by MB Mulhall
Darcy wasn’t really sorry. She felt her step-mom probably deserved it after the whole “OMG you’re killing goats and kittens in your bedroom you Devil worshipping demon lover” thing, but she figured her dad wouldn’t want to hear that.
“So, how was the weekend? Did you stay in?” Darcy bit her tongue. She had stayed in, for the most part. Did she mention her trip to the park? Would he ask why she needed an escape? As she weighed her options, Mandy appeared at her door.
“She was in the whole time. I had a couple of friends over last night so I was in as well.” Darcy frowned. She didn’t want to be indebted to her step-sister. Was she trying to make up for her part in the prank last night? Darcy wasn’t letting her get away that easy.
“Actually dad, I did go out briefly. I needed some air and some time alone so I walked down to the park, but I promise that’s it.” Her dad frowned, looking back and forth from girl to girl. Mandy colored slightly, but said nothing. He sighed.
“Well, I guess that’s not so bad. Thanks for being honest with me Darcy.” He patted her knee before getting up. He stopped by Mandy on his way out.
“It was nice of you to try to protect her. Maybe you guys will actually be friends someday.”
Mandy lingered in the doorway, but Darcy refused to look at her, picking lint off her comforter instead.
Eventually, fed up with being ignored, Mandy left, not bothering to shut Darcy’s door. Darcy hated that. She stomped over and closed it. Finally, she could crawl back into bed and get some more sleep.
Monday dawned hazy and muggy. Darcy was not thrilled to be going back to school, but maybe things would be a little better with Jazz around. People might start speculating that Darcy batted for the other team, but she didn’t care. It seemed liked everyone in the town was pretty small minded so she’d just ignore them rather than take to their bait.
“Darcy, if you were getting a ride in today, you should have let Mandy know so she wasn’t waiting around for you. You’re not exactly known for being on time.” Darcy cocked her head to the side trying to absorb what her dad had just said.
“I…wasn’t expecting a ride from anyone.”
“Huh. Well, there’s a boy out there in a very nice car who said he’s here to pick you up. A Charles? Chaz? Something like that.” Darcy’s jaw dropped.
“Chaz is here to bring me to school?!”
“I think that’s what I just said. What’s with your friends all have Z’s in their names? Chaz, Jazz. Is that a thing around here?” Darcy shook her head, refraining from her typical eye rolling.
“Just coincidence, Dad.”
“Oh…well, best not leave him waiting, I suppose.” Darcy grabbed a muffin from the counter.
“Bye dad!”
“Be good! No fights today!” he called as she hurried out the door.
Sure enough, Chaz was waiting at the curb, leaning against his car, looking like a GQ model. She was sure her heart skipped a beat or two or four.
“Hey bitch, how about being considerate enough to let me know if you’re not going to need me to drive your sorry clown ass to school.”
Darcy opened her mouth for an evil retort, but Chaz beat her to it.
“Sorry Mandy, that’d be my fault. I decided on a whim to stop and offer her a ride. My bad.” Mandy’s anger abated a little.
“Whatever,” she clipped before peeling out of the driveway.
Darcy met Chaz at the car and they watched Mandy tear down the street, road rage abundantly clear.
“Sorry about that,” Chaz said in greeting.
“No worries. She’s extra cranky in the morning.” Chaz flashed that thousand watt smile.
“Aren’t we all?”
“Uhh not all. I don’t think you have it in you to be cranky.”
Chaz held the door open for her. Darcy slid in and he closed the door behind her. When he climbed in on the other side, she looked at him expectantly. He glanced over at her before starting the car.
“Even I have my moments. Bring Judd around and I’ll be very unhappy.”
“Oh…” They lapsed into silence. Darcy was dying to ask him what went on between the two of them, but couldn’t bring herself to spoil the mood even more.
“Can I ask you a question?” he finally said breaking the silence.
“Sure.”
“Will you tell me why you really kicked Rich and what was with the shit you gave me after?” Darcy was surprised to hear the cuss come from his mouth.
