Swirl

Part 1 of 2. Enjoy.

oOo

"What's up bitches!" Deidre greeted loudly as she plopped down next to her two best friends, Jake and Clara, in the cafeteria, a tray balanced expertly on one hand- as if she were a chef presenting a meal.

A meal consisting of two large burgers, chili fries with a huge topping of chili and cheese, icy vanilla pudding and two cartons of chocolate milk.

Her loud greeting caused several glances to turn her way, but Deidre either didn't notice or didn't care because after she snatched a fry off of Jake's plate she leaned back, propped her legs up on the table, and smirked up at the ceiling.

"Do you always have to greet us like that?" Clara asked with a roll of her big doe eyes, though a slight smile was forming on the red heads lips.

"I'm surprised you're even asking her this. Everyday you repeat the same question..." Jake muttered, snatching a handful of fries from Deidre's own tray as retaliation.

"And everyday I give her the same answer. Which is yes, yes I do have to greet you like that. And you love it, you slut." Deidre finished in a teasing voice, not at all bothered that Jake had stolen food from her. Usually that would have given him a swat on the head, considering how hot headed she could be when it came to food- or anything in general. But for some reason she was in a good mood today and besides, she could always play a prank on him later.

As if seeing the gears turning in their childhood friends brain, Clara shook her head in annoyance, red curls flying and rosy lips pursed.

"

Anyway

," Clara huffed. "Where were you last night? We were supposed to be studying together but you ditched me. You weren't home, and you weren't at Jake's house. Heather had a party at her mansion last night, but you hate parties."

Instantly the whirring of Deidre's mischievous brain halted. Since her face was to the ceiling no one saw the way her cheeks burned or the way her eyes widened slightly. Thank god they couldn't see her face, or it would be a dead giveaway of where she *had* been.

Heather was a popular senior at school,

the

it girl if you will. Made sense considering just who her brother was.

The party was one of juiciest topics of gossip in the entire school. Of course Deidre hated parties, just like Clara said. But she also hated gossip, which meant she hadn't been aware of the party until it was too late. And when she went to Heather's house to finish a project with the girls annoying ass of a brother; she hadn't been prepared for the sudden onslaught of fellow students in the mansion.

Heather may have been the same age as of the rest of them, but Deidre was nearly convinced the girl had a thinking capacity of a slug. Her parents were

literally

only a few blocks away, not to mention the noise could have woken the entire street.

She was such a dumb blond it wasn't even funny.

Deidre managed to slip out of course, though not unnoticed. Hopefully the few who had seen her would keep their mouths shut. Especially her dirtbag of a partner, Griffin.

Yeah,

especially

him.

"I..." Her voice came out weak. But when Jake and Clara paused and curiously looked her way, Deidre quickly gained her composure and steadied her voice.

"I was just finishing up my latest prank. You might want to avoid the locker rooms later today." Deidre quickly supplied, her expression taking on a sly look. Hey, it was only a half lie. She really had conjured up a prank that night.

...After the party.

Jake raised an eyebrow, though he didn't pause from devouring his lunch, and Clara sent Deidre an incredulous look.

"You ditched our study session for a prank?" Her eyebrows furrowed, and then the red head rolled her eyes. "As expected. Sometimes I don't understand how we're friends Deidre, you can be very irresponsible."

A snort was heard from one side of the table, while a disbelieving scoff erupted from the other. The nearby bystanders who were eating at their own tables glanced their way briefly- most quickly turning around when Deidre sent them a glare.

Turning back to Clara, Deidre's glare had turned mild- almost amused, and Jake simply braced himself for a full out argument of his two female friends.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who initiated our friendship." The raven haired girl said with a pasted on smile, causing Clara to huff. But Deidre wasn't deterred.

"Once upon a time on a normal day at Sally's daycare, two very persistent kiddies ambushed me at recess and demanded me to play with them." Deidre finished, grabbing another fry from Jake's plate, causing him to grunt.

"And you refused fifteen times in a matter of seconds. How superfluous." Clara pointed out matter of factually, picking at the salad on her tray. Unlike Jake and Deidre, her lunch wasn't heaping with fatty foods and calories. She liked her meals neat and tidy, like everything else in her life.

Deidre blocked out the bustling sounds of the cafeteria and stood up, leaning across the table and poking Clara on her nose in harsh reprimand. This action caused the red head to wrinkle said noise in annoyance. She hated being poked anywhere on her face, as she had aunts who were big fans of pinching cheeks- and that in it's self was already a nightmare.

"Stop that." Clara whined, swatting Deidre's hand away. But the taller girl didn't relent, as she only leaned closer and poked Clara's nose again, an ironically serious look on her face.

"I refused, yes." Deidre agreed, her winged eyebrows slightly raised. "But like I said, you two were persistent. You wouldn't leave the sandbox, in fact Jakey over there stomped all over the castle I had been working so hard on-"

"I was only 6!" Jake protested, though he hardly seemed interested in joining the conversation. In fact, he was watching the two girls with an amused smile as he tossed a bunch of fries on his burger and began to chew. "And don't call me Jakey." He added as an afterthought.

Deidre ignored him, instead lifting her hand to silence him- which caused the blond to scoff.

"If anything," Deidre went on. "

You

guys were the one who started this friendship and hounded me for so many years-"

"We didn't and do not hound you!" Now Clara was protesting.

"And completely molded me into this total wimp. I can't even beat up a football player who groped my ass or something without you nagging." Deidre went on, completely ignoring Clara's interruption.

