Age: 16 (almost 17)
Grade: 11th
Name: Monte Grey

►►▐ Maddison Clark
►►▐ Sixteen
►►▐ Gr. Eleven

((forgive me for taking so long. I fell asleep last night.))

Monte was just normal in his own opinion. What made him so different? He dressed pretty normal, ate like normal, slept like normal, and even went to school jus like any normal kid. Monte had been living here for about three years now since his dad had been transferred on his job. It had been a hard adjustment for them all, but he himself had suffered the most. His mother had finally found some neighbors to gossip with, dad had his golf buddies, and he...well, Monte had no one. He had been teased by kids since he'd moved here and that didn't really seem to be changing. He wondered what it was about him that kids hated so much. It didn't matter anymore though. School was almost over for the year and he'd be turning seventeen soon. He wondered how his summer camp would be. The same was his guess. Just because school was over didn't mean kids wouldn't still be jerks. He shook his head. "Whatever.." He muttered to himself and then stepped into the shower, cleansing himself for school. He got back out and made sure his hair looked splendid, then yanked on some tight, black jeans and a death note tee shirt. One would think that with his apparel and neon red hair he would fit in with the emo kids at least, but it seemed even they didn't want him. They said he was a 'poser' again, he just didn't care. Who wanted to hang out with a bunch of fools who were depressed for stupid reasons that even they couldn't remember anyway. He sighed and grabbed his poptart before hopping in his car and driving to school.

Monte walked into the building, slinging his backpack over only one shoulder. There was only a few more weeks of school left do he figured he could tolerate it. He went to his locker go get the usual crap that was needed for class. Apparently he couldn't escape his fate for even one day, because the moment he closed his locker, he felt a hand on the back of his head, grabbing a handful of red hair. He sighed. "Hello....would you mind letting go of my hair?" He asked blandly. Of coarse, that wouldn't work at all. He felt a fist connect with his jaw, and then more pulling at his hair. "Damn.." He groaned, not even making an attempt to fight back. Once the kids that always beat him up were done, he went to the bathroom, washing his lip and then combing his hair back in place. He was lucky that his lip was the only thing that had been injured this time. Monte ran off to class now, knowing he couldn't afford to be late again. He sat down in the back, not wishing to be any where near the teacher's desk. This was just time to sleep, not really learning time. He'd do better to read the book than listen to Ms. Edge who was a bimbo. She acted just like a middle school cheerleader and Monte wondered how in hell she'd gotten a degree. He'd just laid down his head and class had just stared when someone tapped his desk, making him jump nearly ten feet in the air. "Eep!" He exclaimed, making a rather odd noise of surprise. The class thought that was hilarious and crack up. "Mr. Monte, please stay after class with me." The lady teacher said in her stupid preppy voice, looking at him with disgust. The teacher even hated him, and that was just lovely. He stood up, threw his bags across the room and stormed out. "I'm not staying anywhere with you." He said right before he left. He so couldn't wait until summer.z

Steam floated around the bathroom, as the teenage girl in the shower neglected to turn on the fan so that it wouldn’t drown out the music blasting from her shower-radio; the top twenty countdown of the week, playing all the latest hits. Right now it was “Somebody That I Used to Know” playing from the newly popular band Gotye – One had to stay on top of these things. The girl bobbed her head in time to the music as she ran her fingers through her hair – making sure to get every strand with her new conditioner. The shampoo and conditioner combi-pack came with promises of more volumes and luscious curls. The song came to an end as she finished rinsing. Turning the music, and the water off she stepped out of the shower – newly manicured hands reaching for a towel.

With a housecoat tied snugly around her waist, and a towel deftly wrapped around her hair she stepped up to the fogged-up mirror. A quick one-two wipe revealed the face of Maddison Clark. Co-Captain of the cheerleading squad, president of the yearbook club, and go-to girl for any fashion emergency. This was the girl, who in the summer between grade 8 and 9, went from dorky-dance-a-lot to the ‘IT’ girl of Tawny Lake high. Cleverly named after the city, which was cleverly named after the lake which surrounded it. The water had a tawny look to it, because of the gold color of the sand and rocks around it. Needless to say, it was a much loved lake to the people of the city... especially the ‘IT’ crowd, who held an annual end-of-the-school-year bash at the abandoned cabin on the far side of the lake. It was out of the way, and not used much – so it became a safe-haven for teenagers who wanted to drink and party and have a good time. Invite only of course.

