(A/N: I meant to have this up on Valentine's Day, but writer's block had other ideas. Enjoy!)

It's Cupid, Stupid BxB Version

"Valentine's Day dance?" Shenzi Tuck saw a poster for the said event on the wall.

"In the 5th grade?" Frankie Tuck was a bit exasperated, "What are we? In high school?"

"Yea," Shenzi agreed, "That's just too much pressure for us pre-teens."

"I'll say."

"I'd mostly go for the free eats anyway," She shrugged.

"I say we do that," Frankie decided, "We can go together and with one of our friends as a group."

"Agreed," Shenzi nodded, "Besides, boys are the last thing on my mi-mi-mi-ei-ei- Hi, Chuckie," She stammered timidly when Chuckie Finster walked by.

"Hi, Shenzi," He smiled and greeted her as he walked by. She sighed dreamily as she watched him.

"Uh, Shen?" Frankie said.

"Huh? Wha-what were we talking about?" Frankie sighed at her sister; She was bitten by the love bug, and seemed to have already forgotten about their plans. So much for going as a group.

l-l

At lunch, they sat with their twin friends, Bobby and Roxy Zimmeruski. "I don't understand Valentine's Day," Bobby remarked, then grabbed a paper heart from Roxy's hands, "Real hearts aren't even shaped like this."

"Hey! You're getting cheese sauce on it!" Roxy snatched it away. "The decorations have to be perfect! And since I'm a member of the decorating committee, no food will be on anything without mine or Lil's say-so!"

"Sorr-ee."

"So uh, it's safe to assume you want to go to the dance with me and Shen as a friendly group?" Frankie asked Bobby. Meanwhile, Shenzi's gaze averted to Chuckie at the next table as she ate.

"As long as I don't need to buy you corsages," He joked, and laughed with the blonde girl.

"Good one, huh, Shenzi?" Frankie asked her sister, but saw that she was distracted. "Shen?" She gently nudged her shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, um, Frankie? I uh... I was thinking..." The two girls faced away from the twins to talk quietly in private. "Don't get mad, but... I'm thinking about asking Chuckie to the dance."

"What?! But what about our deal?"

"I just, I feel like I had an emotional growth spurt since we made that deal."

"Shenzi, that was 5 minutes ago."

"I know, but he gave me a nice "hi," and I think he sees me as a worthy person."

"Alright," Frankie sighed in defeat, "You should go for it."

"Really?" Shenzi smiled shyly. "Thanks, sis. What's the worst that could happen anyway?"

"Finster could laugh until he cramps up before shooting you down, possibly?" Angelica Pickles suddenly taunted her, making her flinch, then slump in despair.

"Don't listen to her," Frankie gently patted her shoulder, "He'll say yes, I know it."

"Thanks, sis."

Later on in the week, Shenzi was reading her geography book during study hall, which took place outdoors. For the upcoming holiday, she was wearing black and pink vertically-striped skinny jeans, black suede creepers that gave her an inch and a half of extra height, black heart stud earrings, a headband with a pink heart and the word "Love" in lighter pink letters, all made of sequins, a pink hair extension in her long bangs, and a black cropped t-shirt with a pink heart outline and "Daddy's Girl" inside of it in pink letters, baring most, if not all, of her flat stomach for anyone to see.

But what she saw made her heart break; Chuckie was walking in her direction, but stopped by Nicole Boscarelli, a girl in their school who was clearly prettier and more appealing than her. She sighed sadly, but simply went back to her book. He deserved someone pretty like Nicole, not someone who would hold him back like herself. "Shenzi!" She heard someone familiar say her name, but brushed it off, focusing on memorizing the states. But what happened next really surprised her; Sean Butler, one of the most popular boys in their school, walking up to her, and saying this to her: "Who're you going to the dance with? Do you want to go with me? Do you want to go steady? I'm not being too pushy, am I?"

Although she wanted a date, she wasn't about to go with Mr. Me, Myself, and I anytime soon. "No, no, no, and yes," She answered with a deadpan, half-closed eyes, and crossed arms.

"Tight! A definite maybe!" He exclaimed, sounding excited as she resisted a facepalm. The boy had the brain of an ant.

"You want to take Shenzi to the dance?!" Angelica was in shock. "This geek?!"

