So as I explained earlier, in this story I took two ideas and mashed them together. I didn't want to delete everything I'd already written, so I've tried to make this fit in, but it may be odd at first. Tell me what you think.

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A Different Part

“You asshole!” Payton Cain yelled, “You are the biggest frigging asshole I have ever met!!”

“Baby doll, just let me explain…”

“There is nothing to explain, Brett,” she huffed, “We’re through.”

Payton threw her long beach blonde over her shoulder and stormed away from her cheating ex-boyfriend. So what if they had been together for a year and a half? He was a jerk who had cheated a few too many times and she was not going to take it anymore.

“Payton, are you ok?”

Ah, her minions. Claire, Leah, and Shu Lin were her best friends, or that was the title that they had all clambered after. Claire had short, short blonde hair that they all told her not to have, but she couldn’t have long hair because that was Payton’s thing. Leah was part Hispanic and had long wavy brown hair and big brown eyes. Shu Lin was Korean and had straight black chin-length hair.

Payton ruled her school, a small private school called Huntington Academy. All of the girls wanted to be like her, all of the teachers did whatever she said, and all of the boys wanted to date her. She was the prettiest girl in the whole school and she knew it. She did whatever she wanted and if her boyfriend wanted to cheat, she was going to dump him.

“I’m fine,” Payton sighed, “God, he is such an asshole.”

“Oh my god, he so is,” Leah agreed, “I can’t believe he would do that to you.”

“What a jerk,” Claire tossed in.

“You deserve so much better than him,” added Shu Lin.

Ah, having friends that said whatever you wanted them to practically on demand was so nice. She sighed and opened her locker, checking her makeup in her mirror and grabbed her English textbook and notebook.

“Let’s go to class,” she said, flipping her long hair as she turned and walked away. Claire shut her locker and the three hurried after her.

Class went by quickly. The teacher made them read aloud from the Scarlet Letter, a paragraph each as they went around the room. Everyone had snickered when Dinsmore O’Reily had started reading. He talked strangely, like he was supposed to have an accent that just hadn’t really developed enough to be more than a speech impediment.

Everyone thought he was weird. He was always listening to his headphones, he never really talked to people at school, and he was always writing little things in a composition notebook, like a sentence or two at a time. During gym, he wore full-body spandex underneath his gym clothes and the guys said he changed in the bathroom. His dark brown hair was always slicked back in a kind of sixties greaser look. He always wore band-aids all over his face and ears, like he had constant wounds that never healed. He was just… weird. No one really liked him at all.

Payton couldn’t understand it. How could you stand to go through school without any friends? It just didn’t make any sense. She wouldn’t be able to stand school without all of her friends around her constantly and everyone looking up to her like she was a goddess.

The bell rang and she went to Chemistry, a class she really enjoyed for some reason. Not today, though. Brett was her lab partner…

Shu Lin was in this class with her while Claire and Leah were in Algebra II. She and Shu Lin were ahead of them and took Pre-Calculus.

But back to the Chemistry problem… she simply could not stand to have to sit next to him and have to talk to him and work with him the entire class. It just was not possible. She went to her locker and put in her English stuff before grabbing her Chemistry text and binder and violently slamming her locker shut. She walked to Chemistry in a huff.

Payton entered the room and all eyes were on her, just the way she liked it. She did not like the whispers and snickering that pursued. She was above all of them and they had no right to make jokes or mock her.

She indignantly squared her shoulders and sashayed over to her seat before plopping down in her chair. Less than a minute later Brett entered the room and nervously moved to the seat next to her.

“Do you feel better after reaming my ass in the middle of the hallway this morning?”

“No,” she replied quietly and raised her voice just loud enough that everyone listening could hear, but wasn’t yelling, “I think you should know I was faking every time and that saying, ‘it’s not the size of the hammer that matters, it’s how hard you hit the nail’? Well, Brett, size does matter and I think your hammer came from a toy store.”

There was indiscreet snickering and a few quiet gasps while Brett glared at her.

“Do you even realize you’re a bitch?” Brett asked, “Yeah you’re hot, but it’s only skin deep. You only ever think about yourself and you’re completely cold with everything you do. So you can try dating other guys all you want, but they’ll get sick of your shit and you’ll get cheated on again or dumped.”

“Then why did you date me for a year and a half, Brett?” she scoffed.

Brett grinned, that sexy grin that Payton loved with his Brad Pitt lips and his Orlando Bloom cheek bones and his deep blue Steven Baldwin eyes…

“To win a bet.”

Payton’s jaw dropped. Brett snickered. She let out and angry, frustrated, girly kind of growl as she stood up, nearly knocking over her chair. As the teacher entered the room, Payton took her 1200 Fendi purse and slammed in into Brett’s head, leaving a dark red mark covering an entire half of his face as she stormed out of the room.

