*Blue Cheeze* Pamela - My Friend and Me

Natalie unlocked her bicycle from the garage and wheeled it out to the pavement.

�Where�s your bike?� she asked, when she saw Duncan standing there.

�I didn�t know we were going town, it�s at home,� he said. �How about I ride on your bike back home and you sit in front, then I�ll get my bike. We can get an ice-cream in town, I�ll pay.�

Natalie shrugged.

�Free ice-cream, what can I say?�

Duncan got onto the bicycle and she balanced precariously in front of him. He put one foot on the pedal then pushed off towards his home. Her hair was flying backwards onto his shoulder, and he could smell the scent of her shampoo.

When he reached his home, he got his bicycle out from the back yard and rode it out. Natalie was retying her hair, though it didn�t seem to make much of a difference.

�Come on,� he said, and they cycled off together. After she ran her errand, they settled in the ice-cream shop, their bicycles locked securely.

�What will you have?� he asked her as he dug in his pockets for money.

�The same, I guess.�

Duncan ordered them and Natalie began licking the side of her cone. She glanced up and began smiling.

�Dunc, don�t look up,� she said. �But there are these three girls in the booth a little behind you that keep staring at you.�

Duncan sputtered, then pretended to stretch, casually looking around the room. He caught sight of the girls and one of them winked at him. He immediately turned back around.

�Eww, it�s Camellia,� he grumbled. �I wind up sitting mext to her during geography, because the teacher put me there and she�s always clinging on to me during geography. �Oh, Duncan, you�re so smart. Oh, Duncan, how did you do that? Oh, Duncan, that�s so clever!� �

Natalie couldn�t help grinning at Duncan�s imitation. Camellia sashayed past their booth, towards the ladies� room. The grin on Natalie�s face grew wider.

�This is SO interesting,� she commented. �I�ve never seen you blush that red before, Dunc.�

�Shut up, Nat.� He looked down at her. �It�s not funny.� He groped for something to take her mind off the subject.

�You look nice in that shirt.�

Natalie rubbed her free hand up and down her other arm.

�I feel naked,� she insisted sulkily.

Duncan gulped down the last of his cone.

* * *

�I have to go grocery shopping for my mum,� Natalie said later that day.

�So you can�t go rollerblading with me?� Duncan�s face fell. They were in his room and Natalie had come to borrow his biology textbook for her paper.

�I guess not, I�ve got a lot of homework.� Natalie stuffed the book roughly into her bag.

�I�ll go shopping with you,� he offered. �I�m so bored, I�ve got no homework.�

Natalie groaned.

�You�re so lucky. I have to run errands and do homework and you have nothing.�

�Your mum is studying and your dad is working, you�ve got to help them out.�

�Yeah�I guess you can come. You can help me carry the groceries. Oh, I�m sorry, you can�t, you�re too puny.�

Duncan leapt off the floor crossly.

�I am not puny. I�m taller than you.�

�You�re not!� she scoffed.

�Give it up, Nat, I�m taller.� He dragged her over to his mirror. �See?�

�It�s your hair,� she finally said, after careful inspection. �You�ve gelled your fringe up.�

�Yeah, but see, my eyes are higher up than yours. I have to look down at you.�

�Fine.� Natalie admitted. �You�re taller. So what? I�m still stronger, so there.� She crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes dared him to disagree.

Duncan pondered for a few seconds, then grabbed her up and swung her off her feet. He stumbled slightly, and Natalie flung an arm around his neck to keep from falling.

�Put me down, you jerk.�

Duncan remained where he was, grinning at his accomplishment.

�Well? Who�s stronger?�

Natalie struggled in his arms.

�I beat you in the fight yesterday��

�I was being nice to you.� He shifted her slightly, his face inches away from hers.

Natalie stopped struggling.

�Oh, put me down.� Duncan shrugged and dumped her unceremoniously on the floor.

�Thank you,� she spat. She grabbed her bag. �So what if you�re stronger? That doesn�t mean a thing.�

Duncan�s mouth remained solemn, but his eyes were laughing.

�Okay, ma�am, whatever you say.�

�Wipe that smirk off your face,� she said, annoyed.

�So what do you have to buy?� he asked.

Natalie pulled the shopping list out of her back jeans pocket.

�Eggs, milk, sugar��

�Nat, what are you wearing for the prom?� Jo called across the room. Natalie pursed her lips and shrugged.

�I don�t know. Why?� she called back.

Jo scooted nearer to Natalie.

�Well, I was thinking maybe I could help you. Do you need my help?� she asked. Natalie looked at her, bug-eyed.

Three years had passed, and Natalie had grown closer to her girlfriends in high school. Though she was still best friends with Duncan, she did hang out with the girls.

She was fifteen, with the same long hair, but her eyes had mellowed to a richer, warmer brown, and she wasn�t as aggressive as before. She had filled out a little, and had stopped fighting with Duncan. Well, she was fighting less.

�Amy,� sang Jo �We need your help!� Amy glanced up at hearing her name. She saw the waving girl and headed over to them.

