Chapter 16: Dance with the Devil Part 1

(Hi everyone! Sorry for being late on updating this story but as Halloween rolled in, I had to give special attention to some of my other stories. But now that that's out of the way, here's hoping I can normalize a new writing schedule and update more frequently.

Now, just to be clear for anyone confused, this is NOT the last part of the series but rather the last part of the season. That means once I'm done with it, the status quo of the series will change and I will probably take a short break from it for dramatic purposes like I do with Jigoku Files. In any case, I hope to wrap up a few of the plotlines I've introduced thus far and take the story in a new, gorier direction.

I just hope FF being on the fritz doesn't mean you won't get notified when I upload...

..But anyway, Let's get right to the story!)

The hooks creaked as they swung to and fro. The blood from the skinless bodies hanging from them dripped down onto the floor, each drop deafening in the darkness. At the center of it all stood her doppelganger, the teeth from her mask messy with blood and spittle and her eyes hidden away in the shadows of their holes. At any other point in time, Lisa would consider this to be a nightmare straight from Hell itself, a punishment from Lord Buddha to try and scare her back onto the path of light. In any other situation, this would have been an utterly horrifying vision to behold.

But as her doppelganger was throwing a childish fit, it served to annoy her more than anything.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" She cursed. "This just isn't fair! How could that damn clown just...just...slip through our fingers!?"

"That's showbiz for you," Lisa replied. "One second, your mourning for an old friend and the next you're the opening act for the new topless bar in Captial City."

"We were so close!" The Beast whined. "And with how depressed he must have been after we killed his comrade, he would have been easy prey to boot!"

"I wouldn't count on that," Lisa argued. "Krusty's not exactly known for his empathy toward others." Lisa stepped closer to her id and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, we have to face the facts. Krusty's out of reach as long as he's on tour. We'll have to wait for him to return."

"I suppose you're right," The Beast growled. "After all, they do say it's no use crying over spilled blood!"

"That's spilled milk," Lisa corrected flatly.

"Whatever! So who do you have next on your shit list?" The Beast asked with excitement in her voice. "Someone close by, I hope!"

"Umm...yeah. About that," Lisa nervously rubbed the back of her head. "I was thinking of taking a short break from killing for a while."

Even though she could not see the Beast's eyes through her mask, Lisa could just picture them widen with surprise. "...Come again?"

"You know, just for a week or so," Lisa explained. "Even vigilantes need their rest!"

"Wait a minute!" The Beast growled. "Just what the hell's going on here?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all,"

"Oh I think there's something all right and I think it has to do with that prom!"

Lisa gasped, her face reddening. The Beast noticed this and pointed at her better half. "Ha! I was right, wasn't I!? It's because of that crappy prom isn't it!?"

Embarrassed, Lisa turned around and walked a few steps away. "Well...what if it is?" She finally replied.

"And so the truth comes out," The Beast chuckled. "Little Miss I-Don't-Need-A-Man wants to go to the dance. Decided to give in to the craze?"

"That's not it!" Lisa retorted. "It's just...I..." She sighed. "Look, I've been at this Animal Avenger shtick for a long time now and I intend to be with it for a long time more but...but...That's not all I want to be. I want to be a famous author or a jazz musician or even a doctor. And right now, while I still have the chance, I just wanna be a normal teenager."

There was silence in the dark room, save for the eternal dripping of the blood from victims past. Then, these drops were overshadowed by the Beast's guttural laughing. Lisa turned around, her mouth agape in offense at her doppelganger's response to her desires. "W-What's so funny?"

"I wish to be a normal teenager?" The Beast asked. "Don't make me laugh! That ship has sailed!" She continued to fill the room with mocking laughter, even holding her sides as if they hurt. "Hell, it would be more appropriate to say it was sunk long before it could ever even grace the waters!"

"What are you talking about!?" Lisa shouted.

"Face it, Lisa. We both know that you are far from a normal teenager or even a normal human for that matter. You've taken life. You know what it's like to see the light leave another human being's eyes. Most other humans never get to experience that Lisa and those that do, their souls are forever stained with the blood of those that they've killed." The Beast spread her arms and gestured to the corpses hanging around her. "All of these were once people Lisa, living breathing souls with their own thoughts and beliefs and you snuffed them out. Now, this is all that remains of them, all they have to look forward to."

