Erika confronts Elle

With Christy in tow, Erika asked what I was doing now. It was after school so I just said studying. I actually wanted to grab a morning after pill from the store but I obviously wasn't gonna tell her that.

"Great, we're heading to Christy's. Wanna come with?" she asked. She didn't wait for my answer before she dragged me along with her. I should have protested but I didn't know what to say. As far as she knew, Christy and I were friends. I didn't know how to explain that the Body Rentals receiver made me say that. Looking at Christy herself, she was concerned about me coming with too. We had only met for the first time at lunch.

Still, she must have decided to trust Erika because she didn't utter a word as we were led to her house.

"So you really do know her?" Erika asked.
"Duh. You think she just happened to show up at the right time and place?" Christy retorted.

I had no idea why she was covering my ass but I didn't dare complain. I wasn't sure why we were even having an intervention in Christy's room in the first place.

"How come I've never seen you two talk?"

Christy just shrugged, which made Erika pout a little and turn to me. I felt cornered. She was right after all, we never have talked.

"Alright, quick question, Elle: how'd she break her leg?"

It was my turn to shrug now. That did NOT sit well with her.

"Seriously? How do you not know that? Literally everyone knows."
Christy butted in. "Erika, knock it off!"
"No, Christy, it's weird! Ever since you broke your leg, I've been the one helping you get around. Not once did I ever see the two of you look at each other, much less talk about replacing you on the team." She turned back to me again. "Aren't you going to say something, Elle? Don't you find it weird as well?"
"...Find what weird?" I replied nervously.
"Well, let's see. Christy is our head cheerleader. Fast track to hitting it big. All of a sudden, she breaks her leg right before the first game of the season. Then you come in and steal her spot. You, some random nobody, using her uniform, even the same makeup."

Wait, did she figure it out? Again, Body Rentals wasn't unheard of. Did Erika figure out I was being controlled?

"It's almost as if you were jealous of her."

...What.

"In fact, that's the only reason you went out with Lucas, isn't it? It wasn't enough to take what she had, you had to fuck her crush too."

Excuse me? I looked at her in disbelief, which she took as proof of my guilt.

"Yes, Christy, you heard that right. I saw Elle here at the cinema with Lucas. I even saw them go home together."

My face went red for the second time today but this time was not out of embarassment. This bitch just accused me of hating a girl I barely knew and for what? Because I watched a movie with someone she liked? How petty did she think I was?

"You STALKED me?" I said incredulously.
"It was a little weird how close you got with him. You know, since you two have never talked outside of biology. Yes, I checked."

She didn't bother to deny it; she literally followed me all the way to his house just because she thought I might have done something.

I was ready to snap but Christy cut in again. "Erika! She didn't break my leg! I told you, I tripped and fell!"
Erika huffed. "Christy, do you think I'm an idiot? Obviously, she didn't break your leg. But she said it herself: she's been watching us practice for ages now. Didn't even try signing up, just sat there watching us. What kind of creep does that?" The irony of her calling me creepy when she stalked me was lost on her, apparently.
"She also said that she didn't think that she'd be good enough to sign up. You saw how excited she was on Monday."
"So what? This dork comes out of nowhere right after you leave, joins out of pure sympathy and is instantly better than me after trying it out ONCE?"
Sounds like she's just annoyed that I one-upped her.
"What about Lucas then? The whole football team and she chooses the one guy that you like? You can't tell me that was luck too."
Christy's face got even sourer. "He asked her out, not the other way around! Besides, Lucas and I aren't even dating!"

Under normal circumstances, I would have kept my distance and let these two fight each other to the ****. But now? After everything that had happened? I didn't even want to date Lucas in the first place. All the humiliation that I was put through this whole week and now I had this brat telling me what I could and couldn't do? I wasn't gonna take this nonsense any longer. I shot up and picked up my bag.

"Fine! I didn't want to be a cheerleader anyway. You can have your stupid uniform back. I quit. Are you happy?"

