The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)

It's a Mad Mad Mad Madison World

Previously: "Switches in Time" 

"What are you talking about?" you demand. Ruin Madison's life? You can hardly believe your ears.

"I told you to stop it, Will," Paulina repeats. "You're not Madison, you're—"

"Look, I know who I am," you retort, "but who the hell are you to tell me what I have to do?"

It is very dark behind the strip center, and the lone street blazing whitely up the block blinds rather than illuminates. But you can make out the pinched frown on Paulina's face.

"I've been waiting a long time to get back at Madison Crawford," she says. "And now that I've got a chance—"

"I'm not Madison Crawford, remember? Besides, you did get back at her. She's freaking out now, in some guy's hairy body in a trashed-out trailer park, and tomorrow she's going to be shipped off to boot camp. So you've fucked up her life already, so how about you just let me alone? Madison's gone, you and Evie have your lives back. What makes you think I owe you anything else?"

Paulina stares at you. Then she whirls and stalks off. After an awkward moment, Evie trots off after her.

And because it's Paulina's car and she's got the keys, this leaves you in a very bad spot.

"Paulina!" you call after her. "Paulina, come on!" You dash off after her and catch her by the arm. She wrenches herself free, but at least she doesn't snarl at you.

"Come on, I'm sorry I yelled at you like that," you say. "You just surprised me, is all. It's just— Look, it's not like you're hurting Madison when you say you want to— Okay, what do you mean by you want me to 'ruin' Madison's life?"

You feel rather than see the glare on her face. But she doesn't answer.

"Look, Paulina, I know I fucked things up for you and Evie, but we put it all back. And I was telling her in the car just now that I want us all to be friends. Why can't we be friends? You and me and her and ... You know. Madison?" You hop lightly on the balls of your feet. "With me like this you can be friends with her, and with her friends, you know? Evie too. That homework party that I— That Madison's supposed to be at, you're supposed to be at it too! What do you say?" You pluck at her sleeve. "Come on. You'd fit in perfect."

That's a lie. But Madison's confidence is surging through you, so it doesn't matter.

Paulina is breathing very heavily, and she seems to be struggling to come back with an answer. Finally, with a jerk of her shoulders she turns back to the car.

"I'll take you to the party," she says, "and we'll talk tomorrow."

"Great!" you exclaim. "We can hang out! What lunch have you got?"

But Paulina doesn't answer, and before you can press it you feel Evie tugging and pinching at your arm. So you shut up and just follow her back to the car.

* * * * *

"Sorry we're late," you tell Ethan when you meet him on the walkway leading up to his house. You lean to whisper in his ear. "Not my fault!"

His hair tickles your nose, and you almost cum in your panties.

That's because Ethan Clayborne is a hunk. He's only a sophomore, and he's not even very tall. But he's already a hunk. Madison gets wet just thinking about him.

He's a wrestler, and he's been wrestling since he was in middle school, and he's got body that was already built for it (his brother and father were wrestlers too) so he's got strong muscles all over his lean frame; and he prowls rather than walks, with a swaggering bounce in his stride. His friends all have swimming pools, so he's still brown from the summer, and on top of all that masculinity he's got a rug of hair across his chest that is just begging to be gripped with tight fingers. His brunette hair is wiry and stiff and easily holds its wave-like curls, even in a hard wind. His eyes are slate blue, and he's got the cutest, the most uber-kissable upturned nose.

So your heart is in your throat as you prance back out to Paulina's car with him. Jesus, get a grip, man, you chide yourself as you fall into the back seat with him. You're not a girl, you're not gay, you're not in love with this guy! But just try telling that to the chemicals rushing like a babbling brook through your body!

"You bring your biology homework?" you ask Ethan as Paulina pulls back out into the darkened street. Your voice quavers. "That's what I need help with. You think we're gonna have a pop quiz tomorrow?"

"Dunno," Ethan says in his gruff baritone. "Flunk it if we do. I got French to get through, though." He's a boy of few words.

"Ooh, I can help you with that! Madame a dit que je suis le meilleur de la classe!" You titter, and almost die of embarrassment inside. Someone in the front seat snorts.

