Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Chad had showed up at his place pretty early. He had texted him the previous night that he got a new game for his console, and that was all it took. Chad was there before his parents even woke up. He liked games, so that was a sure way to get him to his place. And also the fact he was in love with the idea of beating him at his own game. Literally.

“So…” he said putting his game on pause. They were in his lavish game room. The only part of the house that was his alone apart from his bedroom.

“Dude!” Chad groaned. “Just when I wanted to score”.

Jason gave him an unimpressed look. He should be getting ready to go wait for Kelly so they could go to the mall together. He didn’t want to go there then wait for her. How would she even find him? It was a big store place and she didn’t have a phone.

He’d be picking her up. She could bitch about it later on he didn’t care.

“What?!” he whined, eager to get back to the game.

“How long have you been planning this bet?” he asked.

He had the effrontery to look lost. “I-I don’t follow” he said confused. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. What was all that yesterday? You just show up, and then the two of you start talking. Are you friends with her or something?”

“Sheesh. Calm down” he rolled his eyes. “I don’t know her, but I have noticed her. She is the only girl I had noticed that doesn’t fawn over you among the seniors. So I thought I’d make you work for it. It is always satisfying when you work for it” he explained meekly.

“So that was why you crashed that outing yesterday?” he asked perplexed.

“No” he shook his head. “That was just a coincidence. And I took advantage of that coincidence. She looked to be far more interested in me than you though” lucky for Jason, Chad was joking. If he knew the truth he would capitalize on it for sure. “Does she hate you that much?” he inquired, stretching his hand to poke him because they both knew he hated that.

“Or was she trying to make you jealous?” he started to guffaw.

“O-or” he wheezed. “You hurt her feelings and she was trying to get back at you with me” he fell on his side, laughter wracking his entire frame.

“No” he denied.

“Well, whatever it was it seemed to be working. You took a hit to the head because of that”.

Jason stood up abruptly to go to his room and get ready for the day.

“Aww” Chad said mockingly. “Don’t be upset. I really did well with this. I studied her, then looked through the yearbook. It’s been what? Two weeks? Maybe more? And you haven’t even gotten a picture from her. Just accept defeat and confess that you can’t really seduce every girl”.

“Watch me then” he said as he exited.

Chad had driven to the spot he always dropped her off. He was going to ask the question of why he couldn’t drop her at her door. There was no way her house could be that bad, right? Well he guessed she was hiding something.

Well, he was thankful that she was going to get a phone. All this waiting would entirely stop. He passed time talking to his friends on his phone. He just hoped that she hadn’t gone to the mall already. He looked ahead in frustration, and just his luck he could see her approaching.

“Hey” he yelled not even rolling his window down completely.

“Jason?” she asked confused, then she approached. “I thought we were going to meet each other there”.

“Yeah” he agreed blandly. “And have you or me get lost because you can’t communicate with me because of you wanting to stay in the past. You’ve never had a phone all your life?” he asked quizzically. “Was it a choice you made specifically on your own?” he asked opening the door for her as she rounded the car.

“Not really. My mum didn’t really push the issue of me having a phone, and I never asked for one because I didn’t want one. It can be very distracting. I see them getting distracted because of it in class, when their driving, on the toilet, distracts them from walking and also food. I stand straight in case you didn’t notice” she smirked.

“Well….not everyone is like that” he needed to change this subject.

“I know you’re very different” and he couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t sound as sarcastic or mean. The way she normally sounded when she spoke to him. She crossed her seatbelt. “And I forgot to tell you yesterday” she turned to him. “Thank you”.

“What for?” he reversed the car so they could get going.

“Well yesterday was exciting as it was insightful, so thank you. I had a very good time”.

“Is this the real Kelly Blinch? Is this an imposter?” he gasped.

She just scoffed. “That’s how you react to gratitude. Don’t expect that from me ever again”.

“You being nice to Jason Angle is a miracle” he was still acting shocked. Overdramatic shocked. It made Kelly scowl.

“I’m not mean to you” she sighed looking out the window.

“Says you!” he said sharply.

“Okay” she willed herself not to burst. “If you want yesterday to be like today, you’ll stop with that annoying attitude” she bit out coldly.

“There’s you being mean right now” he whispered.

“Jason!” she yelled.

“Alright” he relented. It was fun to fluster her, but for the sake of a good time, and winning this bet he would lay off. He took in her outfit for the say. A dress. A long dress, all the way to the ankles and the sleeves all the way to her wrists. Big on her. Thank goodness her fashion sense would change today, and he won’t look at her and feel the urge to pull his eyes out. No that was extreme.