"Yeah," He replied, "She's great. And I never realized it until just now, Angela." Ouch.

"It's Angelica," She growled, "Don't move!" She then grabbed Shenzi's hand, and pulled her aside. "You stole Sean from me, you little Sh-Sean stealer!"

"No I didn't," She protested, "I was just minding my own business."

"More like you were minding mine! Especially with those skanky clothes!" Angelica then walked away angrily, leaving the younger girl mad as well from the accusation. She walked back to her table, ignoring Sean and getting back to her book.

l-l

"Wow, that sounds rough," Kimi Finster remarked. She and Shenzi were now hanging out at the Java Lava, where the latter told the former about what happened the day before, with Z. Now, she was wearing a black retro top with short sleeves, a red, black, and white heart striped ruffle skirt, white socks with black horizontal stripes and red stripes that stopped above her knees, short black combat boots, a red extension, red rose earrings, and a silver shears necklace with a little red rose in the meeting point of the handles.

"Yep," She nodded, "But one thing I'm confused about is; Since when is Sean interested in me? He wasn't before yesterday."

"I'll uh, go order the smoothies," Z stood up, feeling a bit awkward, then walked to the counter.

Just then, Angelica came up to their table. "Kimi, if you know what's good for you, you'll keep Shenzi the boy swiper away from Z."

"Ohh yeah," The black-haired girl decided to play along with sarcasm ,"'Cause I'm already bored with Sean, who I stole just yesterday." The two girls shared a laugh, then a high-five.

"A: Shenzi is one of my best friends, and B: Z is just a good bud," Kimi told Angelica.

"Thanks for the alphabet lesson, but still, you can't trust her! She wears crop tops!"

"Kimi does too, 'yknow," She crossed her arms.

"Watch and learn," Kimi turned back to the Goth, "Shenzi, will you help Z bring the smoothies over here?"

"If you think you can trust me," The said girl replied, and they laughed again as Angelica left in anger. As she walked, Shenzi subtly watched the floor to be careful, so she didn't notice that Z was suddenly hit in the back of his head by a mysterious hackysack. "Do you need help?" She asked him.

But all of a sudden, he looked lovestruck when he looked at her. "Shenzi, Shenzi, Shenzi!"

"What?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

Just then, Sean walked in the cafe, his eyes on her. "Shenzi, there you are!" She backed away when he tried to approach her.

"I got it covered, so buzz off!" Z ordered him.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm taking her to the dance."

"I'm taking her!"

"What? Z, we're going as a group!" Shenzi exclaimed. "You, Susie, and Kimi, remember?"

"Kimi? Kimi who?" He kept his focus on Sean.

"Kimi who?!" The Asian girl repeated in offense.

"I'm taking Shenzi to the dance!" Sean argued.

"I'm taking her!" Z retorted, then walked up to the girl they were verbally brawling over.

"You're not supposed to be taking anyone!" Kimi protested.

"You're not supposed to care," Angelica pointed out in a know-it-all tone.

"I don't! I-I mean I didn't! Okay, I do," She admitted defeatedly.

"Name your corsage!" Z said to Shenzi.

"My uncle runs a limo company!" Sean chimed in, so they were bombarding her.

"I can get us box seats to the opera!" Sean and the younger girl stared at him. "Y'know, if that's where we're going."

After receiving a "I told you so" grin from Angelica, Kimi angrily walked up to the three. "I, I don't know what's going on," Shenzi stammered.

"Best friends? Ha!" The Asian girl ran out of the building, feeling betrayed.

"Kimi, wait!" The Goth girl ran after her, with Sean and Z closely following.

"Shenzi, wait!"

"Buzz off!" She tried to command them, but they didn't listen. When Kimi refused to acknowledge her, she finally lost the two lovesick boys after returning to the Java Lava. "Phew," She sighed in relief, "Finally." Just then, she saw her black uniskelly purse left on her chair from before. "Oh, good thing I came back here." As she checked to make sure everything was still there, Fridge Kaminski entered the cafe, but neither of them noticed each other. After she concluded that nothing was missing, she straightened up and started heading out, but stopped upon seeing the boy whom she saw as the big brother she never had. But little did she know, approaching him was a bad idea. "Hey, Fridge?" He turned to look at her, after something hit his head, and his little sister figure was suddenly the prettiest girl he had ever seen. "I have this problem."

