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A/N: Okay. This chapter is (insert suitable adjective here) horrendously overdue. I know. I’m not going to offer any explanation, because I’m sure you wouldn’t want to read it. Haha. Anyway, three point of views are featured here, and it was SO hard to write because I was arguing with SOMEONE over Julius Caesar and kai muis and irrelevant stuff that you don’t need to know. Ehehehe.
Anyway, go on, I know you’re dying to…on with the story!!
After the tiff with Lyxa and Kirsten, Valerie stalked off in a huff before realizing that she had nowhere to go; she was, after all, a new student. She stood awkwardly among the plastic tables and chairs filled with chattering students, debating what to do. She had to make a decision fast, or she would look like an idiot standing lost in the middle of the cafeteria. Already she was attracting a few curious glances. I’m not going to let Lyxa win, she thought fiercely. Under any circumstances.
Just as she had decided to go to the library, she heard someone calling her name. “Hey, Valerie!” She turned and groaned softly to herself when she saw the owner of the voice. She raised a hand in greeting and tried to move on, but the girl would not be deterred.
“Val-er-reeeeee!!”
This time, more students craned their necks to find the source of the disturbance, and Valerie felt her cheeks heating up. Left with no alternative, she quickly walked to the table that the owner of the voice sat at. At least this way she would be able to maintain some semblance of dignity.
“Hey, Natasha,” she smiled at the girl tiredly.
“Hey, Val-val!” Natasha returned her greeting perkily, flashing her a thousand-watt smile. Although it didn’t look quite as good on her as it did on Kirsten.
Valerie winced and resisted the urge to shield her eyes. “Uh, just Valerie is fine.”
“But Valerie sounds so…formal,” Natasha pouted. Valerie merely shrugged.
“What’s up? Any specific reason you called me over from the other side of the world?” she asked, trying not to sound catty but failing miserably.
Desiree, who had been sitting quietly on the other side of the table, lifted her gaze from a plate of grey sludge/meatloaf and looked at Valerie. “Cattiness doesn’t suit you,” she stated mildly after a brief glance at her, then resumed toying with her food.
At those words of truth, Valerie immediately felt herself soften. She could be a complete bitch, but only to those who deserved it. Annoying and eccentric as these two girls were, they hadn’t done her any harm. “Sorry,” she sighed, “I just…yeah, you probably heard Lyxa just now.”
Desiree nodded her head slowly while Natasha opened her eyes so wide, she looked slightly bug-eyed. “Yeah!” she exclaimed, nodding her head. “Don’t tell me you fought with her AGAIN?!” she gasped, looking at Valerie with something akin to awe.
Valerie shrugged indifferently and sat down on one of the chairs. “It wasn’t a fight, it was more of a disagreement about our standings on the social pyramid.”
Desiree’s eyes seemed to brighten and turned a vivid turquoise. “The so-called social ladder. What every teenage girl and teenage guy in this school aspire to climb. The climax of their humdrum, pointless lives is when they get to rub shoulders with the airheads who sit on the topmost rung. Bah!” She hissed venomously, showing pointed teeth in a snarl full of hatred. Valerie jumped, startled by her sudden display of animosity.
Natasha, however, was unmoved. “Cut it out, Desiree, you’re scaring Val-val.”
“Valerie.” The girl in question muttered under her breath.
Desiree blinked and returned her gaze to Valerie’s concerned face, the look in her eyes once more placid and unconcerned. “Sorry,” she murmured, and resumed chewing her food slowly like nothing had happened.
Valerie looked at Natasha, nonplussed. Natasha beckoned for her to come closer, and she obliged out of sheer curiosity. “Her parents are hippies,” Natasha stage-whispered so loudly that she was sure Desiree had heard her. However, from the blank gaze on Desiree’s face, she was either off somewhere in la-la land again or she was pretending she hadn’t heard. Dibs on the first choice.
Natasha nodded solemnly, as if those four words were supposed to open a hole in the clouds and shed light on the ever-thickening fog Valerie’s first day at school seemed to be shrouded in. She could only imagine what it would sound like when she wrote in her diary later.
Dear Diary,
On my first day of school, I met my childhood best friend, a double-crossing ex, a jealous girlfriend, an insanely jealous bitch, a psychotic chatterbox and a hippie.
Joy.
She waited for the rush of enlightenment, for the lightbulb above her head to click on. Nope. Nothing.
