CHAPTER 6

A/N: Ahhhh! Here it is, it's still going! Sorry it's been long, the middle of the school year is really heating up! I hate to say it, but expect updates to become less frequent :(

I HAVE FANART! Do you guys know how insanely exciting this is? It can be found on my tumblr blog (midnitecalliope). Please go look, and make sure you drop by and say hi to the artist (who's link is on the post)!

Wow, it's so exciting! If anyone has fanart, contact me! You can do it on here, DeviantArt (NeverShoutYuki), tumblr (midnitecalliope) or email (). You will be credited, and your work much more appreciated than you might've thought!

Personal notes~~there's a lot this time! :'D

namelessjane: I'm sorry for tricking you with updates (and anyone else for that matter)! But I hope you found that I did upload chapter 5 in that time, and hopefully you read it? 0w0 And I'm glad I'm able to write Kevin as you see him. That's pretty sweet to know! And don't worry, I'm not too good at reviews either, but remember that anything positive always helps! Thanks for reading! 3

SoapyTucker: Thanks for multiple reviews :) And of course Clyde has it all~why else would he have everything going for him? XD

il: Thanks for multiple reviews as well! That was a wonderful review :) I'm glad you liked the cooking scene, and you pretty much hit the mark on what I was aiming for readers to notice ;)

Saky: Oh my gog. Is that a typo, or are you a Homestuck...? :D Anyway, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked that song, and got a deeper feeling out of the whole chapter instead of the two just cooking. And even though the updates may slow, I will finish this story! Keep reading~~

Druekee: Well if you were looking forward to the next chapter, here it is! And thanks for feedback on that creme brulee thing; I was kind self-conscious about that bit XD

dotdotdanii: Thank you for putting the song on as reading it, first of all! I really wish more people would do that, but I understand why they wouldn't want to. XD And yes, I try not to make Kevin a total nerd, because then I feel like Clyde would have no interest in him at all. :( And ohohoho, you will find out what they are planning sooooon, verrry soon! Oh. But. Clyde did say Bebe's name after listening to the song, didn't he? Tsk tsk. Well, it did seem he was a little flustered about it all...

Catherine: Hello, you are back! And please, don't apologize for a thing. I understand you have a busy schedule, as do I! I am totally open to emailing you when I update, but for that you must be comfy-cozy with giving me your email first. As soon as that's done, I'll be sending you emails along with updates! Ahhhh and such a wonderful review! I loved reading all of it :'D I'm so glad you and the other readers are really understanding what's going on and taking in all the deatails; oh, it's just perfect! And enjoying it at the same time~my readers are truly the best! Gosh the last part of your review is the best ever. I'm so glad you've taken my little story to be your favorite! xoxo

Kelsey: I'm glad to find another Stolovan fan! :) Glad you like the story so far, and yes! Please do keep up! And thanks for the review~!

I woke up with a headache this morning. Already. I swear, I'm gonna have goddamn grey hairs before I'm twenty.

I actually think I was stressing in my dream. I had ideas of today being a stressful day already, but having a dream about it and waking up with a headache only confirmed it. Today is the day I go shopping with Heidi. Yay. Not that Heidi's a problem or anything, it's just that . . . shopping. I don't like it.

I think my headache was also partially caused by last night. I know my mental view went totally hay-wire last night, and I wouldn't be surprised to find my brain smoking from all the pressure it's under. But I can't do anything about it now except take a couple Aspirins and hope I get through the day alive.

I found the house unusually warm today, so I skipped throwing on a shirt and just stumbled downstairs. I found that my mom was up, cooking, and seeming strangely energetic for this time of the day. When I walked into the kitchen, rubbing my eyes, I found my mom looking up at me.

Hehe, I get to look down at her. Hehehe.

"Kevin," she began, smiling and going back to her cooking. "I think your clothes are missing."

Well, I was not expecting you to be up at this hour, oh-so-loving mother.

"Yeah, this is how real men sleep."

"Ha, and you're a real man?"

"Damn right."

"Hey. don't say that."

"Right."

As I wandered around the kitchen, still half-asleep, she turned the stove off and put something on a plate. Right before I was about to open the cupboard, she put her hand on my back and propelled me to the table. She roughly sat me down (although I think the roughness was unintentional, for she seemed energetic) and placed a plate, piled high with foods that I should be eating for dinner, right in front of me.

She sat down across from me and looked at me with her chin in her hands. "Go on, eat!"

I slowly looked from her, back to my plate. "Uh . . . what is this."

"You know what it is, Kevin!" she said, like I was the funniest person in the world.

"But, um . . . why is it here. On my plate."

"I made you breakfast this morning, stupid!" she retorted, almost laughing. I think she meant to say silly.

You know when you're mom is acting strangely happy and not like herself, and you could only wonder what happened to make her that way? Yep.

"Um . . . why."

"Is it that weird for a mom to make her son breakfast?"

