Survival Of The Fittest

The war to claim Runway was going smoothly. Two more pretty kids left disgusted, one disgusted enough that she went and blew facial sparkle all over Cisco.

Yet it was the encounter with whoever was left that caused Eliza to drop her smile and step back. Only a little, but enough to be noticeable.

Miranda Millers. Ms. Ruuuules. The queen bitch for which Eliza had probably dedicated a sizable portion of her life becoming her "counter-bitch." The contrast was fairly obvious. Miranda was a track star, all round popular kid and perfectionist. Eliza, well, if there was ever a reason to judge a book by its cover, she was it. Yet it wasn't just the contrast of lifestyles that caused Eliza to do what she did next.

Eliza opened her mouth. And nothing came out.

It was the fact that to her, Miranda was for all intents and purposes the "final boss" of the bitch squad. And that meant that she knew she hardly stood a chance. The other bitches in the squad were - to find an analogy - the kind of band that spent thousands on the best equipment and pedals mainly to find groupies to sleep with while covering their lack of talent.

There was something about Miranda that gave her the impression that she knew what she was doing with her thousand-dollar Stratocasters. Like underneath that prim and proper exterior, she was someone that actually did her research, almost like a nerd.

"Really? I thought I was boning Jacob," she retorted, her voice shaky at first. "I believe Edward's waiting for you outside with the rest of his harem."

fuck...did I just label myself a Twifan in Runway?

She did not just say that.  Frank stopped on his tracks, while he was about to leave. Damned fashionable tramp had found out how to attack and piss off him. Furthermore, Eliza staggered upon that last poisoned comment.

It was just too much.

To hell with it! He thought as he clenched his fists and turned to face Miranda Millers once more, closing the distance between the two in a blatant display of hostility.

"Shut your filthy trap, you overpriced lousy cunt!" He exploded, raising his voice. "Just because you think with your pussy doesn't mean everyone does. Liz stuck her neck for me when she had no need to, and I am going to reward her camaraderie. Yes, camaraderie. What's supposed to go on between people who are acquaintances to a degree. Of course you would never know what it is, knowing your taste in friends. "

He stopped briefly, catching his breath. But his outburst had been far from over. "Charisma, cool fashion clothes, beauty. That isn't worth shit when your so called friends run away at the first sight of trouble. So snarl, bitch. Snarl all you want. I got what I wanted from here. And you're all alone without your royal court of asslickers. "

He then turned towards the exit, his sight resting on Liz. "Let's go Liz. It isn't worth wasting more time, and I feel increasingly tempted to strangle that harlot with her own purse."

((Frank Reyes continued elsewhere))

((OOC: Elaborated on the last post))

Whilst Finn continued to wait for Miranda, a thunderous roar came from inside Runway. He peered around the door to see where the commotion was coming from. The shouting was coming from Frank. Finn grunted as a disappointed look crept across his face; it looked like Finn had left just as things had gotten good.

Frank was heading towards the exit and Finn jolted back to his original position as he watched Frank pass him. Finn smiled to himself. He poked his head back around the door to see what else was happening. Miranda and Eliza were all that was left. He knew he shouldn't have left Miranda on her own with them, and Finn was going to attempt to redeem himself. He shone a malicious smile as he swung his body through the door into Runway.

The malevolent smile stayed on Finn's face as he approached Miranda and Eliza.

"Well well well Eliza, look who's all on her own now. I guess your knight in shining armour wasn't all what he was cracked up to be; after all it was only a little comment from a harmless girl that set him off. Maybe she hit a raw nerve?"

Boning Jacob?

Well, that was a new one. Didn't know she was into werewolves. No no. Not at all. But seriously, was that a come back? She guessed it was, judging by the mention of Edward Cullen being outside with the rest of the harem.

But oh boy. Did that send Frank off.

It was kind of what she was hoping for, actually. She had realized it would set him off, so she said it. Simple as that. But it had become more... "effective" than she had intended.

He stormed right up to her, and vomited a bunch of obscenities. Miranda tried to continue smiling throughout the whole thing, but it was hard.

Being called a harlot who only thought with her pussy? Not a big deal. Getting called an overpriced cunt? Bad, but not horrible. But imply that her friends weren't real?

....

Oh fuck you. No seriously, fuck you.

That one hit more than it should have, especially since they did run off. But dear god. Say that again, Frank. She dared him. Dared. Him. Seriously, just... gah.

Miranda felt her teeth clench inside her barely remaining smile. Whatever. He was leaving anyways. Presumably Eliza was coming with. Oh good! Maybe they can do whatever! She felt like ripping off his head. Just... why?

As Frank left, Finn showed back up. He gave Eliza a further taunting, joking about how Frank left. Miranda felt her smile become a bit more genuine. Well, she could count on Finn, at least.

"You know, Lizzie, on second thought, you two are perfect together. Maybe the wedding reception can be one of those backy-vomit parties. He's a keeper, you know."

She could barely get that out. Just... she was still rather miffed about what Frank said.

""You know, Lizzie, on second thought, you two are perfect together. Maybe the wedding reception can be one of those backy-vomit parties. He's a keeper, you know."

If there was one thing that Eliza could not grasp at the moment - but caused her to shudder anyway - it was the fact that Miranda was...almost dead on with that comment.

There was something Eliza actually liked about Cisco Lanza. And it wasn't just the fact that they could often be found in the same tattoo parlor together. The man wasn't afraid to spew - words, that was. If he actually did spew, well...perhaps she could muster up the will to try emetophilia. But that was besides the point. With the Girls, well, they were friends. And great ones for venting out her hatred for the rest of society at.

