High School Daze

Ch. 4

Months passed, and Shenzi and Chuckie's relationship was still strong as ever. The former had a very interesting Sweet 16 birthday party during those months, but that's a whole other story. Their dates occasionally went from the mall to fancy restaurants. Shenzi had tried insisting on going to merely fast food joints, not wanting Chuckie to spend so much money on her, but he was persistent, so she gave in. They earned official jobs at the Java Lava, so they were getting paid anyway.

If only they knew the problems that would soon come.

"Chuckie, I don't want you to spend this much money on me!" Shenzi exclaimed in concern. For what she thought would be casual, she wore a black halter abstract woven dress, a hot pink crochet lace-trimmed tank top under it, black floral lined combat boots, a black lace cropped moto jacket, black bow earrings, a dark red extension in her bangs, and other extensions in her hair, in pink, yellow, and violet blue. She found out that he was planning on taking her to a restaurant that was so expensive, it would leave him broke until after 20 shifts at their job. "It's too much!"

"Shen..."

"You'll be broke! Why don't we just go eat at the mall? It's much cheaper and simpler."

"I want to spoil my girlfriend." He tried to insist.

"Well, I-I appreciate it, but I don't want to be the reason you have to work double-time."

"I'll be fine."

"No, you won't!" Shenzi grabbed his shoulders, surprising him, "You won't be fine! You won't have time to hang out with our friends because you'll be working more than needed." Chuckie stayed silent. "I-I just don't want to make you regret anything," She said quietly, "And... I don't care how fancy our dates are; As long as you're there, I'm happy."

"I..." Chuckie stammered, "I'm just afraid that... that you won't want to date me anymore if I didn't try harder."

"Chuckie," She looked up at him, "If our date involved us just sitting on one of our porches, I'd be perfectly happy." She sighed deeply and shakily as she looked downward again, avoiding eye contact. "I, I don't like fighting with you like this."

"I don't either," His hands laid on her back. "Maybe we should... take a little break."

"Y-you mean... see other people?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "It's nothing against you, I promise. It's just... I just feel like a break from each other will help us. Once that break is over, we'll start going out again. And we'll go back to being boyfriend and girlfriend immediately."

"Can we still hang out?"

"Of course we can," He smiled warmly at her, "We'll still be friends. We just have to hang out with other people as well."

"O-okay," She nodded, "But no matter what happens," Her small left hand gently laid on his cheek, "You'll always be the one for me."

Chuckie's smile grew as he blushed from her touch. "And you for me." His hand gently held her wrist.

"But..."

"Yeah?"

"Just one more kiss, before our... break begins?" She looked up at him with a slightly pleading look.

"Alright," He leaned down, and their lips connected for almost half a minute, before they separated. "O-okay, so as of now... we're casual friends."

"Mm hmm," She nodded, "So, um... what should we do now?"

"Well," He tried to think, "Since we are friends, why don't we hang out at the mall? We can have dinner there like you want to, and depending on what time it is, we can go to the arcade as well."

"S-sounds good to me."

And they did just that; They ate tacos for dinner, and since they still had some time, they hung out at the arcade. It was hard for them to not show PDAs, but they managed to pull through. They almost kissed when they were alone, but they refrained just before they could connect. When it started getting late, they took a bus home, dreading their respective families' reactions to what went on between them. "Here's my stop," Chuckie said awkwardly when the bus stopped close to his house. "B-bye Shen," He kissed her cheek, "I'll see you at school."

"You too, Chuck." He walked out of the vehicle, up the sidewalk, and in the front door as she watched him. When the bus stopped closer to her house, she stepped out and through the front door.

"How'd your date go, Shen?" Frankie asked her, not noticing how solemn she looked.

"Well, it-it wasn't a date."

That got Frankie's attention. "Say what?"

"We um... we decided to take a little break," Shenzi said quietly, "So tonight, we just hung out as friends, like we did before we... coupled up."

"A break?" The blonde stood up in surprise, "Why?"

"Well, he-he wanted to take me to a restaurant that was so expensive, that he would be broke before we'd even order our food. I tried to insist on us going to the mall for dinner instead, but he was persistent, so... we decided that a break from each other would help our relationship. We'll still hang out, though; It's just that we'll see other people."

"Ah," Frankie nodded, "Well, I hope it works. Because you and Chuckie were, no are, the cutest couple in school."

"To be honest... I hope it does too."

"You guys are taking a break?" Kimi asked Chuckie after he told her what happened.

"Yeah," He nodded, "I just feel like it'll help our relationship. We're still going to hang out, but we'll just be dating other people."

"Oh, okay; I understand. Who are you going to ask out?"

"I don't know," He shrugged, "I never thought of dating anyone other than Shenzi. There's Nicole, but Fridge likes her, and I don't want to be scummy, so I won't try to date her. Um... there's Samantha Shane, but... I don't know. I'll just see who I run into at school on Monday."

"Sounds like a plan. I hope the break works for you, because you and Shenzi are the cutest couple ever."

