My Paper Heart

I watched intently as I smudged my newly painted black toenails into the puke green carpet. Darcie sat beside me, sulking, and scrolling over Youtube pages on her gray laptop. She kept her hair tied away from her face in a ratty bun behind her head.

It was about ten thirty, and Ant and Seth were asleep. Miss Carrie and Aaron were asleep as well. We had no idea where Cheddar had gotten off to, not that we much cared. I sighed, and took of the polish on my toes with the nail polish remover. Darcie continued to watch badly made tribute videos, once in a while shoving her hand in the bag of Funyuns, bringing back a handful of them, and chomping down on the entire fistful.

Her eyes glared hatefully at the screen, and I felt a little ill at ease, watching her stab the keys with her fingers, then fiercely backspace when she typed something wrong.

"Darcie--"

"I hate Sidney!" Darcie cawed, rolling onto her back and smothering her face in a pillow. She started kicking her legs and shouting into the pillow, "I hate her! I hate her! I hate her!" She then continued screaming at the top of her lungs and kicking her feet and pounding the bed with her tiny fists until she was breathing more raggedly than a horse that just ran a derby.

I timidly put a hand out towards her, but flinched away as she threw the pillow from her, to the other side of the queen sized bed. Her face was stony, and she glared at the ceiling with pursed lips.

"I want to go to the Orange County Fair," she snarled. I raised a brow, but nodded. Normally, around this time of day, she just wanted to sit around and diddle around on the internet.

"Uhm, okay."

I stood from her bed and switched out my sweat pants and t-shirt for a pair of black shorts and a black t-shirt. Darcie switched into some Daisy Dukes and a pink and black tank top. She donned her chunky heels, and grabbed the keys to my truck. I slipped on my flip-flops and followed her out the door.

Her mom had taken her license away again, so it was up to me to drive.

I shoved on my big gaudy glasses and pulled my hair back quickly.

"The Durango or the truck?" I asked.

"Durango," she answered automatically. It was best not asking her questions when she got like this, so I simply went to the silver monster, got in, and backed down the steep driveway.

Darcie kept the sullen look on her face the entire way down.

***

We, being dumb asses, didn't remember that the fair was in August. Not July. So we ended up going to the mall. That we worked at. How sad.

We called up Sasha, and asked if he'd come over. Of course we got a resounding yes. He said he had to meet someone before hand, but he'd be along soon.

So, for now, we sat in the middle of the mall, next to the big fountain. I stabbed at the strawberry cheese quake blizzard I had bought, and Darcie sipped her blue slushie. Her face was still sullen, and her white glasses held back her bangs. I sighed, and, after slurping off a spoonful of blizzard, looked at her. "Go ahead."

"I hate Sidney! She's so ugly and blond, and dumb. She's ugly, too! Did you see her? Her teeth are so big! What is wrong with Nick!" she vented, her face darkening red as she ranted. Her grip on the clear plastic cup tightened, and quickly liquefying in her fist. I watched her wide-eyed as she kept going, her voice getting higher pitched. Small dogs turned and looked in fear. Little children wept for their mothers. Russia armed their nuclear missiles and aimed towards the sky at the high-pitched UFOs.

I had to put a hand on her knee to make her slow down before her skull exploded, and showered the passersby with gore and hatred.

She slowed, but the words didn't stop. I began to fear for my own life.

"Uh, hi?" Sasha came into view behind Darcie. He looked a little worried, like a lot of people around us did, but there was something wrong about his appearance. Dark bags were set deep under his eyes, and his eyes, themselves, were dull and so...un-Sasha-like. But he was still standing behind Darcie, his smile crooked, his body loose.

Darcie flipped around, nearly sloshing her drink down her legs. She relaxed upon seeing Sasha's limber frame. "God, Sasha, you scared the crap out of me."

His grin widened. "That's what I do."

He walked around Darcie and sat down next to me. "What's up? How was the date with Hunter?"

I groaned. "Awful. He was flirting with this old woman, and he sloshed beer all down my front."

Sasha frowned intensely, but said nothing. His lower jaw clenched, and I could feel him wanting to mouth off very badly. I was glad he didn't. Instead he turned to Darcie. "What was the fit about?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Nick. And his dopey, little bimbo girlfriend--"

"No need to go into detail, Darce." She gave me a fierce look for interrupting, but let it go, nodding. I idly kicked my feet, still picking at my blizzard. Sasha took a finger, and speared my blizzard with it. He retreated, and sucked on his finger, grinning wildly. I rolled my eyes at him, smiling from the corner of my mouth.

While Darcie worked out her inner-angst, I decided we needed to walk around. Sitting and stewing was going to improve her mood none, and hopefully if she saw something she enjoyed, like the photo booth, or maybe that candy store next to Hot Topic. That idea scratched itself out as quick as it came in. Nick worked at Hot Topic, and he was working today. Candy store was no-go. So we continued milling around the mall, until we came to a Macy's. I smile wickedly, and look at the back of her head as she throws the blizzard cup away, and the slushie cup. "Darcie, darling," I said, trying to attract her attention to me and the big red star behind me.

