Chapter 6: Wake Me Up
Pulling up to a yellow house Zoe didn't even wait for the car to stop. She flew out of the car and landed on the grass rolling. She quickly picked herself up and ran right to the door. Ringing the door as she entered she managed to make a grand entrance tripping on her own two feet and a backpack. Terry parked and walked up the lawn. He could hear the sounds of three shrieking girls from the sidewalk. "This is never a good sign." He said as he walked up the door and knocked.
"Terry! Come on in!" Zoe grabbed Terry by the sleeve of his jacket and dragged him inside. "Terry these are my best friends Janet and Allie. Janet and Allie, this is the asshole in my History class I told you about online the other night, Terry."
The girl with red hair walked over to Terry and looked him over. She walked around him getting the full body look over done with. She took a good look at his butt for a few seconds before throwing her hands up in the air in defeat, "I give up Zoe, I really do. You just keep finding guys who could probably hold their own against you. Have you fought him yet?"
"Sorry Allie," Zoe paused for a second realizing what Allie really meant. "Eww gross, you sick-o! You know I'm not like that!"
"What?" Terry asked
"She just asked if we slept together!" Janet explained. Terry stood there uneasy and shifted his weight to his left leg as Allie and Janet started laughing. Zoe's face was slowly turning red.
"Come on we should get going if were going to get some good songs and places to sit at the club." Terry shifted his weight from his left to his right foot.
"Terry baby," Janet said in a flirty voice as she wrapped her brown hair around her finger. "What kind of car you got?"
"It's a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, restored it myself." Terry took pride in the car he saved from the junkyard.
"Ooh, Zoe's got a guy who can fix cars. Janet you know what they say about those guys!" Allie smirked looking Terry over again.
"Oh yeah, strong arms, strong set."
"Guys stop it! Terry's just an asshole in my history class, honest!"
"Reminds me of Tom." Janet remembered.
"Tom was different. He tried killing me before becoming my friend. Terry hasn't even tried a cheesy come on yet. But he does have a nice death stare."
"I'm leaving without you guys if you keep talking about this." Terry said taking his keys out of his pocket. Zoe took this chance to grab his keys. The two play wrestled for the keys for a moment. As they wrestled Zoe's shoe laces came untied. She fell backwards with her hand still gripped to the keys. Terry read her face the moment as she fell and tried to act quickly. His let go of the keys and grabbed Zoe's arm and pulled her over to him, stabling her. The keys hit the floor as Zoe opened her eyes to see Terry holding her. The two starred at each other for a second.
"At least we know he's a fighter." Janet glanced over at Allie. She nodded in agreement.
"Zoe you're changing your style aren't you! Going in for the kill! Good job Zoe!!" Allie cheered. Zoe looked at how close to Terry she was. A deep blush ran across her face as she slowly pushed herself away. Her eyes thanked Terry for catching her but her smile showed how embarrassed she really was. Allie and Janet saw the smile and acted on the chance to help their friend out.
The shorter and smarter, Janet, one spoke up first. "Terry, we need to get Zoe dressed, there's no way we're letting her go to a club dressed like that! Why don't you go wait for us at the car?" Janet spoke up quickly sending a reassuring smile to the three of them. To Zoe and Allie it meant 'We need to talk.' But to Terry the smile meant, 'don't worry, she's in good hands.' Allie smiled realizing the plain. Janet wanted to make sure Allie didn't get in her comment to embarrass Zoe more.
"I'll meet you out side." He walked out side and closed the door behind him. Zoe leaned back onto the staircase and slide down the wall until she landed on a stair.
"Zo, you ok?" Janet asked sitting on the stairs.
"That was too weird." Allie shot her a confused look. "Think about it. How did me and Tom become friends?"
"You tripped into him. And he fell for you."
"Great pun Allie." Janet laughed.
"I know."
"I don't want to fall for Terry, but I think I am." Zoe explained. "He's amazing, tall, blond, got a hot car, weird older brother and a twin who's pretty cool, not to mention a best friend who tried to run me down on my first day. What's with me and getting guys with freaky older brothers and even freakier friends?"
Allie quickly came up with a snide comment. "You love how Big brothers always watching you."
Leaning causally on the hood of the car Terry felt his cell phone ring in his pocket. He let it ring twice before he answered it. "Terry." He said into it waiting for a response.
"Where are you? You told us you would meet us for dinner, remember?" The voice on the other end called to him.
"Calm down, I'm going to be a little late. Do you mine if I bring some friends?" Terry heard his brother sigh. "Their all girls."
"Lemme check with Joe." There was a pause on the other end for a few minuets. "Yeah its cool, just make sure their hot."
