Heh heh heh. I don't think this is going to go well for AJ...

Love Love Love this story!

Love the reference to Jagged Little Pill, in fact I'm listening to THAT SONG right now...it was really weird to read it and listen to the lyrics at the same time!

AJ glanced around and peeked into the office. Good, no one was in there. He was going to be able to carry out his mission. He looked down at the CD in his hands, something called “Razorblade Romance,” whatever the heck that meant. Sounded really emo, music to cut yourself by or something. But whatever.

He snuck into the office, looked around again, making sure no one was coming. All alone. No one would catch him.

He found a boom box and put the CD into it. Then, AJ grabbed the microphone for the PA system, switched it on, and said, “This is for Ophelia.”

Then, he switched the boom box on and set it to play the last song on the CD. After making sure the microphone was close enough to the boom box to play the music over the intercom system, he turned around and found himself face to face with the principal.


“Uh, I was just leaving,” AJ said nervously.

“Detention for you, mister,” the principal replied sharply.



AJ sat in detention, looking sulky. He thought to himself, “And she’s not even going to bother to show up and flash the teacher so I can sneak out, after I embarrassed myself? How ungrateful!”


Emily sighed and leaned against the locker. Ophelia looked over at her, concerned.

“What’s wrong, Em?” she asked.

“Well, you know the dance that’s coming up?”

“The one they just randomly announced the other day and said it’s this coming Friday?” Ophelia asked.

“Yeah, that one.”

“What about it?”

“Well, I really want to ask Louie to go to the dance with me,” Emily said.

“So go ask him,” Ophelia replied.


“I can’t just do that!” Emily cried.

“Well, why not?”

“Ophelia, don’t you know how dating works? Women can’t just ask guys out on dates!”

“Why not? I’ve done it already.”

“Oh really?” Emily asked. “Who?”

Ophelia glanced to the side. “It was a long time ago.”

“Do I know him?”

“Just drop it, okay?” Ophelia snapped.

Emily nodded and changed the subject. “Besides,” she said, “I have no chance with him.”

“Why do you say that?” Ophelia asked.


“Because I heard that Phoebe O’Reilly is planning to ask him to go with her.”

Ophelia thought a minute. “Who’s that, again?”

“Red hair, glasses, hangs out with Andi Mercato, dresses in bright colors…”

“Oh, yeah, that one!” Ophelia replied. She thought a moment. “Emily, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I don’t?”

“Look, do you like this guy?”

“Yes…” Emily responded.

“Then go for it. Phoebe isn’t half the woman you are. The worst he can do is turn you down.”

“You’re right!” Emily replied. “I’ll do it!”

“Good, because he’s coming this way,” Ophelia responded.

“What?! Where? Oh God, I can’t do this!” Emily cried out. She turned to hurry away and ran right into Louie, sending books flying everywhere.


“Funny running into you here,” Louie quipped. He and Emily knelt to gather the scattered books.

“I am so sorry, Louie!” Emily said. She could feel her cheeks burning from blushing so much.

“It’s no big deal. I wanted to start my day off with a bang anyways. Are you okay?” he replied.

“Fine. Are… are the books okay?” she asked, mentally slapping herself for her stupidity.

“I think they’ll survive. They were built for clumsy people like me who drop everything.”

“That’s good.”

Ophelia watched, amused. “Come on,” she thought. “You can do it, Em!”


“So, I was wondering--” Emily began.

“Hey, Emily, do… uh… do you want to go to the dance with me?” Louie blurted out.

Emily looked over at Ophelia, astonished. Ophelia gave Emily a big grin.

“Sure!” Emily replied excitedly.

“Great! I’ll pick you up on Friday. We can work out all the details at lunch, okay?” Louie said.

“Sounds good,” Emily remarked.

“Great. I’ll see you later,” he said. He gave Emily a grin and nodded at Ophelia, then turned and walked away.


As soon as he was out of hearing range, Ophelia and Emily hugged each other.

“Oh wow, this is such a big deal!” Emily squealed.