Truthfully, the way she dressed was really embarrassing.

“So what would be a good place to shop?” she asked when she had calmed down.

“I don’t really know about girl’s fashion. But we will see when we get there” he shrugged.

“You haven’t taken another girl shopping before” it was a statement.

“No. I don’t think I have” he quirked his brows, his eyes sliding over to her. “So? Are you feeling special?”

“Not really” she supplied. “You’re an only child?”

“How did you know?” he was taken aback by that.

“Well I haven’t seen a high school boy who takes a girl out just to buy her clothes. They do that themselves. Or if she wants to, she can take her boyfriend there to watch her try on clothes. I could be wrong” she added.

He hummed noncommittally.

“But you would know if you’ve taken a girl out. That means you don’t follow your mum when she shops, and you’ve never driven your sister, if you had one to the mall before”.

“I wonder what goes on in that head of yours” he only had one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand was poking the side of her head. He could see now why Chad liked to do it.

“A lot” she said slapping his finger away.

They arrived at the mall, and he found a suitable parking space before they headed to the gigantic building.

“So what do you want to do first?” Jason questioned. “Get a phone first? Or clothes?” he could already tell this was going to be a very long day. The beach was one thing, but shopping not just with a regular girl, but Kelly would exhaust him to the bones.

“Well when you’re using money for something you love, you won’t see it as spending” she explained her weird logic. “I would like to get the phone first”.

“That would be best actually”.

And they were in the phone shop surfing through phones. “What type of phone does Chad use?” she asked, and she sort of sounded shy.

“Can you say that again?” he said just to hear her again. It was funny really. He never expected someone so hardhearted to be so gooey when it came to the boy she liked.

“I want to have the same phone as Chad” she said logically. If we have the same features, we will have a lot more to talk about, and also communicate with the same features through text. Not all phones are compactible right?”

“Surprisingly you’re right” he said after thinking.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked already getting flustered.

“Nothing. And Chad’s phone has good camera quality. So you’ll need it when you decide to send him pictures” he wriggled his brows. She didn’t take offence this time. She just smiled that silly shy smile again.

“And what about accessories?” he asked when they had gotten the phone.

She looked to him, a questioning look on her face.

“You know all the pretty phone cases. You’re glamming yourself up, also glam your phone up” he shrugged. It was just a suggestion. He thought she wouldn’t do it, but she went to the display looking at all the bright and colorful cases.

“I’ll take that one” she pointed to a caste that was bright glittery pink, with specs of silver glitter. Two while balls were attached to it. And on the back, the word ‘Puppy Love’ was written in cursive.

“I never thought you’d like pink” he stated.

“I don’t” she said. “But the design is eye-catching” he thought she’d give a length explanation, but she didn’t. And when they were ready to pay, because he really wanted to lessen his time with her by a few more days, not weeks, he tried to get his wallet out of his back pocket, but she raised her dress.

She actually had pants underneath.

‘Oh my God’ he thought. She was really full of surprises.

“Well when you’re using money for something you love, you won’t see it as spending” she said again, this time with a wink. It wouldn’t have been trouble of he was the one to pay. That way she would feel…he wouldn’t say obligated. She would feel that he sincerely cared for her for him to spend.

She was running all his plans. It was a simple thing. Have eyes only for him, but she claimed she was in love with Chad. Let him pay for her shopping trip, no. She was an independent working woman. Didn’t she see his intentions? She was a tough nut.

And when they left, she was already trying to setup the phone. The same thing she had complained about not having a phone, she was doing it now. It made sense actually. But she seemed to know how to navigate so she wouldn’t hit other shoppers. He let her do what she had to.

He stopped in front of a store.

The workers were handing out fliers, shouting discount sales. Kelly final looked up, done with setting up her phone. “That store looks good” she said walking past him.

“Where did you get all that money anyway?” he grumbled. He was not having a good time.

“I work a lot. Pet sitting, pet grooming, and some other jobs like house cleaning. I get paid a lot. This was going to be in my own pocket for college, but I still have more” she waved it off like it wasn’t for something important. “And of course my mum will give me”.

“All just for a boy” he wanted to play it off as a joke, but it came out like the bitter truth. Kelly brushed it off as his regular behavior.

“Can we get started now?” she huffed as she entered.