As Lisa watched with fear in her eyes, The Beast slowly made her way to the nearest corpse, a young man Lisa had slain for beating and starving his dog. She grabbed the corpse's foot and pulled it down. Then she pulled the corpse's face closer to her own and opened her jaw. Her long, dripping tongue lapped at the skinless cheek and Lisa had to turn away to keep from gagging. "Ugh! What the fuck's wrong with you!?"

"You should be asking yourself that, Bookworm. Or have you forgotten that you and I are one and the same?" The Beast ceased her lapping and replaced her tongue with a hand, allowing the palm to stain itself with as much blood as possible before presenting it to Lisa. "You're soul's stained with this blood, Lisa. There is no normal for you, not ever."

Lisa trembled as she backed up. "N-No! Shut up! You're wrong!"

The Beast snickered. "Deny it all you want. The truth is still the truth." She continued to taunt Lisa on how futile her attempts at normalcy would be but they went unheard into the darkness of the killing floor as Lisa covered her ears and stormed off, shouting loudly as she did so. "I can't hear you! I can't hear you! I'm not listening!" She shut her eyes as well, not caring if she slammed into the feet of one of her many past victims. She continued to walk, continued to deny hearing the Beast's evil laughter ring in her ears until she suddenly felt herself falling.

"OOF!"

Lisa groaned as she picked up her head and rubbed it. It took her a few seconds to realize she was now lying next to her bed, half of her covers still in place while the other half draped over her legs. Aristotle, having been scared off by Lisa's sudden and violent outburst, had run out of the room through the cracked door. As Lisa was picking herself back up, Bart poked his head in, his eyes still crusty with eye goop. "What's up, Lis? You forget how to sleep in a bed or something?"

"Oh ha ha!" Lisa replied sarcastically. "No, I just...I just had a bad dream I guess. I'm fine."

Bart regarded his sister for a moment, as if unsure if she was telling the truth or not. "Well, you better get dressed then. Mom and Dad are back on Marriage Crisis Island and the faster we can take the speed boat out of there, the better.

Lisa gulped as she recalled how quickly her parent's improved moods had deteriorated since the Roundup. It had been a rough weekend after that with hardly any of the Simpson family speaking to each other. Even Maggie had retreated to her room after a rather tense church visit and stayed there until evening supper. Lisa herself had spent the better part of that day planning how to take out Krusty, only to find out he was doing a show in Shelbyville as the first stop on a tour across America. Needless to say, she was annoyed but right now, she was more concerned with having to be in the same room as her feuding parents. She sighed and said, "Alright. Be right there."

Bart moved his head in a way that Lisa was sure was meant to be a nod and vanished behind the door. Once she was sure he was gone, Lisa rubbed her temples in frustration and headed for her closet. "I shouldn't feel bad," She told herself. "I needed to take out Richard. That's just the way it is! It's their own damn fault for putting so much emphasis on having family time there!" Lisa stopped shifting through her shirts and sniffled. "So why? Why do I feel responsible for tearing this family apart?" Lisa grunted as she shook her head, desperate to take herself out of the house and into the safe environment of the school where for the next several hours, she wouldn't have to worry about the wedge between her family. Where she could talk to her friends and..

Clementine.

Lisa flushed as she remembered Clementine's proposal last week. It was like something out of a romance novel she would read only for her mother's sake. It would have surely been a dream come true...if not for the fact that Clementine's very presence triggered memories of a certain lad Lisa wished she could forget. Weirdly enough, the Beast was remaining silent for now and Lisa wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Regardless, she decided her energy would be better spent fighting through the morning and so she grabbed a blue shirt with a tree on it, took some jeans out of the drawers, and headed for the bathroom for a shower.

After getting dressed, Lisa entered the kitchen and found herself suffocated by the animosity hanging in the air. Marge was once again at the stove, heating up eggs and sausage on a skillet while Homer was gorging himself, neither of them smiling. Maggie and Bart weren't fairing much better, eating their breakfast as fast as possible so they could escape the oppressive atmosphere.

"Good morning, everyone," Lisa spoke with a little bit of good cheer in the hopes it would brighten things up just a bit. All she got for her troubles was Maggie shooting her a peace sign without taking her eyes off her plate and Marge muttering. "The cereals on the table, sweetheart."

"Thanks Mom," Lisa sighed as she sat down and quickly fixed herself a bowl of Krusty-O's. Seeing the clown's face boiled her blood but she forced herself not to so much as groan. She and the Beast both wanted him gone as fast as possible but they would have to wait until he returned from his tour. As long as he was on the road, he was safe from her clutches. She didn't so much as eat as she shoveled the spoonfuls into her mouth, chewed them into a mushy substance and pushed them down her throat with her tongue, not a single bit of the flavor reaching her brain. She finished without even realizing it and dumped the bowl into the sink along with the other dirty dishes that Marge was no doubt fixing to clean after breakfast. "I think I'll get a headstart on waiting for the bus." Lisa said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Love you guys!" She planted a kiss on both her parent's cheeks and walked off.

