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Post by J on Nov 13, 2006 22:55:15 GMT -5
((If you're starting to read this for the first time, be forewarned that the begining is old. It gets a lot better and a lot more interesting later on when the posts get newer. I've left another message to let you know where the new part is.))
Alex sat slumped in the seriously uncomfortable, far too small for him plastic chair. This was always the worst part of getting in trouble, the time between when he had been caught and waiting for his father to arrive. There was no telling what his father would do this time. This was not Alex's first offense, he was forever getting himself into more trouble than he could afford. It wasn't his fault, really it wasn't, great ideas just came to him. His heart froze mid beat, his blood seemed to have stopped flowing; he could hear his father's heavy, purposed footsteps coming down the carpeted hallway. He gulped, sitting up straighter in his chair, as if sitting up could save him now. His father's large frame appeared in the doorway, somehow he seemed to have grown a few feet since Alex had seen him this morning. "Alexander." His dad was the only person in the world who still referred to him by his full name. Alex said nothing, knowing that was better than opening his mouth and angering him further.
The vice principle entered the front office after his secretary informed him that Alex's father, Mr. Moretti, was here. "Ah Mr. Moretti, please step into my office." Mr. Moretti glanced at his son before following the V.P. into his pathetically decorated cube of an office. Alex lowered his head, great, here came his sentence. He passed his dad as quickly as he could; his dad had never hit him before but there was a first time for everything. After a lecture from the VP, he was sent back into the outer office to wait some more.
It seemed like hours waiting for his father to come out, when he did, Alex wished he hadn't. His father face said everything. He was in deep doodoo. he stood and followed his father silently to the car, his father held out his right hand toward Alex. He knew the drill, he handed over his cell phone, car keys, and ipod. Man, he felt naked with out his essential possessions. He climbed into the passenger seat of his father's suburban, his father would return for Alex's truck.
"Dad? (pause) I'm sorry. I really am, I promise, I'll try and-" He stopped when his father held up a hand.
"I'm not in the mood Alexander, we'll have a discussion later, and many more after that. You've been suspended for three days, you're lucky that's all you got for what yoiu did. Now be quiet, when we get home, you will help your mother with all the household chores. Is that clear?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes sir."
A small vibration alerted Ryan, she had received a text message. She slipped her Sprint flip cell phone out of her army green cargo pants. She rolled her silver eyes and groaned when she read the message.
Alex: Cot. 3 days. Exile for me.
She knew it would be useless to text back, his father would show up and take it away. Alex's parents were the strictest out of their group. Who knows how long it would be until his punishment was over. It could be weeks, all because he wanted a little excitement. Ryan loved the rush that came with being a troublemaker. Of course, as much as she hated to admit it, she was a poor excuse for a delinquent. Sure, her hair was three different colors brown (natural), violet, and aqua, but that was nothing. She tried to dress the part, but ended up looking cute and cuddly, rather than mean and scary. Now Desire, her best friend, she looked and acted the part. There was no doubt Desiree was part of the group. She and Alex always seemed to have led the way over the years. There were only ____ in the group, but that didn't really matter. Too many would call too much attention, where as a few were ignored [or went relatively unnoticed].
She glanced behind her at Desiree, she had also received the message from Alex. "What now?¨ Ryan asked her. Ryan considered Desiree to be her own personal idol. She was beautiful, talented in the special arts of "trouble¨ and best of all, witty. Desiree did whatever she wanted and got away with it. Ryan envied her for all of this. Desiree didn't have to force her image to cooperate, it came naturally to her.
Ryan's attention was brought back to her phone when it buzzed a second time.
Alex: Dead meat. 2 weeks.
Ryan sighes heavily, two whole weeks without Alex. She glanced back at Desiree, to see her reaction. Alex had a special favoritism for Desiree; he always denied it, but they could all see it. He opened doors for her, walked beside her, she got to sit "shot gun¨ every time they rode in his truck. Furthermore, Alex was the only one that called her "Desi¨ and got away with it. Alex had been in trouble many times before, but never for two weeks at a time. They would still be together at school, but now they couldn't hang out as freely. Ryan already missed Alex. It was Thursday, he had three days of suspension, and they wouldn't see him until Tuesday.
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Post by Free on Nov 29, 2006 18:45:18 GMT -5
Desiree looked up from the incomplete design, she was etching into her deck with a small straight-edge razor, at the sound of her friend’s name. “Alex,” their teacher called, waving a paper of summoning from the office at him. Desiree turned toward Alex, who was looking at her, and raised an eyebrow, her expression asking if he knew what it was about. He shrugged, not looking incredibly concerned, a sign that he didn’t know, but wasn’t worried. He walked confidently down the aisle, took the paper from the teacher’s outstretched hand, and glanced at it on his way to the door. Desiree watch his face, as he read the note from the office, and saw the care-free expression give way to masked apprehension. Something was wrong, that was for sure; the only thing that scared Alex, was his father. Oh no. Did the administration find out how we spent last Friday? …No, then I’d be called in too… Desiree stared after Alex as he walked out the door, trying to figure out what was going on. A few moments later, she finally gave up, and asked the teacher if she could go to the bathroom. The teacher gave her a suspicious look, but there was nothing she could do to prevent Desiree from “going to the bathroom,” that wouldn’t incite a classroom riot. She’d tried once, and that hadn’t been at all pretty. The room had fallen into immediate uproar about the unfair treatment of select students, and everyone failed to realize that it was not because of who she was, but her attitude, and that she knew Desiree would be up to no good.
Desiree picked up the hall pass, hung it around her neck and walked out the door with an arrogant stride. Once out in the hall, she smirked to herself, for she had seen the teacher’s inner conflict at her request to go the ladies’ room. Desiree continued down the hall, and out into the courtyard, heading in the direction of the main building and the office. She walked with confidence, daring anyone to stop and question whether she really had teacher permission to be wherever she was. She’d found, over the years, that if you walked around, looking like you owned the place, few would stop and question your authority. The outside air was fairly cool, and although it was almost lunch time, this was typical of late autumn. The main building stretched out at the front of the school, with the office near the middle, directly in front of the one of the driveway curves. Since she approached the main building from the back, she would not be forced out of her way to enter through one of the back entrances where people were less likely to notice her. After slipping through the brief hallway, before coming upon the office, she opened the office door, and let herself inside. A busy, oppressive air ran through the place, intimidating for many students, but not for those as familiar with it as she. Weaving her way through the poorly laid-out labyrinth of offices toward the vice principal’s office. Desiree stopped just around the corner from it, and peeked around to see Alex sitting alone in one of the three chairs lining the wall next to the vice principal’s open doorway.
She’d been right, for there he was, awaiting the vice principal’s and his father’s criticism. Without catching his attention, she stole down the hall toward him, and ducked into the darkened doorway closest to the vice principal’s office. She didn’t consider this an invasion of privacy for the vice principal, Alex, or the person whose office she currently occupied, for she figured that Alex would tell her eventually what was going on, and this merely gave her more time to plan way around his father’s punishments. Also, of course, it gave her the knowledge of his problem immediately; she did not have to wait for him to tell her when he had the chance. Time passed slowly as the people of the office went about their daily routines, and luckily, no one enter the office where Desiree was situated while both she and Alex await his father’s arrival. The wait wasn’t very long, probably only about five minutes, and Desiree guessed that Mr. Benton had already called Alex’s father. The administration was supposed to talk to the student before calling their parents, and be reasonably sure in the student’s guilt, but since it was Alex, they probably assumed that he was guilty. It was more likely that they had reason, other than his record, to believe that he was guilty, although sometimes, Desiree had questioned whether her trouble came from actual evidence, or merely suspicion on the basis of her record, something that she’d managed to use to her advantage on more than one occasion. It was wrong of the, and unfair, and so only fitting when she turned that against them.
Desire came from a very wealthy family, and since her father was a strong supporter of education, he often gave generously to the school and district in which his only child attended. This meant that the administration was under a lot of pressure when reviewing cases against Desiree, because if they weren’t careful, he might withdraw his support, and so she could get away with some things that other kids wouldn’t normally, simply because there wasn’t enough concrete evidence to tie her down. Her father was a self-made man born to an average family, but with above average dreams, great dreams, and the drive to get him there. He graduated from high school, and moved on to college, where he met Laura. They married some time after he got his bachelor’s in business and he then started his company. He continued to go to school, eventually earning a much higher degree. With his gentle and encouraging had of gold, the business flourished right away, and he was soon quite wealthy and the owner of more than one business, each with multiple branches. His dream had come true, and he finally had time to settle down with his family. A daughter was born to them, Desiree. She was spoiled most of her life, with gifts and with their attention from her mother, father, and everyone else. Life was good in those days, but it was not to last. Desiree’s mother died, leaving the family with a huge hole. Desiree’s father withdrew and filled the void with his business, giving his only daughter cash in exchange for his presence. Desire too was changed by this event.
After Mr. Benton led Alex and his father into his office, and closed the door, Desiree walked out of the office she had been hiding in, and sat down in the chair where Alex gad been sitting. She leaned back against the wall, with her arms crossed, and her expression most unpleasant. Her long, dark brown hair fell partway across her face, adding, if possible, to her forbidding look. Indeed, she looked very much like a student mistreated, and unrightfully called to the vice principal’s office. From this position in the chair, and with her keen sense of hearing, she could hear virtually everything that was said within the office. The voices were slightly muffled, but Mr. Benton wasn’t one to talk softly, and Mr. Moretti certainly didn’t talk softly when he was angry. He wasn’t yelling, he never did that in public, but Desiree was sure that it would come later, for he was a very strict father. After a few minutes of listening, Desiree glanced at her watch, and realized that the period was about to end. She’d better get back to her class before it did and get her stuff before some new kid got the weird idea that he could just go through, or the teacher decided to lock her classroom. There was also her bathroom privileges at stake, and those where not something that Desiree could afford to lose. They were her life-line, her easy way out of class at convenient moments. After standing up, she proceeded to steal out of the office, and back into the building where her classroom was located.
Upon arriving back at class, she was greeted with a less than friendly stare from her teacher, which she ignored on her way back to her seat. After sitting down, she pulled out her straight-edged razor, once more, and began to work on her design. The meeting in the office with Alex’s dad had indeed been about what they had done last Friday. For some reason, they’d either only found it necessary to punish him for it, they didn’t have enough evidence linking her to the incident, or they didn’t know she was part of it. Whichever the reason, Desiree was more than confident that her friend wouldn’t incriminate her as well. In addition to them being friends, there was the trouble-maker’s code that dictated that if you went down, you brought no one else down with you. The bell rang not very much later, and Desiree put her razor away and grabbed her things, before heading out the door. It was lunch time, and everyone would soon be wondering where Alex was. On her way to their usual lunch-time meeting place, she stopped by the office to see if Alex and his father were still in there. Seeing that he was sitting out in the hallway by himself, she scribbled a note, and handed it to him on her way down the hall; so that there was no way that she would be overheard. The note told him that she would be by later with his survival kit and to “work on an English project,” so that she could be the most convincing when she showed up. She continued on down the hall and out into the courtyard, where she could see Ryan already there and waiting.
They had a system for when one of them, particularly Alex, for he was the one who was most frequently in the worst trouble, for dealing with losses in privileges. Since Desiree’s family was so wealthy, and Desiree could have anything she wanted, they compensated for the lack of cell phone privileges with a group emergency cell phone, funded unwittingly by Desiree’s father. The phone was full of all the numbers that anyone in the group would ever need to call, and updated fairly regularly for convenience. It was always activated, for it was frequently in use. At one point, they’d needed two emergency cell phones, so they’d had to get another, but that one wasn’t activated until it was needed. The phone lived at Desiree’s house since her father was the one paying for it, and she was the one least likely to ever need it, despite her reputation. Her father didn’t know about all of the things that she was in to, and blamed himself for all those that he did know about, and so never punished her. They were able to get by with “no visitations” by fabricating group assignments from various teachers, every once in a great while, their teachers fabricated these assignments for them at convenient times. It was usually only one or two people who were allowed to be part of the “group assignment,” and whenever it came to Alex, Desiree was always his partner, and he tried always to be one of hers. There were other parts to their system for various other punishments, but Desiree didn’t know what all he needed, so for now, these would do.