“Ahh about that…I’m sorry. I…I know I was mean to you, but I was trying to protect you.” As they slowed to a stop at a red light, he turned to look at her, confusion evident.
“Protect me? From what?”
“More from whom. I was afraid if I told you the real story you might go after him and I didn’t want to see you get hurt because of me.” Chaz was quiet. It made Darcy nervous. Had she made him mad?
They pulled into a spot in the school parking lot and Darcy moved to open her door. Chaz reached over and grabbed her other hand. Slowly she turned towards him.
“Darcy. It’s sweet that you would want to protect me, but I assure you, I can take care of myself. I hate that you felt you had to push me away in order to keep me safe. There’s no need for you to shoulder things alone. Let me be there for you. I promise, I can keep us both safe. Understand?” She nodded her head. “Now, can you tell me what happened? I’d really like to know.”
“I’ll tell you, but you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone else. It…involves more than me and I don’t know that the other person wants that information getting out.”
“I promise.” She took a deep breath. Chaz squeezed her hand in support.
“When I was heading to class, I heard people arguing under the stairwell. I went to check it out and Dick was trying to force himself on my step-sister. We may not be the best of friends, but I wasn’t about to let him molest her. I stepped in to give her a chance to escape and he grabbed me. Kicking him was the only way I could think to break free.”
Chaz’s comforting hold on her hand changed into a grip of steel as she told her story. Darcy yelped, sure she would be hearing bones cracking soon. His eyes went wide as he dropped her hand.
“I’m sorry!” She rubbed the injured hand.
“It’s fine. No harm done.” He was looking at her hand, a miserable expression on his face. Gently he took the hand from her and brought it to his lips, giving it a soft kiss.
“I’m truly sorry. I just…this wave of anger came over me and…” He sighed. “It was inexcusable. Please forgive me.” Darcy almost giggled over his formal sounding apology.
“Wellllll…I guess I could be persuaded to forgive you.”
“Oh?” he asked, the corner of his mouth turning up. “How so?”
“I’m sure something will come to mind,” she said coyly biting her bottom lip. Chaz brought his hand up to smooth back a lock of vibrant hair. He moved the hand to the back of her head and slowly brought their heads together.
Darcy saw his eyes flicker closed. She followed suit. His breath was warm and minty. The anticipation fluttered in her empty stomach, the muffin long forgotten during the car ride. Just as their moist lips touched, something hit the windshield with a loud splat. The two broke apart, heads twisting trying to figure out what was going on when every window was assaulted with thick white goo. Chaz threw off his seatbelt.
“Stay in the car,” he warned Darcy before opening his door. Darcy scooted over to try and look out a lone clean spot on the windshield. There was just enough space for her to see something white flying their way like an alien spaceship.
“Chaz look out!”
Hearing her warning, Chaz threw his arm up to keep the flying cream pie from hitting him in the face. It showered him in the frothy white foam, but the majority of it stayed off his face. Whipping his arm down, he sent the tinfoil pie plate flying to the ground.
“What the hell, Rich?” he growled.
“Oh please clown lover,
like you didn’t think I’d be getting you back for what happened on Saturday? Oooh, did you think we were even or something? God, you’re so simple sometimes.”
Darcy unclipped her belt and climbed over the seats to pop her head out of Chaz’s open door.
“Wow Dick, black and blue are good colors on you. I bet you’re color coordinated now too. Your eye must match your balls.” He glared at her.
“Shut up you stupid cun-” Before he could finish his insult, Chaz had moved at light speed, coming up behind him. He grabbed Rich’s arm and shoved it up behind his back, while using his other hand to slam Rich’s face down into a pile of whipped cream on the hood of his car.
“That is a dirty filthy word. Your JC loving, daily church going, bible school teaching momma would be awfully upset to hear her precious baby boy used such a horrid word. Perhaps I should give her a call. I bet she’d love to hear from me.”
“Go to hell.”
