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Chapter 17: I'm Pretty Popular Myself, Player

Popularity isn't defined by how good you look. It isn't defined by your money or your clothes. It isn't defined by the friends you've got. As long as you have friends, you're popular enough.

~Starlight24

"He's just way too perfect," grumbled Hailey, as she swayed her feet around and hit ours. Deeds, Hailey and I had gone over to Marie's place because her parents were out for the weekend- they were really busy and Marie would go crazy if she didn't have company, or so she told us- and we were all lying on our stomachs and allowing our eyes to wither and die in front of the TV screen. We all had our legs propped up on our knees and were swaying our calves and kicking each other.
"Why aren't there any guys in real life who are as perfect?"

For some random reason, Marie was craving a princess movie marathon (hey, we like to kindle the kinder spirit inside) and Hailey was swooning over Flynn Rider. Not that I could blame her, of course.

"Well, Day seems to think her Prince Charming Max is goddamn perfect," grumbled Deeds. It'd been three weeks since Max and I had gotten together (and it was also Christmastime, yay!) and my friends still hated him.

"Don't talk to me about that loser." Marie probably hated him the most of all, and she shook her head in disgust whenever his name popped up into our conversations.

"Yeah, I kinda agree," Hailey looked almost apologetic when she said this. Hailey was probably the nicest one of the lot, though she did have a bad habit of sugarcoating everything she said. So did I, but I only did it if I wasn't close to someone. I would tell these girls exactly what I thought to their faces if I wanted to, of course. "I mean... I think he's a little too perfect. In a way that seems almost annoying. He never disagrees with you and follows you around like a faithful puppy. That's not how a normal relationship is. I mean, a little banter and argumentativeness is normal. Healthy, even!" It was funny how she'd quoted Flynn Rider in those last two words. We all cracked a small smile at that.

"I don't know," I admitted, shrugging a bit. "I mean... I don't think he's gotten used to this whole relationship thing either. This is probably- judging by how he's acting- his first ever girlfriend as well, right?" When I said this, they all gave each other a really weird look and I had a feeling they were hiding something from me. "What?" I asked, a little defensively.

"Uh... This isn't his first ever relationship, Day. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" Marie said, looking a little doubtful about telling me this. I had a feeling this was going to be very, very bad.

"Hey, that's not fair," I said, grumbling and supporting my cheeks and chin with my hands. "You can't just drop a bombshell about my boyfriend and leave it at that."

Hailey took a deep breath, as if to tell me something but try to mellow it down as much as possible, but Deeds beat her to it. "Max's ex is Natalie Spencer."

Well that was a shocker.

"What!?" I asked, my arms literally flying in the air. I'd forgotten that my head was resting in my arms, so I fell flat on my face. On the bed, of course.

"DEEDS!" Hailey hissed kind of loudly. "That's no way to tell someone!"

"What?" Deeds said, shrugging. "She asked for the truth, so I gave it to her!"

"Yeah, but that was kind of blunt. Even by my standards." Marie said, nodding slightly and pushing her hair behind her ears.

"I actually don't mind the fact that it was blunt," I said slowly. "But... Why didn't you guys tell me earlier? I mean, you know how much I hate her and you still kept the fact that she was dating my boyfriend from me for so long?"

"Well... they have a bit of a rocky history," Hailey muttered, shaking her head. All of a sudden I didn't want to know anymore.

"Define a rocky history," I said, through gritted teeth although I didn't really want to know, I think.

"Well, I think you remember me telling you that Nat liked Dylan," Deeds said coolly.

"Deeds, please shut up. You're only gonna make things worse." Hailey was now sitting up on her knees with her hands on her hips, and her beautiful auburn hair was cascading down her back. She was just as petite as me, but she was ten times slimmer.

