Oh, Lord. What's it been? A bajillion years or so? I'm sorry this took so long guys. I'm also sorry if this turns out badly. To be honest, I fell out of touch with this story. It was kind of hard to get back into it. I've had a couple of different projects on my own that I've been working on, and they've been my priority. (You can actually check out some of one of them when you click on the little inkpop link on my profile page thingy.) Anyways, this is sort of short. And boring. And bad. And annoying. And--you know what? I'll just let you read now.

(Once again, I apologize: For the terribleness of this, and for not posting in such a long time. Sorrysorrysorry!)

Oh! I almost forgot. This is the same day as Cam's chapter. It's just earlier in the day and from Massie's side of things.

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Chapter Three.

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"Massie, come on, babe. What else did you expect me to do?"

Massie rubbed her eyes roughly, urging the headache that was forming behind them to go away. "I don't know, Dempsey," she snapped. "Maybe I figured that instead of flirting back, you'd tell her to eff off or something. But I guess you forgot that you have a girlfriend. You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

The tall light haired boy rose from his seat on the leather couch, aiming a pointedly irritated look at Massie's tense back. She huffed out of the living room and into the kitchen, wanting to get something to make the throbbing ache in her head disappear. He stomped after her.

"I swear Massie, you are getting on my last nerve with this shit you have going on. I'm not cheating on you!" His form cast a long shadow across the floor in front of Massie, and she hunched her shoulders in recognition.

Closing the medicine cabinet lightly, she twisted around slowly. "I'm sorry, okay? I just wonder sometimes why you even talk to her. Alicia Rivera isn't one of the most respectable of people I know," she told him hesitantly.

Dempsey Solomon's glare softened, and Massie saw a glimpse of the boy she had fallen for. With his long lashes and soft lips, he was the picture of sweet. And at times, he could act that way too. She bit her lip and smiled softly at him. She had heard from someone that he had been flirting a little too hard with Alicia Rivera last night at a party. But how could she not listen to his claims? They had a love that went deeper than petty flirting, right? Plus, simple things easily escalated into rumors in their town.

He reached out, wrapping a tanned arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him softly. She slid her arms to fit with his embrace and rested her head lightly on his chest. Dempsey ducked his head to whisper in her ear. "It was nothing, babe. She came up to talk to me and she was drunk. I couldn't just tell her to leave; she was a mess."

Massie instantly felt guilty for thinking that Dempsey--her boyfriend, the person she was supposed to trust most--would cheat on her. He wouldn't do something like that. It just wouldn't be right. She brushed his arm with a kiss, feeling foolish. "I believe you. You were just being the gentleman. It's rare, and one of the many reasons I just worry about my standing sometimes."

He chuckled lightly and pulled away to look at her. "Don't worry. There isn't a reason to worry. You're my number one girl." His eyes flashed something then, something Massie couldn't figure out, but it was gone in an instant.

She was going to return his sign of affection, but suddenly the front door burst open and a boy leaped into the entry way.

"Block, your damn dog ate my shoe! It might not smell the best but it doesn't deserve to be mauled by that beast that you call a pet--Oh. Hey Solomon."

Derrick froze, a chewed up tennis shoe dangling by its dirty shoelace in his hand. His annoyed look intensified and a frown creased his brows. Dempsey eyed him and Danny, as the other blonde slid into the room, with a look of disdained interest. "Derrick, Danny," he greeted dully. Massie wondered idly if she'd be able to see the testosterone if she looked hard enough. She noticed Danny staring at the arm wrapped around her and danced out of Dempsey's grip, reaching for the bottle of pills she was going for earlier.

"Boys," she said awkwardly, "when exactly do you plan on following that rule? You know, the one where you're supposed to knock before you ram someone's door open?" She shook out two white pills and swallowed them dry.

Dempsey stood by her side, hands shoved in pockets, looking annoyed, while the other boys remained in their previous poses. Massie rolled her eyes at the situation. Of course they would act weird around each other. She didn't know what had caused this strange tension between the three; they had used to be good friends.

Dempsey cleared his throat and ran a hand through his honey brown hair. "Well," he started, "I actually have to go. I told Landon Crane I'd help him move into his new apartment today." He frowned at the spotless tiled floor, and Massie wondered why he wouldn't look at her. Landon was a good friend of theirs. What would be the problem? His jade eyes met her ambers for just a moment, before he started for the front door. "I'll call you later, babe."

