Page 7 of Chasing Chase London, Part 8: Valentines Day

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“Schaudenfreud”–Smashing Pumpkins

“He’s seeing someone else. He’s seeing someone else .”

We’re on the bleachers in the gym during lunch, eating here instead of the cafeteria. Greg and a couple of his friends are goofing around on the basketball court, trying to dunk on each other.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, patting Daria’s knee. Between her and Lindsey, I’m having the world’s worst case of déjà vous.

“I just can’t believe it,” she cries.

Why am I the one who’s not surprised? She went through all this two years ago, and now she’s shocked that Colin hasn’t changed.

“I mean, he did tell you he wasn’t ready to commit,” I remind her.

“I didn’t know that meant he was seeing other girls!”

Apparently she hasn’t changed much either.

“What did you think it meant?” I ask.

“You’re right, I’m so stupid,” she says, dropping her head into her hands. “I thought he’d fall for me if I played my hand right. Where did I go wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I assure her. “He’s just a jerk.” I hope that’s the right thing to say. Watching Greg clowning with his friends, punching each other in the stomach, I realize I don’t understand guys at all.

“He said he couldn’t do something Friday night because he was busy,” she says glumly.

“That doesn’t mean he’ll be with another girl.”

“No,” she says, sighing and sitting up. “But I asked what he was doing, and he said he ‘hanging out with this girl.’ Just like that, totally casual, like he was telling one of his guy friends.”

“I thought this was just to get back at him.”

“It was! But I can’t get back at him if he doesn’t even care. Plus, it’s different now.”

“And you didn’t have any idea that he was seeing someone else?”

“No. We hang out or video chat every night. He never said anything. I wouldn’t be sleeping with him if I knew he was seeing someone else.”

“Oh, so that’s why it’s different,” I say. “I thought you wouldn’t sleep with him because he was with Elaine or whatever. The whole used sock thing.”

“Used underwear. And I already slept with him after her, so it doesn’t count.

” She picks up her sandwich and nibbles at the crust. “It’s not like I think he’s never hooked up with anyone but me.

I just don’t want to think about it, so it’s better if I don’t know who he’s been with.

As long as it’s not one of my friends, because then I will think about it. ”

Her theory reminds me of what Oliver said, except he doesn’t want a girl who’s been with anyone, not just a friend.

“Maybe he’s not sleeping with the other girl,” I offer.

Or maybe I’m grasping at straws.

She grabs my arm, almost knocking my soda out of my hand. “I need you to find out who it is.”

I wince. “That’s more your area of expertise.”

The last thing I want to do is get caught in the middle of more drama. Plus, I’ve seen Colin talking to so many girls it’s impossible to know which one he’s seeing, and I can’t tell Daria that without breaking her heart.

“That’s okay, I’ll coach you,” she says, getting more excited as she devises a new scheme. “You can stalk him for me.”

“I don’t have a car,” I point out.

“We’ll figure out something,” she says, getting up and dusting off her jeans as the bell rings. “You can go over to borrow something from Oliver.”

“Please don’t make me talk to Oliver.”

“Why?” she asks, looking at me funny.

“Not a fan,” I say. “And the feeling is mutual.”

“You’ll have to give me the tea on that later,” she says. “For now, let’s come up with a reason for you to go by their house on Friday.”

“That does not involve Oliver,” I remind her.

Just then I turn and see him sitting on the bottom of the bleachers lacing up his shoes. He doesn’t look up as we pass, but there’s no way he didn’t hear me.

Great. Just what I need. One more reason for him to think I’m a total bitch.

*

“So, I’ve come up with a better plan,” Daria says, twirling around, her sleek hair swishing around her shoulders like one of those models in a shampoo ad.

She seems to have forgotten her outrage in her newfound excitement at her own cleverness.

I can always count on Daria to bounce back, as enthusiastic as ever to be hatching a plan.

“Don’t you want to hear it?” she asks, then rushes on without waiting for an answer.

“Of course you do. Anyway, Isabel is practically knocking herself out trying to get in good with our crowd, which isn’t hard considering who her brothers are.

She’s practically born to be in it. But she’s a freshman so, you know. She’s not very mature.”

“Are we mature?” I tease.

She waves a dismissive hand. “Anyway, the point is, she loves and worships me, and she’d do anything for me. So I’m going to enlist her to spy. I mean, she lives there, so she’ll know what girl he’s bringing home.”

“And then what?”