Ryan smiled at Desiree’s arrival and greeted her. Desiree didn’t smile, but muttered something that could be construed as a greeting. No one else was there yet, they were all probably getting their lunches, and so Desiree decided to wait until everyone was there to inform them about Alex’s unfortunate predicament. A few minutes later, Alex beat her to the punch by sending everyone a text message. This surprised Desiree a little, for she was expecting Mr. Moretti to take Alex’s phone away before he would have a chance to send any messages. She didn’t know what Ryan's message said, but her’s consisted of these words: “Thanks. See you. 3 day sus-2 wk gd” She assumed that Ryan’s was fairly similar, but probably with slightly different wording. He’d probably sent the same messages to everyone, except her, considering she was the only one who’d said anything to him between the time he was caught and now. Ryan looked up at her, and asked what they were supposed to do. For some reason, Ryan always turned to her when she had a problem with something, or was wondering what their next move was to be. Desiree really didn’t have an answer for her, but she relayed the information she had, so as not to appear as though she didn’t. “I’m going to have someone bring the phone to me after school, and then I’m going over Alex’s house to work on our ‘English Project.’ It’s our last class of the day, and luckily, we have it together. I’m thinking that this project could last a few weeks.” Desiree said the last sentence with a smirk.
At that moment, more of their group arrived, and Desiree disappeared to lift some food from the lunch lines. Normally, she had something brought to her, but today she’d forgotten to arrange something, and didn’t want to be bothered to call and order something that wouldn’t arrive until lunch was over. She could have gone off campus, but it was just too much of a hassle, and then lunch would seem a lot shorter. When she returned, everyone was already gathered in a circle, enjoying their lunch, and talking about Alex getting in trouble and things that had happened to them throughout the day. Desiree didn’t care at the moment about the trivial details of people’s days, she had to create a convincing English assignment, complete with an instructional handout. It had to be something related to what they were actually working on, and enough work that it would take several get-togethers to finish, and provide reason for why the teacher had allowed them so long to complete it. The thing about the best lies was that they contained elements of truth in them, and were so carefully thought out and executed that no one was the wiser. It was also helpful if they were simple enough that they could easily be recalled, and if they were about work, the work be completed in no time at all, so that it didn’t take away from them actually spending time together. Desiree and Alex had already planned something for the afternoon, and, with any luck, they would still carryout their plans, even with Alex being grounded.
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Post by J on Dec 1, 2006 0:06:36 GMT -5
Wesley picked up his bag and walked out of his class as the lunch bell rang. He loved to do that, his teacher couldn't yell at him if he was leaving class as the ball rang. His cell phone vibrated, Alex was caught, great, good job! Not. How was it that someone as cool and smooth as Alex acted, he was usually the one to get blamed for just about everything and anything? Of course once you have created a certain reputation for this sort of thing, it's like wearing a big sandwhich board wherever you go. He reached the lunch table as Ryan was asking Desiree what they where supposed to do now. Westley rolled his eyes, Ryan was a terrific follower, all she needed was someone to hold her hand and lead her around.
Westey set his bag on the floor and pulled up a chair next to his brother who was making out with a girl; he couldn't see her face at the moment. Westley turned his back to them, he took out the lunch his mom had made for him. She always made the best lunches; it wasn't that he couldn't make his own lunch, he just liked hers better. Besides, she had more time to do it, she was a stay-at-home mom, and his family had a maid that came twice a week. Desiree was telling Ryan that their normal plan would be carried out. He loved how long ago they had figured out how to work around people getting grounded and valubles being taken away.
Westley dug into his lunch and glanced over at Desiree. Alex and Desiree had a "special" relationship. As if at any moment they would start going out, everyone could see that Alex was clearly head over heels for her. However, it was extremely unclear as to whether Desiree felt the same for him or not. Westley wondered if Alex would ever ask her. Alex had had other girlfriends, actually only two that Westley could recall. Teah and then this one girl named Jewel, who had gone out with Ty directly after Alex. That had been quite a chunk of drama right there. Neither boy had gone out with jewel for a very long time, but Alex and Ty's already shaky relationship was tainted for evermore.
"You going over after school today?" Westley asked Desiree. He wondered if Ryan was going to as well; Ryan's house was directly behind Alex's.
Alex ran up to his room as he arrived home, his parents were discussing his punsihment in the kitchen. That was fine, he just had to wait it out, his father would soon leave and it would just be him and his mother. He liked that far better, his mother was way more understanding than his father. She would make him lunch, probably some cookies and hot chocolate too. The two of them would talk some things out and then he would help her around the house as promised. He didn't mind that as much as his father thought he did.
Alex flopped himself down upon his forever unmade bed. He turned to face his bedside table, a picture of him and Desiree faced him. He loved the picture, the two of them were sitting in on a sidewalk, his arms wrapping protectively around her. She almost looked vulnerable, as if for but a moment, the camera could see inside her hard shell, much the way only Alex hismelf could. He sighed heavily, he had onloy been apart from her for about an hour and already he ached to be near her. Love hurts.
~
"Alex, honey?" His mother sweet voice called to him through his bedroom door. "Is he gone?" Alex asked her. "Yes, he said that he would be home a little late tonight as well." Alex sat up and climbed off his bed. "Good." That would work out perfectly for their plan. He followed his mother down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"I made you sugar cookies and hot chocolate." She said in a sweet voice, looking up at him. He was so much taller then her it was hard to belive he had once strained to look up high enough just to see her face. He smiled at her and nodded, yes, she was a professional at lifting his spirits. He sat down at the table and she set a blue coffe mug with Winnie the Pooh Bear on the side. A ceramic plate with sunflowers with piled high with decorated sugar cookies. How did she ever find the time to cook and bake with a crazy twelve year old in the house? He could never quite figure out how she did everything in one day. She definitely deserved the title "SuperMom". He grabbed three cookies from the plate and set them on a similar smaller plate she had put in front of him. He felt odd, she had put the cookies directly in his father's place at the head of the table. He felt almost guilty sitting in what had been claimed as his father's chair.
She sat down next to him and neither spoke for awhile. "I tried to negotiate with your father, but you're still grounded for two weeks. Sorry." She said with a sympathetic smile.
He nodded, "What about school related stuff?" Alex asked her. She smiled, "He said that was fine, except they have to leave by dinner time." She said, they both knew full well that his father was old fashioned in this area. Everyone was meant to and should eat dinner with their families, tv off, and at the table together. Alex rolled his eyes. "Well, that's good, because I was assigned a stupid english project."
"I Know." His mother said, she got up from the table and opened the firdge. He followed her, what was that supposed to mean? What and how did she know? He stared at her as she prepared his lunch. He smiled and shook his head, he always knew his mother had to be smarter than she looked. How else would she have convinced his father to do all the things that she made him do?
Teah sighed sadly when she recieved the text from Alex. Poor Alex, his dad was going to go ballistic on him. A few minutes another text came saying he would be grounded for two weeks. There was a slight chance his mom might convince his dad to take off a week, or if Alex was good enough he might set him free once in a while. Of course, knowing Desiree she would already be devising an elaborate plan to get around all these obstacles.
It was finally lunch time, which meant for the next 45 minutes she didn't have to pretend to pay attention in class. She could just hang with her friends and have a good time. She bought cookies and soda in the lunch line then headed toward their usual table. Ryan, Desiree, Westley and Ty were all already seated and eating. Well, actually Ty wasn't eating, he was making out with some sl*t; nothing out of the ordinary there. "Hey." She said sitting down between Westley and Ryan; There was no way she was sitting next to either Ty or Desiree. Ty was a pig and Desiree, well, she and Desiree had never been friends just semi-civil. The feeling was mutual and understood between the both of them even though it had remained unsaid and unwritten.
Teah looked around saddened by the fact that she didn't have her Alex fix. She missed him even though he had only been apart from her since this morning before classes. She sighed and went to her lunch for her comfort; food one of her many addictions. "So what's the plan?" Teah asked Desiree, hating the girl wouldn't keep her from seeing Alex. If she was right, Desiree was probably going over to Alex's house after school. And even if Teah wasn't invited or included in the "group project" she would be there too. There was no way she wanted Desiree and Alex together without her there.
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Post by Free on Feb 4, 2008 19:56:00 GMT -5
The muscles in Desiree’s mouth stiffened unnoticeably as Teah joined the group. Desiree eyed Teah with disgust. She was like the annoying little puppy that had followed Alex home, and then never left, even after they had broken up, and the puppy had grown old and unwelcome. As far as Desiree was concerned, Teah didn’t belong in the group and she never would. The girl was obviously still obsessed with Alex when it was clear that he didn’t want her anymore. Would she ever take the hint? Desiree didn’t want Alex for herself, but Teah’s behavior lacked a vital level of self-respect that made it impossible for Desiree to respect her either. Desiree had just finished explaining Alex’s predicament and a brief description of her plan when Teah sat down like a queen and unwittingly demanded that she repeat herself. Desiree liked to command in such a way that allowed no room for questions. When she told someone something, or to do something, her orders were complete and direct. If anyone ever had a question, it was likely that they either weren’t paying attention or she wasn’t interested in divulging the information. Her way of communicating was due in large part to her absolute hatred of repeating herself.
Desiree hid her anger as turned toward Teah, pretending that she hadn’t just told everyone how she was handling things. She gave Teah a long look, and then said, “I was just about to go into that.” She looked around the group as though daring anyone to contradict her. “As I’m sure everyone knows by now, Alex has been suspended until Tuesday, and is grounded for two weeks. I’ll get the cell phone to him sometime between today and tomorrow, but it’ll be hard to operate because his father plans on coming home early from work for a few days to keep Alex out of trouble. Therefore, it would be best for everyone to wait until the weekend and see if his father goes anywhere, otherwise, we might have to wait until he shows up at school next week.” Desiree finished speaking and then looked around the circle one last time as a warning, then continued eating her pizza. No one had the nerve to go against her, much less publicly, except perhaps Ty, but Desiree viewed that more as stupidity than as insubordination. Luckily, Ty was too absorbed in this own thing to notice or care. If there was one thing Desiree was good at, it was lying. The only times she was ever given away was by other people, and they learned quickly to stay out of her way.
“Oh, and there’s also a history teacher’s office we need to rearrange. It’s a little juvenile I know, but you know that I cannot resist helping people.” Her tone was even, and though her words were sarcastic, her tone was serious. “We’ll be gathering supplies tonight and tomorrow and we’ll begin Saturday night. I wonder what we have left from our endeavor against Coach Lumly…” Coach Lumly had been the girls’ soccer coach for three years before Desiree came to the high school. She probably would have lasted longer, if she had not committed the cardinal sin of upsetting one of the people in Alex and Desiree’s group. Most teachers knew the dangers of this, and did not try to rock the boat, but every now and again, a teacher would get a wild notion of teaching someone a lesson, or attempting to tame one of the group members, and they were immediately put back in their place.
Desiree looked over at the clock hanging in the middle of the left wall of her History teacher’s room. There were only three minutes left until the bell rang, but that was entirely too long for Desiree. She’d called one of her servants earlier to come and bring the grounded kit for Alex. She hadn’t felt like driving all the way there to pick it up, and then driving all the way back, and there had been a chance that someone would have come with her. No one had ever been to Desiree’s house, including Alex, and she intended to keep it that way. For a while, people had pushed, and prodded, schemed and contrived, but their efforts had been for naught, and so were abandoned. Desiree always had a plan for everything stored in the back of her brain, and she was always paying attention, so there was little point in attempting to discover something she didn’t want discovered. Desiree gathered the few things she’d taken out of her black backpack, and slumped back down in her desk. Her English teacher liked to talk, and seemed to have no concept of time, for she would blather on and on, all the way up until the last moment of class, and would have to yell out final instructions as half the class walked out of the room, while the other half was already gone.
The reason Desiree was so secret about her residence was that she didn’t want anyone to know that she was rich, or who her father was. She liked her father, and he was always good to her, but he was an influential man with a lot of money and she didn’t want anyone to try and use her for her money or to get to her father. Not even Alex, her best friend knew this about her, and she intended to keep it this way. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, she knew she could rely on him for certain things, it was more that she didn’t really trust anyone. No one ever saw Desiree’s servants, all they knew was that Desiree had connections and could usually get what she wanted. She didn’t play with money, didn’t wear ostentatiously expensive attire, nor did she drive an exceptionally expensive car. Desiree had always been careful to hide her wealth.