At her blank look, Natasha rolled her eyes and huffed impatiently. “Her parents are hippies, you get it? She’s been trained since young to fight the Establishment!” she hissed into Valerie’s ear. Valerie resisted the urge to rub her ear. I can almost hear the capital ‘E’ in that word, she thought wryly. Still, she hadn’t played Juliet in her old school’s winter play for nothing.
She widened her eyes and brought her hand daintily to her mouth, letting out a little ‘oh!’ of false recognition. “I see!” she breathed reverently, nodding her head as if she really understood. Desiree looked at her blankly. “No, you don’t,” she stated expressionlessly. Valerie blinked and dropped her hand. Don’t tell me she can read minds.
“Don’t be silly, D, of course she gets it!” Natasha chirped happily, grinning at Valerie, who returned it reluctantly.
Desiree looked at her straight in the eyes, and for once she didn’t look stoned or dreamy. “How can she?” It wasn’t a question. “When you don’t even get it yourself?” With that, she took up her tray and glided away from the table.
Valerie shot a worried glance after her, but Natasha merely rolled her large, expressive eyes. “Don’t worry about Desiree,” she soothed. “She always gets upset whenever people talk about idols or popularity or anything she deems as time-wasting and fake.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “She and I had a big fight about me going for cheerleader tryouts. Said it wasn’t worth my time, that they were all fakes anyway.”
Valerie stopped herself from nodding fervently in agreement just in time.
Natasha set her jaw. “But I told her I didn’t care, that I wanted to try my luck anyway. She wasn’t happy about it, but she gave in.”
Valerie made a non-committal sound in her throat and wished desperately for a chance to get away. Natasha wasn’t a bad person, but hell, was she annoying. Not like Valerie really cared about her cheerleading tryouts anyway.
Just then, the bell rang shrilly, and a collective groan rose from the students as the cafeteria began to empty. Valerie uttered a prayer of thanks (There really IS a God!) and turned to walk away. To her annoyance, however, Natasha seemed to have deemed her as her new best friend and clung to her like a leech, talking away nineteen to the dozen.
Valerie squeezed her eyes shut. Now would be a good time for Dylan to show up and rescue me from this, she thought wryly. When she opened her eyes, to her astonishment and surprise, she spotted Dylan leaning against a wall. Thankful for the opportunity to ditch Natasha, she turned to Natasha and said, “There’s Dylan. He and I have Chemistry together next, I’d better go. Nice meeting you, though,” she said and turned to walk away.
To her escalating frustration, Natasha remained right by her side. “I know,” she said brightly.
“I have that period now too!”
Why me? God, why me??
She could have sworn she heard a soft chuckle from above.
Oh, God.
The things I do for love, he thought sardonically.
He spotted Valerie walking up to him amongst the throng of students walking to their respective classes, a short, chirpy girl by her side, talking very fast. He squinted. Isn’t that…what’s her name…Natasha? Just then, Valerie’s eye caught his, and he couldn’t suppress a grin at the look of desperation in her eyes. He straightened and turned to offer her assistance, when he felt a hand on his arm.
Piercing blue eyes blinked up seductively at him. “I’m ready, Dillie, honey!” Flutter, flutter, went those long, fake eyelashes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Valerie stop dead in her tracks, an incredulous look spreading over her features. He turned towards her and grimaced, mouthing “Tell you later” as best as he could. A sardonic grin spread over her face, replacing the look of incredulity, and she fluttered her fingers at him, imitating the bimbo currently latched onto his arm perfectly. He couldn’t stop his lips from forming a reluctant grin as he watched her disappear into the crowd, Natasha still talking her ears off, no doubt.
“Come on, Dilly-willy, we’re going to be late!” the girl pouted, not-so-subtly rubbing her ample chest against him as she tugged on his arm and brought him back to reality with a jolt.
Dylan tried to edge away as best as he could without offending her. He sighed and looked down at her. “Is there really no other alternative to this, Marissa?”
Marissa looked up at him and flipped her platinum blonde hair over one shoulder. Flutter, flutter, went those lashes again. “You don’t like being with me?” she pretended to sound hurt, and actual tears formed in those baby blues of hers. Cheerleaders. There was a reason he didn’t date them.
Well, except for one, of course, he thought wistfully. A sentence from a song drifted into his mind:
“You always want what you can’t have…” How true.
