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[Chapter Seven]

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tenacious \tuh-NEY-shuhs\

(adj.) not easily dispelled or discouraged; persisting in a course of action

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A week had gone by since I had talked to my parents about my stalker. Surprisingly enough, things had started to die down. Sure, I took extra precautions now, like hiding my car keys and letting my parents know where I was going and what I was doing, but it didn't matter because my clone had pretty much disappeared. I wasn't sure where she was, or what she was doing, and that scared me more than I wanted to think about because I knew that this reprieve was too good to be true. There was no way this peace would last. Eventually something would happen. And whatever it was...it wouldn't be good.

For example, Prom was coming up next weekend. My clone was bound to show up to that event and wreak havoc and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that cluster just yet. Plus, I still didn't have a date. Secretly, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to go, regardless of what Olivia thought.

Reese had already asked me. Twice. But I said no both times, eventually convincing him to ask Hannah since she really wanted to go with him. The jerk didn't even thank me. Whatever. Connor and Mark had both asked me too. Connor with red roses and Mark with that chalk stuff you can put on car windows. A couple days after that James tried his luck and asked me to Prom in the middle of class with a white rose and a teddy bear. I turned him down as gently as humanly possible, ignoring the heated glares from Olivia.

"You can't keep saying no to people who ask you to Prom," she protested at Andrew's locker the next morning, "pretty soon there will be no one left!"

"I didn't want to go with any of them," I argued, "Besides, they only wanted to go with me because I allegedly made out with them."

"You didn't make out with James," she pointed out quickly.

I frowned and crossed my arms, "His friends did. He would never have known I existed if not for his friends. I'm not looking for a quick hook up date to Prom, okay?"

Olivia looked to Andrew for help, but he was pretending to be completely engrossed in his locker contents at the moment. "Ugh," she growled. "You're being so stubborn. The next person that asks you, you have to say yes to, okay?" She stared intently at me, waiting for my reply. I knew if I didn't agree with her she would continue to bother me.

"Fine," I sighed. "Next person that asks me I'll go with." Olivia clapped her hands excitedly and linked her arm with Andrew's. I shook my head in disbelief and walked away to my locker, praying that whoever it was wouldn't make me want to kill myself.

Grabbing my books from my locker I made my way to class, secretly hoping everyone would avoid me. I was so afraid that someone would open their mouth and ask me to Prom. Actually, if Olivia wasn't around, I didn't necessarily have to say yes. But I knew that I'd feel so damn guilty for lying to her about it later. Ugh, stupid high school drama.

"Hey Dayna!" Connor called when I entered class. I waved at him and quickly sat down in my seat, ignoring him. He came over to my desk and sat down on the table, grinning at me. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing," I said casually, "I'm just a little sick. I think I might have mono." I coughed weakly and smiled at him.

"Oh," he said awkwardly, slowly removing himself from my desk, "that really sucks...uh, well hope you get better soon!" With that, he was turning around and heading back to his seat. I gave an inward sigh of relief and rested my head in my hands. That was a close call. All I had to do was make up excuses before anyone asked me, and then I'd be free from crappy Prom dates.

Luckily, after that the teacher came in and class started so I was saved from any other awkward encounters. The rest of the day was pretty much the same as any other day. During lunch Olivia asked me if I had a date yet. She was irritated when I said no.

"Have you even tried to get a date?" she asked.

"Uh, no," I replied sarcastically, stuffing a handful of chips in my mouth.

"Day," she scowled, "you have to at least try!"

I rolled my eyes at her, not in the least swayed by her whining. "No I don't. You said nothing about trying to get a date; you just said I had to accept the next person who asked me."

I looked to Andrew to back me up, but he gave me a wide-eyed look and held his hands up. "Nuh uh, don't even think about trying to involve me in this conversation, I want nothing to do with it."

"That's because you know I'm right, but you don't want your girlfriend getting mad at you."

"So astute," he grinned teasingly. I threw a chip at him in irritation. He was so whipped.

Olivia watched me carefully throughout lunch, as if slowly devising a plan. I wouldn't put it past her to trick me into something. I was going to have to be extra careful in English today. We headed to our separate classes after lunch with Olivia still giving me a weird look. I sat down in Pre-Calc and pulled my hair around my face, ignoring Reese, even though he already had a date to Prom. I didn't want to take any chances.

Soon enough, English class came around. I left Pre-Calc and spotted Olivia right away. "Have a date yet?" she asked me right as she saw me.

"No," I growled. "What are you up to?" I asked suspiciously.

She gave a fake laugh and lightly smacked me. "What in the world are you talking about? Why would I be 'up' to anything?"

