Alicia reeled from this sudden attack. “Well, I, after thinking about it, I decided it wasn't such a big deal—”

“Not a big deal?! If she takes this reject to the dance and lets everyone see her with him, it makes her look like trash and it makes US look like trash!”

Realizing her anger was approaching undignified levels, she forcibly calmed herself. She followed up a deep breath with a smug smile. Everyone felt a temperature drop as the thick, electric atmosphere of a heated argument was replaced by an air of cool, quiet superiority. Her haughty fingers toyed with a lock of her long, shimmering blonde hair. “Not everyone GETS to take us to a dance, Alicia. That is a privilege we GRANT. We have standards.” Her voice was wet with prim elitism. “Associating with boys like this is beneath us. It defiles the very institution of cheerleading, and everyone else agrees with me. Isn't that right, ladies?”

The other cheerleaders looked at each other with uncertainty. “Well, I guess it is, uh...WORRISOME...” offered Heather. “I mean, there's no way Chase would have agreed to go with him of her own free will, right?”

“He must have put some kind of scary kid hex on her,” concluded Brittany.

“Look at the deadness in her eyes, the pallor of her skin. She's clearly been in his thrall a very long time,” said Tiffers.

“I dunno, Victoria,” said Heather. “I think freeing her from her hex is more important than worrying about some dance that might not even happen.”

Torey skillfully ignored most of this nonsense and selectively responded to the part he was curious about. “Huh? What's going on with the dance?”

Caitlin wondered if he was joking. “The gym blew up and took all our preparations with it, now the dance might not be happening.” At his shocked expression, she added, “You didn't hear? The whole school's been talking about it.”

“No, I didn't hear anything! Well, most of my friends weren't planning on going anyway, so maybe that's why,” he answered. “So what's going to happen?”

Chase looked up at him sadly. “Us find new spot or else no dance. It too bad, did want go with Tor, not care if have no dress.”

Torey suddenly leaned forward. “Hey, I know! Why don't you have it at the Sandman?”

Some of the girls flinched at the mere mention of the name, but Chase broke into a grin of enlightenment. “Whoa! That great plan! Sandy Man good spot for Harv!”

Lindsey and Caitlin exchanged an uncertain glance. “Are...are you sure?” Caitlin asked.

“It's not...creepy, is it?” asked Lindsey. “We're looking for a happy dance here, to make happy memories. Not horror memories.”

“No, it nice! Not spook at all when no cannibal boat!” Chase explained. “Got food, and big flat for dance! Fit all kids in Sandy Man!”

Alicia allowed herself to consider this. “That is true...A drive-in theater would have a big parking lot...” she deliberated.

“Having it outside might be nice!” commented Danielle. “It'll really feel like harvest time if we can feel that fall air!”

“I bet if we clean up all the blood and ashes it'll work just fine!” agreed Erin. It was clear Chase was the only one who had ever been there.

“What happened to freeing Chase from her hex?” asked Caitlin.

“What? Oh, we'll do that right after the dance,” Erin answered, getting excited.

Alicia looked up at Torey. “Do you really think you can get it for us?”

Popular kids had never really paid Torey this much notice before. It was sort of a strange feeling. He gave his broad shoulders a shrug. “Sure, I don't see why not.”

The situation was spiraling out of control before Victoria's eyes. Not only did they flat-out ignore her protest of Chase dating this guy, they were getting ready to accept kindness from someone like him as well? That was too much. Victoria could abide any punishment, withstand any torture, except being ignored. “Hold it!” she sharply commanded. Her squadmates jumped at her curt tone, and she gave them an accusing look. “You guys aren't seriously okay with having OUR dance at that uncool place with these uncool people, are you?!”

But the girls apparently were okay with it. The general response was that at this point, if Harvest happened at all, they wouldn't care if it were held on the moon. Victoria gritted her teeth as the crowd dispersed, the girls heading back out to continue their practice. Chase turned and threw a wave at Torey. This was the thing that pushed Victoria over the edge.

That damn girl was making a fool of her again. No, she was making a fool of the whole squad again. Just like she always did, she was making a mockery of everything cheer stood for, and they were too blind to see it.

She had to take action. She had to get rid of that girl, and her blasphemous dance, in one fell swoop.

…

When practice ended, Torey called his brother to see about using the Sandman for the dance. He was fine with it, especially after realizing he was allowed to charge admission, so the student council president was quickly notified and emergency dance preparations were set in motion.

For once, it actually sounded like the student council was going to handle something, so the cheerleaders were gratefully off the hook. As for Torey, the only thing left for him to do was tell his friends that the dance had moved to their hangout. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their reaction, so Chase offered to come along as moral support. Upon hearing this, Alicia, Caitlin and Lindsey decided to come too, hoping a show of numbers would help keep the peace.

The scary kids typically hung out at the skate park after school, so that's where they went looking for them. It wasn't a very long walk from Sunnycrest High, but after Chase's most recent fight with Melissa C., it felt like running a gauntlet. Every time she was outside, she felt an edge of danger. The girls spent the whole trip watching the sky for another dive attack.

The park was alive with shouts and the sound of plastic wheels clacking and rolling on wood and cement. Not being one to skate, but instead one to hang out and look cool, Maxine was the first to notice the approaching cheerleaders and stood up to meet them. Torey explained the situation to her, and she did not take it well. “No way. You're kidding me. You're really gonna bring these THINGS to our spot?”