Cisco was a friend. A new one at least. Maybe he'd turn out to be a great spew-sparring partner or some shit. In any case, she'd have to figure out what he was later on.

In the meantime, Eliza had plenty well enough of Runway.

"And I'll be sure to send you an invitation," she stammered, biting her lip and trying to keep a weary glance as she started to back out, throwing a glance to the side in case she bumped anything despite every urge to do so just to spite the happy fucking couple.

Game, set, match, Miranda.

Her wings pretty much clipped, Eliza backed slowly out of Runway, and once past the doorway turned tail and made in what she figured was Cisco Lanza's last known direction, hoping she didn't hear what Finn and Miranda had to say back. She dropped the smile like the most expensive outfit gone out of season, putting on a good old fashioned punk scowl with her jaw clenched tight.

Truth be told, she probably couldn't have been more relieved for being spared a protracted humiliation. But having barely been able to hold her own against Miranda at best probably said more to some desire of some sort than the usual clique wars.

Almost, perhaps, that she envied Miranda.

((Eliza Patton continued in Dust to Dust in the Wind, Et Cetera and elsewhere))

Miranda continued the verbal assault on Eliza, Finn and Miranda were winning the fight. It seemed that the last comment from Miranda did the trick as Eliza began to back out of Runway. She looked like some sort of scared animal trying to sneak out of view with out getting noticed by a dangerous predator. Finn's eyebrows creased in confusion as he watched Eliza walk backwards out of the shop. He leaned in close to Miranda so his mouth was by her ear.

"What the fuck is she doing?" Finn murmured to Miranda.

Finn had to stifle a laugh as Eliza continued to walk backwards then sharply turn to go after Frank. He let out a disappointed "hmm"; he had expected more of a fight from Eliza. Finn then turned to face Miranda.

"Well that was... interesting." Finn figured that he'd better explain himself for leaving Miranda on her own. "Sorry for leaving, it's just that everyone else left and things weren't as... exciting as I'd expected. But whatever, at least I came back right?" Finn smiled.

Now that the little confrontation with Eliza and Frank was over, which would probably be the most exciting part of the day, Finn was left wondering what else to do. He looked around the shop in order to get any ideas of what to do next. There was nothing in here that he wanted to buy and he was also not in the mood for clothes shopping. He decided to ask Miranda for ideas.

"So now that that's over what do you want to do?"

Eliza seemed trapped, the same way a wild animal would be if their leg had been stuck in a bear trap. Her voice stammered, and she slowly backed off. She heard Finn ask what she was doing, but it was obvious.

It worked. Eliza was now leaving.

And just like how she entered, she exited just as quickly.

Miranda couldn't help but frown a little bit as she watched Eliza leave. Well then. Normally she'd consider this a victory, but Frank's words had stuck with her.

For a second, she just stared at the exit, like some soldier.

She heard Finn say something, and she snapped out of it.

"Oh. I'm... kind of done with Runway. There's nothing really striking my inspiration." Her voice seemed far off, as if in thought. Her finger touched her chin.

It was nice of Finn to come back. But part of her wondered if it was for appearance's sake, rather than... she didn't know. Perhaps it was just what Frank had poisoned her mind with just now, like a weed's seed swiftly growing and developing. Maybe she was just being paranoid again. But it still made her wonder why exactly he came in again.

He explained, though, saying that it was simply getting boring and that everyone else had run off.

She fished for her phone, wondering if she should text the other girls to let them know that Frank and Eliza had left, and that she really managed to irk him.

"Well, wanna go get something? You know, like... food", she said as she gazed at the phone's screen.

Miranda was still a little jarred by Frank's rant, but she was doing fine. She was sure of it!

Luckily for Finn, Miranda was also not in the mood for staying in Runway. Finn grunted in agreement to show that he too was fed up with Runway. Miranda then took out her phone and suggested that they should go get some food.

"Yeah, sure. Wanna go to Taco Bell?" Finn asked.

As Finn finished his sentence he noticed that Miranda sounded very distant. A puzzled look swept across Finn's face as he stared at Miranda. He briefly tried to figure out what was wrong. Perhaps either Eliza or Frank had said something to her while Finn was waiting outside.

"Miranda, are you okay?" He asked with a concerning tone.

"Taco Bell sounds lovely."

Finn asked if she was alright. Miranda only smiled at this.

"Nah, I'm fine. Frank's just... look, I don't like him, alright?"

Miranda didn't like it too much when people worried about her. It meant explaining what was wrong. It meant pity. As much as she liked Finn, she didn't want his pity. Even if Frank was right...

She still cared about him.

Miranda finished fiddling with her phone, and put it back.

"Let's go, then?"

She didn't eat too much fast food. Too fattening, and she wanted to stay in shape for track. But frankly, she kind of needed it. Miranda was honestly in the mood for one of those Doritos Tacos, as horrible as they sounded. They sounded delicious, even though she never had one before.

With her heels clicking again, she started to head out.

((Miranda Millers continued in Bitches Be Crazy))

After expressing her feelings about going to Taco Bell, Miranda reassured Finn that she was alright.

"Ok then, that makes two of us!" Finn laughed whilst nudging Miranda with his elbow.

He wasn't completely buying that Miranda was alright, she was one of Finn's best friends and he didn't like to think that something had upset her. However, if she didn't want to talk about it then that was fine with Finn.

Finn was starving, he hadn't ate anything in a while and couldn't wait to get to Taco Bell so he could sit down and eat something. Following Miranda out of the shop, Finn took some money out of his pocket ready to pay for the meal.

((Finn Grant continued elsewhere))