They got to looking. He looked to her, then back at the clothes that had caught his fancy. “I would have trusted you with this task if you were capable of actually getting dressed. Seriously who gets you your clothes?”

“My mum buys my clothes” she said curling her lip. “I know it’s not what most things would consider, but it suits me”.

“And why don’t you buy your own clothes?” as you grew older, so did your sense of style. You had to outgrow your mum buying your clothes. She wasn’t a child. Well she might not think like a child intellectually, but she might have the mindset of one.

“Because my mum buys them” she said.

“And do you tell her she likes them that she keeps buying more?” he questioned.

“You can tell mums that?” she quirked her brow.

He laughed at that. Sometimes she was funny.

“But now that I think about it, I have never told her that I like them. But it suits me. I wear them and she just buys more. It’s easy. I know how stressful it can be”.

“How about being truthful?” he suggested. He led her to some of the clothes. “So what are you into?” he had to ask her opinion first. That was being considerate over her interests. If it wasn’t good, they’d find a way to make it work. “And it shouldn’t be all this” he gestured to her attire. “What have you always dreamt of wearing? You’ve been around high school girls for some time. That didn’t give you any inspiration?”

“Well what most girls wear are what my mum would never want me to wear….”

“You can’t be serious” he cut her off. “You want to say that what every girl wears in high school is indecent and immoral?” he accused.

She gave him a sour look. “I said my mum wouldn’t approve. Did you hear me say those two words? Yes they expose some skin sometimes, but they’re okay. I have always been a fan of ripped jeans, but if my mum catches me in that…..” she thought it was best not to complete it. Jason didn’t need to know all that.

“Okay ripped jeans, what else?” he asked taking some off the rack. Some normal jeans and ripped jeans would do the trick.

“The shirt the same, but I could also do with safer options. They should be big also” she informed him.

“You know when you wear baggy pants, the shirt can’t be big”.

“I am a high school goer, I know how this works” she informed him.

“I didn’t know” he gestured to her clothes. Before she could open her mouth, he dropped the clothes in her arms which she had to catch immediately. “Try these on while I go look for shoes for you”.

She didn’t complain. She just turned around and walked to the changing room.

He went looking shoes. He really didn’t know her size of shoes. He hadn’t really noticed her feet, but it couldn’t be as big as his. He’d have to talk to one of the salesperson.

“Excuse me” he called a lady with shiny pink hair. Guess they had to stand out to attract customers.

“Do you need help for your girlfriend?” she asked with a blinding smile.

“She’s…..she’s…..I just need some help with shoes for her” that was all he told her. She led him to the shoes and began to talk and talk. He only got the key points. He’d go for both plain and colorful.

Kelly looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so different. And she liked it. She was filled with some sort of confidence. When she knew she was going to show this to Chad, why wouldn’t she be confident? He was going to see this tomorrow at school. Would he be blown away like she was? She didn’t feel so happy when her mum bought clothes for her.

Maybe because she actually liked it.

Jason was right. Maybe this was improving herself. Finding her true self. No one was in here with her. So she pouted in the mirror, then she turned around and pushed her butt out. She then put her hand on her stomach breathing in when she knew she didn’t need to.

She smiled and walked to the door. Opening it, she could see Jason chatting happily with one of the workers. Her hair pink. If she did that her mum would say she was being influenced by her sister’s rebellious spirit. She walked out, but some other clothes caught her eyes.

It was easy for most people. To talk and be free with anyone. Why she didn’t have any friends was because of her shyness. And to make herself feel better she told herself a lot of things. That they were judgmental, fornicators, a proud bunch. That was saying a lot when she didn’t even get to know them. She kept all of them at arm’s length because of what?

Fear?

She sighed. Though her sister had made a mistake, she had lived. During the whole time mum wasn’t talking to her, she had been there. Her sister had said that she had lived her life. That what she had experienced…..she couldn’t say it. She said it had to be experienced for her to understand. She said if she didn’t live life now, when would she do it?

And that was why she was doing it now. Better late than never they say.

And she would start with experiencing love and stepping out of her shell a little. It was high school. She couldn’t take all this shyness to college. That was where life began. She would have to start now.

Jason took the shoes. He waved at the girl as she went about her business.

He didn’t get why girls did this. Going out of their way to dress and impress a boy. He didn’t get dressed to impress any girl. They were the ones who did it. He wore what he wanted, well unlike Kelly he knew how to work his wardrobe. The point was he wouldn’t go out of his way just to get some girl to notice him by dressing all spiffy.

