current time is 6:30 AM and we've got tunes from Michelle Branch, Eminem and the
Backstreet Boys. But right now, it's Aqua with Barbie Girl!"
Amber had already been awake before her alarm went off but tried to force herself back to
sleep. With no such luck, she had lazily lain in bed, reluctant to drag herself to school. It
wasn't like she hated school, because it was the total opposite. Who wouldn't want to be
the most beautiful girl in school, with every guy falling at your feet and every girl envying
you, at the same time praying to get a chance to be your friend? It certainly was the exact
idea of every high schooler's dream.
No, the real reason behind Amber's hesitation was one word: Lance. Behind the strong
and confident act she had to put on every day for the audience of Bronson Alcott, was a
girl tired of being in the spotlight. There was a girl who wanted true friends. Sure, Amy
and Adrienne were fun to spend an afternoon at the mall with, or discuss the latest gossip
but they weren't genuine. They were about as real as a set of fake, press on nails. They'd
never given her a shoulder to cry on, never rushed over to her house with a gallon of Ben
and Jerry's Phish Food and copies of 10 Things I Hate About You and Sixteen Candles
after finding out her heart had been broken.
Behind the exterior was a girl with a heart shattered to a million pieces. And as always, it
was due to a guy. And not just any guy; this guy was Lance Bass, king of the school,
leader of the pack. When she had first started going out with him, she'd hadn't even liked
him. Of course, she thought he was hot; any girl with a pulse did. At the time, she'd been
popular, but not the *most* popular. She was one of the groupies, part of the elite but
with no name. The rest of the school just knew her as: "One of those preppy girls." So
she'd formed a plan. If she went out with Lance, even if it was for a week, she'd instantly
be crowned as Queen of the school. So one day, as Lance was walking by, she mentioned
rather loudly to her friends how she was having "trouble in French class." Being the kind
of guy he was, Amber knew Lance would offer her help. To no one's surprise, he did.
They met at the library, after school. One study date turned into another and another until
they eventually went out on a real date. And to no one's surprise, after a few more dates,
they were officially a couple.
True to her prediction, Amber became the Goddess of the school and one half of the
powerful couple, LanceandAmber. She was the jelly to his peanut butter, the oreo to his
cream, the- ok, you get the picture. But everywhere Lance went, Amber appeared.
Football game? Amber was in the first stand, cheering him on. Party? Amber had already
bought an outfit two weeks earlier.
She was thrown into a whirl wind of the life everyone only experiences through a teen
movie. And throughout this journey, Amber had begun to fall for Lance, until she was
diagnosed with what she felt now; completely, truly, head over heels in love for the boy.
But now, Lance had broken up for her that freak, Raven Kenzington. If she wasn't
LanceandAmber, then who was she?
She rolled over and glanced at the clock. 6:35 AM. She closed her eyes, thinking over her
options. Did she really want to go to school and face Lance with his hands all over that
Avril Lavigne
wanna be? Suddenly, a wicked smile appeared. She had forgotten about the little rumor
she'd started. The image of a teary-eyed Raven flashed through her mind and she evilly
laughed. There was no doubt Lance wouldn't want Crow's skanky ass now.
Which meant only one thing; he'd come back to her and her broken heart would be
mended. She sat up in bed, a smile replacing the gloomy frown she'd worn minutes before
and gazed at the large, framed photo of Lance on her dresser.
{Today, you're mine.}
She took a quick shower, then changed into a pair of white, Charlotte Russe shorts that
were frayed at the bottom and a red and blue striped, Gap halter top. She added the usual
fifteen tons of makeup and ten tons of gel and hairspray, then headed into the kitchen and
scarfed down a Slim Fast bar with five minutes to spare.
She snatched the keys to her Mustang, headed out the door, threw her Prada backpack in
the passenger seat and then sped away. She turned up the radio, which was now playing
Sisqo's, "Thong Song", not resisting the urge to sing, or should we say, wail at the top of
her lungs.
A few minutes later, she parked the car in the parking lot, grabbed her backpack and slung
it over one shoulder. She strutted into the building like she owned the place, saying a
quick hello or giving a polite wave to anyone that glanced her way. But to her surprise,
she was only met with giggles.
She kept her cool, although her cheeks were turning bright scarlet. She spotted Amy by
her locker and rushed up to her.
"Amy, is it just me or is like, everybody like, totally wiggin?" she hissed. Amy smiled and
Amber could tell her friend knew something she didn't.
"Well, I think action speaks louder than words", Amy replied. Amber gave her a puzzled
look.
