FIC (Bring it On/Popular Crossover)
The beginning of my BiO/Popular fic.
Mock at will.
They had gotten together quickly and painlessly, a kiss at the tournament and then nights making out on the swingset while Missy watched the play of shadows across the lawn from her room and pretended she didn't exist.
They had split up just as easily, or at least, Missy assumed as much. She hadn't seen Torrance's reaction, as the visits abruptly stopped. Cliff, who in the best of times was chattery without saying much, began ignoring his sister altogether. He played music, trying to pretend to be the great American rockstar, and would stop every so often to just sit on the bed and stare at the wall, or lie down with his headphones on, losing the world in favor of the Clash.
It was typical Cliff Break-Up Behavior. The only thing different was that Torrance was suddenly avoiding her too, as though she carried the dreaded Pantone Plague and couldn't be approached. She didn't even look at her when they weren't at practice.
It took her two weeks to finally ask her brother what happened that was so harsh for her.
"We broke up," he said.
"I'm sorry."
"Sure you are."
It caught her off-guard; he never got mad at her when he was in break-up hell, as it took away from his righteous indignation and martyr-like sympathy. "What?"
"You knew it was coming. I don't buy it, okay?"
He turned to storm out, but she was faster than he was. "Cliff. What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You know already."
"Cliff!" And then, quieter, "What don't you buy?"
"That she didn't tell you every single detail. Why do you two think I don't know?"
"Hey, maybe you could fill me in on all of these little facts I'm supposed to know so that I can carry my own side of the converation?"
"Maybe you could have thought of that before you stole my girlfriend!" He shrugged her arm off of his shoulder and pointedly stomped off.
She had the room to herself. She stared ahead at the wall, letting her eyes unfocus and focus against the pure white.
But the colorless simplicity didn't make her life any less complicated.
----
For the first time, when they said the family would be moving, it was Missy and not Cliff who threw the fit.
"We've only been here for half a year! I was just getting used to it! How am I going to apply to colleges when none of the teachers know me enough to write a recommendation?" she shouted, pulling all of Cliff's old arguments forward, and a few more. "I finally made friends here! Things are good! I'm even on the cheerleading squad! It's just what you always wanted from me!"
Cliff muttered something under his breath that sounded distinctly like cheerleading? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?
They were sorry. They were moving. That's final.
She hadn't wanted to move this time, especially with the lack of gymnastics team, and it worked out okay, didn't it?
Yes. It had worked out fine. Wonderfully, even.
She didn't want to leave it.
Cliff laughed and said he was glad to be getting out of the town.
Their parents left for a party and they talked, really talked, for the first time in a long time.
"You're dating her."
It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.
"You're fucking her."
"That's not fair, Cliff. I didn't ask you that when you were with her."
"Yeah, but I'm asking it now. Did you have sex with my girlfriend?"
Missy looked at her brother for a long time. "She's not your girlfriend anymore."
----
She got to the new school early enough to register and still make it to first period. Cliff did the same. That was the first morning they were even remotely civil to each other. The first morning he didn't mutter something about watching But I'm a Cheerleader or about how he should have known that a girl that unwilling to get in bed would be so easy with other chicks.
It was the first morning she didn't walk out before breakfast could be consumed.
"You ready for your classes?"
"No." She went through her bag again, as though the contents would have magically changed since the previous night.
"What happened to Missy Pantone, Superstudent?"
"I think she's halfway between Rancho Carne and Delusion Junction. What happened to Cliff Pantone, Asshole?"
"He, ah, he's somewhere between Rancho Carne and here. It's a new town. Come on, turning over new roots, you know you want to."
"It's called turning over a new leaf."
"I was just showing how dedicated I was."
She buried her head in her backpack. Notebooks, a wallet, and most importantly, the letter Torr had given her just before they drove away. "Okay. You ready to go?"
----
She had been to more schools than she could count. Each was worse than the last.
But this one was a new low.
First she found out there was no gymnastics team. Then, in quick succession: no swim team; no girls' soccer; no archery; no tennis; no bowling.
Worst of all, no Torrance- but she'd known that already.
Knowing it didn't make it hurt any less.
She slipped into the biology classroom silently, hoping against hope that she could just blend in and forget everything and maybe even hide under the table and think of the smell of Torrance's shampoo, the taste of her mouth, the feel of her satiny shirt as she peeled-
"Alright, let's sit down, people. Time to get to work."
Missy's head snapped up. "Are you the biology teacher?"
"Yes, I am. And you must be the prostitute masquerading as a student with that shirt."
Missy glanced down. She loved that shirt. It was the shirt she'd first met Torrance in. "I wasn't aware the school had a dress code."
"There is no dress code in school. But unless it's Moulin Rouge week, seems like you're a teensy bit overdressed."
