Note:
This is the real drama,
the meat or the tofu for my vegetarian friends.
So read away.
Chapter Fifteen:
It was Halloween, the biggest holiday for the Gang. It fell on a Saturday, so they weren’t at school but they had planned to meet up at Carla’s house for their annual Halloween costume party, which doubled as a birthday party for both Chels and Frankie.
Claire woke up and rubbed her eyes. She got dressed into her costume, which was a nightdress- she was going to the party as Snotface and Faris was set to be her Drop Dead Fred. She brushed her long black hair in front of her mirror, and smiled to herself. She looked at the clock in her room. Faris was going to meet her in front of her house in a few minutes. She ran down the stairs and opened the front door. She planned to sit on her stoop and wait for him there. She grabbed a sweater, put it on and opened the door. She shut the door, locked it, and prepared to sit on her stoop. “Wow,” she heard a voice from behind her and she jumped.
wiL was standing in front of her house. He was dressed up as a vampire, in a black suit and tie, with a red dress shirt underneath. He had a black cape, which was blowing behind him in the slight wind and fake blood was dripping out of his mouth through his lopsided smile. White make-up was caked on his already pale face, mixing with the fake blood.
“Who are you supposed to be?” he asked her.
“Snotface,” she said in a small voice. All the color had drained from her face as she looked at him.
“Don’t tell me that British kid is your Drop Dead Fred.”
“He has a name. It’s Faris- and so what if he’s my Fred?” She was angry with him now.
“He’s not right for you,” he told her simply.
“And you are? wiL, you can’t come here, stand on my doorstep and tell me who I should be with!” she shouted. He looked down at his shoes. She instantly regretted yelling at him and sank onto the top stair of his stoop, feeling as though she were about to cry. Claire couldn’t look at him. She covered her face with her hands.
“Claire, I’m sorry,” he said, coming up her steps and he took a seat next to her. “I just…I can’t let you go.”
“You’re going to have to,” she whispered but she still didn’t look up. wiL stared at her wide-eyed.
“Claire, don’t you understand? I can’t do that!” he said, evidently becoming slightly hysterical. “I can’t!”
Claire didn’t say anything. She kept looking down at her hands, which were now resting in her lap. wiL gently touched her cheek, pushed her face up towards his, and kissed her. She didn’t push him away and weakly kissed him back. When he pulled away, he smiled. The kiss had smeared the fake blood onto her lips.
“Snotface, I love you,” he whispered.
Claire didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, she looked up and saw Faris, standing at the bottom of her stoop, dressed like Drop Dead Fred. He was holding a bouquet of flowers but the slipped from his hand and dropped to the concrete. Claire gasped as the flowers hit the ground, petals scattering across the pavement.
“Faris…” she whispered but he didn’t hear her. He turned and walked down the street, not looking back at her. Claire looked at wiL and then at Faris and let out a very heavy sigh. She heaved herself up off the stoop and silently opened her front door, she slammed it on the world behind her.
& & &
“Claire, what do you mean, you can’t come?!” shouted Andi into the phone.
“You heard me, Andi. I can’t come to the party. I’m sorry,” the sadness was weighing down her voice.
“What the Hell happened, Claire?!”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, nothing my a**! Look, I’m coming over.”
“Andi, you-”
“Claire, that’s wasn’t up for debate. I’m coming over. You better answer the door when I ring the bell or I’m coming in through your damn window,” said Andi, snapping her cell phone shut decisively.
It only took her a few moments to reach Claire’s house. She was dressed up like a witch, a pointed hat on her head and a broomstick in her hand. She walked up the steps and found wiL, still sitting there.
“This has something to do with you, doesn’t it? What did you do to her?”
wiL sighed, “I kissed her in front of that British kid.”
Andi stared at him. “Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head miserably. She smacked him in the chest with her broomstick.
“You selfish ********!” she shouted at him furiously..
“What?!”
