Seriously, guys, what is up with the no reviews? :O I feel like my readers have given up on me. D:! I really write to let my feelings out but I feel more assured if I get reviews if people have actually read AYW/OR. I really like where I'm headed with this and if you like it too, please just give me some words of encouragement through reviews. Constructive criticism is even accepted. Thank you!
The romance continues!
Thanks for your support! I don't own The Clique. Lisi Harrison does. That brilliant mastermind. XD.
Chapter 4: In Darkness, He Is All I See
AR
She felt like passing out in front of everyone at the dinner table. It didn't matter if her parents' new fine china would shatter in the process. She had the most powerful urge to bang her head against the table repeatedly. The fake smile plastered on her face was about to crack.
Alicia's parents, Nadia and Len Rivera, were welcoming Vic and Valerie Hotz into the neighborhood on this pleasant afternoon. They'd just moved from Santa Fe, New Mexico with their son, Josh. Their older daughter Lily was attending NYU. The Hotz family was originally based in New York but Vic's job demanded they move to Santa Fe. That was the gist of most of the conversation the adults shared.
"You'll have to excuse our son." Val smiled sincerely, her long blond hair tied up in a bun. She looked beautiful, Alicia noted. Apparently, her mom felt threatened by the new mom on the block. Alicia mentally rolled her eyes.
She liked Val, though. "It's no problem."
"He's just been a tad hesitant about the move. What with it being sudden and all…" Vic laughed, his black hair not having a single white one on his head. He was attractive. Her friends would definitely brand him as a hot dad. And she wouldn't doubt that her guy friends would brand Val Hotz as the hot mom either…Oh, boy…And she wondered what their son would be like. Would he be the exact opposite of them? Despicable?
"Of course." Alicia's dad, Len agreed. He scratched his mass of salt-and-pepper hair. "I think he's in Alicia's grade. What grade is your son in?"
"He's graduating this year." Val sighed, already showing those pre-graduation jitters.
She envied Josh already. Having parents who actually showed concern for their kid while her own parents just cared about enhancing their status and putting a bunch of pressure on Alicia to be the prodigy anyone that wasn't her parents knew she'd never be.
The rest of the conversation became a blur. But then a sudden thump from outside the window of the dining room caught everyone's attention.
"Alicia, could you be a sweetheart and tell whoever is making that noise to stop it?" Her dad, Len, asked her.
Translation: You're not of any use here anymore. You can go now.
She took this as a chance to escape the hypocrisy that was in the air of her own house. "Sure thing."
Alicia's house was one of the biggest in town. She loved this house and the way it resembled a Spanish villa with the perfect blend of New York with modern furniture and big glass windows. She stepped out the front door and heard more thumping and crashing. She panicked slightly.
"Hey!" She shouted as she stepped off the porch of her house to find the source of the noise. "There have been noise complaints from the people who feed me. Though I could care less about what you're up to, could you please just stop..."
It was a guy she'd never seen before riding on a skateboard. It didn't look like he was an expert. She saw that he was bleeding. Open wounds were on his knees and shins. "Shit! Are you..." She began. "Okay?" The guy spat out. "Oh yeah, being moved from Santa Fe to Westchester when I'm about to graduate is just going damn swell for me!" When Alicia sprinted over to him to see if he was okay, she discovered that he was actually decent-looking, cute in a way that could make her go love crazy. Could being the operative word.
His sun-kissed black hair glowed in the setting sunlight and his brown eyes were full of rage. This was the Hotz family's son?
"Well, excuse me for trying to be welcoming." She muttered. Alicia didn't hesitate to give him attitude of her own. She had absolutely nothing to do with his sudden move.
He glared at her and then sighed, calming down just a bit... "Sorry..." He blinked a couple of times and it was like he was looking at Alicia for the first time. "I'm Josh." He extended his hand out for her to shake.
She eyed his hand and took it with caution. "Alicia..."
"Oh, so you're the girl my parents couldn't shut up about." He smirked, revealing a perfect set of pearly whites.
Typical. He was perfect looking and he was a douche bag. Go figure.
Alicia felt heat rising up to her cheeks. "Why would they talk about me?"
"Well, you and your parents are in the neighborhood and my parents are obsessed with kissing some major Rivera ass. They want me to get in good with you so that you'll tell your parents how awesome I am and then that'll give my family points here."
Alicia cocked her head, dumbfounded at the Hotz family's motives to get in good with her family. "Seriously?"
He nodded and it hurt for him to move his head.
