Mr. Videl passed out tests to everyone in the class (meanwhile satisfying himself by taking a look down some girls' shirts) which made this anxious feeling well up in my chest.
I suddenly began to wonder if maybe I should've taken my tutoring sessions a bit more seriously...
When it was my turn to receive an exam (and a perverted peek) all that anxiety I had felt faded away.
"I-I know what that means..." I thought as I stared at the first problem.
"and that one too!"
...I'm about to kill this test.
Like straight up slaughter the mess out of this exam.
I was almost tempted to tell Mr. Videl to give me every test he got 'cause I would just murder those too!
It's safe to say that my pencil put in work because my hand was moving fast as lighting...and was kung fu fighting.
Ha.
Anyway, when I was done, I looked around to see how everyone else was doing.
I peered to my left: everyone was still bent over their desks.
I looked over to my right: everyone was still head scratching.
AND I'm the first one done??
Somebody stop me; I am on fire.
"Yes!" I thought and slammed down my pencil.
It took me a moment to realize there was one problem with my mental celebration: I didn't just think that last phrase, if you're catching my drift.
Plus, it was so quiet in that classroom that my mechanical pencil making contact with the desk sounded like the explosion of an atomic bomb.
Everyone â including that loner in the back â stared at me with wide eyes.
I smiled and said, "Back to work, everyone."
Some guy snickered, "Smooth, Phoebe."
I didn't get a chance to see who it was that said that because I was too busy watching my teacher call me up to his desk.
"Miss Pierce?" Mr. Videl beckoned me over with his bony, hairy fingers.
I sighed and slid myself out of my metal chair. I had to walk past three desks since I was in the fourth row. One of which was occupied a guy I didn't recognize who gave me a mocking thumbs up.
I suppose I'm supposed to know him so I stuck my tongue out at him playfully.
"Bring up your test, too." Mr. Videl said before I could get too close,
"Since you feel the need to disrupt my class, I'm going to grade your test right now."
I closed my eyes for a second in irritation, "Is that really necessary, Mr. Pervel?"
Some of the students gasped.
I gave away our secret code name.
"What was that?" Mr. Videl stood up from his desk.
Frick.
Why, Phoebe, why? Why can't you ever keep your mouth shut?
But, you guys know how this works by now.
First, I'm going to list my choices:
A.) Apologize to the perv-ball so that he doesn't make me stay after school with him or something so that he can molest me with his eyes
or
B.) Provoke the man so that the student body can talk about me and my awesomeness for the rest of the day.
And then, I choose the wrong answer.
"I didn't stutter."
Mr. Videl raised a bushy eyebrow (I wonder if he's ever heard of threading?),
"Bring up your test then go to the office."
"Not like I haven't been there before." I stated, turning around, grabbing my test, and then handing it to my teacher, careful not to make any hand-to-hand contact.
"Hold it." He said as I was about to touch the door handle.
"What is it Mr. Per-Videl." I smiled sweetly.
"Stand here," He pointed to the side of his wide desk, "Since you think it's funny to embarrass people, I thought it'd be fun to tell everyone what you got on this test."
"What's funny about a grade?" I asked, folding my arms.
"Failing students is funny to me." He answered, sitting back down with a red pen in his hands.
Of course the mature class of juniors and seniors made a chorus of "ohs!"
"Real funny, guys. Seriously, you're all hilarious."
I earned a few smiles and chuckles from various parts of the room.
"Quiet!" Mr. Per-Videl (that one was actually an accident, lol) demanded.
The room fell silent. Well, almost.
All I had to entertain myself was the straps of my backpack and the sounds of pencils scratching paper.
Since I was already staring in the direction of Mr. Videl (outside there were two birds wrestling. Oh, wait, my mistake. They're making babies) out of the corner of my eye I watched him scrunch his face, cap his pen, and give a small, exasperated sigh.
He quietly shuffled past his chair once he stood up, and held out my test.
"You can go." He whispered.
I was about to complete the hand-off when I realized something:
"But, Mr. Videl." I said all too loudly, "I thought you were supposed to be embarrassing me?"
The teacher gave me a warning look that said if I didn't shut my trap right then he was going to shove me into his all white van.
"You made it so I'm not the only person interested in my grade anymore. Why don't you tell the people that number you wrote with your little red pen."
I turned to the crowd.
After two seconds of silence, one of the lacrosse jocks at the back of class said,
"I wanna know what she got."