"For you," I replied.

She laughed and said, "Just eat it!"

On my plate she had put fried rice, chow mein, and sugar-egg rolls. I cautiously took a spoonful of fried rice and brought it to my mouth, pausing for a second before I actually ate it to try and sniff out the poison. Then I stuck it in my mouth.

As I chewed, I realized that she was still staring at me, so I stared uneasily back. I swallowed.

"What is wrong with you."

Her smile did not falter.

"I'm so happy for you," she said with a reserved yet glad tone. I eyed her.

"For . . . what?"

She smiled and reached for a ceramic container that had been placed on the edge of the table. She reached inside and to my amazement, pulled out a flatcake from last night.

"I heard you and Clyde talking," she said, tearing off a piece of the flatcake.

" . . . You did," I asked blankly, keeping my eyes away from hers by focusing on her hands. I took hint that she nodded. "You didn't hear all of it, did you?"

She shook her head. "Of course not! I have better things to do than to listen to teenage boys' conversations!" she said, amused with my concern. "I caught pieces of your talking as I walked back and forth from the laundry room. And you have too many socks, Kevin."

That was a relief. Not the sock thing. That she didn't hear all of our conversation.

Actually, what am I worrying about? It's not like I said-or he said-anything embarrassing, right?

"Oh, okay." I said. I hoped that would be the end of it. I put some more fried rice in my mouth.

She eyed me curiously with a scheming grin as she munched on her flatcake. "You guys are good friends, aren't you?"

I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "I guess so."

"How come he doesn't come over more?"

I shrugged again. "I dunno. We're busy, I guess."

She snorted. "Oh yeah, because you're always busy."

I glared at her.

"Don't act so tough, Kevin," she said, grinning. "I'm just teasing. But why don't you invite him over more?"

I looked hesitantly at her. "He just gets kind of . . . annoying at times."

She looked at me expectantly. When I didn't add anything else, she said, "And . . .?"

I looked at her for a second more, then back down to the plate she had made me. "I think I just have mixed feelings about him," I began cautiously. "Like, he's really annoying a lot, but then there are some times when . . ."

I trailed off, remembering who I was talking to, and looked up. She looked at me like she was trying too hard to understand. I really knew she wasn't, and I think it was just me starting to become slightly paranoid about it all. But it still got me on edge.

I began to slide out of my chair, saying, "You're not supposed to know any of this. Why am I even telling you this?"

"Because I'm your mom," she said gently. She said it so calmly, that, for a second, I almost started to spill my guts to her. But then I shook my head and stood up.

"No. And I'm only in my boxers," I added awkwardly, starting to push my chair in.

"I've seen you naked," she said casually, making me stop immediately and throw a concerned look at her. She leaned in over the table and menacingly whispered, "I have nude pictures of you."

I turned around. In case you're wondering, she's talking about my baby pictures. I pushed a hand through my hair and slunk back in my chair in defeat.

"If you're looking for a reason for me growing up weird, blame it on yourself." I looked at her warily. She will grow up to be a crazy old Chinese lady. I guarantee you.

She just smiled and bit off some more of the flatcake. "So," she began eagerly. "We were talking about you and Clyde, yes?"

"No we weren't what are you talking about. You must be sick. Go to bed."

She sighed. "Okay, fine. If you're going to be difficult, we won't talk. Just listen to me for a second, okay?"

I looked at her, and I could tell that the silliness was gone from her tone, and she was going to say something meaningful to me. I found my eyes darting around, trying to avoid direct contact with hers.

"If you ever get any closer to him, make sure you open up some. It's not all his fault that he seems annoying. It's also you. He's a good boy; I can see that. So go easy on him Kevin, okay?" She looked at me with her fading blue eyes. "If you don't get what I'm saying now, you will later. Maybe soon."

There was a long, heavy pause after that. She was right. She was so on target that it was hard to believe. It's like she had scanned my mind and our friendship with one quick sweep of her eyes. Most of this stuff she had just reasoned to me were things that I was beginning to realize myself. But I think hearing someone else say the same thing confirmed my suspicions. It's not entirely Clyde's fault that we aren't closer. It's mine, too. I do need to open up some. I don't really think I'm giving him much of a fighting chance here.

Yet, he keeps on fighting . . .

"I think I kind of get what you mean," I said quietly.

She nodded. Then she picked up a light smile again and told me, "Good. Now go get ready for school; you must be cold in just your underwear. And take your plate up with you."

I smiled gratefully at her and did just that. It felt good to be grateful towards my mom. I honestly haven't felt like that in quite a stretch of time. It kinda makes me feel like I looked up to her just then . . . too bad it couldn't have been over a better topic.

I didn't take lunch to school, because breakfast had filled me up. It was really good, too. No restaurant can compare to my mom's homemade cooking.

