Attatched: Taylor Momsen as Lily Jackson
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Arabelle's POV
"Arabelle, your friend is here. She's in your room," I hear my mom say tensely as I enter my home. Ah, so Lily is here. Mom and Dad have never been much of a fan of Lily, they probably think that she 'turned' me against them. They're wrong, but I don't bother correcting them. That would involve too much conversation. I nod my thanks to her before jogging up the stairs to my room.
When I enter my room, I find Lily lounging on my bed flipping through my sketch book. I roll my eyes.
"Having fun invading my privacy?" I drawl. Lily yelps in surprise, falling off my bed in the process. I laugh as she scowls at me from the floor.
"So not cool, Lock! What if I hurt my precious face on the floor?" she gasps jokingly, feeling her face in mock horror.
"Oh sweetie, you couldn't be more ugly even if your tried," I tease. She sticks her tongue out at me playfully as she picks herself up off of the floor.
"Puh-lease, I'm gorgeous as you know it!" she claims, striking a diva pose. I chuckle, but don't argue further. We both know that she's very pretty.
"Who's this?" she asks curiously, taking a few steps towards the painting of Marissa on my wall. Her fingers skim lightly over the foot by foot painted picture.
"Oh, she's just this new girl in school. Her name is Marissa Oliver," I explain, waving dismissively at the subject. I jump onto my bed, cross my legs, lean my elbow on my knee and prop my chin on the heel of my hand. Lily sends me a mischievous smirk.
"Sooomeone has a cruuush," she teases in a singsong voice. I glare at her defensively.
"I do not have a crush on her. I painted that when I was drunk," I say tightly. Lily's grin widens.
"Seriously? Oh my god, you must be in luuurv with this girl. Drunk Arabelle never lies," she proclaims with a serious nod. I roll my eyes again. Lily always says that when I'm drunk, I'm much more emotionally honest and reactive.
"Whatever you say, Lily," I sigh. Bunny crawls out from under my bed, looking around to see what all the commotion was about.
"Meeewww," he complains. Lily throws her arms up in excitement.
"BUNNY! I HAVE MISSED YOU, MY LOVE!" she yells. Scooping Bunny into her arms, she nuzzles the cat's soft white fur with her nose while Bunny purs loudly. I sweat that cat loves her more than me.
"Where have you been for the past couple days, anyway?" I ask. Lily leaps onto my bed with Bunny in her arms.
"I went on a short road trip with my brother and a couple of his friends to Vegas. It was sweet. Plus I hooked up with a couple of hot showgirls," she says with a devilish grin. I roll my eyes.
"Typical Lily."
"You're just jealous!" she says, swatting at my arm with a smirk. "Unless you got all hot and steamy with your crush?" she adds, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. I scowl and swat her back. I turn my face away slightly, trying to hide the small stupid blush creeping it's way onto my cheeks. The truth of the matter is, I really am attracted to Marissa; both her appearance and her personality. It's a strange feeling, something I'm not used to. But I'll get over it though, eventually.
"She's straight, Lily." Classic case of wanting something that I can't have. Wanting to taint something pure.
"Not for long. I give the two of you.... a week and a half, and you'll be humping like bunnies!" Bunny looks up questioningly when he hears his name.
"Meow?" he responds hopefully, interested in possibly getting more snuggles or food.
I groan in embarrassment, covering my face in my pillow. She better not say these things in front of Marissa.
Marissa's POV
"I'm home!" I hear Charlotte call as she enters the house. I'm reading a book on my temporary bed, in the guest bedroom that's mine for the time being. I hear the thudding of foot steps on the staircase before my door is flung open by Charlotte.
"Marissa! I'm so sorry, I forgot to drop you off at home before I went to hang out with Ricky!" she apologizes. I shrug.
"It's no problem, Arabelle gave me a ride. Even if she didn't, it's only a mile walk. Don't worry about it," I reassure. Charlotte's expression falls into annoyance.
"You let the dyke drive you home? What if she, like, molested you or something?"
Snapping my book closed, I sit bolt right up at her offensive words. No one should say such hateful things about anyone based purely on their sexuality. Additionally, I consider Arabelle to be my friend.
"Don't say that about her! That's so homophobic... I don't know about this town, but where I'm from, insulting someone because of their sexual orientation is like insulting someone because of their race. Don't demean her just because she's bisexual," I snap angrily. Charlotte crosses her arms indifferently.
"I don't know why you're defending her. I may not know her that well, but I know more about her than you do. She's just a slutty stuck up outcast," she says blatantly. I stare at her blankly. Why does this girl hate Arabelle so much? Suddenly an idea pops into my head.
"I'm going to make you get to know her, and then you'll realize that she's great." Charlotte's arms drop to her sides in shock.
"What are you talking about? That's a horrible idea!" she splutters. I shake my head vigorously.
"No, it's a great idea! Arabelle is one of the only people I'm friends with in this town so far, and I don't want you two badmouthing each other. Maybe if you guys learn a bit about each other, you'll stop clawing at each others throats," I say eagerly. Charlotte frowns, still unhappy with the idea.
"I don't want to get to know that sicko. I want nothing to do with her," she says coldly. I pout.
"Please?"
"No."
"Pleeeease?"
