Friendzoned (14 page)

Becky felt a little breathless herself, and just took the help. It was a bit pushy of the other girl, but meant to be nice and really was going to make things easier. She nodded.

"Thanks. I should get to my homework."

That was enough to get her out of the house, which, oddly, she didn't want to leave really. It was nice and quiet there, with only Darla. Clean. It even smelled nice. Like lavender and jasmine shampoo. Or, given how nice it was,
real
lavender and Jasmine. It was the kind of thing that she would have loved to learn to get used to.

The work had to be done though, and so she set up in her room, plowing away and double checking everything she could before Mike and her mom started bickering in the other room. It was a low level thing for them, over some bill or another that had to be paid. It happened about this time each month, so she tried not to notice it, focusing on her work. The door slammed after a while, which would be her mother heading out for the night, being that it was about nine. Then a bit later it did it again, which was just strange.

That was enough for her to go and see what was up, which, when she got to the living room, was nothing at all. The place was empty. What that meant she didn't really know at all. Probably that Mike had finally had enough and was just leaving for good.

It wouldn't be great for her, but she shrugged. It just wasn't the kind of thing she had control over either. That being the case, she packed everything up in her well worn and patched school bag and settle in for the night. No one was around in the morning either. It was both nice, not being bothered, and a bit intimidating. Normally someone was home at that time of day.

Even after a door slamming fight.

School was peaceful, and while Keeley was excited about their dates, no one else really seemed to have that much planned. Maria was still not feeling well, and either cutely or somewhat creepily, Quince insisted on playing nurse for her the whole time. Even making sure she had rides to and from school each day. When he left from lunch, Barb took his place, sitting right by Maria. A single slim and pale hand went to the darker girl's forehead.

"Ah ha! As I expected. Someone is faking being sick.
Now
at least." She let a single elegant eyebrow raise and the other girl sighed, meaningfully.

"A bit. I still don't feel perfect, but... I don't get a lot of attention usually. So..."

No one made fun of her over it, or mentioned it again. Barb, for her part, just let her shoulders come up.

"Cool. Well, I can get you to and from school, if you want. It really is on my way. As for Quince, well, you aren't allowed to date, so that kind of makes it hard to keep his attention really. I don't know what to tell you to do there. It's clear he thinks of you as one of his people though. He wouldn't be bothering to do all this if not."

That was just true. The boy had barely noticed earlier in the year when he and his football buddies had knocked out Maria's front teeth, running in the halls after school. Now she got the sniffles and he acted like it was his personal responsibility to see to her well being.

That probably meant he had a crush, except that if it were the case, wouldn't he have asked her out already? He was so popular that girls didn't say no to him a lot, Becky was willing to bet.

It was beyond her understanding at the moment, since she was suddenly trying to figure out how to get some of that cute underwear that Darla kept hinting at her needing.

Keeley waved at her, to get her attention, since she was in her normal spot, about three places down and across the white table with its tiny blue flecks.

"My place at three? I have someone coming in to help us with makeup. She's
really
good." Keeley winked at Darla, and then spoke in a low voice. "Bente."

That got a reaction from the perky blonde, who was, like the other cheerleaders, dressed in her orange and blue outfit. It was a game day after all, even if it was a Thursday.

"
Bente?
My god Keels, did you hock a kidney or something? That's..." She turned to Becky, and looked either impressed or horrified. It was hard to tell. "She's a fashion designer, but also one of the best makeup artists in the world. Italian. I didn't even know she was in town. The only time she's ever come before was to help my grandmother and that cost... a
lot
."

"She has a layover, which means that she's here for two nights. She wants me to come to her place for August, but I don't know if I will. I might be busy. When are we going on the trip to the Grand Canyon?"

That got the topic to change, and didn't answer anything at all. It would have been nearly sneaky, if it had been planned. It wasn't though, since things like that just happened, all the time.

The rest of the day was perfectly normal for her, right up until the moment that she pulled onto Keeley's street, parking a ways away from her house, so that she'd be in a legal parking zone. After all, she really didn't want to get a ticket. Not for something stupid that just being careful, and not too lazy would have prevented.