I sat down at our table, with the usual dilemmas going on. Craig had stunk himself up with Sharpie, and some of the actual table, too. Token was reading and doing homework and listening to music and being nice to everyone and all that stuff all at once, like any old Token Black will do. Tweek was trying not to flip out, but like usual, everything was making him paranoid. And Clyde was . . . alone today. Alone as in, not with Bebe squawking about. A very nice change, I would say.

I had already talked to Heidi about shopping after school today. I had brought sixty-five bucks, and she had brought fifty. I'm really hoping that I don't have to spend it all. We agreed to just drive into Denver, do some speedy shopping, and be home in time for dinner. Of course. And I'm happy to report that she was not all creepy today. The usual chipper Heidi was back for the time being.

Right before I plugged in my iPod, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned.

"So I heard you and Heidi are going shopping after school today?"

". . . You did?" I asked.

Clyde nodded. "Yeah, from Bebe. Who heard from Heidi. Who talked about it with you."

"Oh. Um. Yeah I guess we are. Why."

He shrugged. "Just wondering. Do you know where you're going to go?"

"Denver. But you probably heard that from Bebe."

"Actually no. But I assumed that anyway. There's nowhere to go around here," he said, smirking. "White-trash town."

I laughed. Kind of. I felt really weird about talking to him today. "Pretty much. So I don't really have an idea of what kind of stuff to get. What are you and Bebe wearing?"

Clyde shrugged, as if it was nothing of importance. It was weird. A few days ago he would've been stoked to tell me about their matching outfits. But it seemed like lately he's had enough of Bebe. It's about time.

"I dunno, just matching stuff. It looks kinda lousy to me. Nothing special?"

What? Did he just say that? He thinks that their matching outfits are lousy and nothing special? I'm wondering if he's had more than enough of Bebe.

". . . Hey," I began, studying him. "Is everything okay between you and her?"

Gosh, saying that makes me cringe. It's not like everything ever was okay between him and her. It's not like there really was anything between him and her.

He kind of lolled his head to the side and snorted. "Yeah, everything's fine. It's just kind of boring. I don't really like her that much. She's a nice girl and all, but she's a phony. That's all."

I almost choked on my food. Am I hearing everything right today? This is not Clyde Donovan talking to me. Wasn't he just going off about how great she was, every other day of his life?

"But uh, what about like, that song and stuff? That one you showed me." I was kind of desperate to know what was going on. It was pretty bad when he was drooling over her, but I have to admit that this was worse.

He turned a little red. "What song?"

"The one by Foster the People. That made you think of her."

He put his elbow on the table and put the side of his face into his palm and leaned into it. He sighed. "Did I say that? That I thought of her?"

I looked at him questioningly and slowly brought myself to nod. "You did."

He rolled his eyes. "Ugh, great. Well, forget I said that then. I like that song. But I don't think of me and her."

I swallowed. I stared at him. First, it was my mom being weird. And I don't want the disease to pass to him, too.

"Okay, seriously? What's going on, Clyde."

I was dead serious. He looked at me with a subtle look of astonishment. "What do you mean?"

I stared him down. "You're being weird. Un-Clydelike."
He sighed. "So you think that just because I'm not talking so highly of Bebe right now, that I'm not being normal."

"You're always talking highly of Bebe. That's you being normal."

"I'm just trying to change things, okay?" he said, finally growing frustrated. I wanted to pry more, but it seemed like a good time for him to start saying some stuff right about now. "I'm tired of all this shit. Chasing after the same things over and over and over. And never getting anywhere. It's really been taking its toll on me, and . . . I just wanna be done with it all."

I looked at him almost proudly. After a significant pause, I said to him, "Clyde; that just may be the smartest thing I have ever heard you say."

He glanced up at me, his eyes breaking through that strange haze for a moment. Then they clouded up again, and he looked down.

"Yeah, well then I must be pretty fucking stupid."

I opened my mouth to try and tell him that's not what I meant, but he simply stood up and walked away, the lunch bell sounding a second after. He didn't seem mad as he left though. Kind of in that distraught mood that he left my house with last night.

I got up irritably. Clyde and his goddamn sensitivity. Will I ever get a break from this guy? Maybe some sweet, hot, creme brulee on the side? I mean, it's clear that his unstable emotions are the cause of mine. Clyde is just complaint after complaint. And Kevin Stoley is starting to complain and complain . . .

That 2:30 bell was the savior of my day. I quickly made my way out of class and hurried to my locker. I really didn't care that I had to spend the rest of my afternoon at the mall in Denver. It sounded pretty fun, compared to being stuck in this lousy old school for thirty minutes more. And I was looking forward to hanging out with Heidi, where I could just talk to her and not worry about all these crazy emotions swimming around and around and around-

"Hey Kevin," I heard Heidi from behind me. "You almost ready to go?"

"Hang on a sec," I mumbled back, reaching for my backpack. I dragged it out and shut my locker, and then turned around. "Yep, all ready."

