Survival Of The Fittest

((Quincy Jones cont'd from Popping the Question))

The gym was quiet for a change. That was good. If he was going to be spending time with Felicia, then he didn't want to have to deal with everybody else gossiping about the new relationship. As happy as he was, he could do without all the gossips coming to talk to him. He'd never been that interesting to them before, he'd assumed, so why would he be now? Plus, there'd be all the usual ribbings, "What does she see in some dumb muscle like you?"

He had changed in the locker room, and was now in a white vest top and black sweat pants, simple and comfortable. Style didn't come into it when you were going to end up covered in sweat. He began a simple warm up, hoping that Felicia would arrive soon.

His day had been reasonable uneventful. Classes had been straightforward, with the teachers choosing to ignore his tendency to stare out of the window rather than at the books. Even Mrs Walters, his social studies teacher, seemed not to care that he wasn't listening. Of course, he suspected strongly that she was hung over.

As he grabbed a skipping rope from the supply closet, he heard the door open. Without looking to see who it was, he spoke loudly. "Hey girl, glad you could make it. How was your day then? Ya miss me?"

(Mikaela continued from Keeping their minds on the game)

Mikaela made her way out of school. She could barely concentrate on her work. The other days events buzzed in her mind. Quince had run off, but had not said where he was going. He had not asked her to the prom either. She wondered to herself about the reasons, but came up with nothing. She had told herself that she'll go with someone else, she didn't need to go with Quince after all.

He's just a guy, there are quite a few to go around. Quince is nothing special. Not like me!

Nothing she said to herself calmed her down. She felt flushed and her eyes where beginning to water.

Quince is nothing special, well ok he's kinda cute. Also he always does stuff for me and puts up with my jokes even though I can tell he doesn't like what I do.

Mikaela found herself turning back and heading to the gym, she knew Quince would be there. He's be working out about now.

I don't have a crush or anything, but I would much prefer Quince took me out. Yeah that would be awesome! I bet he looks cute in a tux, but would he be able to get one? Bah I'll handle that later!

Mikaela was now running, she felt like singing. She sang the chorus of "When I think About Angels" up until she reached the gym much to the horror of those remaining in the halls who could hear her. She entered the gym and was greeted to a pleasant surprise.

"Hey girl, glad you could make it. How was your day then? Ya miss me?"

How had he known she was coming. She could feel herself blush.

Why am I like this now? Damn this is unlike me! Snap out of it! Could it be cause of the prom!? Stupid prom!

"Hey there Quince! You must be psychic or something! Awesome we can use that skill for something."

She had a wide smile on her face and her thumb up in the air.

"Anyway yeah I missed you! Today went awful for me. I mean I did ok in class, but I think I am coming down with something."

Blah quite the small conversation and ask him! Wait who does that!? What am I a character from one of my anime? Why am I always doing monologue in my head? It doesn't matter!

Mikaela was now looking away from Quince with a large grin on her face.

((Felicia Carmichael continued from Popping the Question ))

The early morning events at Felicia's locker had a profound effect on the girl, one that Quince might have expected but not perceived. Even Felicia herself knew that she hadn't exactly jumped for joy, pounced on the guy who had just asked her out and laid kisses all over him, but that just wasn't her reaction to things. It was far more her style to take it in a laid-back fashion, while her inner self would practically be bouncing off the walls in joy. Even considering this, however, Felicia had to remember Quince wasn't a mind reader. Her relatively mild display might have told the guy he wasn't really interested.

I just really hope he didn't take it bad or anything, or that I'm gonna stand it up... geez, I might've actually wrecked it! The girl feared, hustling on her way from her final class to the gymnasium. As said before, Quincy's proposal of going to the dance was having a very defined effect on her all day, and she had even noticed that she took her classes in far better stride than usual. Not that it didn't make sense, because it did, but she couldn't have expected that drastic a change.

It's kinda like I just got out of surgery from some ailment and feel completely painless! ... With pizza! Felicia noted with a grin, her stomach getting the best of her near the end of that thought as she approached the gym doors. Placing a hand on each one, she had a sudden thought of a better entrance. Heh... I wonder what Quince'd think if I kicked through the doors like Calamity Jane crashing a saloon. Makes me look like he-woman, and shows him I've got enthusiasm! ... Hells yeah. Let's go for it! Rearing back a step, Felicia raised her right foot and slammed it forward at the doors.

