Chapter 15

Brittany adjusted her turquoise turtle-neck sweater. The hickey was still on her neck and she had school today. The suspension was off, a month was already up.

"Brittany!" Lisa screamed and she scrambled downstairs. Scott eyed her as she sat down for breakfast, "Is your essay completed?" he asked as he took a sip from his coffee. Principal Louie had ordered her to write an apology letter to her for spraying chocolate on her and an essay on how she spent her suspension and how she has reflected on her actions and decided to change for the better.

That was what kept Brittany up and thinking all night. She could not possibly write; 'I started having feelings for the jerk that indented my car and dyed my hair and I also got a hickey from that same jerk', on her essay. She did write about her working in the pizzeria and her learning about teamwork. Lie! She learnt how hot Seth could look in an apron and rolled up sleeves with a cap on his shaggy black hair. But she could not write that. At the end she just copied someone else's work on the net but she used her own words.

"Yeah! And my apology letter is complete too!" she said and Scott smiled, "I hope you have learnt your lesson and you'll never pull a stunt like that again" "Yes daddy! I have learnt. This month helped me reflect on my actions and blah blah blah! I'm late for school, bye!" she said as she took a cookie and ran out.

~~~~~~~

"Miss Copper, I hope you've learnt your lesson?" Principal Louie asked and Brittany nodded. "Your essay and letter were okay and I accept your apology. Welcome back to Disnee High School" Principal Louie said with a smile as she stretched out her hand for a handshake then Brittany shook her hand with an awkward what the fuck smile.

"Brittany!" Maddie squealed as she threw herself at Brittany. "Woah!" Brittany said and Maddie released her, "I missed you so much! Eva was going round behaving like the queen" "Well I just have to put her in her place" she said and snapped her fingers but no one came. "Eva also took the girls" Maddie informed her and clenched her fists, "Those traitors!" "I did get Loucita so you won't feel inferior" Maddie said as she dragged Loucita who waved nervously.

"Who are you again?" Brittany asked with her fingers on the bridge of her nose "Loucita! I was the one crying in the bathroom the other day and then you gave me a pep talk" Loucita said. "Oh yeah! The abomination with the tiara" Brittany said and Maddie sighed, "Her name is Loucita, try and get used to it!" Brittany sighed, "I just want to get used to Evy's head in the toilet" she said as she walked away with Loucita and Maddie behind her.

~~~~~~~

"Welcome back Seth" some girls purred as Seth walked down the hall. He winked at one of the girls and she blushed. "Dipshit! You just came back and the girls are already swooning over you" Taylor said as she smacked his head. "What can I say? It's a gift!" he smirked and she rolled her eyes, "I thought you had a girlfriend" she said and he chuckled, "Who? Sam?" "No, Brittany" she said as she picked at her dark blue nail polish. His face heated up then he dragged her into an empty classroom.

"Who told you that?" he asked with his hands on her shoulders. Taylor raised her knee to his groin forcefully and he fell groaning. "Don't ever drag me when I'm picking my nails. The nail polish almost removed" she said and he managed to get up, "Thanks for the late warning" "Oh you're fine! I didn't break your balls or anything" "How would you know that?" he said and she rolled her eyes. "By the way, it was Zed that told me" she said and left the classroom.

Seth followed her out and saw Sam glaring at Taylor, "So you're fucking Seth too?" she asked and Taylor rolled her eyes, "I don't have time for your stupidity Sam!" she said and was about to walk past Sam but she held her back, "I'm still talking to----Arghh!" Taylor grabbed her arm and bent it the wrong way. "Don't touch me Pierson!" she warned.

"Woah!" Zed said as he entered the small circle where Taylor stood with Sam's arm bent the wrong way. "Taylor?" he said and she let go of Sam then she went to Zed and kissed him then she left. Sam just rolled her eyes and left. Zed looked at Seth who just shrugged. The crowd slowly dispersed.