“What 'things?' You mean us?” asked Caitlin hotly.

Maxine folded her arms and scowled. “First you bring one, and now you wanna bring a whole batch of them and their jock boyfriends. Fuck that,” she said. With a glance at the girls, she spat at them, “In fact, you can't be here either. The skate park is off limits to brainless pom pom pushers. Get lost before you—”

“Why, hello there,” said Lindsey to a scary kid, leaning against a grind rail and curling a lock of blonde hair around her finger.

“Uh, hey,” Willard replied.

“Gah!” exclaimed Maxine, spinning around furiously. “One of them broke through!”

“L-Lindsey! Get back here!” Alicia urged. She knew any breach of conduct could lead to a complete breakdown of negotiations.

Lindsey ignored them. Breaches of conduct were old hat for her. All of her attention was on Willard now. “Gee, skateboarding, huh? Isn't that DANGEROUS?” she flirted, leaning forward and thrusting out her chest.

“Uh...I guess?” Willard said uncertainly, looking around for backup.

None of the other scary kids were brave enough to confront her, so Lindsey pressed the attack. “Wowwww, I'm sure you'd have to be pretty tough to do something like that.” She gave her lower lip a coquettish bite. “Incidentally, I find tough men...VERY sexy. Tell me, scary kid, do you have a date to the dance yet?”

“Well, I wasn't intending to go, so no,” he said guardedly.

The blonde acted surprised. “Reeeeaaally? That's unexpected. I thought for SURE you'd be taken.” She gave him a coy smile. “Well, that makes two of us.”

Willard's surprise, by contrast, was actually genuine. “You don't have a date either?”

“Nope. Both of us are going to be alllll alone.” Her voice was red satin. She leaned back on the rail and crossed one leg over the other, her cheer skirt riding up ever so slightly. “Can you think of any way we can...RECTIFY this situation?”

He couldn't, not right away: Lindsey's legs were functioning as a sort of signal jammer for his brain. Once Willard reorganized his thoughts, he tore his eyes away and forced a diminutive chuckle. “Yeah, right. L-like I'd ever wanna go to Harvest with some conformist sheeple cheerleader...I have principles, you know. You're just totally not my type, no two ways about it.”

“Dude, just go for it,” advised Flor, who had been watching this encounter unfold the entire time.

Lindsey rose to her feet and walked over to him. “Are you surrre?” she lured. Once they were standing only a couple inches apart, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think I am your type. I think you do wanna to go on a date with some conformist sheeple cheerleader. I think there's...LOTS of things you wanna to do with some conformist sheeple cheerleader. Am I right?”

Sensing that his principles were in serious danger, Willard cried for help. Flor felt obligated to come in and separate them. “Leash? Why Lin act like that? What wrong with her?” asked Chase innocently.

“That's a really good question, Chase. I don't know,” Alicia answered, shaking her head.

Lindsey dropped the act immediately. “Jeez, fine. Your loss, weirdo.” A sense of dread settled in. Her stock of available guys was utterly depleted; these scary kids were her last resort. If they all felt the same way...she wouldn't have anyone left to ask. It would all be over. Then, a desperate thought hit her. Smiling helplessly at Flor, she said, “Hey, I know! What about you? You wanna go to Harvest with me?”

“What?!” demanded Caitlin and Alicia.

Flor pointed at herself. “Who, me?”

“Yes, yes!” said Lindsey, grabbing her arm, a desperate madness in her eyes. “Why didn't I think of it sooner? Two girls? W-w-we'll be the talk of the dance! A shoe-in for Lord and Lady of the Harvest! You want to go with me, I know you do!”

“Uh, I'm flattered, but no thanks,” said Flor, shaking her hand off.

Unabashed, Lindsey moved on to Maxine, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders in a buddy-buddy way. “How about you? Just think what a pair we'd make! You, queen of the scary kids, and me, distinguished cheerleader! Now that is an out-of-left-field power couple! We'd win in a landslide! I'll even let you be the Lord! How about it, huh? Huh? C'mon, please?”

Maxine blew smoke in the girl's face, effectively repelling Lindsey in a fit of coughing and hacking. “Get your hands off me, cheer Nazi.”

When Lindsey blearily recovered, she had no option but to throw herself at Caitlin, clinging to the ponytailed girl with the insistent futility of a death row inmate pleading for his life. “You'll t-take me, right, Caitlin? That's what friends are for, right? You wouldn't leave your squadmate home alone, would you? You can dump Marcus, I'm prettier than him anyway...”

“Wow, Lindsey. I had no idea you were bi,” Alicia remarked, clearly suspicious.

“Oh no, I'm straight, but I can fake it for one night. And you can, too, Cait! Just think of the glory, the fame, the prestige! The page! The PAGE!”

“God, you are so pathetic,” Caitlin told her. “Please get off me.”

Fed up, Maxine threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped on it with a force that suggested she was picturing it as Torey's face. “You know what, Torey? Fine. Let these idiots have their stupid dance at the Sandman. Sell us all out to your NEW friends. But don't bother coming back to us when they screw you over. We're done with you.” She turned to leave. “Come on, guys. Let's get out of here.”

Slowly, exchanging worried glances, everyone picked up their boards and started to follow her. Flor jogged up alongside her. “Wait, Maxine. Isn't that a little harsh?” she asked. “Torey's our—”

“What he did to US was a little harsh,” Maxine replied. “This is no less than he deserves.” With that, she led the scary kids away.