by Kitty Parker
"Somehow, we'll contrive to forgive you," I drawled, biting my lips to keep from snorting at the absurdity. I would never understand Candy. The brunette couldn't conceal her grin anymore, but the blonde nodded earnestly, taking my words at face value.
Again, I was ignored by our host. "Girls, this is Emma." I rolled my eyes, but gave them a nod and a one-sided smile. "And this is Marie Jacobs." Candy gestured to the older girl on the floor.
"Hi!" she chirped, her bright grin welcoming if brainless. I returned her smile cordially. She seemed nice enough, although not precisely intelligent.
"And this is Ellie, her little sister." Ellie made a face at the moniker, but grinned at me anyway. "She's just a freshman, but we don't mind too much."
"Rising?" I inquired, eyes flicking over her in a quick appraisal, from her baby blue flannel pants, speckled with white carton clouds, to clever brown eyes that matched her sister's, framed by a tanned face.
"Yep." She met my eyes squarely, not at all ashamed of her youth – good for her. That was the way to fit in with older kids; don't pretend to be any older or more experienced than you are. I had learned that, as she evidently had. But hopefully in her case, not for my reasons. "I'm just a baby, as Marie never fails to remind me."
Her sister giggled. "Well, you are!" she insisted, as Candy and I held in our laughter. Oh, sisterly love. One thing I'd never wished I had- a brother is quite enough for me. "You're, like, three years younger."
"Oh, three years. Big difference," Ellie scoffed, turning her head away with a flick of her hair. She went back to her nails with renewed vigor, purple brush flicking over their canvas with practiced, delicate strokes.
"But it is, child," I flashed a condescendingly wicked smirk at her, "It is."
o0O0o0O0o
"No."
"Emma, Come on!"
"No."
"You know you want to…"
"No way in hell."
"Please?"
"No." I folded my arms resolutely and glared regally back at the three eager faces pleading with me. "I am not playing truth or dare."
"But Em-" I cut off Candy's protest firmly, without giving her a chance to answer. Truth or Dare may have been the stupidest game in the world; and the time I had had to run the length of my street in my underwear had nothing to do with that.
"It's no use. I won't play it." Candy pouted. Marie frowned in disappointment. Ellie echoed her sister's expression, but then a smirk began to sprout on her open face. I eyed her distrustfully; she was the only one who might be able to convince me, though I doubted it.
"Well then, on to the second choice!" she exclaimed, bouncing to her feet with an excited grin and complete disregard for the polish on her nails that she had only just managed to finish- she had been distracted quite a lot. "Let's go. We're going to need to find something to drink for Never Have I Ever!"
I looked long at her, considering. She looked back, a jubilant expression in her eyes, one that didn't fade as the silence stretched on. Candy and Marie glanced between us, neither quite sure what was happening but both aware that Ellie had some sort of plan.
Slowly, I began to clap. "Touché," I admitted, lips twisting slightly in a defeated smile, "I concede." Ellie dropped back down to the floor, beaming proudly at her sister.
Candy grinned and leaned off the side of the bed to put her head at our circle, the side ponytail we had tortured her hair into giving her an oddly alien appearance. "So," she announced sibilantly, a playfully malicious air exuding from her that made me slightly worried about the consequences of this game. This sort of thing never led to anything good. "Who wants to start?"
I glanced shiftily at Marie and Ellie, not meeting any eyes. Ellie was gazing fixedly at her nails, not very good at being invisible- she was avoiding eyes far too noticeably- but not bad for someone like her; she presumably hadn't had the impetus I had to learn at her age.
Her sister though, stunning and always the center of attention, had no facility for disappearing.
"Marie!" Candy cried, bright blue eyes settling on her fellow blonde. The girl flinched and squeaked, but looked up bravely. "Truth or Dare?"
Marie's chin rose in a burst of courage (or foolishness). "Dare," she declared, her eyes widening in surprise at what she had just said, and in fear at the matching cunning expressions spreading over the three faces studying her. We thought for a moment, wracking our brains for something suitable. This would have been a lot easier had I known her better; the best of friends are the ones who can hurt you the worst.
