You Give Love a Bad Name

"What about this one?"

Logan looked up from the game of solitaire on his iPod and gazed at me intently, tapping his finger against his chin, lost deep in thought, before his eyes settled on Melanie's face. "No. It's just not...her."

"What do you mean 'it's not her'?" Melanie let go of my shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest, sticking her chin out in a stubborn defiance. "I think this is the one. It looks lovely on her."

"Yeah, lovely," Logan snorted, rolling his eyes and mimicking Melanie's stance. "I don't want her to look lovely. I want her to look gorgeous."

"She does look gorgeous!" Melanie defended, taking a step in Logan's direction. "She looks lovely, gorgeous, and everything in between."

"No," Logan protested, advancing towards Melanie as well. "She looks like she should be in a 50 Cent video, shaking her ass."

Melanie gasped, enraged. "She does not!"

"Yes she does!"

"No she doesn't, she looks -"

"Guys! Guys!" I ran - well, stumbled is a more appropriate word - towards my friends, almost tripping as my skin-tight dress bonded my legs. "You're being way too loud. People are starting to stare."

Melanie and Logan backed off, looking around, only to be confirmed of my observations. The cashier, a stylish woman in her late twenties, stopped chewing her gum and was staring at us with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, while the six female costumers that were browsing around for evening gowns were shooting annoyed and disapproving looks in our direction.

We've been in this store, Madame Marie's Gowns For All Occasions, for about three hours now, unsuccessfully trying to find me a dress for the Winter Formal. Melanie found a really cute black one that fit her like a glove about two hours ago, and Logan...well, he was not looking for a dress, obviously, but he already had a tux at home.

It was originally supposed to be me and Melanie on our little shopping spree, but Logan came along after we found him sitting in a Sturbucks on the second floor of the mall.

"See?" I sighed and walked over to the full-length mirror that was next to the lone dressing room, trying to look at myself in every angle. "I'm sorry, Melanie, but Logan was right - this dress is not something I'm comfortable wearing."

"I told you so," Logan stuck his tongue out at Melanie in victory. "I'm always right."

But Melanie was ignoring him and gaping at me with an open mouth. "Are you kidding me? This dress will blow everyone away!"

I took another look at the short, black dress with a very low plunge-neck, that hugged my body like it was my second skin, before walking into the dressing room. "It's only going to blow away my Mom, who will come to pick me up from the dean's after I get pulled from the formal for wearing an inappropriate dress. Did I mention how Mom will lock me away, or, even worse, give me away to a nunnery? I would do the same if my teenage daughter looked like Paris Hilton."

"I still like it," I heard Melanie grumble from behind the curtain, her stubborn nature not admitting defeat. "And Logan, you must be gay if you don't want to see your girlfriend in that."

"Yeah, you've got me, I'm totally gay," Logan snickered in reply, "now hand over Mikey."

"Lena!" Melanie started giggling, "are you going to let him perv on your brother like that?"

"Yes," I pushed the curtain open, stepping out in my normal street clothes, the skimpy, black dress hanging on a hanger in my hands, and started to walk towards the rack where Melanie founded it at. "Yes, I will."

Melanie started laughing, obviously thinking I was joking.

"But Logan," I turned my head to wink at him. "I think Gerard's more your type, though."

"Ha ha ha," he whispered a couple of minutes later, when Melanie went to pay for her dress, nudging me with his elbow playfully. "Very funny."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Logan wondered, not addressing anyone in particular, as the three of us sat on the edge of a fountain outside the mall, drinking smoothies.

"You know what? I have no idea," Melanie replied, yawning and stretching, while wrinkling her nose from the setting sun. "What are you doing later on, though?"

Logan shrugged, taking a sip of his Strawberry Nirvana. "I have no idea. I have nothing planned, really."

"Want to sleep over at my house?" Melanie asked him, cracking up when she saw the look on his face. "Lena's sleeping over too."

"Oh," Logan relaxed, pushing the sunglasses closer to the bridge of his nose lazily. "I don't see why not. Is it like a sleep over?"

"Yep," I nodded, trailing my index finger on the water's frozen surface. "A really small sleep over, though, with hardly any people, unless you count Melanie's sister."

"Who is going to stay in her room and leave us alone," Melanie interrupted me quickly.

"I don't see why not, then," Logan grinned, his black hair swaying in the cold breeze. "As long as I don't wake up with pink nails or something."

"Of course not!" I tried to make my eyes as wide and innocent as possible. "I personally always liked purple, myself."

Logan laughed and put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to his chest. "But seriously, if I'm sleeping over, I'll need a change of clothes."

"Me too," I nodded, adding quickly as I saw him glance down at me with confusion. "Melanie and I decided to have a sleep over like ten minutes before we found you. It wasn't on the agenda originally."

"Oh," Logan nodded, and turned his head to the right, to look at Melanie. "So how are going to do this? Do we need sleeping bags?"

"Nah," she shook her head, placing the empty Styrofoam cup that was left over from her smoothie on the edge of the fountain, "the carpet in my bedroom is really thick and soft, so we'll sleep on the floor with some pillows and blankets. But you will need a change of clothes, though."