"I don't know if Sam is into me or you" Seth joked and Zed smirked, "It's obviously you! She's just wants Taylor to get mad" "Bet you like all the hot steamy kisses she gives you whenever Sam's around" Seth smirked and Zed grinned, "Yeah, they're hot. By the way, how's it going with Brittany?" "Speaking of Brittany..." Seth said then he hooked Zed under his armpit, "Why the fuck did you tell her that Brittany is my girlfriend?" he asked as Zed squirmed around, "I was only kidding but if you're upset about it, then it has to be true" Zed said then Seth let go of him, "It's not true" "Denial" Zed sang and Seth rolled his eyes.

~~~~~~~

"Never did I for once think that I'll sit at the nerd table, well no table where I am is a nerd table" Brittany said as she flicked her hair. "I'm not so sure about that" Maddie said as she pointed at some people who were giving Brittany judging looks.

Eva smirked at Brittany who just rolled her eyes. "OMG! Jake Styles is coming here!" Loucita said and Brittany looked up and saw Jake sashaying towards their table. "Hey babe!" he said and was about to sit down but Brittany dragged the chair and he fell down, "That seat is taken, Jake. Now what do you want?" she asked and he stood up and adjusted his football blazer then he ran his fingers through his hair.

All the girls swooned at that movement while Brittany scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I want to take you out" he said cockily "No!" was her blunt reply and Loucita placed her hand on her chest and gasped dramatically. Jake held the chair and sat down, "Babe, I don't think you know the hot water you're in, no one likes you anymore. You're the fallen queen, Eva is the real deal. I'm doing you a favour by dating you, it would boost your popularity" he said and Brittany frowned.

"According to Buster Moon from the cartoon Sing, when you hit rock bottom, there's only one place to go...and that's up! I may have fallen Jake Styles, but there's no way I'm going to date you just to get popular. I got popular by myself before and I'll do it again! Now fudge off!" she glared at him.

"You're pride will be downfall Brittany. I'll make you regret it!" Jake said as he stood up and left. Damian watched Jake leave Brittany's table then Jake glared at him, "What you look at? Punk!" he said and pushed Damian aside then he stormed off.

"What was that all about?" he asked as he sat on the seat Jake was sitting on. A huge idea popped into Brittany's head and she grinned, "I have an idea!" "And it's gonna be trouble. I hate when you smile like that" Maddie said as she nibbled on her muffin. "Like how? A very famous model who went on the red carpet with Cole Sprouse?" Brittany's grin widened "No. Like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, that's creepy!" Maddie said and Damian smiled, "I think you look beautiful with that wide smile".

"Thanks Damian! But no one needs cheesiness right now" Brittany said and Damian's face fell. "I'm going to throw a party. The biggest party of the summer" Brittany said with stars in her eyes, "And it's gonna be a pool party!" "Sorry to burst your bubble, but no one's gonna come to your party. You're not popular anymore" Maddie said "I am still the queen of Disnee High School. I just need to open their eyes to see it" "And how're you gonna do that?" Loucita asked and Brittany winked, "Just worry about finding a suitable swimsuit for the party".

~~~~~~~

"Lisa!" Brittany yelled as she entered the house. "What do you want?" Lisa asked as she came down with the laundry basket full of clothes. "I'm going to throw a party on Saturday. I'll need Dad's credit card and food that people eat at beach parties" Brittany said and was about running upstairs but Lisa dragged her back, "Young lady, you just got back from suspension and you want to throw a party?" "Yeah! It will be a welcome back party for me" Brittany said and Lisa balanced the laundry basket on her hip, "I don't know hon, your dad might not agree".

"Dad won't be home! He's never home!" Brittany said. Lisa sighed. Hearing Brittany say those words hurt her. She was trying her best to bring the father and daughter closer but they kept on drifting apart. "Fine, I'll help you with the party. But I won't be around, I'm going to visit a friend of mine on Saturday" "That's cool! You're a buzz kill at parties!" Brittany said and Lisa pulled her ear, "Take that back young lady! In my days, I was the center of attraction at parties" "Well those days are obviously gone and are not coming back" Brittany said and Lisa let go of her ear, "I think you can do your laundry yourself!" she said and dropped the laundry basket.

