MADDI PWNS ALL

Project Drama [Part 32]

Recap: “I’ll give it a try,” he promised.

Jessica’s P.O.V

My knuckles pressed into the pillow cases and I looked at the telephone occasionally pulling the cord my way. I didn’t know who to call. No, I didn’t know who to call and what to say. I needed to call Blair and explain…I needed to call Shaant and explain…

FLASHBACK

“I love you too,” I spoke my voice uneven. He smiled his beautiful smile with his hair going down and swifting slyly and he kissed me on the forehead leaving the gym.  He waved when he was about to close the door and I waved back guiltily.

That was it. That was where I was drawing the line. Why was I foolishly gazing into Shaant’s unspoken eyes hugging him so immensely and intensely? If anybody saw us they’d immediately think we were a couple. It was just a simple quick attraction I had to him that had to be quickly removed because as beautiful as he was – Josh was my boyfriend, and Shaant Hacikyan wasn’t. My liking to Shaant was nothing compared to the way I liked Josh since the beginning of school. Shaant was also the reason why me and my best friend, Blair were fighting. She was probably right.

Jessica White and Shaant Hacikyan don’t go together.
Jessica White and Josh Farro do, in the popularity scale.

There was only one thing I could do. I spun around and I waited. I waited for Shaant to come out of the boy’s locker room. He was last one coming out. Perfect.

“Shaant we need to talk, now.” I spoke fastly emphasizing the, ‘now’. I motioned him to walk  more closer to the gym door so if anything happened I could quickly run out if I couldn’t handle thing but I could.

No, I couldn’t – that was a lie. Once I gazed into his perfectly coordinated green eyes I was taken. He put his hands on my forearms steadying me and gripping me tightly so I couldn’t walk away.

“You’re right, we do need to talk.” He agreed. “Jessica, I think,”

“I think that we,” I started to go.

He put his finger to my lip and interjected, “I need to tell you first it’s very important and if I don’t get it out now it won’t come out alter and this will be stuck in my chest until we go to college.” I nodded my head letting him go but I was scared – I read this in books too much – he better not say what I think he’s going to say. “We’ve only known each other for a month, but I think it’s been the best month ever. I don’t smoke anymore, Jessica, I don’t drink anymore either. Why? It’s all you. You’ve changed me. I think that’s a good thing. I tried to drink at Gerard’s cousin’s party but once I realized you didn’t it wasn’t my thing anymore.”

I had to leave, now.

But before I could even try to leave he tightened my grip and then what I didn’t want to happen, happened. He placed his irrevocable, warm, pale pink lips on mine so immensely I couldn’t turn away. We stopped for a breath but he did it again and I didn’t stop it – I couldn’t. Well, he probably wouldn’t me in anyway.

But the unexpected happen. There stood Blair shocked and apparently in an apologetic state. But that all changed in a matter of seconds.

FLASHBACK

My hands shook. I replayed what happened three times more. My fingertips quickly dialed Shaant’s number. I breathed twice making sure I was still alive. I was still breathing heavily and uneven but that would just have to hold on for a sec. But a minute later I found my finger tips pressing, ‘cancel.’ Then minutes later I re-dialed the numbers over and over again. But when I phoned counting up to five times, I heard the phone ring.

My hand shook. I thought the pros and cons up quickly in my head of answering the phone. But I was out of my control. I picked up the phone and answered quietly, “H-hello?” My voice stuttering uncontrollably.

“Umm Jess…” a voice that instantly caught my head in relief made my breath calm down. But then two seconds later I figured out that it was a person who stood at the line of Shaant. It was probably for frightening to talk to her. Yes, it was Blair. “We need to talk. My mom left to L.A yesterday and my dad told me I should get out of the house because he was going to be busy working and I might distract him with my weird overall calmness and quietness. So, can we meet up at Placate Cafe?” I nodded my head and waited to see if she would hang up right away like she always did. But it was just silence on the phone. After a long moment she prompted certainly impatient, “Well, is that a yes?”

“I said yes,” I replied confused, “I nodded my head.” I giggled realizing a mistake I always did with anybody. Blair hung up laughing.

So I was going to Placate Cafe to talk to Blair, I thought. It was an overall good thing. We did need to talk. It was stupid why we were fighting. But it was my fault but it was hers too. I knew exactly why she was mad at me. Every time I re-ran the situation in my head I understood it more perfectly and clearly.

01.    Blair was mad because she thought something was going on between Shaant and me.

02.    Blair was only mad about that was because Josh was more popular than Shaant. She didn’t want to break the popular status apart or else I’d become a geek.

03.    There was something going on with Shaant and me.

04.    Josh was clueless about the whole situation.

*

“Black coffee and green tea,” the waiter placed the drinks in front of us. She handed Blair the green tea and me the black coffee. We sat speechlessly sipping our drinks.

“So…” I started looking away quickly as she looked up. This was much harder than it’s ever been talking to Blair. There was so much running through my mind and probably more in hers. I could see the picture in her mind of what she saw. It was what she saw but if she was in my mind she’d see clearly what I saw.

She breathed loudly and then put her hand up when she finished gulping a sip of her green tea and responded, “We need to talk, obviously. I’ll start.” I was glad she was willing to talk first. I didn’t know what else to say. Blair continued, “So I talked to uh – well, - someone that day,” – she awkwardly spoke emphasizing the day in a weird way – “and they said we just needed to finish this petty argument. Because we were fighting before because – I’ll just go out and say it – I didn’t want your popularity scale going down if there was even some kind of connection toward Shaant which there clearly is,” I opened my mouth and squeaked the beginning of the first word I was going to say but she put up her hand hushing me and continued quickly, “So I knew you – of course I knew – that your last period was PHYSICAL EDUCATION and I was going into the gym to apologize so we could finish the argument and then…you know what happened.”

