All in the Name of Friendship
Part 4
By: Elizabeth Smith

Lina tore at the wrapper on the pop-tart with her teeth, proud that she only swerved a tiny bit on the expressway. Damn schedules… she hardly had time to eat anymore! Lina hated that.

Lina was busy tearing into her pop-tart that she almost didn’t hit the breaks in time for the asshole who shot in front of her and slammed on his brakes.

Why you… True, she had only been going 75 in the passing lane, but he had no cause to do that! Lina was getting pissed off.

It never made sense to her what these people thought they were trying to do. Honstly, they were trying to punish you for being a bad driver, right? So they slam on their brakes in front of you, trusting that you will stop in time. Lina sighed. He’s get rear ended one day.

The driver of the cute, undoubtedly expensive saluted her out of the tinted windows. “Why don’t you get your little foreign car off the road!”

Lina saw red as the purple Camero tore ahead of her, speeding down the road at least at 85. Why you fucking little…

Lina slammed on the accelerator, shoving her car to the max. Yes, it was a little foreign car, but it was a very FAST little foreign car.

“ASSHOLE!!” She yelled, pulling up to him. The driver turned around, startled, and sped up. She zipped along beside him, pulling in front, and slammed on her own brakes.

He had to swerve to the shoulder to get out of the way. She pulled over in front of him and walked up to his car, where he was trying to get out without slamming the expensive paint job of the door into the median. She grinned.

“I have a cheap little foreign car. You have a big, expensive sports car. Who’s gonna care more if they get it wrecked?” True, she wold probably cry for a day in a half if anything happened to her baby, but she wasn’t telling him that.

Finally the driver cot out of the car.

Why that overblown….

Purple dyed hair swept softly into amethyst eyes, framing a pretty, delicate face and cut to just brush the well muscled shoulders. Lina snorted. Zel was way cuter than this puffed up jerk. He was even posing!

Honestly…

“What do you think you’re doing?” he said annoyedly, looking at the tiny scratch on his fender from the median. “you scratched my car! That’s not very polite of you!” He had a bright, sunny voice, one that told you he liked annoying people in a very polite way…

“I’m paying you back for being an asshole!” Lina snorted, glaring at him. “Honestly, you sports car drivers have no sense! You…say, aren’t you Xellos metallium?”

“Yes, who are you?” He asked, curious. Weirdo.

“I’m Lina Inverse, the genius of Draguslave High, stupid. Who else would I be? Honestly. Some people… you jocks are all the same.” Xellos Metallium was the star of the high school football team. His absolute unpredictability made him able to score easily. Unfortunately, they had to reward him quite a bit for it. Last season he got bored and scored for the other teams to make it more exciting.

What a fruitcake.

Lina snorted. “Anyway, what did you think YOU were doing? Apparently you thought I was a bad driver. So you were trying to get me back in a way that depended on me being able to stop in time?? How stupid is that? and YOU’RE the one in the big, expensive car!”

Xellos shrugged. “Sorry. I was late to class.”

“So was I!!!” Lina retorted. “So why aren’t you pulling off now?”

“Because I’m so late I better just skip first hour. Wanna get something to eat?”

“Huh?”

Lina dumped her backpack on the floor, grinning like a madman. “Hey Zel! You’ll never believe who bought me lunch today!”

Zelgadis meandered out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel and setting a bottle of soft scrub on the shelf. “Val?”

“Nope.” Lina kicked off her shoes and dragged her backpack to the couch, where she pulled out her chemistry report and started going over mistakes with a red pen. “Look, almost done!”

“Congratulations. Was it Gourry?” The soccer player seemed to have a soft spot for Lina, if only to protect her. It was kind of a big brother thing.

“Nope, not him either.”

“Okaaaaayyy…anyone on the soccer team?”

“Nope, but you’re getting close!”

“Anyone working with the soccer team?”

“Nope.”

“On another sports team?”

“Yep!”

“Tennis?”

“Nope.”

“Hockey?”

“Nope.”

“Golf?”

“Nope.”

“ummm….” Zelgadis threw up him hands. “how about Xellos, star of the football team? I don’t know Lina! Just….please tell me you did not just nod.”

“I did not just nod.”

“You did too!”

“Yes, Xellos Metallium bought me lunch today because I made him miss first hour.”

“…you had lunch…with the most notorious jock at school…”

“Hey, he paid.” Lina shrugged and marked something off in red pen.

“Anyway, we were still dissecting frogs in AP Bio, and I finished that. Why not, if he was paying?”