“I know! We have to get you a nice outfit and stuff. After school today, I’ll let you go through my closet and see if you can find something you like,” Ophelia replied.

“Oh really? Wow, thanks, Ophelia! You’re the best!”

"Well, what are friends for, right?" Ophelia responded.

Hey this is great! I haven't read the whole story but I will do now Emily is really pretty, and I love Louie's hair (and name).

Yay she has a date! She has a date! *Jumps around the room like a fool*

Great update! :D

D'aww...Emily is a sweetheart.
Ehehehe, I got the reference AJ made! Yes!

Just read it! Love the story :D

The noisy cafeteria was crowded with students chatting eagerly about the upcoming dance. At least, most of them were eager. Some students didn’t care about the dance one way or another.

“Hey, Ophelia!” AJ said, sitting beside her.

Ophelia looked up from her lunch. “Yeah? What?”

“Are you going to the dance on Friday?”

“No way. I never go to those idiotic events,” Ophelia responded, rolling her eyes.

“Maybe you should go this once,” AJ said.

“Yeah, sure,” Ophelia said dryly.


“Come on. You can go with me.”

“What about Tiffani?”

“She can’t come. Some family emergency,” AJ lied.

Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Look, screw boy, I have neither the desire to attend the dance-- with or without you-- nor the attire for it.”

“What if I found something for you to wear?”


Ophelia stood up. “You just don’t get it, do you?” she said. She walked away.

“What more can I do?” AJ cried out, following her. “I made a fool of myself in front of my friends for you. I have three weeks of detention for playing a song on the PA system, a song that I heard you liked.”

“Look, AJ,” she said. “That kind of stuff might work in movies, but it doesn’t work in real life. Give it a rest.”



Phoebe smoothed her hair, and then approached the bespectacled brown-haired boy.

“Hey, Louie,” she said cheerfully.

He smiled up at her. “Hello, Phoebe. How are things?”

“Great. Um… I was wondering…” Phoebe stammered a bit, nervous. “Uh… um… do you want to go to the dance with me?”

“Sorry, Phoebe, but I can’t,” Louie replied.

“What? Why not? You don’t have a girlfriend, so what’s the deal?” Phoebe cried out.

“I’m going with Emily.”


Phoebe scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Emily Desjardin? That nerd from the school news show?”

Louie frowned. “Emily is very sweet and fun to be around.”

Phoebe scowled. “I see how it is! You only like her because she’s on that stupid show!” she cried out accusingly. “I bet if she wasn’t on there, you wouldn’t want anything to do with her!”

“No, it’s not like that,” Louie replied.


Emily hurried over, looking concerned. “What’s going on over here, Louie?” she asked.

Phoebe slapped her. “Stay away from Louie, you phony! I see right through you!” she shrieked. “Do you think you’re better than me because you’re on that f****** show? You're no better than I am, Emily! Louie, you're making a huge mistake! You'll see!”

Louie grabbed Emily’s hand and pulled her away.

“You can run, but just wait till you’re alone, Emily!” Phoebe called out.



Tiffani watched the drama from across the room. “Wow,” she thought. “Nerd fight. You don’t see that every day.”

An attractive boy sat across from her and smiled. Tiffani eyed him. “Are you lost?” she asked.

“Not at all,” he replied. “My name’s Kenny. I’m one of AJ’s friends.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to go to the dance with me,” Kenny said, smiling charmingly.

“Oh, I can’t. I’m already going with AJ,” Tiffani replied. “Sorry.”

Kenny raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, then why did I just see him flirting with Ophelia, asking her to go to the dance with him?” Kenny asked.

“What?” Tiffani cried out.


“Look, they’re talking over there!” Kenny said, pointing.

Tiffani looked over, where Ophelia and AJ were talking. It looked like AJ was flirting pretty heavily with Ophelia. She scowled to herself, her hands clenching tightly. Why was her boyfriend flirting with that freak?

“You can still go to the dance, Tiffani,” Kenny said softly. “You can go with me.”