"Yeah, I think we better go with her," Bart stood up from his seat and took Maggie's plate as well as his own to the sink. They also said their good-byes and ran out into the living room. Bart bolted straight for the door, shouting at Lisa to wait for him but Maggie stopped just in front of the TV. Carefully, she snuck back to the kitchen entrance and poked her head inside. Neither of her parents noticed her return. Homer, having finished his breakfast, was reading his newspaper and Marge had predictably gone after the dirty dishes. Neither of them had a smile on their face, just a grim look of quiet sourceless anger.

Maggie sighed and went to join her siblings at the bus stop.

Lisa could already breathe easier once she saw the school appear through the bus window. There was a purple banner hung over the entrance, reading PROM SATURDAY "Wow. I knew their would be cutbacks but that's really all they could put?" Lisa asked.

"It's only because they blew so much of the money on the prom itself." Allison replied, her face nudging Lisa's as she fought to get a better look. "I hear one side of the gym's gonna be covered in mirrors so the students can see themselves dance.

"Great, like we aren't being made fools of enough already," Lisa fixed herself back to her seat, shoving Allison back to her side. "Still, its nice to be underfunded because the school did something good for once."

"I hear ya," Allison agreed. "Remember back in Elementy when he had to go without textbooks because Skinner invested in NFTS?"

Lisa let out a hoarse laugh. "Please don't remind me!" Both girls laughed at the events of the past, finding the humor were once there was only shame. As the laughter died down and the bus crawled to a close, Allison asked Lisa an uncomfortable question. "So what was the deal between you and Clementine the other day?"

Had Lisa been drinking a beverage at that precise moment, she most likely would have done a spit take. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Look Lisa. You of all people should know that I'm not stupid! I saw the way you acted with Clementine back at the roundup. Now, I don't wanna pry if I don't need to but I also don't want to just sit back if something might be wrong with my friends." Allison placed a comforting hand on Lisa's shoulder. "What happened between you two?"

Lisa's eyes darted back and forth as if wanting to make sure no one else was listening. Her cheeks began to flush and to her personal shame, she found herself gulping. She could hear the Beast giggling inside at her romantic misfortune and with a heavy sigh she turned to Allison and said. "Clementine...She...She asked me to the prom, ok?"

Allison blinked a few times, her eyes appearing to grow wider every time. "W-What?"

"It happened last week at the park," Lisa said. "We even..." She paused, her face blood-red as she looked down at her legs. "We even made out a little."

Allison's jaw practically hit the floor. "You're kidding."

Lisa shook her head. "No. I'm not."

"Lisa," Allison whispered, her lips suddenly curving into a smile. "That's amazing!"

"Huh?"

"This is great!" Allison beamed. "Now the both of you can go to the prom! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because...well..." Lisa looked away, unsure of how to answer her friend's inquiry. Allison, however, was able to figure it out almost immediately.

"You...rejected her, didn't you?"

"No!" Lisa defended. "It..It's worse than that, actually. I still haven't given her an answer!"

"Lisa!"

"I know. I'm so selfish! But I just didn't know what to say."

"Well obviously you say yes!" Allison replied. "Or what? Are you straight all of a sudden?"

"It's not that! It's just..." Lisa trailed off again. "I like Clementine. I really do. But being with her...it brings up unpleasant memories..."

"Memories? What memories?"

Lisa shook her head, fighting to keep all memories of Issac out of her head. "That's a secret I'm afraid I have to keep to myself. You understand."

"I suppose," Allison agreed, wanting to respect her friend's privacy this time. "But then, what are you gonna tell her? I mean, prom's this weekend, Lisa. You don't exactly have a lot of time."

"Don't you think I know that?" Lisa snapped. Upon seeing the hurt look in Allison's eyes, however, she was immediately consumed with regret. "Oh Allison, I'm sorry." She said. "This whole situation, it really shouldn't be complicated but it is. I just don't know what to do."

The bus finally came to a stop and the students emptied into the front of the school. Lisa and Allison walked alongside each other, the latter only realizing that a familiar face was walking up to them. "Well, whatever you decide to do, it better be quick because here she comes."

