Friendzoned

by Power, P. S.

  The blonde girl grinned, and helped Marty sit on a wooden bench near the back door.

  Then, without waiting at all, she slowly lowered herself to her knees, right in front of him.

  "Now, let's see about things?"

  Chapter five

  Becky looked on in what could only be described as shock, with a handful of mild panic thrown in for color. She was a bit relieved to find that there was no disgust at least, since that would mean she was probably too crippled to enjoy life at all, but she didn't know what to do, so froze in place.

  On her knees, working on the front of Marty's jeans, Darla turned to look at her, not breaking eye contact with the boy though.

  "In... three, two, one..."

  Just as she got to the end the boy slumped, nearly going over all the way.

  "Ha. I thought he was close. Now, help me get his shoes and shirt. We need a piece of paper and a pen too." She didn't say what that was all for, but the guy didn't seem to stir much, after they laid him down on the bench all the way. It wasn't even close to big enough for him, so his bottom half slid to the floor, with his head supported on the polished wood.

  She didn't know how to get any of those things, but, as luck would have it, she didn't have to, since Scott walked up with them about a minute later. He had to have been standing behind them the whole time, or pretty nearly. That meant he was either a perv that liked to watch, or he'd been trying to work out how to save them. Or maybe both? The one didn't automatically mean he couldn't be doing the other too.

  The man handed the things over, and then smiled.

  "I get taking the shoes and socks, even the shirt, so he can't run off easily, but why do you need a pen and paper?"

  Darla started writing.

  "Why, for this.... Here we go." Then she wet a single finger and smeared the ink on the last line. It was a phone number, or looked to be one at least, except that you couldn't read it.

  The rest of it was just a few lines.

  'Hey, that was fun. Thanks for the reach around. I'll blow you anytime. Seth.'

  Then the phone number.

  The note was folded a bit sloppily and then tucked into Marty's wallet, so that he wouldn't be able to miss it. The rest of his clothing was stacked next to him.

  "And there we go. I know that he was drunk and not thinking, but I won't be there to bail him out next year when he's off at college. Hopefully he won't let himself get that wasted again soon." Then she got up, dusted off her knees and pulled Becky back to the party.

  It was funny. In a dark and slightly mean way. Becky didn't laugh though, her mind buzzing and working far too fast for her own good.

  "But... what would you have done if he hadn't passed out?"

  "Um, I would have stood up and walked away. He isn't a rapist, just too stupid and drunk to know what he was doing. Or, well, not completely, but you get the idea. It wasn't as if we're too drunk to protect ourselves in this kind of situation. Let's dance. Grab some boys for it, so no one gets the wrong idea about us." She didn't wait, doing that with a passerby and pushing him at Becky.

  She didn't know how to dance and felt awkward and like she was going to make a fool of herself, but she was sober and the guy wasn't, so it worked. All she had to really do was make sure that she didn't let him see the couple on the far side of the room. They were "dancing" if you could call having clothed sex in the middle of a living room that at all. She didn't. It probably meant she was being a prude, but that was just her opinion of it all.

  Things went along pretty well for a while though, even if the guys that Darla kept passing to her were a bit handsy at times. Not all of them, but none of them were up to a lot of in-depth and meaningful conversation either. She was given a new guy, who had nice tan skin and wasn't anyone she knew at all from school, but seemed to know everyone and was tall enough for the basketball team. He seemed to be sober enough to know better, but reached under her skirt and cupped her behind when the music changed to a slow dance. He didn't hold it for too long though, since she stiffened.

  It wasn't that she didn't think he was cute enough, just that... She didn't know what to do. Not even what to say. Luckily he didn't make her, just making a face that seemed a bit embarrassed.

  "Gotta try, right? You're Becky, aren't you?"

  "Yeah. I... missed your name?"

  "Jamal." There was a chuckle under there, a thing that was almost hidden, but not quite. "We should go out sometime."

  It was just there. Boom. They should go out. They didn't even know each other's names or anything really.