�You need my help?� she asked. Jo nodded.

�Yeah, Nat needs to get properly dressed for the prom,� Jo said seriously. Natalie shook her head vigourously.

�No, you�re going to make me wear a dress, aren�t you?� she shrank back at Amy's touch. Amy grinned.

�Nat, you graduate from high school only once, you�ve got to look nice!� she exclaimed.

�Come on, let US help you,� Jo persuaded. �You come over to my house tonight and we�ll try to get you some nice clothes.�

Natalie shook her head again.

�I�m staying over at Duncan�s tonight,� she excused herself.

Jo winked at Amy.

�What is going on between you and Duncan anyway?� she asked.

Nat shrugged complacently.

�We�re best friends,� she answered simply.

�Nothing more?� Amy poked further.

�You mean as in�?� Natalie asked, horrified.

�Yeah as in�you know,� Jo finished.

�No way!� Natalie exclaimed. �He�s been my best friend for ages!�

�Duncan is sort of cute,� Jo said thoughtfully. �And his mouth! God, any person would kill for a mouth like that.�

Natalie was shocked.

�You think that Duncan is CUTE?� she practically screeched.

�Sort of,� Amy said. �Isn�t he?�

�He�s�he�s Duncan, no, he�s not cute,� Natalie yelled.

�Okay, fine, how about you come over tomorrow afternoon? Prom is next week, you�ve only got a while,� Jo interrupted. "Amy, you�ll come?� Amy nodded.

�I can get Lizzie to come as well,� she said, referring to her best friend. �We can work on Nat together.� She looked down at the grubbily dressed Natalie, whose shirt was spattered with mud. �Man, you�ll need working on!�

Natalie shrugged nonchalantly.

�Whatever, okay. But you have to promise me you�re not going to make me wear some gross dress. Promise?� she demanded.

Amy and Jo crossed their fingers and nodded.

** * * * *

Natalie flopped onto Duncan�s bed.

�I�m tired!� she wailed. �I don�t want to wear a dress!� Duncan looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

�Worried about the prom?� he asked. Natalie opened one eye.

�Yes, of course. What are you wearing?�

�I dunno, proper shirt, pants, jacket.�

�So proper?�

�Peanut, you graduate from high school only once.�

Natalie groaned.

�Don�t give me that! Jo wants me to go over to her house tomorrow night. She wants to dress me up. And stop calling me peanut, okay?�

�But you�re so little,� he teased.

He had begun calling her Peanut ever since that day he had carried her, and she hated it. She had stopped growing, and Duncan was so much taller than her now.

�I am not little,� she said sulkily. �I�m average, you�re big.�

�Peanut, peanut,� he taunted.

�Shut up, Dunc,� she moaned, still sprawled across his bed. He crawled over to the bed and sat beside her.

�Shut what, peanut?� he teased. Natalie tried to elbow him in the stomach, but Duncan escaped from her bony elbow.

�I�m too tired to fight,� she grunted as she rolled over.

�Lame excuse,� he retorted.

�I�m going to sleep,� she announced crossly. She grabbed her pyjamas and slammed his bathroom door. A minute later she came out, dressed in a grubby shirt and a pair of sweat pants.

Duncan dragged the extra mattress out from his closet and dumped in on the floor.

�Going to sleep, Peanut?�

�Shut up, Duncan.�

�Oh, all right Nat.� He pulled his shirt off and dragged his T-shirt over his head. He was about to remove his pants when Natalie began yelling.

�Keep your trousers on, Duncan!�

�I�ve got pants under here you know!�

�Boxers?�

�Have I worn anything else?� he demanded.

Natalie burrowed her head under the blanket.

�Call me when you�re done,� her muffled voice came out from under the covers.

Duncan rolled his eyes, and pulled his pyjama bottoms on.

�Okay, I�m done,� he said dryly. �You can look now.� Natalie took her head out.

�I�m going to sleep, okay?� she said. Duncan dropped on to the mattress.

�How come you get the bed?� he complained. Natalie grunted.

�You got the bed last time,� she said sleepily. Duncan shifted uncomfortably on the floor.

�Okay then, Nat?�

�What?� sleepily.

�You wearing a dress for the prom?� Duncan asked.

There was no response. Natalie was fast asleep.

* * * *

Duncan was jolted awake suddenly.

�What the�� he exclaimed, half-awake. He had rolled off the mattress onto the carpet. He stumbled drunkenly to the bathroom.

He slammed the toilet seat down, switched off the light and settled comfortably in his bed.

Natalie stretched out in Duncan's bed, and her foot nudged something warm and soft. Her eyes sprang open and she stared straight down at Duncan, who was fast asleep at the foot of the bed, seemingly unaware that he had just received a kick in the stomach.

"Duncan James!" she yelled, dragging her feet up closer to her body. "What the hell are you doing here?" Duncan pulled the duvet nearer and snuggled back down.

"Isn't it supposed to be my turn to sleep in the bed?" She extended a long leg and poked him in the chest with her toe. He pushed her foot away and buried his face deeper into the pillow.