A few people piped up and agreed with Mr. Lacrosse.
The jock nodded his head at me and I returned it with a subtle wink.
"Phoebe â"
"Yeeess, Mr. V?" I batted my eyes at him.
"You got..."
The rest was inaudible.
"What was that?" one of the obnoxious boys from Jamie's friend group asked.
I looked at him since he was speaking, but what caught my attention more was the girl next to him.
She had the perfect shape, the perfect hair, the perfect face...
"You got a 92%."
I tore my eyes away from the girl I knew I should remember,
"So much for failing me," I grinned, "Better luck next time."
I snatched my test out of Mr. Videl's grip and exited the classroom.
I stared down at the piece of paper with the number "92" written across the right corner.
It was one thing to have a bunch of people to tell the story of how Mr. Videl totally and completely embarrassed himself, it was another know that no one would care that I actually passed a physics test for once. Well, I'll know. My self-praise should be enough...
I delayed going to the office by taking half a baby step with each foot. I really didn't want to have to interact with that grumpy, old receptionist.
I took the long way which meant I had to pass the senior locker bank.
"Are you ever in class?" A male asked from slightly behind me.
The boy slammed his locker and looked at me.
"And you are?" I asked the stranger.
The kid laughed and shifted his books into one arm.
Once he yanked down his hood, I realized that he wasn't a stranger.
"Anton?"
"In the flesh."
I rushed the few steps toward him, "Why do you have your hood up?! You ruined your hair!"
I tried to style it so his hair would look the way it's supposed to.
Anton tried slapping away my arms, but after I slapped him he stopped resisting.
"Why are you fighting this?" I asked him
He wasn't wearing his contacts and his hair could only look so much better without any gel or anything in it.
He looked like a cute nerd, but I've seen him at his best. He could be hot.
Like massively hot.
Like â dare I say â Jamie hot.
"I don't want to do this."
"What? Be attractive?!"
He shook his head.
"You're the only person in the world that feels that way." I told him.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes,
"This isn't me, Phoebe."
"Well, Anton, you agreed to this plan â "
"I did not agree to a makeover!"
"- that's the only way it's gonna work!"
He rolled his eyes and put his glasses back on.
"So, man up," I pushed his chest, "And be hot, for Christ's sake!"
Anton just stared into my eyes for a moment with a hint of a smile on his lips.
It was comfortable just staring at him like that.
But it was weird â very weird.
"Fine." He sighed, finally speaking.
"Good. And if I see you wearing those glasses again I'm going to break them."
He laughed.
"You think I'm joking?" both of my eyebrows were raised.
He stopped laughing.
"What's that in your hand?" He asked, changing the subject.
I looked down. I had forgotten I was holding that.
"Is that a physics test?" His voice rose.
Anton snatched it out of my hand (normally I would've broken his wrist right then and there for snatching anything away from me, but I thought mercy could be a reward for getting me an A).
"You got a 92?" He was shocked, "Congratulations!"
"Thanks." I beamed.
"Not you! I was talking to myself! Congratulations to me for teaching the unteachable!"
"I'm teachable!" I frowned, "Obviously!"
"It's only because I'm so fantastic of a tutor."
"It's because I'm smarter than I act."
He pondered that for a moment, "Nah, it's because of me."
He smiled as I scowled.
"Where are you two supposed to be?" a voice boomed behind me.
I leapt forward at the sudden noise and ran into Anton.
He steadied me with his free hand before answering the woman in the power suit,
"Study Hall. Just came for some books."
"Principle's office." I responded, my heart still racing from being startled.
"Get where you need to be." She said, having to walk away because her walkie-talkie made some strange cackling sounds.
"Who was that?" I asked.
Anton looked at me in disbelief, "The assistant principle."
I stared at the woman as she hurried away, "Is she new?"
"She's been here twenty years."
"Hm." I shrugged and started making baby steps towards the office again.
"Uh, Phoebe?"
"Yeah?" I turned back around.
Anton waved my test in my face, "Forgetting something?"
I smiled a bit sheepishly, "Thanks."
As I was about to grab the exam and turn away again, Anton didn't remove his hand from the test causing me to stay where I was.
I stared at him quizzically.
"In all seriousness, I'm actually really proud of you."
I studied his face.
The corners of his mouth didn't rise.
His eyes didn't gleam with any mischief.
Is it possible that he's serious?
"You're not getting all mushy on me now, are you?"
