Wakko belched loudly in the car, making you and Yakko laugh while Dot shoved her brother in the back.
"Gross!" Dot gagged.
"Sorry." Wakko meekly says.
"That's what happens when you eat eight cinnamon rolls in a row and down your second Sour Citrus." Yakko says, smirking through the rearview mirror.
"What can I say?" Wakko says, patting his stomach. "They were delicious!"
"He has a point." You say.
All four of you were in the car just as Yakko was driving into your neighborhood. Yakko parks the car right outside your house.
"And we're here!" Yakko says.
"Thanks so much for the ride Yakko." You tell him, undoing your seatbelt and grabbing your bag.
"What are we, chopped liver?" Wakko says.
You look back at the two siblings. "And thank you for the great time."
"With pleasure." Dot says with a smile.
"Tell your folks we said hi." Yakko says as you exit the car.
"Will do." You say and head off the sidewalk. You hear the car honk behind you and turn around.
"Don't forget!" Yakko hollers, poking his head out from the car. "I'm taking you to lunch tomorrow!"
"I won't forget!" You call out as the car revs up and pulls out of its parking place and goes onto the road. "Bye!"
You see Yakko's arm wave goodbye to you before the car is long out of sight.
You sigh and smile, turning right around and heading towards home. Today was absolutely wonderful. You practically felt like skipping all the way to your house. There was nothing that could ruin today, just nothing.
You walked up to the door of your home and unlocked the door with your keys. Entering the house you closed the door behind you and made your way to the kitchen. You noticed walking in there was a note on the fridge. Snatching an apple off the bowl of fruit in your kitchen table, you plucked the note off the fridge and it read:
Went out for groceries and a few errands, be back soon. -Mom
You took a bite of the apple and placed the note on the table. You had the house to yourself then. You plant your book bag into a seat and remind yourself of the homework assignments you had. With a heavy sigh, you open the bag up and begin searching through it. You only had art and history homework (which you barely recalled). You took out your sketch pad and looked at the sad bowl on the front of the pad. You sat down and began to sketch, using your house bowl fruit as a reference.
About thirty minutes in, you were focusing on finishing the bowl when your phone went off. Setting your sketching pencil down you grab your phone and check it. It was a text message from Dot. You open it up and it reads:
Call me, we need a gal pal chat.
Raising a brow, you hit the call button and put the phone to your ear. Instantly, you hear squealing in your ear.
"Ow!" You yelp. "Dot, what the heck-"
"You are not gonna believe what I just found out!" Dot screeches.
"Is it going to blow my eardrums?" You say bluntly, multitasking with the fruit bowl assignment. "Because I can live without it then."
"Minerva Mink is coming to town!"
You drop the pencil. You stand right out of your seat. "WHAT!"
"Ow! Now look who's shrieking!" Dot scoffs and then goes back to squealing. "I know right? Minerva Mink, the actress, is coming to town! She's supposedly shooting a movie near our neighborhood!"
"When?" You exclaim, bouncing on your toes.
"Like next month, but isn't this exciting?" Dot squeals.
You could hardly contain your excitement. Minerva Mink was one of the most popular actresses you knew about and she starred in all of your favorite movies. You and Dot would watch all her movies when she had been younger, a child star in her own shows and spin offs. You and Dot practically worshiped her.
"Oh my gosh!" You squeal, jumping up and down. "She's actually coming!"
"I know!" Dot shrieks. "I'm already preparing for the Minerva Mink movie marathon we are going to watch when you come over this weekend. We are having a sleepover friday!"
"I can't wait!" You sigh happily. "Minerva Mink. I just can't believe my ears."
"Believe it sister." Dot laughs. "Oh, oh! I also heard that her co-star for the movie is some guy called Wilford Wolf."
"Who's that?" You say, looking around for your fallen pencil.
"No clue." Dot says. "But some rumors are going around that he's a total hunk. I mean we'll see when they come into town, but my god, I just can't wait!"
"Me too!" You say, picking up your pencil and starting to draw. "How did you find out about this? She's usually really private about this sort of thing."
"Actually, Yakko told me."
"Yakko?" You say, confused. "Since when has he been a Minerva Mink fan?"
"He's not, but those acting classes-"
"What classes?" You interrupt.
"Right, I forget." Dot says. "You don't know."
"Know what?" You say, growing curious.
"Yakko has been taking these acting classes over the summer." Dot says. "He's been really into it lately, I'm surprised he didn't mention it."
"He didn't." You say, surprised. "Yakko acts?"
"Well he did a theater show for Peter Pan last summer." Dot says. "He played Peter Pan. I have a video of the whole thing. He was great."