"You must have hit yourself pretty hard." She stated the obvious and then asked what she'd wanted to ask since she first laid eyes on the hot mess. "What were you trying to do? Get to the brink of death so your parents could change their minds about the move?"
He laughed for the first time. "Now that you mention it. That could've actually worked."
She raised an eyebrow. "I was kidding, you know."
He shrugged and gave her an answer. "I just wanted to distract myself."
"And kissing my parents' asses and mine wasn't a distraction enough?" Alicia cleverly retorted.
He smirked, acknowledging her good comeback. "The move was enough. I can do whatever the hell I want to now that I'm here."
"Attempting suicide on a deathtrap is just a great way to orient yourself to good ol' Westchester." Her sarcasm had reached its maximum.
"You've got any better ideas?" He asked, obviously wanting to hear what she had to offer.
"How about grabbing a slice of pizza at the best pizza place in town? The best pizza place in all of New York?" She revealed a smile.
He looked at her skeptically.
She sighed. "Okay maybe not all of New York but the pizza's pretty damn good. Now are you going to get your butt off the sidewalk or should I call a paramedic to get you to a hospital?"
He smiled. Really smiled and it made Alicia not really hate him as much after his sudden outburst at her. "I'm not sure...Both seem so tempting."
The raven-haired girl that stood in front of Josh extended her hand out to him, whose butt was on the sidewalk. He took her hand and slightly winced as he got up.
"Easy now." Alicia sighed. "Man, you are a piece of work."
DM
"Now tell me again, why are we going to the airport to pick up Landon?" Kristen asked, yawning because she had been too hyper the night before for the Cupid stunt. Dylan was driving the two of them to the airport to pick up Landon Crane, their good friend since the eighth grade.
"Well, to state the obvious, he's been our best friend since forever."
"Yeah." Kristen nodded. "You sure there isn't another particular reason why you're going?" She cocked her head at Dylan as they stopped at a red light.
Dylan stayed neutral. "Confession time…I had a crush on Landon."
Kristen gaped at her.
"Had." She stressed. "As in past tense. We're just really good friends."
"No way." Kristen shook her head. "Whenever one of us likes a guy, we usually tell each other…Don't we?" Kristen looked strange as she made her point, but Dylan couldn't figure out why Kristen's been acting so strange lately.
"Well, yeah…But Landon and I were just friends before anything…And then, all of a sudden, I just started liking him…And…"
"And?" Kristen looked at her expectantly.
"And then nothing. He went to U Penn and I started senior year. End of story. We Skype and text sometimes." Dylan kept her eyes away from facing the curious ones of her best friend's.
"And you don't like him that way anymore?" Kristen frowned, hoping the events could have turned for the love saga that was Dylan and Landon's relationship. The non-existent love saga.
"It was unrequited." Dylan shrugged. "Besides I'd rather he'd be my friend than not to be in my life at all."
Kristen groaned. "You should have told him how you felt!"
Dylan shook her head, stepping on the gas pedal as the traffic light turned green. She then proceeded to roll her eyes. "No way. He wasn't interested."
"And how could you possibly know that?" Kristen challenged.
"Because he never really went out with girls that much…" Dylan noted.
Kristen stayed silent, in disbelief.
"He told me that he wasn't looking for a girlfriend. Before he graduated…That's what he said."
"Well, it's been almost a year. Feelings change, Dyl." Kristen was trying so hard to convince her to go for Landon.
"I see your point." Dylan sighed. "But I just want to see how he's doing. I doubt he sees me any different."
"You haven't seen him since he took off for U Penn."
"We've been talking. I already told you."
"…"
"Don't give me the silent treatment, Kris. It's not like he would ever feel the same way. I'm certified to be his best friend for the rest of our lives."
The dirty blonde snorted.
"See, this is why I didn't say anything. You and Massie would've gotten all pushy on me with this whole Landon situation when things are fine just as they are."
A flashback came to her mind of Landon smiling wide at the county fair with her last year. They were on the Ferris wheel together. Dylan had suppressed her feelings of hope so hard but her heart yearned for her to be closer to him. That's when her crush on him took its all time high. And then it declined, for her own good.
She shook her head and focused on the road.
"Fine." Kristen sighed. "You win. Don't take a leap of faith."
Dylan frowned. "Don't go all 'Love is a leap of faith' on me." She muttered like a cranky old lady, minus the croaky voice.
Kristen laughed. "Who knows what'll happen, Dyl? Just be ready for whatever life throws at you.