He smiled sincerely and let go, "Never that."
________________________________________
"Anybody seen Jamie today?" Shawn asked from the far end of the lunch table.
Jackson looked at his friend thoughtfully, "I don't think he's here today, man."
Shawn rolled his eyes and sighed, "Of course not. He was supposed to help me with a science project. He's already bailed twice."
Then Jason, a freshman, looked up from the homework that was due the next period.
Normally we didn't allow underclassmen at our lunch table, but Jason was an anomaly. We all loved him.
And yes, that includes me. He wasn't nearly as annoying as 98% of the student body.
"He was supposed to help me perfect three pointers after school today! He's not here?"
Jackson shook his head.
"He promised he'd help." Jason said mumbled irritably.
He said it so softly that the only reason I heard it was because I allowed him to sit next to me.
Even though I felt bad for Jason and Shawn since one of their friends bailed on them, I couldn't help the way my stomach was doing back flips.
I snatched away Jason's pen that he was writing with and wrote 'bailed' on the palm of my hand.
"I don't know if you noticed, but I was using that!" Jason laughed in disbelief.
"I noticed." I smiled and handed his pen back.
"What did you write on your hand?" He asked innocently.
Uh oh...
Quick! What's the best way to get a hormonal teenage boy to stop asking questions?!
I leaned forward and kissed Jason on the cheek.
It took him a moment to process.
While his brain loaded, he reached up and touched the red lip stick stain.
"Thank you, Jason." I smiled.
He didn't ask any more questions.
I had to stop myself from laughing at the frozen freshman, so I stared down at my crispy lettuce, hoping that no snorting sounds would escape.
When I was sure I had myself under control, I lifted my head again to reengage with my fellow people.
The second my head turned up, my eyes were met with a pair of stormy greys.
Jack didn't attempt to look away when I caught him eyeing me down. He's got the same expression in his eyes as the one I have when I target a spider who's life I plan to end.
"Are you two having a staring contest?" Chris' freakishly loud voice asked over everyone else's.
Though never breaking eye contact with Jackson, thanks to my 20-20 vision, I saw that perfect girl about to pass our table.
I grinned widely, "Yeah, kind of like the one you'll have with that girl you like."
"What?" Chris' voice morphed into a confused tone.
Losing the 'staring contest,' I rose ever-so-slightly from the light blue lunch table and called,
"Hey, you!"
"Phoebe!" Chris hissed, "What are you doing?"
Man, am I glad to know why I recognized her.
Perfect Girl had literally just passed the corner of our table with her lunch tray.
She turned her head slightly and pointed at herself when she saw me looking at her.
I nodded and waved her over.
Shawn and his girlfriend Cassidy moved their backpacks away from the empty seat, which, oh-so-coincidentally, was right across from Chris.
You gotta love life sometimes.
Since she was across from Chris, who was on my side of the table but two seats over, I sat up on my knees and propped my upper body up against the table.
"Are you new here?" I asked her.
"Yeah." She smiled nervously and spoke in a heavy Spanish accent, "I just moved here from Connecticut."
"Connecticut?!" Cassidy spoke before I could, "With that accent I thought you were going to say Spain or something."
Perfect Girl laughed and turned to Cassidy, who sat next to her.
"My family came to the States two years ago, but I was born in Panama."
"Hey! I've been to the Panama Canal!" Jason said, stuffing his unfinished work in his backpack.
"Really?" Perfect Girl smiled, showing off her rack of Colgate commercial worthy teeth.
"No." Jason drew out, "But I have seen very good quality pictures."
Perfect Girl's smile dropped a little and she looked to me as if she must've heard Jason incorrectly somewhere along the way.
I shook my head at her.
"Don't pay him any mind. So tell us about you! What's your name? What grade are you in?"
Perfect Girl glanced around the table as if to see if anyone else cared to hear her life's story.
Deciding everyone looked friendly enough â except Chris who looked like Mr. Videl â she proceeded to tell us that her name was Ximena.
After she properly introduced herself, I saw Chris lean forward, prop up his arm, lean on his fist, and sigh. His thick lips were kept sealed for the first time in his life.
He's such a loser.
"...I'm a junior â "
"Chris here is a senior." I interrupted.
Chris sat up sharply and glared at me.
I just kept my eyes on Perfect Girl (should I be calling her Ximena now?) and when it was clear I had no intention of saying anything else, Ximena continued as if I hadn't had a strange outburst.