"Well, I'm quite frankly telling her the truth better than either of you could've ever dreamed of doing, so shut up. Thanks," she motioned for them to zip up their lips. Hailey rolled her eyes and plopped back down next to us, and Marie had already taken out her phone and was tuning us out.
"So basically, Nat only used Max as a backup plan because for some weird reason he thought she was the light of the universe or something. I mean, he used to follow her around like a tail, and one day I think she felt bad for him and she decided to stop rejecting him and he was the happiest person on the face of planet Earth. I mean, there was a spring in his step, which was so creepy. Anyway, he was acting like his dream had just been fulfilled and it was really weird, but everyone ignored it. And then Nat, who didn't really like him, started being all flirty towards Dylan and she'd stay up all night texting him and stuff, and she really thought he might've thought of her as something more than a friend, and Max found out and he was really pissed off. And... yeah. That's about it, I s'pose. Though now they never talk and stuff. So I guess you can both bond over the mutual hatred towards Natalie Spencer."

I gasped, and shook my head. "I... I don't even know what to do. I still love Max, though. I mean, I really think we've hit it off, y'know?" I was silently pleading for them to agree.

"No, I don't know, Day. Don't jump to the love platform already. I mean, even Nat and Max used to fight. Even Marie and Zach fight! And they're the cutest ship ever! And even Dylan and Deeds fought," Hailey cautiously looked over at Deeds' reaction, which remained neutral, by the way. "I mean, even me and Dam-" she suddenly shut up, turning a little red in the face.

"What?" I asked, inquisitively.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. Out of all of us, Hailey was probably the sweetest, nicest and most innocent. To see her hiding stuff from us wasn't expected.

"Hailey," said Marie, the corners of her lips quirking a little. "Is this about your hot brother?"

My jaw dropped as Hailey vigorously shook her head. And all of a sudden she burst into tears.

"Ohmigosh, Hailey stop crying!" Deeds semi-sympathized and stroked her back. To see Hails cry was like watching a puppy get run over by a truck.

"I... No one is s-supposed t-to know!" she wailed, burying her face in a pillow. Now I was kind of confused. No one was supposed to know about what?
"So basically," she continued, after a few awkward moments punctuated by a large intake of air from her and Deeds coaxing her, "Dammy and I- that's Damon's nickname by the way- worked together at this place in our mall's food court. This was when I was around 14, I think. He was really sweet to me, and he was a little older than me and I think I really liked him. He was always there for me, and one day this bunch of older kids came to the shop and these three guys started hitting on me, and Damon got really pissed off and he punched all of them and protected me and dropped me home. By then I was pretty sure I'd do anything for him, I think. Then everything he did or said turned really awkward and I'd feel his fingers brushing against mine without them needing to, and I would think of it all night. It went like that for around three months."
She took a deep, ragged breath and then continued. "Then one day he came over to my house and we both were really confused, and his dad held out a ring and our parents got married."

With that, she burst into tears again. I didn't know what to do. This was really tragic.

"Oh, you poor baby," whispered Marie. As cold hearted as Marie may have seemed sometimes, I think she had a bit of a soft spot for Hailey because she was so cute, I guess.

"I know I should've felt happy for Mom, but all I could feel was remorse and it got ten times more awkward between us and I don't think I've really gotten over my weird crush-thing on him, but he still brings home a new girl every week and expects me to be okay with it, and then he scolds me when I lock myself up in a room. He treats me like a little sister. He treats me like how he's supposed to. I don't like that, and every time we're left home alone, he'll watch a movie with me like everything's okay and we'll laugh and chat up to three o'clock and sometimes he comes to my bedroom and reads me a story until I sleep, and it's so hard to shun the feelings inside me." Hailey looked like she'd just broken her bones.

"I think he likes you too, Hailey," I whispered.

"Why... You do?" she asked, sniffling and wiping her nose. Her eyes were puffy and red.

"Yeah. I saw the way he looked at you when he came to the hospital. It was this weird thing he did with his eyes, like he didn't know where to place you." I wasn't trying to get her hopes up high; just telling her the truth. I genuinely thought he'd liked her that day at the hospital.