Brittany immediately went on her knees, "Oh center of attraction in the 90's, please do my laundry" she said and bent her head to the floor. Lisa smiled and picked up the basket, "You can stand up my good man" she said with a British accent and Brittany giggled as she stood up, "You're the best Lisa!" she said and ran upstairs.

Brittany pulled down her turtleneck sweater and looked at the hickey on her neck. It was purple. "How deep did he bite?" she asked herself and ran a finger across it. At least it didn't hurt like the first time, not that it hurt hurt, it was more like pleasure hurt and---- She slapped herself, "We did not enjoy that!" she scolded herself then she looked at her mirror.

Brittany smiled at her reflection in her room. No one would miss her party. She was the queen of the school, although fallen but she was still a queen. She just had to show the people what they were missing. After the party, she would become popular again and she'll have her posse again. Her going around without one was stressful. She had to carry her books while Loucita carried her bag. With her posse, she never carried anything. "It's hard being unpopular" she sighed and collapsed on her bed.

~~~~~~~

"Have the flyers been posted on every locker?" Brittany asked Maddie, "Yeah!" then Loucita and Damian came running, "Did you spread the word?" she asked them and they nodded. "Perfect! Now we just have to wait till the party day" Brittany said with a hair flick.

They walked down the hall and people started pointing at them and laughing. "Umm... Brittany, people are staring" Loucita said in a small voice and Brittany flicked her hair, "They finally come to their senses" she said and Maddie held her shoulder, "Brittany! They're laughing!" she said and Brittany realized that they were laughing at her.

Eva walked up to her, "Your guts are disgusting, you know that? How can you expect someone to come to your party when you're...you? Your reign is over Brittany, so back off!" she said and pushed Brittany down. "Hey!" Damian said as he stood in front of Brittany.

Jake punched him and slid his arm around Eva's waist, "Just because you're wearing legit clothes, doesn't make you a popular kid, suspenders!" Jake said and looked at Brittany on the floor. "She honestly thought she would get popular with her lame excuse of a party?" he chuckled and Brittany felt a lump in her throat. Jake crouched down to her and with a crooked finger, raised her chin, "Sweetheart, you thought you could get popular without my help?" he chuckled and threw her face away, "You're dumber than you look Brittany" he said and everyone in the hall laughed

Tears stung Brittany's eyes. The last time people laughed at her was when she was still in preschool and she tried to play with the bigger kids. They had laughed at her so hard and then she was thrown under the sea-saw.

She got up and ran away from the hall with Eva's laughter trailing behind her. "She can go to hell for all I care, I finally have my crown and you" Eva said as she played with Jake's hair then he kissed her. "You disgusting freak! How could you do that to her?!" Maddie said and Jake glared at her, "She humiliated me first when she broke up with me in the front of the whole school and made me beg. This was just payback, she saw it coming" "You sicko!" Maddie yelled angrily and ran off to find Brittany.

~~~~~~~

Brittany sat on a toilet, crying her eyes out. She had never cried in a toilet stall before, it was always her making girls cry in the stalls. Now she was getting a taste of her own medicine. Karma's a bitch!

There was a knock on the stall followed by Maddie's voice, "Brittany, you in there?" she asked and Brittany sniffled, "You okay?" she asked and Brittany wiped the tears, "I'm fine, I just need some time...alone". "That scumbag and that witch, Eva!" Maddie swore as she kicked the door, "And to think I wanted you to get back with him. He doesn't deserve you, Brittany" Maddie said and Brittany sniffled in response, "I'll be in the library if you need me" Maddie and knocked one last time then she left.

Brittany brought her knees to her chest and rocked herself back and forth. She thought of the way everyone pointed at her and laughed then the tears welled up again and she buried her head in her knees and cried. Well, she had better start getting used to being an outcast and a nerd. I bet I can find some hoodies and sweatpants with nice glasses. Ooh! I could wear braces, she thought sadly. There was a little excitement in her voice though.