"I haven't really made any friends so far â "
"Chris doesn't have any friends either â "
Everyone on the right side of the table at least snickered. Jason laughed the loudest.
"Phoebe!" Chris hissed again, leaning behind our freshman friend.
" â maybe you can be loners together." I finished.
Perfect Girl smiled but shifted uncomfortably, but then since everyone else was laughing, I guess she felt okay to join in.
The sounds of happiness died down.
"I have to ask," Ximena said, gaining a bit of confidence, "why did you call me over here?"
I glanced over at Chris.
We locked eyes for a second, and in that moment, he begged me not to do anything else embarrassing.
Perfect Girl was still looking at me with her huge, puppy dog brown eyes waiting for an answer.
"You're in my physics class and I hadn't noticed you before," I began, "and I know everyone in this dump. Just thought I'd say hi."
Perfect Girl nodded with a slight smile on her face.
"And partially because I'm jealous of that curly hair. Is it real?"
Ximena laughed, "Yeah, it's mine."
"It's gorgeous." I told her, stealing a quick glance at Chris.
He looked so relieved.
"Oh," I said, pointing at the obnoxious kid, "and because he has a huge crush on you."
"PHOEBE!" Chris threw his hands in the air and stood up.
"I am going to kill you!" Chris began to stalk his way over to me.
My laughs were so hard, you couldn't hear 'em.
I amusingly watched Jackson get a hold of Chris and hold him where he was,
"Let me go! Let me get her! Let me kill her!"
I turned my head back to Ximena who was staring wide-eyed, mouth-dropped at a flailing Chris.
Jackson had pinned Chris' arms behind his back, so Chris only had his legs to move.
And boy was he moving them.
"I told you." I smiled at Ximena once she tore her eyes away from the madman.
She smiled for a moment and then glanced back at Chris worriedly.
"Don't worry about him, he'll get over it."
"I will not get over it!" Chris yelled, but with a little less crazy, "I will kill you."
"Why don't you go take a breather, man?" Jackson suggested while patting Chris' back.
Chris didn't need to be restrained anymore, but he was still giving me the evil eye,
"Can I make her stop breathing?"
I took a sip of my water bottle and wordlessly smirked at Chris.
"Not a chance. Let's go, come on." Jack replied, ushering Chris towards the cafeteria doors.
I swung my whole body under the table again and spoke to Perfect Girl,
"Why don't you go keep him company?" I wagged my recently plucked eyebrows.
Ximena had her head down, "He's got the big, blonde man. I don't-I shouldn't..."
Perfect Girl began to trace patterns on the table,
"What, do you think he's ugly?" I asked.
"N-no it's not that â" She stammered
"It's okay if you think so. I think he's ugly too."
Jason snorted.
Ximena covered her face and chuckled, "No he-I think he's cute."
She said the compliment softly and I smiled.
"Then what's stopping you?"
She shrugged her shoulders and stared behind me at the doors.
"Go get 'em, girl." Cassidy shook Ximena's shoulders.
"Yeah, you go girl!" Jason sounded like he was trying to be black.
Sigh.
"Jason," I put my hand on his shoulder, "Don't do that."
"Sorry." Poor Jason sunk into his seat.
I gave Ximena one final glance, "Go."
_________________________________________________
It was five o'clock on a Friday night.
There was a house party that was supposed to be live later tonight at eight.
There's Elf's house where I could pig out and stare at her hot brother.
Then, there was my bed that could comfort me like nothing and no one else could.
Decisions, decisions
I dug into the front pouch of my backpack searching for my keys as I approached the door to my aunt's mansion.
But, since I have such keen eyes, I noticed that the door was ever-so-slightly ajar.
Nosily dropping my ring of keys back into my bag, I slowly reached down and grabbed one of the potted plants that stood guard on either sides of the door.
If there's an intruder, best believe he's about to get dirt to the face.
Incorporating everything I've ever learned from spy movies, I quickly shoved my phone in my back pocket, pressed my back to every wall I came across, and held my weapon of choice high in the air.
Is it bad that I hope there actually is an intruder?
I mean, how cool would it be to bash a bad guy's head in?
I'd be like...a hero. Ha, imagine that. I'd be the opposite of my girl Rihanna:
The bad girl gone good.
The front of the house was eerie and quiet and all of the lights were off.
The only sound I heard was buzzing from the refrigerator.
I passed the kitchen, passed the grand staircase, passed the theater room, passed the â
I perked up and squinted my eyes.