"Whatever." Missy shrugged uncomfortably. This wasn't how the week was supposed to start.
"And we've got another rebel in this class. Well, clearly, you'll fit right in here."
"I'm not a rebel," she protested hotly.
"Don't even try," suggested the boy who had just walked in with a trio of girls. "Bio won't listen."
"Bio?"
He gestured towards the front of the room. "Ms. Glass, the she-male in charge of this torture session."
"Mr. John! I realize high school is where you expect to make your love connections, but I do not intend to make my classroom the site of a remake of The Dating Game."
The boy flushed but didn't reply.
"John? That a first name, a last name, or both?"
"Sorry. Last. I'm Harrison."
"Missy Pantone. Hey."
"Where're you from?"
"All over. We move a lot. My last school was-"
The teacher- Ms. Glass- Bio- stood in front of her. "We have assigned seats here, Heidi Fleiss."
She missed Rancho Carne more than ever.
----
She was seated with a pretty girl whose blonde hair lay flat against her skull. She wore an athletic jacket. "What team do you play on?" Missy asked, and then bit her lip to keep from laughing, remembering the multiple ways that was taken at Rancho Carne from the second she and Torrance became vocal about their relationship.
"Oh. I'm captain of the Glamazons." The girl smiled. "We're the cheerleaders here at Kennedy. I'm Brooke McQueen. You're new, right?"
Torrance had been the cheer captain too. She swallowed. "Missy Pantone. Yeah. I was on the cheerleading squad at my old school, but we pretty much just called it cheerleading."
"Oh, where'd you go?"
"Rancho Carne."
Brooke's eyes widened. "Wow. You guys got to, like-"
"Nationals. Yeah. We came in second."
"That's great. You know, Glamazon try-outs are coming up soon. You could join the squad."
"I... cheering's not really my thing."
"You went to nationals. Of course it is."
Missy thought of Courtney, of Whitney. "I'm not really a Glamazon kind of girl."
"You don't know that. You've never tried."
"I only started cheering in the first place because there wasn't a gymnastics team at Rancho Carne. I think I'm going to stick to the whole academics thing."
"Well, if you want, I've been getting A's in bio. I can give you my notes if you want."
Missy smiled gratefully. "That'd be the shit, if you don't mind."
"The... 'shit'?" Brooke repeated. "I'm sorry, is that good, or-"
"It's a good thing. My gi- my best friend said it all the time; I kind of picked it up."
She'd almost said girlfriend.
She missed Torrance like hell.
Mock at will.
They had gotten together quickly and painlessly, a kiss at the tournament and then nights making out on the swingset while Missy watched the play of shadows across the lawn from her room and pretended she didn't exist.
They had split up just as easily, or at least, Missy assumed as much. She hadn't seen Torrance's reaction, as the visits abruptly stopped. Cliff, who in the best of times was chattery without saying much, began ignoring his sister altogether. He played music, trying to pretend to be the great American rockstar, and would stop every so often to just sit on the bed and stare at the wall, or lie down with his headphones on, losing the world in favor of the Clash.
It was typical Cliff Break-Up Behavior. The only thing different was that Torrance was suddenly avoiding her too, as though she carried the dreaded Pantone Plague and couldn't be approached. She didn't even look at her when they weren't at practice.
It took her two weeks to finally ask her brother what happened that was so harsh for her.
"We broke up," he said.
"I'm sorry."
"Sure you are."
It caught her off-guard; he never got mad at her when he was in break-up hell, as it took away from his righteous indignation and martyr-like sympathy. "What?"
"You knew it was coming. I don't buy it, okay?"
He turned to storm out, but she was faster than he was. "Cliff. What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You know already."
"Cliff!" And then, quieter, "What don't you buy?"
"That she didn't tell you every single detail. Why do you two think I don't know?"
"Hey, maybe you could fill me in on all of these little facts I'm supposed to know so that I can carry my own side of the converation?"
"Maybe you could have thought of that before you stole my girlfriend!" He shrugged her arm off of his shoulder and pointedly stomped off.
She had the room to herself. She stared ahead at the wall, letting her eyes unfocus and focus against the pure white.
But the colorless simplicity didn't make her life any less complicated.
----
For the first time, when they said the family would be moving, it was Missy and not Cliff who threw the fit.
"We've only been here for half a year! I was just getting used to it! How am I going to apply to colleges when none of the teachers know me enough to write a recommendation?" she shouted, pulling all of Cliff's old arguments forward, and a few more. "I finally made friends here! Things are good! I'm even on the cheerleading squad! It's just what you always wanted from me!"
Cliff muttered something under his breath that sounded distinctly like cheerleading? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?
They were sorry. They were moving. That's final.
She hadn't wanted to move this time, especially with the lack of gymnastics team, and it worked out okay, didn't it?
Yes. It had worked out fine. Wonderfully, even.