We walked side by side in silence down the crowded hall until we were near the exit. I almost laughed out loud at how alike we were in public kindness. We went to equal distances to avoid everyone possible in the halls, and she made this slightly pinched, pained face as if she was smelling something rotten. I really hope she didn't get that from me. Then I would feel pretty bad, because I know that is definitely not the right behavior for a person, especially a decent girl like her. But it would still be funny. And I doubt that she got it from me.

"You don't have any plans in mind for your outfit, do you?" she asked once we were outside, in a tone that implied that she must already know the answer.

"Yep, exactly right," I replied with a light laugh.

She smirked. "Well, I didn't either, but I was just starting to think of something along the lines-"

"HEY, HEIDI!" came a loud yell from across the parking lot, cutting her off. We both jumped.

It was Bebe, standing with Clyde, who was leaning against his car, looking bored. "Heidi, Kevin: over here!"

I glanced at Heidi with fear, and she looked up at me with dismay. I think we were both thinking relatively similar thoughts. She sucked in her breath and lead the way with a haughty aura about her. I followed, trying to read Clyde from afar before I got too close.

I saw nothing but dull boredness.

"Um, Bebe?" Heidi addressed uneasily, squinting up at her in the sunlight reflecting off of the snow.

"Oh, I'm so happy we caught you two in time!" Bebe exclaimed over-excitedly. She patted Heidi's cheek. "Well, we don't want to be stuck in traffic, so chop-chop, let's go!"

"Whoa whoa, calm down," I told her, stepping in front of Heidi. "What are you talking about?"

She turned around and smiled, rolling her eyes. "We're going to the mall with you guys, Kevin!"

She answered me like I was six years old. No. I did not want this monstrosity coming to the mall with me. I threw a look at Heidi.

She threw a look back. I could read her entire thoughts with just that one glance. It clearly said: Kevin-just-go-with-it-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you-if-you-turn-her-down-she'll-still-come-and -she'll-be-in-a-terrible-mood-so-just-chill-and-go-with-it-unless-you-want-the-rest-of-the-day-to-be-a-living-hell.

I just knew that's what she was trying to tell me.

I turned back to Bebe and clapped my hands together once. "Arlight, sounds great you guys! So we'll just go over there to my-"

"I wanna sit with Kevin."

All eyes turned to Clyde.

"No," Bebe an I objected spontaneously.

". . . Why not?" he asked, looking slightly hurt.

"Because, we're dat-"

"Because I have my own car," I interrupted, making sure she didn't say that. I had this feeling that those words were the exact opposite of what he wanted to hear right now. Taking into account what had happened earlier at lunch, that is. I placed my hand on Heidi's shoulder. "And it wouldn't make sense for Heidi and Bebe to drive in my car, would it?" Clyde eyed me, and then reluctantly shook his head. "Alright. Then you take Bebe, and I'll take Heidi; okay?"

Clyde held in a groan as he tossed his keys up and caught them as they came back down. "Yeah, I guess that works."

I waited for Clyde and Bebe to get into Clyde's husky SUV, and then propelled Heidi over to my little Buick.

"Kevin, what was all that about?" she asked worriedly.

"Um, kind of a lot to explain," I said, coming to a stop at my car, fumbling for my keys. "I'll uh, tell you on the way there."

I opened up the passenger-seat door for her, and she slid in. I walked quickly over to the other side and seated myself, and started backing the car up. As I was leaving the parking lot, I quickly glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Clyde and Bebe following behind us in his car. I think it was coincidence, but I caught his glare, and he flashed something oddly pitiful at me. He looked . . . pretty upset. I shook my head as I turned my blinker on, waiting behind the line of other cars.

"Oh my lord," I muttered to myself, shaking my head. I smirked as I focused my eyes back on the road.

"What?" Heidi exclaimed, staring at me. Her eyes were wide and confused, and I began to argue about what to tell her. I mean, she seemed like she was on pretty good terms with Bebe, what if she said something? Even if it was unintentional?

"Ugh," I spluttered. "Uhm, Clyde." I looked back and forth quickly before turning right and out of the stream of junkie used cars.

She turned away and dropped back into the seat, folding her arms. She smirked. "Right. And what's up with him?"

I pressed my foot down on the gas pedal as we left school limits. "It's er, really complicated." I felt her glancing with irritation at me. "Sorry, but it really is."

She sighed. "Sorry if I seem like they prying type right now, but why don't you just tell me? We're the only two in this car," she told me. She messily tousled her bangs. "And also, it's making you kind of weird, whatever it is. Which in turn makes me concerned."

She played her cards well, don't you think? Adding the "makes me concerned" part and all. I suppose she probably is concerned, because I know I'm definitely concerned about myself. I'm not so sure that it's totally safe for me to be driving right now, with Clyde on my tail and all these crazy thoughts messing up the thing called my mind, which I once thought was my personal sanctuary. A private getaway, just for me. But not any more; it seems like every where I turn to, it's Clyde this, Clyde that, Heidi this, Bebe that.