“Surely you wouldn’t want the whole school knowing you almost kissed Kirsten Andrews, would you?” Marissa asked, trailing a perfectly manicured finger along his chest. Dylan repressed the urge to shudder and jerk away with a great effort as he heard the threat in her seemingly playful tone. “Especially since she’s dating Randall and all?”
“I-” Dylan began hotly, ready to launch into a spiel of denial.
Marissa merely put a hand to her mouth and yawned daintily. Her blue eyes narrowed. “We’ve been through this before, Dill-dill, so don’t bother denying it. The agreement was you date me for two months, and I keep my mouth shut,” she said maliciously, the blonde act forgotten. Dylan blinked. Wish she was a real blonde, he thought glumly.
Her voice turned syrupy-sweet, and she laid her pale hand on his arm again. “Do it for Kirsten,” she whispered, batting her eyes at him again. I hope she glued those lashes on tight. “You wouldn’t want her image to be tarnished, would you?”
Kirsten. Her name steeled his resolve.
“Come on, babe.” He forced a smile onto his face and curled his arm around her tiny waist. She giggled happily and snuggled closer to him. “Oh, Dillie,” she gushed. “This is going to be the happiest two months of your life. I promise.”
His mind kept up a never-ending stream of pep talk all the way to her classroom. For Kirsten. For Kirsten. For Kirsten.
For you, I will.
Valerie grinned as Dylan slouched into class, a disgruntled look on his face. Girls fluttered their eyelashes at him in greeting, hoping he would acknowledge them, but he seemed not to have noticed and plopped onto a chair next to Valerie. Valerie ignored the jealous glares half the girls in class shot at her as best as she could . “Cheerleaders,” she heard him mutter. “I hate them so.”
“Join the club,” she whispered, patting him consolingly on the back.
“Would you care to explain to us why you are late, Mr. Hunt?” The Chemistry teacher inquired, looking down his nose at Dylan.
Immediately, Valerie watched Dylan switch into Suave Dylan mode. “Oh, it was just a minor thing, Mr. Dross,” he said, giving him a small, apologetic smile. “I was held back by Mrs. Whitehall. She wanted to see me about my English assignment. Sorry I was late,” he finished, ducking his head seemingly in apology.
Mr. Dross gave a small snort. “Well, see that it does not happen again, Mr. Hunt.” He turned back to the blackboard and began to elaborate at length on the incredibly boring and irrelevant history of the atom.
Curse you, John Dalton.
Valerie gave up trying to make a good impression on her first day in class; the only people who weren’t already asleep or in a stupor were the nerds copying feverishly in the front of the class and hanging on skinny Mr. Dross’s every word. He needs to eat more, she thought absently. Left to wander freely, her mind settled on the girl she had seen with Dylan earlier. Platinum Blonde. She frowned. I thought Dylan liked Kirsten? Hurriedly, she scribbled a note and threw it at Dylan when Mr. Dross’s back was turned.
For the second time in one day, a wad of scrunched-up paper hit Dylan’s head and ricocheted off onto the floor. He picked it up and smoothed it out. Written in neat handwriting were the words:
So what was up with you and Miss Platinum Blonde back there? I thought you had a thing for Kirsten?
Keeping an eye on Mr. Dross, he scribbled back, Long, long story. You wanna come over to my house and catch up? I’ll tell you then.
Valerie smiled as she read the note, but her smile quickly faded as she remembered: Cheerleading tryouts. She heaved a sigh and replied, Can’t..tryouts, remember? Gah. Just kill me.
Poor you. Well, how about after tryouts? They usually only take about an hour.
She frowned thoughtfully. Her mom wouldn’t be back till 7. She caught Dylan’s eye and nodded discreetly. He smiled at her and gave her a subtle thumbs-up.
“When Mr. Hunt and Miss Greene have finally deigned to stop flirting, perhaps Mr. Hunt would like to name the elements present in Group 1 of the Periodic Table,” came Mr. Dross’s sardonic voice.
All heads turned to look at Dylan and Valerie. It took all of her willpower to look ahead and not at the floor, but Dylan seemed unfazed. Without missing a beat, he replied, “Lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, francium.”
Mr. Dross’s thin lips twitched. “I’m glad to see that your Chemistry remains as stellar as ever, Mr. Hunt, however I’m sure the janitors would appreciate it if you didn’t litter the classroom with discarded love notes.” The class sniggered.
