Chapter 12

"I demand to know what's going on!" the blonde nearly screamed.

"God, so American. Always entitled. You should be ashamed of yourself for enforcing such a negative stereotype on your nation," Kelly reprimanded the girl, waving her finger in the stranger's face.

"Well I'm sorry, but-"

"See? Now was that so hard? All it takes is a small apology to repair diplomatic relations. I'm sure your country is grateful to you, Miss….?"

"Amanda Miranda," the blonde's face was blank as Kelly took her hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

"Seriously?" Michelle gaped.

"Yes, seriously," Amanda hissed. "Now who's the rude one?"

"You're quite right, Amanda. Michelle, that was terribly rude," Kelly tapped Michelle on the nose. The words and action seemed to please Amanda, as she smiled at Kelly and pulled her heels together, shifting her weight toward the taller witch.

"So what are your names?"

"I'm Kelly, and this is Michelle."

"Nice to meet you," Amanda reached out to shake their hands, and they accepted. Michelle breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, Kelly had managed to divert the conversation to something completely unrelated, and Michelle could see that Kelly had slipped her wand out and was getting ready to obliviate the American.

"So would you mind telling me why some guy jumped out of your window and flew off on a broom?"

She had thought too soon.

"What are you talking about?" Kelly froze, wand in hand behind her back.

"That…dreamy man." Michelle narrowed her eyes at Amanda, "He jumped out of your window. I saw you two in the window watching him fly away. How the hell did he do it?"

"Oh. Ohoho. That. Right, well…You see, Oliver is a…he's a-"

"Oliver? That's so hot. Such a British name," Amanda smiled and wrinkled her nose, her eyes sparkling. "How old is he?"

"Are you interested in Oliver?" Michelle inquired.

"Well yeah who wouldn't be? He's a stud.

"Oh yeah? I hadn't noticed," Kelly rolled her eyes, glancing at Michelle.

"So you two are friends with him? Is he dating anyone? He looks like the kind of guy that would hook up quite a bit. Is he? Cuz I have to tell you, I've been in England for a week now and haven't gotten any."

"He is not the type to hook up!" Michelle nearly screamed. Amanda took a step back.

"What Michelle means is that Oliver's taken," Kelly slid between the girls, her back to Michelle as she fanned her hands out in a casual manner.

"Oh yeah? By who?" Amanda squared her hips, looking Kelly right in the eye.

"Michelle, actually. The two haven't been dating long, and she's a bit insecure. Y'know, the whole dating above your league thing, she's worried he might move on or something." Michelle's jaw dropped at what Kelly said, and when she was finished, the older girl received a stomp on the foot.

"He is not out of my league!"

"Let's be honest, kid, he is," Amanda flipped her long blonde hair behind her shoulder, practically posing.

"Oh yeah well then why is he dating me?" Michelle stepped around Kelly.

"Honestly? I have no idea," Amanda raised an eyebrow as she looked Michelle up and down.

"Ohokay," Kelly moved between the two girls again, a hand on each of their shoulders, "Let's play nice. For the sake of international diplomacy, we'll pretend we didn't hear your last few sentences," she looked at Amanda.

"Whatever," was all Amanda gave as a response. She walked off toward the café, and Kelly pulled her wand from her sleeve. She was about to cast an obliviate spell, but a group of boys walked out of a sporting goods shop a few doors down. She quickly tucked her wand back into her sleeve, cursing under her breath.

"I can't obliviate her. Too many muggles around," she muttered.

"Damn," Michelle crossed her arms, turning her front toward the alley as the boys passed. "We'll have to try to get her later."

"Agreed. Or," Kelly changed her tone, "We could play around with this."

"What do you mean?" Michelle eyed her friend warily.

"Well it's obvious that this chick likes Oliver. And she was pretty nasty to you. It would obliterate her self-esteem if she tried to get Oliver and was turned down because he wants you."

"It would be nice to shatter her confidence…How would we do that?"

"We let it slip to Amanda Miranda where you two are going for dinner. If I know her type, she'll go and try to upstage you. You simply flirt back with Oliver and one- it'll give him a bit of what he wants, two- it'll put Amanda in her place, and three- it'll be crazy entertaining to see how this plays out!"

"Oh you are evil," Michelle smiled.

"And you love it," Kelly stuck her tongue out. The two trotted back across the street to the café. They saw Amanda sitting at a table on the patio, smiled at her and went upstairs.

"Now," Kelly started digging through a trunk at the end of her bed, "Oliver said he would pick you up at seven."

"Yes, even though I said lunch."

"Well everyone knows that dinner is far more romantic than lunch. He obviously wants to get you in a romantic setting. Now we have to figure out where he's taking you for dinner. You'll need to dress accordingly," Kelly pulled out a blanket made of a rich fuchsia fabric. "This'll do for color." She set the blanket on the bed and pulled out her wand, beginning to transfigure it into a dress.

The blanket lifted off of the bed, spinning and twirling and curving as it transformed. The dress now had two straps, about an inch wide at the top of the shoulder, that came down to cover her chest but leave a low 'v' neckline. In the back, the straps simply came straight down, attaching to a fitted bodice that flared out into a full, flowing skirt that hit just above the knee. The completed garment spun in a slow, mid-air circle in front of the girls.

"It's beautiful," Michelle breathed, smiling.

"We'll accessorize it with gold," Kelly transfigured a few pieces of her own jewelry into a gold necklace, a chunky gold cuff, and gold flower earrings. "God I love being a witch," she sighed, stepping back to admire her work.

"Shoes?" Michelle piped up.

"Right! Just a moment," Kelly turned and opened her closet, falling to her knees and digging through her shoe racks. She tossed a few stray scarves and socks and one squeaky duck behind her, Michelle dodging the clothes but catching the duck, and staring at it. "Got it!" Kelly yelled from the closet.

She re-entered her bedroom holding a pair of black, platform stilettos. She tapped the dress and then the shoes, which shifted color to match the fuchsia.

"What do you think?" Kelly beamed.

"I love it! I think I'm actually looking forward to a date with Oliver Wood," Michelle laughed.

"Yeah. You're not looking forward to it because he's hopelessly devoted, almost sinfully good-looking, or rich and athletic. You just like the dress. That makes so much sense," Kelly teased.

"Well would you like to go on this date? Maybe whip up some Polyjuice potion and switch places for an evening?" Michelle smiled playfully.

"No, not yet. Not until I would be able to get him into bed," Kelly flopped onto her bed, mockingly striking a sexy pose.

"Well it's nice to see that you aren't letting your morals get in the way," Michelle laughed. But her happy face soon grew serious, "So how do we set this up? I have no idea where we're going for dinner. And we have to give Amanda enough time to get dressed and crash our date. God I can't wait to see that bitch get crushed," a mischievous grin crept onto her face.

"Patience, grasshopper," Kelly rolled onto her back. "This is how it'll go down. I'll cast a disillusionment charm on myself and follow you and Oliver until I find out where you're going. Then I'll use a locating charm to find Amanda, and apparate to wherever she is, and let it slip where you are. But remember, Michelle," she sat up, her face the very image of serious, "You need to play the part. Keep Oliver at the restaurant as long as possible. Make sure that Amanda doesn't stand a chance."

Michelle nodded, "I think I can do that."

"Good. Now then, only," Kelly glanced at her clock, "Seven hours until he picks you up! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Mario Party Eight?" she looked hopeful.

"No, silly goose. Makeup and hair!"

"But you can just use magic and it'll only take a few minutes."

"Yes but it's not nearly as fun!" Kelly whined. "Now sit down, I'm going to experiment."

"Oh god…"