AN: ahh! turns out the chapter AFTER this is the one that's DRAMAFUL. this is the one that leads up to it (: i'm excited for some action, aren't you? ;D
Disclaimer: disclaimed! & going to knott's in 3 days! :D EXCITED!
Derrick Harrington pushed open the frosty glass door to the dorm building's lobby, his frown getting even more depressed when he saw Massie waiting, just like she assured him in her text.
"Boys can be so catty." Derrick complained, giving Massie an expectant look. She always had the wisest things to say. Calm words of wisdom that always made Derrick feel that whatever his problem was, it'd go away eventually.
"Everyone's catty." Massie said with a shrug, tapping her phone lightly against the counter. "What happened this time?" She said, looking up.
"Cam and Josh got in a huge fight and now they're not even speaking to each other." Derrick said, a look of disbelief on his face. "And Cam is my roommate so I have him being all brooding and Mr. Right and the way Josh has been doing something fishy with Alicia—"
"Josh mentioned Leesh?" Massie interrupted. Her amber eyes widened as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked totally worried.
Derrick closed his eyes and exhaled. Great. He came to Massie so she could make him un-stressed and now he was the one stressing her out. What a great friend he was.
"It's nothing. Alicia just kept texting him and it was a huge misunderstanding or something."
Massie opened her mouth in shock. "Alicia keeps texting him now?" She shook her head and brushed her dark bangs out of her eyes. "Why do my friends tell me nothing anymore?"
"What's wrong?" Derrick asked, finally relaxing his shoulders and walking closer to Massie who was leaning against the counter, looking at the brink of a Massie meltdown. Derrick knew that this was as Massie as Massie could get, and he was the only guy who ever got to see it.
"Everything is falling apart. Leesh likes Josh again and I think she's plotting to get him back or something. I told her it was a horrible idea since I just know someone's bound to get hurt and no one will benefit anything from this. Leesh started crying and stuff and I haven't really talked to her in a week." Massie rambled, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. "But she's not supposed to start text-flirting with Josh! Especially when he's with that new girl because that just creates tension and if they get into this huge fight, I'm obviously going to have to take Alicia's side, but I don't even want to take Leesh's side because she's the one that's wrong here, not Kristen! And I don't even know the girl, but I fight on justice's side, you know? God, that just sounded incredibly dorky."
Massie took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled. "I don't know what I'm going to do."
"Take it as it comes?" Derrick said, just repeating what Massie always told him when he had freak outs about soccer games or huge exams.
"No, I think this calls for a plan." Massie said, a newfound determined look on her face.
Derrick's brown eyes widened. As much as he loved the girl, Massie's plans always ended up just a little bit… out of her control. And knowing Massie, that's exactly what she hated.
--
Kristen Gregory sat down with Claire during lunch at V Bistro, the vegetarian-friendly little restaurant located near the edge of the school's campus. It technically wasn't a part of the school, and it was considered going off grounds for lunch (something not allowed on weekdays unless one had a special reason), but students regularly sneaked off to get a bite of the guilt-free lunch. Girls especially felt that just because they were eating at such a veggie-loving restaurant, they were burning carbs just looking at the green produce.
"So, what's up with Josh and Cam?" Kristen asked immediately, pushing the orange napkin (recycle!) aside and picking up the menu. "Because everyone always acts like they're friends or something but I saw otherwise."
"Oh yeah," Claire propped her elbows on the table and leaned in, her voice changing to a hushed whisper so other gossip-hungry Westchester Academy students wouldn't be able to hear. "What happened between them? The tension is crazy. I heard there was a fight? Had something to do with you?"
Kristen sat back, surprised. "It had to do with me?"
"That's what I heard."
She stared down at the menu in front of her. Did Cam say something bad about her and Josh was only defending? But that didn't seem likely when Josh hadn't spoken to her since Saturday, and that was two days ago.
Cam had passed her in the hallway just earlier that day before her first period. He had given her an awkward smile and walked into the classroom next door. Kristen shook her head, not realizing that she had gotten the shivers suddenly.
"Are you cold too?" Kristen asked Claire, who hadn't even bothered to consult the menu yet. Then again, Claire, being the healthy yet candy-loving person she was, probably ate at V Bistro regularly to help balance off her obvious obsession with gummy treats.