And, today was the day that those invites were going out. Marrcus Hurry, captain of the football team, and best friend to John Mark – the star quarterback and Maddison’s hunky boyfriend, would be handing out the invites. He and his brother, who graduated two years ago, always through the party. Their parents loved to have people over – as such, they had tons of decorations, and great connections for booze.

“Maddie! Are you driving me to school or what?” A younger boy poked his head in, obviously annoyed at how long his sister was taking.
“Yeah, yeah... Just wait a sec, ‘kay?” She said, rolling her eyes as she looked back at the mirror. Hair, check, make-up check, out-fit check...and super cute! But something was missing... Yes! Of course! Leaving the bathroom, and bee-lining it towards her room, she pulled out her new black denim jacket to throw over her dress. “Alright, ready, let’s go.” She said, ignoring the ‘finally’ her brother muttered.

After dropping her brother off at the elementary school –he was in grade 8 – she quickly headed towards the high school. Luck was on her side, and she made it just before the bell, and just in time to hear her boyfriend and his friends talk about their latest escapade. Beating on the outcast kid, Monte Grey.
“What did he do?” She asked, confused as she interrupted them to wrap her arm around her boyfriends waist and plant a kiss on his cheek.
“The faggot was checking me out again.” Marrcus stated, clearly annoyed and disgusted.
“Hey, just be flattered.” She joked, as the bell rang.


Her favourite class of the day. Well, her favourite subject that is – not that she’d let anyone else know that. It was English, with her teacher who obviously tried way to hard to stay young. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t insist on hitting on her boyfriend! Sorry lady... he isn’t into botox! At least the books were decent... She had a thing for Shakespeare, and luckily it was easy to play dumb like the rest of her team... Liking some old dead writer guy? So not cool. She was just pulling out her book, and her phone, which she sneakily hid out of sight of the teacher, as Monte walked in looking a little rough. She pursued her lips, John and the guys really needed to lay off... He didn’t seem all that bad to her, in fact, she kind of liked his longer red hair. Not that she’d let anyone else know, but the buzz cut that was a favourite for the football team was just so passé! She only realized that she had been staring when the rest of the class started laughing when the teacher woke him up with a start. She let a smile cross her lips, before turning back to face the front. She had more important things to think about anyway, like when she was going to get that invitation!

--

Ahh! Lunch time... And, it looked like invite time as well! A big crowd had gathered around her usual lunch table. Smiling she made her way forward, before being pulled aside by John. “Here, this is for you.” He said, but his usual goofy grin wasn’t on his face. “Hey look Maddie... I really don’t think you should go this weekend.”
“Why not?” Her perfectly plucked eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“Well, you see, I kind of want to see other people.” Oh. That explained it. Swallowing back her hurt ego and pride, she pulled away from him. She didn’t need his concerned looks. The jerk! He’d probably have the nerve to come ask her out again after the party – once he had his fill of hooking up with a bunch of other girls. Feeling the tears brimming her eyes, she took her tray and stormed off to an empty table. Though, she only realized it wasn’t empty after slamming her tray down , almost knocking her salad and low-fast smoothie down.

“Oh, I’m sorry... I didn’t realize someone else was sitting here... I can move.” She murmured, awkwardly. Realizing that she was talking to Monte, the boy her boyfriend...ex-boyfriend helped beat up this morning.

((this isn't quite long enough :( I'm sorry.))