When Dylan and Kristen arrived at the airport, they spotted Layne, Cam, Chris, and Kemp sitting at the arrivals area, waiting for Landon, whose flight just landed 10 minutes ago.
"Hey guys!" Dylan said happily.
"Hey!" Layne said and the guys nodded. "Excited to see Landon?"
"Sure as hell she is." Kristen mumbled only loud enough for the blushing red head to punch her.
Layne raised an eyebrow at the pair.
"Yeah, I'm excited." Dylan smiled and laughed. "Are you excited for Chris coming on Sunday?"
"Heck yeah!" Layne raised her fists in the air in triumph. Chris Abeley was two years older than his younger sister. There was one point during the summer after the sixth grade when all the girls had a crush on him.
Kemp yawned. "I didn't sleep a wink last night."
"Could it have to do with the fact that we were going to face public humiliation the next day? Because if that's what it is, then you and I have a lot more in common that I thought…" Chris Plovert muttered.
Cam and Kristen laughed. Apparently, Kristen and Derrick made a bet that Kristen could beat Kemp at making at least 10 out of 20 goals past Derrick, the school's star goalie. Kristen won by making 17. Kemp made 15. Chris had gotten into teasing Kemp after he lost the bet that Derrick and Kristen decided to have mercy on Kemp and make his punishment less severe by getting Chris to be a part of it.
Never trust Derrick and Kristen to go easy on you. That was rule 132 in Westchester High's School Survival Guide.
"Flight 709 from Philadelphia…Passengers exiting." The airport's speakers blasted over the arrivals section.
People started making their way through the arrivals aisle and the group of friends saw their long lost pal, Landon Crane make his way over to them when they started running over to him and practically tackling him onto the ground.
Layne was the first to attack. "Landon! How are things down under?"
Landon laughed. "Things are great though, Australia would've probably been a lot better…"
He laughed that melodic laugh of his. Dylan started pulling at her clothes, getting antsy already.
Crushes died hard. Especially the one she'd been trying to suppress for so long.
"Well well well…If it isn't Crane." Cam smirked as he patted him on the back. "Good to have you back, man. I've been stuck with these losers since you've been gone."
Kristen slapped Cam upside the head then hugged Landon. "He's been in good hands, Landon." She laughed and stuck her tongue out at Cam.
Chris and Kemp started whispering some things that looked pretty sinister as a mischievous grin appeared on each of their faces.
"Hey." Dylan finally breathed, attempting to crack a smile at him.
Landon hesitated and gazed at her for what felt like the longest moment in history. Dylan's cheeks turned pink.
He smiled wide and wrapped her into the biggest and tightest hug they've ever had, even stronger than the one they gave each other when he was leaving for Philadelphia.
"I missed you." He whispered in her ear, causing shivers to run down her spine.
"I miss you, too." She said as they let go of each other and stared at each other.
Man, had he gotten cuter! His blue eyes were brighter, much more alive than they used to look, which made Dylan happy because he'd been going through a tough time before he left. His dark brown hair fell slightly over his eyes. He shook his hair away from the blue orbs so his eyes could fall on hers.
They stood like that for what felt like forever.
Well, for like ten seconds until Kemp and Chris practically tackled Landon to the ground.
"Do we have an evening planned out for you." Kemp chuckled.
Chris laughed. "I hope Penn doesn't party as hard as we do."
Landon smirked. "Oh, do you now? The question is should I be afraid?" He laughed with his old friends. "I miss you handsome devils!" He joked and then looked around his circle of friends and significantly gazed longer at Dylan as his eyes met hers.
Kristen spoke. "You'd be surprised at how much we've missed you, too." She raised an eyebrow at Dylan and smiled wide at her.
Dylan had the urge to put duct tape over Kristen's mouth. Too bad she didn't put some in her bag before she left. But then Ryan and Jaime would think she was trying to get away with murder. And she didn't need them getting brownie points with her mom so that she could change her mind about her being the maid of honor.
CL
"So you're really going to go through with this?" Claire cautiously asked as one anxious brunette paced back and forth in her purple-walled room.
Massie stopped pacing. "Yeah." And then she continued.
"And you're sure you know what you're doing?" The blonde grew fearless and blunt.
Massie stopped again. "Claire, I'm going to talk to Cam. What more do you want?"
Claire, completely calm, cool, and collected, stared at her friend. She let out a deep breath. "I just don't want you guys to get into another stupid fight. Like you always do and this talk you guys are going to have will change everything."