"Huh?" Lisa's eyes widened as she noticed Clementine approaching them, waving and smiling in her orange shirt and black shorts. "Hey guys! What's shaking!?"

"Fuck!" Lisa whispered as Clementine stopped in front of them, panting.

"Did you run right to us?" Allison asked with a chuckle.

"Hey! Not everyone has someone who would sprint 100 meters an hour just to see them. You outta be grateful!" Clementine let out one final "whew!" as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "So how you've been? I haven't seen either of you guys since the roundup."

"Nothing much. Just getting ready for the prom," Allison replied. "Me and my companion were talking on the phone the other night."

"Ohh! And you're still not gonna tell us who they are?" Clementine asked.

Allison playfully shook her head. "Not even a hint. Trust me, you guys will be surprised." Allison turned to look at Lisa who was doing her best to avoid the conversation and decided to go for the jugular. "So Clementine, you ask anyone to the prom yet?"

Lisa froze up, her face practically screaming "what the actual fuck!?" to Allison.

"Well," Clementine scratched the back of her head. "The truth is I did but I haven't gotten an answer from them yet." She was making it a point to avoid eye contact with Lisa which only served to increase the Simpson girl's guilt. "I hope I get it soon."

"Oh I hope so too." Allison agreed. "After all, it would be so awful to leave you without an answer, right Lisa?"

Lisa had to fight the urge to scream at Allison to shut up. How dare she throw her under the bus like that? From inside her mind, Lisa could hear the Beast's mocking laughter and prayed to the mighty Buddha for a reprieve of some kind. She got it when the school bell rang, ushering all of the students back inside. "Yes!" She thought. "Sweet release!" She ran past her two friends, calling out to them as she vanished into the crowd. "See you guys later! And don't worry Clementine! I'm sure you'll get you answer soon enough!"

"Oh I'm certain she will," The Beast whispered. "But will she like it?"

"Hey, I haven't made my decision yet! Anything could happen!" Lisa thought. "But I know I have to make it fast. Allison pulled a real dirty move on me but she's right. I can't let Clementine hang like that." She entered the hallways and rushed toward her locker, fighting as hard as she could to keep all thoughts of Issac away. "As long as nothing else happens to complicate things, I should be able to answer her tomorrow!"

There wasn't all that much out of the ordinary going out in the halls outside Mrs. Cartwright's class on that Monday morning. Jeffery Hombs was wearing his green cap backwards to look cooler and Mary Roundcool had a zit the size of Texas hanging from her forehead but besides that, nothing. Well, nothing except for an actually happy and confident Milhouse Van Houten walking down the hallway. His smile, despite being riddled with braces, was wider than anyone else, not that there were much smiles in competition, Regardless, the fact was that if any of the other students gave a rat's ass about Milhouse, they would have been mildly surprised with how happy he was that morning.

"This is great!" Milhouse thought to himself as he practically skipped towards his class. "My arms have increased 1/10th of their overall mass and I'm taking Janey Powell to the prom on Saturday! Just wait until the guys hear about this!" Milhouse swung open the door, waltzed inside...

and saw his two friends moping at their desks.

"Huh?" Milhouse took his seat in the middle of them. "Hey guys! How's it going?"

"Morning Milhouse." Bart muttered without so much as looking at his best friend.

"Whatever," Nelson croaked, his tone of voice reminding Milhouse of the days were he would beat him up for lunch money.

"What's going on?" He asked. "Did something bad happen with you guys?"

"No." They both said in unison.

"Are you sure?" Milhouse raised an eyebrow. "I'm only pressing because I care."

"Nothing's wrong, Dingus!" Nelson replied. "Not unless you count your supposed friend seeing your girl behind your back wrong!"

"She came onto me!" Bart snapped back. "And don't act like you're all broken up about this. You never even liked her!"

"That doesn't give you the right to be making out behind my back!"

"We weren't making out!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Milhouse held out both his hands to his feuding friends "Now let's just stay calm and-

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Both Bart and Nelson decked Milhouse across the face with enough force to knock him off the chair. He hit the back of his head and his glasses snapped in two. He was still conscious but decided to remain on the ground while his two friends continued to argue. "I suppose you guys don't want to hear about my latest victory," Milhouse groaned before finally passing out.

"Damn Bart Simpson! Damn him!" Nelson shouted as he aggressively cleaned out his locker. "And damn Jessica too! Just...just...fuck!" He punched the locker closed, nearly creating a dent in it. This was not his homeroom locker but rather his gymnasium locker, the sound of him pounding the metal reverberating throughout the condensation-covered room. His teammate, a spry guy named Jack Lammers, looked on in concern. "Dude, you know what coach said about punching the lockers."