If Erika's mouth was agape, Christy's jaw was on the floor. Blood drained from her face as she tried to get up and stop me from leaving. Unfortunately, she forgot she had a broken leg and quickly remembered once she felt the pain shooting through her and fell to the floor. Both Erika and I rushed to her aid, picking her up and placing her back onto the chair she was sitting in.

"Are you okay!?" I asked. Tears were in her eyes and she could barely say one word before having to stifle a groan. Jesus, how bad is it? I thought as I moved to pick up her phone off the floor. It had rolled under her bed so I got onto my knees and reached out for it. Then I saw something else.

Come to think of it, how does Christy know Lucas asked me out? Nobody else was around the second time. Either Erika saw and told her or...

I pulled the phone out from under the bed, along with the Body Rentals helmet. The moment Christy saw it in my hands and locked eyes with me, all the pain on her face was wiped away.

Replaced with guilt.

You know, if I hadn't been so frazzled lately, I would have connected the dots. A top cheerleader getting injured at the same I was **** to replace her? Too much of a coincidence. It really was a dream come true for her to get the helmet. She knew all the moves since she was the captain and her injury meant that the school allowed her to head home early, where she could freely pop the helmet on without interference. It was a good plan.

Too bad she didn't account for her bitch of a friend.

"Why?" I simply asked. My anger had cooled down once I saw her fall but it was coming back now and stronger than before.
Christy recoiled once she saw the fury written on my face. "Um.... well... come on... it wasn't fair."
"It... it wasn't fair? For you?"
"This is my dream! The outfits, the team, I can never do it again because of my leg. Even when it's healed, I'll be so out of practice there'd be no point in rejoining."
"So you **** me to do it instead?"
"Wait, what? You were **** to?" Erika asked. I had almost forgotten that she was here.
"Erika, this is a Body Rentals helmet. The receiver's stuck on my neck. Your friend here, " I pointed at Christy, "took control of my body and made me join the team."

Slowly, her face turned to understanding. Every little detail that didn't add up before now started to make a lot more sense.

Christy scoffed. "You make it sound like I hurt you! If anything, I helped. I got you a hot date, I dressed you up in cute clothes, I even made you popular! Everyone's talking about you now."

Christy was lucky that she was crippled, otherwise that last comment would have made me break her leg myself. It was easier to storm off with the helmet in hand than attack a disabled person.

Her cries to bring it back echoed throughout the house as I walked out the front door.

Sarah was at my place within minutes once I texted her that I got the helmet back. Dumb idea, I know. Sarah could have ratted me out the moment she heard but at this point I was just glad to be rid of it. However, we still had a big problem: the receiver was stuck to my neck. Even with her makeup kit, Sarah struggled to pry the damn thing off. We both sighed, dwelling on our impending doom.

"Can't you look it up at your dad's company?" I asked.
"Nope, " she replied. "Security has gotten tighter so I can't even sneak in."
"Ugh."

Sarah looked at my neck like she was ready to lop it off. I might have actually let her had it not been for Stacy at the doorway.

"Maybe you don't need to sneak," she said, making us both jump. "When Ben was in control, he accidentally overheated the helmet and it booted him out."
"That's cool but we need the receiver off, not the helmet," Sarah pouted.
"Well, won't the same thing work here?"

Both of us took a second to process her words before shifting our heads towards my hair dryer. Scrambling, I lifted up my hair and Sarah pointed the dryer at my neck before blasting it on full power.

"Ow, ow, ow! This isn't working!"
"Stop whining! It's only been a few seconds!"
"Sarah, please! This really hurts!"
"Give me a moment!"
"Any longer will scorch my spine! Take it off--" PING!

A small piece of metal fell to the ground.

"Ha ha! Great! Now let's take it back!" Sarah cheered.
"Hold on, not yet!" I said.
"What? Why not?"
"Are you just going to stroll in and plop it in your dad's hands?"
"Yeah, obvi-- Oh wait."
"Yeah, he'd kill you. But I have a better idea."