It wasn't that Jake was jealous. No way. He was way better than that Ryder asshole and he knew it. But the way Marley had looked at Ryder made him nervous…Not for himself, but for her. He didn't want her getting pregnant or anything like that. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Hey, Three Nipples," Kitty called out, sashaying over to Jake's side in her skimpy Cheerios uniform. She reached up one hand to yank her ponytail loose, releasing a cascading wave of blonde hair. It looked like she was trying to be sexy and maybe she would've been if Ryder and Marley hadn't materialized in front of them. Jake just couldn't tear his eyes away from how their gazes never left one another and-wait- was he carrying her books? God fucking damn it. Okay now Jake was jealous. He knew Marley was into an old school romance, and Ryder obviously had the upper hand in that. But so what if he wasn't as courteous as Old-School-Bieber-Boy? He was just as-. Smack. Kitty's manicured claws connected with his ear.

"Dude, fuck off!" he snapped, feeling three bleeding scratch marks.

"First of all, Integration-gone-wrong, I'm not a dude. And second, you're never gonna nail Hobo Barbie with your pathetic jealous face and all that smoke coming out of your ears."

"I'M NOT JEALOUS." Jake snarled, causing everyone in the hallway to look up.

"Um sure, you're so green that you're the envy of every vegetable that bitch's thousand-pound mama never ate. If you want to win this, and I know how to win, you have to have a game plan."

"Why do you care, Kitty? You hate Marley."

The blonde girl tapped a finger against her gloss-covered lips, "True, but I definitely like messing with people's emotions. And that Ryder is just begging for my attention. Step one; put your arm around me."

Marley's P.O.V

Ryder was perfect. Everything about him was the opposite of Jake. He was warm, open, and always made her laugh. But then why was Jake still in her mind? And why did it still sting when she saw Kitty and him together? Like today when Ryder was carrying her books from Geometry to Chemistry, which had been so sweet of him, and she had spotted Jake and the blonde demon practically cuddling in the hallway.

"Marley?" Ryder asked, his gorgeous brown eyes looking at her confused.

"Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"Can you read this question for me? I'm kinda lost." Marley smiled back.

"Sure…it says…finish your essay on the back. That's not really a question…" Marley said, turning to face him. Now it was her turn to be confused. Immediately a rosy blush spread over his face.

"Well, you can't blame me for wanting an excuse to shake you out of your daydream. I like it when your beautiful eyes are just mine for the moment," Ryder returned suavely, but Marley knew that wasn't the real reason. She wondered what he was hiding. Still, he had called her eyes beautiful.

"Shush, they're pretty average. Now focus. You can see my eyes after the class assignment." When the bell rang, Ryder grabbed Marley's things before she could protest and led her out of the classroom. She giggled as he dodged her attempts to retrieve them from him. "Ryder, it's really fine. This whole chivalrous thing just takes your perfect personality over the top."

He laughed, his eyes crinkling in time with his white smile, "Oh, this isn't to make a good impression. This is like…blackmail…so you have to walk with me."

Now it was Marley's turn to laugh, "I see how it is, Bieber boy!" She lunged for her Math binder, but slipped and slammed into someone in front of her. "Sorry-!" she squealed, but lost her train of thought as she saw who it was. Jake.

"Watch where you're going, Kiss-ass," Jake snapped through gritted teeth. Marley stepped back, surprised and hurt. Why did he call her that? That was what Kitty had-. Just then, the blonde girl stepped out from behind Jake. Her small frame had been completely masked by his and her wavy blonde hair was on her shoulders, making her seem slightly prettier, yet less trustworthy than before. One of her hands was interlocked with Jake's fingers and the other was flipping Marley off with perfect pink nails that looked like they belonged on Glinda the good witch, not a blonde demon.

"I know it's hard to keep your balance when your stomach hits your face and your approximate weight is about 700 pounds, but try to use at least one of those god-awful eyes that are obviously style-blind since you use them to dress yourself every morning. Or does your mommy dress you? At least that would be an excuse for that sloppy, secondhand, Goodwill sweater," Kitty said snarkily, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows the way she always did.

"Shut up, Kitty," Ryder snapped, his usually optimistic face turning stormy, "And you too, Jake. What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"Um please. What's wrong with us? What's wrong with you? Justin Bieber 2010 hair is, like, way late and if you weren't a football player I'm pretty sure that gay-ass principal would stop fornicating you and realize your reading and writing level is below Brittany's. Oh yeah, I read your file. Dyslexia really does kill brain cells. Why would be with her otherwise?"

Ryder looked like his world had ended. In stony silence, he gripped Marley's hand and led her away. Jake watched them go.

"Are you sure this will work?" he hissed into Kitty's diamond-studded ear.

"Trust me. Girls want what they can't have. If you become the world's meanest bad ass, she'll be pulled to you like you could actually grow JB locks." Jake nodded and walked hand-in-hand with Kitty down the hall. The blonde Cheerio snickered under her breath. Did he honestly think she'd help him get into Marley's pants? Sucks to suck Puckerman, she silently thought. You're in for a hell of a ride.