“And then I’ll know what little skank would dare to cross me when I’m on a mission, and she’ll be toast. Ta da!” She does a little skip and a flourish, then breezes off down the hall.

I feel bad for the girl who gets in Daria’s way. She has enough energy to crush a mountain if she concentrates it all on one task.

Oliver’s words echo in the back of my head, but I push them away.

I hate him for planting those traitorous seeds in my friendships.

Daria is my bestie, and if anyone hurts her, they deserve what’s coming.

If he wants to do his part to make sure it doesn’t happen, maybe he should keep his brother from being a cheating bastard.

Friday night I have to work, so it’s a good thing Daria doesn’t have me on her spy roster.

Lindsey and Daria come in, and we walk around the mall during my break.

Daria goes to get us drinks while Lindsey and I sit on a bench and watch a group of college guys trying on hats and goofing around at a kiosk in the walkway.

“She needed a distraction,” Lindsey says, back to being the caring friend I know. “Something to take her mind off Colin.”

The night of the concert feels like it never happened, and I’ve pretty much convinced myself it was a drunken hallucination. Even if it wasn’t, everyone has a bad day now and then, and with all the stress Lindsey’s been under, she’s overdue for a few.

“What happens once she finds out, though?” I ask. “She’s going to have to deal with the knowledge that he was with someone else, even if she breaks them up.”

“We’ll have to be subtle, obviously,” Lindsey says, watching the guys with a thoughtful expression. “If she starts scaring girls away from Colin, he’s going to think she’s psycho and not want anything to do with her.”

“Damn, I hadn’t even thought of that,” I admit. “The problem is obviously him, though, and she’s not even working on that part.”

“It takes two,” she says. “But what she needs to do is start dating someone else to make him jealous and also to make him think she doesn’t care.

That way she can destroy the competition without anyone suspecting her.

Once she’s secured his attention by eliminating the other girl, she can walk around with a hot guy at school every day and make him see how it tastes for a while before she lets him win her back. ”

“You are an evil genius,” I say. “Is there anything you don’t know about how to play the game?”

“Not really,” she says, looking quite pleased with the compliment. “I got the best guy in school, so obviously I know what I’m doing. Which is why you should always take my advice.”

“Too true,” I say. “You are obviously the queen.”

Lindsey beams. “Thank you.”

Daria joins us and hands Lindsey a huge cup of diet soda. “What’s up?” she asks, slurping her drink.

“Nothing,” I say. “I was just telling Lindsey that I shall forever and henceforth listen to her infinite wisdom.”

Daria giggles. “You’re so weird.”

I cringe internally. Weird is the last thing I want to be. I want to be normal and ordinary and pretty and bland and unnoticeable but also special enough for Lindsey to deem me worthy. I was trying to be cute and funny, not weird.

“So, what’s the deal with Elaine and Ian?” I ask, trying to salvage the conversation after my blunder.

“What do you mean? Did something happen?” Daria’s eyes fill with intrigue at the prospect of juicy gossip.

“No, I just didn’t picture her college guy as being… You know… Like that.”

“A nerd?” Daria laughs. “I told you he was Nate-point-two. But he’s older, so ten times better, obvi. I kinda think she started dating him just to fuck with Nate in the beginning. Like, he’s such an upgrade. Poor Nate.”

“But how did she land him ?” I ask, still not quite comprehending the softer side of Elaine I saw last weekend at the concert.

“That is the mystery of Elaine,” Daria says, shaking her head. “It happened last year. One day she’s stringing Todd along, and the next, she’s dating some senior from Willow Heights.”

“They make a perfect couple,” Lindsey says. “He’s smart enough for her, and he has all the ambition she does and then some. Did you know he’s a descendent from someone who came over on the Mayflower?”

“That’s an impressive pedigree,” I say, though I’m not sure why anyone cares about that except maybe a history teacher. But considering this town worships old money, it shouldn’t be surprising.

“She says she thinks he’s the one ,” Lindsey says, her voice so full of reverence you’d think she was saying he’s the Second Coming.

“But she cheats on him all the time,” I say, letting a teensy bit of bitterness creep into my voice.

I’ve still not completely forgiven her for sleeping with Todd just to prove me wrong.

Maybe that’s why Lindsey consulted me about the gift.

If nothing else, I know a thing or two about cheating boyfriends.

“They have… An understanding,” Lindsey says, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“What she means is, they both get to fuck around while they’re doing the long-distance thing,” Daria says.

“And… That works?”

“Guess it works for them,” Daria says with a shrug. “Besides, ethical non-monogamy is trendy now.”