  "Um... I guess?" The conversation from earlier played through her head, what Eve had told her, about regrets and all that. She felt awkward about it all though. Did he really just ask her out on a date? Why? Because she hadn't screamed when he'd touched her butt?

  Darla snagged her with an arm around her shoulders, patting her, pretending to be a little out of it and possibly drunk. Or it might be real, since she'd kept Becky busy enough she might have taken something. It wasn't the case though and the girl giggled and moved her away from the boy.

  As soon as they were out of earshot, she leaned in carefully, whispering.

  "We need to leave soon. The police are going to raid the place in about ten minutes. Eve got a call. I'll explain later." Then she led the girl out by the hand in a way that seemed pretty suspicious. They were met at the front door by Eve, Hally and Keeley, who was currently holding up Sue, who wasn't able to walk on her own yet. Looking around she got the idea. There was no way they could hide everyone in time. Not as drunk as they were.

  It made her feel a bit bad, just taking off like that, but what else could they do?

  Darla knew, and handed her keys to Eve.

  "You four get to Freida. Becky and I will deal with this. We have four minutes. We're both sober and won't be here when they come, so should be fine. Meet up on Yarrow Street, near the store."

  Then, after they got a head start, the girl turned and walked into the room, then turned the radio, which was blaring, all the way off. People grumbled a bit.

  "Hey!" It was a single, very slurred word, coming from Darren. "Thash ma'favrite shong!"

  Darla didn't answer him at all. Instead she spoke in a firm, but commanding voice.

  "We got a tip that the police are coming and will be here in approximately eight minutes. We need to get all the beer out of here, and into the woods out back. All of the drunk people too. Move. Pick stuff up and go." It took about five minutes just to get them to believe her, though the more sober remaining people, the ones that hadn't just scurried out the back immediately, managed to get the place mainly clear. The rest staggered and grumbled into the woods, out back.

  It was chilly out, but the last of them were gone as the blue and red flashing lights showed up. There were a whole lot of them just to break up a kids' party.

  "Is this normal?" Becky whispered, as she and Darla headed off, her feet hurting, both from the earlier walk and the shoes she had on, which, given everything, were probably going to be ruined, as they had to pick their way through the neighbor's yard on the right hand side of the place. There was a lot of distance between the houses at least, so no one noticed. Luckily there were no dogs either.

  "What? The police showing up, or a group of walking distractions trying to hide behind fourteen trees? The woods back there are the neighbor's back lawn, but if all the beer makes it out of the house, Scott won't get in trouble. We used to date, for a while. Nothing too heavy, mainly hanging out, since I was too young for him. Yes, I know, I once had a life. Amazing isn't it?" Then she pulled Becky down as a search light tried to show where they were. They ended up behind a small shed that had a rather nice green lawn around it. One that was watered regularly, but hopefully not for several more hours, since she was not dressed to be soaked to the bone.

  Being smart enough to get the idea, she didn't need for Darla to tell her to be quiet. They waited for about ten minutes, and then walked, slowly, away. No one c
aught them, but she kept expecting to turn a corner and find a man in blue waiting to call their parents. Thankfully that didn't happen.

  They walked for a while, and finally Becky, who was holding her arms for warmth, asked something that had been bothering her for a bit.

  "I get the idea about Scott, but... Why send the car away without us? Couldn't we have gone with them and just called all that out as we left?"

  "Not really. I was careful not to let Frieda get blocked in, but if we'd done that then it would have been noticed on the way past. This way, all the cars leaving in a group came later. I mean, the police will know that we were here." She paused and pointed to the little, but well lit, convenience store ahead, where the cream colored van looked a bit like a Twinkie under the slightly yellow lights. "Or that I was at the party at least, but they can't prove anything. We're all sober, except Sue, and looking hot isn't a crime. If we came out in the crush of bodies, then we'd have been there all night, waiting for my lawyer to get out of bed. As chilly as it is, this is better."

