Little Miss Babysitter

-- 36 --

Dedicated to thisdaydream for making me a BEAUTIFUL cover on the side! Thank you so much. It's actually flawless as are you.

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Once upon a time, I was strong. I had the tightest group of friends, although it was not a day to be forgotten when Taya pushed me down the slide. I remember crying for an hour until she let me push her down in penance.

Now, 12 years later, it dawned upon me that she may not have forgotten about that incident, as with every pluck, every 'chin up', and every 'stop complaining', she seemed to gain a more vengeful sensation in her eyebrows. They loomed dangerously low over her eyes, and in five minutes, I could see her slaughtering a baby rabbit if I wasn't careful enough.

"Taya, okay. I love you, but please." I mouthed without moving my lips, afraid that I'd smudge the lipstick she took twenty minutes to place precisily on only certain parts of my lips. "I can't feel my face."

"All in the price of beauty, my sweet." She chirped, and rotated me in place so that she could twist the back of my hair into bountiful curls.

"All right, ouch?" I winced as she tugged at a sensitive piece of hair. "Can we pleeeease stop? I'm sure I look fine."

Taya glared scornfully at me and whipped me around to face her.

I shrugged playfully. "Fine enough."

"Fine enough is a great way to not get you noticed by anyone." She imitated a pucker, signalling that she wanted me to do the same. I did, and she padded on a sticky shine, something that tasted like glue. "Plus, you're meeting the one and the only, Nathaniel Rider!"

I blushed at the name. I tried not to think about our semi-date that my friends had organized. They said it was all in good health, for he'd just gotten home a couple of days ago. And today was his birthday, October 5th. I looked away and murmured, "I think you're more into this than I am."

Taya stopped her frantic makeup checks and plopped herself onto the bed, giving me a steady, knowing smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I exhaled a long breath thru a blubbery mouth and carefully laid my head in my hands. "I just... I feel like tonight is going to be like... the deciding vote. If I don't remember why I liked him so much a long time ago and I feel nothing, then all of my efforts will go down the drain."

Taya nodded along, her eyes half on me and half on the clock above my head.

I sighed. "I just wish I understood what went on with him more. I barely know him."

"And yet you've pined after him for so long..." She cried out softly, exasperation seeping from her voice in handfuls. "It's been the longest time since you've been happy. It's kind-of annoying, just saying."

I glared at her and stood up, wobbling slightly in the tiny silver heels that she personally lent me for the night. "I know, I know. He's a nice guy, but... I don't see how things can not be different, you know what I mean?"

She huffed a laugh and brought us over to the door. "More than you might think, girl. Okay. Chop-chop. It's time to go! You're going to be late!"

"Right! Right!" I scurried down the hall, only turning back to say, "Where am I going again?"

Taya groaned loudly. "Uh, duh? Have you not been listening at all? We're going to Barbera's. That nice place where anyone that begs enough gets free drinks? Rog and I will take you there, along with Carter and one of his brunettes. We just have to pick them up. And Jason, uh. He's in Oklahoma visiting a college, so he's not gonna be here."