The thing that changed first was inside of her. She felt... giddy. Happy and amazed that anyone was actually bothering to do that sort of thing for her. It was ridiculous, at the same time, trying to come up with a fake date, to make a boy jealous, so that he'd notice her and not the really hot girl he liked? It didn't seem to be working at all yet, was it? If anything, he'd been avoiding her.

She didn't have any classes with him, but when she'd waved to him in the hall, like she always did, he didn't nod back or smile, just pretending that he didn't notice her at all. It left her feeling sad, but she didn't know how to fix it. Maybe he was mad because of all the rumors about her? He was a pretty honorable person, and that might be enough to ruin things. Not that she had anything left to destroy there.

So that was the mood she was in, sad and giddy, both at the same time, when she got to the door and knocked. It was Sherri who opened the door. She was nice looking, but an awful lot like an older version of Keeley. About twenty pounds heavier, but the same basic coloration, brown hair and dark eyes, with the same features really. It probably meant that she was better looking than Becky would ever be, but she was also really nice.

"There you are Becky! So good to see you. The others are setting up in Keeley's room, so they won't accidently get anything on my sofa." She closed the door, then took the girl by both arms, smiling, but holding her back, so that she could look at her.

"Wow, you look
great
." She didn't talk about the weight loss directly, but Becky got what the woman meant. Just six months before she'd looked pretty different that way, hadn't she? "You know the way?"

Becky nodded, and was let go, the woman heading back to her own office to work. That this had to be one of the busiest days of the year for her just made sense. Floral arrangements... She could see it.

Inside the closed bedroom door there were hushed voices, chatting pleasantly about something, it sounded like the voice with the accent wanted Keeley to come to a ball, for some fun. Or to bring the ball to her? That was probably just a language confusion thing. She knocked, trying not to be the creepy kind of person that listened at doors.

"Come in!"

When she opened the door, she expected to see Keeley's room. Perhaps with a chair from the kitchen set up, so that they could work on her. Instead it was an empty space, with that chair, but everything else being gone except the carpet. There was, she realized, a mirror, on the same side of the room as the door, with lights all the way around it. That and some standing spot lights, as if they were planning to take pictures of her or something.

The other woman, Bente, was perfect. She looked almost unreal standing there, in a loose shirt that had cuffs that fastened down to keep them out of the way, and blue jeans. They fit perfectly too. Following the line of her leg without being tight at any point. The woman noticed her looking, but didn't blush, just walking over and putting a hand under Becky's chin, to lift her head.

At first she expected to see disappointment in the other woman's face, but she just smiled a bit and nodded.

"A challenge, truly." Then she looked over at Keeley. "Or she would be, if we demanded her to take the stage in Milan this evening. Give her three months, and a bit of guidance and she could do it." Then she orientated on Becky again, without missing a beat, moving her back toward the chair, guiding her by the shoulders. "Miss Becky... I am Bente. I will make you beautiful. You have, tonight, a date, yes? With a lovely boy? I have seen his pictures. I will make you his equal, or better. Now, strip." She clapped her hands, which seemed demanding.

Keeley waved at her.

"It's part of the whole thing. Don't worry, she'll hardly feel you up at all."

Bente looked at the pretty girl and shrugged.

"Do not tell me how to do my job. Clothing off, now. We need to get you ready..."

It was embarrassing, and the woman examined her body so closely that she really felt a bit violated, but after a bit she just nodded.

"You have lost much weight lately? Very good. It shows, but not too badly. We need to trim some hair, here and there, so that your date will know that you're welcoming him, and not sending the wrong signals. Keeley, can you bring the table in?"

It had wheels and Becky was supposed to just sit there, baffled, it seemed, while it was all taking place. When the gray-blue thing was set up, Bente patted it and then looked exasperated.

"Well? Hurry, please, we've but a few hours!" She didn't sound mean, really, but bossy and like she expected to be listened to.

Then the woman totally violated what Keeley had said about feeling her up and shaved most of her body for her, then trimming her bikini area. She didn't ask, or pretend that it was some kind of delicate thing either. She just dove in, her eyes narrowed and focused.

Finally she stood back.

"There. You will feel no shame when your lover unwraps you for the first time. Now, the face and hair. Girl, Keeley, aid me in this?" She didn't snap her fingers, but the movement was so well implied in the words that she may as well have.

It took hours to get everything around, and it was all selected for her. Her hair was up, and had a bit of curl to it, but not so much it looked permed. Her face... When they let her look in the mirror, she just stared for a bit. It was her, only it wasn't.