"You decide." Terry smiled as he used the camera feature on his phone to take a picture of the three girls walking down the lawn. Zoe's low pony tail was now brushed out nicely and tided tightly as a high pony tail. She was wearing a red halter top that showed off the glittering navel piercing in her stomach with a jean jacket over her shoulders. There was a slight glittery shine to her as she walked. Allie was to Zoe's right and wore a dark blue tube top and a black lace shirt hanging open over it while she had slung a green backpack over her shoulder. Allie seemed to glow in the late day sun. Janet stood to Zoe's left with her hair was combed straight and left down as she walked down the drive way wearing a pair of flare blue jeans with fake studs on the side and skater shirt. A red Hurly sweatshirt was tied around her waste. Terry sent the picture of the three over to his brother. "Well?"
"If I didn't know better you just set the two of us up with two of Zoe's friends."
"I'm not sure I know better." Terry joked. "I'll see you when we get there." He hung up. "You three look amazing."
"Thanks." Zoe said while Janet and Allie slapped each others hands. "Think we can grab a bite before we head to the club? I haven't eaten since lunch!" Zoe started opening the door and cranked the seat forward so Janet and Allie can climb into the car.
"Yeah, Andy just called asking if I wanted to go get pizza. I told him I'm bringing my sexy friend and two of her equally as sexy friends. That alright with you guys?"
"Hey Zoe, I like this guy, he thinks a fat ass like me is sexy!" Allie said mocking her own weight. She hardly had any fat on her body. Allie had been a gymnast as a kid and was gifted with a fast metabolism. She could eat anything and not gain a pound. Allie started to climb into the back seat.
A slight laugh passed from Zoe's lips. "Your not fat."
"Well she is Phat." The girls eyes shot over to Terry, Zoe and Janet's eyes flared with evil intentions while Allie's held the 'I knew it,' look. "Pretty Hot and Tempting. You know p-h-a-t." Zoe and Janet's glares died down while Allie started smiling. "If I wasn't head over heals for someone I'd probably ask you out Allie." Terry was trying so hard to save his hide.
"Its okay Terry, Zoe here would kill me if I said yes to you asking me out."
"Would not!" Zoe quickly defended her self against the attack. "Why would I care if you got asked out by a pretty boy?" Zoe was trying to cover her feelings towards Terry. "Terry, your brother and Joe gonna pay?"
"For all three of you?" Terry asked in a mocking shocked tone of voice.
"Yeah, or do we have to anti up?"
"We can cover ya. I'll just tell Andy." He flipped out his cell phone and pressed a few numbers. "Bastard it's me, we're paying for the girls." There was a pause. "I'll see you soon."
"So Terry, who's going to be at the pizza place?"
"Wouldn't know if you guys don't get in and we actually get there!" Terry said climbing into the drivers seat. Allie slid in to the back seat and Janet slid in next to her she pulled the front seat back. Zoe angled her self into the car and finally closed the door. Terry pulled out a mix CD and slid it into the player. "Sorry if my Mix sucks, its just stuff I like."
Two clicks could be heard from the back seat as the girls buckled up. "Come on Ter, we're the kind of girls to kick ass and go listen to stuff like Sister Hazel, P.O.D and that fifty cent guy. Well, I listen to fifty, Zoe isn't into all that rap." Allie explained as she started looking through her backpack. "Zoe, you should have told me we'd be hanging with guys tonight, I would have brought the whip!" Janet started cracking up but trying to hold back her laughter while Zoe laughed and blushed at the same time.
"Guess that will have to wait." Terry played along. A slow piano melody started playing as a woman with an alto voice sung 'Turn around' and a woman with a slightly higher voice started singing.
"Is this Bonnie Tyler?" Zoe asked looking down at the CD player.
"Yeah. I've always wanted to do this for Karaoke but, me being the guy I am, I've never been able to. That whole bit about it being a girl singing it." Terry shook his head.
A steady tapping noise came from the sound of Zoe's hand tapping the rhythm to the song on her jeans. "I remember this song." The gear started turning as she tried to remember. "I did it a skit to it at youth group, ages ago." The track started skipping and Zoe pressed the next botton.
A laugh escaped Terry's lips. "Lemme guess, it was kind of like a guy and a girl are walking with God and then they have a fight. One goes off and then she meets up with the seven deadly. Its just this whole thing about how God will concur your sins and forgive you right?" Zoe nodded staring at Terry. Her lips tried moving to say something to him but nothing could be heard. "We did that skit to. I was the Guy friend. I think I liked the Evanescence skit I saw better. There were masks and everything. It looked really cool." Terry continued.