I hear voices.
What if my Aunt Sandra is in there with some ex-boyfriend who decided to go on a murderous rampage?!
I managed to tip-toe in my shin-high grey boots without any click-clacking even though I was moving frantically faster.
The voices were getting louder, but not because I was getting closer, but because...
They were shouting.
I broke into a short of tip-toeing jog.
"But I can't just burst in there!" I thought when I was close to the back of the house.
Plan. I need a plan.
Hey, subconscious! This would be a great time for you to spit out some genius.
The very last room was Aunt Sandra's study.
I was just a few feet away when one of the voices erupted in mock laughter.
"Oh, yeah?! What makes you any better than me?"
I closed my eyes and put the plant down without a sound.
It's kind of a good thing there's no intruder. My arms were beginning to throb.
"Look around you, Melanie! In what way am I not better than you?"
The sisters were at it...again.
I stayed in the corner and leaned towards the office as much as I dared.
One of the double doors was already open, but it was harder to hear when they weren't screaming.
"Okay, so you may have money, success, and a nice house â "
"A nice house?"
I could tell Aunt Sandra's was smirking without even looking at her.
There was an angry huff,
" â but you don't love or care for her like I do."
Aunt Sandra's laugh filled the room. Heck, the entire house.
"But yet Phoebe came running to me when you screwed up! Face it, Mel. She wants me. Not you."
Right about now, my mom is probably clenching both of her fists and her breathing is likely heavy and sporadic.
"It doesn't matter what she wants! It about what she needs! She needs someone to tell her 'no' when she needs to be told 'no,' not just cater to whatever her heart desires!"
"Listen," I heard a chair squeak across the wooden floor, "She needs someone to stop her from being an outcast, someone who watches her health and, mostly importantly, doesn't come home drunk."
There was a brief pause.
"That hardly ever happens."
"It shouldn't happen at all!"
Before my mom could get a chance to defend herself, I ran into the door.
I guess I was getting a little too into it, because I unconsciously leaned forward too far.
To attempt to play it off, I gave the door a knock and entered the office.
"Hey Auntie." I smiled, looking at the woman behind the desk in front of me.
I did a fake double take to my left since that's where my mother was.
While my aunt looked polished and put together with her black hair in a tight bun and her stick-like body covered in a slick black suit, my mother was disheveled in every sense of the word.
Her dirty blonde hair was supposed to be in a pony tail, but strands were either not all the way tucked in or scattered across her tanned face. Then there were the baggy blue sweatpants, dirty green T-shirt, and the makeup-less face that made her look like she was trying to recover from a bad cold.
I'd always thought that the only similarity that I had with my mom were our eyes.
And then I stared into her matching hazel pair.
It felt like two hands grabbed hold on my heart and pulled.
We stayed like that â gazing at one another â for longer than what would be considered socially appropriate.
"Phoebe?"
I turned my head slowly towards the woman in front of me, but it wasn't until my head was directly facing in my aunt's direction did I tear my eyes away from my mom.
"Yes?"
I didn't expect my voice to sound so small.
"Your mother," Auntie sighed, "would like you to return home at least for one night."
I glanced at my mother again, but this time she was staring at her white converses with the broken soles.
I had never thought of staying at either my mom's or my aunt's as picking one over the other, per say.
It was more a mixture of: did I feel like eating like a vegetarian, who would be home, and whether or not I wanted somebody from the outside world to come over. I was only spending so much time at my aunt's because my mom and I just weren't seeing eye to eye and sometimes escaping is nice.
I don't know, but it seems like right now I was about to make one of them happy and break the heart of the other.
I guess escaping is never meant to last long. Sooner or later, life is going to get tired of you and make you face reality.
Why were they arguing over who is better for me anyway? They're my two moms. Why can't that be good enough?
"Phoebe? Did you hear me?"
I looked up into the expectant eyes of my aunt.
My eyes averted back to my mom, "I'll be home in the morning."
The hazel eyes shot up, "But I want a huge breakfast or else I'm back here."
My mom smiled after I did, "Deal."
Aunt Sandra pushed her cheek with her tongue.
She shifted uncomfortably, "Why not tonight?"
A whole lot of subtle hostility was shot my way.
Can somebody say passive aggressive?
Also, want to take a guess as to how I developed my quick temper?
"My favorite party dresses are here." I told her in monotone.