I shot her another suspicious look, "I know you Olivia and you're really bad at lying. I can tell you have something planned. I want to know what it is." We entered the classroom and sat in our usual seats in the front.

"Don't worry about it, Dayna," she said, "It's not a big deal." Like that's going to make everything okay. Just because she said it's not a big deal...right. That just makes me even more curious about what she has planned.

Andrew joined us a few minutes later, but he had no idea about what she had planned when I asked him. "She refused to tell me," he admitted. "Sorry."

I gave a frustrated growl and watched Olivia carefully. She had a carefree smile on her face and was watching the door casually. When Kyle walked in her face lit up. I had a feeling whatever was going on, I wasn't going to like it.

"Hey Kyle!" she called out, giving him a friendly wave.

He looked a little taken aback but returned the greeting awkwardly. "Uh, hey?"

"You're smart, right?" she asked him. "Well of course you are," she laughed. "Do you think you can help me with something? These two," she motioned at Andrew and I," are arguing over the answer and I need a third, unbiased opinion. Can you help?" She gave a disarming smile and waited patiently.

The poor guy looked so confused, but he came over to help anyways. He probably didn't want to come off as a complete ass. Andrew and I were still in the beginning stages of shock so we couldn't argue with what Olivia was saying. Unless I had zoned out in the past few minutes, I had no idea Andrew and I were arguing about anything.

Olivia pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and held it out to Kyle. "Can you read what this says out loud? They're arguing about how to correctly read the sentence. Apparently if you read it different ways, it has different meanings. So just say it without reading it first."

Oh no. Oh no no no no no. I was starting to figure out what she was doing. In horror, I watched as Kyle slowly unfolded the paper and opened his mouth to read the sentence. Please Lord, don't let it say what I think it does. Karma fairy, if you're still there, I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, please help me.

"Dayna," he started out, not stopping to even consider what he was saying, "Will you go to Prom with me?"

Eff. My. Life.

It took Kyle a moment, but after he realized what he said he dropped the paper like it was a hot potato and took a step back. "Crap," he whispered, running a hand through his thick black hair. His face was a mask of horror as he looked at me worriedly. "I didn't mean to ask you, I just read what it said..." he trailed off, but then redirected his attention at Olivia. "What was this all about? Was this some trick to set me up?" He was starting to look furious and just a little bit scary. I leaned back in my seat, trying to put some distance between us.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he seethed, turning his anger on me. His silver eyes were sparking in anger, flickering from a light silver to a dark charcoal as he tried to process the situation.

Offended, I glared back at him. "I had nothing to do with this, it was all her idea. I don't want to go to Prom with you!"

"Good!" he barked, preparing to turn away.

"But you promised," Olivia whined pathetically, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

I groaned as Kyle turned around to look at me with wide eyes. "Promised what?" he asked suspiciously.

"I promised to say yes to whoever asked me to Prom next."

"And you," Olivia accused, pointing at Kyle and continuing on her rant as if we had never interrupted her, "are you really going to be a jerk and take back your offer? You can't just ask a girl to Prom and rescind the offer!"

Kyle looked confused and cornered as he tried to figure out how to respond to the situation he was in. I could tell that he really wanted to say to hell with it all and walk away, but Olivia was really good at being persuasive. It's like trying to tell a small child that Santa, the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy aren't real. You just can't do it.

He looked at Andrew and me for help, but I was facing my own dilemma. I couldn't say no, because I had promised Olivia, but I didn't want to go to Prom with Kyle. I really didn't want to go with him. Even Reese would be better. Maybe.

Andrew gave a sympathetic shrug, "Sorry man, I can't help you."

"So...?" Olivia cooed.

Kyle glared at me again, letting me know that this was my fault. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out, knowing it would only add fuel to the fire. I was waiting for him to reject me and walk away. "But I didn't actually ask her," he tried.

Olivia sighed heavily and crossed her arms, directing a patronizing look at Kyle. "Do you have a date to Prom?"

"No, but—"

"Are you planning on asking anybody else?"

"No, but I—"

"Good, it's settled then," she said happily, efficiently cutting off all forms of argument. Kyle looked like he wanted to keep defending himself, but Olivia had left him no room.

"Fine," he growled roughly. "I'll take you to Prom, but I'm only doing it because I'm tired of other girls throwing themselves at me, and I'm slightly worried your psychopathic friend will stalk me until I agree to it."

"Great," I muttered.

Olivia grinned happily and started chattering about dinner plans before the dance and rides and the theme and blah blah blah. I blocked it all out and started absentmindedly doodling. When was my life going to be normal again? I guess I really never had a normal life, but it sure felt like a lot of things were happening at once. I had no idea why Kyle disliked me, I had just learned that my parents cloned me and now I had to worry about getting a Prom dress. Perfect.