"I saw that skit done at this youth conference two summers ago." Finally dripped from Zoe's lips.
"How can you see into my eyes, Like open doors?" The radio sung. Terry and Zoe laughed not expecting the song to come on next. Janet and Allie were in their own universe plotting with each other in the back seat. They were waiting to make a move that had to be plotted perfectly and then executed at the right movement to work.
"Speak of the Devil and the Devil starts to sing." Terry joked. The two laughed again. "Was yours up in Massachusetts the first week of July or something like that?" Terry asked turning off the turnpike.
"Yeah, it was the Just Live It weekend. I had a blue wrist band." Zoe remembered. Terry started laughing lightly when she said what color wrist band she had. "What?"
"Do you remember the group holding their chairs over their heads to get noticed?"
"Do you remember the group of guys who stood up cheering to help out that guy who wanted to be a cheerleader and kept messing up?" The two were laughing harder then they already were. The car pulled into a small pizza parlor.
"You were there! Was that your church?"
"Yeah, was that yours?"
"Yeah." Terry smiled he remembered how happy he was then and how happy he was when he was involved with the church youth group. Every happy memory has a price to pay, he remembered why he joined the youth group to begin with, Jessica dragged him to the meetings. "Here we are at the Pizza Place. Andy and Joe should be inside waiting for us." He paused and looked at some of the cars around. "And so is a lot of the school."
Pushing her door open Zoe stepped out of the car with her head held high. Heads turned as her boot landed with a surreal thud. She turned and helped her two friends out of the car before turning to Terry. "Let them stair." Terry smiled as he realized how much he wanted to be with the girl of his dreams. Too bad his dreams turned into nightmares. Janet and Allie raised their arms over their heads and stretched.
"This better be damn good pizza or I'm not paying." Allie and Janet lead Terry and Zoe into the pizza place. Joe walked over and lightly hit Terry on the back of the head.
"What?"
"Come on Terry, don't hog all three pretty girls!" Joe joked before turning to Janet and Allie. "I'm Joe and this is Andy." Joe pointed to Andy who was walking over to meet his brother and his friends.
"Hi! I'm Janet and this is Allie." She turned to Zoe. "This is the guy who almost hit you right?"
"Yeah."
"Why is it that you're almost taken out by guys who are kind of cute?" Allie interrupted Janet before she could even start saying what she was going to say. Janet lightly hit Allie in the ribs as they both laugh.
"I guess I just luck out. I'm starved what's for Dinner?" Zoe changed the subject. There were people glaring at Zoe and her friends; she turned to see some of the looks girls were giving her. Zoe's hand found its way to Terry's shoulder. "Come on lets take a seat." Her hand was placed gently showing the quick manicure that Janet gave her as Allie put glitter on her earlier.
"Oh we have the corner booth. We ordered a pie of plain it should be here soon. Come on." Andy lead them to the back corner where there were some jackets lying around on the seat. Allie and Janet slid in, each sliding in from a different side. Andy slid in so he was sitting next to Janet. Zoe slide in next to him while Terry took the seat next to her. Joe took the remaining seat next to Allie.
A waitress walked over carrying a pie of plain pizza. "I see your friends showed up gentlemen. Would you like to get any drinks?" Janet and Allie chorused Mountain dew while Terry and Zoe went straight to the refrain and ordered Vanilla Coke. The two looked at each other and laughed. "So that'll be two Mountain Dews and two Vanilla Cokes? And I'll get your Coke Refilled." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"I don't get it. All three of you look like you wouldn't eat that much pizza, and here you are, eating as much as Joe does. How are you three even human?" Andy stated after the girls, together, ate a whole pie of plain pizza and two slices of Pepperoni Pizza, not to mention all the soda they drank.
Terry wiped his mouth with a napkin before speaking up. "Zoe's not human." He paused and waited for everyone to look towards him. "She's the new girl." Zoe nudged him in his rib. "Ouch."
"That couldn't have hurt!" Zoe joked.
"It didn't that's why my voice dripped with sarcasm."
Andy glanced down at his cell phone. "Hey come on were going to be late, it's almost eight!"
"To be late is to be noticed. Come on Andy, we've got three hot guys and three Diva's here, we better be noticed." Allie explained. "Janet here, has never been on time for a party ever. While Zoe says she'll be there on time and come an hour late."
"That only happened once!"
"A week." Janet added to Zoe's defending comment.
"Anyway Allie, I'm not the one who fell down the stairs to make a flashy entrance at the junior prom that wasn't even mine did I?"
"Too shea."
"So you three are always late." Allie smiled and Janet nodded. Zoe just shrugged not knowing if her closest friends were telling the truth or not. There have been times when they've lied to save each other's butts; right now Zoe couldn't tell the different between who's butt they were trying to save for once.
