Friendzoned

by Power, P. S.

  It was a good trick. One that Becky needed to learn herself. Of course it could just be that Keeley actually felt that way, which would be nice, if it was the truth. She didn't have that many really close friends after all. Mainly just Maria, who'd been left out of their weekend plans.

  Not because she wasn't welcome, it was just that her parents were really strict that way. There was no way that they were going to let their teen daughter hang out for a whole weekend with a bunch of cheerleaders, un-chaperoned. They weren't monsters about it, letting her stay over when Keeley's mother was around, and had even offered to have the girls over to their house a few times, if only for an evening. They all knew each other from church after all.

  That was one of the strangest things about her little all girl crew of friends. They always managed to make it to Mass on Sunday. Becky wasn't Catholic, but so far the Priest had never called her on it when she attended with them. He was pretty cool that way, it seemed.

  It took a bit longer for the whole group to get back to the house, and the very first thing that happened was that food was made. Keeley hit the kitchen like she was starving, but Becky got the idea now. It was all part of her act. Her cover. A way of making it seem like she actually ate regularly, so that no one would suspect what was really going on, or had been. She was a bit heavier than she had been for a while. About ten pounds? If the girl weighed a hundred though, it was only due to her many layers of clothing.

  So maybe she was really trying to recover?

  If so... Then Becky couldn't throw her friend under the social bus at school and out her as having an eating disorder, could she? For one thing, Mitch probably wouldn't care. The other was that Keeley just might, and it would hurt her, or at least could. Maybe even pushing her to eat less. It didn't make a lot of sense, but it could happen, Becky was nearly certain of it. It had been on an old television show once.

  So instead she decided not to be a bitch, and sell out one of the only people that had always gone out of her way to be really nice to her. Consistently even. It felt like a weight lifted from her shoulders then, and she let out a soft sigh, considering the rest of what they'd been talking about in the car. Cory liked her? Her? She very nearly couldn't believe that. Maybe Eve was wrong, or had just been saying that to be nice? The girl was pretty enough that maybe she just assumed that him glancing at her meant something like that, when he really wanted something else? What that would be Becky didn't know, but it might be worth asking about, if she got a chance.

  Maybe he wanted...

  Really, she had no idea at all what he could have been looking at her for. Other than the things that the others had said. Was it real?

  For just a second she thought about the rest of what Eve had mentioned. About sex. She'd always avoided that, sort of, if she were going to be honest. It didn't take a TV shrink to get the idea across to her either. She didn't want to be her mother, wasting her life and drinking herself into an early grave. So Becky had tried to be the exact opposite of her when she could, including not having anything to do with sex, drinking, or other drugs. It wasn't that she didn't like the idea of sex, but there was a tiny bit of fear there. Not that it would hurt, or even that she'd get pregnant, since she had a better than average idea of what to do to prevent that.

  It was that if she started doing it, then her mother would be one step closer to being right about her. That they were just the same.

  That was what she was still thinking about, sitting on the living room sofa, half an hour later when the table was set for the meal. She should have helped with it, but she'd gotten lost in thought and hadn't realized anything was going on at all. There was some show on the television, but she hadn't gotten that it was even there, as worried as she was, until after the box had been turned off. The sudden gray darkness of the flat screen made her jump, as Darla smiled at her.

  "Dinner time. Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it." She held out a hand, to help Becky stand up from the soft white cushions. It wasn't needed, but it was nice of her to do anyway.

  "Oh... I was just thinking that I don't want to turn into my mother."

  "Ah. Well, having met her on several occasions, and not trying to sound like a bitch, I don't really think that's going to happen. You're a good person, and working to make your own way in life. Things are different for you than for her." She didn't really say how, but then, how would she know?

  Becky nodded anyway.

  "It's the sex stuff. You know, what Eve was saying earlier? I haven't really done anything like that. It's because of that. So I won't make the same mistakes that she did. Get pregnant at sixteen, and then never do anything with my life." It was the first time that she'd ever really told any of her friends all that, and she didn't know how Darla was going to react.

  It was a pretty simple really. She tilted her head and sounded smart.

  "So, instead of cutting yourself off from an entire part of life, just have safe sex, and meet things half way. You can be true to yourself, and not be a nun. I'm pretty certain that's what most people do in life. There are a lot of different ways to be, right? I'm not going to tell you what to do though, since, other than needing a work out buddy, it isn't my business." She grinned and pulled Becky to her quickly, giving her a tiny hug. "Now, let's get to the food. I'm starving."

  The meal was fine, and while she still couldn't figure out how Keeley did it, the thin girl kept making the heaping plate of food vanish. Becky suspected that it was going into her drinking cup, which was a solid color, even though everyone else had clear glass. It was suspicious and made her feel like a real detective for about five seconds. Keeley was still eating some of the food, and that was the real point.

  Not her acting like Veronica Mars.

  They did get a bit of a treat after that, since Darla, who apparently knew a lot more people than she let on most of the time, got them invited to Darren Quieg's party. That was something new, as far as Becky could tell.