"Hmm?" he sighed. Natalie shoved him off the bed with her feet and he rolled onto the mattress he was supposed to be sleeping on.

"What the - "He landed on the floor with a heavy thump. "Stop it!"

Natalie glared at Duncan, who was rubbing his sore head.

"Will you tell me how come you're on the bed?" she demanded. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping on the floor?"

Duncan stopped rubbing his head and looked up at Natalie in surprise.

"Wasn't I?" he murmured, more to himself than to her. "Oh, I must have gone to the bed instead of the floor when I went to the bathroom last night."

She glowered at him from beneath her tangled hair, and he raised his hands, palms away, in surrender.

"Hey, don't blame a guy for wanting his own bed!" he exclaimed.

"You're not a guy, more like a sissy," she sniffed. He shrugged, yawning.

"Whatever."

He shuffled to the bathroom, but Natalie streaked past him (I don't mean anything else but ran!) and locked herself in before he could even lift a hand.

"I was going in there first!" he protested to the door. Inside, Natalie sniggered.

"Well, I took it first!" she gloated. Duncan pounded uselessly on the door for a while then began shuffling away. He crawled back onto the bed and tried to sleep again.

"Damn!" A loud curse was heard in the bathroom, followed by several colourful expletives.

"Um, Duncan?" came a timid voice from the bathroom.

He opened a sleepy eye and turned his head to look at the bathroom door.

"Will you get me a towel?" Natalie asked, embarrassed. "I didn't bring one in."

Duncan heaved a sigh and struggled out of bed. He stumbled to the cupboard and searched for a towel.

"Here." He kicked the door crossly. It opened a crack, and a long slender arm stuck out, drops of water glistening on her tanned skin. It grabbed the towel and snaked back in again.

"Thanks," mumbled Natalie.

* * * *

"Jo, don't you think Nat will look fantastic in that hot blue number?" yelled Amy.

"What hot blue number?" shouted Jo.

"The only hot blue number you've got!" hollered Amy. The pounding of footsteps was heard over the screaming stereo system and the door flung open.

"Sorry I'm late," panted Natalie, her hair disheveled. "Man, do you guys have to shout like that?" She stalked over and turned the volume down.

Amy pulled her head out of Jo's huge closet.

"That's okay," she said amiably. Jo glanced up from her bed and her jaw dropped.

"We've GOT to do something!" she exclaimed, horrified at Natalie's appearance. "You look horrible!"

Natalie scowled.

"Thanks," she snarled. Jo only grinned, she was used to Natalie's mood swings, and got up to sit Natalie down at her dresser. She pulled the rubber band off, and her long hair fell down in tangles.

"Right, now to brush your hair," Amy said dryly. "It'll take us a month to do that."

"God, Nat, what did you do to it?" Jo asked, running her fingers through Natalie's thick brown hair.

"OW!" Natalie yelled as Jo's finger caught in her hair. "I just washed it this morning, that's all. I haven't brushed it yet."

"Oh, and we're wondering why we can't brush it," Jo said sarcastically.

Amy raised her perfectly plucked eyebrows at Jo and sighed.

This would take a longer time than they expected.

* * * * * *

Throughout the course of 4 hours, there could be heard yells and screeches coming from Jo's bedroom, and her mother would occasionally stick her head in to ensure that Natalie was still alive, after all that shouting.

"Jo, get away from my eyebrows, okay?"

"Hey, there should be 2 eyebrows, not one!"

"Amy, please, get those tweezers away from Jo."

"Nat, don't be such a baby. Plucking your eyebrows doesn't hurt."

"Hey, they're my eyebrows."

"Yeah, if you want to look like a barbaric cavewoman at the prom."

"But it hurts!"

"Duh, it hurts! Hey, we're making you over, give us some credit!"

"It's my body. OW!"

"Nat, sit up in the chair. And stop scowling. I can't put lipstick when you're scowling."

* * * *

"There, Jo, she's ready," announced Lizzie. Jo walked over to Natalie, inspecting her carefully, then handed her a pair of strappy heels.

"God, not that!" exclaimed Natalie, pushing them away.

"Nat, they go fine with the dress," Amy persuaded. "Just try them on." Natalie looked at the three girls who were looking back at her - Amy smiling encouragingly, Lizzie watching expectantly and Jo glaring at her through slitted eyes.

"Nat, after all that trouble surely you can just put on the heels," Jo said crossly. "You'll look great in them."

Several seconds passed, the shoes half towards Natalie.

"Man, you're persistent," she finally conceded, grabbing the shoes and pulling them on roughly.

"Careful now," warned Amy. "They're not meant to be handled like that."

"Why would anyone want to buy these shoes?" grumbled Natalie as her clumsy fingers struggled with the delicate straps. "Stupid heels, anyone would fall down in them.If I break my neck I'll sue you guys."

Jo smothered a smile as she watched Natalie.

"Stand up, go on, see yourself in the mirror."

Natalie stood up a little hesitantly in the heels, and limped self- consciously to the full-length mirror.

"Oh my god," she breathed.