Second Day Jitters - Brittany tag Aly

[Brittany Barnes]

Brittany took a deep breath as she rested her head against the passenger's seat in Aly's car. Brittany had been stressing out a lot lately. So much so that she hadn't even realized what her step-sister was going through.

The summer and been a long on and sort of a changing one. Brittany and Aly had gotten into that epic fight at the end of the year, causing them to get arrested and then sent away to Brittany's Aunts house in Fresno. There, Brittany and Aly had been forced to share a room and forced to give up their cell phones and laptops...cutting them off from everyone but one another.

At first it had been quite horrible. But the thing about boredom was that it forged unlikely friendships and so the step-sisters had returned to LA as close as can be. And further more, Aly was dating someone new and Brittany had spent the summer in flirtation with Aly's boyfriend's cousin. She hadn't done anything...she hadn't done one thing unfaithful to Evan...but she hadn't talked to him once either. She hadn't even called him when she'd returned home since everything seemed different now. She loved him but she just wasn't certain how anything would be the same. Even school...how would everyone react with Brittany and Aly suddenly best buddies?

"Maybe I should skip today too," Brittany said, glancing over at Aly as she drove. "What did he say about me again?" she asked, knowing very well what he had said. Aly had already informed her that Evan had come looking for her yesterday in school only Brittany hadn't gone. And she had the unanswered voicemails and texts from Evan that even further stressed her out. "I do love him...I do...I just...it's...different..." she let out another sigh as she stared out the window at everyone as Aly pulled into the school parking lot.

Her hair was bleached blonde now and unlike the last time she'd done blonde (which hadn't been on purpose) she hadn't added any streaks of color to her hair. Still dressed in her signature punk style, Brittany was dressed more girly than she had last year. She'd almost put back on her old clothes as a safety net but they just hadn't felt right. She just wasn't the same girl anymore.

"I don't know that I can do this," he said once the car was parked.



The New Brittany:
www.polyvore.com/brit_returns/set?id=20676152

[Aly Durrand]

Aly looked at her step sister. She smirked. Thank god Brit was oblivious to her situation. Aly had spent an extra ten minutes in the bathroom covering up a bruise she had gotten.Yesterday's lunch with Chase had ended with him verbally berating her and hitting her. She made him do it. It was her fault. Aly should have known and remembered not to talk to Jasper cause it would make Chase feel bad.

She was not looking forward to school either, but if she didn't show by a certain time next o Chase'slocker, she could be sure there would be a repeat of the evening before. Aly did not want that. So she out on her face and made sure to rush Brit out the door and drove them to school. She was actually happy Brit and she were getting along. Aly was not sure whoe could handle a war right now. So this was a surprisingly good turn of events. Brit was not so bad. She was actually funny and a good friend to have.

"I am not going to repeat myself and unless your mother has taken you out of school, or you dropped out, here we are." Aly parked the car and removed her seat belt. "You look fine. As for Evan, if you keep avoiding him,you won't know whats different." She said. Aly knew about Brit's summer flirtation so she had an idea of the confusion Brit was going through. "YOu can love Evan but perhaps you and he need a break or maybe you will see him and all these worries you have will disappear. Until you walk through those doors you will never know. Now come on. You cannot sit in my car forever."Aly smirked. "I don't want to get in troublefor abuse or negelect by leaving you here." She joked.

[Brittany Barnes]

Brittany scrunched up her nose. "Way to make me be all responsible, Al," she said, glaring. She wasn't actually angry though and that was clear. She was mostly just pouting. After all, the thought of sitting there locked up in her room with her awesome dog just hanging out and ignoring her problems...well, that was tempting. But Aly was right. Brittany had to face it at some point.

"Fine," she said, over dramatically as she got out of the car. "I'll go to school but I'm not going to like it!" She looked around. It was all different with the new renovations but it was still kind of the same. "I know you and Chase are like connected at the hip now but can you pleeeeeeaaaaaaase ditch him for me? Just today?" Brittany asked, completely oblivious to what would happen if Aly did that. "I just don't want to do this on my own..." she admitted.