"No," Claire looked at Kristen oddly. "It's barely fall yet."
Kristen rubbed her lips together and shrugged. Their server came over with a happy grin and a loose ponytail.
"I'll just have the special with a mango smoothie." Claire said.
"And for you?" She turned to Kristen, notepad in hand.
"Grilled eggplant and lemonade, thanks." Kristen ordered. The server nodded happily and went back behind the counter. Kristen immediately turned back to Claire and the issue they had in front of them. "So were they always cool?"
Claire shrugged. "More or less. They weren't exactly the closest to each other in the group. Cam was really close with Mass but then something happened. The two of them are best friends with Derrick, so I bet this is hard on him too."
Kristen clenched her jaw. "I just hope it wasn't my fault or anything."
"That'd be a guilt trip, right?" Claire made a face. "Don't worry. The group is tight, no matter what happens. Plus, neither of the guys got hurt. Nothing to worry about."
Kristen tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and frowned. "I doubt it's about me. I mean, Cam doesn't even know me. Why would he care, right?"
Claire laughed. "Well, you don't really know how Cam is. He cares about everyone."
"He sounds really great." Kristen commented, thinking about the cold look Josh had given her a few days ago after his almost-fight with Cam. At least Cam had looked at her with some sort of emotion. But Josh? He seemed distant. Different than how she remembered.
"He is. You'll see."
--
Alicia Rivera twirled in front of the mirror, tugging down her strapless sundress lower so it showed more cleavage, not less like any normal person would have liked. She turned to her roommate Dylan, tilting her head. "This hot enough?"
Dylan tilted her head side-to-side. "Maybe you need a shorter dress that shows more leg than chest. You've been abusing the boob privilege."
Alicia rolled her eyes, turning back to the mirror to admire herself. "You can never abuse it, Dylan. You can only neglect it."
Alicia knew just how gorgeous she looked at all times. Her eyelashes were mascara-free yet looked like the after-picture in a CoverGirl ad. Her hair? Dark, silky, with a vavavoomy volume. And of course everyone always said that her friends were just as pretty as her—Dylan looked like a Disney Princess, Massie was a classic beauty, and Claire looked like a Gap model—Alicia herself believed that looking like a Spanish seductress was the only way to be.
"Josh is going to so want me back." Alicia gushed to herself in the mirror, slicking on some La Prairie Cellular Lip Line Plumper. It was a secret that she made sure only her roommate knew of (though everyone kind of suspected it already).
"Uh huh," Dylan answered flatly, nodding her head slowly. None of the group really wanted Alicia and Josh back together. They all knew that Alicia, as sweet as she sometimes could be, didn't exactly have the best intentions. And Josh, as sweet as he was put out to be, sometimes had his priorities mixed up.
Alicia turned, giving Dylan an impatient look. "Can you hand me my earrings?"
"Which ones?" Dylan asked, hopping off the bed and walking over to Alicia's desk, which she had turned into a vanity. Each dorm room had a small bathroom to share and there wasn't enough space on the sink's counter for all of Alicia's accessories and makeup.
Her hand lightly trailed over all the gold hoops and the long dangly earrings—Alicia always liked drawing attention to her neck (and therefore, cleavage).
"The longest dangly ones you can find." Alicia said with a smirk.
Dylan handed Alicia the earrings as she felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her jeans. She flipped open the screen to check the text.
Mass: get leesh out to our fountain spot ASAP
Massie rarely used "ASAP" except in dire situations. Dylan grabbed Alicia's wrist just as she finished putting in her earrings. "Come on, Massie says there's something important you have to see."
Alicia stumbled a bit. "Omigod, Dyl. Watch the hair!"
Dylan stopped pulling Alicia as she saw Alicia speed up a bit in her Christian Louboutin pumps. As they were nearing the fountain, Dylan saw Massie glance at them then immediately nudge Josh in Kristen's direction.
"Hey Mass!" Alicia greeted, oblivious to what was happening.
Massie shushed her and adverted her glaze to the drama unfolding. Alicia's eyes followed where Massie was looking, watching as Josh Hotz took off his NY cap slowly and muss up the front of his hair.
Alicia looked at Massie with a questioning look. Was this what she thought it was? Because if it was, this could not be happening.
dundundun :O
review? ;D