if lies were cats, you'd be a litter

@"Fletcher"

[ Marina Bellamy ]

After cheerleading practice that afternoon, Marina showered and changed into her normal clothes in the girl's locker room. Today, it was a tight-fitting aquamarine dress that was so light it seemed to stream down her body like a waterfall. It made her girlfriends squeal and tell her she looked like a mermaid. Of course it did. That was what she was going for.

She picked up her phone, humming playfully as she scrolled through the wall of unread text messages in her inbox. She'd only been practicing for a couple of hours but she already had forty-five messages. Typical. Why were men so thirsty? Like half of these were dick pics.

There was a rather official e-mail from Amazon, though.

We regret to inform you that our shipping is currently yaddie yaddie yadaaa.... your order will be delayed.

"What!?"

The sudden noise made her girlfriends jump.

"Marina, what is it?"

Marina paled.

Her monthly issue of the new Ms. Marvel was going to be delayed. How could she tell them? She adjusted her collar, swallowing. "A school jockey just sent me a dick pic and..."

"And?"

"I think he might have some sort of disease, girls."

The girls said 'ewwwww' in unison. Marina grinned and waved her clutch purse at them. "All right, I'll see you later, girls. I have a hot date tonight. Toodles~"

Except...

While Marina wasn't short of guys that wanted to date her, she wasn't going on a date at all. She headed to her dormitory room, changed into her disguise (a giant hoodie, a baseball cap, shades, jeans and a short, brunette wig, giving her the appearance of a teenage boy) and went Downtown. She checked her phone again.

Marina didn't want to wait seven more days for the next Ms. Marvel. She could download online, but it was always better to have something to hold in her hands. She needed to go to the Comic Book Store.

Yikes.

Marina walked Downtown with her head in the ground and her hands in her hoodie's pockets. She tried to be as inconspicuous as possible and blend into the crowd, walking around crowds of people and doing her best to avoid eye contact. The most she did was lick the cherry lip balm from her lips.

She really wanted to take her care. It would've made the entire trip easier but... She couldn't. People knew her. If some random brunet dude drove her car around, that would be pretty bad, right?

After a few blocks, Marina finally reached the front of the Comic Book Store. She looked around to check if anyone was following her. After that, the coast was clear.

It was after classes, so there were a few people hanging around the Comic Book Store. Majority of them were smelly, nerdy men, a couple of women that stuck together (she wished she could join them) and... other creatures she weren't sure of. She checked the shelves.

Aha! The new issue of Ms. Marvel was here.

She went to check if there were other new comics. There was a new spiffy rebooted Justice League thing. She picked up a lovey-dovey shoujo manga and the latest issue of Naruto and placed it on the counter. The woman behind the counter punched the items in and placed them in a paper bag. Marina paid her with rolls from her pocket. She accidentally took out lip balm and pocketed it immediately.

After that, she went outside again.

Marina heard the shutter.

Her heart started racing. She made sure to cover her tracks well. She couldn't have slipped. The only explanation was... someone was tracking her.

She turned —

There he was!

"You!" She yelled, and then she covered her mouth.

She was too late.

He heard her.

There was only one way to settle this: face to face. Marina was a cheerleader. She could use her speed well. She dropped her purchases and sprinted at the guy's direction.

When she got to him, Marina pinned the stalker to the wall with the length of her lower arm pressing him against it. Years of cheerleading has made Marina stronger and faster than the average girl so she was able to do it with ease. She searched his pockets frantically — nothing. This only succeeded in pissing her off more.

"Listen, you little twerp, you better cough up that camera now or else I'm going to kick your ass."

This kid was playing with fire. He was going to upset the school's balance and the social hierarchy, the throne she worked so hard to get, all because he wanted some big scoop for the school newspaper.

The shades fell off Marina's face, and the expression the little twerp was going to see was pure, unadulterated rage. The hand on her butt was where he crossed a line.

She could yell or try to bargain. She would've done it earlier, in fact, if he didn't squeeze her butt. Instead, she grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the crotch.

Those were the worst possible scenarios that Marina could think of. Being a nerd was social suicide. She couldn't afford that. She literally couldn't. (At least, that was what she believed.)

Her safety was on the line.

"You're bitching at me for treating you unfairly? You were stalking me, shit stick! I should have you arrested! Sue you for goddamn slander and defamation!"

Marina took a few steps back, throwing her cap aside threateningly and crossing her arms. Her chin was tilted up so she was looking down on him. Her stance was a taunt in itself. She wanted him to fight her. Fighting was easy. Social climbing was not.

She had a boyish stance that it was impossible to reconcile the image with her normal public face. It seemed like a stark contrast, but Marina had way more skeletons in the closet than she let on. The comic books were just the tip of the iceberg. She didn't want others to go deeper in the rabbit hole because they were going to find it was more fucked up than just liking men in tights.

She'd be a freak. A nutcase. They'd send her to juvie island for her crimes.

No, she couldn't have that. She was going to put this fire out before it gets worse.

"All right, twerp, let's negotiate. What do you want?"

Marina squinted her eyes. She'd heard this drivel before. You don't get into her level of popularity without your heart turning into icy steel. Marina knew perfectly that her bright spotlight created thick shadows, but this one shadow had photographic proof to destroy her. Every step she had taken to get this far were all made from ruthless, ruthless calculation.

She was thinking of a way to counter this. For the most part? The photos did not look like her. She had her make up off and her stance was completely different. They looked like a boy in a baggy hoodie and ragged brown hair. He'd have a hard time convincing the public that they were her in the first place.

She could play the fool. She was going to set fire on the social networks and tell them about this guy was ruining her name.

But why go to the worst case scenario?

They were here right now. She wasn't the one to play the victim just yet. Why put a fire out when she could make sure it never happens in the first place?

"Fine," Marina said vehemently. "Publish those. Do a scoop about how Marina's a nerd. I don't care. Who's gonna believe you anyway? Do those photos even look like me?"

She paced backwards, looking him straight in the eye. "But are you really going to make a scoop so petty? For shame. I thought a journalist your caliber would settle for something more interesting. I didn't leave my last school because I liked Naruto, you know. If you find that out... What's the public going to think? You're gonna look like a creeper, you little twerp, with your crazy, out of these world scoops about me. Your readers are going to think you get off on making stories about me. Sick."

She kicked him on the shin hard.

And then she picked up her shades and put it on her face.

Marina felt her heart drop as she realized — he had a point.

But Marina was so rarely fazed for long.

She was a rational person. She knew how people work. It was still a weak lead, and even if it weren't, she had people wrapped around her finger. Cronies that could help her put out these fires. Her reputation was going to get damaged again, but she knew how people could forgive celebrities if they apologize and do something good not too long after the bad scoop comes out.

You know what? Bring it. She was ready for whatever he could throw at her.

(But not if he finds out you eat people, her gut said, but she put those thoughts out as soon as they arrived.)

"You have nothing," she said. She tentatively took her merchandise and shoved him away, picking up her hat too and walking away.

She did have something.

But like hell was she going to let him see it.