The Nerd and The Jock - LT Fanfic

17: Bae and A Match Maker

17: Bae and A Match Maker

"Well, I told you."

"Told me what?"

Candice hesitated. "Hold on."

She padded through the multi-colored clothing rack and produced a shirt that said Bored of Education; So Are We. She giggled, lifting it up into the light. "This is cute. I wonder how much it costs?"

But I wasn't deterred. What did she want? "Candice?"

"Just give me a sec, Mara."

I could do that, I thought. While waiting for Candice to tell me what she supposedly told me before, I browsed admiringly through hangers of chic clothes. Candice and I were at our local mall, shopping at the one and only Stylish Stylish.

Stylish Stylish sold some of the best clothes known to womankind. The store was practically paradise with its wide variety of tops and bottoms. Rows of girly tops hang invitingly throughout the store; equally distributed throughout was their tasteful selection of bottom wear. Candice and I had browsed through the merchandise luxuriously, taking our time picking things out. It was the weekend and we were going to spend it the right way.

"Okay, Temara?" Candice called and I looked up, expectant. She peered into the neck of the fabric and said, "Sorry, nevermind."

This was getting annoying.

"Candice," I said, frowning. Putting my foot down. "What is it?"

"Eight dollars -- economical," she purred.

"Not the shirt, Candice! What is it you wanted to ask me?"

She angled a glance at me before throwing the shirt across her arm. "Right. Sorry, girl," she said sheepishly. "Didn't mean to get distracted on you." I shook my head and shrugged all at once. "It's cool," I said, because it was. "Go ahead, Can."

"Well," she started. "Like I said, I wanted to tell you something. Remember when you were single and Taze had yet to happen?"

I remembered. Taze -- the name that combined Temara and Blaze, a nickname for me and my boyfriend's steady relationship -- was one of the best things to happen to me. I wasn't so quick to forget when Taze didn't exist and I was just one of the many girls enamored by Blaze. Where she going with this?

"Yeah," I answered easily. "What about it?"

"You promised me something," she proceeded frankly. " I don't know if you remember, but it had something to do with you.... hooking me up with Blaze's twin."

So that's what this was about. I groaned, "Candice! You still haven't asked that guy out?" Why hadn't she talked to Beast yet? It wasn't like he was some savage.

"No."

"Why!?"

"Because you said you'd help me out!"

I sighed, and it was Candice who frowned this time. "Look, you promised. I wanna have a bae, too. You know how I am with guys!"

I knew. Candice was awkward around guys, and uncharacteristically so. Realizing this was kind of a boy crisis, I relented.

"Okay. I get it and of course I remember, Can. I didn't mean to break my promise and I know how much Beast means to you." I smiled at her. She smiled back.

"I'll see what I can do. Just for you, Candice. Although I'm not sure why you can't go up to Beast yourself and ask him out," I said lightly, turning around and perusing the Discount rack.

Candice turned back to her rack too. "I just rather my best friend to introduce me to him, that's all."

"Okay."

I was thinking that Candice was just being shy about Beast. She was right--she was awful when it came to asking someone out, the whole courting thing. In a weird way, Candice had the tendency to be real shy around guys. I recognized now as one of those times.

We shopped for awhile in silence.

"Mara, look!" Candice said abruptly. I turned around, then giggled at the sight.

There Candice was, standing stylishly clad in a reddish leather coat, a lavender scarf and a gray-green fedora that attached a single feather. She struck a provocative pose -- hand on hip, other hand on hair, one knee pointing into the other, butt out. Her lips were puckered and she winked at me.

"You look fabulous," I exclaimed, laughing.

"Don't I?" She held the pose for a moment longer, then she began to disrobe the items she'd put on. She was laughing too. "Fabulous enough to get Beast's attention, I bet. I think I'm gonna start dressing like this more often."

"Right." I shook my head.

"I'm serious!" She urged uselessly.

"Mmmhm."

"I'm buying these clothes now."

"Whatever you say, Candice."

* * *

We bought clothes for Sharon too because her birthday was coming up and like most other teenagers, she really digged Stylish Stylish. We didn't buy much, but we were convinced Sharon would adore her gifts nonetheless. To Can and I, her appreciation was all that mattered.

We left the mall and drove back, in Candice's slugbug that bumped catchy old Pop songs, home. All the shopping had made us hungry. Can claimed that her dad had us covered. "My Dad's a great cook. He'll have something for us when we get there," she explained.

When we got there her dad already had a pack of noodles, a pound of ground beef, and some peppers on the kitchen counter. He stood behind the stove, boiling water.

"Hi, baby," he told Candice when we walked in, his tall frame leaning over to grab the noodles.

"Hi Pops." Candice grinned. "What're you cooking?"

"Spaghetti. Grandma's style," and he winked goodnaturedly. Then he said, "Hey, Temara."

"Hey, Mr. Moore."

Eventually her dad told us to scurry along -- he could tell we were hungry and he promised to make dinner delicious. We hiked up Candice's stairs and into her room. I was spending the night over.

I got a text from Blaze. Call me? I miss your voice, beautiful, the text said. I smiled at it.

Candice was sitting on her bed looking at the clothes we bought. I figured she wouldn't mind me chatting with Blaze. But I didn't want her to think I came over to ignore her, so I asked if she was okay with it.

"Can, you mind if I talk to Blaze?"

"Sure," she said.

Good. Because I had plans.

* * *

Candice didn't know that while talking to Blaze, I managed to hook her up with Beast. Finally.

So she was pretty surprised to find Blaze's twin brother standing next to him when we met up together at school Monday morning. She was all ready to see a normal day when her dream boyfriend stood nonchalantly and carelessly by, defying that idea of normality. She looked at me but amused, I pretended not to notice.

"I'm not sure if you guys met my brother," Blaze said as an introduction. He smiled -- he was in on the hookup. "But I call him Beast. Most people do too."

"Hi," me and Shay said.

"Hey," Beast said back. Can, who was quiet, just about swooned.

----

That's Candice in the photo above, giving Temara hell for not making Cathan happen, lol. There's something about her face that appears almost mischievous -- and I like it.