bout way he had been trying to help her by warning her off Claire. But knowing he was still waiting for an answer, Massie jokingly bared her teeth at him. "Not even close."

Kemp laughed, already walking backwards toward his team.

"Got a date for the Homecoming?" he threw out and Massie rolled her amber eyes. Boys. Did they not know that dates should be secured in advance? It could take weeks to find the perfect coordinating outfit. You couldn't ask someone the day before!

"Yes," she snapped. "I'm taking Alicia."

"Then at least save me a dance," he called out as he jogged away. Massie turned away and headed towards the center of the field. Slowly climbing the steps to look for her friends or the rest of the Student Council, Massie fought down a smile. She might not be out to destroy Kemp anymore, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to let him off too easy. Kemp, Claire, and now Derrick… they'd all get what was coming.

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note4: yeeeeeah, everyone is fucked up in this. derrick and massie's fight was on 2 different wavelengths, lol. thanks again for reading! pls review, if you like!