WESTCHESTER, NY

BLOCK'S RANGE ROVER

April 13, Friday

7:30 AM

Claire Lyons bit her lip continuously, as Isaac turned on the engine. She couldn't bare looking at Kristen, and all the more she couldn't handle being in the same car with her. What would she say if Kristen talked to her? And what about Cam? It hurt Claire imagining Cam handing Kristen a pack of gummies with notes attached to them, or Kristen sniffing his Drakkar Noir perfume.

"Kuh-laire, stop it or that lip will bleed. And it's getting pathetic. Everyone knows an alpha doesn't let anything get to them." Massie smoothed her dress. Honestly, she sympathized for Claire. But it was just a rumor. Claire would soon get over it and there'd be no more conflicts between the PC.

After a long silence, the car screeched to a stop. Alicia came out, dazzling and fabulous as ever. "Hey," she greeted, hopping in. "You will nawt believe how big this Kristen and Cam thing is. People are buzzing about it, and they even made a couple name for them: Kram. It sounds like cramming." She went on, laughing. Ouch, Massie thought, looking to the back at Claire, who just hung her head low. The cheery vibe of her self-made outfit clashed with her moody expression. As a friend, Massie stomped her foot onto Alicia's boots. "Ow! What the—" Alicia whined. Massie tilted her head towards Claire, and Alicia took the signal. "Sorry, Claire," she said sincerely. "Oh, it's nothing," Claire muttered, "but your outfit looks awesome." She commented on Alicia's clothes, which consisted of the Ralph Lauren's spring collection. "Thanks," Alicia smiled. "It kinda costed a lot, but it's worth it."

"Toe-dally," Massie chimed in. "It's such a nine-point-two." She grinned. Alicia positioned herself comfortably on the seat, making room for the next two riders.

As the Range Rover stopped in front of the Marvil mansion, Massie reminded Alicia to keep her mouth shut about the Cam issue. Dylan came in moments after, a low-fat soy latte in her hand. "Heeey," she smiled. ""Shouldn't those things have lids?" Alicia giggled, gesturing toward the latte. "I can blow it better this way." Dylan giggled as well, shutting the door beside her. "It's Friday the thirteenth." Claire said randomly. "Oh, yeah. That reminds me. My mom did a segment this morning about rabbit's foot. I mean, what is it, really? Some PETA dude in the audience kept cutting in that he got sent out." Dylan told them. She blew her latte and sipped. "And speaking of luck, can you believe my new Glossip Girl lip gloss? They call it Lucky Charms. And it even tastes like the cereal." Massie puckered her lips.

They picked up Kristen, who wore a hideous cotton top with a peasant skirt. "And speaking of unlucky...we have Kristen's clothes." Massie snickered. Kristen rolled her eyes. And like her daily routine, she changed into her back-up clothes, which that day were Massie's hand-me-downs. "Oh, hey Claire. Did you finish that project? You wouldn't answer any of my texts." She said. "Oh, um," Claire fumbled for words. This was the exact situation she'd been avoiding. She looked at Massie hopelessly for help. "Yeah," Massie chimed in. "You didn't reply to mine either." She accused. Oh no. I asked for help, not more stuff to answer! Claire yelled to herself. But the alpha and friend she is, Massie saved her. "Was your signal down again? I swear, you really need to call the network."

"Oh, yeah. I will. I promise." Claire sighed out of relief. She was worried Massie wouldn't go through for her. But she did. She managed to sneak a text without the others noticing.

CLAIRE: TYSM. Will make it up 2 U sumday.

Massie nodded a "You're welcome". Claire sighed again, silently hoping the rest of the day would be this good.

But it didn't. A block away from OCD, they came to the part of the road where there were two sides: a smooth lane which Isaac often took, and a bumpy lane which they never took. Isaac calmly drove toward the smooth lane, but then an old woman began walking down it. Isaac swerved to the right, into the bumpy lane, just to avoid collision. Nobody got hurt, but Dylan's latte spilled while the car shook up and down.

Massie screamed, and the PC saw that her dress had a big latte stain at the side. "Ehmagawd! I'm so sorry, Mass!" Dylan apologized, tried to pat-not rub, gawd-the stain with tissue.

Massie didn't just blame Dylan. Or Isaac. She blamed the old lady who just had to cross the street. She opened the door and stormed out, ignoring Isaac's yelling, and headed for the old lady, who was still in the course of crossing the street. The Pretty Committee scurried after her, except for Dylan, who remained in the car, mouth agape. She really needed a rabbit's foot.

"What do you think you're doing?" Massie yelled at the old woman-really loud. When the woman only stared at her, probably thinking the question was rhetorical, she went on. "Do you not see a car passing through? FYI, when you see one, you're supposed to wait for it to pass. Then you cross. Comprende?" she boomed.

The woman gripped her chest, and looked at Massie with horror. Claire bit her lip again. She pitied the woman. Getting yelled at for something that wasn't really her fault, and Massie's wrath was scary enough when it doesn't involve clothes damage. And now? Clair swore steam would come out of her ears soon.

Meanwhile, Massie couldn't stand being ignored. Sure, she got to the woman. Sure, she made her point. But she would nawt leave without a decent apology. She cracked one of her famous last-minute self-made comebacks. "Were you born yesterday?"

Ah-bviously not.

"Then puh-lease stop acting so innocent!" Massie prepared for the Pretty Committee's back-up laughter. But instead, their faces displayed quite the opposite. They exhibited horror, as they noticed the woman wasn't breathing.

"Isaac! Get her to a hospital!" Claire yelled, helping the woman to the car. The PC followed her example. Massie, however, was too baffled by the situation. What about her dress? How could they care about a woman who committed a crime in the fashion world, and just leave the victim standing there?

Oh, and she didn't forget about Dylan's crime, either.

A/N: If you noticed, I like keeping the chapters relatively short. Please forgive my amateur writing skills and pathetic choice of words. Please excuse my lack of creativity in a comeback. I was never meant to make them up. Anyway, please review. I could really use comments, suggestions, or pretty much anything right now. And as for violent reactions, PM it to me. :) Oh, btw, I made a pretty lame State of the Union for the prologue and this, and if you ever want to see it, just copy-paste this link into your browser without the spaces.

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