Still, looking around, she started to process that people were staring. Why were they staring? Had Evan already announced to everyone that they'd broken up? Certainly he wouldn't want to be with her now...after she'd spent all summer ignoring him... Oh wait. It was her and Aly...together.

"Right...we're not friends here. I forgot," she said. "How is this school thing supposed to work?" she asked kind on innocently as she really had no idea.

[Aly Durrand]

"It's school no one actually expects you to like it." Aly joked chuckling. She was just trying to lighten the mood. "Smile, its not that hard. Turn the sides up instead of down." Aly playfully teased. She knew Brit would get she was teasing, but it didn't mean Brit would like it. "It won't be so bad. i have your back okay. If Evan does something wrong, just tell me and I will kick his ass." She said laughing. "Look you made me say ass." She laughed trying to be more joking and fun. It was one of those things you know. It didn't work all the time. But sometimes she pulled it off.

"I....I mean..." She said trying to think of what to say. "I would ditch him, but he is new and I feel sort of bad if I ditch him this first week." However the extra long please got to her. Knowing the consequences. She already deserved what she got anyway, might as well add one more thing. No doubt if it wasn't ditching him she would have said Hi the wrong way and he would hit her for that. "Just this once." She said kind of softy and in a semi scared tone. Which was quickly replaced by a smile.

Aly looked around too. She eyed Brit when she asked. "i never said we were not friends in school. I simply meant no one will believe we are friends. They may think we are pod people." She said. "This works like it did this summer. We are step sisters, friends and occasionally fight like sisters."

[Brittany Barnes]

"Okay...that's true," Brittany said, smiling just for Aly. "See! I can do it!" she exclaimed, causing herself to laugh a little, before shaking her head about Evan. "Yeah, I know you do. I doubt he'll do anything though. I'm the asshole this time," she said, her lips falling out of the smile. It was true. Last year all their troubles had been because of Evan...that thing with Syn...then the thing with Hannah... Sure, for a hot minute he'd been upset about that Ella thing, which she supposed was her fault, only that hadn't lasted more than a few minutes due to the obvious fact that Ella was a girl.

"Thank you!!" Brittany grinned when Aly agreed to ditch Chase for the morning. "Plus, maybe he should be on his own a bit...so he can make some friends of his own?" Brittany had no idea what fate that she was leaving Aly too. Had she known she would have been much more concerned about that and way less concerned about her own drama which seemed trivial in comparison.

"Yeah...I know that no one will believe," she said. "But it's still weird. I mean what am I going to do...hang out with a bunch of cheerleaders now? Or what are you going to do? Hang out with Ian and Zac and Mal? Cause I don't thin either of those things are going to happen, which leaves us to going off with our separate groups of friends who all hate one another by the way. Man, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I actually miss being at my Aunt's house. There was nothing to do there but everything was much less complicated..."

[Aly Durrand]

"Chase...make friends. Right. Good idea." Not. chase was horrible at making friends. He always made people feel down and he was condescending to everyone, always acting like he was better then them. hell forget the act, Chase did think he was better then everyone. He did not make friends easily. However, it was not like Aly could say a word. Chase was her boyfriend and she loved him> He just needed a club or something. He would make friends easier if he hung out with people he had something in common with. Besides Aly assured herself it was just because Chase was not use to the public school atmosphere.

Aly laughed. She actually laughed when Brit mentioned she would hang out with cheerleaders. "I can't even picture that. Oh wait I can. You sitting there on one side and Hannah on the other talking in rhymes. Oh and then The others and you giving pointers on the pyramid, or talking about clothes or fashion. No. even i would not subject you or my fellow cheerleaders to that torture." Aly assured Brit.