~~~
The bell finally rang, and Desiree bolted for the door. She was the first one outside the class, and one of the first few people out in the hall. She made her way down to her locker, and made the necessary exchange, before making her way out to her car. Upon opening the trunk to put her backpack inside, she was pleased to discover that the servant had been by to drop off Alex’s survival kit. There were a spare keys to all of the family cars hanging in the garage for just such an occasion, or in the event that someone locked themselves out of their car. It bothered Desiree a little for everyone to have such free range of her car, so she never kept anything in it, and even so, made sure that each of the servants knew to keep away from it, regardless, without explicit permission. Everything important, she kept in her room with the door locked to which there were only two keys. One was always on her person, and the other she hid in a place that no one would find, but that she could retrieve in the event that she lost the first. There was not a very strong need for her to be so private around her father and the servants, for her father would let her get away with murder, and the servants were paid to mind their own business.
Desiree jumped into the driver’s seat of her car and pulled away, without so much as waiting for any of her friends, or letting them know where she had disappeared. When no one was in trouble, they all usually met after school to hang out, but every once in a while, sometimes more often than others Desiree wouldn’t show up after school without bothering to warn anyone, or explain herself next time they saw. Desiree’s little car sped quickly through the familiar streets toward Alex’s house. It was only 3:05 and she was already almost there. If you were fast, you could get out of the school quickly, if you waited even five or six minutes, you were usually stuck in there for another five to ten minutes, sometimes as many as fifteen. Desiree drove up toward Alex’ house, making sure to check from a distance for his father’s car. When it was clear the Alex’s father was not home, Desiree pulled next to the curb across the street and over two houses, and then made her way toward his front door. Without bothering to knock, for she knew it was alright, she quietly turned the handle and stepped inside. Once inside, she held her breath, listening for the sound of voices. She immediately heard them in the kitchen, and made her way silently there. She walked into the kitchen, and came up behind Alex, would was sitting in Mr. Moretti’s chair. Desiree smirked to herself. Alex’s mother could see her, but she didn’t say anything or make any kind of recognition. Desiree reached out and firmly grabbed Alex’s shoulder. The move had been so unanticipated by him, that he leapt a full foot into the air and called out, “I’m sorry, I’ll never sit in your chair again!” Desiree laughed as she sat down next to him.
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Post by J on Apr 24, 2008 12:37:47 GMT -5
Logan Lebeau flashed his pearly whites and held up his hand in farewell as he climbed into his deep red mazarati (?). His emotionally detatched father had sent him a text. Logan and his father rarely communicated and when they did it was forced and slightly awkward. Logan had been left on his own since his mother died when he was in seventh grade. She had been diagnosed with leukemia and only lived a month longer than they doctors said she would. Ever since her death Logan held a small growing flame of anger at his father. He had all the money in the world at his disposal and he couldn't save the one person that actually mattered. Not even a full year after she passed away his father began going to clubs and drinking, every night he came home with a different woman and then one stayed and hadn't left. Sherry, the woman was barely nine years older than Logan, he hated her even more than he hated his father. His sidekick vibrated in his back pocket, he rolled his eyes and pulled it out. The message was sent a second time because he had refused to answer. "Come home. Now. We need to talk." He texted back, "Fine." and sighed as he dropped into a cup holder. A honk sounded behind him, a bright yellow mustang zipped by filled with teenage boys hollering and whooping to Logan. He honked back giving them a look; he was beloved. He was everyone's body. All the guys wanted to be him and be seen hanging with him, the girls all wanted to be with him and be seen hanging on his arm. Teachers even respected him; he had a quick whit and charming personality, everything went as he wanted. He lived on the edge planning nothing and living every moment to its fullest.
It took Logan only fifteen minutes to get home and anorher two or three to get to his house from the front gate. He parked his car in front a servant appeared to take it to the garage. His car was fully taken care of at every moment, it was washed every other day, always in mint condition and the tank was always full. He ignored the servant, and walked into his house and went straight to his father's study. He hesitated ever so slightly before entering without anouncing himself; he knew that ticked his father off more than anything. Disrepect drove him up the wall and barging in someone's office uninvited and unanounced was at the top of his list of pet peeves. His fathers head jerked up at Logan's abrupt entrance; a frown wrinkled the mans brow, his old brown eyes that once matched Logans were tired and angry. Leo, was not a patient man and Logan seemed to have taken a little too long to get home. "Sit." Leo ordered motioning toward a stiff chair directly in front of his desk. Logan nodded and walked around the desk to the comfortable office chair Leo had ordered from Lazboy. Leo sighed in what could have been mistaken for a growl, "Let's get down to business. You will be moving to your uncle's house Connersville. You've gone too far with that stunt you pulled with Principal Laroo's Car and I've had enough. I don't have the time nor the patience to straighten you up; your Uncle Nick will doing it for me." Logan stared at his father, he hadn't heard him right; he wasn't actaully sending him away. This was just a big hoax to get him to... What would be the point of that? Logan loved to brag about the pranks he pulled on people especailly the one he had done recently. He had paid someone to take apart the pricipals car and reassemble it in the Pricipals office. Then, when Principal Laroo had walked into his office he had the car programmed to set off the car alarm. It was brilliant, maybe a little immature, but seriously, it was hilarious!
"Excuse me?" Logan asked, his voice was irritated and held the same arrogance his fathers did. "You heard me; the servants are packing your things you are to be at their house before dinner time to unpack. They have dinner at 6:30, so I suggest you hurry; Nick will not apreciate your frequent tradiness." Logan stared at hisfather for another moment. He felt extremely caught off gaurd and wished he could recover quickly enough to negotiate. He sat their limp, his right ankle propped up on his left knee. Leo held the door of his study open expecting him to walk through it. Logan knew the second he walked out that door hewould be accepting defeat. He would go upstairs and collect his things and drive over to his Uncle's house and that would be it. He continued to stare at his father for another second and then had a very good idea. A smile appeared on Logan's face, his deep brown eyes held a certain sparkle in them; he brushed his dark brown hair out of his eyes. "Y'know what? You're right, I think it's time for a change!" He hopped up from his chair and headed up the stairs with a slight bounce in his step. He turned down the hall to hs part of the house, he had practically a whole wing to himself. Something up till this moment he had taken for granted. He had seen the guest room at Nick's house and it definitely was nothing compared to his huge suite. Two servant had just finished packing up his things and were heading down the stairs to the garage to pack the car.
He sighed and gazed around his room, he was going to miss it. He knew everything would be alright, he could make friends anywhere. No matter where he went he got his way, he was a natural born leader, he thrived on attention. At this moment he was alone, something he hated; there was no crowd to please, no girls to fool around with, no group to lead. It was just him, alone and waiting for the next chapter in his life and so far he didn't like it. He knew all he had to do was head over to his uncle's house and start smoothing things over; he might even decide to stay and continue his high school years in a whole new city. He stood upright and took a deep breath; yep, things were atcually looking up. It was definintely time for fresh new start. A whole new pool of women, all new teenagers to lead; plus, his cousin Alex had shown great promise in the prank area. This could turn out to be a wonderful new beginning.
Alex jumped out of his skin when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder, he had finally relaxed into his father's cahir thinking everything was fine. He bolted up and whipped around, "I'm sorry I'll never sit in your chair again!" He exclaimed, to find someone only a little less initimadting, Desiree. "Oh, it's just you... He sighed in relief and sat back down. She sat down next to him and helped herself to a cookie. Alex's mother offered her some hot cocoa and Desiree accpeted just as the house phone rang. Alex was named after his mother, Alexandria a fact that confused him, his father seemed like the type of guy to name his kids after himself. To make things a little less confusing, his mother went by Dria (dree-ah), his father of course called her masotly by her full name or "Lexa". Dria picked up the the words "Hey baby" cuaght Alex's attention it was his dad. Desiree looked up too as she nibbled on her cookie. Dria sighed, "As hard that's going to be, I know you can handle him. Well, darling, military school isn't exactly-" she nodded as she poured hot chocolate into a blue mug and handed it to Desiree. Alex was starting to panic, military school? He hadn't done anything that drastic! It was just a prank, a preety minor one at that. "I think it's a good idea, changing nvoirments is probably exactly what he needs. Oh my, he is going to be pissed." Dria murmed as she smiled at Alex. What? that didn't make any sense? Were they talking about him? Were they going to send him away? Dria hung up the phone and Alex paniced, he could reason with her now and maybe she would reconisder and talk to his dad. "Mom, I didn't do anything that bad! You're gonna send me away!"
Dria looked up in surpirse, "Of course, not honey, that was about your cousin Logan. He's been causing trouble in Brenton and Leo wants your dad to striaghten him out." She said as she wrote a few things down on the gracery list on the fridge. Alex sighed with relief. "So what does that mean?"
"He's going to come live with us, he'll take the guest room, "I'll be right back ." She said as she raced up the stairs to tidy up the guest room for Logan. Alex looked at Desiree, "That's so cool. Logan rocks. You'll like him." Just as the words fell from his mouth a loud commotion came from the side of the house. Dria had opened a few of the windows to let the breeze flow on such a nice day. The noise was a loud rock music coming from a deep red Mazarati parking in the driveway follwed by two suburbans. "Hey, there he is." Alex said getting up and watching out the window as Logan climbed out and began barking orders at the four men in the suburbans. "Wow, his stuf is definitely not gonna fit in the guest room."
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Post by Free on Aug 16, 2008 18:29:23 GMT -5
((All details prior to this post that are inconsistent with this post and all following posts are to be disregarded. This role-play was created quite a while ago and we've changed some things about the characters and the situations.))
Clear, green eyes stared out at the parking lot, scanning in a series of lazy loops. A young women in her mid to late teen stood leaning against an old green truck, waiting. A half-used cigarette in her left hand indicated that she’d just been hanging out with Eric Tyler and his crew. Brooklyn was not a smoker exactly, but more the kind of girl that smoked socially or if she was upset. The gentle smile on her face proved that it wasn’t the latter. She was from Westley’s part of town, not that you could tell her from clothes. She looked like she could be from Alex’s part of town, maybe better. Her clothes were beautiful and always in style, and she carried herself with a kind of confidence that made eyes follow her across the room. She was cute; life had not stolen that blissful look of innocence that was rarely seen in her neighborhood. It was that look, the innocence that people trusted. It made it very hard to believe that she smoked, let alone hung out with the pranksters of the school, or had $3000 worth of stolen clothes in her closet, nevermind the thousands of dollars worth of stolen shoes.
Brooklyn’s gaze finally landed on a tall young man striding in her direction. Next to him stood another young man, still tall, but shorter than the other. She smiled and relaxed against the warm metal. She waved when they saw her, her smile growing as they neared the car. “Hey guys!” she said brightly as they walked up. She ignored the looks Westley gave her left hand. She hugged him and just smiled at James; he wasn’t much for hugs. James and Westley had been friends forever, as long as she’d known them anyway. She heard their friendship started in elementary school, but she hadn’t been around them that long. She and her mom only moved to the area when she was in middle school, but she hadn’t really become friends with them until high school. The group was pretty fun. They tended to get into some trouble, but that didn’t bother her. Of course that was partly because she never got in trouble. No one would believe that sweet, innocent Brooklyn would ever get mixed up in something like that. Thinking about it always made her laugh.
“Sorry I wasn’t at lunch today,” she said lightly, “Did I miss anything?” She liked most of her friends, but she didn’t like Desiree all that much. Desiree was volatile and she always had to have everything her way. She walked around like queen of the world with nothing to justify her self-centeredness. Sure, she knew what she was doing when it came to planning and executing, and she seemed to have some kind of immunity against trouble, but if she were that good, she wouldn’t need the immunity. She also didn’t like the feeling that Desiree was hiding something. Brooklyn was sure there were a million things that Desiree didn’t want people to know, things that she hid, but there was something in the way that she did it, in the way that she didn’t care about anyone but herself that Brooklyn didn’t like. Brooklyn understood not trusting people; she didn’t trust easily either. You couldn’t grow up on the rough side of town and be willing to trust everyone you met without being insane. Desiree didn’t grown up on that side, and she trusted less than Brooklyn did.