  Darren Quieg was the boy most likely to be the lead in any given school drama production. He was good enough looking, but not special enough that he'd make it in Hollywood. What he had was a certain kind of charm. An in your face love of life that made him either everyone's friend, or at least had the people that hated him not admitting it openly. Twice a year his parents left, to go on vacation. Once in the summer, which he attended with them, the other time in February, for Valentine's Day.

  His dad, being the vice-president of something or other at Coretechs managed to take a full two weeks off each time. Becky had to like the sound of that. Most people were lucky to get a month or two off a year, and those people generally didn't really go anywhere. Having the time and the money to do things like that was something she could only hope for herself. Someday.

  What it meant however, according to Darla, was that Darren was having a senior year blowout at his place and they, being popular and comely, were invited. That got Keeley to cover her mouth and laugh, rolling her eyes a bit.

  "Well, that leaves me out then, doesn't it? Popular? Moi? I think not. I just started school here this year. I don't even recognize the name. Darren Quieg? It doesn't ring a bell."

  That made a bit of sense to Becky, since the one production that Keeley had been involved with so far had been the only one that hadn't featured him.

  Becky twittered her fingers in the air like a tiny birds wings, trying to remember the correct part.

  "Townsman number one? You talked with him a bunch." It probably wasn't enough, but a look of comprehension dawned on her face.

  "Oh... Right. Darren. I didn't know his last name. Well, he seems like a nice guy. Shall we?"

  It was decided they should, which meant an hour of primping, doing makeup, and trading clothing around, since they were using things that Keeley had in her closet. On the good side Becky was nearly the same size now as Keeley had been, before she dropped all of her weight. Since the girl hadn't been fat then, it left her feeling decent about herself. An honest size six.

>   What that meant however was that there wasn't a huge selection of party clothes to choose from. Darla didn't help there at all, bringing out a black mini skirt that was so small it nearly wasn't there, and a white blouse, which she insisted needed a black velvet vest to go over it.

  "That and some stockings. Hmm..."

  It was done fast and while Becky felt like she was playing dress up, she did end up roughly matching everyone else, at least in style. It was awkward and she kept feeling like she was constantly flashing everyone, even though she had underwear on. When she mentioned it, Eve rolled her eyes at her and then crossed her arms across her own blouse, which had a lot of buttons undone.

  "What do you think the point of a mini is? The idea is to catch attention, not walk around in a burka all night." She stopped and looked at Darla, her face a bit tense suddenly. That or baffled. "Did I get that right? The Middle Eastern all over outfits they make women wear all the time in public?"

  "That's right. Eve is too, Becks. Really, that's half the fun. Catching men trying to peek. Remember to smile when you do."

  It didn't make her feel any better at all for some reason.

  It meant another car ride, and this time, when they got out, Keeley took over. It was a bit strange, but she seemed to know hidden rules for these things. Like she'd done it more times than could be counted.

  "Don't drink anything handed to you. Even if you know the person. I don't know if there will be alcohol, but if so, remember that we have church in the morning and don't let yourself get wasted. Not too much at least. Everyone should stick with their buddy. I'm with Hally and Eve. Darla, you and Becky should stick together. Have fun, but the van turns into a pumpkin at midnight, so don't get lost in a closet making out." She winked, and that got everyone but Becky to seem less than impressed.

  Eve waved at the other girl dismissively.

  "Gee, thanks for the advice, mom. Anything else to tell us before we go into the big bad world?"

  "Sure... No glove, no love."

  What that meant, well, Becky knew what it meant, but what she didn't get was why everyone else was just acting as if it were expected. Darla moved in, a hint of perfume coming off of her, making her smell a bit like vanilla and flowers, but not too strongly.

  "Good. Let's get to the mixing and mingling?"

  The party was actually decently loud inside the house. It was off the main road and not too close to the neighbors, so the police hadn't been called out for noise complaints. Yet. Becky didn't like the way it smelled, since the beer and soft hint of marijuana was just a bit too familiar to her from home. People called out to Darla as they walked in, and Eve. Hally waved to a few people and Keeley just owned the space somehow. People looked at her, as if they wanted to go and talk, but didn't know how.

  Becky was nearly invisible, hiding there in her pretty friend's shadow like she was. Or she thought that was the case at least, until someone took her arm.

  "Hello! I'm Darren." He said it happily, sounding a bit drunk. Just a little. He had a red plastic cup of beer in his right hand, which tried to slosh out as he looked at her. "Wait... Becky? You look incredible!"

  He leered a little bit, and Darla just stood there, letting them talk, and not leaving her alone with the boy, which was the plan, if she had it right. That was going to make things awkward later if she had to sit in a room with the head cheerleader while she made out with some guy, wasn't it?

  She shrugged, but stood up straight, "thanks! I came with Darla and some of the cheerleaders. Keeley Thomson too. That's all right, isn't it?" It might not be, she knew, but the guy just took a sip of beer, and then nodded.

  "Sure. I should have invited you personally." There was a bit of a lean in, which, she realized was Darren trying to look down her top. It was a bit of a lost cause however, since she had it buttoned up and was wearing the vest over that. Nothing was going to show, in particular. "Say, are you planning on flashing people? If so, wait for me to be there..."