Emotion. It is defined as agitation or disturbance of mind; vehement or excited mental state. It is also a powerful and irrational monster, and there seemed little doubt that Tiffani was, indeed its slave.

She gave Kenny a smile that slowly grew. It was an almost insane look. She looked at Kenny and said, “You’re asking me out? That’s so cute! What’s your name again?”

Uh oh! This doesen't sound good. I have a bad feeling from this! GREAT UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT MORE! MORE I SAY!

Phoebe is a bit on the psychotic side, isn't she? Great update! I agree with dani, this doesn't look good at all. :err:

lol All the girls are going crazy! Can't wait to see what happens next.

Inspired by Joanne's idea, I have created a board where you, the readers, can discuss the story and speculate about what will happen next. There will also be hints about future chapters, as well as pictures that didn't make the cut (essentially, the board will be used to cut down on the potential chatter and spam in this thread).

When Cliques Collide board

((Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for an update, guys, but I had a busy weekend. Between all the running around and modeling work, I didn't have much time to work on the story!))

Friday Evening


Ophelia lounged on the sofa, watching a movie. “Those Wheelers are so cool,” she muttered to herself.

There was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it!” she called out.


She ran to the door and opened it. Standing outside were AJ and a very pretty curly-haired girl.

“Uh, are you lost?” Ophelia asked.

“Nope. We’re here to get you to the dance,” AJ replied.

“But I don’t want to go to the dance,” Ophelia replied.

“Nonsense,” the girl replied. “You’ll be a fun project for me!”

“Project?” Ophelia cried out.

“Andi has great taste in clothes. She’ll make you look great in no time at all!” AJ replied.

“Come on, show me to your room! I’ll make you look so good, you’ll pass for a popular person,” Andi chirped, dragging Ophelia up the stairs.


AJ watched them and then peeked into the kitchen, where Ophelia’s parents stood, looking rather startled.

“Don’t worry,” AJ said cheerfully. “She’s in good hands. In about half an hour, you will get to witness something historical!”



“You know,” Andi remarked, eying Ophelia, “you really would look a lot better without all that black crap on your eyes.”

Ophelia glared at her. “Hey, I like that black crap.”

Andi looked her over slowly. “That’s it. I’ve got it.”

“Got what?” Ophelia replied.

“This is going to sound crazy, but you’re just going to have to trust me.”



Andi walked down the stairs and nodded to AJ. He hurried over to the stairs, followed by Ophelia’s parents.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Andi said, “I would like to present the new and very much improved Ophelia Foley.”

Nothing happened.

“Ophelia, get your butt down here before I put pink nail polish on you!” Andi yelled.

“Fine!” Ophelia yelled in response.


She walked down the stairs… wearing the same outfit she was wearing before.

Ophelia’s parents laughed loudly. “Was that historical or hysterical you were promising us?” Ophelia’s mother finally asked AJ. “You must be an idiot if you think you can change Ophelia.”


Andi complained, “What about that nice red dress I put you in? And the cute makeup? What about the adorable hairstyle?”

“Well,” Ophelia replied, “it just wasn’t me.”

The phone rang, and Ophelia’s dad answered it. “It’s for you,” he said to Ophelia.


Ophelia took the phone from him. “Hello?”

“Hey, can you hurry down to the school?” Mae said.

“But the dance is going on.”

“So? Come to the dance. It’ll be a blast. I promise it’ll be memorable.”

“…Sure,” Ophelia replied.

She looked over at the others. “Looks like I’m going. Let me change my clothes. I’m not wearing that red dress, though.”

ok, read the whole thing all over again.

I LOVE it! it's very easy and flows nicely, I was intrigued the whole way, and the personalities of the characters are very well written! I mean Angela for example, we can see what kind of personality she has by noticing how she talks, always politely with all the gee wilickers and such!

and all the quotes from she's all that and 10 things I hate about you made me laugh and smile, especially when Ophelia came down the stairs as she was. Puts a very nice touch of humor.

this was great fun, can't wait for more!