The next hour found Payton Cain on the floor of the girl’s restroom, bawling her eyes out. True, she had never actually loved Brett or anything like that, but she’d really liked him. They were supposed to go to the Junior Prom together - it was only a few weeks away. They were Homecoming Queen and King this year and were supposed to be Prom King and Queen their senior year. That was the way things were supposed to be. She was Head Cheerleader, Head Gymnast on their Squad and Captain of the school’s top Dance Team. She was perfect and popular and everyone liked her. He was the cutest guy in the whole school, the football team Captain, State swimming champion in some category she hadn’t bothered to learn, and he’d won several state track events. He was supposed to be with her. They were supposed to be together…

Third period rolled around and her friends found her and held her while she cried, saying things to make her feel better that just seemed to remind her of all of the mean things he’d said to her. She wasn’t a bitch… She wasn’t self-centered… She wasn’t cold… Was she? She didn’t even know anymore.

She got up off of the floor, washed her face, reapplied her make up and headed to the cafeteria. She strolled in, demanding attention, her minions following after, basking in her glow. She strutted like the diva she knew she was and went to her table. She spied Brett rubbing his face and smirked.

“How’s your face, Brett?” she called haughtily. He glared at her and walked over to their table, slamming his hands down.

“That hurt, you fucking bitch. Was that really necessary?”

“Yes,” she replied, “I don’t respond well to insults, especially mean lies. You have your little slut girlfriend and you’ve won whatever bet you made now get out of my life. You’re not worth my time.”

“You think you’re such hot shit,” he sneered, “You are going to wind up old, ugly, and alone, and I’m going to laugh.”

“You’re just jealous, Brett. You don’t like dating girls that are prettier than you. Any guy in the school would love to date me and you know it.”

Brett sneered, “You’re so confident, I’d love to see you prove it.”

“A bet?” Payton laughed, “Gambling is unhealthy, Brett.”

He leaned down close to her, his breath hot against he face, “You ask out the next guy that enters the cafeteria through the north door and I’ll give you 500 if he says yes.”

Payton’s breath hitched. She’d wanted a puppy for months, but the breed she wanted was usually 1,000 and her father refused to buy her anything living so she’d been saving up. That would get her just enough.

“If you can keep him around for two months, I’ll be your loyal devoted slave for two whole weeks.”

She licked her lower lip, “And if he says no?”

“Same stakes; you give me 500 and find another guy. If you stay single for two months, you have to be my loyal and devoted slave for two whole weeks. Got it?”

Payton frowned, “How do I know you didn’t pay one of your nasty friends to come in and turn me down? Next guy that enters the east entrance, got it?”

“Deal.”

They shook hands and watched the large double doors. While the north entrance was surrounded by a wall of windows showing the Common Area, the east entrance was attached to hallway, solid wall separating it from the cafeteria. She, Brett, and the minions nervously watched with baited breath.

A girl entered. Then two girls walking side by side came in. Payton was about to scream from the tension. Then he walked in.

“Oh hell no, you set this up.”

“I did not,” Brett argued, laughing, “I swear I didn’t. Now a deal is a deal. You have to do it.”

Payton slowly rose from her seat and straightened her skirt while let out a slow, frustrated sigh. She walked over to where Dinsmore O’Reily had sat down and was reading a book.

He didn’t look up at her so she sat down across from him. He still didn’t acknowledge her. She cleared her throat. Nothing.

“Hi,” she said.

Still nothing.

“I’m Payton Cain, we’re in English toge-“

“I know who you are,” he said shortly, “I don’t know why you’re talking to me, but I doubt your intentions are good so you can go away now.”

She sighed, “Could we just talk for a minute?”

He put his book down as gave her a ‘why won’t you just go away?’ look.

“So you probably heard that I just broke up with Brett, right?”

He looked so bored.

“Well, anyway, I’ve been dating guys like Brett since grade school, you know? So now I’m looking for something different and I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out on a date this Friday?”

Now he was giving her the ‘do you think I’m a moron?’ look.

“Like, dinner and movie or something like that?”

And now it was the ‘are you a moron?’ look. She felt it meant something that she could already read all of his looks perfectly and they weren’t even dating… yet.

“I always thought that was a stupid place to go on a date,” he said, “The movies, I mean. How can you get to know someone in a dark room where you can’t talk to someone?”

She was not going to comment on what she and Brett used to do in the movie theater.

He sighed, “How do you know I’m that different from Brett?” he said suddenly, “Maybe I’m just like him, but you never bothered to find out because you’ve never looked past my appearance.”