"The coach can eat a dick!" Nelson muttered. "And so can everyone else!" He pounded the locker again in defiance, ramming his fist against it again and again until he was gasping for breath. As he panted, Nelson turned around, backed up against the locker and allowed himself to slide down. Jack watched him with horror and pity in equal measure before finally sitting down next to him. "Dude, you're really not taking this break-up thing well, are ya?"

"Of course I am!" Nelson defended. "I broke up with her, remember!?"

"Dude," Jack said in a stern voice. "Even if you can't be honest with me, you should still be honest with yourself."

Nelson's gaze softened as he realized what Jack was getting at and sighed. "I-I'm sorry. I just...Y-You don't know what it's like to be played for a fool like that! Not to mention being betrayed by your best friend!"

"You mean that punk-ass Simpson dude?" Michael asked as he approached the duo. His full name was Michael Fasten and he and Jack were the closest to Nelson in terms of the football team. They respected him, even when cracking jokes about him dating Jessica Lovejoy. But now, they had found themselves in the position of comforters.

"Yeah. I thought we were tight!" Nelson continued. "But now we're looser than those lips they used to use to sink ships."

"What?" Michael asked in a tone straight out of a comedy movie, completely and utterly confused by Nelson's logic. Jack rolled his eyes and placed a hand on Nelson's shoulder, gently tapping it. "Look dude, it sucks when your friend does something like that but you got to get over it! Otherwise, it'll fester inside you and eat you from the inside. I know, I saw a good man suffer that fate once."

"But what do I do?" Nelson asked. "It's not like I can just forget about Jessica."

"Sure you can!" Michael argued. "I mean, sure. Jessica is the most popular girl in school, and the hottest, not to mention her as-

"Dude!" Nelson barked.

"Sorry!" Michael held up his hands. "I was gonna say assets."

"Sure you were." Jack grumbled.

"The point is, you and Jessica didn't click. But you're the captain of the football team, dude! You've got your pick of the orchard!"

"He's got a point," Jack agreed. "You could have any girl you want and now that you're single, they'll practically be lining up at your door!"

"Any...girl?"

"Yeah," Jack leaned in close. "Come on, man! There's gotta be some other chick out there you've had your eye on."

Nelson started to space out as a vision came to him. The vision of a young girl with blonde starfish-shaped hair, books in her hand, and a kind smile. Yeah, there was a girl he would rather be with than Jessica after all and it was time he stopped lying to himself about it.

"Yeah, As a matter of fact, there is."

Jack and Michael hollered as Nelson got back to his feet. "Wait to go, boy!"

"Thanks guys," Nelson said. "That was just what I needed,"

From the entrance to the locker room, the coach's bell whistled, signaling the boys to hurry along. As they made their way out the room, Jack leaned toward Nelson. "Well, don't leave us in suspense, dude. Who's the lucky babe that's landed on your radar?"

"Easy there, buster," Nelson said. "I still have to ask her out." He fought the urge to sigh longingly as he thought of Lisa. "And I will, the very next time I see her."

Jessica Lovejoy walked through the hallways with a strut that screamed "Bow before your Queen!" This wasn't unusual for the daughter of the town reverend as she always walked like this, usually joined by her posse. What was unusual about today was the fact that she was alone in her dominating strut, her black high-heels clacking against the marble floor of the hallway and creating echoes that reminded her of the fact that she was alone. There were other students in the hallway, of course, and they were all will aware of the sound of clacks heading for the cafeteria and on any other day, this would have resulted in them bowing their heads, granting her a compliment or any kind of praise that the self-imposed Queen had come to expect.

But today, nothing. Not even a sideway glance.

Jessica Lovejoy was, for the first time in years, unpopular.

"Damn that Bart!" Jessica thought through gritted teeth. "I'll bet he's the one who spread that awful rumor about my break-up."

Of course, it wasn't exactly a rumor that Jessica and Nelson had broken up nor that it had been the homely captain of the football team who had broken up with the self-proclaimed Goddess of High School as much as it was an event that had many witnesses back at the roundup. Word spread quickly of Jessica's betrayal of her consort and his abandonment of her and these two facts worked in tandem to strip away all respect the student body had for their Queen, a lesson Jessica had learned first hand when she arrived to school that morning. No posse to greet her, no nerds offering to do her homework or even carry her books. Just the occasional glance of contempt and pity, the latter of which drove her up the wall.