James was alight, she guessed and she liked Westley. He was sweet. Ryan was a psycho though. Brooklyn had no idea what she was doing in the group. She’d obviously been friends with people for a while and that would explain how they knew her, but not why she was still around. Ryan was like the anti member of this group. She bright and colorful and there wasn’t a single bad bone in her body. The only reasons Brooklyn could think of that Ryan would do all the things everyone else did was that she wanted to fit in and/or she wanted Desiree to like her. God knows why, but Ryan worshiped Desiree. Teah was a joke. Brooklyn really didn’t know why Teah was in the group. She was pathetic. Teah was the kind of girl that made Brooklyn shudder. To make her all the sadder, she was obsessed with Alex, someone way out of her reach. Anyone with eyes could see that he belonged to Desiree. Although the reverse wasn’t as sure a thing.
“Anything happen about that prank we pulled?” she asked off-handedly as she hopped into the seat next to Westley and slid over to make room for James. Westley reached over and grabbed the cigarette out of her mouth as she buckled her seatbelt and threw it out the window. “Hey! I wasn‘t finished with that!” she looked at him, mild irritation on her face, then she smiled, “Was I almost to the filter? Thanks, I‘ll just get a fresh one.” She pretended to reach into her purse for another one, but Westley put a hand on her arm. “Alright, alright. I know the rules, not in your car,” she said huffily. She glanced over at James, who was laughing at them silently to himself. “I live for that smile,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. She just laughed at the look that incurred from him.
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Post by J on Aug 17, 2008 16:40:19 GMT -5
Westley's dark green eyes quickly scanned the parking lot for his truck as he and his best friend James walked towards the usual parking spot. He liked parking in the same spot each day, but that wasn't always possible, only seniors were priveledged enough to have assigned parking. He smiled when he saw one of his good friends Brooklyn leaning against his truck. Then frowned when he saw that obnoxious little cancer stick in her left hand. He hated it that she smoked, he didn't exactly aproove of the people she hung out with when she was smoking. He tried to get her to quit the day she started a few years back, but not even he coud tell Brooklyn what to do. She smiledf when she noticed the two boys wlaking towards her and hugged Westley. Westley loved her hugs, they were sweet and genuine, not to mention, he'd always wondered what it would be like if they went out. He figured they went together pretty well; however, he kept these onderings on the down low, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to do anything about it just yet. That is until he knew she liked him back; why go through all the pain of rejection if you didn't have to?
"Sorry, I wasn't at lunch today, did I miss anything?"She asked he shrugged at first "Oh right, we're gonna rearrange some teachers office. Or something..." Desiree's doing of course, her and Alex took charge of everything. Which was just fine with Westley, he wasn't exactly leader material. Too much pressure, too many people counting on you and watching you as you messed up. He was the more second hand man type, the sidekick type of guy, he enjoyed that way more. Westley headed to the drivers side, Brooklyn climbed in and slid over to make room for James. “Anything happen about that prank we pulled?” She asked through the side of her mouth. She was holding the cigarette in her mouth as she buckled her seatbelt.
Annoyed with the smell and sight of it he sntched it from her heart shaped lips and tossed it out the open window. He always kept his windows open, his air conditioner didn't exactly work, it only blew lukewarm air and smelled kind of funny. Brooklyn's mouth dropped open in shock, “Hey! I wasn‘t finished with that!” He rolled his eyes, “Was I almost to the filter? Thanks, I‘ll just get a fresh one.” She reached for her purse for a new one and he grabbed her arm, he knew she wasn't totally serious, but she knew the rules. “Alright, alright. I know the rules, not in your car,” She said slightly poutting. She looked over at James who Westley assumed was laughing at them; “I live for that smile,” Brooklyn said, he was watching the road but thought he saw Brooklyn kiss James' cheek. She laughed it off and James shook his head, he knew about how Westley felt about Brooklyn. the two told each other everything. Westley was a sort of private person, except for james, he told James everything. He used to think hge could hide things from Brooklyn too; but each time he was with her he found himself revealing more and more.
Westley laughed a little at the look on James face, Brooklyn could really shock people with the little random things she did. She seemed so sweet and innocent but she definitely had an edge to her. And edge that kept him wanting more. He ran his left hand through his golden-blonde hair, yes sir, he wanted more than just a friendship. They were closer, but that wasn't enough. "So anyways," He said in a light tone, the cheek hadn't exactly bothered him, but he wished it had been him. "Alex got suspended, three days and his dad is grounded him for two weeks." Brooklyn shook her head and sighed. They all knew Alex's dad was beyond overbearing and strict. They all knew it and yet everytime something like this happened they were still shocked at how extreme Mr. Moretti could be with his punishments. Westley turned up the pathetic excuse for a stereo, the song by Chris Brown Forever blasted out, he and Brooklyn began to sing along.
"Where do you wanna go?" Westley asked, mainly he was asking Brooklyn, he and James didn't reall care. She usually convinced them to go wherever she wanted anyways. She thought about it a minute, "I guess my place, my mom won't be home for a while so we can do whatver we want." Westley nodded, by place she meant apartment. the three of them lived in the same apartment complex on the west side of town. Not exactly the money area, every building over there was in desperate need of repairs and a new paint job. Brooklyn lived alone with just her mom who worked long days to keep Brooklyn happy. She was a loving mother who only wanted the best for her daughter. James lived with his motherand his mother's boyfriend, the guy was a huge pain. They usually avoided spending time in James' apartment. James most of the time stayed over at Westley's and even sometimes slept on Brooklyn's couch just to avoid encounters. Westley lived with both of his parents, a rare thing nowadays, and his three brothers. He and his brothers shared a room with two sets of bunk beds, not exactly ideal, but it was all they'd ever known.
Logan shouted orders to the two manservants who had accompanied him to his uncles house. They began working quickly reaching the fron door just as his cousin Alex opened it and moved to let them in. "Hey!" Alex said raising his hand in greeting; a pretty brunette followed Alex out to Logan's car. Logan smiled at her momentarily forgetting about Alex; "Hey, I'm Logan." He said his brown eyes not moving from her sapphire eyes, he smiled and discreetly looked her over. "This is Desiree." Alex said, aperrantly not noticing Logan and Desiree were silently eyeing one another. "Man, nice car, you got a new one?" Alex asked walking over and helping himself to the drivers seat. Logan snapped out of it, "Yeah, My Birthday was in March."Logan said, bored already, he was ready for action, and this girl Desiree seemed to have it. Alex hadn't mentioned a girlfriend recently but he hadn't seen him since Easter. She didn't seem like Alex's type.
"Logan, you're here!" Alex's mom apeared in the doorway and headed to wards Logan with open arms. "How are you?" She asked as she gave him a hug. He hugged her back." I'm great considering." He said wih a smile pulling away when she did. He loved his Aunt dria she was his mother's sister; she made him feel as if part of his mother was right there. It wasn't the same but it was close enough. "Good, well, those boys are puuting you're things in the guest, but... you have to unpack yourself, they're leaving as soon as the cars are empty. " She said, she glanced at the cars as if wondering how long it would take. "And all of that, is not going to fit..." Logan stared down at her in shock.
"Are you serious?" It wasn't really that big of a deal, but he didn't want to do it, besides why should he have to? "Why?" He started to ask, but she put her hand up, "Just be glad we're letting you keep that credit card of yours. The rest of your luxuries are gone, this is the moretti house and the things you're used to are not gonna fly, understand?" She said firmly, and she wasn't asking. He had no choice but to agree. For now, anyway, once his uncle got home he was sure he could get a few things. "But, Aunt Dria, I still get to keep my laptop and plasma right?" He asked sweetly wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She rolled her eyes, "You and Alex just have me wrapped around your little fingers don't you?' She said trying to hold back a smile and failing. She hugged him again, "Of course you can keep those, this isn't prison!"She said and lwith a little laugh headed back into the house. Logan smiled pleased with his small but valuable victory.
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Post by Free on Aug 18, 2008 2:10:26 GMT -5
It’s like I've waited my whole life for This one night it's gon' be me you and The dance floor cause We've only got one night Double your pleasure Double your fun and dance Forever (ever, ever) Forever (ever, ever) Forever (ever, ever) Forever, forever Forever (ever, ever) Forever (ever, ever) Forever (ever, ever) Forever on the dance floor Ohhh Ahh Ah Ah Ah Ahhh Yer Forever (ever, ever, ever) Forever ever Ahh
Brooklyn looked over at Westley as the song finished. She was about to ask him where they were going when he spoke, “Where do you wanna go?” Brooklyn thought for a minute. Where do I really want to go? She smiled. Shopping? There‘s that cute new skirt… “My place I guess. My mom won‘t be home for a while so we can do whatever.” She and her mom lived alone in the same apartment complex as both Westley and James. It was at the complex that Brooklyn had met James, but ironically, she did not meet Westley until the next day at school. She’d just been walking along the pathways that at one point had probably been lined with grass. Now they were just lined with dirt and weeds. She’d been taking the walk to clear her head and when she looked up at the brilliantly-colored sunset for a moment. There he was, perched on the roof of one of the apartment buildings. He’d surprised her so much that she’d just stood staring at his silhouette.
He didn’t see her right away, and she was curious as to what he was doing up there, so she couldn’t resist climbing up and seeing for herself. Her mother had warned her off and on over the years about the dangers of strangers and walking around alone at night. Of course, she also mentioned the special danger of running into men. Brooklyn had been living in the same types of neighborhoods her whole life and she supposed that her mother was more afraid of the world than she was. After all, before her family rejected her for getting pregnant with some “no-good” boy from another city, her mother had lived reasonably well-off. Having lived this way her whole life, it was something Brooklyn was used to. Things happened all around her, but she always seemed untouched by the chaos. Besides, she was pretty sure she could handle whatever came at her. She used to watch other kids’ karate lessons through the window before they moved and practice the moves.
She had climbed up to the roof on the other side of the building so he wouldn’t notice her right away and approached him from behind. She was about five feet behind him when he spoke to her, “What are you doing up here?” If she hadn’t been so shocked, she probably would have laughed out loud at the situation. The idea of him asking her why she was up there when she’d come all the way up there to find out that very same thing from him. Finally, he turned around to face her, but did not get up. She had just stood there staring at him for a moment, not quite sure what to say. Almost as if he could read her mind he had said, “Nosiness is a dangerous quality in this neighborhood.” Brooklyn shivered she didn’t know why she didn’t believe he would bother her, but she was beginning to wonder if maybe she should have heeded her mother’s advice in this instance. “Sorry for bothering you” she had said, but he had just shaken his head. She studied him for a minute and then sat down a few feet from him.
The conversation had begun with a lot of her talking and a lot of her questions, most of which he dodged, but she got out enough to determine him as “safe.” He had a odd smirk on his face for most of that conversation that she didn’t understand at the time, but that she had later attributed to her approach. James wasn’t an easy guy to figure out, but after spending a few years with him, she’d learned to read and understand a few things about him. The next day, she had looked around campus for him. If he lived so close to her, they probably went to the same school, and sure enough, she had found him. That’s when she met Westley. She got the feeling that James didn’t like her showing up in later in his life, but after a while, that faded, she met their other friends and was slowly initiated into the group. Westley, Alex and Ryan had all been more accepting than James, but she could tell that Desiree didn’t want her there. It took quite a while for Desiree to trust her enough to include her in their plans, and even then it was a while before she had and responsibilities.
Brooklyn looked over at James. If Desiree was the leader of the main group, then she was definitely leader of this little group. Neither of the boys usually cared enough about what they did to make any suggestions. The journey continued without much conversation, just the sound of music and the singing voices of Westley and Brooklyn. After a couple songs, Brooklyn nudged James and he reluctantly joined in with many looks toward Brooklyn to let her know that this was not something he really wanted to, but he knew that she would not let up until he started singing too. He rolled his eyes at her after one song and refused to sing anymore. Brooklyn just smiled at him and leaned over on Westley‘s shoulder so she could hear him better over the music. They pulled into the parking lot of the complex, and Westley parked near the carport nearest his apartment. After they all got out of the car, Brooklyn grabbed her backpack from the truck‘s bed where she‘d put it before Westley and James walked up.
