Pic of Natasha ---->
~*~
I looked at everyone. They all nodded. I faced Scott and Autumn. "Okay guys. It's your choice. Are you sure you want to know?"
They looked at each other and Scott spoke up. "As you girls would say--spill."
I took a deep breath and started, siting on the edge of the couch beside Chris. "Alright. Paris, would you please hand me that photo album right there?"
Scott
The girl named Paris handed her the photo album. Mona looked at me, biting her lip. "Come here, Scott." I went to her and stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. I was close enough so that I could smell the watermelon scent of her curly hair. I tried my hardest to focus, but it was kind of distracting. Understatement of the century.
She flipped through the album to the third or fourth page, running a finger over the plastic smoothly before stopping a at picture. Call me a Romeo copy cat, but I wanted to be that plastic. She looked up at me, since I was taller than her. Her head rested against my chest. "Do you recognize the girl on the left?"
I studied the picture. The girl was blonde and he hair fell past her shoulders out of the picture, in fact. She was wearing a faded pink shirt with jean shorts, her piecing green eyes were sparkling with laughter. Her arm was slung over someone I immediately recognized.
"You look unhappy," I commented, looking at Mona Lisa. The younger Mona's hair seemed to be just as long as Natasha's, and she was scowling. I could see that she'd been crying before the picture was taken, because her eyes were slightly pink. Automatically a surge of sadness overcame me. I wondered what was wrong. As if she read my mind, she explained:
"She'd gotten mad at me and thrown my favorite book in the toilet before this picture was taken. My dad had given it to me, just before he left us. That was the only thing I had of his." The others were silent, but when I looked up I could tell that they were upset. Even Aimee's cheeks were stained with a bit of red. "We were thirteen," she continued, shutting the book. "No one else in our family was my exact age, so whenever we had to do something we were always paired up. We were cousins, but truth be told, we hated each other. She was privy to not showing it around the adults, but I knew she did. I just never knew why.
"She was already richer than us as well; her dad had struck gold in the marketing area and she thought that she could get her way with anyone. We went to the same school, and despite what French and Paris did to make it better she made my life a living hell. Aimee and Emily were targets too, until Emily punched her in the face. Then it was just me and Aimee.
"I avoided having crushes on guys and making real friends because she would aways take the guys she knew I liked--she was and still is so much prettier than me." I strongly disagreed, but let her go on. "And she would make people who talked to me's lives a living hell too . She had fake friends who were too scared of her to say anything against her. They were both in awe and fearful of Tasha, I guess. Either way, she was the queen of the school."
She smiled ruefully and looked at Christian, ruffling his hair affectionately. I tried not to get jealous, I sincerely tried, but I slightly gritted my teeth. Mona, either oblivious or ignoring my stupidity, went on. "One day, though, a new kid came to town. He was humble, hilarious, the only guy-klutz I know, and very, very, very irritating to me. He sort of liked me, and I didn't like him at all. It was strange, for me. I was usually was a very civil person, but he brought out -- and brings out -- the absolute worst--"
"I would just like to say that that's not true," Chris cut in for the first time, grinning at Mona. "I just bring out the fun side."
She snorted. "I got detention for a week straight because of him and his stupid antics."
"You're the one who punched me in the face," he said in a sing-song voice.
"You kissed me in the middle of drama without my permission!" She argued hotly.
"We were doing Romeo and Juliet!" Chris protested.
"You were Benvolio, dude. Benvolio doesn't get the girl. And Mona wasn't even the girl, remember? She played a squire. Natasha was Juliet." The guy they called 'Gavin' said.
"I still think her daddy paid the school to let her get that part," Mona grumbled.
"Guys, let's get back to the story please." Paris said.
"Sorry." Mona apologized. "Anyways, I couldn't stand the sight of him. Natasha didn't interfere--in fact she was pleased that someone else was making me absolutely miserable while our parnts remained in the dark. It was lke th cold war. So one day, when we were fifteen, Aimee and Em--" she shot them dirty looks -- "decided to be funny."
"We triple dog dared her to go out with Chris for three months. It was supposed to be the best dare ever. And it was, for a while."
"Until I actually started to like the guy," Mona said glumly. She looked at us all. "I plead temporary insanity." Her face changed for a moment then she shot a look at Autumn. I caught that, and wondered what exactly it meant. Before I could process it though, she was talking again. "Not to say that he wasn't a good boyfriend. Actually, he was pretty awesome, which is why I started to fall for him a little."
"Don't believe that," French snorted, chuckling. "Every day she'd come home and blast the 'Potential Breakup Song' by Ally and AJ. I can sing it word for word."
Mona's lip twitched upward, but she ignored him. "Some how, word got to Natasha that I was starting to enjoy myself. On our second month anniversary, she tried to woo him."
Christian snorted. "More like rape me."
"Thanks for that visual, Chris," French muttered.
"She tried all sorts of things, but Chris, amazingly, resisted her. She rose to the challenge with an almost sadistic amount of eagerness. No boy had ever resisted her, gay or straight. And you know what happens when you can't get something..." Mona trailed off, but Autumn answered for her, next to Chris on the couch. She looked oddly comfortable, leaning against his side. He had on arm around her shoulders. "You want it even more," she said in a flat voice.
Almost the same thing had happened to her, though no one in this room but me knew it. Mona nodded, though she looked at her curiously. "Right."
"She chased me down like a fox," Chris started.
"And ended up falling in love in the process," A tall, strikingly blonde girl finished.
"Natasha didn't take unrquited love well." Chris said.
"It was one of our very last dates," Mona's voice had grown somber, almost small. Unconsciously, I took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled at me for a moment, then looked away. I didn't know what that meant.
"It was warm out that night. I'd taken Mona out dancing and we were both dirt tired. I'd gotten my driver's license first; I turned sixteen earlier than her. Aimee, Paris and Emily had already left. The club we went to was on a hill. We'd seen Natasha: in fact she' been drunk and therefore, surprisingly nice to Mona."
"He pulled straight out and turned on his headlights. It was pitch black, and there was a sharp turn right at the bottom. No one had crashed yet, and I didn't want us to be the first, so I told Chris to be careful."
"And then I noticed that something as wrong," Chris whispered. Autumn rested her head on his shoulder. I had to remember to ask when they'd gotten so cozy, but right now didn't seem to be the right time. It had gotten completely silent in the room.
"We both did. We were going too fast. When Chris tried to slow down, we couldn't. It was terrifying. I remember praying that my mother wouldn't be too broken hearted when she found out about us, that at least Chris would make it." Mona drew in a shaky breath and looked at Chris. "Then he had an idea."
They both said at the same time, "Jump or die."
"So we jumped out. We got a few scrapes and bruises and fractures, but because of Chris's fast thinking we are alive today. Since we weren't drunk and Chris was not asleep at the wheel, and our stories matched, the police investigated." Mona said.
"What'd they find?" I asked, even though I knew they were going to answer the question anyways.
"The brakes were ripped out," Chris said in an almost nonchalant tone. "They found them in Natasha's car a two days later. Apparently, she couldn't decide how to get rid of them. Her prints were all over them. So while we were in the hospital recuperating, she was hauled off to juvie. Before she left, though, she vowed that she'd get me."
"She was supposed to be in there for a long, long time." Mona said dimly.
"But now she's out," a girl who looked like Gavin said. "And we're in for a whole 'nother round of crazy."