Hardly an eye turned in her direction when she entered the cafeteria which served to enrage her more. She wanted to scream in frustration. How dare her loyal followers treat her like this! And for what? Because Nelson broke up with her? She wrestled with herself until she was able to dock the scream into a dejected sigh and headed for the lunch line. Today's serving was lasagna with a side salad and garlic bread. She normally would pass the bulk of this food to Nelson to watch her figure but with him gone, she figured she could just toss it in the trash once she was done. Sighing again, she searched the cafeteria for a place to sit. It seemed every table was full, every seat taken by the common folk. If she wasn't afraid of admitting that she once read a comic book in the Android's dungeon out of sheer boredom while she waited for Nelson to sell his old action figures, she would say she felt like she had stepped into Bizzaro Earth.

Her search for familiarity came to an end at last when she happened to recognize two faces eating at a table near the end of the cafeteria. Her posse, Janey and Alex, were eating lunch across from each other. idly chatting. Excited, she rushed over with a prolonged greeting. "Hey guys! How's it going!?"

Part of her, a part she fought to deny was there, was afraid she would be met with indifference, possibly even contempt. As Janey and Alex turned to acknowledge her, however, their faces betrayed only a calm sense of normality. "Hey Jessica. Haven't seen you all day." Janey greeted. The daughter of Reverend Lovejoy nearly sighed in relief as she took her seat next to Janey. At last, it seemed like things were finally getting back to normal.

"Oh my god, guys! You would not believe the day I've been having!" Jessica started. "Overnight, it seems like everyone is just ignoring me now and over some stupid rumor!"

"You mean how Nelson dumped you?" Alex asked, prompting Jessica to rise up from her seat, slam both hands against the table and shout "I dumped him!" in her friend's face. Alex jumped back frightened while Janey's expression soured a little. Jessica recomposed herself with a clearing of her throat and some light meddling with her hair. "Anyway, I've got the perfect plan to get back at that asshole and his little friends." Jessica sneered. "Here's what we're gonna do!"

"What do you mean we?" Janey broke in. "Did it occur to you that we might have plans of our own?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jessica asked in visible confusion. "S-Since when do you two make plans without me?"

Janey and Alex exchanged a glance with each other, this time not out of worry but out of shared annoyance. "I've gotta visit Milhouse in the nurse's office after this. Nurse Taylor said he should be coming too around this time."

"Huh? Why?"

"He got knocked out trying to stop a fight between his friends."

"No I mean why are you worried about what happens to a loser like Van Houten?" Jessica asked. "He doing you're homework or something because I thought he wasn't one of the smart nerds."

Janey and Alex exchanged another glance. "No, you're right. He isn't one of the smart nerds." Janey turned toward Jessica. "But he is my new boyfriend and my date to the prom this weekend!"

Jessica happened to be placing a piece of lasana into her mouth as Janey spoke, which of course, she started choking on as Janey made her grand rebuttal. "W-What the fuck!? Y-You can-*gasp* can't be serious!"

"As a heart attack," Janey replied unapologetically. "Which is what Milhouse almost had as well."

"What the hell's wrong with you Janey!" Jessica screamed. "You can't be seen dating a nerd in public! You'll ruin your image! Not to mention how badly it'll reflect on us."

"Oh stop it, Jessica!" Alex jumped in. "Janey's just finally accepting the affection of someone who actually cares about her. We both are."

"We?"

At that exact perfect moment that could only be achieved in works of fiction, the nerdy boy from last week, the one that Alex had so cruelly pushed aside, walked up to her with a strawberry milk in hand. "H-Here you go, M'lady! One strawberry milk fresh from the store." It was clear that the poor fool was so helplessly in love with Alex that he would have been grateful for a repeat of last week's "affections" So naturally, when he instead received a warm head pat, and a soft. "Thank you, Ethan." His response was to faint right on the spot. "S-She remembered my name." Were the last words he spoke before slipping into unconsciousness

"Whoops!" Alex blustered. "Now I gotta take Ethan to the nurse's office after this!"

"What the fuck is going on here!?" Jessica cried. "I leave you guys alone for a single weekend to deal with my own problems and you start dating...g...geeks!? Will I won't allow it! You hear me, this stops right now!"

"Says who?" Janey challenged with a glare. Alex offered one of her own and to her shock and horror, Jessica realized that they weren't the least bit afraid of her.