Not a moment too late, she noticed the doors were 'pull', rather than 'push' doors. A quick yelp and a few seconds of hopping around on one foot later, Felicia pulled the doors to the gym open and stepped through.

"Quuuuince, I'm ho-" Felicia blinked, expecting Quince to be working out (or, privately in her girlish fantasies, a whole bunch of sweaty people pumping iron). Instead, while Quince had to be in there somewhere, her view of him was highly obscured by a girl that she recognized as Mikaela. Even from behind, Felicia could identify a lot of the girls in her class.

It was a talent she kept silent for the most part.

Quince looked round as Mikaela spoke. He felt a twinge of disappointment. He'd really hoped it was Felicia. Still, Mikaela was a friend. He couldn't really bring himself to be annoyed at her. "Sorry, Miks. I was actually waiting on somebody else. What are you doing here? Lookin' for me?"

"Sorry, that was a bit abrupt. Sorry to hear about your day." Damn. Was he being that impatient? Why? He liked Mikaela, but she wasn't Felicia. Quince, you're getting yourself all worked up over this. You're just hanging with her, and taking her to Prom. It ain't a big thing.

Then he heard a bang from the door. Ho looked over Mikaela's shoulder to see Felicia stood there, staring at the pair. He quickly ran round Mik and over to ‘Licia. He hugged her once, but strongly, "Hey there. It's real good to see you. You know Mikaela, right."

He winked at Felicia and then spoke over to Mikaela. "Felicia's agreed to be my Prom date." He was still excited at this news, and grinned broadly again. Him and Felicia Carmichael. It was almost a dream.

Felicia would never describe herself as the jealous type; Hell, no, if she found herself acting like one of those prissy 'like, oh my GAWD' drama queens, she'd load herself up with her least favorite flavor of pizza until she exploded. Regardless, coming into the gym and seeing another girl obviously eying (what else could she be doing, right?) the man who had just asked Felicia to the prom... well, it irked the girl a bit. A few moments into the situation, however, and enough had been laid at Felicia's feet to convince her that Quincy was really expecting to see her rather than Mikaela.

"B-Buzz, it isn't what it looks like!" Dorian Drone was waving all four of his arms in a frantic attempt to explain. The odd interloper from the next hive over had just laid herself all over him before he knew what was going on, and at the most inconvenient time, Miss Buzz had walked in.

She didn't give him the reaction he was expecting, however. Despite the fact Dorian had braced himself for a violent outburst, Miss Buzz instead pointed an accusing finger at the frisky female. "I believe you, Dorian, because SHE is the killer! And she's trying to get to your heart... literally!" Dorian's eyes opened in shock and turned to his assaulter (of the sexual variety) just in time for her to pull out a severed stinger, probably belonging to a yellowjacket or bald faced hornet.

"Dorian, look out!!!!" Miss Buzz ran frantically toward the one she loved. Would she be able to save him from a stabby end?

Felicia had found herself running right to Quince and practically leaping into his arms to receive the hug. It wasn't any actual overwhelming romantic feelings that drove her moreso than the fact that she just really, really wanted to do something like that her whole life. She tried on her cousin once... ... but that prick moved out of the way. Grinning something fierce even after Quince had let her go, Felicia nodded in accordance to Quince's question. Of course she knew Mikaela, they just weren't the best of friends. Not the worst of enemies, but too much high school drama was bad for a teen's brain.

"So, yeah, good times!" Felicia exclaimed. Man, why do I feel so hyper? My muscles are shaking and quivering... that's kind of redundant, isn't it? They're the same thing... but yeah! I hope Quince lets me spot him for weightlifting or something, all those muscles... hee hee...

Mikaela for the first time in her life found herself unable to speak. She could barely hear anything except her own thoughts. She had kept the large grin on her face but it now seemed somewhat distorted.

That bitch! Who does she think she is!? How could Quince do this to me!? That man is clueless I can't blame him, he would leave a paper bag on his head for a week if someone asked just the right way! It was obviously this evil succubus! She plans to take advantage of him! The evil bitch, I bet she used sex appeal! Or worst she slept with him!

