****
"Finally!" Jennifer Stevens said to no one in particular as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. She fiddled with the combination on her locker, sighing frustratedly.
"Locker troubles again?" Dan Stadnicki joked, opening his own locker a few rows down from Jen's.
"Yeah...what else is new?" Jen rolled her eyes and pulled on the door of the locker. She gave it one last jerk, and the door came open, sending Jen flying backwards.
"Way to go Ace," Jen's friend Ashley said, walking up behind her.
"Shut up you," Jen retorted.
"Well, I gotta jet, if I'm late for practise again Ryan's gonna kill me. See ya tomorrow," Dan piped in, then turned around and headed towards the music room.
"Bye," Jen called after him.
****
Kim sat on a table in the music room, watching her friend Stever tune his guitar.
"Why do people call you by your last name, anyway?" she asked him. She'd been wondering for a while, ever since he'd started going by it.
"Ryan Stever...Ryan Dennis...it's too confusing, so I go by Stever instead," he told her, not looking up.
"I'm here...didja miss me???" Ryan came in through the door, arms raised above his head in a "rock star" sorta pose.
"Oh God," Kim put her hand to her forehead.
"Come on babe, you know you missed me," Ryan said to her.
"Screw you!" she replied. "Anyway Stever I gotta go, see you later," Kim said, grabbing her bag and heading out the door.
****
"So, you and that Dan guy?" Ashley inquired.
"What? No. I don't even know him." Jen blushed slightly, and shoved the rest of her books in her bag.
"Uh huh. So, it's Tuesday, are we doing anythying tonight?" Ashley asked.
"Homework?" Jen suggested, both girl burst out laughing. "Seriously? I have some Spainish to do, and a painting I want to work on."
"Cool, I didn't have anything in mind. I'll just, go home, be all by myself. Lonely." Ashley let out a fake sigh of sadness.
"Okay, have fun." Jen smiled, shut her locker door and started off down the hall.
*****
"Hey, Kim, wait!" Ryan yelled out.
Kim turned around, slowly. "What could you possibly want now?"
"Well, I was woundering, what are you doing this evening?"
"You ask me that about five times a day, everyday. You know what I'm doing." Kim clenched her teeth. Stever snickered.
"Do you want to do something? Dinner?" Ryan offered, tring not to sound like a jerk.
"I have better things to do." With that, Kim left.
"I don't get it, why doesn't she like me? Every other girl in school does!" Ryan shook his head.
"Hey, maybe it's because you make fun of her in class all the time, in front of everyone. Or, it could be that she just doesn't understand that every other girl likes you." Stever grined. "Or maybe she's an alien and-"
"Shut up." Ryan said as Jon walked through the door.
"I got us a gig for this Friday. At Ben Henson's party."
**********************************************
****
THAT EVENING...
****
Jen stepped back to get a better look at her painting.
"Mom, come here for a minute," she called through the door to the living room.
"Are you still at that?" her mom asked, walking into the studio they'd set up for Jen.
"What's missing?" she asked, standing back.
"The reflection on the water," her mother said, pointing at the painting. "Why is it red?"
"Blood," she replied.
"My God, you are one dismal child!" her mother rolled her eyes then left the room.
****
Ring Ring
"Someone grab that."
Ring Ring
"The phone is ringing!"
Ring Ring
"Fine I'll get it!" Kim jumped up and grabbed the phone in the kitchen.
"Hey Kim. Guess who this is," a voice said.
"Ryan who gave you my number?" Kim asked, annoyed.
"Oh, y'know, I have my sources," he replied.
"Well screw off!" Kim hung up the phone.
****
The phone rang again. Kim sighed. He wasn't going to give up. He never seemed to give up.
"Hello?" Kim whinced.
"Okay, Friday, Ben Henson is having a party." Ryan started.
"Yeah?" Kim shifted her weight to her right foot. "Jon told me he got the band a gig, and?"
"And, I was hoping you'd show up?" Ryan offered, ready to be chewed out.
"I'm not real big on parties, Ryan, you should know that by now."