"I look..." She didn't have the words, but Bente did.

"Not too bad. We could make you look even better, but this evening is only about capturing the attention of a few young men, not turning them into your personal playthings. Not yet. We can work on that later? Lose the rest of the weight first however, forty more pounds? Or do you think that a slightly heavier look is finally coming back? I would like that, half my girls are starving to death at any given time, with the current trends."

Keeley waved at the mirror.

"Probably about twenty. What did you have planned, Becks?"

"Um, about thirty more? I'm not trying to be a model, I mean..." She blushed, and it showed through the makeup, which meant it wasn't nearly as heavy as she'd thought. "Um, actress, and..."

What she
wanted
to say was that she knew she wasn't good looking enough for that, but the fashion designer just nodded.

"That's about right then. Thin, but not a mere clothing rack. Now, we need to dress you. Please know, these are not fashions that I designed. They're... well, they should fit with the mood for the evening. I recommend burning them when it's done?"

The woman helped her into a light pink bra, showing her how to fit it properly and making her try four different ones before she was happy with it. It felt better than what she'd been doing for years, which was a bit of a shock. She hadn't known there was a right or wrong way of doing that.

The lacy underwear was both small and pink, and had a cute enough feeling to them that Darla would probably approve. They made her feel sexy, though she didn't admit it to the other two. For one thing, they didn't ask, though in the mirror she didn't look that bad, really.

Then the clothing came and it was pretty normal. Nice, but nothing that couldn't have been gotten at a Wal-Mart really. A dark skirt and light top, with no stockings, since Bente decided she didn't need them.

"Not for this. Now, go forth and make us proud little bird. Seduce all the young men and leave their hearts crying for your return."

With that, Keeley took her by the hand, and pulled her from the room.

It was very nearly not fair how little time it took for Keeley to change and do her makeup after that. Becky didn't notice Bente leaving, but when she walked back to the bedroom, the place had been set back up, with a bed and everything, and the woman was gone. For all that she'd seemed a bit prissy and demanding, the lady clearly liked to have everything in its place. It was probably why she was so good at her job. The mirror was gone too, leaving a computer table instead.

Shaking her head she moved back to the living room, sitting carefully, so that her face wouldn't accidently even come close to the fabric of the sofa. Becky didn't know what would happen if she did that, but it probably wouldn't be good. Not with Keeley's mom being such a neat freak.

The other girl looked at least as good as she did, even having taken care of it all herself, though she was dressed down just a bit, wearing clothing that was nice, but not as dressy as what Becky had on herself. Then, after looking at her wrist, which was totally bare, she pointed at the front door.

"They should be here... now." Nothing happened of course, so they went to sit down, just as the knock came.

Becky grinned, "Okay, so that wasn't
too
bad. How do I look?"

Keeley actually examined her and winked.

 "Good enough that everyone will be checking you out all night. Here we go." She sounded happy enough about it, and hurried across the room, getting the door open before anyone would have to try pounding on it.

There were two men there, or boys. Really it was hard to tell. The shorter one, on the left, was dressed nicely, but had some lines at the corners of his eyes. They weren't enough to make him look old, but he was a bit too light colored for them to just be from constant squinting in the sun, either. The other one...

Practically glowed. He was about her age, more or less, and had perfect blond hair and blue eyes that were a deep color that drew her in. He was fit, tall and lean, and really did look like he should have been in a movie. As the male lead.

He stared at her too, making solid eye contact that left her feeling a bit weak. In a good way. If she hadn't already been in love, with Mitch, she could have very easily entertained the idea of love at first sight with him.

He took a few steps towards her, not even glancing at Keeley, which made her like him already.

"Why,
hello
. Are you Becky? I'm Kyle, your date for the evening? If Keeley had told me you were so hot I would have insisted on it being a real date, instead of just trying to make this other guy jealous."

Kyle, marvel that he was, took her hand, shaking it, but not letting go soon enough, his warm dry grip lingering. Finally he started a bit and looked away, embarrassed, letting go of her. He looked back almost instantly though.

It didn't take long for Keeley to nudge her shoulder a bit, leaning in gently.

"Darla
did
warn you to have on cute underwear. Did you think we were kidding?"

