Best Friends for Never (7 page)

“You have nothing to worry about, okay?” Massie stood on her tiptoes and kissed her mother on the cheek. “I was just on my way to find Claire before you stopped me. So can I
please
go help her shop? She needs me.”

“Yes,” Kendra sighed. “You may want to suggest she try black. It will look so pretty with her bright eyes.”

Massie gave her mother the thumbs-up sign and hurried off. But Claire was the last thing on her mind.

THE LIMITED
DRESSING ROOM NO. 5

2:12
PM

October 25th

“I have about two minutes before my mother gets suspicious, so I'll make this quick,” Massie whispered. “Remember that bet I told you about? Well, it's killing me—I have nothing to wear.”

“Why don't you just admit defeat?” Alicia said. “It's only a bet.”

“Because then she has to wear her old snowsuit to school for a week,” Kristen said.

“It's two weeks,” Dylan said.

“No, it isn't, it's one week,” Kristen said.

“Ehmagod, will you guys please stop fighting already? I need your help.”

Massie reached into her red Coach clutch and pulled out her Visa.

“Take this and buy me some cute tops. I would love a purple scoop neck and maybe something in winter white and then whatever else you think I'll like. I'll take care of our costumes if you do this for me.”

“Don't forget I lost five pounds, so I probably went down a size,” Dylan said.

“Got it,” Massie barked. “Now go!”

The girls stormed out, eager to complete their mission.

Massie breathed a sigh of relief. She fixed her hair, reapplied her lip gloss, and adjusted her tie belt before unlocking the dressing room door. She had just saved her dying wardrobe, and she felt at peace for the first time all day. Her next stop would be The Espresso Bar for a celebratory chai latte.

Massie was greeted by a mob of impatient shoppers holding armfuls of clothes, waiting for her to leave. But her victory was too sweet to be soured by a bunch of Limited customers, and besides, it wasn't like she'd ever see
them
again.

She held her head high and walked out of the dressing room, managing to avoid eye contact with everyone.

“I heard you.”

Massie knew the voice but kept going.

“I know what you're doing.”

Don't look back. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Keep moving. You're almost out!

“Massie, STOP,” Claire said. She was at the front of the line, holding a periwinkle blue sweater and a few other items from the sale rack.

“What did you hear?” Massie said.

“I don't want to fight.” Claire's voice was patient and kind. “I know this has been hard for you, so I'll give you another chance. You can either call your friends to tell them you've changed your mind. Or you can wear the new sweaters under your old snowsuit.” Claire had an evil grin on her face. It gave Massie goose bumps.

Massie lifted her phone out of her bag and flipped it open.

“Darn,” she said, and snapped it shut. “Battery's dead.”

“Here you go,” said a girl with dreadlocks who happened to be in line behind Claire. She handed over her red-gold-and-green Nokia. “You're Massie Block, right? You go to OCD, right?”

Massie waved the phone away and accidentally inhaled a mouthful of patchouli.

“Yeah,” she said. “Who are you?”

“Brianna Grossman.”

“Are you new?” Massie asked.

“No, we've been in the same class for two years,” Brianna said, looking confused. “You invited me to your Halloween party.”

But Massie didn't respond. Instead she used her thumb to open her cell phone and her middle finger to flip Claire off.

THE BLOCK ESTATE
MASSIE'S BEDROOM

7:42
AM

October 31st

Massie had just stepped out of the shower and was dripping wet when her phone rang.

The caller was unidentified.

“Hello? Oh … uh … hi, Jocelyn … uh-huh … Well, why are you RSVP'ing to me?”

Massie wiped the steam off the mirror so she could watch herself talk on the phone. She looked annoyed. “You're supposed to call Kuh-laire … not
me
.”

Jocelyn stammered while she rushed to explain that Massie's name had been on her invite, not Claire's. But Massie wasn't paying attention. She was replacing the damp towel around her body with a fresh warm one off the heated rack. She was finished in the bathroom and done with Jocelyn.

“Do you hear that buzzing?” Massie asked.

“No.”

“There must be something wrong with my phone,” Massie said. “I can't hear—”

She hung up and tossed the phone onto her bed.