"I know, but hear me out, we're going to preform a song I just wrote, and, and, and-"
"Spit it out."
"Just come, please. Stever said it would be nice if you came. He also said that you need to get out more, and something about you being an alien. I don't know, just come." Ryan begged, suprised she hadn't hung up the phone yet.
"An alien, really?"
"Really. So...."
"I might show up." Kim said, shocking herself.
"How about I take you out to dinner before the party?"
"You're pushing it. I'm not even sure if I'm going." Kim smiled, and hung up the phone. She liked being in charge.
*****
"Ha! I knew I could wear you down!" Jen opened her locker on the first try.
"Nice work, too bad your newest bitch is an inanimate object." Dan laughed lightly, and shook his head.
"Yeah. But I'm most proud of this one." Jen laughed too.
"Rightly so." Dan pushed a book in to his bag and shut his locker door. "Hey, there's a party at Ben Henson's Friday, you going?"
"I don't know, why?"
"Just making conversation." Dan smiled, and headed towards his fourth hour.
Jen shoved her books into her bag as the bell rang, and slamed her locker door shut with pride.
"JEN!!!!!!!!!!" Ashley yelled as she ran down the hall towards her friend, dodging in and out of people.
"What?!" Jen asked, surprised.
"LOOK!" Ashley waved around a piece of paper.
"I can't read it when you're waving it in my face, Ashley." Jen took the paper from Ashley's hand. "Ben Henson's party...you're only just hearing about this now?" Jen looked at her.
"I thought no one knew..." Ashley trailed off as jen shook her head, laughing.
"Everyone's been talking about it all day," Jen told her.
"Oh...well, are we going?" Ashley asked.
"I dunno...do what you want, I might go i might not," jen was suddenly annoyed by Ashley's flakiness.
"Ok, jeez, you don't have to be so cold!" Ashley frowned.
"I gotta go to Math...see ya," jen said before heading off down the hall towards math class.
****
"So...Kim..." Ryan attempted to put his arm around her.
"Don't touch me," Kim said, blowing him off.
"Hey, give a guy a break," Ryan said smoothly.
"I'll break your nose if you don't stop following me," she said, irritated.
"How am I following you? We have the same class?" Ryan questioned. Kim stopped walking.
"Umm... okay, fine." Kim replied, feeling stupid. She continued walking.
"What about the party? You're going to come watch me perform, right?" Ryan gave her a sly grin.
"If I do go, it won't be because of you." That made Ryan's smile fade. They took their seats in the back of the class.
"So you're going?"
Kim let out a frustrated sigh. "Maybe."
The classroom started to fill up a little more.
"Give me a good reason to go, Ryan. Just one." Kim pulled a text book out of her bag. Some of the preppie girls turned around at mention of his name. Ryan noticed.
"I don't see why you would go. It's not like anyone asked you to go." The preppie girls giggled.
"Oh, so that phone call last night, where you begged me to go to the party, that wasn't an invite?"
"You called me." The bell rang, the preppies turned back around.
Kim leaned towards Ryan and whispered, "and you wonder why I don't like you?"
*****
The final bell had just rung, Jen, once again, had some locker problems.
"Why. Won't. You. Op-en." Jen pulled on her locker door with each word. She had managed to get the lock off, but the door was jammed. Jen, giving up, threw her arms in the air and yelled, "You're possesed!"
"Oh, come on, you just have to be nicer to it." Dan smiled, his own locker never gave him trouble.
Jen gave him a dirty look, she wasn't in the mood.
"It can't be that bad. Let me try." Dan set down his things and walked over to Jen.
"Be my guest." She took a step back. Dan struggled for awhile. After several hard tugs, Dan managed to get the locker door open.
"You were right." Dan said.
"Possesed?"
"Yup. We need a young priest, an old priest, some holy water, and... I don't know. But we will save your locker. Oh yes, it will be pure once more." Dan tried to look noble. Jen shook her head.
"You're weird."
"I try." Dan hung his head in shame.
"Too hard." Jen patted him on the shoulder. "But, thanks." She smiled.
"So...uh...you going to Ben's party tomorrow night?" Dan asked her.