  "Oh. That sounds reasonable I guess. So why did Eve get warned?"

  The girl next to her put an arm over her shoulder, probably trying to steal some of her heat. That or share her own.

  "Her dad's the Chief of Police. Keeley regularly brings them all cookies down at the station, and things like that. In return, they give her slightly wild friend a heads up when they're going to bust high school parties. It works on several levels, since taking in the Chief's daughter can't be a good career move. She's good at doing things like that, Keeley is. Making friends in different places. So Eve got a call. I know, it's not exactly worthy of a spy novel, but that's the power of the chocolate chip for you." That came with a bit of a squeeze. "You weren't too scared, were you?"

  That was the strange thing. She had been a bit, but not too much. She didn't really know why, but it had all been kind of exciting. Probably because she was too stupid to think that she'd be in real trouble if she got caught.

  "A bit. Maybe I should get in on that deal too? Make some muffins or something?"

  "Sounds like a plan. Still, Keeley's got that handled for now. We should see about getting home before anyone decides to check in on us. On the good side, we still get to have plenty of sleep! You'll need it, so you can heal up from today. I was thinking we'd lift some weights tomorrow? Then get together a few times a week after that? In the afternoon."

  She didn't answer, but knew it was too late to back out now, the perky girl actually skipping happily to her van, and moving people around so that she was driving again.

  That meant that Eve was by Becky again, since they were clearly van buddies, and Hally was in the front, since Keeley was busily dabbing a wet napkin on Sue's face. That was a real problem, since the girl wasn't awake at all yet, even with all the moving around, and furtiveness. Worse, Becky didn't have a clue who she was. She'd seen her in the halls at school. She thought. That was about it.

  "What do we do with her?" She asked it with worry, but it came out sounding harsh, like the girl might just be something bad that they needed to consider dumping along the road side. She didn't mean it that way but, Eve made a face at her.

  "We take her home. She lives in my old trailer park. I can get us there. I doubt her step-dad will care. He might be in holding down at the station anyway, since it's a weekend night. He's not a great guy." She looked around at them, as if waiting for some kind of condemnation to head her way.

  Keeley spoke from the back seat.

  "We can take her back to my house for the night, just in case. It should be all right. At least if that's all she'd be going home to."

  That decided, they moved along the road, only to find that Rebekah was waiting for them on Keeley's stoop. The pale woman with her copper hair and dark clothing stood out a bit, but it was late enough, nearing eleven-thirty, that no one noticed her overly. She had a band t-shirt on. It was black, but the lettering was visible as soon as they all went inside. She even helped move Sue to the sofa.

  "I got bored and thought I'd come and see if any of you were around." It was an explanation, if not a good one. After a bit, staring at the slightly older girl, she got it. She thought.

  She had a crush on Keeley. It had to be that, didn't it? Why else would she be waiting on her doorstep like that this late? It should have been creepy, but Keels liked girls too, and the other girl was just old enough to be interesting, not gross. Except for the girl part, and Becky wasn't going to judge. The Vampire part was nearly as big of a deal, wasn't it?

  The idea poked at her, since making that kind of commitment to her career was kind of amazing. Rebekah lived what she did. She could have gone in for a few fake fangs and some pale makeup, but she went so far beyond that. True, it was into the bizarre, but that didn't mean she wasn't cool.

  It could also be that she didn't have a lot of friends and just wanted to hang out someplace. It wasn't like going to Denny's was a big option for her.

  Keeley stretched and nodded.

  "Very cool. We should watch a movie or something. It can't make the day any worse." She turned to the fake Vampire and threw her hands up. "First we tried to help Becky get the guy she's in love with and he kept looking at me the whole time. Then we went to a party, and it got raided by the cops. After we found Sue here about to become the next Youtube celebrity rape victim. I hope your day went better?"

  The other girl shrugged.