Monte had roamed the halls for a good long time before realizing it was time for lunch. He was briefly pulled into the principal's office. He was let off with a warning for talking back to the teacher and then he walked into the cafeteria. After getting his nasty school lunch he sat at his table, all alone as was normal. He scrapped his food around on the little styrofoam plate. He saw the football jerk talking to his preppy little girlfriend. She seemed pretty upset and he figured that she'd been dumped. These kinda of things were always happening to preppy girls. They were stupid enough to date man whores and then expected to really be treated like something special. It was just karma. He found himself smirking slightly. He knew it might be wrong to throw her in with the rest of her kind, but if she was like the normal prep she had that coming. Monte sighed and ran his hands through his red hair. He wasn't sure if he could eat this food. It was just to nasty. He pushed the plate away from himself and laid his head down.z

A voice made Monte sit back up, looking to see who dared embarrass them self enough to sit with him. It was that cheerleader girl. "Er..no I don't mind.." He said very quietly. He couldn't understand why she'd want to sir with him, but whatever. He didn't really mind. Anything was better than being alone or with a jock. He would try to be nice even though she was certainly not the kind of person he really liked all that much. "So, did you're idiot boyfriend decide you weren't good enough? Sorry if that was offending, but I don't take it well when a guy treats a girl like property." He shook his head. "I think he'd a jerk.." He muttered under his breath, rubbing his busted lip. For some reason the jock thought hr was trying to check him out and so he always got a beating. "You know..you probably don't even know me..my name is Monte. I'm in your English class."

Maddison had been switching between furiously stabbing at her salad, and dishearteningly moving it around – all without actually taking a bite. Her eyes had dried up now, but were all red around the edges from the tears that had threatened to spill. As she eyed a cucumber with dismay, she stabbed it onto her fork but the fork and the cucumber slid through her hands when Monte spoke. Her eyes darted up, and she was acutely aware that her make-up must be smudged, but for once she didn’t care. “I wasn’t his property .” She said, the offence in her voice obvious. Her lips were pursed in an annoyed way, before she parted them with her lips as she licked them nervously. Sighing, she looked back down at her salad before picking up her fork and taking a bite. “I agree.” She murmured under her voice, between bites.

Slowly chewing, she looked back up at him. “I know.” She said, unsure of what to say. They were on opposite sides of the social food chain – probably with nothing in common at all. “I mean, you are the only boy with that color of hair... It was in season two years ago, but I think it’s coming back in the fall.” She said, as she started rambling. It was a habit of hers, when she lost her composure... luckily, that didn’t happen very often. Usually she was cool and collected. But hey, a girl needs a break... To be dumped, and told you were going to have to miss out on the party of the year? Not to mention having your make-up ruined... Not a good day. “Sorry,” She murmured. “You probably don’t care at all.” She said. He didn’t show any signs of wearing the latest men’s fashion. Polo shirts were in – he looked as though he probably had no idea what a polo shirt was.

Speaking of shirts... His had a familiar logo on it. Something her nerd of a brother liked no doubt. One of those shows he watches – something about a book that kills people? All she knew was that it creeped her out... At least the blonde girl had a good sense of fashion though – even if it was rather dark.

Her phone vibrated from her pocket, and she quickly pulled it out.

Alicia: hey grl! did u get the invite?

She started to reply ‘Yes.” But deleted the text instead...she didn’t want to think about it. Pulling the invite from her purse, she looked it over. The words ‘Plus one’ caught her eye, and on an impulse she looked up at Monte “Do you wanna go with me?” She blurted out, before looking shocked herself.

|| That's quite alright! Its a decent size, that's all I care about. :) ||

She was obviously offended that he had commented about her being property. "Sorry, but all he wanted you for was all he could get put of you. He didn't care like he should have and thats how he saw you I'm pretty sure. You were his girlfriend and nothing more. That's why I hate guys like him. Girls are NOT property, but rather something to be cherished and loved. They're all fragile and stuff. The fact that my words about you being property offended you is proof that you're fragile."zMonte laughed when she commented about his hair. "It's not that I don't care about fashion as much as I just have my own style. I like what I like and even if it's not what everyone wears, it's what I'm going to wear because it's what I'm into." She started apologizing about rambling on about fashion and he shook his head. "don't be sorry. I don't mind listening. I'm just glad someone in this school will actually talk to me." He gave a little sheepish grin. "I get kind if lonely sometimes. Mom as dad work several shifts so I'm alone at home too..well, except for my cats and my tv." he didn't want her to feel sorry for him, but at the same time, he felt the need to express he wasn't just antisocial. That's what a lot of people thought and that's why he had no friends.