“Can I speak now?” I hiccupped. She nodded her head looking away in disgust of her last sentence. Seeing the expression made me guilty but also angry. “First of all, there is a connection toward Shaant and me. Second of all, Shaant did kiss me. Third of all, what the hell is the popularity scale?” Blair rolled her eyes about to explain but I continued interjecting, “I like Shaant, okay?” I finally confessed it. It felt good at first but the look on her face made me regret it. “I was going to tell him them this crazy connection going on between me and him had to quit because – well, I thought that I liked Josh more but after he kissed me in the gym – which you witnessed – it made me…wonder my options.”

“THERE IS NO OPTIONS!” She spoke loudly lowering her voice after. “The popularity scale,” she explained, “is something that you should know already. We’re on the top of it and Shaant is too average for you to date. You don’t see me walking around and just kissing random guys who are not in the popularity scale!" Her tone got angrier and more aggressive by the second. “YOU CAN’T DATE SHAANT! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN LIKE SOMEBODY LIKE THAT?!”

“LIKE THAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN LIKE THAT? WHAT DO YOU THINK HE’S GAY OR SOMETHING?!” My tone got more aggressive too. “YOU KNOW WHAT!? LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT ME HERE, WHAT ABOUT YOU? FRANKIE…MAYBE?!”

Her eyes adjusted her body shaking. She stood up frantic. “Frankie? Frank? Frankie Iero? You are obviously joking,” her trembling voice attempted to calm down. “I think we’re getting way off subject here.”

“So you are into that band nerd?” I said it harshly you’d think she’d proud of me.

“I DON’T LIKE THE STUPID BAND GEEK! I’M HIS BIOLOGY PARTNER GET OVER IT!” Obviously not. We haven’t fought like this for a long time. “I think you need to calm down and remember why we’re here. You. Shaant. Josh. Me. You like Shaant. Shaant likes you. Josh likes you. You think you might not like Josh?” She crumbled the words together probably not making sense in her mind because it sure didn’t in mine.

“You like Frankie. Frankie doesn’t like you.” I snarled. “Maybe you should just go get Josh for your Biology partner and you wouldn’t complain about the popularity scale!”

“I don’t like Frankie! And excuse me, EVERYBODY likes me! If I asked him out right now he wouldn’t be able to breathe!” She snarled back at me temper rose. “Maybe you should just go make out with Shaant again in PHYSICAL EDUCATION!” Her comeback hurt but it didn’t stop me to snap some more.

Eventually it turned ugly. We got kicked out of the Café and nothing was resolved. It was like Evanessence all over again but worse!

Shaant was next.

Beth[any]’s P.O.V

I transformed. I do not know how I do not know when but suddenly I was choosen. Okay so the first part was totally a lie. I knew how.

Jessica was one I should thank.
Shaant is the one I should thank.

Blair rather plays a roll but barely.

If Shaant had not mysteriously came into Jessica’s life and do whatever he did (I was too busy enjoying my beautiful raise of popularity to listen to the story when Blair was telling it) I wouldn’t be sitting in this wonderful position I sat at now.

There was a weird unspoken connection between Blair and Claire so I never knew what they were talking about it was clear and obvious that Jessica was no longer apart of this clique. Nevertheless, her and Josh were still going out which seemed weird. Emily did not seem somewhat worried. The only thing she cared about was being skinny, I thought to myself. It always occurred to me that Emily and Jessica barely talked and I was forbidden to even call Jessica Jess atleast once. No idea why, though.

I sat at the lunchroom table with the anorexic Emily ‘Emm’ I was aloud to call her now, Claire the blonde and Blair the bitch and I wasn’t to be called, ‘Beth’ anymore it was morely my full name, ‘Bethany.’ However, there was one problem.

“So,” Emily started flicking her fire orange, hazelnut brown hair. She looked up at me with a puzzled expression. “I can’t believe you’re replacing Jess,” she said trufully.

Blair snapped her fingers her eyes shifted toward Emily furiously. “Number one; don’t talk to Bethany like that. Number two; were not calling her Jess! Number three, you’re getting fatter.” The subject quickly tossed to Emily’s weight and she forgot all about it, which I think Blair, intended to do.

*

“I was thinking maybe a cat,” I could hear the mumbling voices from in the backyard. Blair smiled stopping me before I entered the pathway. She opened the door and gave me a signal to wait. Emm, Claire, Rheagan, and Rayna were going to be the first people to see my new look except Blair of course she was the first to see it.

Then I heard Blair squeak, “Are you guys ready for Bethany’s new look?” I heard mumbled, ‘yes’s’ and mumbled, ‘do not care’s’ well only one from Emily. “Proceed.”

My feet daggered forward. I was so completely different. The regular straight-cut bangs and ends were not dangling beneath my chin wonderless chocolate brown curly locks were there but there was supposed to be white blonde with black streaks and turquoise extensions. My bangs were not straight-edged both they were to the side and my wardrobe was completely different. Most of my freckles hid carefully but some were showed making my skin look flawless. That is what I was now, flawless. I tried out the words in my head. It was the best feeling ever. I was wearing at least fifty-thousand dollars. Blair came hurriedly forward and with her Polaroid camera, she snapped a picture and motioned everybody to clap. Everybody looked amazingly at me. Blair handed me the photograph to look. I was flawless.

“She’s beautiful,” Rheagan was the first to speak her (a picture of perfection) blond locks flew to the side to the wind but for once I wasn’t feeling self-conscious with myself I kept repeating to myself I was as pretty as the model-like figure that stood by me. That was something that spread my confidence out. I was flawless.