"L A B E L S"

Episode 28

Joe's walking up to the school on Wednesday morning when he sees Taylor sitting at the picnic table by herself, writing in her notebook. He sighs and turns to walk over to her. "Hey."

She looks up at him. "Hey."

He sits down in front of her and glances down at her notebook. "Writing more lyrics?"

"Oh, uh, no...no lyrics today...just doodles." She smiles and closes her notebook.

"So...I'm guessing you're going to the dance this weekend?"

"Well, of course. What upstanding popular wouldn't go to one of the biggest dances of the year?" She mocks herself with a fake smile before shaking her head with a smirk and glances down at the table.

He smiles at her interpretation of the populars. "Do you have a date?"

She looks up at him with guilty eyes and slowly begins to nod. "Uh...yeah."

He snickers sadly and glances at the table. "Nick."

She continues starring at the table and aimlessly playing with the pencil in front of her. "You don't know him, Joe."

"But you do! And for some reason, you're not seeing the fact that he's a jerk and doesn't deserve you. And he sure as hell doesn't deserve all of these chances you keep handing him."

Taylor shakes her head and looks up at Joe with irritation but speaks calmly. "You don't know anything. You have no clue who he is and you have no clue who I am." She stands up and puts her back pack on her shoulder before looking down at him. "Because if you did, you sure as hell wouldn't be putting me on this pedestal." She gives him a quick look of sadness before walking towards the school.

~~~

"You turned him down?!" Scarlett's practically screams as she stands in front of Mia with wide and shocked eyes.

Mia closes her locker and turns to her. "I didn't turn him down...but I'm going to have to."

She gives Mia a look of complete bewilderment. "And why in the world would you do something so stupid?! This guy obviously likes you and I know for a fact you like him, so don't even try to deny it."

"It's not that I don't want to go with him, I just can't."

"Why not?!"

"I have to work Friday night."

She gives Mia a look of confusion. "Since when?"

Mia sighs and leans her back against her locker. "Since the overdue rent came into full focus."

Scarlett gives her a look of worry. "Oh no, what happened?"

"The landlord gave us an ultimatum, pay by next month or find another hell hole to live in."

"Mia, you don't need to work like a dog to pay rent. I don't understand why you don't just come live with me?"

"Scar, I couldn't do that to your parents. Besides, without me, Jules would be living on the streets, selling her body for a quarter instead of a dollar." She tries to play it off as a joke but looks at the ground, knowing it's probably as close to the truth as she could get.

Scarlett reaches out and touches her arm comfortingly before locking her arm with Mia's and walking down the hall.

~~~

Nick's walking down a practically empty hallway in the school when he gets abruptly pulled into a janitor's closet. "What the hell?!"

Chelsea closes the door with a smirk and pushes him up against it, kissing him intensely.

He pushes her back, causing her to put some distance between them. She continues to smirk flirtatiously and moves closer to him. "Come on, Nicky...don't be like that." She begins playing with the end of his shirt and kisses him again.

He kisses back for a moment before pushing her back once again. She ignores his physical rejection and continues to move closer, putting her hands on either side of his neck. "So, I was thinking...maybe we could go to the Fall Ball together. It would be fun."

He looks at her confused and slightly agitated. "Chelsea, what the hell are you talking about? I'm dating Taylor, you know I can't be seen with you."

She moves her head closer to Nick's ear and whispers with a smirk. "Taylor's boring...you know I'm a lot more fun than that frizzy freak. Go to the dance with me and I promise to make it worth your while." She moves her head back so her face is directly in front of Nick's and she leans forward, kissing him fiercely.

He pushes her away once again, this time with greater force. "Stop it Chelsea! I'm not going to the fucking dance with you! I'm going with Taylor."

Her anger comes to a boil as the volume of her voice increases. "Why?! She's a twitty little prude! You know I'm better than her."

He moves closer to the door, giving her an incredulous look. "No, you're just easier." He opens the door and walks out, leaving Chelsea standing there in shock.

~~~

Dani's walking down the hall at the end of the day and turns the corner, seeing Joe at his locker across the hall. She takes a deep breath before gaining her courage and walking over to him. "Hey, Adam."

He quickly glances over at her. "Hey, Dani."

She swallows the strange feeling in her throat at the sound of that name coming from his lips but forces herself to go on. "I haven't talked to you in a while."

"Yeah. Guess we've been busy, huh?" He shows a small smile towards her very quickly before continuing to grab books from his locker.

"Well, you've been busy...I've been pretty...un-busy." She shakes her head at her dumb comment and glances at the ground, feeling her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

Joe continues putting books in his locker, unaffected be her last statement.

She takes another silent breath and decides to just ask what she's been wanting to ask for days now. She speaks up and her words come out very quick and shaky. "Are you going to the dance this weekend?"

Joe closes his locker and turns to Dani. "Well, I was. Taylor's already going with Nick, though."

She snickers sadly and looks at the ground, shaking her head before mumbling. "Taylor."

Completely unaware of her reaction, he gives her a curious expression. "Why? Are you going?"

She looks up at him with sad eyes and shrugs. "I doubt it."

"My Friday is going to consist of movies, PJ's and rocky road ice cream." He chuckles and looks at her with a small smile. "That's the supply list when you girls don't have a date to the dance, isn't it?"

"Yep, that's about it."

He smiles at Dani for a moment before starting to walk backwards. "I'll see you later, okay?"

She nods and watches in sadness as he walks to the exit.