"I dunno..." Jen trailed off when she saw Dan looking at her funny. "What?"
"Huh? oh nothin'," he blushed looking at his feet.
"Ok...well, I gotta go home, I gotta babysit my nephew," Jen said. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah see ya, think about the party, eh?" he looked up.
"I'll think about it," she agreed.
****
"Call Ryan," Kim's mom said as soon as she walked in the door.
"OH MY GOSH DOES HE EVER STOP?!" she exclaimed, coming up the stairs.
"He seems nice enough," her mom said, handing her the cordless phone.
"Yeah, well, he's not," Kim walked away, not taking the phone.
****
The Hensons had a large home just five minutes out of town. The party was in Ben's basement. Christmas lights were hung from the ceiling and were the only light source other than some flashing strobe lights near a drum set in the far corner of the room.
Jen wondered why she was there. Ashley was bouncing around, attempting to dance. Jen acted like she didn't know her.
"Come on Jen! It's a party! You're supposed to have fun!" Ashley squealed. She was the only one dancing.
"Oh, I'm having fun, don't worry." Jen ploped down on the nearest couch, proped her elbow up on the arm of the sofa and leaned her forehead on her hand. She was getting a head ache.
Someone sat down beside her. "I didn't think you'd come."
Jen turned her head. It was Dan. "I almost didn't, but Ditzy over there," she poined to Ashley, still the only person dancing, "made me come."
"I wouldn't addmit to that." Dan smiled.
"What? That she made me come?"
"No, that you're here with her." He laughed. Jen rolled her eyes.
*****
The music was loud. Rap. It was probably the new big rapper on the seen. Kim did care much for rap music.
She stood against the wall, trying not to be noticed, and watched the weird girl from her English class 'dance' around like an idiot. Kim thought it looked like she was having an attack of some kind. Someone slipped their arm around her waist.
"You never called me back." Ryan yelled above the music. Kim glared at him, and removed him arm.
"Well you obviously didn't take the hint," Kim rolled her eyes at Ryan.
"I guess not," Ryan grinned. "Come on, admit it...you like me," he looked at her.
"Dream on!" Kim walked away.
"Well, on to plan B," Ryan said to himself.
****
"What an idiot," Jen said out loud.
"Huh?" Dan asked, confused.
"That guy over there...he keeps trying to get on that girl, I've seen him a couple times at school...she keeps blowing him off," Jen laughed.
"Dude that's Ryan!" Dan said, looking at the guy standing by the wall.
"Who?" Jen asked.
"My friend..." Dan replied.
"I wouldn't admit to that," jen grinned.
"Hahaha funny," Dan said sarcastically, pushing jen playfully.
****
"Stever, I hate you." Kim said, and pushed her friend.
"Did Ryan make a pass at you?" Stever snickered.
Kim glared at him. "Yeah, in fact, he did. I'm not suprised though."
"You came here knowing full and well that he was going to be here, and when ever he is within the same town of you, he will seek you out and hit on you." Stever hooked his guitar into an amp.
"You brought me here against my will!" Kim threw her arms in the air. "You came into my house and forced me into your car."
Stever smiled. "Jon helped, you should yell at him too. He's the one who held you in the car."
"You probably paid him." Kim let a smile creep across her face.
"Nope, he agreed to do it, in fact, he helped come up with the plan. Ryan was the one who paid us."
"Really?"
"No." Stever shook his head and laughed.
*****
Ryan walked over to where Jen and Dan were sitting. "Come on Dan. Plan B."
Dan laughed. "Dude, she doesn't like you, deal with it."
Jen sat there, a little confused.
"No. Now come on." Ryan started to make his way to where the instruments were set up.
Dan turned to Jen once again. "You should see this, it'll be funny."
"Ok...it's the moment you've all been waiting for...the one, the only...the magnificent...uh...where'd the band go?" Ben said into the microphone, looking around.
"Great party, moron!" someone yelled.
"We're right here!" Stever yelled from the back of the room.
"Ow...my ear..." Kim rolled her eyes.
"Sorry about that," he said as he pushed past the crowd of people.