A few drinks may be exactly what I need before I face my mother and her inevitable interrogation tomorrow.
My aunt nodded.
"Well, if you don't mind," Auntie sat down in her seat gracefully, "I'd like to get back to work."
Wordlessly, my mother and I ducked out of Aunt Sandra's office.
"Why is that plant there?" Mom asked.
I really don't feel like dragging that thing all the way back to the front door.
"That's always been there." I told her.
"It has?"
"You need to learn to be a little more observant, Mom."
Although unconvinced, my mom huffed and shook her head, but no more words came from her mouth.
I waved good-bye from the staircase. She too waved.
Then, she disappeared behind the front door.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone and dialed quickly.
"Alby!"
"Hey Weirdo."
"No need to be rude."
"There's always a need to be rude."
"I have hope that one day I will thaw your frozen heart."
I snickered, "Keep dreaming, but anyway, you tryin' to hit up a party with me?"
"Oo! I love to party! It's where I can get jiggy wit it!"
"...Alright, good. We can force Anton to go together."
"Parties don't really seem like his scene."
I pushed open the door to my bedroom, "That's why you're going to ask."
"Me?"
"Yep, then if he still tries to resist, I can take it home with a threat to his life."
She hesitated, "Okay, I guess."
The uncertainty was weird, but I didn't have the mental capacity at the moment to want to wonder why.
I merged the calls together once Anton said hello.
"You're coming to a party with Elf and me."
"...Why is it that now you seem to run my life?"
"Good to know you're finally beginning to understand how this works."
"Hi Anton!" Elf chirped.
"Hey Elf. Why are you on board with this party thing too?"
"She's a dancer, idiot. Remember?"
"Last time I checked I asked her, not you, Smart Mouth."
Elf laughed, "She's right though."
"Aren't I always?"
I held the phone between my ear and shoulder while holding up a dark purple dress that I hadn't seen before.
It looked tight and only long enough to cover the bottom of my butt.
Therefore, it's perfect.
I hadn't been listening to anything the two on the other ends were talking about, but once I heard a pause in the jibber-jabber, I let the two of them know that I'd be picking them up in about 45 minutes.
"I got my truck back. Send me the address and I'll meet you there."
I snorted, "You? Driving to that party, alone, in the crappy machine? I will do no such thing."
"But I â "
"Be ready in 45."
I pressed the red button and the call was over.
___________________________________________
"Still don't see why you insist on being my chauffer."
The three of us â Elf, Anton, and I â were a couple houses down from the one that was trashed and blasting trap music.
"Because," I started as I began inspecting Anton, "We're trying to make you cool, remember? Unfortunately for you, Mercedes are and pick-ups aren't."
I brushed my hand against the outfit I had given Anton.
You wouldn't believe how many times I had to turn Anton away from my car and back into his house to change.
First, he dared to come to the car in his glasses.
That reminds me, I owe him a new pair.
Then, time after time he came out in band t-shirts and one graphic T disguised as a suit.
Lucky for him, I still had Jamie's clothes in my trunk.
I knew Jamie wasn't going to show his face tonight since he didn't show up for school.
Plus, I figured his closest friends would be too drunk to recognize anything.
Elf daintily removed my hands from Anton,
"He looks fine." She smiled.
I eyed Anton in the black v-neck, maroon jacket, and dark black jeans.
He looked like a mixture of the Salvatore brothers with the badboy outfit and the heroic up do.
Anton looked down at himself and played with the hem of his shirt.
"Anton."
He looked up.
I slapped him in the face.
Don't worry, it was only lightly.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"Confidence, get some or else these people will sniff you out and eat you alive, drunk or not."
"Don't see why you had to slap me."
"Dramatic effect. Now, I'm going to walk ahead of you guys and you'll both come towards me when I beckon you."
"If I give you this," I held my thumbs up, "It means you have your walk right."
"If you see me do this," I pretended to slit my throat with my pointer finger, "It means I will kill you if you don't put your shoulders back and walk like you've got a pear."
Before either of them had time to prepare, I ran (more like tried to jog) ahead of them as fast as my six inch open toed black heels would take me.
Now only one house away from the party, I waved Anton and Elf towards me.
Surprisingly enough, I only had to threaten to kill Anton twice before he had the walk down.
That was easier than expected.
I then guided my posse into the party.
"Oh guys! Look who it is!"
Before we had taken two steps into the house, one of the guys who sits at my lunch table held up his drink and pointed at me.