"It's not like anyone's going to die." Massie muttered and she sighed. "I see your point but I promise to listen to what he has to say if he'll hear me out."
Claire took her yellow nail polish bottle out of her backpack and proceeded to paint her nails. "Okay, then." She was cheerful again.
Massie took a note of how cheerful Claire's been. She was practically humming in study hall. Humming! She never does that…
So that's when Massie asked Claire how her day was going and Claire spilled her guts about her secret Romeo.
"Okay, Claire. 'Fess up! Are you coming tonight or not?" Massie demanded, a mischievous glint in her amber eyes.
Claire didn't even look up at her, completely focused on her nails. She had been humming again.
"Claire!"
The blonde snapped out of it. "Huh?"
"Are you coming tonight or what?" Massie asked as she opened up her closet.
Claire eyed her carefully. "You've got that crazy look in your eye…What are you doing?"
"Getting you ready to meet the guy who's crazy about you!" Massie triumphantly said. "You definitely have to go all out for tonight!"
Claire's eyes widened and snapping herself out of her shock. "What? You don't have to…"
"Oh, but as your best friend in the whole wide world, I must." Massie laughed, her brunette hair in a ponytail.
"Fine!" Claire grumbled as she finished her nails and let them dry.
"Well, you look like a million bucks!" Massie nodded with approval as she finished the final touches on the transformed Claire.
"Mass, I really appreciated this but you're kind of blowing this all out of proportion!" Claire honestly spoke.
Claire hadn't seen her reflection but when Massie whipped her around to see herself in Massie's mirror that hung on Massie's wall, she was happy.
She felt so beautiful. The dress Massie lent her made her look like an enhanced version of herself. It was like she was seventeen-year-old Claire anymore. She felt like…a woman.
She wore a short print strapless dress by Night Moves with a Levi's rigid selvedge trucker jacket. She felt like Taylor Swift with the light brown cowboy boots that she wore to school today. Massie had done her eyes with a decent amount of light blue eye shadow and light brown mascara and eye liner. Her lips had the nicest touch of lip gloss.
"Mass…"
"No need to thank me." Massie smiled wide. "It's the least I can do."
Claire only gaped at herself.
"Don't let you ego get too big. You'll be just as bad as Derrick Harrington at this rate." Massie tossed her head back and laughed.
Claire didn't hear what she said as she was lost in her thoughts about who her secret admirer could really be…
"Come on, Mass! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back to our stupid scary movie marathon!" Claire exclaimed. She and Massie had a movie marathon almost every Friday night that consisted of the dumbest horror films, ranging from too much blood and gore to psychotic and suspenseful thrillers that left them confused from beginning to end.
Claire offered to drive Massie over to the park because Massie was tagging along with her to make sure her secret admirer wasn't a creep or someone who wanted to pull a sick twisted prank to shatter her hopes and dreams.
"It really means a lot that you're doing this. I know that it's really to see Cam but thank you so much for coming along with me."
"Claire, please, Cam's a different story. Before anything, I want to make sure that you're going to be okay with this so-called secret admirer of yours. And besides, I'd like to see who could potentially steal your heart." Massie smiled as she linked arms with her.
The blonde smiled at her in response and they both made their way toward Westchester Park's absolute center where there lay hundreds of trees and flowers, a fountain, a playground, and hiking trails that were surrounded by gaslights and lamps that were always kept on and shielded from any breeze that would try to blow them out. Claire began to feel antsy. Her knees were shaking slightly and her palms were getting sweaty. Her heart started racing a little faster.
"I'm nervous." She confessed to her brunette partner in crime.
"Makes perfect sense to be. I am, too but if anything, I brought my mom's spare pepper spray that she keeps in the pantry at home." She showed Claire the pepper spray and her eyes had widened in response. They both were caught in hysterics.
Massie laughed. "Relax Claire. Take a breather."
Claire inhaled deeply and exhaled, believing that if she did, then all the bad possibilities would escape from happening and the good possibilities would be her only options.
"Well, what do you know? They're here." Massie sounded optimistic and hopeful. Claire envied Massie for how much self-confidence she had. They reached the wide expanse of field where Westchester's Tomahawks soccer team were playing along with other guys from Westchester High that kept the two girls curious.
"Who do you think it is?" Claire whispered.
Massie whispered back. "There's only one way to find out." She nudged her friend to keep walking and she followed along with her.
As Claire got closer and closer to where the boys were playing, she noticed Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan were in a circle, trying to start up a campfire.
"Bizarre." Massie mouthed to her.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because they have been raised in the city all of their lives. When have they ever learned to start a fire?"
