TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU! | R. HEFFLEY

―ELEVEN: OH BROTHER

"YOU READY?" asked Rodrick.

Hestia nodded vigorously, shaking the full can of men's shaving cream they had found in a bathroom in her left hand. A playful grin crept onto her face. The two nimbly made their way over to the edge of the bannister, the oak floorboards lightly creaking at the impact of their feet, but could barely be heard over the noises of teens conversing and blaring music.

"One, two, three, go!"

At Rodrick's call, from their perch above the cluster of partiers, they frantically sprayed the shaving cream at whatever surface they could find. Hestia didn't dare look at where or who it was landing on, but heard several shrieks and screams.

After a few moments, the two stopped, breathlessly, to discover groups covered in the white foam. Hestia and Rodrick stood there for a second, before the silence was interrupted by a teen yelling, "WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Go!" Rodrick cried, racing out of the room. The two kept running until they found themselves in a room in one of the upper floors of Martha's stupidly large and sprawling house. They stood there, catching their breaths and making sure nobody was following them. Hestia sat down on the bed in the room.

The two made eye contact and then broke out into contagious laughter. Rodrick sat down next to her and shook his head, saying, "Those posers really deserved it."

Hestia wrinkles her nose. "Posers? What is this, 2009? Nobody calls kids 'posers' anymore."

"Well I'm sorry Ms. I-Still-Dress-In-Hot-Topic-In-2019," he quipped back.

Hestia shoved him playfully and Rodrick grinned and glanced at her. Hestia found her cheeks reddening for the hundredth time and tried to shake off that feeling. How was it that Rodrick managed to break through her regular self and make her act like a middle school girl talking to her crush for the very first time? One second she would be talking normally, probably pissed off, and the next second her face would be as red as a tomato. But, she didn't like Rodrick, did she?

No, that was stupid. She wasn't some sort of dumb thirteen year old girl, wondering if her crush liked her back or something.

"Hey, wanna go on the roof?" he asked, pointing to a window and snapping Hestia out of her thoughts.

She nodded and the two clambered out of the small window and found themselves on a small tiled landing, with Rodrick taking Hestia's hand and guiding the girl. After finding a place to sit, the two stopped and sat there in a comfortable silence. The two looked out at the cul-de-sac and the twinkling lights from the surrounding suburb.

"Man, I can't wait to get out of here," Hestia mumbled, breaking the silence.

Rodrick turned to her. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged and said, "I just can't wait to get out this boring suburbia life. Away from all these stupid teens. Away from my insane parents. Away from my bitchy little sister."

Rodrick chuckled and said, "Well, I hate to break it to you, but when you go to college, there's still gonna be stupid teens."

"I guess, but college is gonna be much better than this crap. I just can't wait until next year where I can go study anywhere in the world and away from this life," she said dreamily.

She began saying something else, but was interrupted by the the sound of a group of girls in the front yard.

"I can't believe that bitch Mackenzie has the audacity to show up here in the same outfit from Brandy Melville that I'm in!" cried a shrilly sounding female voice from below. It was followed by the sound of her friends reassuring her.

Hestia rolled her eyes and whispered, "Watch this," to Rodrick. Taking the remaining can of shaving cream from the her pocket, Hestia sprayed it and emptied the can from the roof to the girls below.

"OHMYGOD! WHAT SPRAYED THAT!" they shrieked before running away. Rodrick and Hestia laughed at the sight.

"Ugh, those kids deserved it. I hate the kids my age, especially girls. They're so basic and pretend they're 'not like other girls.'" she said.

"Yeah, well unfortunately, California is full of them," Rodrick said sympathetically.
Hestia looked to him and said, "Being a teenage girl sucks though. I automatically get grouped in with them."

The two locked eyes and a beat passed.

"Well, I don't think you're like them. Hestia Saywer, I think you're the realest girl out there," Rodrick said quietly.

Their faces inched closer slightly. It went silent and suddenly Hestia was aware that they were still holding hands. Suddenly, Hestia felt aware of everything and anything around them. Almost every single molecule in her face felt burning and tingling. Their faces were only centimeters apart and Hestia's heart pounded. The space between was quickly diminishing and though they were now breathing the same air, Hestia felt as if she was forgetting to breathe, forgetting to inhale and exhale.

Suddenly, Rodrick hesitated for a moment and she smelled the alcohol in his breath. The pungent smell brought her back into reality.

She realized the proximity of their faces and her face reddened. She moved back from him, pulling her clammy hand away.

"I gotta go," she said angrily, already climbing back to the window.

"Hestia, wait!" Rodrick yelled.

But it was too late, and Hestia was long gone. Rodrick groaned, putting his face into his hands dejectedly.

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Greg held two plastic cups of soda in hands, one for him and one for Athena. After somehow managing to find liquid that wasn't alcohol at the party, he navigated through the crowds of teens in the living room to get to the backyard and hopefully get Athena to stop talking to that douche Joey.

Chirag had long disappeared with a group of nerds in their grade who also had somehow managed to get into the party, but not before wishing Greg luck.

He walked into the busy backyard, looking for his crush.

"Hey Ath-" he began, but stopped in his tracks.

There sat Athena Saywer, the girl of his dreams, her lips intertwined with Joey's, at the edge of the pool.
Greg nearly dropped the cups in his hands. Without a word, he turned around and angrily dumped the drinks in the trash can, his face reddening.

How could he be so stupid to think he had a chance with Athena? He had to be insane. And then his blood boiled at another thought. Why did it take his older brother so long, just to get with some angry, emo girl? He could've already been dating Athena before Joey came along if it hadn't been taking Rodrick so long.

Almost as if his thoughts had been answered, he saw his older brother rush into the living room, frantically looking around. Greg stormed up to him.

"Hey! You're the asshole who sprayed shaving cream all over us!" yelled a towering senior at Rodrick with remnants of what Greg assumed was the aforementioned shaving cream on his shirt. Rodrick paid no attention to him and turned to Greg.

"Greg, have you seen Hes-" Rodrick began.

"Hestia? No, Rodrick. I haven't. Lemme guess- she's not your girlfriend yet, huh?" asked Greg angrily.

Rodrick's brow furrowed and Greg's suspicions were confirmed. "Look-" Rodrick started, but his younger brother cut him off again.

"Gosh, Rodrick! Why can't you just get this one thing right!" yelled Greg, his hands curling into fists.

He suddenly realized that the room had gone quiet and everyone was staring at the two Heffley brothers. Greg saw a look of hurt and frustration plastered onto Rodrick's face that he hadn't seen before. Rodrick tried to speak, but stopped and looked around, his face fallen
.
Greg's mortification didn't last long. A piercing shout from the front yard was heard by everybody.

"THE COPS ARE HERE!"

The previous party scene witnessed by Greg completely shifted. Everyone he saw scrambled to their feet to escape and it ensued into chaos. Teens clambered over each other to exit through windows, doors and to the backyard.

Shaking his head, Greg muttered, "Oh brother" as he got ready to flee the scene and his older brother sprinted the opposite way.

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WORD COUNT: 1330

just one more part left of act 2!