“Apologize to Darcy.” Rich spit out an obscenity filled refusal. Chaz pushed up harder on his arm. Darcy was surprised by the new violent side of Chaz she was seeing. She wouldn’t admit it on her deathbed, but it was really kind of sexy and getting her hot and bothered. Looked like Judd wasn’t the only bad boy in town.
“God dammit Chaz, that’s my throwing arm!”
“If you want to finish out the season, you best apologize to the lady.” He gave another small push upwards. Rich let out a bark of pain.
“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Chaz leaned down close to Rich’s ear.
“I know what you did,” he said low enough that only Rich and Darcy could hear. “If I ever —EVER— see you so much as wink at someone who doesn’t want your attention, I will make sure you’re never able to father children. Do I make myself clear?” Rich frantically nodded his head, tears leaking out the corner of his eye.
“Chaz!”
Darcy turned her head to see Mandy standing near. It was obvious she was upset with what she saw. Chaz made a sound of disgust and let go of Rich’s arm before stepping back. Darcy watched Chaz and Mandy exchange a look. Her step-sister was looking at him with an emotion Darcy couldn’t quite place. Chaz returned the look with hurt and sadness in his eyes. It gave Darcy that stabby kind of feeling in her chest.
“Is there a problem over here, Mr. Worthington?” All heads turned to see a familiar teacher walking towards them.
“No, Mrs. White. I was just making sure Rich was going to clean up his practical joke so the whipped cream wouldn’t eat the paint off my car.” She looked back and forth between the two boys.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m sending out the janitor. Richard, you and your cronies will make sure this car is spotless before coming back in. You best be done before my class begins or I will send you to the principal and you can explain your tardiness to him. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Chaz rounded the car, giving Rich a large berth. Darcy held out his bag, which he took and threw over a shoulder. He held out his hand to help her from the car. She climbed out carefully. To trip at that moment would not have been a good thing. Once out of the car, Chaz continued to hold her hand as he led her away from the glaring mob and towards the school.
His hand was soft and warm, not at all clammy. She wondered if he got manicures. Isn’t that what rich people did? She noticed a lot of people giving them looks. While she was used to being looked at, it was different to have them stare because a good looking, popular guy was holding her hand. Darcy squirmed a bit, debating if he would be offended if she slid her hand out of his. He must have felt her discomfort. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. She looked up at him and he smiled back at her. Darcy gave a small sigh of relief.
They split up for homeroom, vowing to see each other the next period. Darcy sat in class waiting for the teacher to take attendance, her mind wandering. What was going on between her and Chaz? Were they dating? Were they friends? Were they going to become friends with benefits? What about Judd?
It was all making her head spin. She never had those kinds of problems in the past. Was she going to have to flip a coin to choose? That didn’t seem fair, but how else was she going to make a choice?
The bell rang and she shuffled out of the room, ignoring those who bumped and pushed her. She probably should have been paying more attention to her surroundings. Who knew when another pie attack would hit. She decided to speed up her trek to science. When she entered the room, Mrs. White stopped her.
“Welcome back Ms. McDillon. I trust you spent your time off keeping up with your school work? A suspension is no excuse for not having homework done.” The class snickered. Darcy dug in her bag and dropped several sheets of paper on the front desk.
“Oui Madame. I mean, Yes ma’am. Of course. I hope I was able to get the homework right without your superior lecturing.” Mrs. White grabbed the papers and narrowed her eyes.
“You’d think, Ms. McDillion, having been here less than a week and already suspended, that you’d learn to curb your attitude. Do you need another trip to the principal’s office? I can send you down with Richard when he decides to show up.”
“No ma’am.” Darcy hung her head. “I’m afraid I suffer from Foot in Mouth Disease. I can’t always control what I say. I think it’s probably a form of Tourettes that hasn’t been researched enough yet. I’m sure Pfizer will be putting out a drug for it soon.” Darcy glanced up to see Mrs. White trying not to smile.
“Just get to your seat, Darcy.”
“Yes ma’am. Thank you ma’am.” Darcy had learned from Jazz that the polite bit helped cool down the heated adult. She really needed to learn to bite her tongue though. She was so going to get in more trouble if she didn’t.