"Oh, I've got one!" And sisters, that is. Ellie's eyes had lit up, and Marie was shooting her cautious sideways looks. Evidently she knew her sister well enough to know that this did not bode well for her. "I want you to call Darien McGavern, right now, and tell him how much you adore him."
The elder sister squealed in dismay as evil grins dominated Candy and my faces. "He wouldn't pick up," she prevaricated, her voice an octave higher than usual. She looked desperately between the rest of us, trying to find an escape route. "It's, like, twelve o'clock. And he, like, doesn't know my number; he won't answer."
I dug my phone out of my pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it, but only barely, fumbling out of nervousness. "He'll answer this," I assured her, not concealing my laughter at her panic. "Now call!" Capitulating either to my fierce command or Candy's insistent gaze, Marie gingerly picked up the phone, her face screwed up in still-attractive terror.
Excruciatingly slowly, she opened the phone, looked through my phonebook, and brought the phone to her ear. Without a word, I snatched it away- everyone looked t me in shock- and hit a button. The sound of ringing filled the room.
"Hey?" Darien's voice answered, not at all groggy. Faintly, in the background, I could hear the strains of something the sounded like Harry Potter – the fourth one I think – and Troy's delighted laughter.
"Hi, ummm, Darien?" Marie began, cringing. Ellie snorted, and I glared at her to shut up. He would find out what was happening soon enough anyway, but I didn't want anyone to ruin the joke. "I just wanted to say that I think you're really, umm, hot and awesome and amazing and…" she trailed off, face cherry red. Candy's head was buried in her blanket. Ellie was biting her arm to muffle her laughter; I had almost bitten my lip through.
"Thanks," Darien replied, as if this was a totally normal occurrence. Of course, for him it might have been, but I suspected very much that this was just his classic arrogance shining through. Made it funnier, though. "But why are you on Em-"
"Bye!" she squealed, slamming the phone shut before Darien could finish his thought. She turned to us, giggling despite herself. "I hate you all."
"We know," I choked out, laughter finally exploding, Ellie and Candy not far behind me. Marie scowled at us, her lips twitching.
"Are you done laughing at me yet?" she inquired with petty spitefulness, after a minute of our hysterical laughter. Still speechless with mirth, Candy somehow found the strength to nod. "Good. So, Emma," she turned to me. I met her eyes challengingly, unafraid. She leaned in closer, hair falling in long, curly curtains on either side of her face. "Truth or Dare?"
I wasn't about to humiliate myself like that. "Truth," I stated unequivocally. After all, I had no qualms about simply lying if necessary. They wouldn't know the difference.
Marie didn't hesitate, Apparently, she had been hoping to be able to ask this question, "What is between you and Darien?" she demanded. Candy's head show out of the bed. Ellie turned so fast that her neck must have broken. Glad to know I was so interesting. "Do you like him?"
I blinked once, slowly, blank eyed and pale skinned. "No."
Ellie raised a single eyebrow (damn her, why couldn't I do that?). "Then why were you so sure he would answer if he saw your number?" she asked pointedly, face still except for a slight curve of her lips.
"We're friends, good ones," I explained patiently. I had really hoped not to have to deal with this tonight, but I should have known better. Too many gossip
y girls in the room. "And anyway," I added, half as an afterthought, "That doesn't say anything about me, only about him."
"Then how did he convince you to come?" Marie jumped on her sister's point with indecent enthusiasm.
"Because-"
"My mom said you two looked 'very elegant' together at his parent's reception when Marie asked about it," Ellie broke in, the dignity of her accusation somewhat marred by her air quotes.
"I like to look pretty, is that a-"
Again, I was interrupted. "What about New Year's?" Candy insisted. I could feel my cheeks heating.
"I was drun-"
"And the whole Mann debacle," Ellie added, "he certainly stood up for you there."
"You don't know the whole sto-"
"Why are you two always together," Marie inquired, though it was quite obvious she felt she already knew the answer.