She looked up, and instantly her eyes are wide with loving emotion. I had my midget back.

We scurried into the store, and Sasha loped behind us. I pulled him aside, and began examining a blue shirt that was supposed to seem like satin. Still looking at the shirt, I whispered, "You're wondering our exploits, right?" He nodded, and I continued, "We're gonna steal some shit. We're gonna get you something too. You're going to be the transportation."

His eyes widened. "Goldie, no--"

"Shut up!" I hissed. "They have security cameras here. And if we get caught, I will murder you!" I whispered harshly. His eyes kept as wide as they were. Darcie ran up to us holding about ten shirts, and three pairs of pants, with maybe seven necklaces strung around her neck, their shiny tags still in place. Three pairs of sunglasses were hung on her shirt. Her face was wide open with excitement. I frowned, slightly disapproving.

"Darcie..."

"I know, I know. That's why you're helping me! And that's why Sasha is going to hug me and let me put stuff in his pockets," Darcie said, her smiling never faltering as she told Sasha her plan. To the cameras, she could've been talking about McDonalds. Little klepto.

She hugged Sasha and slipped several pairs of earrings into his baggy, deep-pocketed pants. He hugged her back, trying to make it seem natural. I slipped a slim silver necklace in my pocket after snapping off the tag. Finally Darcie broke apart from Sasha, and looked at her purse, and the armload of shirts she has in her hand. I knew she was trying to figure out how many she could stuff in there without anyone noticing how bulgy it became.

Finally we traipsed to the fitting rooms. Sasha sat outside of ours, and grumbled, waiting for us.

Darcie and I pushed into a fitting room, locking the door behind us. Quickly we peeled off our upper layers. Standing in nothing but a bra, I layered on shirts that Darcie gathered up. We had to leave some, so they wouldn’t get suspicious. For once I was glad I dressed baggy. We each got on maybe three shirts, and Darcie shoved and extra two in her purse, all the tags ripped, or peeled, off. We then replaced our tops, and exited, 'grumbling' that our shirts didn't fit. We put the rejected shirts back on the racks, and looked for some stuff for Sasha, schooling him on the basics of the basics of thieving. Apparently, Wayne had already taught him all he needed to know.

So we piled him up with plenty of shirts, and he went in the fitting rooms. He returned after a few minutes, looking more bulked up. He looked at the lady behind the fitting room counters. "Left the clothes in there," he told her. She rolled her eyes, and nodded.

Sasha smirked, and we made our way out the store.

In the co-ed bathroom, we shoved him in, and told him to strip down. We wanted to see the shirts he picked. To our amazement, he got all of them. My jaw dropped. "Teach me master," I breathed, my eyes wide, mouth agape. The corner of his mouth quirked into a shy grin.

"If you give me a kiss, I'll teach you."

I chewed my lip, and changed the subject quickly.

We were headed for uncomfortable territory, and I didn't want to go there, yet again.

***

We sat on the curb outside of the mall, sipping on our Starbucks. We had a lot of money saved up -- a lot for a teenager -- and a nice chunk of it was from last year's working. So we could still splurge a little bit. Despite stealing maybe two-hundred dollars worth of clothes.

Sasha was stretched out on the curb, his legs sprawled across our laps. He kept the hood of his jacket pulled up over his eyes. Darcie and I divided up what we looted, smiling quietly at each other, and slurping our things. When we began to get hungry, we shoved our pickings into a bag, and dropped them off at our car. Sasha dropped his stuff off also.

We walked across the parking lots, and entered the Pizza Hut.

All in all, despite it being a terrible day avoiding bad thoughts, we enjoyed ourselves. Sasha cramped in next to me, and Darcie stretched out on her own side of the booth. Her tiny feet dangled off the leather cushion, and she slapped the chunky black sandals into her bare feet.

A small brown-haired girl walked up to our booth, and ordered drinks, and pizzas.

"Mountain Dew and pepperoni," Darcie ordered with a smile. Sasha looked toward me imploringly.

"Uh, coke, and a pepperoni," I told the girl. She nodded and wrote it down.

"Same," Sasha said. The girl nodded, and walked off, her ponytail swaying.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail behind my head and slapped it around, smirking. Darcie snorted roughly, and Sasha belted out a loud laugh. We could've passed for a fucked up commercial for Pizza Hut, if they ever so needed one.

I kept slapping my hair around, holding a dopey smile, just like the girls. My face turned blood read upon seeing the girl standing beside our table, wearing an annoyed, and slightly hurt look on her face. I kept my face down, chewing my lips. If the world was anime, a big, fat ass sweat drop would be hanging over my head right now, and I wouldn't have a mouth, or nose, only embarrassment lines. But life's not anime, so I sat there while she placed our drinks on the table in front of us.

She left, immediately badmouthing me to the Latino busboy with a ponytail. He gave me a dirty look, and I began worrying about the state of our pizza's cleanliness.

We were further ruined by a slim, short, black-haired boy with sky-blue contacts.