She didn't want to leave it.
Cliff laughed and said he was glad to be getting out of the town.
Their parents left for a party and they talked, really talked, for the first time in a long time.
"You're dating her."
It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.
"You're fucking her."
"That's not fair, Cliff. I didn't ask you that when you were with her."
"Yeah, but I'm asking it now. Did you have sex with my girlfriend?"
Missy looked at her brother for a long time. "She's not your girlfriend anymore."
----
She got to the new school early enough to register and still make it to first period. Cliff did the same. That was the first morning they were even remotely civil to each other. The first morning he didn't mutter something about watching But I'm a Cheerleader or about how he should have known that a girl that unwilling to get in bed would be so easy with other chicks.
It was the first morning she didn't walk out before breakfast could be consumed.
"You ready for your classes?"
"No." She went through her bag again, as though the contents would have magically changed since the previous night.
"What happened to Missy Pantone, Superstudent?"
"I think she's halfway between Rancho Carne and Delusion Junction. What happened to Cliff Pantone, Asshole?"
"He, ah, he's somewhere between Rancho Carne and here. It's a new town. Come on, turning over new roots, you know you want to."
"It's called turning over a new leaf."
"I was just showing how dedicated I was."
She buried her head in her backpack. Notebooks, a wallet, and most importantly, the letter Torr had given her just before they drove away. "Okay. You ready to go?"
----
She had been to more schools than she could count. Each was worse than the last.
But this one was a new low.
First she found out there was no gymnastics team. Then, in quick succession: no swim team; no girls' soccer; no archery; no tennis; no bowling.
Worst of all, no Torrance- but she'd known that already.
Knowing it didn't make it hurt any less.
She slipped into the biology classroom silently, hoping against hope that she could just blend in and forget everything and maybe even hide under the table and think of the smell of Torrance's shampoo, the taste of her mouth, the feel of her satiny shirt as she peeled-
"Alright, let's sit down, people. Time to get to work."
Missy's head snapped up. "Are you the biology teacher?"
"Yes, I am. And you must be the prostitute masquerading as a student with that shirt."
Missy glanced down. She loved that shirt. It was the shirt she'd first met Torrance in. "I wasn't aware the school had a dress code."
"There is no dress code in school. But unless it's Moulin Rouge week, seems like you're a teensy bit overdressed."
"Whatever." Missy shrugged uncomfortably. This wasn't how the week was supposed to start.
"And we've got another rebel in this class. Well, clearly, you'll fit right in here."
"I'm not a rebel," she protested hotly.
"Don't even try," suggested the boy who had just walked in with a trio of girls. "Bio won't listen."
"Bio?"
He gestured towards the front of the room. "Ms. Glass, the she-male in charge of this torture session."
"Mr. John! I realize high school is where you expect to make your love connections, but I do not intend to make my classroom the site of a remake of The Dating Game."
The boy flushed but didn't reply.
"John? That a first name, a last name, or both?"
"Sorry. Last. I'm Harrison."
"Missy Pantone. Hey."
"Where're you from?"
"All over. We move a lot. My last school was-"
The teacher- Ms. Glass- Bio- stood in front of her. "We have assigned seats here, Heidi Fleiss."
She missed Rancho Carne more than ever.
----
She was seated with a pretty girl whose blonde hair lay flat against her skull. She wore an athletic jacket. "What team do you play on?" Missy asked, and then bit her lip to keep from laughing, remembering the multiple ways that was taken at Rancho Carne from the second she and Torrance became vocal about their relationship.
"Oh. I'm captain of the Glamazons." The girl smiled. "We're the cheerleaders here at Kennedy. I'm Brooke McQueen. You're new, right?"
Torrance had been the cheer captain too. She swallowed. "Missy Pantone. Yeah. I was on the cheerleading squad at my old school, but we pretty much just called it cheerleading."
"Oh, where'd you go?"
"Rancho Carne."
Brooke's eyes widened. "Wow. You guys got to, like-"
"Nationals. Yeah. We came in second."
"That's great. You know, Glamazon try-outs are coming up soon. You could join the squad."
"I... cheering's not really my thing."
"You went to nationals. Of course it is."
Missy thought of Courtney, of Whitney. "I'm not really a Glamazon kind of girl."
"You don't know that. You've never tried."
"I only started cheering in the first place because there wasn't a gymnastics team at Rancho Carne. I think I'm going to stick to the whole academics thing."
"Well, if you want, I've been getting A's in bio. I can give you my notes if you want."
Missy smiled gratefully. "That'd be the shit, if you don't mind."
"The... 'shit'?" Brooke repeated. "I'm sorry, is that good, or-"
"It's a good thing. My gi- my best friend said it all the time; I kind of picked it up."
She'd almost said girlfriend.
She missed Torrance like hell.