"W-What are you talking about?" She asked. "I'm the Goddess of High School! You're supposed to do what I say!"

"Not anymore," Janey said. "We're done taking orders from you."

"Yeah," Alex added. "Life doesn't stop after high school you know! And it won't last forever either. We owe it to ourselves to do what makes us happy."

"I-I-I'll make your lives a living Hell!" Jessica screamed. "You hear me? Hell!"

"Hate to break it to you, Jessica but there's barely enough time left in high school for you to make good on that threat," Janey answered.

"Besides, in case you haven't been keeping score, you don't exactly have the power to make that happen anyway." Alex followed up with a tone of smugness in her voice. "Not anymore."

"No...No." Jessica got up from her seat and backed away, the food on her tray and her hunger for it completely forgotten by this point. "This can't be happening," She thought. "I-I'm the Goddess of High School dammit! So why..Why is everyone treating me like I'm nothing? It's all because of him! All because of Nelson!"

"By the way," Janey's voice broke into Jessica's thoughts. "Last week, I saw Nelson chatting with Lisa. Just thought I let you know." Janey turned back to her plate as Jessica continued to back away. At last, she sprinted out of the cafeteria and back into the now-empty hallways, Janey's words drilling into her brain again and again. "This isn't happening! This isn't happening!" She cried as she ran through the halls. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and moved her hand to wipe them, only to trip and fall with the sound of a crack. She used both her hands to stop her fall and looked to her feet where, much to her further displeasure, the heel of her left shoe had broken off. Letting out a whine of anguish, she angrily tossed the ruined shoe as well as its still-intact partner down the hall before getting back up and continuing to run. The sensation of the cold marble floor against her bare feet was uncomfortable but she chose to ignore it. All that mattered was getting as far away from the cafeteria as possible.

"This isn't right!" Jessica thought. "I'm the most popular girl in school. I'm the freaking Queen! W-Why is this happening to me!?" She growled to herself as the memory of her ex-boyfriend surfaced. "It's all his fault! That bucktoothed jockstrap should have let me break up with him! Then I would have been able to save face!" Then her venomous thoughts turned to her fling, Bart Simpson and her anger grew. "No, it was that Simpson kid's fault! He's the reason Nelson broke up with me in the first place! And then he has the nerve to act all high and mighty afterward! What a joke!"

"Last week, I saw Nelson chatting with Lisa. Just thought I let you know."

Jessica's sprint slowed to a jog then a walk and finally, her naked feet stopped all together. Now she was in front of the computer labs, nearly halfway across the school from the cafeteria where even now, her former friends dared to make plans without her. "Stupid Janey." She muttered. "Acting as if I didn't already know that. Of course, I knew. I knew right from the very beginning." Jessica felt tears form in her eyes and this time, let them flow if only because she knew no one was around. There wasn't even a security camera in this hall ever since the hacking incident. Database still hadn't returned from juvie for that one.

"This is all her fault, isn't it?" Jessica sniffled. "That dirty little bitch thinks she so smart, probably used some psychological mumbo jumbo to turn Nelson against me." She paused a moment to wipe her tears. "Well, you're not gonna get away with this, Lisa Simpson!" She growled, her sadness morphing into a burning rage. "Mark my words, you will pay!"

"Thank you!" Lisa said to the librarian as she placed her newest book in the library. It was The Drawing of the Three, the second book in King's Dark Tower series. She had been waiting for the chance to get into the library for it and had finally gotten it just before the second to last bell of the school day. All day had been relatively normal for Lisa, which was saying a lot considering she was the Animal Avenger. Even the Beast had mostly kept her mouth shut today which satisfied the girl to no end. "You said it couldn't be done but here I am, having a completely ordinary day like any other teenager!" She thought as she stepped out into the hallway and headed toward her locker. "All I need now if to figure out what to do about prom." Lisa had tried to rack her brain intent on answering Clementine today. For the most part, Lisa was certain she would say yes. After all, she enjoyed Clementine's company and while she frowned upon those who would choose others based solely on appearances, she had to admit Clementine was one good-looking girl with her ebony skin and dark curling hair. Lisa felt herself flush just thinking about it.

And yet, there was a sense of reluctance when Lisa thought of her. And as much as she wished it was a mystery, she knew damn well why that was. For some odd reason, Clementine reminded Lisa of Issac Corman. Every time she would so much as see the young girl's face, the unwanted memories of those days invaded her brain like a cancer. All she wanted to do was forget and it seemed like all Clementine could do was make her remember.