She stopped and thought about this for a second, “Have you ever asked a girl to wear flats instead of heels because it would make you look taller?”

Dinsmore frowned and shook his head.

“You’re different enough. This Friday then?”

He sighed, “I should warn you I’m a lot different in normal settings than I am in school settings.”

“Aren’t we all? Meet me at the Steak & Shake on 15th at 6:30? We’ll eat and… do something. I don’t know.”

He shrugged, “Fine, I guess.”

She smiled and walked away. He pondered what he had just gotten himself into as she sashayed back to her table with a haughty grin. Brett looked positively murderous.

Ж∞Ж∞Ж

Dinsmore nervously entered the Steak & Shake. He picked Payton out immediately. Her hair was like a golden waterfall down her back. She was stirring a straw in a glass of water in a booth, facing away from him. He sighed deeply and walked over, plopping himself across from her.

“Um, I think you have the wrong table, hon,” she laughed.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I told you I was different outside of school.”

Her eyes bugged out of her head and her jaw dropped, “Dinsmore?!” He nodded, “Holy shit!”

He had tattoos up both arms creeping up to his neck. He wore a tight black t-shirt with some obscure design and writing on it and tight girl’s jeans. He had his eyebrow, the left side of his lip, and the skin bellow it pierced as well as large plugs in his ears and hoops going up each side. His usually slicked-back 50s greaser hair was un-gelled and combed so a large brown bang covered one eye and was spiked out in the back. She stared at him.

“Is that why you always wear those band-aids…?”

“The school doesn’t like my… body modifications. So I have to cover them. The lip I just wear a clear filler and people are too busy calling me a freak to look close enough to tell.”

“What is with all of the tattoos?”

He shrugged, “They all mean or represent something important to me. Plus my brother is a tattoo artist so I get them for free.”

“What do your parents say about it?”

He bit his lower lip, moving the silver ring around with his teeth, “They’re dead.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said. She really was. She wasn’t just saying that like she usually did.

He shrugged, “It was their time, I guess. Have you ordered?”

She shook her head.

The waitress came over and Payton ordered a glass of ice water and a side salad. Dinsmore frowned then ordered his own food, large fry and a salad.

“So what do your tattoos mean?”

He pulled out his right arm, green vines starting at his wrist and going up past his elbow before ending in a sky of stars. “This one is my mom,” he said, “She had this amazing garden and we’d weed it and spend so much time on it every summer. Then we’d sit on the back porch and look at the stars.” He then pulled out his left arm, the forearm a stylized chess piece battle melting into a blaze of fire covering his upper arm and bicep, a light yellow cross remaining unharmed by the flames. “My dad and I used to always play chess, since he taught me when I was five. He was a firefighter, hence the flames, and he was a really devoted Christian, so I have the cross protecting through the fire.”

“They’re beautiful,” she whispered, surprising herself with her sincerity. All of her friends thought tattoos were gross, but Payton thought they looked great on Dinsmore and the deep meanings behind them made her see them as more than just ink and flesh.

“I designed them myself,” he grinned, “But I only did the black and white, then my brother decided they needed to be colored.”

“Your brother sounds like a pretty cool guy,” she said as the waitress brought her a large water and Dinsmore a coke. “Do you have any other family?”

“I’ve got another older brother,” said Dinsmore, “He’s a pediatrician in Maine and he’s got a great wife and an amazing son, and then I’ve got an older sister who lives in Tulsa. She doesn’t do anything.”

Payton laughed, “Really?”

“She works at some restaurant as a server and lives with her boyfriend.” Dinsmore shrugged and sucked on his straw.

“What about you?” he asked, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I’ve got my older sister, Alyssa,” she said, “She’s graduating from college this spring. And then I have my younger sister, Collette. She’s in middle school.”

“I hated middle school,” laughed Dinsmore, “Everyone was so mean and you got picked on for no good reason.”

“I never got picked on,” said Payton, “And no one was ever mean to me.” Dinsmore didn’t say anything. The waitress brought out their food and he stared at her tiny salad without dressing.

“That’s all you’re eating?” he frowned.

She smiled, “I’m on a diet.”

“Why? You have an amazing body.”

“Um, thanks,” she said shyly. She’d been complimented on her body before. People told she was hot and she had a hot body and she should model and stuff like that, but the word amazing had never been used. “This is why.”

He frowned, a sideways frown so his lip piercing stuck out at an angle, “I’d rather eat what I want to eat than starve myself to look good.”

“You only got fries and a salad!”

“I’m vegetarian. It limits what I can order here.”

“Why?” The entire idea seemed completely pointless to her.

He shrugged, “I just don’t see a reason why something should have to suffer so I can eat a cheese burger. I can just as easily get a veggie burger where nothing had to go through any pain or suffering for me to have it.”