"Okay, will do," the icy wind picked up, and I could feel Logan shudder against me. "Who's car did you guys use to come here?"

"Mine," Melanie replied, shielding her face with her gloved hand. "So can you and Lena carpool to get your things? That way I can go home and find some extra pillows and blankets for you guys."

"Sounds good," Logan agreed, standing up and taking me with him. "Lena, you know where Melanie lives?"

"Yep," I whispered lazily, feeling warm and comfortable from Logan's body heat. "She lives about ten minutes away from me."

"Okay, we'll see you in a few, then," Logan said to Melanie, starting to walk with me towards the direction of his parked car.

"Bring some movies!" Melanie yelled after us.

We stopped by my house first, since it was the first one on our way. The windows were dark just like yesterday, but at least I was sure that the house key was safely nestled in the left front-pocket of my jeans.

"Is anyone home?" Logan asked me as I fumbled with the lock, my bare, frozen fingers making things more difficult.

"I know that Gerard and Mikey aren't - they have a band practice at Ray's today," I replied, groaning as the key fell out of my hands and landed on the snowy porch. "They always stay a couple of hours after they're done, so they probably won't be home till midnight or something."

"Oh," Logan exhaled, warm breath leaving his parted lips in a white cloud. "And your Mom?"

"Aha!" I grinned victoriously, as I found the key and stuck it in the small opening, turning till I heard a click. "My Mom is probably home and sleeping, since the lights are all out, so talk in a whisper."

"Okay," Logan agreed, as we stepped into the warm hallway.

"Want to come up, or wait for me here?" I inquired in a barely audible tone, turning to look at my guest. "I'll be done in about five minutes."

"I'll stay here," Logan reassured me quietly. "I'll just sit on the couch listen to my iPod or something."

"Okay," I agreed, starting to walk up the stairs. "I'll be just a minute."

The hallway that led to my room was dark, but I didn't turn any lights on to help me see, seeing as my Mom was a light sleeper and I didn't want to wake her up. It took me about two minutes of carefully walking around in the dark to find my room, and I opened quickly, grateful to for the fact that I managed not to fall in the pitch-black darkness.

After finding my desk, I turned on the lamp, and my room got coated in the soft yellow light, just enough for me to find the items I needed.

"Shirt... socks... underwear," I mumbled, throwing everything in my backpack, while trying to not make too much noise. "Hairbrush... deodorant... got it. Eyeliner? Nah, don't need it."

I walked over to my dresser and took out a small bathroom kit, putting it on top of my things and closing the backpack.

I absolutely loved that kit. It included a miniature toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, mouthwash, floss, soap, and a washcloth. My Dad got one for me, Mikey, and Gerard about four years ago, after he got all camp-happy during that summer.

As I walked out of my room, I had a nagging feeling that I was forgetting something.

What was it...?

Something clicked in my head - videos! Melanie wanted something to watch after we got bored doing all that girly stuff that would freak Logan out.

I smiled at the image and started to creep silently towards Gerard's room with the goal of borrowing some of his horror flicks.

As I was about to open the door to my oldest brother's room, something stopped me, freezing my hand on the doorknob. Voices. Hushed whispers carried from the room, barely audible.

My heart froze. Dammit. Of all times those damn burglars had to break in, they chose now? When Mom was asleep and both of my brothers were out?

Could Logan and I take them on ourselves?

And why didn't our alarm go off?

My hand reached towards my cellphone, but stopped as the voices became louder.

I recognized them.

Trying not to breathe, I opened the door a small crack after I heard something extremely familiar in the conversation.

"You don't know that," Gerard was saying quietly, and I could see the faint outline of his silhouette, leaning close to another. "You don't know how she feels."

"But think about it," Frank's hoarse whisper made goose bumps rise on my arms, "how can it be? She is like my sister, and those feelings are completely unnatural."

"You can't help who you like," Gerard comforted Frank softly, "and maybe everything will turn out okay. We don't know how Lena feels, after all."

"I do." Frank's voice was colder than the December evening outside. "I know exactly how she feels, and that's why being her friend, her best friend, is going to be that much harder."

I gasped. Not loud enough for them to hear me, but enough to clear my head and for my feet to start backing away.

He knew.

How could he? Did I not hide my feelings well enough? What was going to happen now? All those thoughts ran through my head as I flew down the stairs, backpack over the shoulder.

This was it. The beginning of the end.

"Lena?"

I ignored Logan and ran outside, only stopping when I got to his car, climbing in and allowing myself to bury my face in my hands to cry.

After a while I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Lena? What happened, honey?" Logan whispered softly.

I looked up, taking a pack of Kleenex that Logan was silently offering me.

"Frank knows. He... he... he," I started to sob again. "I saw him in Gerard's room, talking to Gerard, and he knows. He said that he's going to have a hard time being my friend now."

Logan didn't say anything, just stared out of the window, watching the snowflakes fall and waiting for my crying to cease, knowing that there was no way for him to comfort me.

After a couple of minutes of my quiet tears, I wiped my face and my nose. "Lets go get your stuff - Melanie is waiting."