Lisa was so caught up in her inner conflict that she hardly noticed Nelson Muntz walking toward her until she bumped into his chest. Even then, it took a moment for Lisa to realize she was resting her head against his body before she suddenly shot back, her eyes wild and her face flushed. "N-Nelson?"

"Hey Lisa," Nelson greeted, trying to ignore the awkwardness that had just occured. "How's it been?"

"I-It's been fine." Lisa answered, taking Nelson's invitation to ignore the awkwardness as well. "H-How about you?"

"Can't complain."

The awkwardness returned as deafening silence.

"S-So I heard you and Jessica broke up. Is that true?" Lisa mentally kicked herself for asking that of all things, the Beast snickering for the first time since this morning.

"Yeah. It just wasn't working out," Nelson admitted. If that question had stirred up some old wounds, he didn't let it show.

"I see." Lisa replied, feeling awful regardless of Nelson's reaction. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool. That's just how the brownie crumbles sometimes."

"Don't you mean cookie?"

"What?"

More awkward silence

"Well, I gotta get to class." Lisa said, suddenly remembering about her next period and thanking Buddha for the opportunity. "See ya!"

She hadn't taken but three steps before Nelson shouted "Wait!" behind her. She froze for a few seconds and then finally turned her head. "Y-Yes?"

Nelson paused a few moments, his eyes shifting and his face slightly burning. From the concentrated look on his face, Lisa could tell he was carefully choosing his next words. She suddenly felt nervous.

"Lisa," He finally began. "We've known each other for a long time and there's been ups and downs...err." Nelson turned his gaze away, clearly dissatisfied with what he said. "I mean, time has a funny way of...um...shit." Nelson mumbled to himself as Lisa shuffled her feet and rubbed her arm, her own face beginning to warm up. "Umm, Nelson? I don't want to be rude but I really do have to go. Can th-

"Will you go to the prom with me!?" Nelson suddenly blurted out in one breath. Silence gripped the hallway once again as the two teenagers stared at each other, cheeks flushed and mouths agape. A tumbleweed blew by, completely unnoticed by the both of them.

"W-What did you say?" Lisa whispered, a part of her hoping that she heard wrong.

"Look, I know it's sudden and everything especially with me fresh off the rebound with Jessica but..well...I like you Lisa. You know, in that way!"

"Nelson, I-" Lisa backed away without realizing it, her mind once again collapsing into a whirlwind of chaos. Images of Celemntine, Issac, and Nelson flashed like lighting and even the Beast, heckler to Lisa's torment as she was, kept deadly silent.

"I get it," Nelson sighed. "You don't wanna go with me."

"No! That's not it! I just.." Lisa's fear intensified as she realized she was struggling to breathe. "L-Look, I-I just need some time to th-think about it! I-I'll answer you tomorrow!?"

"Um,"

"Thanks!" Lisa sped off, desperate to remove herself from the situation. As she rushed toward her second to final class, the same word played in an endless loop in her head. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit"

"Shit," Nelson said to himself. "Way to go Nelson. You sure know how to scare the babes away."

Suddenly, Groundskeeper Millie ran up beside the quarterback, battered and bruised the the splintered remains of her broomstick clutched tightly in her left hand. "You'd best get out of here, laddie!" She warned. "The tumbleweeds have returned." Before Nelson could ask her what she was on about, the sound of thunderous rustling filled the hallways. Both of them looked behind to see a tidal wave of dried-up bushes making their way toward them. Defensibly, Groundskeeper Millie stepped in front of Nelson and held her broken broomstick in front of her. "Get to safety, laddie!" She demanded. "I'll take on these bastards weeds from Hell!"

Nelson wasted no time running away, his screams drowning out Groundskeeper Millie's own wails of anguish as the tumbleweeds overcame her.

(Yeah. I know. Kinda weird ending here. Hopefully, you found it funny.

That being said, I'm afraid I have some rather unfunny news to share. I've looked into the FF situation since it seems like nothing is being done and to my horror I discovered that, as far as can be seen, the staff have been inactive since September of last year. There's some talk going about the really real possibility that the site might be dying and as no one will step forward to clear anything up, I have no choice but to assume the worst.

Now, I'm a loyal user of this site, have been for some time, so I refuse to abandon it until it becomes completely unusable. That being said, I will start migrating this story to AO3 just in case. Hopefully, the site does bounce back from this but I feel like I should warn you all to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

In any case, thank you to all who review, fav, and follow my stories! Have a good one!)