Zugzwang [COMPLETED]

Part I, chapter 13

- XIII -

We stopped by the hardware store on the way home, and I made a spare key for the Misfit, figuring that since he'd be living in my house, he might as well have his own key. He started blabbering something about him paying rent to my parents, and I threw that key at his head. It hit him on the forehead, and he stopped talking and just blinked.

"Shut up," I said dangerously. "Or I will throw something heavier at you."

"She will," Logan nodded. "Have I ever told you how she assaulted me with very heavy chess pieces?"

Dante grinned.

"No," he put the key on his keychain.

"It was brutal," Logan said seriously.

"You cheated," I said darkly.

"Did not," he said gravely. "It was a tie, fair and square."

"No," I started the car. "You let me win."

"How did I let you win?" he pressed his lips tight. "You are the one who figured out my trap, I had nothing to do with it!"

"You let me know that there was a trap," I said poisonously. "The look on your face gave it away."

I drove out of the parking lot, and Logan hemmed thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess I did make a face," he admitted finally. "But I didn't let you win!"

"Ugh," I sighed. "You cheated, so shut up."

Dante was laughing in the back seat, and once again, it made me feel good to hear him laugh.

****

The next two weeks I only saw Logan in the evenings, because he was serious about buying groceries, so he decided to work his ass off. That and he admitted that he wanted to make as much money as he possibly could, so he would go to college when I did.

"Apply for scholarship," I said to him and he just looked at me.

"Do I look like someone with a great GPA?" he asked patiently, and I could see his point. "My GPA never got higher than 2.3," he snorted. "Nobody in their right mind would give me any money."

I looked at him smugly and told him that it wouldn't be a problem for me, since my head was filled with knowledge and brilliancy. He rolled his eyes and said that yes, it's great indeed that at least one of us wouldn't have to pay for school.

It was weird how lately I completely accepted the fact that Logan McNamara was a part of my life and it didn't bother me a single bit. Of course, I'd rather die than admit it to him, but I had a very strong suspicion that he knew it anyway.

Dante looked almost completely normal now, and he even got a haircut after I told him that he looked like an Emo reject. I could actually see his eyes now that his hair didn't cover them as before. It seemed that people at school couldn't care less about the fact that Dante lived in my house now. Carl stopped pestering the Misfit and me -- well, he wasn't the Misfit anymore, to be honest -- and started hitting on Tanya, and soon enough, those two became an item, which almost everyone found beyond adorable.

I was still my usual self, and to my enormous surprise, people stopped trying to befriend me. Apparently, the fact that I was always hanging out with Dante -- who was still a 'freak,' according to Carl -- and that my boyfriend was a psycho who threatens people with his .45 -- again, thanks to Carl -- was enough to finally send the message to everyone to leave me the hell alone. I was really grateful that by Thanksgiving, it was just Johnny and Juliana who were still trying to talk to me.

Juliana became weirder by the day. She bleached her hair platinum blonde, which looked beyond bizarre against her black eyebrows. Her arms would be covered with fresh scars every day, and once I caught her cutting herself in the girls' bathroom. She looked up at me with a trapped expression in her eyes, and I just shrugged. Whatever. If she gets off on it, it doesn't matter to me. After that, she got this strange idea in her weird-looking head that I was covering for her, and that I automatically became her friend, since I didn't run away screaming.

I tried my best to ignore her, but it didn't work. Apparently, she was so used to everyone ignoring her that it felt as normal and natural to her as breathing. I guess she figured that if I was hanging out with Dante, then I had a thing for freaks. It would still bug me when someone would call Dante a freak, but he didn't seem to care, and finally, I just stopped paying attention. I was good at that.

I guess it was a week or so before Thanksgiving when Carl decided that he still wanted to pester Dante. Why is it always a week or so before holidays or spring break that weird stuff happens? Is it because people are getting restless and can't wait to get out of school or is there some Moon schedule involved?

Anyway, he was waiting for me by my car one of those days, since I had to stay later after our last class, because Wallace was dying to discuss some project with me. So after I was finally done with her, I walked out into the parking lot, and what did I see? Carl and two of his equally brainless friends, whose names I didn't even remember, pinning Dante to my car and neighing with delight. I was fuming when I saw that. I started to walk towards them and blinked when I saw one of Tanya's sidekicks smacking Carl on the back of his head with her backpack. I guess the backpack was pretty heavy, because the Jock's head immediately plopped into the passenger window of my car. If he breaks it, I'll kill him, I thought, and walked faster. Thank God, the glass was actually stronger than the Jock's skull. Who would've thought.

"Leave him alone, buffoon!" the girl screamed.

I frowned, trying to remember her name. Marie, I remembered finally. Her name was Marie Laroche. I guess she had some French ancestors or something like that.

"Ohhh," Carl said in a mock horror. "I am scared! Hey, freak! The girls are defending you now, you are so cool!"

"You are even cooler, imbecile," I whacked him on the back with my physics book. "Three against one makes you practically superheroes!"

Carl oomphed painfully when my book slapped his back hard, and he almost lost his balance. His brainless buddies immediately neighed at him. It seemed they didn't care who to make fun of -- Dante or their own friend.

"Move it, chimps," I snorted. "Or I will be the one who blows the .45 in your faces. That'll make you look better, actually."

Carl glared at me, and for a second, he looked like he was about to do something violent, but then he turned away without saying a word. Apparently, he remembered about Logan just in time. All three of them walked away, and I looked at Dante. He was frowning thoughtfully, just like he did when I almost hit him with my car.

"You okay?" I asked indifferently. I saw that he was fine.

"Yeah," he breathed and looked at Marie who was re-adjusting her backpack. "Hey, thanks..."

She looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Those three annoy the crap out of me... That's why I 'broke up' with Tanya," she made air quotes with her fingers. "I couldn't stand the fact that Carl was going to be there all the freaking time..."

Dante laughed, and I squinted my eyes at him. Oh dear God, I thought with amusement. Do I sense love blooming in the air?!

"Yeah, well," I unlocked my car and threw my backpack inside. "I am going home. You need a ride today or not?" I looked at Dante, and he immediatelyshook his head.

"No," he said, and I shrugged.

"Cool," I got into my car and did my best to keep the bored expression glued to my face. I couldn't afford to smile right now. Ice Queens don't smile, remember? "See you later."

"Bye, Gwen," he said without looking at me, and Marie waved to me.

I couldn't stand this any longer. I drove away and started to laugh. Thank God that his stepdad didn't fuck him up completely, I thought with relief. I was humming along with whoever was singing on the radio, and the fact that I was smiling, didn't bother me. I mean, nobody could see me, right? My reputation was still rock-solid.