You found yourself stupefied. Yakko? Acting? You never knew he acted. You didn't even know he liked to act.
"But that's besides the point." Dot says, bringing your attention back. "He heard from his teacher, who heard from his boss, who works with some big shots, that Minerva Mink is definitely coming to town!"
You mentally shake yourself and smile. "I can't wait. Still can't believe it's in a month."
"I know right?" Dot sighs. "I wish it were sooner, but all good things come in time."
"Right." You go back to drawing.
"So," Dot starts, her voice gaining a mischievous tone. You could practically see the impish grin on her face through the phone. "Lunch with Yakko? How was that?"
You blush. "We just had sandwiches and some Starbucks, no biggie."
"Yeah, and became his fake girlfriend!" Dot snorts. "How exactly did that happen?"
You sigh. You recall the talk in the car with Yakko, how miserable he sounded talking about Delphine and his inability to break things off.
"We just talked and one thing led to another and I became his fake girlfriend." You said simply, drawing the fruit bowl as you spoke. "I don't want to get into it."
"But he is taking you to lunch again tomorrow right?"
"Yeah."
"So basically your first date."
You found yourself choking on air. "Dot!"
She laughs into the phone. "Oh, I'm just joking!"
You snort. "It's not a date. Me and Yakko are just gonna have lunch."
"I'm just saying, if you want to really bring up the ruse, you oughta go out on some dates." Dot says simply.
"I don't think that's needed." You say, perfecting the banana on the fruit bowl. "I mean this whole situation is just temporary anyway."
"Yeah until Delphine buries her nose in your business." Dot says bluntly. "I mean I know you two fooled her, but I'd just be careful. I don't know Yakko's ex that well, but when she was around she'd be such a-"
"Bitch?" You say bluntly. "Yeah I've known that for a while now.
Dot laughs, but you continue. "You know she actually had the audacity to invite me to lunch today. And the bitch ditched me."
Dot gasps. "She didn't!"
You nod, even though she couldn't see it. "She did."
"What a petty little diva." Dot says. "I think revenge is in order."
You smirk, knowing Dot was grinning as well. "What's the plan?"
"Top of my head, I'm thinking of some prank calls, but I think we can do better." Dot says in a matter of fact tone. "I'll call you back with something better. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good."
"Great! I'll call you later, and don't forget! Friday sleepover so bring your pjs!"
"Gotcha!" You hang up the phone.
There was still a smirk on your face as you thought of sweet delicious revenge. Clearly you would let Dot handle the reins of this expedition but you could hardly wait for some payback. If there was something the Warners were good at, it was enacting revenge. During the days when Delphine would not get off your ass, they were always there to back you up and bring hell upon her. You recall one time in grade school when Delphine and her friends had snatched your lunch and thrown it out in the trash. Yakko had conducted an evil scheme. It was later that day when Delphine and her friends opened their lockers they were completely submerged in trash from the lunchroom as it poured straight out of their lockers and on them. Everyone laughed while you simply looked at Yakko, who grinned innocently back at you. You couldn't help but join in the laughter after that.
As you resumed your work you recalled another one of their mischievous gags. This happened during the school dance in fourth grade. All the girls were bragging about their dates to the dance and of course Delphine had helped single you out by spreading rumors about you, so no boys wanted to take you out to the dance. On the day of the dance you were in the bathrooms crying because not a single guy had asked you out for the dance. Yakko had sneaked into the bathrooms and comforted you before you told him about the rumors. You swear he got so mad he nearly blew steam out of his ears. So with the help of his siblings the three of the snuck into the principal's office and took over the announcement speaker, interrupting the entire dance and announcing to everyone that Delphine and her friends to report to the office for their weekly shots and that the dance close due to account of a contagious virus the group might hold. Side effects included never ending acne and swelling. Half the dance floor screamed and ran away from Delphine and her friends. Even their dates went ballistic. You swore one of them even started crying about his beautiful face being ruined forever.
The trio did get in trouble, but they told you afterwards it had been worth it.
You smile to yourself. Those three were absolute rascals when they chose to be.
You spent the next few minutes finishing up the fruit bowl before gathering your history book and began the chapters you were supposed to read. Just as you were halfway through the chapters, the door to your house opens up.
"Hello, darling!" Your mother says, bringing in a haul of groceries into the house. You immediately stand to help her out.
"Hey mom." You say, grabbing bags and placing them onto the kitchen table. She brings in the rest of the groceries and locks the door behind her.
"Thank you sweetie." She tells you as she plants the rest of the groceries on the table. You grab your school stuff and set it to the side to help her with the food. She smiles at you. "So, how was your first day of sophomore year? Any fun?"