"Like, what are you talking about? Have you like, been reading actual, like books again?"
Amy sighed and grabbed her wrist, dragging her to the cafeteria. They marched through
the doors and then Amy stopped. She dropped Amber's wrist and waved her hands all
around them.
"Look around. The answer to like, your question is like, on all four walls", she explained.
Amber gazed around the cafeteria walls, and felt her heart crash to the floor. All the color
drained from her face, making her look like she'd seen a ghost. At first, she couldn't found
her voice. But when she did, she screamed bloody murder.
On all four walls were huge, poster sized pictures of Amber.
Wearing Teletuby pajama's.
With a lacy, black thong on her head.
Suddenly, Raven silently appeared at her side. Amber desisted with her screaming, her
hands badly shaking and turned to her. Raven pretended to be absolutely shocked, then
scratched her head, slowly turning to Amber.
"You, like little BITCH!" Amber shrieked, ready to rip each long strand of hair out of
Raven's head. Raven laughed, her eyes darting to the posters then to Amber again.
"It's not really your color, like is it?"
*~*~*~*~*~*
The Mercedes Benz screeched to a halt in front of Raven's house, the bleeding red and
fiery orange afternoon sky ready to turn into the blackness of night.
"Ok, I'll see you later tonight", Raven replied. Lance smiled and leaned over, giving her a
goodbye kiss.
"Yeah, around eight thirty, right?" Lance asked. Raven nodded.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to watch the game?" Lance asked, giving her the old
puppy dog pout. Raven laughed and shook her head, then gave him a light kiss.
"I'm sorry but beefy jocks in spandex don't appeal to me", Raven teased, with a smirk.
Lance laughed.
"All right. I guess getting you to go to the dance is enough", he answered. He gave her
another goodbye kiss.
"I'll see you later."
"Bye", Raven called, snatching her messenger bag from the back seat and getting out of
the car. She shut the door and paused at the first step to wave. He grinned, beeped the
horn and then sped away. Raven smiled and opened the door, slipped into the house and
leaned against the closed door, reminiscing.
Her life couldn't be any more perfect. She had an awesome, sweet, funny, smart and drop
dead gorgeous boyfriend, a set of kick ass friends and successfully pulled off part one of
the Revenge Against Amber. She laughed, remembering Amber's horrified expression at
yesterday's surprise.
If only she had a camera to capture that one time only look. Now, tonight would probably
be one of the best nights of her entire life. She was going to the dance with her boyfriend
in a too-hot-to-handle dress, win the homecoming crown, conduct part two of the RAA
and basically party like a rock star.
Her thoughts traveled to Lance once again. She had really grown to love him these past
few weeks. She paused. Wait a minute, did she just say love? She frowned. No, she didn't
love him. She couldn't. She loved his smile, his eyes, his personality but love him, as in
something more than high school puppy love, she wasn't quite sure. But she knew, deep
down that her feelings for Lance were certainly more than just a crush.
He was the first thing on her mind when she woke up and the last before she fell asleep.
He wasn't perfect, because no one is but he was perfect for *her*. He could cause her
whole body to instantly become ice, even if it was 90 degrees outside.
When she was with him, she never wanted to leave. When she was without him, she
counted the minutes until they'd be together again.
If she was having a crappy day, one smile from him could brighten it. One kiss from him
could send her heart soaring over the highest mountain peak. And if the time ever came
that she'd have to let him go, she wouldn't put up a fight. Because when you truly love
someone, you let them be happy whether or not that happiness involves you.
She sighed. Maybe she was in love.
{Tonight, at the dance, I'll tell him. I'll tell him that I love him.}
"Hello dear, what are you doing at home? Isn't there some big football game at school?"
Mrs. Kenzington asked, coming into the hallway. A paintbrush was in her right hand and a
tube of unopened blue paint was in her left.
Mrs. Kenzington was a very well-known artist; mostly abstract paintings. She gave a smile
to her mother, who was wearing a pair of paint covered overalls, and a gray T-shirt. Her
white tennis shoes had so much paint on them, they looked like she'd just poured a whole
gallon on them. She had tied her long, chestnut hair, tinged with gray, in a tight bun, but a
few pink blobs of paint had not escaped her bangs.
"Oh, hey Mom. Yeah, there's this homecoming game at school but I decided not to go",
Raven explained, letting her messenger bag flop to the floor. She glanced around the
house, looking for any signs of her father.