  "Got up late, don't have a gig today and was able to finish practice before mid-night. Not perfect, but it could be worse. So, what kind of movie do you all want to see? A nice rom-com?" Her voice actually held hope, as if, naturally, that's what someone like her would want to see.

  Becky suspected it was a joke, but they got to watch one that was playing on basic cable, and had popcorn along with it. It was all air popped, and didn't have butter, but she was so hungry that the extra forty calories from the light and fluffy kernels seemed worth it. The show wasn't that great.

  "But," Becky put in, pointing at the credits after Eve had said it was a piece of something best scraped off of a shoe. "It serves an important function in our lives. Now we can go forth in to the world, armed with unrealistic expectations. I can just take these glasses off and shake my head, and presto, I'll be a nine." She pretended to grab at her face, but nothing happened, not having eyewear at all. "Well... darn."

  Then she cracked up.

  Hally sighed.

  "Wait you mean that isn't how real life works? I thought that all I had to do was wait for the millionaire to come and say hello, then step out in front of a bus to be saved from certain death. I guess I'll have to go to my other plan then, and find a hot alien guy. Life is so hard."

  They went on like that for a good while, but then settled early. She was actually sort of tired, for all that she'd gotten up late the day before. Wisely enough a bucket was provided for Sue, who woke up long enough to use it. Twice. Becky was in the room with her, and woke each time, but Keeley came in and emptied it, not complaining about the task at all.

  That meant they were all up early enough, even Sue. She looked around, her face unsure and a bit wrinkled from the pillow still, and stared at Becky.

  "I... Don't know where I am. Again." She didn't sound all that awake yet, but not really drunk. Just miserable.

  Becky gave her a single nod.

  "Keeley Thomson's house. You were about to have passed out sex in front of everyone at Darren's party, without your consent, but Darla Gibson saved you. Then the police raided, but we got you out. Or, well, Keeley, Hally and Eve did." It was a pretty good explanation, Becky thought, and the girl nodded, then looked at the door.

  "Thanks. I guess I don't really need to have everyone see me do things like that. Can I get a ride home, do you think? I'm not sure where I am."

  Becky could see that. It would be hard to know where she was at all, having been moved.

  "About a half mile from the school. I don't know about a ride, let me see if I can find someone?"


  That someone, it turned out, was Keeley, who came with her keys out, already dressed for Church.

  "I can do that now. I missed my normal baking for everyone, so want to stop and get some things for it anyway. I know, less than stellar, but I'm young, what do people want from me?" She seemed happy enough, and so awake the Becky suspected drugs had been involved, or at least strong coffee. That last one seemed to be the case, since Darla came out with a pot of it and several cups just after the other two left. It was actually good, and not bitter at all.

  Sipping at it, Becky didn't move for a bit, but it was decided that she got the first shower, so she stood up as soon as it was done, and... then sat back down.

  "Ow! My legs. That is not fun." She let her eyes go wide, while Darla finished her own drink. "Here, I'll help you up. I'm not going in the shower with you, so don't let yourself fall down. That would be a bit too much to ask, party pal or not."

  "Fair enough." She took the offered hand though and refrained from crying too loudly as she got to her feet, keeping it to a whimper and then shuffling off to the bathroom. It took a long time to get it all done, but at least Hally didn't seem to be that much better off than she was. Eve on the other hand, just hopped to her feet and got more coffee.

  Becky glared at her a bit, but the short haired girl that looked just a bit like she had some other kind of heritage in her background, stretched. Limberly.

  "I run. I may not be little miss fitness, but I try to stay in shape. If I go into the military, I'll need to be." It made sense, and she didn't pretend it didn't.

  Neither did Becky.

  "Right. Well, I guess I should too, but not today. I don't think I can walk enough to go to church, much less lift weights later." She glanced at Darla, feeling bad about letting her down already, but the girl shook her head and looked prim.

  "No to both. Get up and start walking and you'll loosen up a lot. We're going to work our arms chest and back today, so it won't be that bad. No wimping out on me yet. We haven't even started."