You reflect on the day, then you smile. "It was…pretty eventful."
"Eventful, huh?" Your mother says, pulling out cartons of juice and milk from their bags and putting them into the fridge. "Do tell."
"Well, school was fine." You say, grabbing cereal boxes and cartons of pasta out of the bags and placing them on the table. "Pretty average."
You knew you weren't being totally honest, there had been the run in with Delphine and her little outburst outside of school, but she didn't need to know that.
"Average you say?" Your mother chuckles. "That sounds boring."
You pull out more groceries to put away and recall your day. You smile remembering the outing you had with the Warners.
"Hey, mom?" You say, handing her some fruit. "You remember Yakko, right?"
"Dr. Scratchansniff's child?" She says, not looking up from the fridge. She then closed the fridge door and looked at you. She looked worried. "Are you two fighting again?"
Your mother knew well about the fights that you and Yakko used to have. That included the slow but painful separation of your friendship with Yakko.
"No, actually the opposite. We've started talking again." You told her. "We bumped into each other this morning and well one thing led to another and we've made up."
"Oh darling, that's wonderful." Your mother says with a smile. She goes over to you and kisses you on the head. "I'm so glad. You two were always close to the hip when you were younger. It's so nice to see you two made up."
"Yeah, it is." You agreed.
"Well, I'm gonna make dinner, are you hungry?" Your mother asks.
"No, I already ate." You tell her.
"Okay then. I'll make some for your father and me." Your mother says, squeezing your shoulder before moving into the kitchen.
You grab your things and make way for your room. You still had those chapters to read. As boring as it was, you wanted it out of the way so you can chill.
Entering your room, you plop down your backpack and things onto your bed and lay down. Staring up into the ceiling you deflate into your bed. The comfy sheets surrounding you make you sigh. You curl up, snatching your textbook to read.
Through the mind numbing pages, you find your mind drifting away with each passing second. Of all the things to think about, Yakko enters your mind. You sigh happily, mindlessly hugging the textbook. You had never thought in a million years that the two of you would ever make up. But it happened in a matter of hours. You could not believe it.
An ugly thought pierces your mind, reminding you of the lies you had told him about Delphine. You frown and lower the textbook. Guilt rumbles inside of you.
Oh why can't I do anything right? You think with a flurry of anger. You place your textbook to the side and hug a pillow. Smashing your face into the pillow you groan loudly. Believing you'd want to not suffocate, you toss the pillow to the end of the room where it lands with a soft thud. You wrinkle your nose.
So what if you had made a few white lies? Sure, you never wanted to make up with Delphine in the first place, but like that was even possible now. Even Yakko would know that. Right? Surely he did.
You cross your arms, feeling plagued with old memories. Old arguments between you and Yakko. There had been so many, but one that managed to surface was the day of his birthday. Sometime during middle school, after you had gone and called his girlfriend a bitch, Wakko had come up to your house.
"What's this?" You remember asking Wakko, who stood outside the house with a bright red umbrella over his head as rain poured down. He was holding out a card for you to grab. Wakko gave you a meek smile.
"An invitation." Wakko said. He had cast his eyes to the side. "I know you and Yakko have been arguing-"
"Wakko-"
"But I think you should still come to his birthday." Wakko ended, tongue sticking out of his mouth with a gleeful smile. At your silence he sighed. He placed the invitation in your hands. "At least think about it. I doubt you're still mad enough to miss his birthday…"
You remember staring at the invitation. Yakko's birthday fell on a weekend. The very next day to be exact. You looked back up, staring into Wakko's puppy eyes.
"Think about it?" He had asked.
The next day, you were outside the house. It was a really nice house, all yellow with a few windows on the front and a beautiful wooden patio which you were standing on. In your trembling hands had been a small gift wrapped up in Christmas wrapping paper, the only wrapping paper you had managed to scavenge in your search to give Yakko a gift. In your haste you had come up with a simple gift, a small painting palette with a few real paintbrushes. All which you had bought for yourself and now are being given to Yakko.
You were regretting coming at all, and you had not even stood one foot inside the house. Deep in your gut you had a feeling your presence was not wanted at all. But nevertheless, you raised a hand and rang the doorbell. In seconds, the door swung wide open.
"Why, hello!" You look up to find the Warners' guardian at the door, Dr. Scratchansniff. He had been dressed in a casual button up long sleeve and some jeans. "Come in, come in!"
Dr. Scratchansniff had then led you inside the house over to the kitchen where Wakko and Dot sat near the kitchen's island, blowing up balloons. The entire house was covered in bright colorful balloons and streamers. And entering the kitchen you noticed the giant Happy Birthday sign above.