Monte was completely caught off guard by her question, nearly choking in nothing. "Um..i mean..it sounds fun and all...just as long as we avoid all the kids that want to beat my face in.." He knew he must sound like a wimp, but he hated fighting. It seemed like if he fought back they always beat him worse anyway. What was the point? He was scared of them and it was obvious. "I guess I'll come, but I'll have to go shopping first. I'd look real put of place in this kind of attire. I probably will need a polo and some Hollister jeans..maybe some sperrys too." He made a face.. "I wonder if any cheer captains would like to join me on my quest for new clothing..." He said, looking at her with a little grin. "You know you want to go shopping. If I go by myself I'll look quite distasteful." He wad so surprised she would even ask him to go. It was nice and no one was ever nice to him. "You know, in three years, you're the very closest thing I've had to a friend. I have to thank you." He was determined to pay her back somehow. "Are you sure you really want to be seen with me? That could screw your reputaion all over the place. They call me demon boy." He made a creepy face and held up his hands, making his voice sounds like an old woman. "ahmm, let's add a toad and a few spiders to make the potion eh?" He said, acting as spooky as he could. "I'm so not as scary as people claim."

‘Except for my cats and TV.’ Now that sounded familiar. Back in elementary school she had spent her time alone in her room watching old Batman reruns, or going through her brother’s comic book collection – when she wasn’t busy at her ballroom lessons. Moral of the story? Nerds don’t have friends, and that was all she really wanted. As fate would have it, it was an old TV ad that inspired her to turn herself around. ‘Hey, are you tired of being ignored? Forgotten? Well this is the product for you!’ It was actually just an ad for a new cell phone, but the transformation they had between ‘girl with’ and ‘girl without’ opened her eyes. If she wanted to be popular, she had to change herself. But...Monte had no intention of doing so...’I like what I like...’ That sounded nice. Leaning back in her chair she finally let a small smile grace her lips.

Though, she was still shocked with herself. What would happen to her reputation? It was already going to take a beating because she got dumped... Showing up to the party of the year with the ‘IT’ scene’s enemy number one? Well, she might as well just show up tomorrow wearing sweats and a batman tee shirt. Though, both of those options did sound quite nice – she would do it... skipping on the sweats and tee though.

“Don’t worry about them, if they come anywhere near us I’ll douse them with hairspray and perfume.” She said, “That stuff really stings if you get it in the eyes yanno!” She said, laughing despite herself. He didn’t look at all demon like to her – and he was nice enough to let her and her dumped-self sit here with him. “I can handle my own reputation. Don’t you worry, I’m not as fragile as you think.” She said, before scrunching her nose. “And, I don’t think a polo would do you justice.” She said, her tone amused – as if she found the blasphemy towards Hollister amusing. “I’m thinking a white dress shirt with a grey and black vest, maybe one with chrome buttons – they’re so in right now. Don’t be fooled, this may be a bush party – but it’s a pretty classy event...Until the alcohol kicks in that is.” She said, smirking. “So, I have practice until 4:30 after school... I could meet you at the mall afterwards?” She asked. Because he was right...she was dying to go shopping.

Pulling out her phone, she saw she had another text from Alicia

Alicia: loser alrt! y r u ovr there?

Looking up quickly, she shoved her phone back into her bag, her eyes quickly scanning the cafeteria for her best frennemie – Alicia used to be the most popular, until Maddison came around bring some competition. So of course they became best friends. Explanation? A worried looked crossed her brow for a moment before the bell rang, and she shot up, grabbing her tray quickly.

“See you later!” She chirped.