"Sh-Shenzi?" He stuttered at the new feeling he suddenly had.

"You okay?" She asked him, "Why do you look lov... uh oh." She slowly backed away after realizing; Now he was in love with her!

"Shenzi, do you want to go to the dance with me?" He asked her.

"Uh..." She stammered, "I... I have eyes for someone else!" She then made a run for it, but since he was on the school's football team, he was closing in on her. Shenzi ignored the ache in her legs, and increased her speed until she made a quick turn, so she finally lost him. But she didn't stop running until she was in her house, surprising her father, Friar Tuck from her urgent slamming of the door. "I-if any boys other than my friends ask, I'm not home! Fridge is included! I'll explain later!" Before he could ask why, she dashed upstairs to her dark bedroom, then pulled the curtains so the windows were completely covered. She flopped face-up on her bed as she panted in exhaustion. She never ran that much in her life! Since when was she so appealing, that boys just fell for her first thing? It made no sense.

But then she realized; She never got her smoothie! But she couldn't go outside, knowing that not two, but three boys were out to win her hand in... what? Accompaniment to the dance? She didn't know. One way or another, going out of the house was risky. But then, two things in her closet caught her eye: Her short, black ruffled trench coat, and a black sun hat with a red band. She jumped out of bed, grabbed the two items, along with her purse, and headed out after explaining everything to Friar Tuck.

After putting on the coat and hat, she walked along the sidewalks casually, hoping that she wouldn't be spotted by three you-know-who's, but as it seemed, her purplish-grey skin bared on her legs was a giveaway. "Shenzi!" After hearing Sean's voice, she cautiously turned around, hoping it was someone else and was mistaken, but to her horror, all three boys had spotted her! She made a run for it again, her heart pounding from the adrenaline as she felt like three criminals were after her.

She then saw The Big Mall in her sight ahead, and decided to hide there. She practically barged in through the doors, with the boys following, as mall patrons stared at the unusual scene. She finally hid in the Betsey Johnson store, feeling relief when the boys ran right past. Being sneaky, she ran on the balls of her feet out of the building, and stopped at the Java Lava. "Phew!" She sighed in relief. "Finally lost them at the mall."

"Hi, Shenzi." The familiar voice made her freeze, especially when she saw it was Chuckie. Since when did his shift start?

"H-hey Chuckie," She stammered as she took off the hat, feeling safe around him. "C-can I get a green apple smoothie?"

"Coming right up." He grabbed two green apples, and dropped them in the blender.

"Um, is it just me, or does Valentine's Day make people go crazy?" She wondered aloud. "It's like Kimi and I were never friends."

"D'aah!" Chuckie accidentally turned on the blender with the lid off. "How can you say that?"

"Well, if we were, she would've believed me when I told her I had nothing to do with Z liking me all of a sudden."

"Well, yeah, but sometimes, the evidence is just so..." He didn't sound happy.

"I mean, isn't that what friends do?" She cut him off. "You trust each other, even when everything's telling you not to. That's not crazy, is it?"

Chuckie was silent for a second, almost in deep thought. She prayed that he wasn't suddenly in love with her without any explanation. She yearned for his affection, but from a natural way, not from what Sean, Z, and Fridge seemingly felt. "No." His gentle voice snapped her back to reality, and his smile made her heart pound hard. "Not crazy. Not crazy at all," He shook his head. She then thought for a second, and decided to... just do it.

"Um, Ch-Chuckie, will you... go to the dance with me?"

He looked surprised, making her nervous, but then he responded. "Um... okay." She smiled with hope and eagerness. "But just as guys, right?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh?"

"Y'know, just as friends," He clarified, setting the cup in front of her on the counter.

His clarification made her heart shatter into a million pieces. He didn't want her as his official date? "Uh..." She couldn't hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. She knew it; He still wanted Nicole.

"Are you okay?" He asked her in concern.

"Y-yeah," She nodded, trying to blink the tears away, "Thanks for the smoothie." After setting some money on the counter, she took a small sip. As Chuckie continued working, she tried to hide her sadness from him, but because they were best friends, it was difficult. He always knew when she was sad, and managed to comfort her every time. But this time, he was the problem, sort of, so he couldn't do anything for her.