They walked along together in a single file line; the cracked sidewalk was not really wide enough for any of them to walk side-by-side. When they reached the stairs, Brooklyn took them two at a time and reached the door several seconds before the boys who did not change their pace. She used the key that hung around her neck to open the door and left it open for the boys to make their own way in. After they walked in, closing the door behind them, she turned around and threw up her hands, “So, what’ll it be? The world is ours and all that jazz.” The boys just stood there, staring at her in the narrow hallway, so gestured limply toward the living room, sighed and said, “I’ll get some snacks, you poopers.” She disappeared into the kitchen to return with chips and dips. She set the snacks down on the table along with two cans of everyone’s favorite drink, then she spread out on the couch, not concerning herself with where the space already taken up by the boys. Her head ended up in Westley’s lap and her legs in James’s.
Brooklyn used the remote to turn on the television, but after flipping through a few channels, she turned it off. “Oh, you guys wanna see my new stuff?” James just shrugged, uninterested, but Westley responded with a, “Sure.” Brooklyn jumped up off the couch and scurried off toward her bedroom. She pulled all her new stuff out of her closet and laid them out on her bed. A few minutes later, she heard James called out, “Oh no, not at fashion shoot.” his tone was somewhat sarcastic, but Brooklyn could tell that it didn‘t really bother him. She didn‘t think that he liked her, but she knew that neither of the boys would mind a pretty girl parading about in beautiful clothes for a few minutes. Besides, there were traditions to up hold, and it was fun for her.
Desiree watched Alex’s expression as they both eavesdropped on Alex’s mother’s side of the conversation and the few words they picked up from his father. She saw the uncomfortable expression give way to near panic as listened. No expression crossed Desiree’s face as she watched curiously. As extreme and strict as his father was, Desiree knew that his mother would always protect him from the worst of his father’s wrath. Desiree suddenly realized at the word “pissed” that Mrs. Moretti and her husband were not talking about Alex. That was not the kind of reaction that Alex would have to being moved away from his family. Her interest peaked and she strained harder to hear more of what his father was saying. The conversation was ending by that time and she didn’t get any new information. All she picked up on where the goodbyes. Desiree hadn’t noticed that her gazed had shifted to Mrs. Moretti until Alex’s excited voice broke through her thoughts and she looked back over at him.
She almost laughed when she discovered that he thought his family was sending him away, almost. Despite this, her expression never changed. Desiree tilted her head slightly to one side at the mention of cousin Logan. She thought that she knew most of Alex‘s family by this time. Mrs. Moretti scurried out of the room. Desiree was just about to say something when the music came down the stairs from an open upstairs window. Desiree followed Alex toward the door, and out into the driveway, where she stopped next to Alex, right in front of the young man who was obviously Logan. Desiree studied him like she was searching his soul, but in a discrete way. He was tall, but not quite as tall as Westley ((I can‘t remember their height order.)), and definitely attractive. Her expression betrayed none of her thoughts, she kept it at a neutral, uninterested look. If she had not been keeping her look neutral, she would have smirked. He was obviously checking her out.
Desiree looked over at Alex when he exclaimed about the car, and then at the car itself. A Maserati. She liked cars, and she knew that the car he had was pretty expensive, something in excess of 100,000. After listening to how he got it, her suspicions about his wealth were confirmed. At that moment, Mrs. Moretti hurried toward them and gave Logan a warm greeting and a large hug. She surprised Desiree with her initial firmness, but then her true colors showed through. Desiree found it a little disgusting to watch Logan reach to his change of circumstances. He sounded very spoiled. In truth, she was probably just as spoiled as he, but for the past several years, she had given off the appearance of having a lot less. It had been a real sacrifice at first, but then she discovered ways of keeping while simultaneously concealing her lifestyle. Besides, there was no way she could be that obnoxious. She turned to walk back into the house as Logan smiled in his apparent victory.
Alex and Logan were not too far behind her and they all settled back at the kitchen table. Alex didn‘t sit in his father‘s chair this time, but instead he sat next to Logan, with Desiree on the other side of the table. Resting her head on a hand, she was only half listening as Alex chattered away at Logan. Despite his show outside, she found herself glancing toward him every now and again. After a while, someone else came through the door. Desiree never would have noticed the person coming through the door if they had not entered the kitchen and stopped to stare at the three of them sitting at the kitchen table. Teah. Desiree rolled her eyes. She just couldn‘t help herself. “Beautiful Saturday, isn‘t it, Teah?” Desiree said smoothly. Teah just looked at her for a moment, ignoring her question and then with a sniff took a seat next to Alex. Desiree couldn‘t help but notice that Teah‘s eyes also wandered over Logan‘s features. Good. Maybe we‘ll finally be able to pawn her off on someone else. As she thought it though, Desiree couldn‘t help but think that it would be a waste. She cleared her head and mentally kicked herself for acting like a middle school girl, even if it was just to herself.
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Post by J on Aug 20, 2008 1:09:13 GMT -5
Teah raised her perfectly arched eyebrows at the sight of a dark red maserati in Alex's driveway. There was no way his family could afford such an expesive car. She hesitated to go in at first but Mr. Moretti's car wasn't in the garage so there was not threat there. She whipped open the door and walked in the kitchen. She rolled her red brown eyes at the sight of Desiree at Alex's kitchen table. What the hell did she think she was doing here? Desiree asked her something about Saturday that Teah chose to ignore, nothing Desiree said was important. Alex looked up when Desiree said something to her as id a very hot guy sitting next to Alex. He looked a little bit like Alex, but his eyes were and amazing deep dark brown that drew her in. She smlied at him and almostdidn't hear Alex ask her what she was doing here. "Oh, I uh, just wanted to stop by and check on you." She said smiling sweetly at him and then glancing back at the hot guy. She was certainly glad she had remembered to put one some lipgloss before she got out of the car. "Who's this?" She asked sitting down on the other side of the new guy.
"This is my cousin Logan a fellow delinquet, he'll be staying with us for a while, so my dad can straighten him up." Alex said with a hint of laughter in his voice. Teah locked eyes with Logan, if Alex wanted Desiree then she might as well move onto Logan!
"Really? So, being new in town you're gonna need someone to show you around." Teah said, Logan glanced at her then looked at Desiree. "Yeah, someone r eally should." Logan said smiling at Desiree. What the helll was wrong with these boys; they must be infected with something in their genetics.
Logan glanced at Teah, he couldn’t be sure, but wasn’t she dating Alex? He was only going by what he knew from Easter but things seemed to have changed since then. He ignored this girl, she was just liked very other girl he’d ever had, it was time for a change. Desiree was exactly that change he wanted to make; there was something so right about her it was almost wrong. Her initial attitude turned him off and intrigued him at the same time. Yes, he definitely wanted her; he just had to make sure she didn’t already have someone. Of course, that was easily dealt with. He turned back to Teah, “Aren’t you dating Alex?” He asked directly, he didn’t beat around the bush; he was blunt to the point of rudeness. Teah’s red mouth dropped open and the sparkle in her eyes faded. “No…” She said softly staring down at the table. He was shocked to see she was almost in tears, what had he asked?
“Okay!” Alex jumped up from the table so quickly he almost knocked over his chair. “Logan, why don’t we go unpack your stuff!” Alex said jerking his head toward the stairs. Logan stared up at his cousin; he did not want to go unpack his stuff; especially since he was so comfortable right here. He was the sort of person who was comfortable anywhere although he preferred the best quality; this chair was suiting him just fine. “Nope, I’m good; you can go do it, since you seem so excited about it.” He said winking at Alex; Alex gave him a look and looked to Desiree for help. He propped up his feet on the chair across from him and folded his arms across his chest. Teah got up and headed out the door. “Thanks a lot!” Alex growled at Logan and ran after her.
Logan watched them go and looked back at Desiree and shrugged, “So, what was that about?” He asked, she just shrugged and shook her head. A minute later Alex burst back in, “Are you crazy?! I broke up with a few months ago and she’s still obsessed with me!” Logan shrugged, “She’ll get over it, just as soon as something cute walks by.” Logan said and chuckled a little, he’d seen those girls come and go, there were plenty of guys willing to date them.
“Shut up! You don‘t know anything about her!” Alex said, he was getting really pissed, he didn’t love Teah but he still cared enough not to let someone just assume whatever they wanted about her as if she didn’t matter. Logan raised an eyebrow, “What did you say to me?” He asked standing up, Alex was a little over an inch taller but he seemed much smaller when compared to Logan’s wrath.
Alex shrank back a little with Logan now in his face; he hadn’t completely thought this through. He knew Logan could take him down without even trying. He was about to be even more stupid and shout something back at Logan when Desiree got up from her chair. “Well, you boys have fun.” She said, the back door shutting behind her; through the glass window they could see her leaping over the wooden fence that connected Alex’s backyard to Ryan’s. Logan and Alex watched her go, glanced back at each other accusingly and ran after her. Logan was closer, but Alex was faster; they both leaped over the fence, Alex barely ahead of Logan. “Desiree! Wait!” Alex shouted as they ran across Ryan’s backyard to the driveway where Desiree’s convertible was parked. She didn’t even pause, just hopped in her car and drove off rock music blaring, interesting enough by the same band Logan had been blaring upon his arrival. The two stood in silence, watching her disappear. “Nice.” Logan said shaking his head at Alex.
“Me! This is your fault, if you would just stop being a jerk for two seconds she’d still be here!” Alex shouted at him, he was so pissed that Logan had ruined his afternoon alone with Desiree. Logan gave him a look, “You like her, don’t you?” Alex stood there staring at his cousin in shock; he knew Logan was the sort of person who said whatever he thought. He also knew Logan could tell things about other people just by talking to them or even being around them. “What?” Alex said, knowing his cover was blown no matter what he tried. Logan would prod him until he gave in and told him everything. “You do, you like her, might even, dare I say love?” Logan said glancing upward as if thinking it over.
“I do not!” Alex said turning and heading back to his house, he didn’t know when his dad could get home and he was getting nervous. His dad might be even more upset now with the added element of Logan. Of course, the annoying thing about Logan was that Alex’s dad always seemed to think of Logan as the son he never had. He treated Logan with respect, talked to him like a father would, almost as if they were buddies! Alex hated that, what about him? What was wrong with him? Why was Logan always the special one? Logan got better grades, without trying, he got any girl he wanted, made friends just about anywhere, and Alex’s dad liked him better!
“Yes, you do, you’re in love her and she doesn’t know and probably doesn’t even feel the same way!” Logan said following after a now fuming Alex. Alex stormed up the stairs to his room and slammed the door behind him. He flopped down on his bed and yelled obscenities into his pillow; when he heard Logan, “Oh. My. God!” Alex sat up and smiled smugly, ha ha Logan! He jumped up and opened his bedroom door, he had to see this. Logan’s stuff was piled everywhere in the guestroom, it seemed to be overflowing. Logan cursed under his breath as he kicked and shuffled his way to the queen size bed. He was used to an extra-large king size bed; his mattress was custom made to feel exactly the way he wanted. His sheets alone cost around a thousand dollars, Egyptian cotton, his pillows were also custom made to be the exact right amount of fluff. This bed was pathetic in comparison, he did have his pillows but that was about it. Logan stood there steaming for a minute and then brightened. “I’m going shopping.” he said pulling his car keys from his front right pocket.
“Oh no, you’re not.” A deep voice resounded up the stairs; Alex paled and hid in his room with the door shut. No way was he going to get the brunt of this argument; he would come out looking like the sweet little angel when his dad was done with Logan.
Westley smiled as he watched Brooklyn twirl around in a short denim skirt and hot pink rocker t-shirt, her thin gold bangles clinked along with one of their favorite songs, Disturbia by Rihanna. He loved Brooklyn’s energy for life, something as simple as shoplifting a few outfits could lift her spirits. She held out her left hand towards the boys to show of the several gold bangles that cluttered her tiny wrist. Westley nodded and James silently sighed, probably bored, it was fun watching her until it seemed like she was coming out in the same outfits over and over again. This would continue until they thought of something else to do, and that someone wouldn’t likely be Brooklyn. This was plenty entertainment for her; he hated to interrupt especially since that skirt was really working for her. However, he didn’t want to do this all night. “Hey Brooklyn isn’t Wife Swap coming on tonight?” Westley asked her over the music, Wife Swap was their favorite show, it only came on once a week and they hated to miss it. It was like Tuesday ritual for the three of them to all watch it together. She smiled, “Oh yeah!” She grabbed the remote and switched on the TV; James reached over and smacked the old CD player. The show started only a few minutes later and the three started to comment on the pathetic families and how dumb the parents were for being that way. Westley jumped when his cell phone vibrated in his left back pocket, he pulled it out. Teah? Oh great. This couldn’t be good. He sighed and flipped it open, “Hey.” He said he could hardly make out what she was saying around her sobs. “I’ll be right there.” He said and shut the phone; Brooklyn and James stared at him both knowing what was about to happen. “Curse my sensitivity.” He muttered and got up from the couch gently moving Brooklyn’s head to a pillow. He had been so comfortable, she had been lying in his lap; they were all happy and having a great time and now he had to over to Teah’s house and console her. “I’m sorry guys; I guess I’ll be home late.” He said regretting that he had to leave his two favorite people in the world for Teah. He didn’t mind being with Teah, she didn’t bug him the way she did others, but she had the worst timing. “Bye.” He said giving them a little wave.