Even smooth-talking Dylan couldn’t come up with a retort to that, other than a lame “Uh, they’re not love notes…”
Mr. Dross raised a pencil-thin eyebrow. “Well, I certainly doubt you were comparing notes on the properties of elements in Group 1.” The sniggering erupted into all-out laughter.
Valerie smiled sheepishly despite herself. “Sorry, teacher, it won’t happen again.”
Mr. Dross looked at her, and she could have sworn that he flashed her the briefest of smiles. “Thank you, Miss Greene. Now, the elements in Group 2…”
The class sank back into its usual stupor, the moment of light-heartedness vanishing without a trace.
“I know,” Dylan said, rolling his eyes. “Trust Mr. Dross to pick on the new girl.”
“So that’s what I am now, the ‘new girl’?” Valerie asked, pretending to be offended.
Dylan grinned and slanted a glance at her. “Well, would you prefer me to call you ‘old girl’ then?”
Valerie blinked. “Okay, suddenly ‘new girl’ doesn’t sound half bad.”
They laughed merrily, and Valerie was overcome by a wave of nostalgia. He hasn’t changed a bit, she thought, watching him laugh and admiring his perfect teeth. Except for the growing half a foot taller than her, and changing his hairstyle, and working out, and becoming so hot, and…
“Hello, Val? Anyone in there?”
She jumped, startled. “Huh? Yeah, of course. I was just thinking about how funny Mr. Dross was just now,” she fibbed.
Dylan seemed not to have noticed. “Yeah, he’s a cool guy, most of the time. But screw up on your assignment and…wham!”
Valerie’s eyes widened. “What’s THAT supposed to mean?”
Dylan winked. “Trust me. Pray you never have to find out.”
“Okay…”
Before they knew it, they had reached the gym. Dylan pushed open the doors, and…
“DILLIE!!”
Oh, no.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
A platinum-blonde blur hurtled towards Dylan, and Valerie maintained just enough presence of mind to step aside as the blur nearly bowled her over. Dylan was knocked backwards as he took the force of the blur full on his body.
“Oof!” All the air whooshed out of him. He straightened, rubbing his chest, and looked down at the thing -oops, he meant Marissa- clinging onto him.
“Uh…nice to see you too, babe.”
Valerie resisted the urge to cover her ears as Marissa launched into a stream of girlish chatter. “Oh, baby, you have no idea how much I missed you, I was thinking about you all through English class and Mrs. Beverly was being so mean and-”
Amazing, the way people can talk in italics. Valerie flashed a sympathetic grin to her hapless friend and walked over to the bleachers, where a gaggle of girls were already sitting and talking. Most of them gave her the evil eye as she walked past them, heading to what she assumed must be the coach. She carried herself haughtily, preferring to be thought of as a snob rather than a doormat. Better to be antagonized than walked on. She saw Rochelle sitting with some girls and had just raised her hand in greeting, until she drew closer and saw who the girls were – Kirsten and Lyxa. Quickly, her hand drifted to her hair and she pretended to fluff it out, ignoring the glares they were no doubt shooting at her.
“-and Kirsten said she had a headache and-”
Wait. What?
Dylan interrupted her seemingly never-ending flow of chatter. “What’s wrong with Kirsten? She’s not feeling well?” he asked, concerned.
Marissa paused mid-flow and fixed Dylan with a knowing gaze. Against his own will, he twitched a little and stared at a point over her shoulder. “She’s nursing a little headache, but she said that she’d turn up for tryouts today…” She scanned the crowd. “Look, there she is over there, with Rochelle and Lyxa,” said Marissa, pointing towards the bleachers.
Dylan studied her. She certainly did seem to be less animated than usual, instead listening to Lyxa and Rochelle talking. Making a decision, he took Marissa’s hand, ignoring her gasp of surprise and delight. “Come on. Let’s go sit over there, sweetheart, your legs must be tired,” he said, hating himself even as the endearment slipped out.
“Oh, lets,” she giggled, and together they walked over to the bleachers.
She truly didn’t know what Dylan had meant by that almost-kiss. Surely best friends didn’t kiss each other (or TRY to) like that? Did it mean…could it possibly…
“Kirsten!”
Kirsten was startled out of her thoughts by Lyxa’s sharp voice. “Hmm? What? I agree with Rochelle,” she mumbled dazedly.
Rochelle looked at her, concerned. “What’s wrong, Kirsten? Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kirsten waved her concern away and managed a small smile. “Just tired. And I have a headache, but other than that, I’m perfectly fine.”