"And what if he does?" she whispered. "If he does like me, then what do we do then?" All of us shut up. She had a point there.

"So..." Deeds said, breaking the tension that was like a taut wire that was stretched too thin. "Let's watch another movie, yeah?"

We all agreed, chorusing our approval and the conversation kind of died there.

*****

"Day, can I please give you a word of advice?" asked Deeds, looking up from her slurping session of her cold caramel Frappuccino. Her hair had been straightened out, and her hair looked thin this way. However, owing to the fact that she was Deirdre Lacey, any look suited her. It wasn't even fair.

"Mhm?" I asked, biting into the gooey goodness of my caramel fudge (I told you I had an obsession with caramel) and looking back at her across our wooden table for two in Starbucks.

"Well, never trust guys," she said, pushing a bunch of straight strands –are straight strands called locks as well?- behind her ears. "Because they don't do love." I raised my eyebrows, because I'd heard this line from Dylan an innumerable amount of times. "They just do you. Over and over again." She did a loop-de-loop with her fingers. I cringed at the thought. Okay, I definitely did not need to know that.

"Um..." I responded, deciding to eat my fudge instead of reply to that.

"No, I mean, of course it's fine if you think Max'll never do that and stuff, but just make sure he's earned your trust before actually trusting him." I nodded. Deeds was a little bit cuckoo today, so I decided that not saying anything would help douse the fire.

"Yeah, thanks." I mumbled softly, acting like I actually cared. "I'll keep your pearls of wisdom in mind."

"Me?" she asked randomly, acting like I'd asked her about herself and I looked at her, cocking my head a little to the left. "OH; I'M GONNA BE A BACHELORETTE!" she yelled, getting a few odd looks from the others in the café. I decided to pull her out, because I'd already payed my bill and we were done eating/drinking. I didn't think it was possible to get drunk on coffee, but apparently it is.

"That's nice," I mused, not really saying much. Deeds was in one of her random ranting sessions. I decided not to disturb her.

"And I will never look at another guy again," she continued, pushing her hair back. Funny how a lot of guys were looking at her, though. She was wearing a white crop top and shorts, along with a checked red and blue buttoned shirt tied around her waist. She wore knee length socks and shoes. She looked very nice, I think. "In fact," she said, looking at me with wide eyes. "I think I'll become a lesbian."

I honestly didn't think she knew what she was saying right now. I didn't say anything though.

"Day, you're pretty hot, right?" she asked, and I didn't know whether to say yes or no so I just shot her a wan smile. "Yeah, so why don't you dump Max and get into a relationship with me? Because I don't think there's anyone better looking than me, quite frankly. I think you're a close second though, which is why we should totally get together because our combined heat will make the world combust."

I think I should call 911. Just to be safe.

"And—" she suddenly paused, and I turned to see what she was looking at. Or rather, who she was looking at. "Ohmigosh! That guy is so hot!" she squealed. No 911 needed, or so it seemed. She was the same old Deeds again. No chance of her being a lesbian.

There was a blond haired guy walking with a couple of his friends. In my opinion, he looked like a loser. A good looking loser, at that. The kinds that were in collage but needed their moms to pay their rent. He had a light stubble and brown eyes, along with a cheeky expression.

"Yeah Deeds," I allowed myself to admit. "But I don't think he's a very good person. Remember what you said about being a bachelorette?" I asked softly, tugging at her sleeve.

"Screw that!" she said, waving me away. "Why don't you go back home, Day? Today was fun. I'll meet you tomorrow?" she asked, and I smacked my head. Well that was all of her own advice out of her own window, I guess.

I shrugged and walked out of the mall, just in time to miss Deeds unashamedly flirting with this stranger and- no surprise there- him flirting right back. It was quite sad, really.