He grabbed his backpack from the near the front door and headed out; he reached her huge mansion of a house about twenty minutes later hoping she would have calm down a little by now. He let himself in and ran up to the second floor; she was an only child and had the entire upstairs to herself. Her parents were loaded and were almost never home. He had never even seen them let alone meet them; it was almost as if they didn’t even exist. If it weren’t for the stories Teah told and the postcards with an obligatory “Wish you were here!” plastered on the fridge in the kitchen it would seem that Teah had always lived alone. “Teah?” He called out before entering her bedroom suite; he didn’t mind walking through her front door but just barging into her bedroom felt wrong. He knocked twice before opening the door he could hear depressing chick music coming from the bathroom. The large double doors to her cream marble bathroom were cracked open, subtle yet powerful floral scents filled the air. Uh-oh. Not good; she was taking a bubble bath. This would have been a sexy thing to do if she was his girlfriend and they had been dating for a while and had seen each other naked. However, she was not anything like a girl friend to him and she wasn’t anywhere close to being over Alex, obviously. He took a deep breath, bracing himself before knocking on the door. “C’mon in.” she said, her voice sounded slightly stuffy from crying and a tiny sniff followed her words. He pushed open the doors involuntarily keeping his eyes closed as he entered. He didn’t want her to get the idea that he liked this situation; he slowly peeked, she was mostly covered with the bubbles that had a pink tint. He inwardly sighed with relief, he wasn’t sure what he had been suspecting but this was okay. Her dark brown shiny hair was piled on top of her head with a clip; she must have already washed her face because it was free of her make-up. He wondered if anyone accept for him and Alex had seen her without make-up; she was very pretty without it, actually she looked better without. He would never tell her that in her case less was more; she would probably think he was crazy.
“Hey.” She said softly smiling weakly at him, taking a deep breath she exhaled shakily; the tears could easily rise up again. “Hey.” He said sitting down at the edge of the zero edge marble tub leaning his back against the wall. “You okay?” He asked, he had talked with her many times since Alex had “dumped” her. It had really been a mutual thing, mainly because she knew about Alex’s love for Desiree. Westley had been here for her so many times and he often wondered if she would even care to return the favor. He didn’t think he would ever ask her, it would be James, Brooklyn or Alex; Teah would be almost last on the list of people he would seek out.
“Yeah, I guess, I don’t know, I’ve been fine lately, but when Logan said…” She shook her head and covered her face with her sudsy hands. “I dunno, I just lost it.” She said, she seemed to be reliving the moment, but he was confused. “Wait, who’s Logan?” Westley asked, hoping it wasn’t some guy she had been hitting on. “Alex’s cousin.” She said with disgust, “He likes Desiree too! You shoulda seen him lookin’ at her! It was so disgusting!” She said and slapped the water making it slosh over the side; hundreds of bubbles floated upward and surrounded them. “Wait, what? What’s going on? Tell me from the beginning.” He insisted; the hard thing about Teah was that she ranted and it was rarely in order.
“He’s Alex’s cousin that’s gonna be staying with them because Alex’s dad is gonna straighten him up. And so I started talkin’ to him, but no! He was just starin’ at Desiree, what is wrong with that family? All they care about is Desiree this and Desiree that.” She said and stared down at the bubbles absentmindedly popping a few; “I just…” She sighed and grew quiet. He thought about it for a minute, it was weird all of this had happened in just one day. “I know its hard Teah, but I really think you should just forget about Moretti’s. “ He said lightly, hoping to make her smile. She did a little and nodded, “I don’t wanna love him anymore… I don’t want to hurt anymore…” She said quietly a few silent tears slipped out. “I just don’t know what to do…” She said with a sniffle. He had no idea what to tell her, he had never been in love, how could he give advice on something he knew almost nothing about?
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Post by J on Sept 10, 2008 16:47:57 GMT -5
Logan bounced ever so slightly on the balls of his feet; he hated changed and yet thrived on the challenges it gave him. He was the sort of kid who loved the first day of school. School, he made friends with anyone and everyone and had no problem making everything go his way. Yes it was a wonderful thing to be him. He knew today was going to full of surprises. He had already been registered into his classes, he had no idea where they were, but that wasn’t a problem. He careful shaved his face and neck and put the finishing touches on his dark brown hair. A little Drakkar noir man’s cologne, he’d have the women following his scent all day. Of course, he had a distinct feeling; Desiree would not be won so easy. He loved that she would be a real challenge. He still had a few more things to evaluate but she was a definite possibility. He stepped out of the tiny bathroom to find Alex standing on the other side of door. “Took ya long enough.” Alex muttered slamming his shoulder as he pushed past. Logan shrugged and strode down the stairs; Dria already had breakfast on the table. This wasn’t punishment, so his room was too small and he felt like a giant using a midget’s shower; he could deal with all of that. Dria made all of his meals just like at home and if he guessed right Alex would be forced to do his laundry at some point because of his punishment. “There you are Logan.” Dria said brightly as he sat down next to her, she was daintily eating her one egg and toast. He smiled at her and dug in; he couldn’t help but study her as he ate. Dria was his mother’s younger twin sister; the two weren’t quite identical, but it was pretty close. The two had been supermodels in their young age; Dria had stopped when she had Alex but Logan’s mother had continued until his youngest brother Remy was born. He didn’t think about his own mother, Layla, very often unless he was around Dria. Which was why Logan suspected his dad never came to family functions; too many memories. It didn’t bother Logan too much; he kind of liked it, as if he would always have a little piece of his mother. “What is it?” Dria asked looking up and finding Logan staring at her. “Nothing.” He said, “I guess I’ll get to school.” He said getting up and leaving before Dria could question him further. It might upset her to talk about Layla and she was one of the select few in this world he actually respected; the only other person being his little brother Remy. ~ Logan strode up a maze of sidewalks leading in different directions all over what seemed like the “Quad”; he looked around surveying his new territory. Then he spotted her, Desiree, she was leaning against a thick oak tree, looking bored. Next to her a cement picnic table was covered in teenagers; he assumed this was the group of friends Alex talked about. He could see the one girl Teah he had insulted yesterday sitting somewhat isolated from the others on the corner of one of the benches. A blond boy was lying on the length of the table with his head in a cute brunette’s lap. Another brunette with two-toned hair was bouncing excitedly and talking a mile a minute. As he got closer he realized a dark hair boy was perched in the oak tree. He looked up and gave the guy in the tree a nod who just stared blankly back at him. “Hey guys.” Logan said confidently as if he sat with them every day. Two-tone spoke up first, “You’re Logan right?” She asked lifting a Starbucks cup up to her tiny pink mouth; he stared down at her, she was cute but already he was annoyed. His silence seemed to unnerve her, “I’m Ryan, but everybody calls me Raynbow.” Logan laughed in his head; there were just too many insults! “Yeah… I’m not gonna call you that.” He said and looked toward Desiree. She hadn’t said anything yet, but there was a hint of a smirk on her otherwise stoic expression. He looked to the picnic table the blonde guy was watching him cautiously; “Don’t worry, Raynbow, we love you!” Blonde said reaching out and grabbing the girl’s jacket making her sit on the bench. Raynbow, seemed crushed by his comment, she had visibly shrunk a few sizes. “I’m Westley,” The brunette interrupted, “Brooklyn,” and Westley continued gesturing toward the tree, “and that’s James.” A loud bell resounded through the campus signaling that class would start very soon. Raynbow jumped up and hurried off with Teah on her heels; Brooklyn, James and Westley waited for one another and headed off. Logan hung back watching the crowd of teenagers weighing his options of asking Desiree or a random girl to lead him to class. “So you gonna show me around?” He asked her pulling his schedule out of his back pocket and holding it up.
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Post by Free on Sept 10, 2008 22:00:52 GMT -5
Brooklyn looked up at Westley when he jumped. She was lying on the couch with her head in his lap and she had been able to feel his phone go off too. For some reason, the situation made her laugh. From her position, she could hear a high, broken voice babbling something unintelligible. The conversation was a short one, and she guessed his next more before Westley got up. Brooklyn groaned as he got off the couch. As far as she was concerned, James and Westley belonged to her and she didn’t like someone taking them away from her. It wasn’t that she was jealous, or that she wouldn’t understand if one of them had a girlfriend, but more that tonight they were supposed to be hers and someone was stealing one of them. As Westley left, she crawled over to where James was and lay across his lap instead. She smiled at him as he looked down at her, and he smirked and shook his head. Brooklyn waved as Westley headed out the door. Brooklyn and James turned their attention back to the television. House M.D. was back on.
When the show was over, Brooklyn stretched and got up off the couch. She walked slowly back to her room and put the clothes that she had been wearing earlier that day back on. Her mom would be home soon and she didn’t really want to be here when she did. Her mom always looked so tired and worn out after every day at work that Brooklyn always felt a little guilty. She tried to do a few nice things for her mom, but there wasn’t much she could do and it didn’t really help much in the long run. After she changed, she led James into the kitchen and they poked around the cupboards and the refrigerator for something to eat. They ended up eating some leftover pizza heated up in the microwave. Sometimes Brooklyn made dinner for her mom, but many days, she just heated up a premade meal. “Let’s get out of here,” Brooklyn said as she shoved their trash into the kitchen trash can. She looked around for a moment to make sure their mess was cleaned up. Their apartment was far from clean, but they did try to keep it in some order.
“Did you have anywhere in mind?” James asked without interest. It didn’t really matter to him where they went, as long as it wasn’t his apartment. He spent more him in Brooklyn’s apartment and Westley’s apartment than he did in his own. He didn’t even usually sleep in his own apartment. It didn’t really feel like a place that belonged to him. He and his mother’s boyfriend didn’t really get along. His name was Sean. Sean he usually hid arguments between himself and James from James’s mom and James didn’t think it would be beneath him to resort to physical violence. Whenever his mother did find out about something, Sean always made James look like the bad guy without actually lying, or at least not much. James’s mom felt that the reason that James didn’t like Sean was that he was not his father, but it had more to do with the fact that Sean was not good for either of them. Then James smiled and corrected himself, “I mean, sure. Let’s go to the mall.” Brooklyn stuck her tongue out at him, but he just smiled innocently at her.
”So I guess we’ll take your car, since Westley isn’t here,” Brooklyn said. She didn’t have a car; she usually just rode with either James or Westley whenever there was somewhere to go. If for some reason neither one of them war around, she public transit. The city had a pretty good public transit system of buses, light-rails, and trains. It wasn’t that Brooklyn had forgotten that Westley was there and was reminding herself out loud, but more reminding James that if they went some where, they would have to take his car. James smirked and raised his eye brows. Brooklyn smiled back at him, “What?” She knew he was thinking of something not quite legal. “We can’t “borrow” another car like we did last time. I think the owners are beginning to suspect something,” she said, hoping that wasn’t what he was thinking of. He didn’t answer right away, just stood looking at her in that annoying way of his. He didn’t usually do this to Westley, but sometimes he seemed to find it amusing to make her wait for things. “Oh come on, I’m getting old waiting for you.”