"Absolutely not."
"Come on Charlotte, we hardly even know each other! This will be a good way for all of us to bond," I insist. Charlotte looks doubtful, and chews on her glossed lip. She looks like she's thinking, mulling over my request. Finally, she sighs.
"Fine. But only because my mom wants me to get to know you, and I might as well get to know Arabelle too since she's your friend," she says sullenly. I clap excitedly.
"Great!"
I didn't expect her to actually agree, but I was excited that she did. Maybe a part of her wanted to get to know Arabelle after all.
Arabelle's POV (next day)
Lily and I are sitting on the school's front lawn, snacking on a few chicken salad sandwiches. I don't know where Lily got them, but I'm not going to ask any questions.
"I don't wanna be here," Lily whines, taking a huge bit out of her sandwich. "It's too sunny. And there's too many humans," she added through her mouth full of food. I roll my eyes, wiping away some mayo at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. She shoots me a grateful look before continue to devour the food.
"You always think it's too sunny, Lily. And at least the humans are giving us our space," I note. We both smirk as we glance at the full seven yard radius of space we've been given by the kids who are scared of us.
"Why the hell is your lover girl and Charlotte fucking Sipple heading our way?" she gasps out as she pounds on her chest with her fist, coughing. Spinning around, I find Marissa and Charlotte walking towards us. Well, Marissa is kind of tugging Charlotte along while Charlotte drags her feet. I note with surprise that Charlotte does not have her clique with her.
"Hi Arabelle!" greets Marissa happily. She plops down next to Lily and I on the grass, pulling Charlotte down with her. I keep my cool, but I feel warm over Marissa's friendliness. I've never had someone so sweet respond cheerfully to my presence.
"Hey Marissa. Why'd you bring the ass hat?" I reply monotonously. Charlotte shoots me a dirty look.
"I'm not here by choice, Lock," she bites back. Marissa sighs, rubbing her temples.
"I see this is going to be harder than I anticipated..." she mutters. I give her an inquisitive look, asking her wordlessly to explain. "Well, I figured that since you and Charlotte will be having to interact more with each other because of my friendship with you, you guys should at least try to learn not to hate each other," she explains hopefully. I purse my lips, glaring at Charlotte. I'm briefly reminded of yesterday when her boyfriend tried to come on to me, but push away the thought before I could feel sorry for her.
"I really, really don't like you," I say pointedly to Charlotte.
"And I reallly, really don't like you," she snaps. There's a tense pause.
"MY NAME IS LILY! I LIKE NACHOS! I ALSO ENJOY TACOS, BECAUSE THEY'RE PRACTICALLY HAND-HELD NACHOS! WHO DA FAQ ARE YOU?" Lily suddenly yells maniacally. I guess she didn't like the lack of attention. Charlotte and Marissa jump slightly in surprise, staring at her like she's a crazy woman. I roll my eyes, very much used to Lily's spontaneous outbursts.
"Sorry, I felt left out," Lily explains impassively, taking another bite of her sandwich. "So, tell me about yourself Hot Stuff," she prods Marissa.
"Um... I'm... Uh..."
"Don't terrorize the poor girl, Lily," I scold, shoving her lightly. "Marissa, this is Lily. She's a tad bit insane... take that as a warning."
"Hey! I'm no more insane than you are!" Lily protests. I scoff, taking a small bite of my sandwich.
"Whatever you say," I respond dismissively. Ignoring us, Charlotte takes out a small bottle of nail polish and begins to paint her nails. We all stare at her incredulously. Who paints their nails at a time like this? Feeling our stares, she looks up and glares at us.
"What?" she snaps. I'm about to say something, but Lily beats me to the punch.
"You're doing it wrong," she says. Crawling over to Charlotte, Lily takes the brush away from her. She pulls Charlotte's hand into her lap, and starts painting it for her. Charlotte looks confused, but doesn't stop her.
Marissa shifts slightly, causing her knee to touch mine. I almost jump in surprise at the feeling that shoots through my body. I feel a slight tingling sensation, and I suddenly have to refrain from attacking her with kisses. Where is this coming from? Peering at Marissa out of the corner of my eye, she doesn't seem to realize what she's doing to me. I sigh, but decide not to pull away from her. What's wrong with me? Why am I so attracted to her? These sentimental feelings are ridiculous, but... is it wrong of me to enjoy being this close to her, even if I can't have her?
"THERE! See, that's how you do it. They look perfect!" Lily boasts proudly, breaking my thought process. Charlotte scowls in reply, retracting her hand.
"Whatever, weirdo," she responds, obliviously impressed by the manicure but stubbornly unappreciative nonetheless. Lily pouts.
"Arabeelllleee, I don't like this girl! Even her hotness doesn't make up for her shitty attitude," Lily whines, tugging my arm. I smirk as Charlotte looks disgusted at Lily's words. Marissa looks panicked as Charlotte turns pink with anger. Suddenly, the shrill bell breaks the tension.
"OH LOOK, THAT'S THE BELL, TOO BAD, SEE YOU IN CHEM ARABELLE! Nice meeting you Lily!" Marissa shouts frantically, jogging away with Charlotte in tow before the red-faced drama queen has a chance to bitch at Lily.
Smart girl.