Mikaela began to shudder at the thought. She could no longer tell if she was grinning as her mind was engrossed in her own thoughts. Although on the outside she just looked like a distracted Mikaela humming "Queen of the Silver Dollar" by "Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show" with her eyes closed.

That rotten little wretch. Wait does that even make sense? Rotten little wrench? Yeah I think so. Felicia must die! Ok maybe that's going a little far Michelle…I mean Mikaela! Still I am Mikaela the Awesome and she is just some girl in our class! He had me! Me! Me! Me! I am not one to be scorned! Megido! Almighty! Ultima! Hahahaha now your dead now bitch! You will not control Quince!

Mikaela opened her eyes and looked at Quince who seemed happy.

I guess murder would ruin my chances and I don't wanna lose Quince.

Mikaela stuck her arm in the air holding the top of her sleeve as she did.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Ok I guess we've met before, but we never really got to know each other! However any friend of Quincy here is a pal of mine! Just take care of the lug. He's good for more then eye candy you know, although I can't tell you what that is." She brought her arm down and laughed a little. However her heart felt heavy. "Oh right! I was just about to announce that I to have decided who I am going to the prom with! I know I originally was gonna go alone, but I thought eh what the hack you only live once! Life is to short! Etcetera. Etcetera."

I'll find someone else, I don't wanna go alone. I don't wanna be alone. If Quince won't go with me then I'll just have to make them suffer. I won't be ignored! I won't be forgotten!

"Would you to adorable love birds like to be left alone now?" Mikaela winked suggestively as she spoke. In truth she felt like throwing up.

Quincy was happy that the girls seemed to be getting along. While Mikaela had made some strange faces at the announcement, it wasn't anything that he hadn't seen from her a thousand times before. That was just Mik.

Felicia certainly seemed to be more into him than she had been that morning. He quite liked the change. She seemed a bit more physical, running to his hug and reciprocating hard. Still, she seemed a bit unsteady after he let go. Hoping that he hadn't squeezed to hard, he kept one arm around her waist, partly to support her, and partly because he liked it there. It made the whole thing seem more real.

He's good for more then eye candy you know, although I can't tell you what that is.

Quince blushed a bit at that comment. Mikaela was probably just joking like normal, but he'd never really thought of himself as ‘eye candy'. Maybe it was just being around Felicia that made him feel better, more confident. Still, the end of the comment stung a bit. He was strong, healthy, good in a tussle, and had done his best to look out for Mik where he could. She should know what he was good for better than most. Mik then made a surprise announcement of her own.

"So, you've decided. That's great. I didn't know you'd had any offers. You gonna keep us guessing who the lucky guy is, or you gonna tell us? Is it Rudy?" Quince had never really thought about Rudy and Mik going out. They were both his friends, and friends were something separate than boyfriends and girlfriends. Still, he knew he'd never seen them together when he wasn't there. Wait, that made no sense. If he'd not been there, how could he have seen them? He didn't put it past Rudy to make a move, but couldn't see the two of them together.

When Mik made the offer to leave, Quince wasn't sure how to play it. Yeah, he'd wanted to spend the time with ‘Licia, but Mik had hunted him down for some reason. He still felt a bit guilty about abandoning her at the game last night. He decided to let Felicia decide. "Whaddya think, ‘Licia? You want someone here to talk to while I sweat?"

"Oh, yeah!" Felicia raised an arm limply and quickly dropped it in Mikaela's direction. "It's not like it's anything serious, Quince just asked me to the prom and that's it, but I'll take care of him any way I can!" She shot a mischevious look in the boy's direction and added, "If I ever manage to get that law degree, I can bust him out of jail if he decides to do something really stupid."

"Would you to adorable love birds like to be left alone now?"

Things had gotten even less comfortable once Mikaela announced her intentions to leave them. Not that Felicia could ever claim to be a sociological genius, but Mikaela seemed in a hurry to leave. Then again... She must be really good friends with him, I bet they knew each other for a long time! Mik seems nice enough, maybe I could base a character off of her in that roleplay... a helpful foil to Miss Buzz, maybe?