There was a knock on the door and she quickly wiped the tears spewing out of her eyes, away, "I said I needed time alone Maddie!" she said and sniffled. "I'm not Maddie" came a masculine voice. It wasn't annoying like Jake's own, it wasn't sweet like Damian's own, it wasn't husky either. It was just there, a normal, cool, collected voice. There was no way a normal guy who goes to her school would come and disturb her when she was thinking of how she was going to rock the geek look. The only guy who she knew and talked to very well except Damian was... "Seth?" she asked and opened the door.

Seth had a smug look on his face, "The one and only Britz!" he smirked. Her first reaction was to drag him inside the toilet stall. "Woah! Brittany, control yourself, I mean I like sex but doing it in a toilet stall is just not my----" "What are you doing here?" she whispered "Trying to save you from suffocating, God, how can you breathe in here? It's stuffy!" he whispered back. "This is the girls'bathroom, you are not supposed to be here and this isn't your school!" she whisper-shouted and he leaned closer to her, "Why the fuck are we whispering?" he asked and she rolled her eyes then she peeped outside and on seeing no one, she pushed him outside.

"Leave!" she ordered and he raised his hand in surrender, "Chillax, I came to check on you" he said and her face softened. "I overheard Maddie telling suspenders boy that you were crying in the bathroom, so I ran here" he cocked his head towards her and her face flushed, "Your eyes are puffy and swollen, so don't even try and lie to me that you're okay cos I won't buy that" he said then his hand went to her neck and he rubbed it, cleaning the concealer and showing the purple hickey. "I guess I did bite too hard" he smirked then she realized how close they were so she pushed him away. He laughed, "I change my mind, purple looks better on you" her hand immediately went to the hickey on her neck and he smirked, "Are you done checking on me cos I'm okay now" she said and he stretched out his hand, "How 'bout we ditch the rest of school and have some fun?"