Mr. Kenzington was a town cop with very hectic hours and usually came home when the
rest of the house was fast asleep.
"Is Dad working late again?" she asked. Her mom nodded, as if waiting for her to say
something more. There was silence, when suddenly her mom grinned.
"So, I guess the handsome young man who dropped you off must be quite disappointed.
Lance Bass is his name, right?" she asked. Raven blushed. Even though she was pretty
close to her mother, Raven really didn't feel like discussing the good, the bad and the ugly
details about her love life.
"Um..well no, not really. I'm going to the dance with him after the game", Raven
explained, feeling her blush turn as red as a fire engine and as hot as a the sun.
"Ah, so that's what that lovely dress, hanging in your closet is for", she replied. Raven
nodded.
"Yeah, well I'd better go and um...finish my homework", Raven lied.
"Ok. Make sure you have dinner before you leave. And don't stay out too late; your
curfew is midnight, one at the latest", Mrs. Kenzington firmly reminded. Raven nodded.
"I know Mom", she replied, racing up the stairs. Raven then walked into the bathroom and
opened the medicine cabinet, frantically searching for the thing that was her inspiration for
part two of RAA. Finally, she found it, a wicked smile emerging on her face.
"I guess Grandpa Milton didn't use them all", she quietly replied. She gazed down at the
box of the cherry flavored, Super Ex-Lax pills and burst out into laughter.
It certainty was going to be a night to remember!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Amber gazed out onto the field at the players warming up, her eyes glued to Lance. She
sighed, wishing she could have the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her waist,
even for a second.
"Amber, hello? You're, like supposed to call the next cheer", Amy replied, her voice
dripping with annoyance. The cheerleading squad was practicing their half-time routine
while the football players warmed up. This was only the second time they had runover it
but Amber had been caught spacing out ten times already.
Amber nodded, brushing off the stares of her other teammates.
"Ready! Ok!" she exclaimed.
"We're gonna rock you to the east side
We're gonna rock you to the west
When you rock with us
No need to fuss
Cause you're rockin with the best, YES!"
Amber cheered along, not paying any attention again. Her gaze went back to Lance, who
was running laps with the rest of the team. Thanks to his girlfriend, first she had lost the
love of her life and now it seemed as though the crown was slipping through her perfectly
polished fingers. Her sadness immediately turned to anger.
{That little freak stole my boyfriend and now it seems the crown is going to be her's too.
Well this time I'm taking a stand. This time, she won't be able to get everything she
wants.}
As soon as the squad took a water break, Amber raced off the field and up the announcer
booth, where Stacey Hunter, the class president, was going to be the MC that night.
"Oh, hi Amber", Stacey greeted, a warm smile on her face. Amber flashed her a quick
smile. She needed to get down to business.
"Listen, Stacey, if I like, asked you to do something, you'd do it, right?" Amber asked.
Stacey smiled.
"Of course." Amber gave her a relieved smile, grabbed her arm and began leading her
down the stairs and away from the crowds of students and parents that were starting to
arrive and to the backdoors of the school.
"Well, as you know, I'm like, running for queen, right?" Amber asked.
"Yes, of course! By the way, I voted for you", Stacey added.
"Thank you. That means like, so much to me. But as you know, Raven Kenzington is like,
running too. And since you're the class president, I was like, wondering if you knew who
won the election", Amber demanded.
"Oh. Well I'm not supposed to reveal the votes until the dance tonight and-"
"Oh what's, like, just me knowing going to do? I promise I won't say anything to anyone",
Amber sweetly replied. Stacey glanced at Amber and sighed.
"Ok, I guess just telling you won't hurt. But I don't think you're going to like the results",
Stacey warned.
"And like, why not?" Amber sharply asked.
"Because, Raven won by five votes", Stacey replied. Amber bit down on the inside of her
cheek to keep from screaming.
{5 votes?! 5 little votes??!} she thought.
"Well, who did, like you want to win, me or Raven?" Amber asked. Stacey smiled.
"You. After what happened between her and Lance, I think that you deserve the crown",
Stacey honestly replied. Amber laughed.
"I know! I really don't know what like, Lance sees in that skank. Anyway, you're the like,
class president, which means like, you have access to all the votes, right?"
Stacey nodded.
"Yup."
"Perfect. So since like, you're clearly a supporter of me, you wouldn't like, mind changing
five votes in my favor, would you?" Amber asked. Stacey shook her head.
"No, not at all." Amber smiled and threw an arm around her shoulder.
"I think like, we're going to be great friends, Stace. Great friends indeed."
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