Ah, I love Ophelia. She's so cool...
But dang, AJ is really thick, eh? You'd think he'd get the hint...I feel pretty bad for Tiffani, but she should really not be using AJ's friend like that.

*Squeal* Yay! You actually caught the references, Iris! Great job. And thank you so much for your compliments. I'm quite honored! And Julieth, what's not to love about Ophelia? Yes, AJ is rather thick-skulled, but it wouldn't be nearly as funny if he were a rational, polite, sane, normal person.

great updates! all of the movie references are pretty funny Im really curious though to see why Mae wanted Ophelia to come to the dance so badly...

Very funny! It would've been even funnier if she were to trip down the stairs. Great update! :D

Author's note: Sorry that this part is so short. I promise, the next part will be way more exciting, but this is a necessary part of the chapter that hints at what will come. Because of the shortness of this part, it is labeled part 7a. The next update will be 7b and, I think, will make up for how brief this part was.


Mae glanced around and hurried over to the black-haired cheerleader.

“Sawyer, don’t forget,” she whispered. “When you get the chance, get her outfit all wet. Ten to one, she’ll show up in one of her ‘dry clean only’ outfits.”

“Sure, Mae. Just remember, if anyone asks, we never talked.”



Emily smiled awkwardly at Louie. “I feel like an idiot,” she admitted. “I probably look stupid dressed like this.”

Louie squeezed her hand reassuringly. “You look beautiful.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Emily, is this the face of a liar?”


“No…” Emily said slowly.

“Well, I’m not a liar. Now come on,” Louie said. “We can dance and feel like idiots together, or take pictures and look like idiots together, or go find our friends and act like idiots together.”

Emily laughed and relaxed.



Ophelia hurried into the room, followed by AJ and Andi.

Angela hurried over. “AJ, I would be ever so honored if you’d dance with me,” she said.


“Not now, Angela. I’m here with someone,” he replied, indicating Ophelia.

“Sucks to be you,” Andi added, as they hurried past.

hehehe.. I just read the update, and looked over the pics Awsome.. *smiles* As to things to come, this dosen't leave me with a shiny happy feeling
I agree, Louie and Em are really nice people. And it's hard not to like Ophelia. She's just too cool the story is comming along fantastic, and the attention to detail as well as movie refference, is such a nice touch. *Applauds Dark Phoenix* Yes, your story telling IS that good

I don't like Andi. Well, knowing you, I might end up liking her despite that, but she's so controling! Dang!
Also, whenever I see Emily and Louie together, I have to smile and say "aaawwww...".

Andi isn't one of the dynamic characters, so you can dislike her all you want. But I think the character who most of you readers will end up hating most by the end of the story is Dunstan. The funny thing is, I was going through all the brainstorming stuff, and he's the only character who has gotten more despicable with each revision.

Ooooh I want to know what's gonna happen next....Who were they plotting to get wet? This story is cool, you think it is going one way and it goes completley different.

“I can’t wait until those pictures come in,” Emily giggled.

“That’s the first time in years that I’ve willingly let someone take my picture,” Louie remarked.

“Really?” Emily asked.


“Yeah, I don’t think I photograph well,” Louie replied.

“That’s stupid,” Emily blurted out. She realized how forceful that sounded. She tried to backtrack and sound more tactful. “I… I mean, you’re really good-looking, I think, and… and… and you shouldn’t be afraid of having your picture taken…”


Louie chuckled softly and gently caressed Emily’s cheek. “You are such a sweetheart.”


A hard slap that seemed to come from nowhere shocked Emily, sending her reeling. She stared in shock at her attacker.

“First, you steal my best friend, and now you’re getting my baby brother on your side,” Mae hissed, glaring at Emily. “Don’t you have any self respect? You make me sick.”

“Get AJ,” Emily mouthed to Louie. He nodded and hurried away.

“It’s your fault that Ophelia’s so lame!” Mae said sharply. “You know why she’s part of that stupid news team? Do you? She got in trouble for getting into a fight with my older brother. And do you know why, Emily?”

Emily shook her head rapidly.