Wakko had been the first to see you, perking up instantly.
"You came!" Wakko cheered, letting go of the balloon he had been blowing up and it flew all over the kitchen, before landing on Dr. Scratchansniff head. While Dot snickered, Wakko had come over to you. He quickly noticed the present you had brought that day.
"You know it's not Christmas, right?" Wakko quirked. At your embarrassment, he simply laughed. "Don't worry, Yakko won't notice!"
Despite feeling like he would notice very much, you then decided to join the siblings with decorating. In a matter of minutes the place had been finished with the last balloons while Dr. Scratchansniff had laid out the snacks, which Wakko couldn't help but snack on occasionally. So preoccupied in your thoughts it occurred to you that Yakko wasn't here yet. Dot quickly reassured you that he was being distracted on an outing with Delphine.
"They should be here any minute." Dot had told you.
In this time you had chosen to sit in the Warners' living room, clutching the present in your hands. You remember how nervous you felt, just sitting there. All you could do was recall the words you had told him long ago. How badly the argument had gone. And worst of all, the fact you had willingly come at all.
No longer able to stand it, you stood up and began walking. You couldn't do it. You had to leave. Yet as soon as you reached the kitchen Wakko and Dot saw you in your attempt to escape. How they had known you would try to leave you didn't know, but immediately tears sprang up to your eyes.
They both tried reasoning with you to stay, but you were stubborn. Even Wakko tried coaxing you to the idea of birthday cake, but nothing would work.
"Just take this." You tried shoving the present at Wakko who quickly gave it back to you.
"But it's your present to him!" Wakko insisted.
"I can't, I can't!" You cried, tears rolling down your face. "I can't stay, I can't give him a present. He won't wanna see me! You have to do it for me. Never mention I came at all!"
"You can't leave!" Dot nearly screeched. "Please, stay-"
"What's going on here?"
You had snapped your head up, paling as you saw Yakko at the entrance to the kitchen. By his side was Delphine, wearing a biker's jacket over a white tee and some jeans. The two of them had just noticed you and you watched Yakko's face mold into irritation.
"Who invited her?" He had said, and you felt like you had been slapped in the face. More tears ran to prick your eyes.
Before another word could be said, Wakko suddenly snatched the gift out of your hands and held it up for Yakko to see.
"Look! She brought you a present!" Wakko said through a gritted smile. "Isn't that thoughtful?"
While Yako wrinkled his nose, you quickly grabbed the present.
"I was just leaving." You mutter and attempt to move past Yakko and Delphine. You noticed out of the corner of your eye as Yakko developed an eye twitch.
"Oh so what?" Yakko's voice rang in your ears. "You can come to my birthday, but you don't have the decency to stay?"
You didn't answer him. You couldn't. You had barely reached the door when you heard footsteps and a harsh hand grabbed at your wrist.
"Hey!" Yakko shouts, whirling you around to face him. "I'm talking to you!"
You glared at him, you remember feeling the anger bubbling up inside you. Not because he was being rude. Or even because Delphine was watching from afar, a subtle smirk on her lips. But because you had had enough.
He was clearly still angry at you.
He clearly didn't want you around.
You should have left when you had the chance.
You yanked your arm away from him.
"Like I give a fuck!"
"Why come at all then?!" Yakko yelled back.
"Because it's your birthday, you asshole!"
"No one invited you!"
"Wakko did!"
After Yakko sent Wakko a harshful glare, which Wakko responded by running a hand down his face, Yakko turned back to you.
"Well I'm uninviting you then!"
"Too bad! I was already leaving!"
You turned to the door and swung it open. Storming out the door, Yakko seemed to not have gotten the message the argument was over, because he followed you out.
"Good! No one wanted you around!"
You remember time slowed down in that minute. Sheer anger ripped through you and you decided to take it out on the first thing that you saw.
"Good!" You screamed, turning around. And with a throw of your hand the present you had hit the ground with a crack. "Here's your shitty present! Have a fucking Happy Birthday!"
You had turned around and stormed off. After that no longer did you ever try to come to one of his birthdays. Or any other celebration with the Warners for that matter. It just wasn't worth it to try. Not when you seemed to ruin everything.
With a heavy sigh, you shake your head. You never wanted to argue like that again. Silently, you promised to yourself you would not mess it up this time.
This was your chance.
Your chance to start over.
Sure, some lies had been said, but it didn't matter. A small smile fixed itself on your lips. You had your friend back. And who knows.
Maybe something might spark out of this friendship…