AN: Hey, I'm not sure if anyone's still reading this, but I thought I'd carry on anyway. I'll be wrapping this up in a couple of chapters… I hope!
As Otto's brain begins to regain function, he becomes dimly aware of the cheers ringing around him. Moving back slightly, he looks at Cleo, dazed, with a wide, uncharacteristic grin on his face.
"Wow… I mean… babe… that was…"
'Y-yeah… that was…' Cleo's breath is ragged, and her face is flushed. Her smile is shy, but matches Otto in wattage. They stare at each other for a few minutes, uncomfortable with the raucous cheers from their classmates. Otto leans in, pretending to kiss her again.
"On the count of three, we run for it..."
'One… two… three…'
Hand in hand, they make a mad dash towards the school building, with Otto turning around to flip off the crowd.
"Nosy bastards.. they HAD to interrupt the…"
'The…?'
"The best kiss of my life.." Otto finishes quietly. He doesn't quite know what to do in this situation; much as he loves giving his sister grief; he DOES care for her and doesn't want her to lose another one of her close friends. Plus, Trish had always been a cool girl, and Otto didn't quite like the idea of cheating on her. Looking at Cleo scuff her shoe, he figured she was thinking the same thing.
"Hey… just out of curiosity… why'd you kiss me, anyway…"
'I don't know… I guess I was just on autopilot…' Cleo is red faced. She knows there are going to be serious consequences for her actions.
"You mean OTTO-pilot?" Otto smirks.
Shoving him slightly, she turns and looks at him.
'I guess… Somehow I always thought that would be the only way to shut you up… never thought I'd actually get around to doing it though, much less in front of the vice principal!' She buries her head in her hands. 'Man, I am toast!'
"Babe, if that's how you want to shut me up, I may never speak again…" Otto grins cheekily, earning another whack on the arm.
'Otto…' She looks up at him sadly. The reality of their situation is slowly sinking in… she has just kissed her best friend's brother… who was taken. By a good friend of hers.
"Yeah, I know… I'll go talk to her."
'Talk to who… me?' A long haired brunette speaks up from behind him.
"Trish… I swear I was just going to go look for you…"
'Well… it looks like I've saved you a trip, doesn't it…' Trish turns and gives Cleo a "Get lost" glare. Turning to leave, Cleo is surprised when Otto pulls her back.
"Babe, don't go… Trish… it wasn't her fault, it was mine. I kissed her."
'That's not what I heard, Otto…'
"I'm the one who was actually in a relationship with you… and I'm the one who had a responsibility to you here… be mad at me, not her…"
'Y-y-you… I can't believe you…' Trish turns and dashes off down the hall. Groaning, Otto turns towards Cleo with an apologetic look.
"I gotta go after her, babe… talk to you later…" Leaning forward, he gives her a peck on the cheek and a reassuring smile before sprinting off after his (ex?) girlfriend.
Stunned, Cleo makes her way towards the library, barely able to process the events of the last hour. She does know, however, there's someone she should be talking to, and that the library would probably be the best place to find her.
"I CANNOT believe they did this… again… Twist, how many friends do I have to lose before my brother buys himself a clue?" Reggie Rocket is upset.
'I don't know Reg… but…you gotta admit… it's not like you didn't see this coming…'
"Otto needs to DIE…"
'You know you wouldn't hurt a dreadlocked hair on his head…' Twister coaxes a reluctant smile from the tall, angry girl in front of him.
"You're right…" she grumbles and pouts. Almost automatically, he reaches out and puts an arm around her shoulder, as she leans against his chest.
"Twist…" Reggie mumbles into his shirt.
'Yeah?' Twister is trying to ignore how good she feels in his arms.
"What am I going to do now… I don't want to lose Trish as a friend, and I don't want things to be weird with Cleo…"
Twister's heart begins to constrict as he imagines a lonely Reggie, forced to choose between her close friends… having only Sam to talk to in class… getting closer and closer to Sam… Sam forgetting all about Sherry… Sam and Reggie… 'NO!'
"Twist?" Reggie looks up quizzically.
'Er… I thought I saw a monkey about to attack us…'
"In the library?"
'My bad…' Twister heaves a sigh of relief as he apologizes. He's about to say something to comfort Reggie when they hear the clearing of a throat behind them.