He was glad to see her smile at least a little. After all, if she could smile right after getting harshly dumped, she must be a strong girl. She told him not to worry about her reputation and he really hoped she wouldn't get to made fun of. The whole thing about hairspray made him chuckle. "That's pretty funny. I'd love to see the star quarterback and his dumb captain running around crying because a girl defeated them with hairspray. Monte grinned at her. "I think you're right. I'd look creepy in a polo." He was glad he had her to point him in the right direction as far as fashion. He may not care about fitting in, but at the same time, he needed to blend into this party event. It would be stupid if he just went the way he came to school everyday. He wondered if he'd get completely drunk. He wasn't sure if he should really drink at all to be honest. He got real sexual when he was hammered and he didn't take alcohol well, so even a little could make him act crazy. "A vest? Hmm, I think I can handle wearing something like that without feeling tortured." He honestly wouldn't mind the whole dressy casual look. He saw her looking around and wondered if maybe she was looking to make sure no one saw her with him. He shook his head, knowing he shouldn't think everyone was against him. She just seemed so perfect though, way out of his league even for friendship. She was popular, beautiful, and so nice. He wasn't sure why, but he started feeling just a tad shy and self conscious. He felt his face heat up and prayed she wouldn't see him blushing like a little school boy. He knew it was to soon to have a crush on her, but his mind didn't care about time. He heard the bell and jumped, yanked out of his lala land. "Ah, yeah..I'll see you at the mall!" He said smiling.z

Monte sat in his next class, math, with a little smile on his face and a dazed expression. The girl in front of him scowled. "Don't look at me like that." She hissed and he snapped out of it. "You look like you got run over by a steamroller, trust me I was thinking about someone else and it sure as hell wasn't you." She sucked her teeth at him and flipped her hair, making him roll his eyes. At first he thought about calling her a preppy bitch, but after meeting Maddison, he knew he couldn't put all preps in the same category. He held his tongue for now. zHe really liked Maddison and he knew went back into his own little world until the bell rang.

When school finally ended, he ran out, elated and excited about tonight. He was humming and had a little bounce in his step. He went to his car and fumbled for the keys. He felt a hand on his shoulder and froze, dead afraid. "Hey dork." Said a voice and he turned to look at the devil, aka John Mark. "What do you want. I need to get home." He said blandly. John pinned him to the car and the other loser jocks pulled off everything but his underwear. "W-What?! Stop!" He screamed as they dragged him to the flag pole. He was mortified. "N-No...don't.." This wasn't safe at all, in fact he'd only see this done on movies. They hooked his boxers the the cord and then hoisted him up the flag poll, making him scream like a four year old girl. "How's the weather up there pansy?" One yelled. "Let me down! For the love of god, Let me down!!!" He screamed, voice shrill. He could hear the fabric from his boxers ripping. Soon he was naked and falling. "AAHHH!" He yelled, knowing he was going to die as soon as he hit the ground. He could see even the jocks looked scared. He kept getting closer and closer to the ground, wondering if it would hurt when he went splat. He then managed to grab a hold of the pole, grabbing it and holding on, sliding down. When he got to the ground he dropped to his knees, quivering and clearly shocked. He hated them all. They all were laughing now and he was naked, shivering, and humiliated. He went to his car again, not even sure how to deal with all of the people staring at him. He felt violated. He wondered if this was punishment for talking to Maddison at lunch.

Later, Monte sat at the mall, now dressed in pajama pants and a tee shirt. He hadn't felt like dressing and really, he was only waiting for Maddison to tell her he couldn't hang around her anymore. Being strung to a flagpole and nearly getting killed had convinced him to just stay alone and try not to irritate anyone. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, black eyeliner doing a poor job of concealing the redness. She'd probably think he was a wimp after she saw him tonight anyway.zz

Biology went by in the usual fashion – that being totally dry and boring as the teacher talked on in that monotonous voice. Luckily, Maddison was kept busy by the constant murmur of Alicia in her ear. Her friend was diverted easily enough. When asked again why she was sitting with ‘CreepyMcGee’ at lunch she simply said that she was trying to make John jealous. Luckily the teacher separated them so she only had to deal with her friend sending her heartfelt texts about how sorry she was, and how big a jerk John was. Usually she’d be all down for a girl’s night with Ben and Jerry – but she felt as though retail therapy with Monte would be more...beneficial.