The whole thing had still caught her off guard and Felicia struggled to think of a polite response. Before thinking of how to articulate the response, though, she had to figure out what her answer was in the first place. Did she want to have Mikaela stay in the room with them, or... not? Luckily for her, Quince spoke up first. It was much easier to follow up with something he said rather than answering on her own, even if she wasn't totally sure she wanted to agree with him in the first place.

"Yeah, stay and talk with us!" Felicia said with the same giddiness she had when she entered. "We could both spot him and totally ogle his muscles... I mean, admire his physique, I mean... ensure his safety!" The last sentence was accompanied by a classical shifty look, an exaggeration of old Bond villains or possibly even Dr. Evil.

"So, who's this Rudy guy? Is it that one that's on the debate team or whatever?" Felicia asked offhandedly, often looking at Mikaela once or twice while the rest of her gaze was towards Quincy.

Mikaela froze when Quince had offered to let her stay. The girl had said it was nothing, but Mikaela didn't know if this was true.

On one hand I can keep an eye on them. One the other hand seeing them together makes me sick to my stomach. Why is that? She seems like a very nice girl, yet I wanna rip that giddy smile of her face.

"Yeah, stay and talk with us! We could both spot him and totally ogle his muscles... I mean, admire his physique, I mean... ensure his safety!"

The look in her eyes suggested she was just messing around like Mikaela does, but for some reason this only caused Mikaela to feel more sick.

"So, who's this Rudy guy? Is it that one that's on the debate team or whatever?"

"Yeah." Is Rudy on the debate team. I can't remember anymore! I feel sick. "He's just a friend though I'm not going with him." Mikaela wasn't really concentrating anymore. Her voice was oddly calm compared to the grin on her face.

Am I that easily replaced? I don't want to be here and seeing them together, but I don't want Quince to hate me. I don't want anyone to hate me. What should I do?

Mikaela just smiled and waved her hand. "Anyway sorry no can do, I gotta finish my story for the school paper and I have homework to finish. Oh but we should all hang out later! I'll call you!" Mikaela opened the door. "Hey Quince, take care of yourself. Um-and you to uh-Felicia"

She slipped out the door and shut it. She headed down the hallway and then she sat down took out her old CD Walkman with those large headphones that cover your ears.

"Don't worry little guy everything's fine." She put the headphones over her ears and put her head back. The sound of Alone in The Town from one of her favorite games played, Mikaela didn't know why, but every time she turned the CD on with the Silent Hill 2 Soundtrack that was the track it played first. She turned it to Promise and stood up.

I didn't get Felicia's number. I didn't get it. Like hell you where going to call her anyway! Well I could just call Quince. I am not really going to call her. Damn it! Damn it! I hate her! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! I like Quince, so what do I do. Pretend to like her. Anymore of this and your going to have to start taking- those things again.

Mikaela grinned and walked away.

(Continued in -)

"Yeah, Rudy's in Debate. He does Drama as well. Got his fingers in lots of pies, that boy does. You'd prob'ly know him to look at. Tall guy, red hair. So, Mik, if it ain't Rudy, then who?"

Quince found that his question was not going to be answered as Mikaela waved them off, and left the gym. For some reason, Quince felt a bit guilty. He'd blown her off last night so he could work, today he felt that he and Felicia were making her feel uncomfortable, but he had no idea why. Still, he'd tried, and now, he wanted to spend time with his girl.

Was that weird, thinking of her as ‘his girl'? He'd only asked her out that morning, and it wasn't as though they were serious. Just hanging, and going to prom together. Maybe this thing had legs, and maybe it didn't. Still, the way that ‘Licia was acting; she certainly seemed to be into him.

He took the opportunity of Mik leaving to turn towards Felicia, and place his hands on her hips, holding her close without being a hug. The fact that she was a couple of inches taller than him went slightly against his intended effect, but he looked her in the eyes and grinned.

"I'm sorry about all that, ‘Licia. I'm never really sure what goes on in that girls head at the best of times. She just comes in here, and I still don't know what she wants. Enough about her though. Still, you know you're the only girl I got on my mind right now."

Damn, this just felt right. Still, he didn't want to do anything too fast, didn't want to push the girl. He'd said as much to her this morning. He released her, and began to unwind the skipping rope from around his fist, where he'd unconsciously twisted it earlier.