This is the kind of hell you get when you start to have a social life.

"Um well, I appreciate you caring and all," I began, slowing down as we neared the outskirts of town where the roads got icy. "But it's hard for me to explain."

She blew some hair out of her face. "And why is that."

"Because," I said, pausing afterwards. "I don't even understand any of it."

When I said this, she turned her head and looked at me. I cast a quick side-glance at her before focusing back on the road. I could feel her gaze growing steadily, getting more intense as she studied me.

I saw the small sign coming up. The turn. Stark's Pond was coming up quickly on the right. My hands twitched once as I fought the urge to take a sharp turn and disappear. I took a deep breath and lolled my head to the side. I kept my eyes on the yellow lines in the center of the road until the sign flew by in a grey blur.

In the strange silence, Heidi checked her phone.

"How long will it take us to get to Denver?" she asked bluntly.

"Um about an hour and a half. Why."

"Because," she started, loosening her seat belt and turning slightly in her seat so that she could look at me without craning her neck. "You're going to spill out everything to me. And it looks like we have plenty of time."

Silence.

For what seemed like hours. But the flush growing in my cheeks told me it was only minutes.

" . . . I-I'm tired," Heidi concluded with a yawn. There was a slight strain to her voice, and she looked away awkwardly. She reclined her seat and rolled over, turning away from me. "Wake me up when we get there."

I didn't reply. My face was growing ever warmer, and my mouth was dry. I turned down the radio a little bit, so it wasn't blasting right next to her face. But it seemed to make the atmosphere worse. For me, anyway. For Heidi, it was probably better that I had turned the radio down, so she could take a quick nap.

After all that passed, I could care less about what was better for me. I had basically sabotaged my whole existence.

. . . Damn it.

All.

Looking away from Heidi, I glanced up into the side mirror. I saw Clyde's chunky SUV cruising along, a few cars behind, and one lane over.

I wonder what they were talking about. If they were talking at all. Knowing Bebe, she would probably be doing all the talking. Poor Clyde.

But if he knew what I had just done, would he be thinking the same? Poor, poor Kevin . . .

I felt kind of torn. Half of me regretted not telling her the whole story. But the other half of me was thankful for not busting my own ass.

But, judging by the way she looked at me, she probably already figured out the whole story anyway. Or most of it, at least.

At first I didn't think I would do it. I refused her requests. But she was so open, she was so ready to receive my problems, that eventually, I just . . . gave in. I think she kicked me in my weak spot and caused me to cave in. She was like a greedy treasure hunter, who just broke all the sturdy walls to get to the treasure. Except, greedy isn't how I would describe her.

I wonder what she was thinking. If she was asleep yet. If she was still awake, thinking with her eyes closed, what could she be thinking? When we were deep in discussion, I forgot about us being dates, about us being a thing, and about her possibly harboring feelings for me. And I wondered if I made her feel like she wasn't good enough, or like she had made a fateful, wrong decision.

Maybe she's a lot like me right now. Confused, not knowing what to do with all these new feelings. And maybe she was worse, because she had gotten all this information in about thirty minutes, which is way faster than how long it took me to get here.

Half of me wanted to shake her shoulder and tell her, "Hey, wake up. You know all that stuff I just said? Well, pretend I never said it. You and me could just leave all this uncertainty behind and just be normal people. Best friends. Maybe more. But I never said any of that, okay? So just forget it."

I blinked. Even if I did say that, how could she simply forget all that I just told her? How can she ever look at me the same after that?

"Well, you know how me and Clyde are friends, right?"

"Uh huh."

"Well . . . don't get the wrong riff here, but . . . I'm starting to think of him as, um, more than a friend . . ."

The traffic began to jam up a little, and I came to a brief stop. I quickly glanced down at Heidi.

She must've been tired, because her breathing was deep and long. Her foot jerked once. I was pretty sure she had into some kind of sleep, even if it was only a light one.

The other half of me wanted so badly to believe in my hopes that she would wake up and see me as the Kevin Stoley she had befriended, and nothing more, nothing less. And accept it, despite every thing I told her.

I looked back out onto the road as the lines of cars begin to crawl forward again. I stole a quick glance at the side mirrors, and found Clyde's red car among the sea of greys and blacks.

I noticed the song on the radio. Impossible, by Anberlin. Once again, Stark's Pond creeped back into the cracks of my mind. Cautiously, I turned up the radio a little. Not only because I liked the song, but because the bridge lyrics got me thinking.

I'm impossible

To figure out,

So impossible,

You had your doubts

I turned it up, just a little. If Heidi was remotely awake, I wonder if she was listening to the lyrics at all.

The traffic began to clear, and I drove on to Denver.

Ahh, behold the beautiful sight of the giant grey rectangles that are the mall.

I pulled into the parking lot, sighing in relief as I noticed the lack of cars. The only thing worse than a giant indoor shopping mall is a giant indoor shopping mall packed with loud people.

