The Talk

"I'll show my father," Whitney proclaimed. "No one tells Whitney Diamond what she can and can not do."

"Whitney, they all just want you to be safe," Lacey reminded at the blonde's heels as they speed-walked through the great room and toward their bedroom.

"I'm the one that nearly died. Do you think I want to risk that again?" Whitney stopped abruptly in the hall between the bathroom and den.

"You should listen to your chaperones," Ramsey suggested. "You won't be able to escape from them all. So why try?"

"You've met Chastity. I'm not worried about her one bit. This is a huge social event. She's going to get distracted immediately," Whitney revealed. "No, it's Dr. Mayfield that concerns me. Lacey, I take it that you've met her. What's your opinion?"

"Gorgeous."

"And?"

"Socially awkward. That makes her standoffish. Even worse than Rammy," Lacey remarked.

"I am not standoffish!"

"Sometimes you are," Whitney stated. "So zip it with the outrage. We don't have time for it. Lace, I need you to work your matchmaking magic for Dr. Mayfield. Are you up to it?"

Ramsey grumbled a few comments about showoffs.

"With this short notice? It's going to be difficult. Not that I haven't given it a few thoughts in the past," Lacey responded, looking a little frazzled. "I'll need to check my phone and notebook."

"Good. Remember, it's only for a distraction. You aren't setting up a future wedding."

"What about your parents and all the other parents?" Rammy argued.

"Ramsey Swift, have you not learned anything yet? I'm the captain for a reason, and it's not only because I'm beautiful," Whitney boasted.

"Performing a cheer isn't going to work," Ramsey mocked. She suddenly squealed as Whitney grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

KNOCK KNOCK

"You better be decent in there, Sean!" Whitney hollered. Giving him three seconds to get decent, Whitney opened the den door, barged in, and dragged Rammy with her.

Sean sat up on the bed with JoJo and Newt seated in two of the chairs. All three goggled at the girls rushing inside.

"Sorry to break up the best friend conference, but it's high time this is taken care of," Whitney apologized. However, JoJo and Newt didn't take the hint until Whitney motioned for them to leave.

"Whitney, what are you up to? They don't have to leave," Sean protested in mild annoyance as his friends walked out.

"You too, Lace," Whitney added, shoving the petite redhead out the door.

"No! I need to be in there with--" Lacey's protestations met the door slamming shut in her face and locking.

"Okay, now that the spectators are out, we can proceed," the cheer captain announced, scanning the other two.

Ramsey stood awkwardly while biting her lip. Sean's head shot back and forth between the two girls, confused until it dawned on him what this might be about. Then he felt his stomach drop. Silence filled the room.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Talk!"

"Um, I, you, I would like to apologize," Ramsey hesitantly started.

"No!" Sean blurted out. "I'm the one that should be sorry."

Another awkward silence filled the room, causing Whitney to nearly snap again. Sean, who sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor, began again.

"Five years ago, on our trip to the old cabin, I saw the prettiest girl in the world. I was enchanted by you, Ramsey. I desperately wanted to talk to you, but I couldn't. I was intimidated by your beauty, and I could never find a moment to get you alone."

"Oh, yeah, we had WAY more people here last time. The Toones stayed over, and we had all those day visitors. It was--oh, sorry!" Whitney apologized, motioning for Sean to carry on.

"Yeah, it was kid central around here," Sean chuckled. "I knew who you were. I had heard your name mentioned as one of Lacey's good friends." Ramsey winced at his statement of knowing her name. "So I knew where I might find you the next summer. I rode my bike past the Strattons repeatedly, hoping to catch a glimpse of you. Maybe even talk to you. But Peyton caught me, assumed I was there for a different reason, and banned me from that street."

"You do know that Rammy lives across the street, right?" Whitney questioned.

"Whitney, shut up!" Rammy finally spoke.

"Geez, sorry."

"I didn't know exactly that she did back then," Sean revealed. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I gave up my hopes of talking to you, but I never forgot you. When high school started, I planned to be bold and introduce myself. I went to several parties in order to do that. Unfortunately, my dumb luck always led to a reason why I didn't. Eventually, I gave up the party idea. I'm not a party person; I'd rather stay home and read a book or play video games."

"Really? Me too! Well, I mean the part about reading a book," Ramsey chimed in, feeling the need to say something.

"Great, you two can take turns screwing while the other reads," Whitney quietly commented.

"I wish I knew that back then. Instead, I thought you were like Lacey and Whitney," Sean relayed.

"Hey!"

"No offense," Sean added, placating Whitney. Turning back toward Ramsey, he continued. "I realize I sound either like a creepy stalker or the loser in a teen film too scared to talk to his dream girl. In some ways, I was too scared. But, on the other hand, I didn't know what type of guy you liked. Those double dates with Lacey and Austin stomped out a lot of hope, but then you dated Micah. He didn't seem all that different from me."