Everyone in earshot either lifted their drinks, shouted with the guy (who's name I honestly don't remember), or both.
"Way to make an entrance." Elf said in awe.
I was about to brag to my stunned friend when I was bombarded with hugs.
"Phoebe!"
"You're here!!"
I practically had to peel Kayla and Kacie off of me.
Kayla let go first. She was also the first one to notice that I had brought people with me.
"And who is this?" Kayla asked, pushing me and Kacie aside so she could get closer to the person on my right.
Anton stared down at the thick girl that had suddenly penetrated his personal space.
He looked to me with lost eyes pleading for help.
I just rose my eyebrows and nodded my head towards Kayla.
"I-uh-I'm Anton."
"No, you're delicious, and you're coming with me."
Kayla wrapped her fingers around Anton's wrist.
Before any of us could react, Kayla had Anton on the dance floor.
"Well that was fast." Elf said softly as if she only meant those words for herself.
Kacie dragged me to the beer pong table â which meant that I drug Elf as well â where a large crowd had gathered.
Once we pushed past some of the other kids, I saw Ana on one side of the table and a very tipsy sophomore-looking boy on the other.
It was the boy's turn, but by the way he was swaying back and forth, I think it's safe to say that Ana won't be taking a drink any time soon.
The sophomore missed, of course, so when it was Ana's turn, I made my way to the side of the table opposite her.
The ping pong ball landed in the cup closest to me with a soft thunk.
I took the cup from the table, "Looks like you could use a little help there, buddy."
Ana looked at me then shook her head with a slight smirk.
The kid just mumbled words in an incoherent sentence. But, he was grinning so I guess you could say he was happy about me taking a load off of him.
"You know, if you wanted a drink I could've just gotten you one."
I cocked my head sideways to see who had just spoken in my ear.
"Maybe I just felt like being disruptive." I said, momentarily looking into his grey eyes.
Jackson chuckled softly.
When he didn't speak, I eyed him curiously.
"What's going on in that gigantic head of yours?"
"My head is not gigantic." He said.
"It's pretty big."
He pushed my shoulder lightly, "It's no big deal I was just..."
I took a sip of the warm (ew) alcohol, "You just what?"
"I just was wondering if you came here with Jason."
I finished the contents of the cup, "Jason? Like, little freshie Jason?"
"Yeah, you know, the one you kissed during lunch."
My mouth dropped, "Oh. My. Gosh."
Oh my gosh
Oh my gosh
Oh my gosh
My face was still hanging loosely when he replied, "What?"
I blinked three times in silence.
"You never stopped liking me, did you?"
Jackson met my eyes but he lost the ability to form a sentence.
"Look," I said, tapping someone's shoulder and handing them my empty red cup, "I'm going to do something â"
I wasn't sure why I was about to do what I was about to do, but then my mind reminded me of all the things he remembered about me.
How he always seemed to be there whether it was to keep Chris from murdering me or to just make sure that I was okay.
I realized that I always felt comforted and safe whenever I would feel his muscular arms wrap around me.
" â and right after, I'm going to tell you exactly what I think about you still having a crush on me."
Jackson knitted his eyebrows, "Wha-?"
I didn't want to listen to any questions. So, I planted my hands behind his neck and drew him towards me.
For the few seconds our lips moved together, for the few moments we were connected, the answer that I was looking for blared in my mind like flashing neon signs.
I leaned back and stared deep into his eyes with an attempt at a smile.
Jack looked off the the side. He knew me well enough to know what I was about to say.
"Jackson I â"
"It's okay, you don't have to explain to me."
I reached for his hand, "Would you believe me if I said I wanted to feel something?"
He smiled and looked at me, "Yeah."
I guess safety and comfort aren't what I'm looking for.
"I'm so sorry."
"Really I'm â " Jackson suddenly stopped talking and was staring at something behind me.
"What are you -?" I asked him, turning around.
"You're favorite person is walking over here."
My eyes involuntarily rolled themselves.
"Wow, the great Phoebe Pierce finally decided to crawl out of her cave. I'm surprised actually. I thought it would take you much longer to finally pick up all the pieces of your broken heart."
I snorted, "What's your deal, Quinn? Don't you have anything better to do? Or is your only purpose in life to try and embarrass me?"
She looked a little too smug for my liking, "It's funny 'cause you think you're actually fooling people into thinking that your over Jamie and you aren't still pissed that the guy you loved came running to me."