Brittany knew she was not supposed to accept Seth's offer. She had just gotten back from suspension and ditching classes when she had not even recovered from the one month's worth of classes she missed, was not good. But she found herself taking his hand and smiling.

~~~~~~~

The carpool was quiet. Brittany kept her eyes on trees and buildings they passed by, but her mind was replaying what had happened in the hall. She remembered how Jake had held up her chin and had thrown her face away like it was nothing. That bipolar jerk! she thought as her tears choked her.

She had not been head over heels for Jake but she did like him and thought they shared something special. I mean were all those kisses lies? She felt a warm hand over hers and she looked at her hand then at Seth who just gave a little smile.

After driving for some time, Seth stopped the car, "We're here!" he announced as he got out of the car. "Where's here?" she asked as she came down then he smirked, "You'll see! C'mon!"

They headed into the forest and stopped at a lake. Brittany gasped, "Pretty familiar right?" Seth said and sat on a rock. It was her hiding spot. But she was seeing it in daylight and not nightlight. The last time she had come here during the day was when her mom was still alive. Her mom had forced her dad to take a break from work so they all went to the lake. It was like their own little beach and Brittany enjoyed every moment of it.

"What are you thinking about? Come sit down" Seth brought her out of her reverie and she went to the rock and sat beside him.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked and he smirked, "Is that how to say thank you to someone who ditched the rest of school just to hang out with you?" "I never asked you to ditch and hang out with me. You probably just missed me" she said with an eye roll.

Seth knew how true that was. He missed their bickering and their silly arguments. He also missed her short skirts at work and her frustrated face when he was teaching her how to handle the oven. "Max wants to know if you're still interested in working at the pizzeria" he said to push out the pervy thoughts that were slowly entering his head.

Brittany stretched her hands above her head which made her pale blue boob top raise slightly, but enough for Seth to see her belly button. "I wanted to work there for only a month because my dad wanted me to pay back the money I "borrowed" from him. But now, I want to work there cos I like it. Max is cute and a cool boss but he's too perverted, I like King's mysterious nature. I bet under that cap he always, are very beautiful pair of eyes". Seth rolled his eyes, was that all she liked about the pizzeria? He was a worker there too, so why was she not saying nice things about him?

Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "Is that the only thing you like about the pizzeria?" then she looked at him, "The kids are bratty and I don't like them but I do like the appreciative smile the moms give with the tip" "And?" he urged. "The best part is the free pizza at the end of the day...but they don't go well with Max's bananashake. I wonder why no customer has complained about them" "Is that all you like about the pizzeria?" he questioned and she cocked her head, "Pretty much!"

He rolled his eyes away from her blue eyes then she smiled, "As much as I hate to admit it, I also liked seeing you at the pizzeria. Seeing you work hard, flirt with the girls and make a pizza was something... refreshing? I guess you're one of the reasons I'll stay at the pizzeria... senpai!" then she giggled.

Seth was stunned. She had even used the Japanese word for teacher which he had told her to call him. Of course she never did at the pizzeria but hearing her say it now, was... It wasn't sexy or cute, it was... refreshing? In fact seeing her beside him now with smiles on her face, made him smile...and there was not a single perverted thought about her in his head.

Brittany rubbed her neck and Seth looked at the hickey. Zed's words rang in his ears; "How can you give her a hickey when you haven't even kissed her? In case you haven't noticed, she is not like Sam or the other girls in Euphorium, minus Taylor. Brittany is someone who would want a relationship and not something that you can't put a label on, but you guys go around giving each other's hickeys. I know you don't want to admit it, but you like her".

"Does it still hurt?" he asked and she touched the hickey, "Not really" "Put ice cubes on it, it should reduce the swelling and speed up the healing process". "It doesn't matter if it goes or not. No one's looking at me and it is my first hickey so I should wear it proudly!" she said and puffed out her chest in pride. "Dumb!" he chuckled "Lousy!" she retorted and they laughed.

Seth stopped laughing and just watched her throw back her head in laughter. It was a pretty sight. He reached out and tucked some locks of her hair behind her ear and she stopped laughing. She just watched him and subconsciously leaned into his touch when he started caressing her cheek. Their foreheads and noses were already touching, it just remained their lips. Be a man and kiss her! a voice screamed in Seth's head.

Seth knew he couldn't do it. Kissing her meant treating her like a hoe and she was not one. He also knew goddamn well that giving her a hickey made her look like one. He did not deserve her. He leaned back and was about to say his usual line but she dragged him back to her with his shirt.

"Brittany?" he said surprised "Don't even give me that I-don't-want-to-treat-you-like-other-girls crap" she whispered, her voice raspy from desire. Before he could say anything, she sealed his lips with hers. It was a short kiss and Seth did not have time to kiss her back. She pulled away and smiled then she ran into the water and splashed around.

Fuck! Why did I not kiss her back?! he thought, regret clearly visible on his face. "Hey Lousy, what're you thinking about? Come on in!" she called out as she splashed water on him. He smirked, "You're gonna pay for that!" then he ran into the water and started splashing water on her.

~~~~~~~

Seth glanced at Brittany as she drove. She was not saying anything about the kiss, she just had a calm face that screamed, "I don't give a fuck about what happened at the lake". Did it mean anything to her? he thought and sighed, of course it meant nothing. I was too much of a pussy to kiss her back.

Meanwhile, Brittany's mind was replaying the kiss. How could you kiss him so soon you psychopath?! she reprimanded herself. He probably thinks I'm throwing myself at him and maybe since Jake was such a bad kisser, I inherited and that was why he didn't kiss me back because I'm a bad kisser. She felt like hitting her head on the wheel but that would only make Seth wonder if she was crazy. She tucked some of her tousled hair behind her ear, I just need to play it cool and not bring it up, she thought smartly.

Seth opened the glove box and saw flyers. He took one and read it, "You're having a party this Saturday?" he asked and she took it and stuffed it back into the glove box, "Forget you ever saw that!" she said and he took it out again, "Why?" he asked and she sighed, "I wanted to have a party to improve my popularity so I can mock Evy and show her I'm still the queen, but everyone laughed at me and I'm sure no one's gonna show up so I'll just cancel it".

He smirked, "You don't have to cancel it. I'll come" "Only you? It won't be a party with only two people" she said in a duh tone. "Don't worry about the number of people at the party, just worry about getting popular again" he smirked and she pulled over in front of Euphorium and he got out and headed inside.

Brittany couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do?" he turned back and smirked, "Don't worry about it sweetheart, don't worry about it!"