“Why did she call
me?
” Massie said to Bean as she towel-dried her hair.

When she flipped her head back up, she noticed the five Dirty Devil costumes splayed across her purple duvet. Inez must have finished working on them late last night and dropped them off while she was in the shower.

Red pleated microminis (which were once frumpy knee-length skirts), with long arrow-tipped tails sewed onto the back, lined the foot of the bed. Above each one was a pair of gray boy shorts with
Kiss It
written across the butt in silver glitter. Tiny black Petit Bateau tanks with strategically placed rips and tears were splayed out like a fan. Massie checked the top left side of each one, the spot usually reserved for the designer's logo, to make sure her instructions were properly executed. They were. Red stitching personalized each girl's costume—
Massie Devil, Kristen Devil, Alicia Devil, Dylan Devil,
and
Claire Devil
. Massie could barely look at the last one. It just didn't belong. Right beside Bean's doggie bed was a tiny black shirt that said
Bean Devil
across the back, but Massie was too upset to smile.

“Bean, you are the fifth, not
her
,” Massie said.

Bean blinked.

She heard a familiar honk and knew that Isaac, her driver, was ready to take her to school. Massie, still in her towel, searched for something exciting to wear.

In the last week she had done ties for belts, earrings pinned to blazers, dresses over jeans. She'd even mismatched her boots and worn one black and one brown. But now that it was Friday, she was tapped.

The fashionably challenged would look to her for weekend outfit ideas, and they deserved to see something fabulous. If they didn't, they would find another style muse. And Massie couldn't let that happen.

The horn blasted one more time and Massie contemplated faking sick. She had to think fast. She quickly reached for her Halloween costume and slid it on, admiring the flattering fit. There was little left to the imagination, but,
Hey
, she thought,
it's Halloween
.

Massie grabbed Alicia, Kristen, and Dylan's costumes and bolted out the door. She was in such a hurry, she accidentally left Claire's behind.

At least that was what she'd tell her mother.

OCTAVIAN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
THE HALLS

8:25
AM

October 31st

The girls always turned heads when they walked the halls of OCD, but when the four Dirty Devils passed, students stood in awe.

They looked striking and confident in their matching costumes. Like a gang of sexy fembots on a mission to take over suburbia. Everyone who passed either complimented them on their daring outfits or told them how excited they were about the party.

“This is a huge mistake,” Kristen muttered.

“Why?” Massie asked. She didn't look at Kristen when she spoke because that would ruin the blank runway model stare she was working for the crowd. It felt great to be wearing something new, and she didn't want Kristen's insecurities to ruin the moment.

“OCD has a pretty strict ‘no skin’ policy and we're breaking it on like five different counts,” Kristen said. “According to the OCD manual, we're supposed to be covered from the top of our boobs to an inch above our knees and—”

“Puh-lease,” Alicia chimed in. “It's Halloween. No one will care.”

“Yeah and even if they do, so what?” Dylan added. “The last skimpy outfit I was thin enough to fit into was designed by Pampers.”

By third period there had been at least four Dirty Devil wanna-be sightings. By lunch there were eight.

“There's another one,” Alicia said, pointing to Jaedra Russell.

She was ahead of them in line at the Café, wearing a super-short jean skirt and a black V-neck that had been torn just below the ribs.

“We've started more trends in one day than Marc Jacobs has in a year,” Kristen said.

They slid their trays a few inches closer to the cash register.

“Aren't you so glad to be one of us?” Massie said to her friends, then answered her ringing cell phone.

“Speaking,” she said with an eye roll. “It's AUDREY,” she mouthed.

“You'll be at the party tonight? … Well, I'd be excited too if I was you …
really
excited, considering you've never been invited to one of my parties before.” Massie covered the mouthpiece so she could join her friends, who were hysterically laughing. “How did you get my number? … Really. Are you sure it didn't say Claire? You never were a good reader… .”

Dylan grabbed the cell phone away from Massie's ear and pressed end. The girls cracked up. Audrey called back, but this time Massie hit ignore and dropped the phone in her Prada messenger bag.