"I was gonna get a bit of skipping in, then a bit of bag work. Maybe some weights, if you wanna spot me. The whole routine takes about a half hour, when stripped down like this. After that, I am open and available for whatever you want me to do. You cool with that? I mean, you don't mind hanging here. I know it ain't the place most girls like to hang." He was talking too much again. He took a deep breath to get his mouth back under control, and looked at his girl.

"Hey Quince, take care of yourself. Um-and you to uh-Felicia"

Felicia waved to Mikaela to give her a polite send-off, but something about the whole situation came across as uncomfortable. Mikaela, just the way she talked and looked at her, it gave Felicia this shivering, cold feeling. She didn't seem happy to see me at all. I wonder if there was ever anything going between... bah, does it really matter? Come on Felicia, there are better things to be focused on right now, like a hot sweaty guy! And you call yourself a hormonal teenager...

Shrugging off Mikaela's departure with the literal gesture and a content smirk, the hopefully future lawyer turned towards Quince to hopefully have some girlish staring adventures some more, but was completely taken by surprise when her prom date took hold of her hips. Y-you know, this is when one of those Miss Buzz ideas normally hits me... Felicia thought, wide-eyed but still smiling from the boy's touch and words. Aaaand yet, I think I'm too busy thinking about perverted things with him!! Heh heh heh...

While there was an inward groan from the girl when Quincy let her go and began to talk exercise, the disappointing event had the consolation of a lingering effect somewhere below Felicia's waist. This was appropriate enough, though, just talking in the gym when she took the time to consider they were 'dating' for a grand total of less than a day. Then... let's have some fun with him, get my mind on different things! I can't be a pervert 24/7, after all...

"Psh, like I'm most girls! WELL!" Felicia said in a shrill voice, spinning on her heel as though she were going to leave in a huff... but completed the rotation with a grin directed at Quince. "Sheesh, stop worrying! I don't know what girl wouldn't take the opportunity to watch an attractive guy's muscles work. It's like me saying 'Quince, I know the pool isn't where most guys like to hang out, but I hope you don't mind if I strut around in a bathing suit while posing sexily." She walked over to the bench and sat down, eyeing the weights. Shit... one... two... three.. four 45-plates. Mah-ah-ah! ... Stupid Sesame Street... "You said skipping first, right? Sure! Consider me your workout partner, 'hon'!" Felicia said with mischevious stressing on that last word.

Quince began his routine as he grinned at Felicia. The rope began slowly, as he got a rhythm, then he quickened the pace. He tried to lose himself in the motion, the sound of the plastic rope slapping against the wooden floor of the gymnasium, the slight energy put into lifting his feet just enough to escape before returning to the ground, giving him time to jump again before the rope finished its cycle. This time, he was having difficulty keeping his mind blank like normal.

The idea of Felicia in a bathing suit just wouldn't leave him. He could picture it as he looked over to her, her body glistening in the water as she… Whoa, Quince. Control yourself. The last thing he needed was to go and do something stupid, to ruin it all. Sure, she was flirting like crazy, but he was used to that from Mik. It didn't mean anything. Damn, why was everything getting inside his head?

He wasn't used to all the social niceties of high school dating. His previous relationship, Clare, had pretty much happened without him noticing it. Just one day they'd been hanging out, friends, the next they were dating. It had lasted for a couple of years, the two of them had fun, but in the end, she broke it off, He wasn't committed enough. To anything. He was determined he wasn't going to make that same mistake here.

He slowed, put the rope down, and looked at Felicia. "'Licia, can you just help me clear one thing in my head here? What are we? I mean, are we friends, are we a couple, are we dating or what? I know you said you wanted to take things slow earlier, but I don't know how slow is too slow. Basically, what I'm saying is I need you to show me what you want. I'm no good at figuring this out on my own. I just really don't wanna screw this all up, y'know Just, just don't tell anyone."

He rubbed the back of his head and looked down, almost ashamed that he'd had to admit all this. Quincy Jones, Bayview's resident meathead, having to ask a girl what they were doing.

There wasn't denying a slew of dirty thoughts about Quince's body as Felicia watched him work out, but she had to shamefully admit in her head that it was really the fact of a sweaty body that turned her on moreso than Quince himself. The guy was amusing to be sure, definitely something fun to be around, but he wasn't sending hearts spinning around her head yet... either that, or she just wasn't the purely romantic type. Nah... I've got the pervert part of things in spades, but I think I could follow my one dreams a bit and be more lovey-dovey.