Before long, the Valentine's Dance was in full swing. Shenzi was wearing a Red Queen tutu skirt, suspenders, and boyshorts underneath, a black bow-back rop with short lace sleeves, black and red heart creepers, black and gold heart "Love" dangling earrings, a black and red clef heart layered necklace, a black spike choker with a silver heart pendant, a red extension, and a red heart fascinator headband with black mesh.

She successfully made up with Kimi for everything, but still had yet to solve her problem with the three boys after her heart. When she saw Chuckie start dancing with Nicole, her heart broke yet again. She sighed sadly, before crawling under and behind the table, as Dil Pickles and a boy she didn't recognize came out. "Shenzi?" Lil DeVille looked down at her. "You alright?"

"I've been better," She shrugged, her voice low but audible.

"What's wrong?"

"Well... I wanted to come here with Chuckie, but he has his heart set on Nicole, who's clearly more appealing than me."

"I don't know about that," Lil shook her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Nicole may be pretty, but she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean."

"O-okay."

"But as for you, you're pretty and smart at the same time," Lil pointed out, "That's not very common. Trust me, Chuckie's missing out on a great girl."

Shenzi couldn't help but blush timidly. "Th-thanks, Lil."

"No prob; You want some punch?"

"Sure," She shrugged.

"Oh, also... why are you hiding?" The brunette girl asked her.

"Well, these past few days, Sean, Z, and then Fridge mysteriously fell in love with me. I mean, there was no foreshadowing or anything. It was just so sudden."

"Really? That's odd," Lil remarked, giving her a red paper cup filled with red punch, "Not that they're attracted to you. It's odd how sudden it was."

"So, I'm avoiding them the best I can until the issue is resolved."

"Ah," She nodded, "Well, good luck. I hope it goes away."

"Thanks." With that, Lil continued defending the cupcakes, which were arranged into an aztec symbol of friendship, from sneaky hands. Peeking out from behind the table, Shenzi's heart broke some more at Chuckie seemingly having a good time with Nicole. Why couldn't she be in her place, as Chuckie's object of affection? Would she ever be good enough for him? She spied Sean dancing with Angelica, and Z with Kimi, which relieved her, because it seemed like they were over her. But where was Fridge? She guessed that he was either in the restroom, or was simply late. She came out of hiding, and decided to watch her crush and Nicole until her heart would shatter into nothing. Tears welled up as Chuckie looked at the brunette tanned girl with love in his expression. Why couldn't he ever look at her like that? She yearned to have him gaze at her with love in his eyes. But judging by how well his time with Nicole seemed to be going, that was clearly never going to happen.

After only a minute, she couldn't bear to watch anymore; She crawled under the table, and let her sobs out. The image of the two dancing, and gazing at each other like no one else mattered kept them coming, as her face was hidden in her knees. She was unaware that she eventually wasn't alone, until she heard a familiar voice. "What's wrong, Shenzi?" She glanced up, and saw Dil sitting next to her.

"It, it's nothing, Dil. I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow at her answer. "You don't seem fine to me. You can tell me what's wrong."

"Well, the thing is, I have a crush on Chuckie, but I know he doesn't like me back, because he likes Nicole, who is way better looking than me. I'm not pretty enough for him."

"You mean Nicole Boscarelli? Pssh, you're prettier than her any day, ST. She wears way too much makeup."

"Thanks Dil," She blushed, "But I guess Chuckie doesn't think so." She rested her chin on her hands and knees.

"Well, it's his loss," Dil shrugged, "I know nothing about that mushy romance junk, but I know he's missing out on a great girl."

"Thanks," She mumbled, although he heard her.

The younger boy felt sympathy for the girl next to him. He didn't know why confessing a crush to the subject was hard, but he took her word for it. He then decided to make things right; He straightened up after stepping out from under the table. "Uh, Lil'Q? Can I try something with your hackysack real quick? I'll be careful, promise."

"Sure thing." Lil'Q set the purple hackysack in Dil's hand.

"Thanks." The orange-haired boy kicked the hackysack in the air, so it just barely hit Nicole in the head.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"What was that?" Chuckie wondered aloud, but to his confusion, he didn't have her attention.