"Hurry up you assmonkeys!" Ben yelled, causing major mic feedback. Everyone cringed.
****
'Well isn't this great,' Jen thought, as some guy holding a beer puked all over the place.
"Having fun???" Ashley asked ditzily.
"Oh yeah...cuz almost being barfed on is my dream evening!" Jen said sarcastically.
"Really?" Ashley crinkled her nose.
"No," Jen said flatly.
"Wanna go watch the band?" she asked jen.
"Sure why not...as long as I don't get puked on!" Jen got up.
****
After a long string of love songs and hard rock, the band stopped playing. People has started to leave during the last few songs. Only about fifteen people remaned.
"You stayed." Dan said while walking up to Jen.
"Yeah well, my ride kinda passed out from lord knows what, and I'm stuck." Jen sighed.
"I could take you..." Dan oftered.
Jen looked at Ashley, then back at Dan.
"I'll take her too."
*****
"What did you think?" Ryan asked, sheepishly, ready for Kim's burtal response.
"It was..." She surched for the right word. "sweet." Ryan smiled, releaved.
"Do you need a ride home?" He knew he was pushing his luck.
"Sure."
******************
"So...uh...what did you think?" Dan asked, trying to keep his nervousness from showing.
"You guys are really good," Jen replied.
"Thanks, we're not that great, but hey, it's fun," Dan told her, pressing his foot on the brakes as they came to a red light.
"Well if you enjoy it that's always good," Jen looked out the window.
"Think she's gonna be ok?" Dan nodded towards Ashley, who was sleeping in the back seat.
"Yeah she's fine. That is, as long as her parents don't find her like that...better just drop her off with me at my house, my parents don't care," Jen said, grinning at the sight of her friend passed out in Dan Stadnicki's car.
"Um...what are you doing next Firday?" Dan blurted out.
"I dunno, why?" Jen looked at him questioningly.
"Well...wanna go to a movie or something?"
"Uh...ok..." Jen replied, surprised.
****
"So you liked it?" Ryan asked Kim.
"For the third time, yes I liked it," Kim couldn't help but laugh.
"Sorry, it's just I'm not used to people actually liking us," Ryan apologized.
"Well you guys are good," she reassured him.
"Wanna go get some food?" Ryan asked her.
"Uh, it's 1:30 AM...nothing's open," Kim said.
"Good point...well, tomorrow then?" he asked hopefully.
"Maybe...I have a question for you though...why are you such a jerk at school, then when there's no one around, you're actually kinda sweet?" Kim asked him.
****
"...and he drove us home?" Ashley rubbed the side of her head.
"Uh huh." Jen rolled her eyes. Dan was right, she should admit to being friends with Ashley.
"I don't remember that." Ashley said, sounding like she thought she should remember.
"You were passed out. It's a good thing that you don't remember."
"Okay. So when that Dan guy was driving us home, he asked you out on a date?" Ashley questioned, things just didn't sound right to her.
"Well, I guess. Sorta. He asked me to a see a movie with him next Friday." Jen smiled.
Ashley's face went blank, she took in a deep breath. "What are you going wear?" Her eyes were wide.
"It's next weekend. It doesn't matter right now." Jen laughed.
"What? It matters!" Ashley grabbed Jen by the arm and proceeded the drag her up the stairs. "I'll help you. It'll be okay."
*****
"So you finally gave in?" Stever asked, shaking his head in mock shame.
Kim hung her head. "Yes, and can we please not make a big deal about it?"
Stever nodded and continued on with his Math homework that Kim was helping him with.
"So you like him?" A big smile spread across Stever's face. He started laughing.
"Just for that, I'm not going to help you anymore. Let's see you pass Math on your own!"
Stever managed to calm himself. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." The phone rang. Kim picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I was wondering if you were in the mood for dinner tonight?" Ryan's voice streamed through the recever, and he sounded a little more than nervous.
"Yes, Ryan. My answer hasn't changed the past six times you've called today. But you call a ninth time, I'll say 'no'."
"So I can call an eighth time?"
"Yes, but it better be to say that you're coming to pick me up."