She hadn't realized it until she saw him, but Becky really
had
. Even the other guy, Zack, would have been a surprise really, as far as a blind date went. He was nice enough looking that it wouldn't have been bad at all. Kyle was like something that should be kept under glass and protected. Her stomach was flipping a little inside, in ways that were far too ticklish to be bad.

Then Keeley sighed.

"We should probably head out a bit early. All of the games have been moved to school nights. Not that I know why they decided to put the early season games on Thursdays this year. Or, well, I have some
guesses
, which all involve a string of murders that took place a few months ago, and trying to keep the city's youths under control. If that's the plan, it's a horrible one, of course. It just means that even more people will be off running around without direction tomorrow, but what can we do? Mitch needs to be schooled, and tonight is when the school district decided it should be done." She sounded a little funny, like she was trying to seem more grown up.

Becky glanced at Zack and thought she understood. He was older. At least in his twenties, and couldn't be all that enthused about being part of their little game with some high school boy. Really, that he'd been willing to come at all was kind of amazing.

Keeley patted everyone, letting her own hand linger on her boyfriend's back, walking with him to her car. That part was a bit strange, but not too much so. The boys had probably just parked further away and weren't from the area, so they didn't want to drive. Keeley was good at it anyway and her car, while not some kind of limo or sports car, was definitely quieter than Becky's was. Neither of the guys even looked at it funny.

Next to her in the back seat, the cute boy reached out and touched her right arm. It was just to get her attention, but still felt friendly.

"So, what are my odds of getting you to forget this date isn't real? I can throw in something to sweeten the deal if you want. Do you want to see Zack dance? I've never seen it, but he claims it's a horrible thing to be exposed to." It took a while for him to get his fingers back, and they rubbed just a bit as he did.

"I... probably shouldn't. Not that it isn't tempting. I mean, you're... yeah. I've done so much work to try and get Mitch to pay attention to me now that it feels like cheating, even thinking about it."

That got a knowing look from the boy, who was probably pretty used to girls saying yes, after all. She wanted to. It wouldn't be hard at all, really.

"That's probably fair. If he's not smart enough to grab you from me and run off before the end of this tonight, you should keep me in mind. I hear tell that I'm a decent conversationalist. True, most of the women saying that aren't in it to hear me
talk
, but you could be the first."

The words were strange, spoken in a low tone, but one that held play, instead of ego. He was clearly just goofing around with her. It was just so... nice. He kept actually paying attention to her, which meant that when Keeley started talking, the words took her by surprise.

"Mitch does the game announcements for the home events. I'll strategically seat us so that he can't help but notice his hot friend, Becky, sitting with Kyle. Zack, we need to hold hands and make it really clear that this is the most special Valentine's Day ever. I have some props in the back for that. Mitch has taken it into his head to like me, not seeing that Becky is clearly the better choice. The idea is to make her look valuable, and me very taken. Then, after the game, we're all going out to King's Burgers, which is a local place. Not really nice enough for a date, but Gary, another friend of ours, has made a point of getting everyone, including the announcer and the sound crew, to head out there after every game so far this season. That's where Zack and I will leave for a while, so that you two can be 'alone' and really turn the heat up. Tonight the plan is for Mitch to notice it. Pull out the stops, Kyle. Or at least half of them. King's is a family place after all."

Her voice was still being fake old, but the words made sense, so Becky nodded a bit, moving back from Kyle, if not enough really. She could still smell him. Like a fine musk and aftershave, but nothing all that strong. It was nice and meant that, fake date or not, he'd actually cared enough to make it seem real.

In the front, his voice low, Zack said something, but she was momentarily distracted by Kyle, who touched her arm again. Leaning in, he laughed, which was a very low chuckle, meant only for her.

"Ah, the lovebirds. We need to do that too, don't you think? If we want this guy to be jealous and not just think I'm your cousin from out of state."

It was a point, and a good enough excuse to have his attention, so Becky wasn't going to fight against the idea too hard. Really... If it wasn't for the whole Mitch thing, this situation would be really nice.

After Keeley parked, nearer the building than she normally would have, since almost no one was there, the event being held in the gym, Kyle helped her out of the car, as Keeley jogged around to the back of it, getting her some flowers.