I now could care less how dirty our pizza was. I was more concerned about the chance of Sidney and Nick getting out of here alive. Apparently, they were as slim as Nick's pants. The chance dropped as he noticed us, and waved, his face beaming proudly. He hooked an arm in Sidney's, and walked over. Sidney had the same, disgusted look pasted on her face the entire way over.

Darcie began to chew on her straw vehemently. I just sipped at my coke, and Sasha smiled warmly up at Nick, until I elbowed him in the ribs. When Sidney was around, Nick was public enemy number one. Sasha stopped smiling. Nick didn't seem to notice, and put Sidney on the seat next to Darcie, and made her scoot over so he could sit down. So Sidney was sat next to Darcie, as far away from Nick as could be. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was purposeful on Nick's part.

The girl came back, keeping her eyes away from me, in case I was doing further damage to her emotions. I felt awful. She set our pizza down in front of us. I could tell she was groaning inwardly upon seeing Sidney and Nick. She took their drink orders, and sauntered off, once again complaining to the busboy. He just rolled his eyes this time, and went to go collect dishes from a table near the kitchen.

"So what're you guys doing here?" Darcie asked, trying her best to seem friendly and welcoming. Sidney answered before Nick had a chance.

"We're celebrating two weeks, isn't that awesome?" She turned and kissed Nick on the lips. He could not've missed the glare I was shooting at him the entire time. If he had, he must've gone blind, which I wouldn't have doubted, from looking at Sidney all the time, and her big-ass teeth.

Then it was silent for a few minutes. A few agonizing, awful minutes. I cow kicked Sasha, in hopes of getting him to say something. He flinched, but he didn't react otherwise above the table. Sidney looked at peculiarly. I could only imagine what Darcie was wanting to do to her. Especially in such close proximities. Sidney opened her mouth to let loose more stupidity. I thumped Sasha in the crotch with my fist. He wheezed, and grabbed my wrist.

"Yeah, there’s this thing in a few days," he said, trying not to let his voice crack. I relaxed my fist, and he let go. Finally, he got the hint.

"Oh?" Sidney said. I admit it: I wanted to punch in her teeth.

"Yeah, it's a thing for Kelley, my dad, down at the firehouse. Most lives saved, or lifetime achievement or some crap," Sasha explained.

"What about it?" Sidney asked, making it her business, and seeming offended he wasn't getting to the point quickly enough. I wanted to groan. He gave her a frown.

"It's like a formal thing or whatever. Kind of like a ball and dinner type thing," He furthered. Her eyes widened with interest.

Dammit to hell, Sasha.

I kept my thoughts off of my expression. Ponytail-girl came back with Nick and Sidney's stuff. I kept my eyes to my glass. A bent cigarette butt floated to the surface of my coke after I jabbed it with the straw a few times. I blinked, and gently pushed the drink away from me. Ponytail-girl walked off with a spring in her step.

"That's disgusting," Sasha said, distracting from the Sidney situation. He was gazing into my glass where the butt began sinking. "You want my drink?" he asked.

"No, me and her will share," Darcie interjected. I nodded my thanks at her.

"Yeah, it's fine Sasha," I told him. He shrugged and frowned from the corner of his mouth.

"If you're sure," he said tentatively.

"So!" Sidney said, placing her hands on the table. "Can we come to this thing?" Everyone at the table, sans Sidney, frowned. Even her loving boyfriend.

"Uh, sure? I guess," Sasha answered after what felt like a eternity. Sidney squealed and began interrogating Nick on what she should wear. Out of the goddamned blue, she turned to me and the redhead. "OH my GAWD," she blared, "You two should go together!"

"I have a boyfriend," I answered automatically. This response was met by Sasha stewing, and an almost shocked look from Sidney. What, I don't have the right to have a boyfriend?

"Really! Who?" she asked.

"Hunter Jakobs." I got the same answer. It was silent for a small time before Sidney ran her mouth again. She turned to Darcie, and babbled, "Then you and him should go!" turning to Darcie, and finally recognizing her existence, officially, for the first time ever.

"Me and who?" Darcie bit acidly.

"Redhead."

"Baby, his name's Sasha," said Nick. She raised a skeptical brow, as if he might be lying.

"Isn't Sasha a girl name?" she asked.

"Isn't Sidney a boy name?" Darcie snapped, glaring at the girl. I could tell by her expression she had never meant to say such a thing, but only her eyes showed it. The rest was cool and composed. I had never seen a face quite like Sidney's at that moment. It actually took clapping both of my hands over my mouth to try stifling my cackling-laugh. It still leaked out, albeit muffled and like a pig snort.

Nick glared at both of us. I just kept my hands clamped over my mouth. He stood, dragging Sidney out of the booth by her elbow. Darcie sat, smiling bitterly. She was waiting for Sidney to open her mouth.

"Uh, I'll call you about the dinner, okay?" Sasha told Nick. The Italian boy nodded, threw a disgusted look to Darcie, and tossed a twenty down on the table to pay for the failed meal, before hauling Sidney out the doors, while she wailed about Darcie being "a fat, ugly bitch with ratty hair!"

After he was gone, Darcie collapsed into her folded arms on the table and cried. Sasha wouldn't question it. I didn't need to. It wasn't about the insult, it was about Nick.