"In that one guys defense, you have a great ass." Jake cut in, though his voice was garbled over the food he currently had in his mouth. "And in Clara's defense, you sent that guy to the hospital. Broken ribs and everything."

Both girls sent him a glare, for entirely different reasons, causing Jake to lift his hands in surrender and laugh.

"Just trying to contribute my two cents." He teased, blue eyes shining.

"Well why don't you take your two cents and shove it up your-" Deidre was beginning to say, when she felt a warm presence behind her, so close that whoever's body heat it was practically burned her.

Jake and Clara simultaneously turned to look at whoever was behind her. Jake's face went blank and impassive, but by the slight blush that tinted Clara's cheeks, Deidre knew it was a guy. And she knew exactly which guy it was too.

"Morning, Brooke." Her worst enemy greeted calmly, his bright blue eyes cool as always as she turned towards him to meet his eyes squarely with her own.

The golden boy of their high school and the very bane of her existence, which sounded so cliche but it was true, stood before her in all of his infuriating glory.

Griffin Fell; her enemy since childhood. Unlike Clara and Jake, the latter who had actually fucking *destroyed* her sand castle, Griffin was even more persistent and annoying.

And as of the moment; hot. But that was besides the point.

Only Griffin hadn't been persistent in being her friend like Clara and Jake. God, even the thought made her laugh. No, he had been persistent in making her life hell and so far, he had succeeded.

At first, he had done harmless things like sticking bugs in her 'Hello Kitty' backpack (a trinket her mother had forced on her), or throwing her hair ribbons in the mud (another girly thing she hadn't missed).

But then as they grew older, his pranks got worse. In fact, he was the reason she even got started on her *own* pranks in the first place- so she could outdo him. They were rivals in everything. Sports, academics, etc. The only thing she didn't try to excel in was popularity.

Even if she tried, her area in social bonds were too low to expect anything significant. She was brash, loud, outgoing, and yes even a bit crass as Clara had so elegantly put it. Most students steered away from her, and she had gotten into quite a few scuffles with the school staff considering her track record with pranks...among other things.

Griffin on the other hand was treated like a fucking god. Literally, a *fucking* god. Girls actually worshiped the ground he walked on.

Jake had only laughed when Deidre insisted that Griffin had a fan girl cult going on. But he was literally the 'golden' boy cliche. Girls loved him, guys either hated him or wanted to be him- god she hated that line but it was true, unfortunately-, and ironically despite Griffin's rare input in class; teachers adored him.

Yet as stated before, most despised her. Unlike Griffin, Deidre had gotten caught more than once in her little pranks and so she was privy to detentions and the like far more than he was.

Just another reason to hate him.

"Is there a reason you're at *my* table, Fell." Deidre sneered, folding her arms as she put a little distance between them.

Griffin simply blinked at her, his cool expression never wavering. "Is it so hard to believe I just want to greet my favorite wildcat?" He finally retorted after many seconds of just silently staring her down.

Almost instantly Deidre's cheeks went aflame, the pink dotting them like rose on chocolate. Not daring to look around the cafeteria or even at her friends, since they were all obviously watching them, Deidre mustered up her worst glare.

"You call me wildcat one more time-" She threatened.

"And you'll kill me." Griffin finished, a knowing half smile adorning his face.

"Don't you forget it." She snapped, averting her gaze when his smile widened.

That was another thing with Griffin. He never smirked like his male companions did. At least, not often. Instead he always wore that half smile, as if he was half amused and half unimpressed. Somehow it always infuriated Deidre more than a smirk ever would.

"If you don't mind," Jake's nonchalant voice caused all eyes to turn to him. "I think you guys should take your love fest somewhere else. I'm kind of trying to eat here."

Clara made a half hearted nod in agreement, though her maroon doe eyes were peeking up at Griffin through her lashes. Oh god, it made Deidre sick how even the down to earth Clara was totally gone on her worst enemy. What the hell did they see in hi-

Wait a fucking minute.

"You did *not* just call this a love fest!" Deidre growled in Jake's direction, missing the slight cock of Griffin's brow as she did so.

"I *so* just did." Jake replied with a smirk that Deidre would have loved to smack off.

"You want to die don't you-" Deidre began, clenching her fists as she took and advancing step towards the irritating sleazeball she called her friend.

But the sudden grip of a warm hand on her arm stopped her. Deidre tried to snatch her arm away, not even bothering to turn her flaming gaze from a very calm and amused looking Jake. But when the grip only became firmer and the fingers suddenly became like coals on her bicep, Deidre paused to look behind her.

Griffin barely broke a sweat when she sent her glare his way, but he did however loosen his grip on her arm.

"Sorry." He said lightly, so light that she knew he didn't mean it. "But I actually do have something I wanted to talk to you about. Now preferably, since we don't have anymore classes together after lunch."

"And what makes you think I'd go anywhere with you, you leper." Deidre grunted, trying to free her arm from his grip. She even took her other hand and tried to pry his finger off.

But Griffin only raised a dark brow, blue eyes sparkling in mischief.

"Something tells me you don't have a choice, wildcat."

And before she could even retaliate, she was being dragged effortlessly out of the cafeteria, squirming and cursing the whole way.

Jake glanced at Clara, who still seemed a bit dazed by Griffin's appearance- as well as most of the girls in the vicinity.

"Think we should help her?" He asked with a crooked smile as they watched Deidre stumble out of the large room.

It took only a few seconds for Clara to snap out of her daze and answer.

"Nah." And with that, they both went back to eating. After all, lunch period wasn't long enough for such endeavors.

Deidre could take care of herself, especially with the likes of Griffin Fell.

At least, they hoped so.