“Because she decided that she would rather get in trouble than let LB say anything bad about you. She decided to be your knight in freakin' shining armor, protecting you from the big, bad bully. And after she was put on that show, she spent more time with you and less with me. It’s your fault Ophelia and I don’t get along anymore! You came between us! But that‘s okay! You‘ll both get what‘s coming to you!” Mae cried out.


She pulled her hand back, ready to slap again, but a hand roughly grabbed her arm, and another hand forced her around. Mae found herself face to face with an enraged AJ.

“Nobody talks to my sister like that, and nobody lays a f****** hand on her!” AJ yelled.

Mae shrunk back a little. “I…” she started.

“You’re lucky you’re a woman, because if you were a man, I would beat you senseless. But since you’re a woman, you’re getting let off easy. See Ms. Gibson over there? See her heading over? Well, guess what… she was watching you, and from the look on her face, I don’t think you’ll be in school for a while,” AJ said.


When Ms. Gibson got close, AJ released Mae from his grip. Emily looked worriedly over at AJ.

“AJ,” Emily said softly, “thanks. Where’s Ophelia at?”

AJ thought a moment. “Bathroom, I think. Why?”

Emily watched Sawyer, the black-haired cheerleader, walk into the bathroom. “I think Mae might have recruited someone to take Ophelia down. I owe her. If I’m not out in five minutes, get help.”

She hurried over to the bathroom, hoping to avert a tragedy. She only hoped that she wold not be too late.

Ophelia stood by the sinks, staring at her reflection. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could have sworn she had heard Mae yelling a few minutes ago.

A black-haired girl walked into the bathroom and smirked at Ophelia, and then turned a faucet on and began to wash her hands.

“One of the cheerleaders, I think,” Ophelia thought. “But which one…? Sawyer, I think.”


Her thoughts were cut short when the girl scooped up a large amount of water and splashed it across the front of Ophelia’s dress.

Ophelia cried out, both in shock and because the water was so cold.


“Oh, oopsie!” Sawyer squealed. She sneered at Ophelia. “You know, you really should be more careful with silk.”

Ophelia stared at her. “Thank you.”

“Excuse me?”


“Thank you. For a minute there, I forgot why I avoided places like this and people like you.”

Sawyer rolled her eyes. “Avoided us? Honey, look around you. To everyone here who matters, you’re vapor, you’re spam, a waste of perfectly good yearbook space, and nothing’s ever gonna change that.”

Ophelia bit her lip, looking upset for a second.


Sawyer sneered. “Oh, you aren’t going to cry, are you?”

Ophelia saw Emily walk in and close the door silently behind her.

“Cry?” Ophelia said, a smile crossing her face slowly. “Quite the opposite.”


She slapped Sawyer across the face once-- “That’s for treating my friends like crap--” and again-- “And that’s for putting down Tiffani behind her back--” and punched Sawyer in the face, knocking her onto the floor. “And that’s for me.”


Ophelia looked over at Emily.

Emily looked from Ophelia, to the half-conscious cheerleader, and back. “Nope, didn’t see anything,” Emily said with a shrug. She hugged Ophelia tightly.

“What was that for?” Ophelia asked, surprised.

“Just for being a good person.”

Ophelia grinned and grabbed Emily’s hand, leading her out of the bathroom. “Come on, let’s go get Louie and hit that pizza place down the street. This dance kinda sucks.”


AJ sat, dejectedly watching the couples dance.

“Hey there, hot stuff,” a voice said. He looked up.

“Tiffani!” he cried out.

“Where’s Ophelia?” Tiffani asked.

AJ sighed. “She just ran away with my sister and this nerdy guy. Where’s your date?”

“Kenny?” Tiffani asked.

“That double-crosser!” AJ thought angrily. "Yeah, him," he said aloud.


“Right now, I’m pretty sure he’s still curled up on the football field half-naked, rolling around in pain. Freaking perv. At least I know my high heels did some damage to him. He'll be limping for at least a week,” she replied.

“Good answer,” AJ responded. He stood up and held a hand out to Tiffani. “Want to dance?”