"Yeah," Ethan says after a fractional hesitation. "Carly's gonna be there too, right? We were gonna work on French."

"If we stop by my house," Evie says from the front seat, "I can pick up my homework too."

"Oh, do you want to come out too?" you ask her without enthusiasm. "I thought you and Paulina were— Well sure!" you correct yourself. "It's a homework party, right?"

"I changed my mind about going," Paulina says in a voice that is tightly neutral. "You want me to drop you off with Madison and them?" she asks Evie. "Are we going by your place?" she asks after Evie doesn't reply.

"No, I forgot," Evie says. "You wanted to hang out and talk about, um, stuff."

"Why are you driving us if you're not going?" Ethan asks.

"We were all hanging out together," you tell him. "Paulina was really sweet and said she'd pick us up and drop us off. Um, I'll have to get Carly or someone to take me home. Take us home," you can't help correcting yourself with a wave of hope and ardor.

Silently you curse yourself out for acting like a silly, lovestruck girl. You also curse out Paulina for being a bitch, Evie for trying to horn in on the party, Ethan for being a stupidly oblivious boy, and yourself above all that for letting yourself get wound up inside Madison Crawford's exhausting emotional drama.

* * * * *

It's only a small "homework party," for that's the only kind that "Paulina Nowack" could set up as a lure for Madison. It's at the home of Julie Eckler, one of Madison's friends, and though everyone else who was invited is already there, that only makes for eight once you and Ethan finally step inside.

"Where's Paulina?" Julie asks as she pulls you through the foyer into the living room where the others are hunched or sprawling on the floor. There are lots of open notebooks, but also lots of cell phones, and no one seems to be paying any attention to the schoolwork. "I thought she was giving you a ride."

"She was, but she had a headache or something." You brush Ethan's arm, to tell him not to contradict you. "So she's skipping."

"Nice of her bring you guys out anyway," Julie says. She's a sweet girl who thinks well of other people. Too bad she's as tall and skinny as a flagpole and has funny-looking horse teeth.

Which hasn't stopped her from getting a boyfriend. Said boyfriend, Charles Sweeney, steps in from the kitchen with two sodas, one of which he passes to her. He nods at you with a twinkle in his eye.

You settle onto the floor next to your best friend, Dana diBenedetto, who is smaller and darker than you, but is also plumping to be a cheerleader. You smile at Ethan's best friend, Bradley White, who is sprawled on the other side of Dana, and he smirks back at you. If Madison can't manage to snag Ethan, she'd settle for Bradley, who might not be a wrestler but is a snowboarder with a wicked smile and a reputation for mischief.

You quickly catch up with the other girls as you settle in and break out your books: marine biology and geometry, the two subjects that give Madison the most trouble. (She's no head for memorization or for numbers.) Again you try prodding Ethan into working on biology—"Come on, you can quiz me on the octopus parts and I'll quiz you on your vocabulary"—but he demurs to work with Carly Schmidt, who shares that particular French II period with him. (He has it first period, you have it fifth.) So you wind up doing the quizzes with Bradley and Dana, who share both those classes with you.

"So how was the drive out?" Dana breathlessly demands of you in the kitchen when you're taking a break. Her eyes glint. "You and Ethan, did you—?" Her grin is blinding. "Were you in the back seat together?"

"Yes!" You grab her by the elbows and squeal. "I mean, we just rode out together. Paulina was being kind of a pill. Ride back with us? I'm going to ask Carly to drive, and if you take shotgun, me and Ethan can—!"


"Sure!" Dana squeezes you back. "You thought any more about my idea?"

Your eyes pop with excitement, and you have to breathe into your cupped hands to keep from hyperventilating. God damn it! You had no idea that girl hormones could be this powerful!

Ethan's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and Dana's idea was for you—Madison—to throw him a surprise birthday party. It's an awesome idea, but you—Madison—aren't sure if it isn't too much. Like, what if it freaks Ethan out instead of, you know, showing him that he likes you?

And now you've got another worry. You're not Madison Crawford, and you're not sure you want to play the part so perfectly as to get yourself a boyfriend.

Next: "A Couple of Surprises for the Boys in Your Life" 

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 2)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 2)"