Lyxa wasn’t listening. “The nerve of that bitch,” she spat, her already black eyes darkening.
“What are you talking about, Lyx?”
Lyxa tilted her chin towards a girl walking past where they were seated. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
Kirsten turned her head to look at the girl, and was greeted by a flash of ice blueeyes and that unmistakable flowing red mane. “I don’t believe this. She actually dared to sign up for tryouts?!” she hissed, outraged.
Rochelle looked at both of the snarling girls. “I don’t understand, really, what did Valerie do to both of you? She’s a cool kid.”
“No she’s not!” both of them spat at her, and Rochelle recoiled, taken aback. “Okay…whatever you say.”
They watched as Valerie looked towards them and raised a hand. For a fleeting moment, Kirsten thought she was waving to them, but then her hand moved to her head and she proceeded to run her fingers through her luxuriant mane of red hair.
“Bimbo,” Lyxa sneered, as she unconsciously smoothed down her raven locks. Kirsten decided not to say anything.
A thought suddenly occurred to her. “She might get in, you know?” she said worriedly. “She was captain of the Peterson Peacocks, and they finished second in the state championships last year. I’ve watched her in action…she isn’t bad.”
“We’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t,” sneered Lyxa, staring at the unsuspecting redhead.
Suddenly, their attention was diverted by a commotion amongst the other cheerleaders. “What’s going on?” wondered Kirsten. “Why’s everyone making such a noise?”
Craning her neck, Lyxa cast a glance over the crowd and replied, “It’s Marissa with some guy.” She rolled her eyes. “At least I won’t have to hear her talk about how awful and positively devastating the break up with Vincent was. Especially when I know for a fact that she was screwing with Bryan two days into their relationship.”
Rochelle, who had been watching the cluster of established cheerleaders and potential hopefuls, suddenly exclaimed, “That’s not some guy, that’s Dylan!”
Kirsten sat bolt upright. “DYLAN?!” she asked incredulously. “As in Dylan Hunt??!”
“Well, how many other Dylans do we know?”
“But Dylan?!” Kirsten couldn’t believe it. “Dylan…and….Marissa?!?!”
Lyxa had jolted upright upon hearing the name, but now she relaxed and resumed toying with her skirt, a bitter expression on her face. “A match made in heaven,” she said bitterly.
Kirsten shot her a stern glance. “You’re not still mad about Dylan dumping you on Christmas Eve, are you?” she asked. “You have Evan now, what more do you need?”
Lyxa simply ignored her. “Whatever,” she muttered under her breath and continued fingering the edges of her red skirt.
Kirsten rolled her eyes. Lyxa could be so difficult sometimes. “Come on, I want to ask Dylan all about it.”
She stood up, and Rochelle followed suit. With great reluctance, Lyxa arose and followed them towards the happy couple.
Would that be with or without the inverted commas?
“Oh, hi, Kirsten!” she greeted the Queen Bee happily, flipping her platinum hair over her shoulders. “I was just going to find a place to sit down with Dillie!”
Kirsten tried not to snigger. “That’s wonderful news, Marissa!” she exclaimed, pretending to be delighted at the news. “When did you guys get together? I had no idea!”
“Yes, do tell, Marissa,” came Lyxa’s cold voice.
“Well, uh…” Marissa stumbled. She looked at Dylan for help, but Dylan merely returned her pleading gaze blankly. Inside, he was rejoicing. Save me, Kirsten!
“Dylan’s liked me for a long time, actually, but he just asked me out yesterday. Isn’t that just so cute?” Marissa giggled and pinched Dylan’s cheek.
Dylan closed his eyes slowly. For Kirsten. For Kirsten. For Kirsten.
Kirsten Kirsten Kirsten.
“I had no idea, Dylan!” Kirsten’s sweet voice made his eyes flew open. She was staring at him with an incredulous and slightly disbelieving look in her eyes, even though she was smiling. He shrugged sheepishly at her. “Me neither,” he muttered.
The chatter started up again, and the coach got up, holding up a megaphone. “Girls, please calm down. I realize that it isn’t every day you have a boy watching you prance around in skintight outfits- wait, what am I saying?” The girls giggled, but moved to find a seat, and Dylan let out a sigh of relief. Kirsten smiled. “Why don’t both of you join us? Unless you’d rather…” she let her voice trail off and grinned.