If you wanted to do something like change, it should be for yourself not someone else. She would only dress like this for Chad, not herself. Wasn’t that like lying? She would show Chad a part of herself that wasn’t really her. It was the part of her that Chad wanted.

“Girls really” he groaned.

This was just for a bet. Why was he interested anyway? She could do what she wanted. He was just here for one reason. To get into her pants.

“You’re still here” Kelly said from behind him.

He turned around, and again his tongue heavy. She was in light blue jean, and the top she wore was white. A little separation of cloth just beneath the clavicle and the top of her chest. Big enough to not draw attention to her chest.

He cleared his throat. “Where would I be? Did you think I’d ditch you?” he narrowed his eyes. Was that what she really thought of him? Her friend?

“I know this will take long” she said softly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you stepped out a little bit for fresh hair. Isn’t this too girly for you?”

Thank goodness she knew.

She looked down at the white sneakers he held. “That would go great with the outfit” she grinned taking out of his hand and slipping it on.

“What do you think?” she questioned, spreading her hands wide.

He looked at her. “Turn around” he said gesturing with his pointer finger in a circular motion. She turned around, and Jason’s eyes were instantly drawn to the big, outstanding big rose at the back of her pants. All the way from the waist to the bottom of the back pocket. “Good” he commented. “This is what you’re wearing to school tomorrow”.

She grinned. “I’ll get the rest!” she clapped and ran to the changing room.

Now they were at the food court and she just kept pushing fries into her mouth. He watched for a while. She must have been hungry. Did she skip breakfast because of excitement to impress Chad?

“So you got the look, now you have to know how to talk with Chad”.

She stopped eating, then she cleaned her mouth with a napkin. “Yeah” she nodded. “You told me a lot about him yesterday” she smiled recounting the events.

“Because you didn’t stop asking” he didn’t want to remember yesterday.

“Well, with what you told me I did some research of my own on how to talk to a boy”.

“D-did you just say….you researched how to talk to a boy?” he should really stop being surprised, but she always found a way to do so. “You do not sound eager or obvious at all” he droned sarcastically.

“Well you’re not Chad you’re Jason. I just won’t be so obvious around him”.

“You seem like you’ll fail” he commented. She glowered at him. “So tell me what you found out” he sipped on his milkshake.

“Well it said I should dress nice, I shouldn’t overdo it….”

He made a ‘pshh’ sound when he stopped sucking on his straw.

“I should ask him questions, show I’m interested but not lie. I should try to be engaging. Confident, and eye contact” she said looking him straight in the eye.

“With those big glasses in the way” he teased.

“Shh” she silenced him. “The internet doesn’t lie. It’ll work”.

“Okay then” he pushed his chair forward. Movie logic. They would be pretending at first, until it was no longer pretense. “Pretend I’m Chad and shoot your shot”.

She made movement with her lips, then she leaned closer. “Hey Chad” she said.

“Sup” he did his most impressionable Chad act.

She made sure she was holding eye contact. “I see the jacket that you’re wearing is the same brand I like. You must be into fashion”.

He actually was. “Yes I am” she said.

“Cool. What’s your favorite label?”

“Gucci”.

“I like Gucci myself, but Prada calls to me more”.

“Is that so?” he nodded. She was surprisingly good at this.

“Yes. Their bags especially. The jacket fits you great though”.

“Thanks. So does yours” and that was enough of pretending to be Chad for now. “You did great” he said back to Jason. “Not the ideal start, but good. He might not be wearing any of that when you approach him. So you need a backup plan”.

“Oh yeah” she nodded. She played with her glasses for a while. Jason had said he liked movies and she liked movies when she was free. And they were new releases he must have seen.

“Hey Chad” she said chirpy. “Have you watched the new Marvel Avengers movie?”

‘Bold’ he thought. “I have actually. I liked it. What did you think?”

“It was good, just have to disregard the heart wrenching torment I’m going to have till the next one. Not my ideal ending”.

Jason actually smiled. “The research was actually goof on your part”. “I hope you don’t mess up”.

“I can’t” and they went back to their food.

“I almost forgot” she said as they made their way to his car, multiple bags in her hand and also a backpack. Sue was a strange girl.

“What?” he asked.

“Give me your number. Chad won’t be the only person I talk to” she smiled softly.

She handed him her phone and he put his number in. ‘So much sentiment’ he thought softly.

“So am I picking you up tomorrow…..friend?”