“Don’t you ever think of her?! It’s always about you, you, you!”
“Andi, I love her!”
“I know that! She knows that! The whole Gang knows it! You haven’t exactly hidden it well,” she said with a hollow laugh. “But what you don’t seem to get, wiL, is that Faris loves her too now. You had your chance- Hell, you’ve had way too many chances and you ******** up every single one of them.”
“I know that!” wiL shouted, standing up in a rage. He stared Andi down but she stood her ground; the two of them were similar in the fact that when they were angry, they were forces to be reckoned with. “I’ve straightened up,” he said through clenched teeth. “That should count for something.”
“Of course it does. No one’s saying it doesn’t. But what makes this time different then all the other times? You’ve said that you’ve straightened up every other time you’ve come back from juvi and this is the fifth time.”
“This time is different. Trust me,” he said but he wasn’t too sure. What made this time different? He had promised Claire- that was what made it different. He bit his lip.
“Look, Claire loves you. That’s the thing that’s making it so hard for her because she loves you but she also loves Faris. She doesn’t want to choose between the two of you but you’re making her choose. Can’t you see how thin you’ve spread her?! She won’t be able to go on like this for much longer,” said Andi. She thought about her own situation and how she was going to have to choose between Ian and Matt sometime. She tried not to think about it.
“Trust me, wiL-it’s going to be one of the hardest choices she’ll ever have to make. The least you can do is to make it easier for her and back off a little. You’ve just come back and you’re coming on too strong for her.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“You figure it out. I’m not going to live your life and make your decisions for you, though you might be better off if I did.”
“I’ve CHANGED.”
“Actions speak louder than words,” said Andi. She wasn’t trying to be a b***h, but he had messed with Claire and someone needed to be blunt with him. The Gang wanted him to stay with them for good this time. “Now get off Claire’s doorstep. There’s nothing more you can do today.”
wiL looked at her and then nodded. He walked off the doorstep, his cape blowing behind him. Andi rolled her eyes and opened the front door. She went up the stairs and gently opened the door to Claire’s room.
Claire was lying on her bed in a state of catatonia. She hadn’t bothered to wash the fake blood off of her lips so it remained there, making her look as though she were dead.
“Claire…?” Andi whispered. Claire didn’t move or even acknowledge her presence. She continued to stare up at her ceiling.
“Is he gone?” she murmured.
“Who?”
“wiL,” she said in a voice so soft, Andi thought it was the wind coming through Claire’s window.
“Yeah, I told him to leave. Claire, this isn’t your fault.” Andi sat on the edge of her bed. Claire sat up.
“I wanted wiL to come back so badly, I waited everyday for him to return and now he’s here and I want more than anything for him to leave,” she said in the same low voice. “I’m a bad person, I know but-”
“Claire, you’re not a bad person. You’re not,” Andi said, reaching out to hug her. Claire buried her head in her shoulder but she didn’t cry. They sat there for what seemed like ages. “We’re going to be late to the party.”
“I told you, I’m not going.”
“Claire, you have to go!”
“I can’t,” she said weakly.
“Please? For me?”
Claire sighed. “Fine. But now my costume is ruined; I’ll just look like an idiot in a nightgown,” she said with a slight smile.
“No, not exactly. Put some make-up on, keep the blood on your face and you could be a zombie. I’ll help you! Just please come,” Andi pleaded.
“Okay, I will. Now zombiefy me, Andi.”
& & &
Carla was trying to set up her living room for the Halloween party but she was getting distracted by Bill, who was trying every chance he could to push her on the couch and make out with her.
“Bill!” Carla shouted as he began to kiss her neck. She was dressed up as a zombie version of Cinderella and he was her zombie Prince Charming. When in doubt, the Gang thought, dress like a zombie. “You’re messing up my make-up!”
“I don’t care, darling, I want you,” he said between kisses.
“But the guests are going to be here any moment!”
“I still don’t care,” he whispered into her ear and he continued to kiss her.