Before Marissa could even open her mouth, Dylan hurriedly accepted her invitation. “We’d love to. Come on, babe.” He tugged on her hand, and she had little choice but to follow, however grudgingly.
They sat down one row behind the coach, and he saw Valerie walk to a seat not far from them. He caught her eye and gave her a small wink. She offered him a smile in return, but quickly turned away when she saw Lyxa glaring hatefully at her.
The coach began to call out names of the various applicants, and one by one, they walked out to the centre of the floor and performed the same routine – three cartwheels, two somersaults, a basic toe jump, a back handspring and a front handspring. Valerie watched dismissively as the contestants fumbled and flopped their way through, although there was a brunette who managed to complete the whole routine in record time, and an Asian-looking girl who performed a perfect toe jump. She rolled her eyes. I can do way better than that. She had been captain of a cheerleading squad, after all.
Just as a pale blonde twig by the name of Wendy Higgins tried to do a back handspring and ended up falling flat on her face, the gym doors burst open. All heads turned towards the entrance. A red-faced, sweaty Natasha stood there, clad in a hot pink tracksuit that clung to her rail-thin body. Her hair looked windswept and was strewn all over her face.
“Sorry I’m late, everyone,” she gasped, doubling over and clutching her ribs. “Had to run home to change.” Her eyes lit up as she spotted the familiar redhead in the crowd. “Hey, Valerie!” Valerie cringed. Sometimes I hate my red hair so much. The coach turned back to Wendy. “Alright, everyone, show’s over. Wendy, you may proceed.”
As Wendy flopped over mid-tumble, Natasha dashed over to Valerie and sat down beside her, brushing her bangs out of her face. “You came to watch too?” she asked excitedly.
Valerie cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Uh…” she began. “Actually, I came here to try out, too…”
Natasha’s eyes sparkled. “Brilliant!” she exclaimed. “Wouldn’t it be just too cool if both of us got in?!”
“Sure.” Valerie acquiesced, nodding. Know what’d be even cooler? If you shut up.
Suddenly, she heard her name called. “Valerie Greene.”
She stood up slowly and Natasha beamed up at her. “Good luck!” she whispered. Valerie smiled and walked to the center of the gym.
The coach, a short stumpy woman with frizzy blonde hair, looked at a clipboard. “New student?” Valerie nodded her head. “Hmm. Well, I want you to do-”
“Just a minute, Coach Taylor!” came a voice, a voice Valerie instantly recognized as Lyxa’s. She didn’t want to admit it, but fear curled in her gut as Lyxa, who was sitting with Kirsten and Dylan above the coach, leaned down and whispered something into the coach’s ear. Coach Taylor frowned and checked her clipboard, then nodded. Lyxa straightened and smirked at Valerie, who knew that this could mean nothing good.
“Well, Valerie,” Coach Taylor cast an appraising eye over her. “Lyxa told me that you were the captain of the Peterson Peacocks, is that right?” Valerie’s shoulders slumped slightly. Trust Lyxa to tell the whole world. “Yeah.” She nodded.
“I see. In that case, all this stuff should be second nature to you, am I right?” said Coach Taylor briskly. Valerie remained silent, not knowing how to answer.
“Well then, I’d like to test you on some advanced stuff, is that okay?”
Not seeing any way she could object, Valerie raised a shoulder. “Sure, I guess.”
“I’d like you to try a few pikes, some pike-outs, some Arabians, if you can manage it.”
Valerie suddenly brightened. All she had to do was screw this up,fail the tryouts and she'd never have to face these bitches again. Sure, Lyxa would gloat, but some sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.
“Oh,and I’d also like you to try being a flyer.”
Um.
“A flyer?” Valerie asked, just to make sure that she had heard correctly. “Sure, but how…”
The coach interrupted. “Lyxa, Kirsten, Marissa and Rochelle, some of our senior cheerleaders, have agreed to be your base.”
Uh-oh.
Valerie gulped as the four girls, including Dylan’s Platinum Blonde, stood up and approached her with what looked to the others like kind smiles on their faces, but what Valerie knew were really malicious smirks. At least, three of them were. Rochelle’s faint smile looked…apologetic.
Valerie closed her eyes. It’s been nice knowing you, world.
The girls clustered around her. “Are you ready, bitch?” hissed Lyxa venomously, baring her teeth.
Valerie lifted her chin defiantly.
“Born ready, slut.”
Nah, just kidding. I’ll still post. But I love the reviews!! And don’t apologize if they’re long..I say the longer the better!!