"Hey Livy," I interrupted.

She stopped talking and looked at me expectantly, "I need to go dress shopping..." Olivia squealed and started making plans for this weekend, listing off all the stores we could try. "We're going to one store," I said firmly. "Only one. I'm finding a dress there or I'm not wearing one at all."

"Interesting," Kyle said suggestively.

I blushed and tried to glower at him. Pervert. Not what I meant at all. Olivia pouted, but knew better than to push me on this issue. She knew I would stay true to my word in this case.

"We'll discuss all the details later," Olivia announced quickly. Mr. Kramer finally entered the classroom and was calling the class to attention. I groaned under my breath and sank further in my seat. Maybe going to Prom with Kyle wouldn't be so bad. I'd have Olivia and Andrew there with me. The only downside was that I would have to be on alert for my clone. There was no doubt in my mind that she would show up and try something.

I didn't pay much attention during class and before I knew it, English was done and school was over for the day. I left the room with Olivia and Andrew, trying to avoid eye contact with Kyle. He glanced at me briefly and looked like he wanted to say something, but left the room quickly.

Shrugging, I made my way to my locker and grabbed my stuff. When I closed the door, Reese was standing there with an angry look on his face. "Is it true?" he demanded.

"Is what true?" I asked calmly, trying to think of what he could be talking about.

"Are you going to Prom with the new guy, Kyle Drake?" He sneered his name like it was a dirty word.

"Oh," I said softly, realizing that Reese was more offended I had rejected him but agreed to go with Kyle. "Yah, it's true."

Reese narrowed his eyes and pouted. "What the hell, Dayna? I'm not good enough for you?"

Quickly scrambling for an excuse I offered a guilty smile, "I'm sorry Reese. I had promised him a long time ago, but forgotten about it. It was the first day he was here or something," I said, motioning with my hand vaguely.

Reese looked suspicious and I hoped that he would be dense enough to believe me. "Why didn't you tell me that when I asked you to Prom?"

"Would you really have believed me if I did?" I waited, hoping he would take my half-assed excuse and leave.

He shrugged and leaned against the locker casually, "I guess not. I just wish you would have told me sooner, I don't like sharing my women." Women. Plural. Chauvinist pig.

"Dude," I said, none too kindly, "you have a date to Prom. Okay? I have to go, nice talking to you." I adjusted my bag strap on my shoulder and waited for him to leave. He tried to lean in and kiss me, but I moved out of the way, offering a knowing smile. He feigned hurt, but turned to walk away. Thank goodness.

Andrew and Olivia were waiting for me by the school entrance, ready to head to Andrew's house. I grinned when they caught sight of me and ambled on over. "Ready?"

"You betcha," they answered happily. I linked arms with Olivia and skipped towards the doors. We headed to our cars, parked near each other and threw our bags in. I was getting ready to get in the car when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see Kyle trying to get my attention.

"What's up?" I said, striving for a casual tone.

"Give me your phone number," he demanded arrogantly.

I crossed my arms and cocked a hip defiantly. "Ask me politely and I might."

Sighing in frustration, Kyle rolled his silver eyes. "Please give me your phone number so that I can call you and get details about the stupid dance."

"I guess that's as polite as you'll get," I muttered under my breath. He held his phone out impatiently, tapping his fingers against his leg. I rolled my eyes and rattled off my number. He typed it in and shut his phone. Without one word of thanks he turned and walked away. "Hey!" I called after him.

"I'll call you," he said pompously over his shoulder.

The nerve. I settled into my car, still in shock over Kyle's rude behavior. I was going to have to eventually confront him and ask him why he disliked me so much. Eventually. For now, I had other things to worry about, like a dress.

I drove to Andrew's house, where he and Olivia already were and let myself in. "Hey Livy?" I called, dropping my car keys onto the kitchen counter.

"Yah?" I heard her voice carry. "Hey, what took you so long?"

I followed the direction of her voice and found them in the living room, watching TV. "Kyle stopped to talk to me," I said unhappily.

She wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, "He did, did he?"

I rolled my eyes at her. Right, Kyle attracted to me; not if we were the last two people on Earth. He'd probably kill me first. "What's the theme of Prom this year?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

She grinned wickedly, rubbing her hands together like an evil villain. "Midnight Masquerade."

"What?" I whispered, feeling my stomach fall to the floor. A masquerade. Which meant masks and unrecognizable faces. The perfect scene for someone trying to hide. The perfect scene for my clone. I was so screwed.