Chaz was smiling and shaking his head as she walked towards him.
“What?” she asked feigning innocence.
“I hope that Foot in Mouth Disease isn’t contagious. I don’t know how I’d explain to my folks how I caught it.” She smacked his arm.
“Idiot.” She stuck out her tongue at him. Chaz grinned in return.
The grin slid off his face as Rich entered the room, looking ready to kill. The two locked eyes until Mrs. White stood and slapped a hall pass into Rich’s hand.
“You’re tardy, Richard. That’s inexcusable. Off to the principal’s office with you.” Darcy couldn’t keep the smile from breaking out on her face. Rich noticed.
“You laugh it up now Bozo, but your time is coming.”
“Are you threatening a student in front of me, Richard?” Rich looked at the teacher, chagrinned.
“No ma’am.”
“You best not be if you don’t want an extended vacation from school.” Rich nodded his head and turned to leave, throwing Darcy a poisonous glance the teacher wouldn’t see. She felt a shiver run down her spine.
The rest of science class moved pretty quickly for Darcy, mostly because of the funny little notes she and Chaz were jotting back and forth to each other throughout the lecture. Mrs. White glanced at the two of them on occasion when their snickering got out of hand, but said nothing. When the bell rang they headed into the hallway.
“I’ll see you at lunch,” Darcy said turning to head towards her next class. She was surprised when Chaz turned with her.
“I think, if you don’t mind, I’ll walk you to your next class.”
“Uhh sure. Okay. Any specific reason? Oh! Oh! I know. You just couldn’t bear to be separated me. My animal magnetism strikes again. *Sigh* What a hard life I lead, what with all the hot guys after my hot ass.” She swished her hips and strutted down the hall. Chaz chuckled.
“While there’s some truth to that,” he said with a wink, “I’m concerned our little friend Dick might be roaming the halls. I figured it’d be safer to see you to class.”
“Oh…right. Him.” Darcy was a little disappointed in the reasoning, but what he said made sense. Better safe than sorry. Two heads are better than one. Four knees to a crotch was bet
ter than two, and so forth. At least she could relax her guard as they walked down the hall. Or so she thought.
As they were nearing her class, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something bad was going to happen. She slowed her pace down, looking around. They were near no corners for anyone to pop out of and no one in front of them looked suspicious. That meant one of two things: either the culprit was going to pop out of a locker or they were coming up from behind. Before Darcy could turn to scan for trouble, a breathy voice sounded in her ear.
“Gotcha!”
Darcy suddenly felt a hand down the back of her pants. She squealed like a pig, reaching around her back wildly to stop the inevitable, but it was too late. There was a not so unfamiliar pain in her crack and the horrible sound of ripping lace as the offender gave her the mother of all wedgies.
“Oh shit. I didn’t mean to rip them!” The familiar voice behind her lamented. “Darcy wears sexy lacy panties. Whoda thunk it?”
Darcy groaned and covered her eyes with her hand.
“Was that really necessary and must you be so loud?” Darcy asked turning around.
“I just wanted to give you a memorable hello,” Jazz pouted, her hands on her hips.
“Well, sexually assaulting me is certainly memorable, but not exactly in a good way.”
“Oh you’re so silly my little clown love! We’re both girls here.” The pixie-like girl put an arm around Darcy’s waist. Darcy shook her head.
“You are a girl who likes other girls. You sticking your hand down my pants is as unacceptable as your brother sticking his hand down my pants.”
“Like you wouldn’t enjoy that,” Jazz said nudging Darcy in the side.
Darcy was never more aware of Chaz standing there listening to their banter. She knew her blush was fierce and thanked her thick white makeup for covering most of it.
“Besides,” Jazz continued, “it’s not like a copped a feel. So chill. I’ll take you sexy panty shopping after school. You can model them for me. It’ll be great fun.” Darcy looked at the girl.
“Fun for whom?” Jazz met her glare, the picture of innocence.