“But your hair,” he said, smiling, “It still shines.” Brooklyn rolled her eyes and started to walk out the door without him. She knew that he knew that she was still curious, there was no escaping that, but she was tired of playing his game. He followed her out the door and down the stairs, but when she started moving toward his car, he caught her shoulder. “I was thinking we would take Sean’s car” he said, mischief reflected in his eyes. He led the way over to Sean’s car, a hand on her back as though he were a gentleman leading a lady. When they reached the front passenger side of the car, James pulled something out of his pocket and in seconds, he pulled the door open and held it for her. “Why thank you sir,” she said in a mocking tone. He just winked at her as he walked around to the other side. She knew that he could pick car locks, but she didn’t think it was a good idea for him to hotwire Sean’s car. “He’s going to find out, if you do that,” she said as he got in, but she wasn’t stopping him.
James just smiled and she finally saw the thing in his hand: it was a key. There was no way that Sean would give James the key to his car. His car was his pride and joy. He washed it, waxed it and took care of it better than he took care of James’s mom. It was probably the only thing he owned that was of any value. It was a pretty nice car for someone of their situation, and it was also reasonably new. Neither James, Westley, nor any of their parents had a car that was this new. She was sure that Sean would kill James if he ever found out. Brooklyn leaned into the seat. It was pretty comfortable. The cushion was soft and not worn like more of the cars she rode in. As James started the car and pulled out of the complex, Brooklyn reached over and turned on the radio. She chose their favorite station and turned the music up loud. James raced along the freeway, cutting in and out of the traffic. Brooklyn laughed as the car raced faster and faster. It was a nice ride.
They arrived at the mall in record time without remarkable incident. James pulled down an aisle just in time to find a space near one of the entrances. Brooklyn was the first one out of the car, and she probably would have been all the way inside before James even made his way past the car, if she had not chosen to wait for him. The mall was one of her favorite places. There were so many cool things there, and everything was new, just waiting for someone to come along and claim them. James was not moving fast enough for her so she grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him toward the entrance. James, caught up in some of her excitement, allowed himself to be pulled along at the speed she wanted to take. They hit the clothing stores first, always the best and most expensive places. Clothing was not his favorite choice, but he didn’t mind accompanying her for a little while at least. There were things to amuse him at the mall. Brooklyn had seen both boys watching pretty girls as they waited for her to decide on something.
When they got back to the apartment complex, the sky was dark and it was getting late. James didn’t feel like checking to see if Sean had notice his car’s disappearance, so he and Brooklyn just headed back to her apartment. She bounced through the door, sporting a brand new jacket. It was cute, figure-hugging, very much in style, and very expensive. Of course since she hadn’t paid for it, the latter didn’t matter. As they entered the apartment, Brooklyn called out a greeting to her mom, but only silence answered her call. “Must have gotten an extra shift or something,” Brooklyn said, more to herself than to James. After laying out her prizes on her bed, Brooklyn went into the living room, where James was already sprawled out on the couch. She lay down, her head once again in his lap. As he reached for the remote on the coffee table, she said, “Hey.” He looked down at her, somewhat surprised, and wondering. A familiar smile broke over her face, he knew what was coming, she could see it in his eyes. “I’ll race you,” she said.
His answer surprised her, “I don’t really feel like it.” He shrugged, and began reaching for the remote, again. Just before his fingers touched the plastic, he jumped up, pulling her arm so that she ended up on the floor and took off for the door. “CHEATER!” she yelled after him as she scrambled to her feet. The door slowed him down and she grabbed at his shirt on the way down the stairs. No way was he going to win on a cheat. He was a little faster at running than she was, but she could go faster down the stairs. She managed to get a bit ahead of him on the way down, but it didn’t look like she was going to win. As far as climbing went, they were about equal. He had strength on his side, she had the fact that she was light to help her. They made it to the top of the roof and continued on toward their favorite edge. James was the first to land, but Brooklyn was not but milliseconds behind him. “Ha,” he said, looking at her. She just shook her head, “Cheater.”
They watched the scattered people walking their dogs or moving about in their apartments. Everywhere around them, apartments were lit up. After several moments of silence, each with their own thoughts, Brooklyn lay down with her head in James lap. Looking up at him, she asked a question that she had never before had the courage to ask, “Do you miss your dad?” Her voice was very soft. She looked directly into his eyes. He looked away, his expression frozen. She’d never known her father. He’d left long before she was ever born. She didn’t know if he even knew she existed. She always wondered what it would be like to have a father. She liked Westley’s father, but she couldn’t ask him what it had been like to have him around because he couldn’t understand the way James could. James had known his father. He’d been around for a while before deciding to run out on them. She knew that James blamed himself, and no one could ever convince him that it wasn’t in some way his fault. He never talked about it, and she didn’t blame him, but she was curious.
This was a side that people outside of herself and Westley never saw. It was him…caring. She instantly regretted asking. His face still hadn’t changed, but she could feel his emotions coming off of him as clearly as if it had. She touched his cheek, tried to make him look at her again, but he just stared out. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She’d crossed some line, a line she rarely ever saw, but had never wanted to cross. It was the line that separated him from everyone else. Sometimes she felt like maybe it didn’t exist for her or Westley, but there it was, showing up again. She started to get up so that he could be alone, but he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting up. They sat there for a long time, her head still in his lap. It could have been hours or minutes, there was no way for Brooklyn to tell. She wanted to leave him alone, to find a way to make it right, but nothing came to mind and she didn’t want to disturb him. She was about to try to let him be alone again when he spoke.
Desiree stood leaning against a tree near the table where her friends were chatting, her arms crossed over her chest. Alex was late today for some reason. She glanced at the people sitting at the table. Ryan moved around rapidly like a colorful bouncy-ball, her mouth also moving at about the same speed. If people knew better, no one would ever see her a coffee or energy drink. Brooklyn sat cross-legged at the opposite end of the table, Westley’s head in her lap. A smirk touched her lips as she notice Teah sulking isolated on one side of the table. Still crying over yesterday, huh? Alex’s cousin really hadn’t been mean to her, she was just over sensitive. If the world didn’t revolve around her, there was something wrong with it. James was above her in the tree. She could feel the tree move gently when he shifted positions. He was fairly high up, out of sight behind the leaves of the tree for anyone not close by or not paying much attention. Desiree’s eyes scanned the quad for signs of Alex. He is usually here by now. Where is he?
Desiree was surprised to find Alex’s cousin walking toward them instead. She wasn’t sure why it surprised her, he wouldn’t have any friends yet, but it did. Desiree glanced briefly at him. There was something comical in the self-important way he strutted over to them. Already she could see some of the inherent differences in their personalities. It suddenly dawned on Desiree that Alex had been suspended. How could she have forgotten that? “Hey guys,” he called out with a familiarity that he had not earned. Desiree watched passively. It would be interesting to see if he could cause as much trouble in these few minutes before class as he had been able to in the few minutes after he’d arrived at Alex’s house. Of course Ryan was the first one to respond to him. She watched with slight amusement as he responded to her; it was very similar to how she had first responded upon being introduced to Ryan. Ryan was much too sunny and hyper to really belong in their group. She watched him struggling against the million things that should be said in response to Ryan’s introduction
She couldn’t help but smirk as he finally managed something. The restraint was visually apparent to almost everyone expect Ryan. Then, he looked at her. She couldn’t tell if he was hoping to engage her or if he was merely checking her response. Westley instantly jumped to Ryan’s defense, and took up the introductions himself. Like her, James was silent. Brooklyn was looking curiously at this new arrival, and she introduced herself, instead of waiting for Westley to introduce her. As the bell rang, Ryan raced off toward her class with undue speed. Westley, Brooklyn and James grouped up as always. Desiree didn’t bother to note Teah’s movements, she didn’t really care what the girl did as long as she did not cross a line. Teah didn’t seem to understand the concept of boundaries, and so ignorantly chose to ignore them. Teah had come very close several times to getting in trouble with Desiree. Westley and Alex of course ran interference to protect her from things that she didn’t seem to understand. She grabbed her backpack and was about to walk off toward her first class, when he turned to her and spoke.
She blinked at him in surprise. She was so surprised, in fact that she did not immediately become angry with him. It was just too presumptuous, too off-hand to be real. “Nope,” she said finally in a breezy manner before walking off and disappearing into the crowd of students that had suddenly appeared at the sound of the bell. She walked through the familiar halls at a brisk pace. She wasn’t moving in the most direct route to class, but then it was much to early in the year to start ruining her reputation by showing up early for class, even by just a few minutes. Classes never really started on time anyway. When she finally did reach the classroom, she made a sharp right turn and found her seat at the back of the class. The few students who had been sitting around her, moved to other seats further away. She couldn’t help, but smile. Perhaps reputations were good for something after all. Just then, the tardy bell sounded and through the door walked Alex’s cousin, and, clinging to his arm was Vanessa.
Vanessa was one of the so-called “popular” girls. She was pretty, always in sytle and always composed. She walked with a kind of grace that demanded attention. She was a cheerleader and so naturally outgoing, brimming with confidence and something of a sl*t. Not just for anyone, of course, she had pretty high standards, but she had made her way through many of the varsity athletes. ((As Caterina would say, “Blurp. I just threw up in my mouth.” <- how Desiree feels on seeing this. Lol.)) Vanessa was slightly out of character today, and leaning heavily as though she was incapable of supporting her own weight. Clearly she was already falling for him. Desiree shuddered, and turned to look at the surface of her desk. It was clean and fresh, the perfect canvas. She pulled her backpack off the ground and set it on the top of her desk and was about to reach for the zipper, when a shadow fell across her desk. Desiree didn’t have to look up to know who it was. There was the dark hair and look of self-importance staring right at her. Curse her luck.
He was definitely attractive, there was no question, but he was much too full of himself that was sure. Never mind that she also possessed some of the qualities that irritated her about him. “Hey, thanks for saving me a seat,” he said, as he winked at her. Her expression slipped into a glare and she looked back toward her desk. She was saved the necessity of responding or choosing to ignore him by the teacher starting class. “Good morning class. I trust that you all slept well? Good. I know that we’ve only just started the year, but nothing gets the morning going like a nice pop quiz!”
Desiree looked over at Alex’s cousin as she finished the quiz. The quiz had been a had been a joke; it had barely taken her three minutes to finish. He flashed her a flawless smile, he had finished too, and she jerked her attention back toward her desk. She glanced over at the teacher and then pulled the straight-edge razor out.
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Post by J on Sept 14, 2008 0:16:59 GMT -5
Logan almost laughed; he was unfazed by Desiree’s reaction; a little surprised though. Rejection was not something he was used to, but he didn’t think her attitude towards him would last very long. She was loyal towards Alex that was all; a good sign actually. She just needed to redirect that energy towards him. He smiled a little as he watched her walk away and shrugged. His dark brown eyes scanned the lawn for the perfect ornament to adorn his arm for the next few minutes. A group of giggly confident girls caught his eyes. They were all dressed similar short skirts, revealing tight tops; though they all seemed alike, the leader was easily identified. He smiled and strutted towards them, one in bright pink and orange noticed him first and began whispering/shrieking to the others. The leader, turned to face him her confidence melting in his presence. “Hi.” She was barely able to exhale. His smile brightened, “I’m lost, could you lead me to my first class darling?” He asked charmingly, holding up his schedule. She nodded excited and then desperately tried to regain her composure. “Yes! I mean, yeah, I could uh do that.” She said slipping her arm in to his and took his schedule. He allowed her to somewhat lead him; she could barely walk and she was practically tripping him. Once inside the building her heels click-clacked annoyingly, he didn’t say much to her, she chattered away. He knew she was thinking he would ask her out before they reached his classroom. However, that wasn’t going to happen. Not today, maybe later, depending if he didn’t find anything better. He was a little shocked at himself, but he almost felt that Desiree might be someone he might wanna go after. He felt like he needed a woman in his life to actually challenge him, rather than a girl like the one currently on his arm. This girl would only be good for a few quickies and to set his reputation at this new school. No, Desiree was far different; he was in the mood for a change. “Here we are!” She said proudly, still clinging to his arm. He gently made her let go, “Thanks. I’ll see you later.” He said smoothly tracing his pointer finger across her jaw line and leaving her in a puddle at the door.
He smiled when he saw Desiree, well, fate certainly seemed to want him to make a change, why else would they be thrown together like this? He silently laughed when he saw no one sitting near her. “Hey, thanks for saving me a seat,” he said winking at her. Before he could say anything else the teacher interrupted with a pop quiz. It was simple and boring for him causing him to wonder if all the work was like this at school. He did extremely well in all subjects and was fluent in many languages; schoolwork had never been an issue. He liked to learn new things and have knowledge, knowledge was power. He plopped his pen on the desk when he finished and settled in his chair and glanced at Desiree. She finished and looked over at him; he flashed her one of his most charming smiles and she turned away. He smiled and rolled his eyes, he was loving her attitude, it was almost refreshing that she wasn’t like all the other girls that just fell into his lap.