“That's the fifth call I've gotten this week from an LBR,” Massie said. “And unfortunately every one of them has RSVP'd ‘yes.’”

“Is Derrington coming?” Dylan asked as she pulled the loose skirt up over her hips.

“Yup, and so are all of his cute friends,” Massie said.

Trays in hand, the four girls made their way through the sea of lunch tables, stopping every so often to chat with their adoring fans about the highly anticipated boy-girl party that was only hours away.

“Massie, is it true that Landon Dorsey is doing your party?” Mandy Ross asked.

“Totally,” Massie said. “She said this party is going to be one of her best.”

“Will there be sugar-free candy?” Suze Gayner asked.

“If Dylan's Candy Bar makes it, we'll have it,” Massie said.

“Are you guys wearing the Dirty Devil costumes tonight or do you have something else planned?” Vanessa Covers asked.

“You'll have to wait and find out.” Kristen shook her glittery butt.

“Can I bring a dance mix I burned last night?” Ava Waters said.

“Totally.”

“Is it true that Becca Wilder thought of the boy-girl party first?” Parker Lemons asked.

“What do
you
think?” Massie looked Parker straight in the eye. The girl responded with a nervous giggle.

“We should have held a press conference,” Massie said when she sat down.

“Seriously,” Dylan said. “Can you believe Allyson asked if your house had any good make-out spots?”

“I know,” Kristen said. “Hopefully the only thing going on her lips tonight is a tube of ChapStick. Did you see all those cracks?”

“Any more calls from your new BFFs, aka the LBRs?” Alicia asked Massie.

“Jocelyn was telling everyone in math that she spoke to you this morning before school,” Kristen said.

“No way!” Massie said.

“I swear. Then two seconds later Liza and Hope said
they
spoke to you last night,” Dylan said. “I think Hope even said you guys talked for hours.”

“NO WAY!”

“I heard that too,” Kristen said.

“Ehmagod, that
can't
be good for your reputation.” Alicia twisted open her bottle of Perrier and the whole thing fizzed over and soaked her California rolls.

“Great, thanks a lot,” Alicia said to a stranger at the table behind her.

“How is that my fault?” the girl said.

Alicia didn't respond.

“Did you tell everyone Hope was lying?” Massie asked Dylan.

“I was about to, but the teacher walked in.”

Massie's head started to spin. The sound of everyone talking in the Café suddenly seemed too loud to bear and the dirt smell of the grilling veggie burgers made her want to puke.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She waited for the panic to pass before she spoke.

“If Hope and the other LBRs are saying I've been talking to them on the phone, people might think I
like
them. I'll be ruined.”

“That is brutal,” Kristen said. “How did they get your number?”

Massie had a hunch but was interrupted before she could answer.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Claire asked. She was wearing a faded Good Charlotte concert tee and a loose patchy jean skirt. Both were obviously borrowed from Layne.

“Go ahead,” Massie said.

“I mean in private,” Claire said.

“She's gonna tell us everything you say, so you might as well just talk to her here,” Dylan said.

“Fine.” Claire pushed her bangs to the side of her forehead and tried to tuck them behind her ear, but they weren't quite long enough to make it. “I thought we were going to wear the same costumes tonight.”

“We are.” Massie's voice was flat and impatient.

“Yeah, but now I can't wear mine because all the boys will think I went home after school and copied you,” Claire explained.

“Believe me, none of the boys will be giving you or your costume a second thought tonight,” Massie said. “Besides, how are they going to know what we wore to school today?”

“Supposedly everyone at Briarwood has already heard about your sexy costumes,” Claire said. “The boys have been talking about them all day.”

“Really?” Massie's face lit up. She forgot all about the Losers Beyond Repair for a second.

“Why didn't you tell me you were going to wear your costumes today?” Claire asked. Her voice trembled. “I could have worn mine too.”

Massie stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

“Normally I would make up an excuse so I wouldn't have to tell you straight to your face that I never wanted you to be a part of our costumes. But since you decided to put my cell phone number on every loser's invitation in the greater New York area, I'm not going to bother,” Massie said. “Who cares what our mothers say at this point? The party is a done deal. Go be Elmo or whatever it was you were going to be and leave me alone.”