Accompanying the girls with clothes shopping has been Jezebel's favorite time as they get to look at all the pretty ones that the store has to offer. Something new and different would catch one of their eyes, and then they get to discuss it together. Whether it's their style or if they should buy it. Something she termed as teamwork.

They pushed through a mountain of clothes while talking amongst themselves. "Do you think this green skirt will look good on me?" Jezebel motioned the long flare skirt in dark green out for them while partially holding it.

"You would look so good," Olivia said, making a gesture that showed her ok seal of approval.

"How many long skirts do you own now?" Breella wondered.

Jezebel thought about it. All the skirts in her closet were plentiful, but most were mini to knee length. She had long skirts for each day of the week. She looked at her thoughtfully. "A small handful, but one more couldn't hurt."

Harmony inputted. "One could never have too many outfit pieces."

Jezebel agreed although she didn't feel the need to buy something immediately as she let the skirt slip back with the other clothes pressed against each other. "Okay, I need to get something off my chest, and I need to tell you girls this."

"What is it? Does it have something to do with that boy you've been meeting up with lately?" Olivia asked, immediately getting to that point.

Quick and curious Olivia was as she liked her keenness in whatever Jezebel had to say.

"So, you may not believe this, but a few days ago, Eric came to visit me." 

It came as a shock as the three of them had their eyes sprung faster toward her and the written looks. They knew the rollercoaster feelings she expressed from all the times she genuinely liked Eric, even if he had some shortcomings. To her, it was the only real enough she rather have with him than to look at other lackluster boys.

"You can't be serious," Olivia said. Her mouth fell open and did a silent gasp.

"What happened with him?" Harmony asked gently.

Breella showed alertness as she anticipated her next words coming out.

Jezebel looked at all of them. "He wants to get back together." A conflicted look crossed her expression for half a second.

Harmony asked, "Really? How do you feel about that?"

She shut her eyes tight in small distress. "I don't know. It was too sudden for me. I didn't think I'd see him again. I swear my heart was dropping like a bomb when I saw him."

"And it's been... two months now?"

Their breakup happened in the second week of last November when Eric dropped the news on her. He couldn't see them working out with the distance happening between them. It was a cruel way for him to end things between them, the harshness of the words hit her like a ton of brick. She remembered vividly that he said it was for her own good. But how? Not when he found a way to creep into her heart and soften her.

The two months without him was her trying to process and register that he wasn't here anymore. She didn't receive any phone calls or text messages from him. Nothing; it was a blank slate on her phone. Even when she happened to text him out of the blue out of missing him, it was left on read.

Jezebel bared everything alone, numbing her face, and the activities she liked or knew, took their toll on her. 

"Yeah," Jezebel replied, feeling like the taste in her mouth went bitter.

"But you still have feelings for him? What did you say to him?" Olivia asked.

She smiled resolutely to keep herself not weighing down. After all, she told herself she didn't need him anymore. "I'm going to show him he's no longer my priority, and I know just the way for him to believe that."

"I can feel deeply in my gut. It's not something pleasant," Breella stated. She always used her intuition, and because she knew her well enough Jezebel was up to something.

With a tilt of her head, Jezebel came out with a response. "Do you girls think that if he sees me with another guy, he'll come to terms to know he won't want me back? I want that if he sees it, it should hurt him."

Olivia pursed her lips in questioning, and her gaze was the same. "But didn't you before say that you want to have him back? Are you completely over him?"

Sadly, that was her when her thoughts absorbed everything about him and only him. She was slowly getting better at it, and he wasn't going to ruin her again.

"That was then, but yes... a part of me still wants to be with him, but no, I won't do it. I'm not going to settle down anytime soon." She wasn't going to risk anything the second time. She needed to protect herself even if she was partly aching to be at his side again.

She will choose logic over her emotions and her head over her heart.

If even for a second an ounce of her emotions showed, she would have to remind herself that feelings are ugly and who needed them anyway?

Olivia seemed to ponder a good amount of passing seconds before she nodded encouragingly. "I think you should make the call to show him you're doing better. You can do this, Jezebel."

Harmony grinned widely. "I second this. He left you, girlll. I bet he'll see what he's missing out on and realize even more what a catch you are." Like in her name, she loved peace and harmony but also cared so tightly for her friendships.

They moved along to the next aisle now at the sweaters and tops. Breella ultimately voiced, "That's not a good idea. No." She shook her head. "I don't accept this. You would just be not only lying and playing with him, but to yourself."

Jezebel smiled innocently at her. "But I do that with every other guy. You know that."

"But you actually cared about him. Why don't you just talk it out with him?"

Breella was the voice of reason. And she kept herself levelheaded in most of everything. But Jezebel already made up her mind.

"Can't do. He needs to get I'm doing better without him. He needs to suffer the same way I did."

"Still... it's not right."

Her voice got drowned out shortly when Olivia's interest was greatly piqued, and Olivia asked, "Who's the guy you're going to go with to make Eric jealous?"

Jezebel rolled her eyes at that statement. "I don't care about making him jealous. If he's jealous on his own, that's not my problem."

And this would be the grand reveal and shocking revelation once they hear about this. Jezebel's face brightened up with pleasure. 

"You'll hear it first. The guy I picked for the job is the one and ultimate misfit, Mackinley Rineer."

They morphed their face into shock, but Breella looked dubious, as though a pit of her stomach formed with her eyes going somewhere else in thought.