"Props. I got my mom to make them for us. It will make it clear that these guys aren't just for decoration. Mine are nicer, since, you get the idea, Zack actually has a job." She wasn't catty about it, and the difference wasn't that great. Hers had an array of flowers, with a single red rose in the center. That got Kyle to lean in, taking her hand as they slowly walked into the building.

Keeley and Zack were doing about the same, but the girl was a little clingy with him. Her hands didn't stray anywhere too naughty, but it was clear that she was barely keeping herself from ripping his clothes off. That was probably what she needed to do as well, with her own date. It was a bit hard though, since she didn't want to lead him on, promising anything that she wasn't going to deliver later.

Even if she wanted to.

That wasn't a big problem, since Kyle was wonderful, treating her like she was the only thing that existed practically. It had to show, even as they stood in the very short line to get their tickets. It was Maria who took their money, her face in a flat smile, until she saw her and Kyle together.

"Uh... Hi! Becky! I didn't know you were coming. You look..." She didn't say anything, but Keeley leaned in after Zack passed the money over for all of them.

"Maria! We should get together soon, just you and I. Go and do something fun?"

"Sure..." She seemed in a slight bit of shock, but passed the tickets along without comment. They ended up almost directly behind where Mitch and Cory sat, which would make it harder for him to pick up on who was there, she thought. It was apparently all part of the plan.

Keeley nodded at his back, then she looked at the flowers they each held.

"It's a bit obvious, but I doubt that Mitch will pick up on it that clearly. He's a bright boy, but not the kind to think of anyone as trying to trick him like this."

Becky could see that. It was still like something out of a sit-com. That or a romantic comedy. She was there, trying her hardest to get Mitch, the oblivious boy, to notice her, while right next to her was Kyle, and next to him, Cory, both of whom, if not for that pesky bit of a crush she had, would have been better options. They were both willing to see her as a person, for one thing.

Kyle kept proving that at the moment too, gazing at her in a way that went beyond flirtation. He looked adoring, really. It was flattering, and a bit scary. She could really see herself doing something foolish with him, if given half a chance.

Zack half stood and waved, his face going into a big smile.

"Hally!"

The cheerleaders down on the floor all turned around, and several waved to them, Hally seemed happy enough to see them, but her face fell just a bit, as she noticed that Zack was sitting as close as he was to Keeley. Almost right on top of her. Then she turned away, a bit stiffly. The others didn't, looking at Kyle, and, she realized, her.

Zack's voice changed a bit, going lower and sounding slightly sexy.

"Are you and Hally doing it? Because if so, I
totally
want in on the three-way action there." He didn't seem to be teasing either, which got Becky to feel a bit embarrassed for Keeley. After all, her boyfriend was a perv.

She
just giggled a bit and shrugged.

"It's not exclusive, but not
known
here yet either." Keeley looked around, but didn't act like it was a big deal that the guy she was with was suggesting kinky sex with her friends.

Leaning in Kyle cleared his throat.

"I promise not to suggest anything involving more than three people on the first date. It's all part of my quality assurance program." He sounded charming and his arm bumped her side gently.

"But
up
to three is still something that might come up?"

"Yep. After all, I don't want you to feel
too
hemmed in. You seem like the kind of person that appreciates adventure, so I'd better stay ready to adapt, right?"

Becky didn't know what to say. After all, was she that kind of girl? The kind that was willing to try out new things? Or was she just into being safe all the time? It was probably the second one, but the idea was oddly... interesting. Not having a real threesome, but being thought of as the kind of person that might be willing to entertain the idea.

Like she might be a tiny bit wild, deep inside.

It was almost exactly then when Cory turned and looked at them. His face fell a bit, when he saw her with Kyle, but he just shook his head, an almost imperceptible thing, and nudged Mitch, who was wearing one of his trademarked too loud Hawaiian shirts. When he turned around, his eyes found Keeley first, drinking in the scene. Zack came next and his face went still, but when he looked at her and Kyle, there was a harsher look. Almost like disgust. That couldn't be right though, could it? She looked nice. She was pretty sure of it.

Kyle smiled and leaned in, kissing her cheek a little. Then he whispered, making it look like they were doing something else.

"Bingo. One jealous 'friend' coming up. He looks miserable. You can hear it in his voice." That was coming at them from over the loud speakers, and she really couldn't tell that at all.