Massie tilted her head to the side, confused, as her boyfriend slid past the two remaining blondes and out the door. Brushing a lock of dark brown hair out of her eyes, she lifted a fist to her heart shaped mouth and coughed uncomfortably. When the door latched shut, she moved her gaze to the dirty shoe in Derrick's hand. He stood there, glaring at nothing in particular.

"I really don't like him, Massie," he said angrily.

The brunette glowered back at him as she hauled herself into a seated position on the counter. "And I really don't like disgusting shoes," she retorted.

He scrunched his nose. "Your dog's a hellhound."

Massie gasped. "Bean was only doing what I told her to!" She tapped the side of her head with a slender finger. "Should have thought about the dog before you left your nasty crap here."

The boys instantly perked up, losing their previous upset looks. Derrick pouted. "But I liked these shoes. They were sturdy," he complained. He strode forward, tossing the chewed up heaps of material into the metal trashcan in the kitchen. "Goodbye, my loves," he sighed dramatically. Both Massie and Danny ignored him.

Danny ran into the kitchen, his blue eyes sparkling, and threw himself on the counter next to Massie. "Where have you been?" he crowed obnoxiously. He rose a light eyebrow in her direction, and pursed his lips knowingly. "Not with the girls, I hope. They're evil, conniving creatures. Your brain goes to goo around them."

She laughed, slapping his arm, and he grinned. "I am a girl; I wouldn't be dissing them if I were you. I can easily sic Bean on your shoes too."

"Evil and conniving," he muttered.

Massie pulled her legs into a crisscross manner and smiled. She loved her friends. "I actually was with the girls though," she continued. "It was fun."

There was the muffled rustling of bags and boxes from the pantry before Derrick called out, "They'd been wanting to hang with you for a while now. Dylan had fun too." The dirty blonde appeared with a box of cheese crackers in hand. "That doesn't really matter though. We have news for you, my dear evil female friend. We," he paused and smiled broadly.

Danny slapped his hand down on the granite counter with a theatric smack. "We're having a party! For the end of school. Or the beginning of summer. Whichever way you wanna see it."

Derrick ruffled his friend's hair and howled. "It's a time for celebration! Let the law-breaking begin!"

Massie flinched from the loudness of the boys, as her headache from the fight with Dempsey hadn't left yet. "Wait," she said worriedly, "not here. Not at my house. Right?"

Danny shook his head, his mop of hair falling into icy eyes. Massie sighed in relief. "Good. I cannot deal with planning a party right now."

Danny laughed. "It's at my house. It'll be in a couple of days or something. I dunno yet. We just wanted to tell you that way you can inform everyone else. It's got to be huge."

"Why huge?" she asked curiously.

Derrick scratched his head. "What's it matter?"

Massie rolled her eyes. Boys.

"Well that's cool. I'm going to guess that I'm invited right? Actually it doesn't matter. I'll go even if I'm not." She laughed at the looks the boys gave her. "I'm just kidding. Sort of. Anyways, I'll tell people; don't worry about it."

Derrick frowned at his box of crackers and tossed them aside. "Right. Well, now that our information is delivered, wanna do me a favor?"

"A favor for what?" she snorted.

He eyed her accusingly. "For letting your hellhound kill my shoes, maybe?"

"Dude, no one cares about your shoes," Danny complained. He turned his gaze back toward Massie and smiled sweetly. "I would, however, love if you could bake some of your history making cupcakes." He fluttered his lashes. "Please?"

Massie faintly heard Derrick mumble something about rather having brownies, but disregarded his comment. Cupcakes didn't sound bad actually. "Sure. Dad and Mom're coming home today; they'd probably like some later too." She casually wondered if it was a good idea to take some to the new neighbors. Not a bad idea at all, she noted. Might as well, right? It's the neighborly thing to do.

Danny beamed happily at the brunette, pulling her into a sideways bear hug. She laughed, shoving his arm away, and hopped off the counter and over to the refrigerator. She pulled the door open, and as she took a closer look at its contents, her smile faltered. "Sorry boys. We have no eggs."

Derrick was at the front door in a flash. "I think it's about time we go shopping then."

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