As the bell rang, Maddison shuffled to her next class like all the other students. Her usual strut of confidence on the down low as she was distracted by other thoughts. As she was heading into chemistry, a senior – Sarah Cooper the cheerleader captain – stopped her. “Hey, practice tonight... I was thinking we could practice lifts with the rookies.” She said, popping her bubblegum.
“Sorry, I can’t make it...Doctors appointment!” Maddison said, faking a pout. Sarah nodded. “But, that sounds great, they could use the practice.”
“I thought so, alright, sounds good! See you later girl!” Maddison sighed, and headed into chemistry – luckily the rest of the day was uneventful.

---

Quickly making sure that her gym bag was tucked safely out of sight and doing one last make-up check in her rear-view mirror, Maddison stepped out of her car. She felt relieved as she stepped through the mall doors. Maybe it was the familiarity – or maybe she was just glad she didn’t have to impress Alicia with her knowledge of the latest trend, or worry about buying a cute new dress for John. To just go to the mall to hang out and shop with no worries about what her partner was thinking about her felt really...nice.

She spotted Monte before he spotted her, and she noticed that his eyes looked similar to the way hers had earlier. Red and puffy. Why had he been crying? Thinking that he could wait a few extra minutes, she went to the food courts Dairy Queen and got a cookies and crème blizzard. Grabbing a extra spoon she walked back to the table and put it down in front of him. “Hey... I know wearing PJs in public is a major fashion faux paw, but it’s nothing to cry over.” She said, thinking that humour might be the best way to break the ice. Looking at the ice cream, she grabbed a spoon and stuck it in her mouth. After week of calorie counting it was the best thing she ever tasted. “I know it’s no Ben and Jerry’s, but it’ll do... What the matter?” She asked, the concern evident in her voice, and the way her eyebrows knitted together.

Monte blinked as she sat with him. "Ice cream? Do you even know how many delicious calories are in that?" He asked with a little grin that didn't exactly look happy. He was trying to act ok, but his distress was all over the way he was acting and he knew it. The comment about his pajamas made him cock an eyebrow. "Hmm, i thought they were quite attractive." he said, laughing a little. He took the other spoon and got a little bite, eating it slowly and keying it melt in his mouth. In his opinion, that was the correct way to eat ice-cream. "In reality, I wasn't crying over ugly pajamas. I think your ex-boyfriend is jealous. I mean, he always tortures me, but today he had the rest of the football jerks decided to strip me and hang me from a flag pole by my boxers. Now that is no reason to cry, but my boxers ripped clean off of me and I fell. I thought I was going to die, bit I grabbed the pole and slid down fireman style. The thing is, I hate heights...that's like, my absolute weakness..falling in midair is not on my list of fun things to do. I also had to go to my car and drive home naked. The idiots kept my clothes and laughed at me." He sighed. "I'm sorry...I'm sure you don't feel like hearing me bitch about being bullied...I just needed to tell someone.." He shook his head. "For some reason, even when all I want to so is cry, you manage to make me at least a little cheery. I don't feel as bad now that you're here." He smiled, this time really happiness in it. He took another bite of ice-cream. "You have great taste in blizzards my friend." He said. This was tasty and it tasted so much better when he was eating it with someone instead of by himself. "You know...I was just going to stop talking to you. The only reason I showed up was because it would he rude to stand you up...I mean, not like a date..you know.." He blushed. "But you know, I refuse to let those jerks take the one chance I have at finally making a friend. If you're nice, I'll even listen to you when you give me fashion advice." He said, laughing. "God knows I need a new wardrobe. It may he comfortable, but the more I thought about it, the more o realized that I should wear nicer stuff. Maybe not polos and stuff, but the thing you suggested with the vest sounded like something I'd like." he knew he should be careful and not open his heart up to this girl, but he just liked her so much and he could already feel the butterflies in his stomach. "You know, I can see why you're popular. You're pretty, athletic, and have wonderful fashion." He was as red as his hair, blushing like crazy. "It just surprises me that fame hasn't turned you mean. You're sweet...." He was sooo flirting and he knew he needed to stop before he scared her off.