After class Vanessa, the girl from earlier, showed up to take him to his next class. He wasn’t surprised, he had almost expected it, but he did feel a little annoyed with her already. He didn’t want to think he would have to be around her all day long. He was in the mood for someone else, anyone else really. He knew he needed to just get her over with soon and get her to move on so he could stop dealing with her. He went through the next few classes not seeing Desiree, he almost missed the action she created for him but that was alright. He felt bored mostly and he wished he was closer with a few more people, they only ones who really acknowledged him were the girls and as much as he enjoyed the attention, they weren’t what he wanted at the moment. He felt relieved when lunch came; he was bored out of his mind with today and he couldn’t wait to find Desiree and hopefully grow on her a little. He wandered around until he found Alex’s little group of friends sitting at the same picnic table as earlier. “Hey!” He said sitting down next to Desiree, she pretended not to notice him. He ignored her and glanced around at the group. Brooklyn was sitting in James lap with Westley sitting beside them, that was odd. Hadn’t Westley been lying in Brooklyn’s lap that morning? “So what are you guys a threesome?” He asked, he meant as a bit of a joke, but wondered if there might some truth behind it.
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Post by Free on Sept 14, 2008 1:44:49 GMT -5
Brooklyn stepped out of classroom just as the lunch bell rang. Free at last! The lunch bell was the second best bell of the day, second only to the dismal bell. James and Westley were right behind her as she made her way toward the cafeteria to pick up some lunch. Since they were so poor, they were all on the free lunch program. Of course, if they hadn’t been, they probably would have just stolen lunch from the cafeteria and it wouldn’t have made a difference. On their way toward the cafeteria, they all dropped their backpacks by the table where they always ate lunch and hung out before school. Ryan was already sitting there when they stopped by, she usually packed her lunch, and of course she sped over to the table after being released by her teacher. Teah packed a lunch too, or rather her servants did because the school lunches were “not good enough” for her. She wasn’t at the table yet though because unlike Ryan, she took her time about things. The three set off for the cafeteria with a brisk stride. It was Brooklyn’s preference to get there before the crowds arrived.
Brooklyn, Westley and James spent most of their time together. At school, they practically did everything together. For some reason, the school hadn’t been very sympathetic to their requests to be put in the same classes, so they took matters into their own hands. James had hacked into the school computers at the beginning of the year to be sure that they were all in the same classes. No one seemed to notice. Brooklyn laughed and grabbed one of each boy’s hands and began running toward the cafeteria. They would be first today, if she could help it. People called out to them, yelling things like, “Hurry, hurry,” and stuff about their relationship, but Brooklyn didn’t notice. She had long since stopped caring about any attention that she drew from people she didn’t know. Let them stare, it didn’t bother her. They arrived at the Cafeteria in record time. There were only two other people in there when they burst through the lunch room doors. They slowed down once they were inside so that they lunch ladies wouldn’t yell at them, and worked their way through the maze toward the food. It was spaghetti today; could be worse.
As they made their way back to the lunch table, they walked a bit slower so that they wouldn’t lose their food along the way. Teah was there by the time they got back, but Desiree hadn’t yet arrived. She always bought lunch and she wasn’t likely to run like they had, whether or not she wanted to wait in a long line. It never seemed to take her long to join them though. Westley and James sat down side-by-side and Brooklyn chose to sit on James’s lap. Teah was still sulking from whatever had been bothering her last night, although she did look a bit better. Ryan started talking the instant they were within hearing range, and she and Brooklyn exchanged events of the previous afternoon, the day so far and random ideas at a rapid pace. Desiree walked up to the table and sat down with an extra level of irritation today. Her expression betrayed little, but Brooklyn could see it in the way that she moved. “Hey,” Brooklyn greeted her brightly as she sat down. Desiree didn’t say anything in response to this, but Brooklyn was used to it.
Desiree was like that sometimes, particularly on her bad days, which it seemed that today was shaping up to be, if something was already bothering her and it was only lunch time. A not three minutes later, the new guy, Logan joined them. He sat down by Desiree and Brooklyn realized the object of Desiree’s irritation. She almost laughed to herself as she bit into the garlic bread that came with her spaghetti. Brooklyn’s attention jerked back toward Logan as he broke the silence that had fallen on the table upon his arrival. “So what are you guys a threesome?” Brooklyn smiled brightly, and, before anyone else could respond to the question, she said, “Yes. I guess we don’t have to hide it anymore.” She leaned over to Westley, put her hand on his face, directing him toward her and passionately kissed him on the lips. James jumped on board, and scooted closer to Westley, putting his arms around both he and Brooklyn. Westley seemed surprised at first by this and froze, but after a bit he started kissing her back. After several seconds of this, Brooklyn pulled slowly away from him.
She winked so that only he and James could see it. A brilliant smile covered her face as she turned back to the rest of the group. The smile hid the laugh she was containing as she saw the expressions of her friends. Teah and Ryan were just staring, bewildered. Desiree was looking at them curiously. It was clear that no one really though much of what their relationship was like until this moment. She could see that they were wondering whether this was just for show or if they had missed something all along. She could see the unsaid, that was too much for it just to be for show, wasn’t it? Surely if it was just a show should would have just hugged them or kissed their cheek, right? She held everything in, showing only the pure bliss of the moment. Anything else would have ruined it. James was looking at her, "Hey. What about me?" Brooklyn was about to answer when Westley spoke up.
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Post by J on Sept 14, 2008 18:17:12 GMT -5
Westley sighed with relief when the lunch bell rang; it was about time. He snapped the cap back on his sharpie and slipped it into his pocket. The morning had been very productive, he now had a huge “tattoo” of an archaic cross on the inside of his right arm. He figured he could color it in through the afternoon, keeping him distracted from boring classes. He and James followed Brooklyn as she led them to the cafeteria in her own way. Pulling them behind her, to the lunch line; they were on the free lunch program. Of course, the food was well, cafeteria food so it wasn’t exactly something to rush for. They grabbed their food and headed to their usual spot where they had already stashed their bags. Brooklyn plopped herself down in James’ lap, the three of them were inseparable, unable to stay apart for even a few minutes. They were always laying all over each other. People talked about them a lot and the talk was usually not positive but Brooklyn and James didn’t mind so he didn’t either. He just didn’t want people to think bad things about Brooklyn; he felt protective over her. Westley glanced around; everybody had arrived including Logan, Alex’s cousin. Westley rolled his eyes, and muttered to James, “I hate that guy.” James shrugged and was about to say something when Logan asked them a question.
A threesome? That was a good one. Brooklyn spoke up as Westley knew she would and before he could even react to her answer she was kissing him! He froze at first, Brooklyn was kissing him, not just a small peck on the lips either, this was a real kiss. He leaned into it, definitely enjoying himself, after a moment she pulled away. He felt a little disappointed it hadn’t lasted longer. Whoa. Okay, so that was all a show just for the new guy and to shock their friends. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? They had never taken it quite so far as to really kiss each other though. He sat in shock for a few seconds until he realized all their friends were staring. He forced himself to keep eating as if this were all normal and they did this sort of thing all the time. If this was so normal, why did he feel like he was trying to eat while hanging upside down; he could still feel her lips on his and couldn’t get his mind off of it. Crap. This was not good; she didn’t feel this way and he didn’t think he did either. Until just a few seconds ago of course. It had always been just a weird possibility; date your best friend, how fun would that be? But was that really a good idea? Ugh, he was definitely losing his mind and what was worse he wouldn’t have a moment alone to think until late tonight. "hey, what about me?" James' voice cut ito his thoghts and he knew he had to comment back otherwise they would think something was up.
"I've got somethin' special for you later!" Westley squeezing James' chin, and giving him a wink. He didn't want Brooklyn and James to know about his current turmoil. Maybe it would just go away and he could go on like they always had. Although, he couldn't help but feel this was permanent.
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Post by Free on Sept 15, 2008 12:06:32 GMT -5
Desiree exited her last class before lunch in a crowd of students. Usually, she liked to get out the door before everyone else and avoid dealing with everyone, but today she didn’t care. Alex’s cousin had been irritating her all morning. It almost wasn’t what he did, but that he was doing anything at all. Who was he to just come in and interrupt their lives like this? More over, where did he get off doing this to her? Her normally quick stride was still fast, but today her steps were also hard. Her shoes hit the concrete with more than the usual force used to propel her forward. Today she stood in line, something she never did, but there was nothing at the lunch table that she was in a hurry to see. On the contrary, she was sure that Alex’s cousin would be waiting for her there. The line wasn’t nearly long enough, and today the lunch ladies seemed to move with extra speed. Desiree pulled a couple of bills out of her pocket and handed them over to the lady ringing up everyone’s food. She hated handling cash, but it was necessary to keep up appearances.
Besides, she thought with a small smile, the cafeteria probably couldn’t credit cards, much less chrystal cards. They were good for a lot of things, but the cafeteria accepted cash or school credit only. Taking her lunch off the counter, where she had set it down to pay, she marched off toward their table. As she walked up, Brooklyn greeted her with much too much enthusiasm for a day like today. She sat down without making any motion that would let Brooklyn know she had heard her. She began eating. It was only a slight consolation that Alex’s cousin had not yet arrived. She was sure that he would be over soon enough. She fought against the urge to flinch as Alex’s cousin sat down beside her, greeting her once again, as though they knew each other. She didn’t respond, but that didn’t seem to bother him. Nothing seemed to bother him or deter him from whatever his goal was. She had not yet been able to figure out what he wanted from her. Surely he would get bored soon from this game and go and fine someone else to bother, anyone else to bother.
“So what are you guys a threesome?” Desiree’s head jerked in his direction, and then in the direction that he was looking. Her gazed landed on Brooklyn, Westley, and James. Were they a threesome? She almost laughed. There were rumor floating around that the three of them were together, but from what she had been able to observe, they were just very close friends. Brooklyn’s display was a bit over-the-top, but it didn’t surprise her. Brooklyn was an over-the-top kind of person. Her lips twitched toward a smile at Westley’s reaction. At least someone was enjoying something today. She glanced around the group to gauge reactions. This was something that neither Ryan nor Teah had been expecting. The laugh inside her was getting stronger. Then her eyes fell on Alex’s cousin and she looked back toward her food. The show would have made her day, if not for him sitting there, right next to her. He didn’t even have to do anything now to bother her. He was here, that was enough. She stood up, grabbed her backpack from the table, and marched off, leaving her food on the table.
She walked away from the people, out toward the parking lot. She stopped next to her car, and threw her backpack over the side. She didn’t want to drive this car, she wanted to drive her car. The car that didn’t have to say, “I’m just like you.” The car that said, “I am better than you.” The car that was more representative of her station. The car that was sitting at home in her garage. The car that she hadn’t been able to drive much this year, even though it was new because she spent so much time hanging out with people who didn’t know who she really was. It wasn’t their fault, it was hers, but right now, she didn’t care. She pulled open the door, slid into the driver’s seat and then closed the door behind her with an extra amount of force. She pulled out of the parking lot. Students were allowed to leave campus for lunch and the parking was arranged in such a way that it was impossible to keep students against their will anyway. There was limited parking in the school parking lot, so many of the students parked along the main street, where there was more permit parking.
She drove through the city, not really paying attention to where she was going. The car today, even though it was similar in some respects to her real car, like the fact that it was a convertible, irritated her. IT wasn’t her car. She pulled to a stop and looked up. There was Ryan’s house. She got out of the car, leaving her backpack where it was on the seat. She meandered through Ryan’s side and backyard toward the fence that separated her yard from Alex’s. She climbed the fence without her usual speed or less of her usual grace. She felt like her response to the day’s events was not anywhere equivalent to the circumstances. She was overreacting, she knew it, and that served to irritate her further. Desiree left herself in Alex’s back door and dropped into a seat next to him at the kitchen table. He was eating lunch. She had made no attempt at sneaking up on him or freaking him out, not today. She leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes as though that would make everything disappear.
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