“…That’s weird.”

Laughing, he just gave her another shrug and stretched out on his seat, the vinyl creaking under his movements. She loved the how the laughter was evident in his deep blue eyes.

Payton and Dinsmore never went to a movie. They instead spent three hours at the Steak & Shake talking, about their family, their friends, their favorite movies. Payton was surprised by how sweet he was. She talked much more than Dinsmore, but for once she didn’t feel bad about dominating the conversation because he listened to what she said without seeming frustrated or bored. Brett would always pretend to listen while messing with his cell phone or looking at his reflection.

After four dates like this, of them sitting in various restaurants and talking, Payton had started feeling something. It wasn’t infatuation and it wasn’t love. It was… respect. Admiration. Dinsmore was an amazing person. He was kind to every one and worked so hard at everything. He was a straight-A student, at Huntington on a full scholarship, he was in a band, he helped with his church’s youth ministry program every Sunday, he did fundraising projects with his friends for various relief organizations, and he did all of the housework for his older brother who was struggling with his tattoo shop.

He was so self-sacrificing and he didn’t do any of his volunteer things to put on college applications like her friends did. He just liked helping people, liked doing good things. These thoughts had been weighing on her mind constantly and as the sat in Oberweis, him sucking on a milkshake while she ate low-fat butter pecan ice cream, she felt the need to talk to him about her thoughts.

“Dinsmore?’ she said quietly after she’d run out of things to say about ‘Save the Last Dance,’ her favorite movie of all time.

“Hm?” he asked, lips wrapped around the straw of his vanilla milk shake.

“Brett made a bet with me. He said that I was a stuck up bitch and no guy would ever want me for more than my looks. He said I couldn’t get a guy to go out with me and even if they did, they’d get sick of me really fast.”

Dinsmore nodded, “Yeah, you sure picked a winner with that guy.” He chuckled and continued sucking on his straw.

“He dared me to ask out the next guy that entered the cafeteria,” she whispered.

The tattooed boy stopped and let the straw slip out of his mouth, “So you asked me out?” She nodded solemnly. “What did you get?”

“Five hundred dollars.”

His jaw dropped, “Five hundred??”

She nodded, “Five hundred dollars and if we go out for more than two months, he’ll be my slave for two weeks. If we break up before then, I have to be his slave.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Dinsmore asked, “You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend for the next two months so you don’t have to be his slave? School’s out in a few weeks so I don’t even see how this is worth it.”

“That’s not it!” she exclaimed, eyes tearing up melodramatically, “It’s just… well, we’ve all seen ‘She’s All That’ and know that bets always come out and cause a couple major problems, but I… I really, really like you now and I just didn’t want you finding out from someone else my reasons for asking you out.”

He rolled his eyes, “Are you seriously crying? We’ve been ‘dating’ for a few days, not even a week yet, and you’re crying?”

Payton blinked a few times to fight back her tears. She was never good at holding things inside, “You are… You’re so nice and no one… no one’s ever been this good to me before and I don’t want it to be screwed up before it ever gets started.”

“Payton…” Dinsmore sighs, “You are very pretty and you are fun to talk to, but that’s not all you are. You are incredibly selfish and vain. It’s amazing when you think about people other than yourself. I’m nice to you because I was raised believing that’s how you treat a woman. Yeah, I like you as a person, but I think a relationship needs more than that and I don’t know if I can put the effort into this you are asking for.”

“Don’t you get it?” she muttered, “That’s what I like about you. You know my faults, but you don’t think that means I should be treated like dirt. And… when we were talking today, I felt like I could be a better person if I was with you.”

“A person shouldn’t be your motivation for being a better person, Payton,” groaned Dinsmore, “You should want to be a better person for yourself.”

“Teach me to be a better person,” she sighed, “We’ll date and you can teach me.”

Dinsmore sighed and a pale blush colored his cheeks, “Only because I like you so much…” His phone rang and he sighed, flipping it open, “Hang on a sec, Payton. Yeah?”

“Hey, it’s Blaire, are you coming out with us tonight? Raging Seas are playing at the Airedale and some guys from my school are gonna be there. You up for it?”

Dinsmore sighed, “Sorry, Blaire, but I actually have plans with Payton. Maybe some other time?”

“You’ve been distant lately, dud. Not cool to ditch your bros when you get a girlfriend.”

Dinsmore sighed, “Well, call me before the next one and I’ll bring her along or something, yeah?”

“Sounds fine. Don’t forget, band practice this weekend.”

“I’ll be there. Later, Blaire.” He hung up and smiled at Payton, “Well, now that we actually like each other and are dating for real, I guess it’s time for you to meet my friends.”

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