Instead, she was looking at Fridge, who hastily ran in the room. "Hey!" She ran up to him, abandoning the redhead. "Want to dance?"

Now feeling heartbroken, Chuckie merely stood in place, feeling more confused than ever. "Hey, Chuckie!" Dil called out to him. "Come here!" He walked up to the table. "I saw what happened, sorry, but I know a better girl for you, C-Man."

"Who can be better than Nicole Boscarelli?" Chuckie asked him, hurt betrayal clear in his voice.

Dil then ducked down and lifted the tablecloth up a bit. "Hey Shen, can you come out here?" She hesitantly obeyed his request. "She is better, Chuckie. You know why? Because she likes you. She told me."

He looked very surprised at this. Shenzi Tuck, his best friend, had a crush on him? "R-really? Shen, is that true?"

"Mm... mm hmm," She nodded, "I was just afraid to tell you."

"Well, um..." He hesitated, "D-do you want to dance?"

"Sure," She nodded, feeling eager, as they walked to the dance floor, hand-in-hand.

"Shenzi, c-can I tell you something?" He timidly requested as they danced slowly.

"Uh huh," She nodded again, "What's up?"

"Well, to be honest... I had a crush on you too. No, have. I have a crush on you."

"You do? Then how come you had your heart set on Nicole?"

"'Cause I was afraid to tell you how I felt. I was afraid it would ruin our friendship."

"Ohh. I, I felt the same way. And... it feels good to know it won't." She shyly kissed his cheek, making him blush.

"Yeah it does," He nodded, his voice low, "So um... now what?"

She thought about an answer for a second. "Want to get a pizza later?"

Chuckie let a shy smile grow. "That sounds great."

Later on, Shenzi got dressed for her first date with Chuckie. Going for a Valentine theme again, she wore a red cap sleeve t-shirt with black hearts all over, a black high-waisted skirt with two fluffy hearts on the front, black heart line earrings, a black Lego heart necklace, black Vans with pink and red arrow hearts all over, and a red extension. After grabbing her purse and saying bye to Frankie and their parents, she headed for the nearest bus stop. After a grueling bus ride with a boy that wouldn't stop hitting on her, she quickly exited the vehicle and fast-walked to The Big Mall entrance, where Chuckie had just started waiting for her. "Hey Shen," He greeted her with a smile that sent butterflies in her chest.

"Hi Chuck," She greeted him back, and took his hand, "Let's head on in there."

"'Kay," He nodded, and led her in the huge building. "Hmm, where's the new pizzeria again?" He looked at the directory that almost towered over them, and found what he was looking for. "Oh, here we go." He led her to the pizzeria that just opened in the mall a few days. "This is it. What do you think?"

"Looks impressive," She replied, before her stomach growled, "And appetite inducing," She giggled.

"Let's go order," Chuckie led her to the start of the short line. After they ordered a small sausage and pepperoni pizza, Shenzi reached for her wallet, but Chuckie stopped her. "It's my treat."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "This is a date, and on a traditional date, the guy pays for the meals."

"Well, okay then," She reluctantly obliged, then had a thought that had to be said. "What if two guys are on a date? Who pays then? And what about with two girls?"

He was silent for a moment at that, after he paid. "... Okay, you got me there." She giggled in her hand as they walked to a small table with two seats across from each other.

Her heart fluttered when he looked at her the same way he did with Nicole earlier. "Y-you look so pretty tonight," He stammered, with his hand over hers.

A deep blush grew on her cheeks. "Thanks, Chuckie."

After a while, the pizza was delivered to their table, with two small Pepsis. The box was almost as big as the table, so they didn't use plates. Shenzi grabbed one slice and bit into the pointed end, but quickly drew back. "That's hot!" She set it down, and sipped her drink.

"Thanks for the warning," Chuckie smiled at her, then followed her actions. After a while, the two friends finished the pizza and their drinks, throwing them out in a trash can. "Today was fun, Shen."

"I agree," She nodded, "I really enjoyed it."

"Me too," Chuckie kissed her cheek, "So um... do you want to go on a second date with me?"

She nodded almost immediately. "I'd love to. A carnival will be in town next Sunday; How's that sound?"

"It's a date."

(A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this one! You know the disclaimer; No one belongs to me except Shenzi and Frankie.)