“Yes you are” she replied. He got in his car, but she got into the backseat. Taking out each garment from every bag and folding it into tiny pieces, putting it into the bag. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. But I’m going to leave this in your car. You don’t mind do you?”

“Not at all” he waved dismissively.

She told him to stop at the spot he normally did.

“Why do you always tell me to stop here? You don’t want me seeing your house or something?”

“That’s not it” she explained. “It’s complicated” and she opened the door. She weighed her options as she rounded the car. Should she or shouldn’t she? “Another time” she said.

She really shouldn’t add mysterious to the whole thing. He reversed and went home. When he went to bed that night, till he woke the next morning it didn’t feel like he slept at all, but surprisingly it didn’t seem like he didn’t sleep at all. He felt well rested and refreshed. He didn’t know why.

‘Hey Kelly, I’m heading over right now. You better be ready’ he texted as he tossed his bag into the backseat.

‘Yeah I’m ready. Just wait for me at the normal spot’.

‘Noted’ he typed.

He got in and drove to the spot that he had gotten accustomed to. He assaulted her phone with messages as he waited. The road was empty, so when he heard someone running he looked up. It was her, but she was dressed the way she normally did.

He had his mouth open the entire time. When he came to was when she was knocking on the window.

“Open the door” she said.

She did and she got into the back. “Let’s go” she said.

He reversed and began his drive. When he got over the shock, he asked the obvious question. “What the fuck?!” he exclaimed. “What happened to all the confidence you projected yesterday? Where did it go? Did you chicken out?!”

“No” she said. “I couldn’t leave the house like that” she groaned.

“Why not?” he was lost. Seriously what kind of life did this girl have? This was so much like he was aiding a criminal activity. He hoped that was not the case. He pulled into the school parking lot.

“Get out!” she said hurriedly.

“This is my car” he said in case she had forgotten.

“You want to watch me change?” that stunned him. He turned to look at her, and she was looking back at him expectantly. Her bag was open and he could see the clothes.

He got out and leaned against the car. She was changing just behind him. He knew that it would be difficult. He smiled to himself. Wouldn’t that be a sight? Anyone passing would be able to see. Jason Angle had a girl taking off her clothes in the backseat of his car. He kept filling his heads with naughty thoughts and he didn’t feel Kelly knocking against the window.

He stumbled. Turning around Kelly was huffing in anger. “Didn’t you hear me knocking?!” she asked angry.

“Why didn’t you just use the other door?!” he yelled back.

“And walk round? No!” she yelled banging the door. “Thank you for making today already bad” and she walked away.

“That’s my thank you?” he asked her retreating back. It was a good retreating back. “You’re welcome” and he was by himself. “Eye on the prize Jason, eye on the prize” he said as he got his bag and then he locked the door.

Kelly sighed, opening her locker. Maybe it was her paranoia, but she felt eyes on her when she entered. She was nervous and she took it out on Jason. Jason who had been nothing but helpful to her. She was an ingrate. She needed to fix that. She stuck her head in her locker.

Chad was walking by, when he saw the back of her trouser with a rose on her right butt cheek. He had to stop, then stared again. It was a nice view.

Kelly stood straight and closed it, turning around she let out a tiny scream.

“Chad?!” she asked surprised.

“Kelly?” this was a nice surprise. “I almost didn’t recognize you” he said lowly.

‘Be confident’ she told herself. “New look” she smiled flirtatious.

“Is it for me?” he leaned closer, placing a hand on the locker behind her.

“You want to find out?” she asked back in a way that was inviting. She hoped.

“Careful Blinch. I might just take you up on that” he winked. And then walked away. She turned around, gripping the strap of her bag and ran to class.

Jason had seen that. Just as Chad was close, he pulled him aside.

“Hands off” he said pulling his wrist free. “What’s your problem Jason?” he demanded.

“I saw that” he hissed through gritted teeth. “What gives man?”

“What? I was just talking to her”.

“We made a bet Chad” he didn’t want to get angry.

“Scared of a little competition?” he teased.

“You are not doing that. This was a bet and you’re not meant to be part of this”.

“She made a clear invitation. She wants this” he gestured to his person. “And I’m not going to ignore a beautiful lady like that. I won’t let her do the chasing”. “You’re not scared are you?” he asked smugly.

“Why would I be?” he said back to his normal self.

“You’re the lady killer, so there’s nothing for you to be scared of” Chad patted his shoulder and walked away.

He groaned kicking a nearby trashcan. This was Kelly’s fault.