"So, you got my leftovers," I clapped my hands, "Congratulations."
"I mean, it must really suck to see us together, no?"
"What must really suck is helplessly crying in the stalls over a cheating boyfriend but being too insecure to dump him."
Her grin fell, but that only lasted a few seconds.
"It's sad that you have to resort to making up lies. Whatever you can do to mask the pain, right?"
I was so done with this pointless conversation.
'Where Are You Now?' was playing and my body was itching to dance.
"Parker, you have Jamie what else do you want? If nothing, stop obsessing over me and get out of my face."
Quinn's smirk fell into something evil, "I want you to crumble."
All she needed was flickering lights and thunder and she'd have a fantastic villain scene or her hands.
"Hey, sis. Look who it is." Quinn said towards the crowd of people by the beer pong table.
My brain was still processing Quinn's last sentence when the girl who was the source of my nightmares made an appearance.
"Phoebe! Look at her shoes! Aren't they so cute!" Elf exclaimed she ran into me.
I didn't budge.
I just stared.
"What's crackin', Fatty?" The Evil Queen looked me up and down, "Oh, I guess I can't really call ya that anymore, can I?"
"Phoebe, who is that?"
I didn't realize until I heard his voice that Jackson never left.
"Fat-I mean Phoebe! You never told your boyfriend about me? I'm hurt!"
"We're not dating." Jackson corrected.
I honestly didn't know what to do.
What to say.
How to feel.
All I knew is that this could be it.
She's going to expose me for who I was, and no one is ever going to see me the same way again.
"Phoebe, seriously, what's going on?"
This time it was Elf who spoke.
I could answer neither Jackson nor Elf. All I could think was that I couldn't let one itty bitty detail slip from those venomous lips.
Maybe I can seal her mouth shut with my fist.
My Worst Nightmare stepped closer towards us and held out her hand to my friends.
"The name's Vivian Parker."
They both shook her hand.
Elf moved her lips, repeating the name silently.
"I'm an old...friend...of Phoebe's." Vivian smirked.
When the light bulb clicked on in Elf's head, she immediately grabbed onto my arm. Maybe she thought that by touching me she was somehow sending good vibes to punch out all of the bad memories, all the bad feelings out of me.
It didn't work.
"Something wrong, Phoebe?" Quinn asked, "Cat got your tongue?"
Vivian backed up so that she was parallel to her sister again.
My mind was clouded, so when I finally did speak, the words didn't come out with the conviction they usually do,
"I don't know who you are or what you're trying to pull."
"You don't?" Vivian almost laughed, "So you don't remember all the times when you were fat and helpless and basically my little slave?"
Vivian had moved closer to me again smiling.
My lips found themselves in a scowl and my whole boy jerked forward, ready to pounce.
The only thing that stopped me from punching her right then and there was Elf's grip.
Maybe she wasn't intending to send good vibes.
Elf quickly pulled me away from Vivian and whispered-yelled,
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Facing my past."
I knew that if I didn't want to be the coward that had always naturally rested within me, I had to flip the switch completely.
There was no middle. No grey area.
It was either fall down in front of my enemy or face her and end this right here,
Right now.
"Little Phoebe got feisty." Vivian cooed.
I growled and went for her throat again.
"Phoebe, stop!" Elf yanked me back towards her, "Fighting her will do absolutely nothing!"
"It'll put her in the hospital." I said loud enough to make sure Vivian and her bratty sister could hear.
"Did you tell Vivian what happened when you tried to step up to me, Quinn? You tell her about your broken face?" I asked.
"Listen to me!"
It was getting harder and harder for Elf to constrain me,
"If you fight her, don't you think people are going to start asking questions?"
The scowl faded, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from my nightmare.
"People are going to wonder how she got under your skin, and you know what those two are going to say?"
I didn't answer her.
"They will tell everyone about everything and you won't be able to deny it because you hit her. The proof would be in the punch."
My face was still scrunched with resentment, but I managed to look at my small best friend.
"Don't do this, Phoebe. You're so much better than this; and them for that matter."
I shook Elf off of my arm which Vivian took as a sign to start circling me like a merciless vulture.
"You gonna let this shrimp tell you what to do? I wouldn't because she already lied to you. You are not, never have been, never will be better than anyone. Especially not me."
The beast came in for the kill.
"I should've known you were going to be just as much of a punk now as when I left."
Once my fists re-clenched, I had made my decision.
I knew what I had to do.