Soon, she came back to the scene with her arms folded stiffly. "That's especially wrong," she remarked.

Jezebel had to agree that Mackinley was wrong in every way, especially; upon the first few times. But what other option could she take? The other boys she had last interacted with were ages ago, and she didn't want to see any of their faces again.

She reassured Breella gently. "Between us, I know, but he's the only one that's the least manageable option. But don't worry, I'm simply just using him as a tool."

"Is he really the only person you have to use as a decoy?" Breella questioned.

"I'm surprised though, you chose the one that gives himself an unfavorable reputation," Harmony said.

Jezebel tilted her head, chuckling. The popular girl and social misfit of the school coming in together was laughable. "That should be something... new. He did want to have more fun, so I'm giving that to him. It's a win-win for us, no?"

"Maybe he's not a bad guy," Olivia quipped. "I probably would be in denial about Aubrey if there wasn't proof. Why would he do that when we never even spoke before? I think that counts for something." She nodded positively.

Oh, please, he's the devil. He doesn't care for anyone but himself. I know that much. Instead of saying that, Jezebel bared out a smile toughly. "I don't trust that."

"So what do you call this operation?"

She blinked. Oh, there needs to be a name for it. After she put a little bit of significant thought into it, she nodded knowingly. "Operation Runner. He got fast legs. He can run to me when I call for him. And he can run right out when I'm done with him."

"How do you know he has fast legs?" Olivia asked another question.

Yesterday morning that Mackinley pulled with her was still rolling in her mind. She still couldn't believe what they did. Jezebel put a bitter smile on her lips. "It's something you have to be there for to know."

"Are you sure he have to be a part of your little scheme? For how long do you plan this?" When Breella was skeptical, she was skeptical. She didn't trust Jezebel's ways of doing things, and she endured and tried to accept them, but she didn't like them.

"It's only just until Eric gets the message. He says he'll start seeing me more often—I'm not sure how often, and I need to prep my subject so he'd believe that I'm doing anything as an attempt to be close to him."

"I think it's better for you to talk to him than run all this yourself. Would that guy," Mackinley, the subject as that guy, she'd call him, "even fall for your tricks? It might backfire on you."

Jezebel put a hand on her dear friend's shoulder's to lull her suspicion. "It's okay. I can make everything go according to plan. I'm just going to hang around with him long enough and make it leisurely sink that he believed I cared, and when Eric sees the show enough times, he will get the hint, and then everything works out, and all is normal again." She smiled her best vivaciously smile.

Breella didn't know about this, but Jezebel gently poked her in the cheek. "Come on." She livened her voice small but cheerfully. "Believe in me. I'll treat you to something delicious."

Harmony chimed in. "Me too!" She raised her hand as an act of volunteering to be included.

Breella just pouted. She turned her gaze to Jezebel as she made those cute joyful eyes for her.

"Fine, but I suggest you don't get too close to him."

Jezebel patted her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about that."

Harmony picked out a cropped sweater in dark blue and held it by her arm. "Just the color," she said to herself. Then gazed at Jezebel. "How would it work with making it look like you're moving on in front of Eric? Are you going to be in like a fake relationship with Mackinley?"

"Fake relationship? That's too cliche." Her eyes painted themselves unamused as she blinked. "Are we in a teen drama movie? This is the real world. Most likely a guy would paint me as a weirdo. I don't have to do that." Jezebel flipped her hair back dramatically. "I have my beauty and charm. It'll be like a moth drawn to a flame."

She put a hand up to her cheek, making an innocent smile. "He wouldn't have to know a thing. He can sit with us next week? I'll even invite his little shy friend."

Olivia didn't look like she could believe it. Her eyes widened. "He has a friend?"

"I thought he was a lone wolf too, but he looked like he made a new friend. So why not have him along on board?"

She would pull out all the stops. Make Mackinley interact with her as much as humanely possible so that it'd appear that she cared all for him. And if Eric happened to check up on her, Mackinley would be at her side, and she'll naturally and subtly flirt and make any cute face to him. She knows how to play the loving, sweet girl role.

Olivia shook her head, quickly opening her palm at her as she had that registered look. "So wait, are you stopping your plot to talk to a new guy and make him into a poor soul to your heartbreaking list?" 

"I still plan to destroy any boy that's subject to be destroyed, but for now..., let's call it a hiatus. I'm going to have to put on my best act and save it to be that girl interested in the challenging social misfit. He may just want to know what it's like to be on the other side of the social spectrum," Jezebel said, smiling mischievously.

Believe it that no one was able to get the best seat; however, Mackinley would see the queen's throne closely.

 I'll be the only one of us two still come out on top.

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Hello, happy friday! I delivered this week's chapter to you. I'm doing my best to be consistent or at least semi-consistent. I still have to write a lot more chapters, but because I'm starting to pick up a little bit more ideas on writing, I also want to let you know what's going on in the story.

When I do have more chapters written, there's definitely going to be a lot more updates happening, hopefully, in the near future. Small doses are fun to keep me motivated to keep going.   

So in this chapter, everyone seems to be alright with this operation running because they want to support her best. However, Breella is not fond of this scheme that Jezebel is planning. How do you think this will affect for later in the plot? 

I want to know who's your favorite character. I would love to know who the readers like, relate to, or even find interesting at all. I would love to hear them. 

Keep out for the next update coming! It shall get interesting...

Please vote and comment as it means the world to me.