Zelgadis grinned as he caught the mental image of Xellos looking sadly into his now empty wallet. “You ate him out of house and home, didn’t you?”

“Close. I don’t think ANYONE could eat Xellos out of his family millions, but I came close. Oooh, I was full all day!”

Zelgadis laughed, releived. “So you’re not--”

“Hell no! I wouldn’t date a stuck up, masochonistic, double dealing creep like him! Where’d you get THAT into your mind? And I refused to eat or drink anything he touched.” Lina flashed a peace sign and Turned the page on her report.

“Good.”

“Jeez, Zel, you worry about the silliest things. I am NOT interested in him.”

Xellos grinned and he lowered the binoculars from his eyes in the building across the street.

“Oh, Lina, but I’m fascinated by you.” He whispered.

Lina snorted at something Zelgadis said and whacked him upside the head before heading to her room and pulling down the blinds.

Of course, she left the light on behind her…lucky me.

Xellos grinned as he watched the silhouette of Lina undress. She was enthralling, and he wasn’t sure why. She didn’t have any interest in him, she actually looked down on people for being in the football team, instead of the other way around, she was a brain in all possible ways besides having glasses and a pocket protector…

Perhaps that’s why I’m so interested In her.

Lina was the first girl who hadn’t practically screamed at him, ‘take me I’m yours’. She snorted at his attempts at flattery and told him to save it for explaining the lack of tip to the waiter. She didn’t back down he moment she saw who was driving the car, in fact, she got even more angry and flippantly insulted him, repeatedly. She actually used him, instead of the other way around, and she didn’t trust him in the least. She had refused the drugged drink, food, and dessert he had offered her from his side of the table, stating plainly that she planned on being awake and unfertilized for her second hour chemistry class. She had refused to be duped by his dazzling smile; it seemed to even set him back a bit to use it.

Shortly, she hated his guts. Xellos had had no idea how much this would turn him on.

He grinned as Lina went to bed and turned out the light. “Oh, I’m gonna catch you, firebird…”

Lina groaned as the mower puttered and died. Damnit…my own fault for not mowing until the grass was choking the mower and the other tenants refused to pay me anymore unless I did it. Lina yanked on the cord a few times, glaring at the half of the apartments’ lawn that still needed mowing. With a dead mower. She sighed.

This was how two high school students could manage to rent an apartment where they each got their own rooms and still had room for a kitchen, living room, their own bathroom and a nice hallway. They worked their butts off to pay it off.

Although I think I could stand not having a living room…Lina yanked on the cord again, her high shorts riding up annoyingly. Stupid, stupid jeans…They were only used of menial tasks for this goddamned reason. Too high, too annoying. She wouldn’t wear ‘em normally, but you have to conserve clothes when you’re on your own, so she wouldn’t wear ones that she liked. This meant she got to strut around in these and a tank top because of the heat.

I hate mowing the lawn…Lina yanked again and finally got the mower going.

“Looking good, Lina!” Lina spun around as catcalls and whistled erupted from the fence. She lived in the nice section of town, another reason why the cost was so high. But she came home too late to live in a bad one. So therefore…

“Why don’t you ever wear those shorts for me?” A youth with dark, purple hair called out, to the laughter of his teammates.

Xellos lived nearby, too.

“Maybe because I tend to wear them for more important things,” She retorted, “You know, like yard work and digging for worms.” She snorted and returned to mowing.

“I’m sure you could find a better use for those than mowing the lawn,” One of Xellos’ lackeys called exuberantly. “You wouldn’t even have to wear ‘em long!” The group cackled.

Lina sighed and ignored them. It was the best thing to do.

Until, of course, she was finished mowing the lawn. She had another hour until her job started, more than enough time to call in the security…

“Ohhhh, shake that thing!” she sighed. Then again, I may not last that long…

Zelgadis walked slowly out of the apartment, wiping his hands off on his jeans and smiling that oh, too sweet smile he did when he was really pissed off.

“Why Lina! Having a problem with pests?”

Lina grinned and turned off the mower. “Why yes, I am. I was going to wait to talk to you about them until I finished the lawn, but…” she grinned. “Have at ‘em.”

Zelgadis walked genially over to the fence where the leering football team stood. He placed both hands on separate rails and smiled. “I take it you’re annoying my friend here?”

On of the boys snorted. “And what’s a skinny guy like you going to do about it?” He grinned, pleased with his intelligence.

Zelgadis didn’t blink. “This.” He pulled down sharply on the two boards, causing them to swing up and…

Part 5

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