"Am I… not welcome here?" Cleo is uncertain. She knows her actions are going to have consequences; she just hopes she doesn't have to lose her best friend.
'No cuz… I think you have some explaining to do, anyway…' Twister is firm, but strangely bitter. For some reason, the thought of Reggie getting close to the squid upset him quite a bit.
"Reg.. you know how it is with me and Otto… and… he was just cheering me up about my parents, honestly, when Collins came in… and…it was just the adrenaline… I swear, if you're not cool with it, I'll never see him again!"
Raising an eyebrow Reggie looked at Cleo questioningly. "OK then…"
"OK… what?" Cleo is nervous.
"OK… don't see him again and you're forgiven…"
Gulping, Cleo manages a watery smile and nods, as her best friend and cousin suddenly crack up in front of her.
"BUST!!!" They both yell, earning a glare from the librarian.
"Did you think I'd REALLY order you to stay away from him? That's Otto's job, not mine…"
'Otto's job?' Twister is now confused. He knew Reggie had been only kidding; the little gleam in her eye when she spoke to Cleo had made that evident (to him at least). However, he didn't know why Otto was suddenly involved.
"If he caught one of his good friends kissing me, he'd pound his face in. I'm not THAT petty.." Reggie smiles, wondering why Twister's face was suddenly pale.
'Er… hehe… really… interesting…'
"So… I can see him?" Cleo's happiness causes her to ignore Maurice's strange behavior.
"I just have one request…"
"Name it. It's yours. Anything." Cleo is relieved.
"When this thing blows up with you and Trish… don't make me take sides…" Reggie's voice is small, causing the redhead at the table to turn sharply towards her. She looks so sad, he wishes he could hold her hand, and tell her that everything was going to be OK.
"You didn't even have to ask, Reg…" Cleo says softly. She knows her actions have put her best friend in an uncomfortable position, and leans forward to give her a reassuring hug.
Meanwhile, Otto has managed to track Trish down. She'd run to an empty classroom, and was sobbing softly.
"Aw man… Listen, Trish, I'm so sorry about all this…"
'It's Trish now, huh…' She looks up at him with tear filled eyes.
"Er.. that is your name…"
'You called me babe before… and now it's Trish… and Cleo's babe…' Her tone is one of resignation.
"It's… complicated…" He sits down on a table next to her, sighing.
"I guess… I've had… these serious feelings for her since we were kids… and I just never thought I'd get a chance with her… and when I did… I forgot everything else… you know that feeling?"
'It's pretty familiar…' Trish is wry. Otto has just described her feelings towards him.
"Aw, man…" Otto doesn't know what to do. This whole being responsible thing was HARD. He did know that Trish deserved better than the treatment she got from him, though.
"You deserve better than what I gave you… and… I… I'm s-s-s-s-s-soooorry." He chokes out. Despite the situation, Trish can't help but smile. Otto Rocket hates apologizing.
'Yeah, I do…' She looks at him, and softens.
'You know what hurt the most?'
"What?"
'The fact that you care for her more than you ever could for me.'
"W-what makes you think that?" Otto didn't know he was being THAT obvious.
'You pretended you kissed her when it was the other way around…'
"I… What're you talking about…"
'I… was kind of spying on you guys from behind the tree…'
"You didn't trust me??" Otto looks indignant, but shuts up after Trish raises an eyebrow at him.
'You're Otto Rocket… you live for worming your way out of every problem.. yet for her, you pretended something was all your fault when it wasn't…'
"I didn't plan for it to be like this… and honestly… I really do like you…you were the first person I actually saw myself having a future with, after her…"
'Not enough, apparently… but I understand… I guess on some level, I've known this would happen since the day I saw her in class…'
"I am sorry though…"
'You mentioned that…'
"Trish… I know I don't have the right to ask you anything, but could you do something for me?"
'If you ask me for one last makeout session, you're getting a high heel up your -'
"No… although…" Otto grins, and then decides to get to the point. "None of this is Reggie's fault… and she really does value your friendship…"
'Don't worry… you're not worth losing Reg over…and I'm not going to make her take sides over this, either…'
"Man, Trish… you really are the best, you know that?" Otto pulls her into a huge hug, which she reciprocates. After pulling back, she responds with a watery smile,'too little too late, Rocket…'