"Thanks, Kimi."

"Do you have any ideas on who you're going to ask out?"

"Not exactly," Shenzi shrugged, "I never thought of dating anyone other than Chuckie. Not once in my whole life."

"Well, there's a first for everything," Frankie shrugged, "Let's take the time to think about it now, okay?"

"Alright."

"Um... what about Fridge?"

"I don't think so," Shenzi shrugged, "He's too much like a big brother to me. Why don't we exclude friends?"

"Sounds good to me. Hmm... I got it!"

"So, I was wondering... do you want to maybe... go out sometime? We can have lunch at the park or something."

"Hmm... alright, I will. That sounds great"

"You will? That's awesome!"

"Although I thought you were going out with Chuckie."

"Well, we went through a rough patch, and decided to see other people until that patch softens up. So, lunch in the park this Saturday? I'll meet you at the entrance."

"It's a date."

On Saturday, Shenzi put on pink and black buffalo plaid Abbey Dawn shorts, a white tee with black horizontal stripes that showed 1 ½ inches of her belly, a black cropped vest, black rose earrings, a black tose necklace, black Converse high-tops with pink laces, a single pink extension, and multiple black extensions that faded into ivory. In the past few weeks, before making this date, she had gone out with a new tough boy named Bradley Uppercrust, reluctantly with Tyler, Sean's friend Justin Rogers, and some others, but they didn't work out. She hoped that this date would go well. Nothing against Chuckie, but she just wanted to know if she was appealing to other boys her age, or around it. Excluding Tyler, because he was a bit creepy and possessive.

She rode her bike to the park, since it was close by and she felt like she needed more exercise, and due to arriving early, she waited by the entrance like she said she would. She gazed around at her surroundings, enjoying the surprisingly warm weather. She and her date agreed on simply having fast food for lunch at the park; Something simple, yet possibly romantic, if they wanted it to be.

She flinched at a sudden loud engine; A motorcycle drove up, and swerved to a stop in front of her, making her jump back a bit. After the rider took off his full-face helmet, her heart rate decreased back to normal when she saw who it was: It was Z, her date. "Hey, Shen. Sorry I almost hit you." He was wearing an Akumu Ink Tone Death t-shirt, dark denim jeans, a black leather jacket, black buckle combat boots, and had black captive hoops for earrings, along with silver barbells in the extra piercings in his left ear. His hair was in a dyed green Mohawk like it had been since middle school. He took a takeout bag out of his jacket, making her wonder how it stayed in there.

"It, it's okay," She assured him, "No biggie. Let's find a good table to sit at." After a couple minutes of walking, they found one with a full wooden awning over it. The table was small, but it was enough for them. When she opened her burger's wrapper, she was very surprised to see that it had extra pickles in it, like how she always had it. "Z, how'd you know this was my favorite?"

"After you asked me out, I went to Chuckie and asked him some questions about you," He shrugged, "He seemed a bit defensive, but he did answer them."

Shenzi blushed at that; Chuckie still cared about her. "Well, thanks," She smiled timidly, eating the pickle slices on their own, one by one. "Um, s-sorry that I didn't bring any of your favorite things."

"Don't worry about it," Z assured her, "It's all good."

"Th-thanks." She took a small bite out of her burger. "So basically, to help your relationship with Chuckie, you're um, how you say, playing the field?"

"I guess," She shrugged, before deciding to change the subject, "Um, tha-that's a cool shirt you're wearing there."

"Thanks," He glanced down at it, "I got it for my 16th birthday earlier this year. Your whole outfit is pretty bold itself."

"Thanks," She blushed, "Also, you have a pretty sweet ride."

"Thanks; I got that on my 16th birthday too."

"That's neat; I've always imagined riding a motorcycle. But my dad says they're dangerous."

"Well, I started taking lessons when I was around 15, so I know what I'm doing."

"That's good. I uh... I wouldn't want you to get hurt." She played with her natural hair timidly.

Z blushed a bit as a smile grew on his face. "I-I wouldn't want you to get hurt either." His hand absentmindedly laid over hers, making their blushes deeper.

In the heat of the moment, they stood up as much as they could on the picnic table, and her small lips planted on his. He wasn't Chuckie, but she had to admit, Z was a pretty good kisser. She could vaguely taste the hamburger he was eating. They pulled away after a few seconds, and sat back on the benches. It was then when she noticed something kind of surprising. "Y-you uh, you got your eyebrow pierced?" In his right eyebrow was a black curved barbell that looked like an arrow.

"Yeah," He nodded, "Around half a year ago."

"Didn't it hurt?"

"A little bit," Z shrugged.

"A little bit?" Her eyebrows raised up in surprise, "You're describing a flu shot, Z. They practically shoved a needle in your face, and you say it only hurt a little bit? I can barely even think of having any part of my head pierced, never mind actually having it done, except the ones I have now."

"In that case, you probably shouldn't look at my right ear that closely."

"Try me, tough guy."