"Sean, I--"

"No, please let me finish, Ramsey. I'm almost done," Sean interrupted. "The part I want to apologize for is putting you on a pedestal. I made you the perfect girl in my mind. I now realize that no one is perfect. My crush has made you feel uncomfortable over the last few days, and for that, I'm truly sorry. I hope what happened here, because of me, won't give you any issues after the trip." After finishing, Sean hung his head again in embarrassment.

"Well, that was both sad and sweet," Whitney remarked.

"I'm sorry for getting your name wrong, Sean," Ramsey began. "Don't feel like a loser. I knew you existed, but I also don't think I'm the villain here because I mixed up your name."

"You're not," Sean insisted, raising his head to look at the strawberry blonde.

"As for your story, I don't know what to think. I guess I should feel flattered, but I find it unsettling for a person to have watched me for so long with those feelings," Ramsey admitted, appearing uncomfortable again. "It doesn't feel normal."

"Normal? Hahahaha!" Whitney blurted out, laughing madly. It took a long minute for her to calm down enough to continue. "Ram, that's normal for me. And Lacey and Cat, and practically every one of our friends. Do you have any idea how many boys have crushes on me? How many daydream about dating or screwing me? How many jerkoff in their beds to me? It is a fucking lot."

At the jerking-off part, Ramsey's attention darted over to Sean. He realized what her horrified face meant and attempted to deny it.

"Let it go, Sean. You absolutely rubbed a few out to Rammy," Whitney stated. "And don't look as if you're about to vomit, Ram. I bet almost every boy at school you talk to has squirted to visions of your tits or ass."

"Why must you always be so crude?" the school reporter huffed.

"Blah, blah, blah. Are we done apologizing to each other?" Whitney inquired. "Good. Rammy, you need to loosen up more and stop treating life like a news article. Sean, you need to stop crushing on girls you don't talk to or step up and make a move on them. The latter won't be an issue from now on."

"It won't?"

"Nope. From now on, you have the great Whitney Diamond at your side. I'm going to make sure you get plenty of attention from girls at school. They'll be moaning your name rather than forgetting it," the school's queen bee added, flashing a mischievous smile.

Sean appeared both awed by the idea and frightened.

Ramsey rolled her eyes.

Whitney caught it.

"I'd knock that off, Ram. Sean's part of us now. I don't want any awkward shit between the two of you," Whitney ordered. Then that mischievous smile returned. "Okay, you two need to make up. Drop your clothes and sixty-nine."

"What?!" Sean exclaimed.

Ramsey turned pink at the idea.

"Geez, it's not like I said to fuck." Whitney threw up her hands. "Hurry up! Get to sucking."

"Whitney, you can't be serious."

"No, I'm not, Sean, but you two are gullible enough that I thought I'd try."

Furious, Ramsey stormed past Whitney, yanked open the door, only to find Bridget about to knock.

"Oh! Is everything alright in here?" Sean's mother asked, her eyes widening at seeing the roster in the room.

"Sure thing it is, Bridget," Whitney cheerfully answered. "I made sure our two little rascals here talked out their issue."

Laughing at Whitney's words, Bridget let Ramsey pass and entered the room. With an exaggerated manner, the attractive mother checked over her son.

"He does appear to have survived it in one piece."

"You forgot to check my pride," Sean responded. Flopping backward onto the bed, he stared at the ceiling. "School is going to be dreadful when this gets out."

"Now, honey--"

"Snap out of it and shake it off, Tarver!" Whitney ordered, marching toward the bed. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared down at her rescuer. "No one is going to care that Rammy called you John. They're going to care that you saved my life. That's what they'll be talking about. That and all the girls I'm going to throw your way."

"I like the sound of that," Bridget hummed. "Tell me more."

"Sean is clearly not ready for a relationship. He's still hung up on Rammy or at least the idea of her," Whitney explained to the older woman. "Our boy here needs to learn that there is more than one girl at school. Outside of Beyza, he wasted his last five years. Once I'm done with him, he'll have sampled plenty of flavors."

"That's exactly what I told him last night. It's time to sow his seeds," Bridget replied, bringing a smile to Whitney's face.

"I knew I liked you, Bridget," the younger blonde said, rubbing her hands together. "Having you as a partner in this helps tremendously. Any suggestions for tonight?"

Leaning over, Bridget covered part of her mouth with the back of her hand. Then, in a stage whisper, she revealed, "I think my son likes big boobs."

"Oh, I know he likes them."

"Should've stayed at the hospital," Sean groaned, throwing his arm over his face.

KNOCK KNOCK

Bridget and Whitney turned at the soft knock on the open door. Gabriela stood there with a garbage bag and a roll of tape.

"No time to mope, honey," Bridget said, tugging Sean's arm. "It's time for your bath."

"Better hurry as you need one," Whitney commented.

"And when did you last take one?" Sean challenged, removing his arm from his face to glare at the other teen.