I parked right next to an entrance to Macy's, because there was a very light snow coming down, and I didn't feel like walking a long way to get inside. Just as I cut the engine, Clyde pulled into a spot a few places away and parked.

Gently, I shook Heidi's shoulder.

"Ffnnnhhh," she mumbled groggily.

"Hey, we're at the mall now."

She slowly turned over and blinked sleepily at me. I smiled at her and then turned away to unbuckle and pull out my keys. She slowly gathered herself and began to fuss with the buckle, and eventually restored her seat to its original position. She smoothed down her hair a little and then stepped out of the car.

I got out, and my legs felt like jelly. I locked the car and stomped around on the pavement a little, trying to rid my legs of their unstable condition.

Heidi stood by me, in a dream-like state. I guessed she was still pretty tired. She pulled up the fuzzy collar of her jacket up to shield her neck from the cold wind.

Bebe and Clyde eventually came out of their car, and made their way over to us. Bebe was talking when she got out of the car, didn't stop until they were right in front of us. Clyde looked a little tired.

"How was the drive," I asked bluntly, looking at Clyde.

"Mrrph," he mumbled in reply. Yeah, he was tired. And I was sick to my stomach.

"Oh, you two," Bebe laughed. She tugged on Clyde's arm and lead him towards the mall entrance. "Let's go!"

Following them, I looped my arm with Heidi's, and led her in that direction. To my relief, she simply smiled like she would have any other day. And I felt her hold her side of the link, not pull away or resist.

Into the mall we went. As soon as we passed through the doors, we were hit with humid mall air and a musty smell of perfume that drifted from the cosmetics section.

"So where are we going to shop?" I asked Heidi quietly, feeling like if I spoke too loud, I would bring her out of her hazy stance.

"Why not here?" Bebe said spinning around. Clyde reluctantly turned around also.

"Well, erm," I began a bit awkwardly. How do I say this to her? I don't think it'll process in her mind. "Macy's is kind of, um-"

"It's too expensive," Heidi finished for me. Although she was a bit abrupt, she got my entire point across.

"Oh, don't be stingy like that you guys!" she exclaimed, tossing a hand out at us. "This is the Winter Dance we're talking about here. It's like, almost as important as Prom! Kind of. A little."

"Uh, okay, but it's too expensive here." I argued. "For us, anyway."

"Oh?" Bebe said in surprise. She looked at Clyde. "You didn't tell them?"

"Uh, ha. I forgot." Clyde popped a piece of gum into his mouth.

"Tell us what?" I asked, hopefully with a dash of interest. I was trying not to look too much like Clyde right now.

"We'll be paying for your guys' outfits!"

Me and Heidi exchanged a glance.

" . . . Why?" Heidi asked almost suspiciously.

"Because," Bebe drawled, jangling her earrings and rolling her eyes with a smile. "You two have a great thing going here! This dance is a huge milestone for you. We can't let it go to waste!" She looked at Heidi in particular when she said this. Clyde was purposefully looking at the ground.

"Oh . . . o-okay." Heidi said quietly. She looked sideways, escaping Bebe's gaze for a moment, and then back with a smile. "Thanks."

I shrugged. "Huh, yeah, thanks," I said sheepishly. I didn't really know what to say. I had no idea this was coming, so what could I say besides a simple "thanks"? And something about the way Bebe said it got Heidi slightly on edge. Kind of a tense moment, and I have no idea as to why.

"Alright then, Heidi, you come with me!" Bebe said suddenly, taking Heidi by the hand and leading her to the ladies' section. She managed a scared yet smiling wave before disappearing around the corner.

"Heh, good luck to her," Clyde said when they were gone, as we kept looking at the place they had disappeared.

I looked at him. "Car ride was hell, huh."

"You have no fucking idea."

Yeah, I thought. You don't either.

…

BLEHHH.

We turned around in the opposite direction from where Heidi and Bebe went, and headed into the men's section; which happened to be right there. We waded past the casual clothes and into the more expensive brands.

"So what are you going to wear?" I asked Clyde as I absentmindedly felt almost every sweater we passed.

He shrugged. "Just a tux. And don't worry-it doesn't have any tacky colors or anything. Just black accented with light blue. Bebe said it looked "wintery.""

"Huh. That's cool, I guess. What's she going to wear?" If Bebe was getting some kind of winter romper or something, I didn't want her to buy the same kind of think for Heidi. No thank-you.

"A dress. A metallicy-blue one." He replied, looking up thoughtfully. He started looking at a pair of jeans as he added, "It looks a lot more "wintery" than my tux does, so I guess that's good for me."

"Huh," was all I said. I didn't really want to wear a tuxedo, especially to an insignificant little dance like the upcoming one. Even if it did look "wintery."