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." Z turned his head a bit to the left, and Shenzi was surprised to see a silver steel dragon moon straight barbell in his cartilage.

"Ohhh."

"Yeah. That one did hurt."

"It looks like it." She held her hand to her right ear instinctively. "Heck, I cried when and after I had my ears pierced when I was 5," She gestured to where her earrings were, "At least according to my parents. It was worth it, though."

"It seems like it," Z smirked, "Black really is your color."

"Thanks," She blushed.

"I saw you when you were, y'know, a "daffodil" when middle school was almost over," He used air quotes, "And no offense, but I don't think it worked for you."

"None taken; I feel the same way, honestly. Goth and emo really is for me."

"I agree." Z flinched back a bit when Shenzi suddenly whipped her head around to look behind her back. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," She nodded, "I uh, I just felt like someone was watching me. You see um, Mi-Mr. Pangborn..."

"Oh, I know what he did; It was in the school newspaper. Pretty messed up."

"Yeah," She nodded, "It's hard to forget."

"I bet it is. Uh, this is kind of... sudden, but my older cousin is throwing a party this Friday. It's at night, but not too late. You want to go with me?"

"A party? Okay, I'll go; That sounds fun. It's a date."

On Friday afternoon after school, Shenzi was getting ready for the party. Her parents were reluctant about her going, but she eased their suspicions by saying she can defend herself, and promising to be careful. She decided on a black Killstar doll dress, black low-riding fishnet tights, black creeper-like shoes, although they didn't provide extra height, light pink extensions, a large, light pink bow headband, black bow earrings, and painted black and light pink polish on her fingernails. Under her dress was what she had originally chosen, but decided to hide it from her parents and sister.

She grabbed her purse and dashed outside upon hearing a motorcycle engine, and spotting headlights from her window. After saying goodbye to her family, she hopped on the seat behind Z, put on her bike helmet, held on tight, and they rode off. A few minutes before arriving, she heard dance music playing, and hoped it was coming from somewhere else. Because if it wasn't, then it was going to be loud. When the motorcycle was parked, the music was already close to blasting. "This music sure is loud!" She tried to yell out over it as they took off their helmets.

"What?!" He turned to her, after her voice was drowned out.

"The music is loud!" She yelled more clearly.

"Yeah, it is!" He agreed. After Shenzi grabbed her purse, they entered the building, where all they could hear was music blasting from all around the room. Guests were dancing, drinking, or making out all over the place. "Pretty sweet, huh?!" He yelled over the loud tunes.

"What'd you say?!" She couldn't hear him.

"I said it's pretty sweet, isn't it?!"

"I guess! It's awfully loud, though!"

"There's my little cousin!" A boy who looked to be in his early 20s came up, and bro-hugged Z. "Glad you made it!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Slugger!" Z greeted him back.

"Slugger?" Shenzi's eyebrows raised.

"He's a baseball fanatic, so everyone calls him Slugger for it," Z explained.

"Ohh!"

"Slug, this is my date, Shenzi Tuck. She goes to my school."

"She's a pretty one, Z! She looks like she's dressed like a doll."

The said girl giggled. "For now." She whipped her dress off, revealing black shorts with a small chain, and a black lace ruffled camisole that didn't reach her waist, so it revealed two inches of her flat belly. Boys behind her wolf-whistled immediately, and cheered. "How about now, Slug?" She playfully smirked, "Let's par-tay, people!" She arched back a bit, so her belly button almost peeked out, for dramatic effect. The two cousins cheered, before the three made their way to the dance floor.

As "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga blasted, Shenzi boogied harder than she ever did in her whole life. Why was she so whipped up? It was probably the atmosphere, or the urge to not look like a weirdo. There was a lot of girls dressed more sexily than her, but she still received stares from some of the guys as she whipped her dark hair and shook her hips, sometimes with her arms up. She didn't care that her right eye was briefly revealed at times; She was having more fun than she ever did! She was glad that she came. When it was time for karaoke, Z convinced her to take the stage, where she sang "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift. If only she knew that the fun would lead to disaster.

"Uh oh," Z felt his pockets, "Hey Shen, I forgot my phone. Can you grab it, while I use the little boy's room?"

"Sure," Shenzi nodded. She cautiously walked outside, and to her confusion, Z's motorcycle wasn't where he parked it. She contemplated going inside to tell him, but a tiny gleam of light from the side of the building caught her eye; She went to investigate, and it was the motorcycle! But what was it doing in a dark alley? Was someone playing a prank on Z? Pretty stupid prank, if you asked her.

She went to lug it back to where it was, but all of a sudden, two large hands grabbed her from behind her back! She tried to fight them off, but a cloth was forced over her nose and mouth. She felt the other hand practically slither up her shirt, stopping on her bare belly, just before everything went black from the chloroform.

(A/N: Uh oh. O_O Things are getting interesting! You know the disclaimer. The whole idea of Shenzi and Chuckie seeing other people was given to me by celrock. The title is from an episode of Drake & Josh. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!)