Hahaha. So tell me. How many of you thought the blue-eyed person from the last chapter was Valerie? xD Admit it. None of you thought for a second it would be Platinum Blonde, did you? Wahahaha. I’d originally planned to make this chapter longer and finish the whole tryout..but on the other hand, cliffhangers are funnn!! xD Yesh. I am evil. Wakakaka!!
Now you HAVE to review..or you’ll never find out what happens next!! (By the way, a flyer is the person that gets tossed into the air during stunts. The base are the four people in charge of catching the flyer, so...you can see why Val's worried. Haha.)
Review responses:
Fairytale Gurl: Haha, thanks for the compliment. I get what you mean about Kirsten..it’s like she’s sort of the bratty, golden girl type, isn’t she? Haha. Glad you like Dylan..but his heart’s already taken, as illustrated in this chapter. Maybe he will return your reviews at a later date, though!
SolisLuna: Glad you think so, thanks for the review!
ALY55A: Haha. I’m sure Kirsten seems annoying to a lot of people. Okay..you want MARK and VALERIE together? Hmm. Interesting choice.
DancingChaChaFruit: Well of course I never said Kirsten loathed her. Haha. Don’t take anything I say (or don’t say) for granted. XP I did warn you in the summary, didn’t I? Kekeke…Natasha is incredibly talkative, I’ll give you that. I personally detest people like her. Dylan with Valerie? Now did I say that? XP Now watch as I take another kajillion years to post the next chapter! Bwahahaha…
special: Kirsten is annoying the hell out of a lot of people right now. That’s just the way she works. Haha. I won’t deny that she is shallow..but she was brought up that way, after all, and at least she’s not COMPLETELY shallow. Everybody hates Lyxa. xD About Dylan and Valerie..hmm..I don’t know. Can’t say anything yet. XP Hahaha. You were so wrong about the ‘almost kiss’ thing. xD Told you never to take anything for granted. Thanks for the review!
Lady Vagabond: Who knows? Love isn’t blind, it makes us blind. Hehe. Thanks for the review!
fortheluvofhp: Haha. Yeah, I like to twist things a lot. I write it one way, and then I look at it.. “What would the reader normally think?” And write it the other way round. xD So never assume anything when you read this, eh? Haha. Thanks for reviewing!
eplipswich: Hey, eplip! You probably won’t read this story after this, but I’m glad you like it so far. Obviously chapter 1 is nicest since it’s the longest and all. Haha. And don’t be sorry because the review is long!! I LIKE long reviews!!
A.H. Fenald: Ah, well. Girls will be girls, as you said. Haha. I’m glad you like it! No problem for the reviews.
four squared: Hopefully things clear up in this chapter? Hahaha. Who am I kidding? Your wish is granted..I have updated!
the invisible poet: Hey! Oh..I get the oh-hem-gee thing now. I didn’t get it before because I was pronouncing gee as gee, and not as jee, if you get what I mean. I’m not making sense. Oh well. Haha. I have no objection to you ripping out Randall’s throat at all, but you’d have to ask Valerie what she would do then. And whoever said that it was Valerie? (evil chuckle)
Faedora: First off, I love your stories! I don’t know if you’re going to read this after I update, but I hope you do! “Slightly twisted”? Oh, I hope to make it much more than that. (evil chuckle again) Dylan and Valerie? Or Dylan and Kirsten? Maybe I’ll be having a poll soon..haha. Nothing’s set in stone, though I do have a vague idea. Hehe. Well, I updated..so maybe you’ll review?
angels and effects: Yeah, you did mention it before. Haha. Glad you liked the chapter. I guess this update isn’t really soon..(cringes) Shall run away before you run me through with a pitchfork. Hope you like this chapter!
punkturnedwriter: Well, you were in Malaysia, but thank God you didn’t really fly through the window and put a gun at my head and force me to write or anything. XP Kirs and Dylan kiss? So early? What do you take me for? Of course I’m not going to ease your torment THAT early. (evil guffaw this time) A rather different portrayal of Desiree this time. Hehe. More of Valerie in this chapter..and yeah, here are the cheerleading tryouts, so are you happy now? Haha..
euphorictragedy: It is rather dramatic, isn’t it? Haha. I’m glad you like it. Stay tuned for more action!
swimchickslam: Well, compared to the other reviewers, this update is only about a week from when you reviewed..so is it still considered soon? Haha..glad you like it.