“Bill,” she said with a giggle, “We’ll do this when the party’s over!”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“Okay then,” said Bill as he adjusted the gold crown on his head and went into the kitchen to get some of the party supplies.
& & &
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHELS AND FRAAAAAAAANKIIIIIIEEEEE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”
The members of the Gang sang to Frankie and Chels as Bill and Carla brought out the cake.
“You guys are so sweet,” said Chels with a smile as she took her piece of cake. She was dressed up as a zombie Club Kid, a one girl Disco Bloodbath. Gerard, who was dressed up as Batman, gave her a kiss on the cheek and whispered something into her ear which made her laugh.
“You guys are the best!” Frank shouted, digging into the piece of cake. He was dressed up like a werewolf and he let out a little howl of delight, which made the Gang laugh. “I’m going to get my tattoo later, anyone coming?” Frank had finally turned 18 and he had vowed to get a tattoo on his 18th birthday.
“I’d love to see some of it get done,” said Sami, who was very interested in art and the tattooing process. She was dressed up as Princess Peach, blonde wig and all, and she was clutching onto her very own plumber, Troy, who was dressed up as Mario and eating a piece of cake.
“What are you getting exactly?” Dani asked. She was dressed up as Jessica Rabbit and Bob was dressed as Roger. They had been dating for the past two weeks and they made a cute couple.
“Oh, you haven’t heard? He’s only been talking about this since 6th grade,” said Ray, who was dressed up as Austin Powers. He rolled his eyes behind his black framed glasses.
“He’s getting a jack-o-lantern on his back,” said Mikey, who was dressed as Robin, and the other Chemical boys in unison.
“Ugh, needles creep me out. Just the thought of them…” Gerard trailed off with a shudder. Chels patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.
“Well, I want to see some of it too, I hope you don’t mind, Gee,” said Chels.
“Nah, but you can’t get me there in a million bucks,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want to try,” she said, rolling her eyes behind her goggles.
The cake was handed out to everyone, and they ate it happily. Suddenly, there was a ring on the doorbell. “I’ll get it!” shouted Shawn Harris happily. He was dressed up like a mummy, but his signature bowler hat was placed on the top of his bandaged head. He opened the door and a huge smile spread across his face.
“ANDI! CLAIRE!” he shouted, giving them both a huge hug. They both giggled as they entered. Claire shot a nervous glance towards Andi, who squeezed her hand reassuringly and smiled.
“It’ll be fine,” she mouthed. Claire nodded slightly.
“I want cake,” she mouthed back with a grin.
Jake Wambold, another vampire, handed Claire a piece of cake. He gave her a hug. She was quickly forgetting her troubles until the doorbell rang once more. “I’LL GET IT,” Shawn shouted as he skipped once more to the door. “Claire, it’s for you,” he said quietly, which was uncharacteristic of him. Claire looked up, set down her piece of cake, and walked to the door.
It was Faris. His brown hair, which had been sprayed with orange, was covering his face more than usual. “Claire,” he whispered, his British voice sounding raspy. “Claire, I just want you to know that-”
She vaulted onto him with an embrace. He was stunned speechless. “Faris, I’m sorry. I didn’t know wiL would do that.”
“You still have feelings for him, don’t you?”
“Faris, that doesn’t matter!”
“Claire, of course it matters!”
“You’re just going to have to trust me. If you can’t trust me, we can’t move forward.”
“I don’t always want to have to look over my shoulder, thinking he’s going to take you away from me! I need you, Claire. I love you.”
It was the second time she had heard the phrase today and no matter how much she wanted to say it as well, it was impossible for her. It just couldn’t come out of her mouth and she wanted it, she wanted it to so badly.
“Faris, I-I-I-I-I-I…” But she couldn’t. Instead, all the tears that she had bottled up inside her came pouring out and she cried into his suit jacket. He decided not to push her any further and he hugged her close to his body.