Just then I realized I had no ride home, and the mall was twenty minutes away. I'd also blown up all my money on Deeds' and my stuff at Starbucks. Oh joy.

Just as I was about to go back into the mall to at least, if not take Deeds home with me, borrow some cash so that I could hitch a ride home, I heard a familiar whistle and call.

"Looking lost, Sweetheart. Where're you heading?" Dylan's annoyingly chirpy voice broke through my thoughts and I stared at him with my hands on my hips.

"Home. And I don't suppose you can take me there?" I asked, quirkily.

He grinned. "Oh, I bet you're dying to ride home with the most popular guy in the school, if not the whole state. Think about it; a popular guy like me, and an unpopular new freak like you." He moved his hands around to form some sort of frame, I think. A frame to imagine the scenario. I didn't bother covering up my exaggerated eye roll.

"I'm pretty popular myself, player," I informed him, walking towards his car anyway. He was here, might as well put him to some use and go home. "And I really don't want to taint my reputation by being seen around with you."

"Taint? I think it's more of an occasion to be seen around me," he sneered as he revved his car.

"Yeah, you're right. The occasion's a funeral." I got comfy and pushed the seat back, so that I was lying down and ignoring that jerk.

"Haha, very funny," he rolled his eyes, and I could see that he had nothing to say to that.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, pushing my sunglasses down from my forehead to the bridge of my nose. "Does it hurt when I beat the player at his own game? Being annoying?" I asked, grinning.

"Stop calling me a player. I mean, you call people players when you talk about them to other people. You call them a player in your head when you think about them. But you don't call them a player to their faces. It's really, really weird." Dylan looked almost pissed off, but he still had a hint of a smile that was betrayed in his faint dimple on his left cheek.

"Honey, I don't talk or think about you, I hope you know that," I crooned, enjoying irritating him so much. "And I'm weird. Deal with it."

He rolled his eyes, but his dimple didn't go away. It sunk even further into his skin and it looked so tempting to just poke with my long nail. So I did.

"Are you kidding me," he murmured as I began poking his skin and giggling at his response. Yep, he'd pretty much given up on me, I think.

We pulled over in front of my house and I blew him a flying kiss just to piss him off. It worked, by the way. He rolled his eyes and parked his car in his garage, which was open for some queer reason.

"It's so nice to have such wonderful neighbors." He stared at me blankly and I chuckled.

"Love you too!" I exclaimed, doing a weird hair-flip and making my long curls bounce across my shoulders. It actually didn't injure me! Score!

"Yeah, I'd better be going," he said, hanging his head and walking towards his house. He had nice ruffly hair that kind of swayed a little bit in the wind.

"We should do this more often! I had fun!" I said animatedly, clapping my hands like some sort of retarded seal.

"Well at least that's one of us," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that! If it was an insult I'll skewer you like a prawn and pluck your eyeballs out with a pitchfork, by the way!" I sang, and he literally walked into his house and slammed the door. Oh, he loved me so, so much.

I walked into my house, feeling better already. Dylan wasn't that bad of a person. I mean, he was like a guy best friend. As much as I hated him for dumping Deeds, I think she's better off without him too. They're both free birds; not people you can tie down. Of course, now that I was with Max I think I'm more of a committed person.
Honestly though, my friends were right. I'd never been in a relationship. How did I know whether this was a good one or not? Whether this was love that would last or something that would go down the drain? Life was a complicated piece of work; tangled and messed up. The only way you could brave through it was if you knew how to pin it at just the right spot and untangle just the knots without unraveling the weaving underneath it.

A/N:

PIC OF DYLAN---> *swoon*

I seriously have a skill, and it's called the ability to do everything but study during the exam season. I'm freaking talented that way.

Anyway, hope you liked that!

Any thoughts on this? Deeds' random bursts? Dylan and Day's BrOTP (LOL)? Or do you want it to be more than that?

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Love you all,

~Lexi