Holding the pants, he turned around and looked at me. He looked from me back to the pants. "I wonder how good her idea will work," he mumbled to himself as he evaluated the pants. Or me. Or both, probably. Yeah, probably both.

"Wait," I said, cutting off my own thoughts, as well as his, most likely. "What's her idea?"

He looked at me for a second without saying a word, then turned around to go look at some other clothes. He stopped in front of a display of Polo sweaters. With the jeans in one hand, he began to absentmindedly examine the sweaters.

He looked at me and said, "Kind of a hipster thing."

I stared blankly back at him.

"What."

He paused, and then turned to face me. "Don't you know what hipster style is?"

I blinked a few times. "Of course. Not."

He sighed and laughed lightly, turning back to the sweaters. "Huh, okay. Maybe you don't know that it's called hipster, but I'm sure you know what style I'm talking about."

"Mmm. You're sure about that."

He plopped a navy blue sweater on top of the jeans. "Well, no. Far from it, actually," he said with a smirk. "But Bebe thinks you'll look good in it."

"Ha. And what does she know about what I'll look good in?"

He shrugged. "She's, you know . . ." he began, flicking his hand in the air, "artsy." *

After about another half-hour of roaming around macy's and picking up clothes that probably had price tags that I'd rather not see, Clyde finally decided that it was time for us to hit the changing rooms. I followed him there, and we found Bebe sitting in the lounge area, waiting for Heidi.

"Oh, you two took forever! Finding clothes was easy for us."

She stood up and came over to inspect Clyde's pickings.

"Hmm," she said, picking up a few things. "I think this should work!" She thrust them to me. "Go try these ones on, and let's see how you look."

"Oh, um, alright," I replied, awkwardly walking into one of the changing rooms.

I locked the door, set the clothes down, and lightly knocked on the wall next to me. "Hey, Heidi? Did you live through that?"

She laughed, and I heard clothes rustling. "Just barely! She hardly let me have a say in anything. But I guess it's okay because she didn't pick out anything yucky."

Yucky. Oh man.

"Heh, that's good. But can you believe how expensive some of this stuff is?" I asked, picking up a striped v-neck and taking a brave look at the tag.

"Well, that's macy's for you," she replied.

"Yeah, and they said they'll pay for it all?" I asked in disbelief, taking off my jacket and shirt. Hoo boy, I should maybe pick up a dumbell every blue moon. "There must be some kind of catch."

There was a pause before she agreed, saying, "Yeah, haha. Something."

I decided that was enough chat for now, and I put on the sweater and pants. I looked in the mirror.

I think I kind of got what Clyde was talking about.

Except, not really.

With a helpless shrug, I unlocked the door and stepped out into the lounge area, where Bebe was busily chatting away with a tired-looking Clyde. With her back turned to me, she didn't know I was there, until Clyde straightened his back and cocked his head at me, looking the outfit over.

"Uh, well?" I asked, bunching up my shoulders. Bebe spun around and her eyes lit up as she stood to talk to me.

"Oh, you look great!" she exclaimed. She brushed my shoulders down and looked at the outfit she had put together. "I love this style on you." She turned back to Clyde. "Don't you think it fits him?"

He waved his hands around, palm-up, not sure of what to say. "Um, yeah? Looks good, yeah," he replied, his face screwing up. This was not something we were used to.

She turned back to me, but took a step back. "Yes, yes, I like it. But this particular outfit seems too . . . dull. What you need is . . ." she trailed off, going back to the pile of clothes we had picked out. She pulled out a dark blue striped sweater and handed it to me. "Some color! Just go and swap that out with what you're wearing now."

I nodded, heading back into the changing room. At the same time I was heading in, Heidi stepped out.

I'm debating whether to tell you what she was in or not. Because if that's what she's wearing to the prom, then when the time comes for me to describe how stunning she looks on the dance night, then you'll already know what she looks like and it'll kill the moment. It will definitely kill the moment. So I won't tell you.

"Oh, Heidi that's nice. It really is. Buuuut, I don't think I like that one the best. I think this is what you should try on next-and I think you'll like it too!"

Oh. Well then she's not wearing that to the dance. Then I guess I can tell you what she was wearing. She had a light blue ruffled shirt, with a matching blue clip in her hair, and a gray skirt with white leggings. It looked extremely nice, yes, but I made it sound a little dull. So that way when I describe her at the dance she'll seem a lot prettier. Heh, look at me being clever.

We awkwardly waved at eachother. Then I stepped back into the changing room as Bebe handed Heidi her next outfit. I heard the door chunk shut a second after mine.

As I pulled my shirt off of my head, I wondered if by the time we got back it would be too late for Clyde to come over. We still had to finish our project, and I think he needed a guy to talk to, instead of Bebe's constant blabbering. I pulled the striped sweater over my head and pulled out my phone. It was a little past four. If we got out of here soon enough, then maybe we would have a few hours to ourselves. I changed my pants and walked out so Bebe could "inspect" the outfit.