"I told you, we're fr-"
"Lex said you two looked pretty cozy after the reception." Candy had played her coup de grâce. My face was scarlet, and I knew they could see it, but she had finally given me the opening I needed to get them off my back.
"What about you and Lex, Candy?" I interjected before any of them could cut me off again, "You two certainly seem to be taking your sweet time to finally get it into the open." As I had hoped and expected, the sisters turned at the scent of new prey, and immediately began to drill her, Candy flushing with a prettiness I could never emulate.
Thankful, I retreated back into a corner. My face was returning to its usual Victorian pallor, but their words resonated through my mind. True, all true, and if it hadn't been me, my professional opinion would have been unquestionable. Meant for each other, without a doubt, probably already half enamored – or more than half. Damn my logical mind. Why couldn't something they had said been false?
But I didn't like Darien! Except, I realized as an agonizing shock that I hadn't felt since Dan started in my toes and rose in light flutters to my chest, and made me feel like I could fly, I did.
* * *
Darien
* * *
It was one o'clock when the movie ended. Troy had made it through almost everything, but now he was curled up on a chair, fast asleep despite the music the played over the credits. Too lazy to turn off the movie or move in any way, I lay sprawled on the couch, my mind wandering in the foggy bog of almost-sleep.
We hadn't had a night like this often this summer, with just Troy and I (and sometimes Brock) hanging out. Emma had usually been here with us, or I had been at a party, or Troy had been with a friend…things were changing here. People were at my house, friends who weren't just party-goers. However good friends I had been with Brock before, we never just lazed about my house; if we did something like that, it was always at his place. But now he and Emma were at my house nearly every day. Even my mother had, once in a while, come to dinner with us – and though I was still suspicious, Troy was overjoyed.
These nights were fun, just the two of us, but our lives weren't like this anymore; they had changed. It wasn't only Troy and me anymore. Somehow, over the year, more people had wormed their way past my defenses and into the select group of people I actually cared about, and I couldn't help but distrust that. Once, I had loved my parents, and look at where that had gotten me.
My phone rang, jolting me out of my sprawl. Quickly, with a surreptitious glance at my sleeping brother, I snatched it up, gaze flicking to the caller id. Emma – or at least her phone.
"Hey," I answered, a bit tentatively in case one of her sleepover-mates had stolen her phone again. Though I'm not sure stealing was the right word- I had heard Emma's laughter in the background as she hung up. While that had been flattering – and weird – I didn't feel like talking to Candy or any of her giggly friends right now.
Thankfully, it was Emma's voice that replied. "Hi," she said, somewhat sheepishly. I had a feeling that, with her uncanny skill at reading my mind, she knew exactly why I had taken that tone. "It really is me this time."
"Oh, good." Troy stirred, and I forced myself to my feet and out of the room, down the black hall and into my room with the ease that came of having walked that way in the dark a thousand times before. Movie nights were somewhat of a tradition between me and my brother.
"What, you didn't enjoy Marie telling you how amazing you were?" she inquired. I could almost see the wicked grin that accompanied the jab, and couldn't help but smile at the mental image. "That was a dare, by the way."
"She didn't tell me anything I didn't already know," I shot back loftily. Honestly, it got rather repetitive at times, after the tenth girl a day had stuttered up to me. And it didn't mean a damn thing, either; they all moved on within a week or two, or at the very least, when they left school. Not to mention that they didn't have any taste to speak of – look at the guys they ended going out with, people like Mann or just nerds. Those sort of words had no power to affect me anymore, not until a certain girl said them, and she didn't seem to be planning to anytime soon. "And who the hell was she, anyway?"
"Marie Jacobs. Pretty, blonde, not completely intolerable." I grinned at Emma's list of attributes. It was so purely Emma; no one else thought of people like that. "You should consider-" she stopped abruptly.
"I should consider what?" I inquired curiously. She hadn't hesitated beforehand; she hadn't been trying to conceal something. This was different, not her almost giving away a secret but her hiding something else – could it be an actual emotion? Or was that just my wishful thinking?