  Darla finally broke in, her voice mellow and happy sounding.

  "Not tonight. Not Becks at least. I think it's Hally's turn, you should get with her on that one." Then, mercifully, the slightly taller girl pulled Becky away by the arm, leading her to a clump of people that she didn't really know at all. Some of them were familiar from the halls at school, but a few weren't and one of them was clearly too old to really be there. He stopped talking and turned with a smile when Darla touched his arm.

  "Oh... Hey! Darla Gibson! I haven't seen you for years. How have you been? You got all old." He had a cup too, but it seemed to have soda in it.

  "Hello Scott. Not bad, all things considered. So, back from college? That doesn't seem to fit the time schedule, does it?" It sounded a bit strange, but the man, who seemed to be in his early twenties, didn't deny it at all.

  "Long weekend. I drove in last night, so that I could buy the booze for this mess. My little brother wanted to do something memorable. So, I'm here to make sure no one sets the place on fire. That and flirt with girls that are too young for me. I don't suppose either of you is old enough?"

  That got him to look at Becky and smile, but then shake his head mournfully.

  "Not that I can do anything about it anyway. If I leave for that long people will start trying to turn out little house party into a rave. Then it will be all glow sticks and GHB all over the place."

  Darla nodded.

  "Too true. You can't trust high school kids these days, what with their hair and their funny clothes."

  That was clearly some kind of inside joke, since the man, Scott, laughed for a long time and then patted Darla on the arm.

  "Well, it was great seeing you. We should catch up sometime? You always were my favorite freshman."

  They traded numbers and everything, but didn't linger all that long, since Darla pointed across the room.

  "Crud on a waffle."

  What she pointed at was a bit racy, but after a few seconds it snapped into frame for her. There was a girl on the sofa across the room. The place wasn't dark, but some of the lights had been turned down, and the boy that was on top of her, one of the football team jocks, was busily trying to run his hand into her pants. As if no one else was there. The thing was that the girl clearly wasn't awake for it. She drooped to one side a bit listlessly, her brown hair looking matted, and a bit damp. "That's Marty. He really doesn't need a rape charge. That will cost him his scholarship. Moron. I worked so hard to help him get it too. Help me get this taken care of?"

  It was easier said than done. Marty, for all he had a sports career lined up, was wasted and really horny. She knew this, because when Darla tried to pull him off, all he did was paw at her in return, and then went instantly back to the unconscious girl. Enough of her clothing had been undone that it was clear he wasn't just planning to kiss her a bit and call it good.

  Marty was also huge. Tall and with enough muscle that it didn't seem like they were going to be able to do much right then. Darla looked at Becky and then shrugged, putting her right hand between the boy's legs. At first it seemed like she was going to squeeze, to make him move out of pain, but instead she started rubbing, finding his erection and working on it, right there in the living room with people watching.

  "Sue is out for the night, Marty. You can't do anything with her. Why don't you and I go and find someplace, and take care of things? Becky can help. Can you get Keeley and Eve to come over and help Sue?" She didn't stop what she was doing and it was really clear that the guy was getting into it. Enough so that he was taking deep breaths already.

  Becky had to find Keeley first and didn't know if the whole thing would require jogging across the room. She was a bit worried for Darla, since the big football player wasn't likely to take no for an answer now, was he? Not after what she'd been doing to get his attention. Waving her hands, wondering exactly what it was that she was supposed to do to help, she managed to get the others to come over, though Eve looked a bit upset at first, being pulled away from several boys.<
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  For her part, once she got there, Keels, as Darla always called her, just nodded.

  "I see. Well, you and Becky can go and take care of Marty and we'll get Sue someplace safe. She's just drunk, right? Not drugged or anything like that?"

  A boy from across the room came over and watched what Darla was doing a little too closely, then shook his head. It was Wallace, from her drama class.

  "She was slamming beer for two hours, so I don't think so. She must have had fifteen cups of it." His eyes kept going back to Darla, and then he sighed.

  "That means she should be watched for alcohol poisoning. I should have said something."

  Keeley just got under her right arm, while Hally took the other side and Eve cleared a path to the stairs for her, since they didn't seem to need to go to the hospital just yet.

  Darla, instead of stopping what she was doing, since the other girl was safe now, pulled Marty up by the hand.

  "Come on. We aren't doing anything fun here."

  They walked toward the back of the place though, not the stairs, with Becky wondering exactly what was going to happen. Was Darla going to actually sleep with him? Or did she think that Becky was going to? Because that wasn't going to happen. Well, not the second one. She just wasn't going to do anything like that for her first time with a drunk guy at a party.

  She nearly said that when Marty put his arm across her shoulder, leaning on her heavily. His hand came around far enough to brush at her chest, but the vest acted like armor, protecting her from being squeezed too much. Darla wasn't getting off that easily on the other side however, since she was in a loose sweater that meant he was able to tug it up fairly easily. She didn't have a bra on either. So that, as they walked into the back, the other girl was being groped without anything between her and Marty at all.