"Oh, this one's nice also. I think I know what'll look good on you, Kev. Try this on," she said. Yeah, I can let the Kev thing slide. It's not worth the trouble.

She handed me yet another set of clothes. I reluctantly headed back into the changing room, hoping I wouldn't have to do this for too much longer.

The cold, groggy air was an unusual relief as I stepped outside and into the parking lot. It was now 5:30, and I had been trapped in that mall for way too long. After Bebe had decided on an outfit for me, we had to wait for Heidi. And then Bebe apparently had plans for accessories too, and I had to suffer through the pain of doing that too. And seeing the total of everything was overwhelming. Of course, I offered to pay what I could, but both Bebe and Clyde refused to let me.

I stuck my keys in the door and unlocked the car. Heidi slowly made her way to the other side, and I could see in her face that she was just as tired out from that as I was, even after taking a nap on the way here.

"Hey, go ahead and get in. I'll just be a second." I told her, putting my keys back in my pocket. She smiled gratefully and nodded, and then ducked into the passenger seat.

I walked a little ways away from my car, watching Clyde and Bebe emerge from Macy's with their bags. I waited for them to get closer, and then walked up to them.

"Hey if you're not too tired, do you wanna come over?" I asked Clyde, falling into their pace.

"For, uh, what?" he asked. He shifted the weight in his shoulders and blew out a small breath, turning to a small puff of steam in the cold air.

"To finish our project," I answered him. "It's due tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh! Right," he said, and then laughed. "Yeah sure, if you let me sleep the whole time."

"Ugh, I know. Sorry, but you're gonna have to work. No excuses!" I replied with a grin.

"Heh, alright. After I drop Bebe off I'll swing by."

I nodded and broke apart from them and went back to my car. I walked past the passenger side window and saw that Heidi had reclined the seat again, and her eyelids were drooping. Instead of going straight to the driver's side, I went around to the trunk and got out my fleece Star Wars blanket. I hope she doesn't mind being covered by Stormtroopers.

I got in the car and tossed the blanket on top of her.

Slightly startled, she examined it for a second and then smiled as she unfolded it. "This is a cool blanket," she said, smiling and she curled up in it. "And it's soft and warm."

I smiled at her as she turned over and tightened the blanket around her shoulders. I started the car and backed out of the parking space, and making sure Clyde and Bebe were close, drove out of the parking lot and headed back to South Park.

The ride home was certainly less eventful, for the only sound was the radio, and the roads were dark, restricting me from seeing much outside. When I got back into city limits, I slowed my speed to navigate through the neighborhoods, and gently shook Heidi's shoulder.

As she became aware of where she was, she brought her seat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Um, you need to tell me where to go," I told her as she stared sleepily out the window at the houses decorated with bright Christmas lights streamed by.

"Uhh, take a left . . . up here," she said, pointing at a street branching off.

The rest of the ride, although it was short, was awkward and silent. I pulled up to the house that she pointed out as hers, and she unbuckled her seatbelt and took the blanket off.

"Thanks for all this," she said, with one hand on the door, ready to get out.

"No problem," I replied with a yawn. "Bye."

"Bye." She smiled as she got out of the car. She stood outside the door for a second, hesitating. Then she stuck her head back into the car and added, "And I hope you find some answers, Kevin."

Before I had a chance to reply, let alone react, she was out again and the door was closed. I sat in the car blankly for a moment, slightly stunned by what she had said, and then shook my head and backed out of her driveway and cruised down the road to my house.

It only took a few minutes after I got home for Clyde to arrive. The night was short. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, except Clyde actually worked. Which means we finished our essay in time, at about nine o'clock.

"Can you uh, put that on a flash drive?" Clyde asked before I closed the document.

"Huh?" I said, turning to him. "Why?"

He shifted his shoulders awkwardly with a shy grin. "Well, I kind of wanted to turn it in myself. So I feel like, I dunno, like I-"

"I got it," I said with an understanding smile. I chuckled as I plugged his flash drive into the side of the computer. "Just really make sure you turn it in, okay?"

"Ugh, I'm not that stupid."

I handed him his flash drive with a knowing look. "Whatever you say."

He started to pack his things, and I shut my computer down. I was really goddamn tired from today and could use some sleep. I'd probably crash right after he was gone. Yeah, sleep sounds good . . .

"Hey Kevin?"

I turned to him. "Yeah?"

He gave me a long, tired look. "Don't print out your own copy, okay? I want your trust on this." He jostled his backpack. "Promise?"

I stared at him for a moment, hesitating to say yes.

But I realized that I wanted to trust him as much as he wanted me to.

"Yeah, Clyde. Promise."

He smiled and turned to leave when I added, "And Stoleys don't break their promises, either."

He continued on without turning back, but as he turned to go down the stairs, I caught a smile on his lips.

After a second, I turned around, fell onto my bed, and was asleep in minutes.

A/N

*If you know what that's from, then I immediately love you.