"I'll be right back I have to use the little girls room." Janet said. She nudged for Allie to move and Allie nudged Joe. Joe slid out and helped each girl out. Janet shot Zoe a look saying 'come on.'
"Terry, can you scoot out? I wanna get all this pizza grease off me." Zoe quickly made up.
"Got cha." Terry scooted out of the booth and offered his hand to Zoe. She grabbed it and Terry pulled her out. "I guess its true that girls go to the restroom in packs." He paused looking at the displeased look on Zoe's face. "Is it because of that couch that I've heard so much about?" Zoe and Allie started cracking up. Janet acted like she didn't hear the comment. The three walked off to the rest room as the guys took their seats again. A table full of girls glared at Zoe and her friends as they passed.
"You've gotta hand it to them." Joe leaned back grinning. "They know how to hook guys to them." The three nodded and agreed.
Zoe, Janet and Allie walked into the girl's room together. Zoe went straight for the sink to wash her hands. Allie went and actually used the restroom for its true purpose and Janet went to fix her make up. "Did you check out the glares we were getting from a bunch of girls from planet 'Look at me?'" Janet asked as she ran lip-gloss across her thin lips.
"Their the semi popular girls." Zoe said grabbing a paper towel. "From what I can tell, they keep trying to hook up with those three."
"So they were death glares." Allie said walking out of a stall and started to wash her hands.
Shrugging Zoe grabbed the lip-gloss that Janet put down on the counter. "I guess so. They weren't even that good of death glares. I think the ones at our school are better."
"Zoe, you moved remember." Janet reminded as she ran a brush through her hair. Janet watched as Zoe leaned against the wall.
"Forgot," Zoe looked at her class ring. It was the generic class ring with the mascot on under her name and SB under her graduation year. The name of the school was written around a fake diamond that was cracked through the center of the stone. "So have I missed anything at school?"
"Nah, you think anything happened while you were there?" Allie started drying her hands. Zoe looked over to Allie. A laugh escaped Allie as she read the look on Zoe's face. "I know, I know, the three of us caused all the trouble."
"Tisk, tisk, Tisk. You guys haven't been raising hell without me. I'm ashamed to call you my best friends!" Zoe acted as if she was really hurt by this.
"You know as well as we do. You're the only one who could come up with the kick ass plans. We need you to pull things off right." Allie came to her defense.
"I know." Zoe's voice held a tint of evil to it. "I just wanted to hear you say it."
Allie threw her damp paper towel at Zoe. Her hand flew up to block the flying paper towel. The damp towel fell to the floor before it could hit Zoe. The two girls started walking closer to Zoe. "Now Zoe, don't think we didn't see how you were acting to Terry." Allie picked up the paper towel she threw at Zoe.
"We know what your doing Zoe. You can't hide it from us."
"You guys know I like him. I don't think he likes me like that. He just wants to be friends." Zoe backed up against the wall she was already against. Her efforts to get away from her friends were blocked by the trusting wall and the bathroom door.
"Girl what signs are you reading!"
Back at the table, Andy was taking out his wallet. "Joe, anti up." Terry pulled out his and threw a few dollars on the table.
"I see were paying for the ladies." He reached into his pocket and threw some crumpled up bills on the table.
Shaking his head, Terry flattened out Joe's money. "When are you going to learn to use the wallets we keep buying you. I think we've got you three so far." Terry commented as he handed the money to Andy.
"Your not talking about the wallets with the Ninja Turtles and stuff on it are you?" Joe said as Andy counted the money.
"It would be a step up. Joe, five more bucks." Terry said coming to the totals in his head.
"Right." He dug around in his pocket and found some more crumpled up ones. "Count em." Andy flattened the bills and added them to the pile before adding up the totals. "So Terry, you going to ask her out?"
Terry shrugged. "I don't think she's into me like that. I think she wants to just be friends."
"Girls never want to just be friends." Joe placed his cup down on the table in front of him. "They'll love you for all your worth and want to be with you. When you brake up you'll hate each other so much it'll kill you on the inside. You'll try to be friends but it won't work. You'll always be in love." Joe explained out of nowhere.
"I guess we know who loves bitch is." Andy joked.
"I maybe loves bitch but at least I'm man enough to admit it." Joe proclaimed. He turned around at the sound of three giggling girls. Zoe, Allie and Janet stood there giggling to each other.
"Love's bitch, eh?" Allie asked stepping up to him.
Joe's hand ran though his hair. "I guess that's me." He nervously laughed.