Maddison was glad that he seemed to be cheering up, at least enough to jest with it about her – but obviously reading people wasn’t her strong suit, because she had not been expecting what came next. Now she knew that John and his friends could be mean, but she always thought that they were just joking around – I mean, they always laughed about it. ”Duh! How could I be so dumb! It’s been awhile, but there is a difference between ‘laughing with’ and ‘laughing at.’” She felt her eyebrows furrow with concern. How could he do something ...So cruel?...So dangerous? What if Monte had fallen? They probably would have left him there...

Worry crossing all of her features, she instinctively grabbed his hand. “You don’t need to be sorry, yanno? The one good thing we girls are good at doing is listening...And telling each other how big a jerk the other guy is...But I think you know.” She trailed off towards the end. How could he sit here smiling? She would have been mortified. In her room, crying all night. He was braver than he gave himself credit for.

Sighing to herself, her eyebrows still furrowed with worry, she took her hand back and took another bite, keeping the spoon in her mouth as she chewed on it nervously. She would need to talk to John... But would he even listen? Could she even face him...? Well, she just had to – for Mon-Wait what? Stop talking to me? She was pulled back from her thoughts as a confused look crossed her face, than mild understanding. She grinned sheepishly, flattered by his comments – they seemed so much more sincere than what she was used to.

“I don’t think you should change... it suits you – yours clothes I mean. Because you’re different.” She said, than realizing he might take offence she hurried to back track. “I mean that in a good way. You’re nice, and I haven’t seen you peek down my shirt at all yet.” She laughed a little at that last part. “I just... I got so caught up with dating the all-star quarterback, and being liked...I just forgot what it was like to be on the other end of things...” She trailed off now, as her eyes locked on nothing in particular and her eyebrows knotted as if she was deep in thought.

Snapping her head up suddenly, she looked at him grinning. “If they bother you again, let me know... But for now, why don’t we start by finding you a snazzy new outfit!” She stood, pulled out her pocket mirror to check her lip chap, smacked her lips together once before turning to Monte. “You know, I’m really glad that I asked you to come with me... John had the right idea... You’re totally great, that’s why he’s jealous.” She beamed at him. Before dragging into the nearest store and shoving him into a change room. “Here – try this on... It’s not the one I envisioned, but the dark red color will go with your hair.” She said, tossing the dress shirt and vest over. “Keep the jeans; the skinny leg is in style this season.” She said, talking more out of habit now. “And the black will go great with the buttons.

When he stepped out of the change room, her jaw dropped.

||Ahha, I haven't played a preppy girl in so long! I was so tempted to have her be like "Nice Death Note tee, Gotta love L!" But it just wouldn't fit in with her character. x3 ||

Monte shrugged. "Girls may be good listeners, but no one normally listens to me. I guess you're just differant from the rest if the douche bags at our school." He laughed. "You're probably the first person I've really had a conversation with since I moved here threes years ago. I haven't seen my mom and dad for more than a day at a time, then they'll just leave for weeks. It's almost like living alone, only they send checks and stuff like that. It's never really bothered me until now though. I always thought it was just for my own good." He listened to get say he should stay the same and he nodded. "I guess so, but some day I'm going to have to grow up and dress like a normal person, maybe that time hasn't quite come yet.

He cocked an eyebrow when Maddison made a comment about him not looking down her shirt. "That's because I see you as a person. Not an object for sexual pleasure. Some guys like to forget that we're people, not rabbits. He couldn't believe she thought it was 'normal' for a guy to look at a girl that way. He'd never do something like that, he respected other people far to much for that. He watched her zone out as she spike of being on the other end of things. "Yeah, it's differant for the non-popular people. No one likes the kids that don't have athletic ability or money. I have both of those things, I just didn't want to conform to the other people's way of things. I wanted to stay the way I was before I moved here. People at my old school liked me just the same as the kids who wore polos and hollister pants.."

As Monte tried in his new outfit, he couldn't help but think he looked cute in it. The red vest made his hair look brilliant and his grayish green eyes were accented by it all. He stepped put of the changing room to let Maddison have a look and wondered what she might think. Her jaw dropped and he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. "Do I look good?" He asked, feeling more than a little self concious. She was a pretty girl and she was looking him over for his fashion...it felt odd to have anyone even care what he looked like and he hoped that maybe she'd think he was...cute, or handsome or something.