"Nothing." Her voice was suddenly completely closed, and I knew better than to try to get anything else out of her. Annoying too – that had sounded interesting. "But she and her sister Ellie are here with me and Candy, and Ellie's mind is way too evil."
"Too evil even for you?" I chuckled, sitting back down at my desk and kicking my chair back so only the back two legs were on the floor, my feet resting on the table. "That's a scary thought."
"I know, I've gotten soft in my old age," she laughed as well, and I could feel a shiver that had nothing to do with drafts go through my body as it resonated with the sound. "I think I've met my match in her…" she trailed off thoughtfully.
Vaguely afraid of her, or at least of that tone of voice, I changed the subject. Nothing good for anyone but her ever came out of that voice.
"So, other than potentially evil children, how was it?" I asked, not really interested in the answer. It would be nice if Emma got more friends in my crowd, but being her, nothing I did would matter. She was fine alone, absolutely independent, a law unto herself without need of companions. And while sometimes that knowledge irritated me to no end, being aware that I wasn't needed, or at least that she could never admit it, it was also comforting that she would never become another clone. The world needed more Emma's – just not in one place at the same time.
"Eh, fine. Lots of girl talk." I could almost hear her shudder. "I don't think I've had this much nail polish on in years."
"Nail polish?" I asked with a buried laugh, instinctively hiding my smirk before I remembered she couldn't see it. I wouldn't put it past her to have somehow sensed it though.
"You'd be surprised what three girls can coerce you into if you're unprepared," she retorted snippily. Maybe she had sensed it… Her tone turned nostalgic. "And I haven't had a real sleepover for… two years, at least."
And I hadn't had a sleepover…well, ever, but guys were different I supposed. Or maybe just I was. Although I did tend to stay the nights after parties- but that was common sense or necessity, not a slumber party. Falling asleep on accident didn't count.
"Wow, did you really have no friends before I found you?" I teased, examining the stars I had glued to the ceiling with idle interest. I had been interested in astronomy once, for three odd months. But of course, my parents hadn't seen fit to notice I was defacing my room, so still the stars stuck; a testimony to my old capacity for enthusiasm.
"I had a very good friend, I'll have you know," she snapped back, quickly enough
that my attention flickered to the phone, but not angrily enough to keep it there. "But she moved away – far away – last year, and then the year before that she was totally immersed in her boyfriend…"
"Oh?" Hey, had I actually made constellations up there? That looked a lot like the Big Dipper from this angle – oh, wait, no. That was a speck, not a star.
"I mean, I couldn't object," Emma continued. Wow, she was talkative tonight. I wondered if Candy had provided alcohol, then decided against it. Emma wouldn't have consumed any even if it had been there. "They were really cute together, and I did set them up. But… it gets lonely."
"I know what you mean," I agreed easily, still trying to figure out if those seven stars could be the Pleiades or just random. "When Brock was going out with Rhianna-" Suddenly, I realized what I was saying, and my attention snapped away from the ceiling, feet jerking off the desk and the front legs of my chair slamming to the floor. In the deep breath I took before I went on, I didn't register Emma's sharp intake of breath. Not then, anyway. "When Brock had a steady girlfriend, well, I didn't notice how much of a fixture he was in my life until he wasn't there."
"Aww, did you miss him? Did you feel neglected?" To most people, Emma would have seemed mocking and mirthful, completely dismissive of anything I had to say. But I knew her better; I could tell, or at least my subconscious could, that she was nowhere near as calm as she appeared. In fact, she sounded nervous – but Emma was never nervous, right?
"A bit, yeah," I admitted, acknowledging to myself that I could never have told that to anyone else. "I'm used to him always being there, always having my back. He's the only one I ever let back me up. And then…he wasn't there anymore. He was spending every waking second – and some not waking-" a snort from the other end of the phone, "-with Rhianna." The scorn I instilled into that word could have frozen fire.
"Well, that would have worn off in time," she assured me with incongruous certainty. What would she have known about relationships? She's only ever had one (that I knew of). Although, to be fair, what did I know? "Everything would have gone back to normal, if Rhi-" She stopped so abruptly that the last words were incomprehensible.
