I told you I wouldn't be able to stay away long. :-) Just a quick one-shot to lessen my Penderwicks cravings.

Skye Penderwick's day started much like that of every other in her two years of college had. With math. What she didn't know, however, was how differently this one would end. In fact, it wasn't until nearly 3 o'clock in the afternoon that things began to get interesting.

Like most fascinating parts of life, it all began with a shout. Skye was fairly familiar with yelling, usually, she herself was instigator of the noise, but this wasn't an angry holler.

"Skye!"

She turned, intrigued, to find the sight of a red-haired girl running after her, waving. She stared back, tentatively, trying to judge if this girl was a threat. It wasn't that she was a stranger to people talking to her, she was actually fairly popular in her circles, but this girl didn't look like someone who would be interested in talking to her. She looked rather... artsy.

"Hey..." She knew her voice probably wasn't that friendly, but she honestly didn't care that much, and the girl was panting so heavily that she didn't seem to notice.

"Hey." The red-head took another deep breath. "You're Skye Penderwick, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah..."

"Jeffrey Tifton's best friend?"

"Last I checked, yeah. Why?" This was reaching a level of stalking that was officially creepy.

"I'm Nancy, and I want you to set me up with him."

"WHAT?!" Skye's chin hit her chest in awe at this statement, and she instinctively took a step back. "You're insane."

The look that crossed Nancy's face made it clear that she didn't appreciate that comment, but she wasn't to be deterred. "Will you do it?"

"Um..." Skye was numb with shock. This had never happened before... It was so... girly. "Um, maybe?"

Taking this as a good sign, Nancy grabbed a pink gel pen from her purse with one hand and Skye's hand in the other, scribbling something on the palm.

"That's my phone number. Tell Jeff to call me."

"You just wrote on my hand." Skye's voice was deadpan. Nancy just nodded, smiling. "You just wrote on me."

"Yeah." She blinked. "Thanks so much, Skye. You're the best!"

And then she was gone, the branded girl didn't even notice.

"She wrote on me."

Dumbfounded was an understatement.

Jeffrey Tifton's day started much like that of every other in his two years of college had. With music. What he didn't know, however, was how differently this one would end. In fact, it wasn't until nearly 3 o'clock in the afternoon that things began to get interesting.

Like most fascinating parts of life, it all began with a shout. Jeffrey was fairly familiar with yelling, usually, with Skye as the instigator of the noise, but this holler was more angry than any of Skye's had ever been.

"Tifton!"

He turned, intrigued, to find the sight of a huge guy striding toward him. He stared back, tentatively, trying to judge if this bulk of human flesh was a threat. It wasn't that he was a stranger to people talking to him, he was one of the most popular guys in his college, but this guy didn't look like someone who would be in his college. He looked rather... dangerous.

"Hey..." He knew it probably wasn't the brightest thing to say, but the guy was growling so loudly that he didn't seem to notice.

"Hey." The response was practically a grunt. "You're Jeffrey Tifton, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah..."

"Skye Penderwick's best friend?"

"Yeah. Why?" Had something happened to Skye? If this guy had laid one finger on her he would kill him, as hard as it may be.

"I'm Greg. And I'm going to kill you."

"WHAT?!" Okay, maybe not the smartest thing to say in under the circumstances, but, hey- it wasn't everyday he received a death threat. "You're insane."

"Yeah, I know. You've driven me to this."

"What? How?!" He'd never even seen this guy before.

"You're the reason Skye keeps rejecting me."

"Uh, I highly doubt that..." They weren't the slightest bit involved in any way beyond friendship, and he had a feeling that Skye would reject this guy no matter what.

"It is. She said so."

Oh, great. That explained it. Skye was using him as an excuse again.

"Oh. Well, she's wrong. So you see, there's really no reason to kill me." Not a very brave thing to say, but he really didn't care. This guy was a giant. A giant who was out for blood.

"You're right." And then Greg punched him, right in the nose.

Dumbfounded was an understatement.

He was sitting on his couch with an icepack on his nose when the door burst open. It was Skye, and she was angrier than a hornet. Well, she wasn't the only one.

"You have no idea what I've just been through!" She slammed the door behind her and began pacing in front of it, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"What you've been through?! HA!" He was the one with a broken nose. She didn't get to complain.

"This girl, she branded me! Branded me! She wanted me to set her up with you! Ugh!" She plopped down next to him on the couch, making him wince in pain.

"Oh, shut up, would you?!" He was really fed up with her. "You got a little bit of ink on you, right?"

"Pink, sparkly ink! Ugh!"

"Still just ink, Skye. I, on the other hand, got my nose broken!"

"What?!" She look shocked, when she finally glanced at his face.

"You didn't even notice!" She really was the end of all things.

"What happened?!"

"You happened."

"What?" The confusion on her face looked genuine, and so he sighed and explained.

"You've been using me as an excuse again, and Greg didn't appreciate it."

"Who?"

"Some guy named Greg who said you turned him down because of me."

"Oh..." She made a face. "Him..."

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way..." He chuckled. "We really have to do something about this, though. I can't keep getting attacked by jealous guys, when we aren't even together."

The was a moment of silence, and Jeffrey felt his heart speed up in terror at the look that crossed Skye's face. She had just had an idea, and those were always scary.

"What?" He was very wary, but she just smirked.

"Then let's do it."

"Do what?" She really wasn't making any sense.

"Get together."

"WHAT?!" She had said it nonchalantly, but he was still shocked beyond coherent thought.

"Let's date."

"WHAT?!"

"You know... Dinner, movies, kisses..." She was grinning at him now.

"Come on, Jeffrey. You know you want to. It's been inevitable for a while now." She rotated on the couch so that she was sitting on her knees, facing him.

"Besides, think about it. Then you can have a reason for being punched, and I won't have to deal with those silly girls anymore."

Finally regaining some of his mental capacities, he spoke up. "Um, impulsive much, Skye?"

She grinned at him. "Is that a yes?"

He drew in a deep breath, before speaking the one word that would change his life forever. "Yes."

And then she kissed him, and all thought deserted him. He forgot about breathing, forgot about the ice pack, and forgot about how sore his nose felt when it bumped against her cheek.

It was all worth it.

(End.)

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