"If your Love's Bitch, I guess I was fired." Allie grabbed her jacket from the booth. "Don't we have a club to get to?" Terry stood up and grabbed the pile of money.
"I'll be right back, I'm going to go pay." He started to walk off.
"Terry wait." Terry stopped and turned as he heard Zoe's voice call after him. "The three of us didn't pay our share."
"Don't worry, dinners on us girls." Terry smiled and walked over to the casher and paid. Zoe watched him from a distance as she pretended to pay attention to her friends. He walked back to the group.
"So who's going in which car?" Joe asked.
"Allie, Janet, do you guys wanna come in my car with Joe and me?" Andy asked. Andy kept a regal and calm tone to his voice when he is out in public. He makes sure that he acts like a gentle teenage male with control over his emotions.
"Sure" the two chorused.
"Do you think we can trust Zoe with Terry alone?" Janet asked looking at the Zoe shifted her weight when Andy asked.
"I'm sure Zoe's great. But Terry, come on. No one can trust him." Joe cracked in there.
"I'm not going to try anything on her." Terry said pulling his keys out of his pocket. Terry snapped as a joke.
"Guess we're riding together Terry." Zoe's voice sounded disappointed as she grabbed her jacket from the booth seat.
Allie turned to Zoe and pulled her off to the side. "Don't worry Zoe, we'll be fine. Get to know the boy a bit more. It's a blue moon tonight. Magic might just happen."
"Allie I don't understand you most the time." Zoe replied.
"Good." She pulled Zoe back to the group. They walked out to the parking lot together. Terry and Andy parked right next to each other. Andy had a 2003 green Firebird. Allie looked it over from different angels before turning to Janet and nodding. "Lets go."
"Have fun together. We'll meet you over there." Joe said to Terry and Zoe. Terry walked over to Zoe's door and opened it for her.
"Terry you don't have to but thank you." She said climbing in. Terry smiled and closed the door. Zoe watched him walk in front of the car and wave his brother good-bye. She turned and waved her friends farewell until they meet up at the Club. Terry climbed in to the Drivers side.
The key flew into the ignition before a word was spoke. Terry pulled out of the parking lot before he took his right hand off the wheel. "Did you see how many people from our school were there?" His left hand clinched the wheel. "Unlike you, I have a reputation here." A slight laugh ran from Zoe's lips. "What?"
"A little voice inside my head said, 'Don't look back. You can never look back.'" The radio sang. Zoe turned it down so she could talk without yelling.
"Here you are trying to get away from your rep, while I'd kill to have mine back." She looked down at the radio. "Ironic eh?"
"Yeah. Ironic."
A steady silence grew in the car. "Tell me, does your rep have to do with that whole God thing with you, Joe and Andy?"
"Yeah," The arm that rested between him and Zoe felt a strange warmth slowly entangle itself with his own. He looked down to see Zoe's hand holding on to his hand with a heavyhearted care. "Zoe."
"Don't" her voice soften as Terry turned his hand to hold on to hers. "I get the whole you can't out run the rep you built. I couldn't last year, then I was sent here. Look at me, I'm not just an ordinary girl. Don't treat me like I'm one. I'm far from one." They followed Andy's car into the club parking lot. "Club Summer Camp?"
"The local Music hole."
"This can't be?" She starred at the sign of an old neon tent with the words neatly written in cursive strands of Neon tubes.
"What's wrong?"
"What ever you do, don't open the door for me!" Zoe panicked. Her hand gripped Terry's tightly as she looked around the parking lot for a way out.
"Snap out of it Zo!" Terry Screamed. "What's wrong?" She started breathing heavy. Terry pulled in a choice parking spot in the back lot. "I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. Tell me Zoe." Terry pried his hand from hers and put his on her shoulder. "Look at me and calm down. Breath with me. Steady your breathing." Terry started breathing in and out deeply trying to get Zoe to copy him. Slowly her breathing became regularly again.
"Tom and I had a trashy romance relationship that started here. He was Mr. Popular, caption of the football team and me the average punk rock princess. My natural grace caused me to trip on the dance floor and he caught me and started to like me." Zoe looked up into Terry's eyes. The cold blue tones from Monday were lost in a sea of concern. "Its happening again isn't it."
"What? What's happening?"
"I'm living in a trashy romance novel!"
"Well is it a good one?" Terry asked trying to calm her down.
"What?"
"Is it a good trashy romance novel? Is the amazing girl gonna get the better guy?" Terry smiled hoping he was the better guy.
"I donno. Ones a football player and the others a god, take your pick." Zoe fell back on her chair. Her eyes closed as she exhaled a few times calming her nerves. "Ready?" Terry nodded as they opened their doors.
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