This was where her mind was when Quince caught her with that question of his, and it was a doozy. What were they? It was something even Felicia had been trying to figure out. Quincy had asked her to the prom and as such they were obviously something, what the high school world would call 'an item'. The official words of 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' were never said, though. This looks like a job for... common sense. Ugh, the worst superhero ever...

Felicia squared her body to Quincy, paused a second, and slowly began to walk in his direction. She conciously reminded herself to throw in a little bit of the hip-swing every so often to 'feminize' her approach. This wasn't her sort of thing by any set of standards, but it was fun to mess around with Quincy and he probably liked looking at it anyway, so... why not? "Well, Quincy...", she said in a tone that sounded like she was ready to strap him to the wall, "What do you think we should be? I'm new at this, you know, so there's probably a lot of the... rules... of this sort of thing I'm not familiar with. Please don't take advantage of little ol' me!" Felicia tried to play the part of a stock heroine for a few minutes, even trying to swoon in Quince's direction before chuckling. "Or else I'll break your balls, but otherwise it'll be a party!"

She stood straight and took a hold of Quincy's shoulders. It wasn't rough, but it did resemble something akin to how a strong guy would snap up the beautiful girl in a typical teen movie. Being the taller of the two and taking the initiative, Felicia had instigated something of a role reversal. "So, it's your call, hon. What are we?"

As Felicia started to walk towards him, Quincy began to reflect on just how similar she was to Mikaela. She certainly seemed to be having fun playing with his levels of discomfort. And the way she was moving her hips. She must know what she was doing. And there she was, telling him not to try and take advantage of her. Talk about mixed signals.

She raised his arms up onto his shoulders as she threatened to break his balls. What was he supposed to do? He'd already explained that he didn't know what he was doing, and now she was making everything harder on him. Literally. He hoped that she didn't notice.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking things. Relax, go with the flow. It usually works out for ya, Quince. With ‘Licia having her arms on his shoulders, his hands found their way onto her hips again. "Tell you what, girl. If I start going too fast, let me know, and I'll stop."

He moved his hands slowly, gently, bringing them first round her back, and slowly up her spine, moving into her, bringing her close. As he got higher, he brought them round and over her arms, reaching up slightly so that he could gently caress her neck. "Well, what I want us to be is a couple. I want to be able to walk about the school, holding your hand, and to have you sit on my knee at lunch. I want to be there to be happy for you when you ace your tests. But right now, I wanna kiss you." He moved his head towards her and prayed that she wasn't going to scream.

Well, he's handling this well... Felicia thought with a grin. There were many ways that she foresaw Quincy reacting, and the worst ones involved him pushing her away, labelling her as a skank, or things of the same quality. Instead, given a moment of hesitation or two, he seemed to be doing exactly what she'd expect a normal guy to do. Well, a normal guy that doesn't mind there's a few pounds here and there extra to love... but whatev! It could be worse, I could be one of those girls like Laverne or whatnot...

Felicia's back stiffened, arching back slightly at the touch of Quincy's hand going up her spine. Intentional or not, it was certainly a nice move, and Felicia subconciously appreciated it as such. A couple, huh? This'll be a little fun to play with! Not sure how long it'll last, but I figure I should get into this dating scene before it's too late to have some enjoyment around here. When it becomes too much of a strain, I'll break it off... Those thoughts were accompanied by the laughable idea that Felicia would be acing every test, though Quincy had something of a point; she'd be ecstatic if she actually managed to pass one of her British Literature tests with a 90 or higher.

Felicia was still cooking up a 'hot and sexy' reply to give to Quince, but she'd have to leave it on the backburner. The word 'kiss' came out of the boy's mouth and, before she knew what was going on, their lips locked. Everything in her head skipped a beat, all her thoughts derailed, and her body felt a flash of heat. This is... nice? Well, shit! This is NICE! Felicia giggled, even with their mouths still together, and began to kiss Quincy back with some actual effort.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what is your verdict?

In the charge of being a total horndog, we find the defendant, Felicia Carmichael....

GUILTY.