"This is school. We do what we did last year except without the prank war. We say hi, maybe sit together for lunch, but you hang with your friends and I will hang with mine. Besides we already will see each other after school and at home. Even married people get a break when they go to work. I can expect you to keep up with me all day." Aly said with a smirk to show she was kidding. "Its high school. Which means it is a whole long year of complicated. Just look at it this way. This year we make complicated."

[Brittany Barnes]

Brittany had no idea why Chase wouldn't be able to make friends so when Aly said it was a good idea, Brittany didn't realize that she was being facetious. Over the summer Chase had been friendly. Sure, the longer time went on the more and more Aly and Chase retreated to just hanging out with one another, however Brittany just assumed that was a couple thing. After all, every couple went through that honeymoon phase where they only wanted to spend time with one another.

"I guess I just don't want to get pulled apart again because of it," Brittany said. "No, we don't have to spend every waking second together but you're already off with Chase all the time," Brittany pointed out. "I don't want to have to beg to get penciled in to your schedule," she said with a small smile, teasing a little.

It was just that Brittany was sort of going through a lot at the moment and over the summer, Aly had become her safety net. She knew things in school were going to be different...she knew that all of their friends agreed that Brit and Aly should not be friends. But something had happened over the summer and Brittany was pretty sure it wasn't all to do with boredom. They had actually gotten along! Brittany just didn't want to lose that in the craziness that was high school.

"But fine...I'll go my way, you go yours," Brittany said sullenly. She wasn't looking forward to meeting up with her friends knowing that she was in for the third degree from them with the new hair and the new clothes and how she'd been ignoring them all. She honestly didn't know what to make of it all. She'd apparently changed and now she didn't know where she fit in anymore.

[Aly Durrand]

"I don't ever recall you begging. MOre like demanding, now that I can picture." Aly commented, "Oh and forcing...and lets see..." Aly looked at Brit and chuckled to shaw she was kidding. "I will always have time for you. I have time for everyone. Chas eis just new and a bit..clingy. Thats all." She said feeling her chest tighten. If chase over heard that she would be in trouble. As if on instinct Aly looked around. Chase always seemed to know when she said bad things about him. Aly was doing that less and less.

"Brit I never said we had to separate today. I am just saying we can hang in school and hang apart in school." She said to her sister. "I mean Ilike spending time with you." She said with a slight smile. "Now don't go spreading that around. i still have a repto protect." She said a flash of her old confidence which was only there a second. Then gone.

Aly really wasn't asconfident as she use to be. She would not care what others thought, but as they walked down the hall all Aly could think about was who would tell Chase what about her. Oh god if he heard stories about her and Jasper from last year...it would be bad. And Tyler. Very bad. Aly had to force herself to not be scared but she was shakng at the anticipation. "Letsjust see how today goes okay.You and I can always come find each other. I should have brought a camera so I could snap the picture on my friends faces."

[Brittany Barnes]

Brittany scrunched up her nose like she always did when someone made a very valid point that she didn't want to admit was true. "Okay!! Okay!! You win!" she laughed as they started to head into school. People were still staring at the fact that Aly and Brittany were walking along the hall as friends, but Brittany wasn't really paying attention now. She was just laughing along with her step-sister as she took jabs at her. Of course they were kidding now though.

"Seriously," Brittany said, about the looks on everyone's faces. "I don' think I've seen so many gawk since I showed up in your cheerleading uniform," she said, glaring at Aly for a moment but the smirk on her face showed that she was no longer was upset over the incident.

But it was at that moment that Brittany stopped dead because there was Evan at his locker talking to Hannah Bell like they were old friends. No, they weren't making out. No they really weren't doing anything that would suggest they were anything more than friends. But Brittany had specifically asked Evan not to talk to Hannah and it was clear that they were on friendly terms.

"Excuse me," Brittany said, her voice quiet so only Aly could hear her. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom. You...you go fine Chase," she whispered before turning around and walking as quickly as she could in the other direction.


Wrapped?

[Izzy Chen]

Wrapped for me...poor Brit