"You'd be surprised." Claire shrugged. "Last week you found out that I used to play lacrosse and you couldn't look at me the same because you thought I'd come and hit you with my old lacrosse stick. That is beyond crazy." She laughed.
Massie laughed along. "Okay, I get it now. Let's go say hi."
Claire felt a little relieved that she didn't have to leave her friends to meet her secret admirer. Yet.
Who could have possibly held feelings for her in this field?
Danny Robbins was definitely out of the question. He was going out with Kori Geldman. Chris Plovert and Kemp Hurley were working for the guy…Dempsey Solomon? Layne would axe murder us both if it were him. Besides he has been showing an interest in her…It's about time. Landon Crane? No way. He's too busy looking over at…Dylan? Whoa, I didn't see that coming but it looks like they'd be good together. Cam Fisher? Madly in love with my best friend. I hope they get back together! Danny Robins? Adrian Luna? Chase Brandon? Ricky Roman? Danny Franco? There were tons of guys here! So many possibilities…
"Massie! Claire!" Dylan called out to us with a smile on her face. Her flaming red hair had looked different on account of the beanie she had on her head. She looked really happy and…open. Claire caught on that maybe something big had happened to Dylan.
"Hey!" The girls replied.
"Nice hat." Massie acknowledged. "I don't remember you buying that last weekend." She smiled with nothing but sincere curiosity.
"Thanks!" Dylan raised her green eyes to look up at her head. "It was a gift, actually." She turned red.
Claire was the only one who had caught on to Dylan's awkwardness because Massie just nodded. "Well, you do look fabulous. Emerald green is definitely your color."
Dylan smiled, feeling relieved. Claire decided to let it be. Dylan would talk about whatever it was when she felt like it was time to.
Alicia was colliding stones together and she got frustrated with each passing second. "What…the…fucking…hell?"
"Leesh." Kristen said, getting a little concerned with a faint smile on her face. "You need to calm down…It's just a fire. It's not like we're starving to death in the middle of nowhere in the freezing cold. There's time to learn!" Kristen was so calm, cool, and collected. After the great Kristen meltdown last year because of the stress of junior year and then college applications, it was nice for the girls to see Kristen more relaxed and stable. Her dirty blond hair was tucked into two pigtails. She smiled and reassured her friend by giving her a playful shove.
Alicia sighed and let out an easy smile. "Okay. I just like a challenge and you know…hate it at the same time!" She glared at the two stones she let loose to fall onto the ground.
All the girls laughed, including Alicia.
"Now what are you guys giggling about? You're always up to something." Derrick chuckled as he and Cam walked over when time-out was called for the game.
Massie's smile faded and all of the girls stopped laughing.
Massie showed no fear. "Hey Derrick…Hey Cam." She realized that a strand of her chestnut brown curls had gone loose and was blocking part of her eyesight. Unfortunately, it wasn't blocking Cam the way she wanted to…Claire knew Massie. She always did that when she was trying to avoid speaking to someone and that was pretty rare.
"What's up?" Derrick shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans while Cam nodded.
"Hi." Claire squeaked, thinking it would ease some of the tension. She realized however that it didn't. She felt defeated.
"Could I talk to you for a sec, Claire?" Derrick asked in a totally unusual way.
Massie raised an eyebrow and Claire noticed that Cam patted Derrick on the back and mouthed something that appeared reassuring to him.
Claire gulped. Could Derrick possibly know who her secret admirer was? Because he obviously didn't have an interest in her. After that dance a few months ago, everything was back to normal. She shook her head to wipe those memories out of her brain but it was impossible.
"Sure." She replied, nodding and smiling softly.
Derrick nodded toward the wishing fountain. Ironically, Cupid and his arrow were at the fountain's center.
"What's up, Derrick?" Claire asked.
Derrick just stared at her, looking kind of surprised. Claire couldn't interpret his behavior at all. He was always strange and hilarious but she knew that he really was a great guy. He relaxed. His dirty blond hair had cascaded along his naturally light tan skin. His big brown eyes were gleaming, like he had something huge to spill.
Claire had realized it the moment he said it and suddenly felt stupid for not realizing it the moment she saw him tonight. "I'm the one who sent you the valentine."
Next Chapter: Set Fire To The Rain (Cassie time...Josh POV...and finally introducing Kristen's POV!)
Let me know if what you think of Josh :). I like him lol.
Chapter Title - Based on: Sunday Morning by Maroon 5
Stay Tuned! :D