Roy was tackled. His back was slammed into a concrete wall and his body was slid upward until his toes were barely grazing the soft dirt and his flip flops started to slip off. Roy looked down. Tan arms pinned him by the shoulders. His vantage point was so that all he could see of his attacker was the straggly blonde hair and the angry neon blue eyes.

"Okay, I'm sorry."

All this got out of him was a slight growl through gritted teeth.

"No really, I 'm sorry. I get it. You're really stressed and I wasn't listening. I'm sorry"

He stroked his hair, comfortingly

Mullet was so passionate that it could get away from him. Mullet fingers slid Roy back down, purposely crowding his feet to close to the wall so that Roy would have to hold onto him for support.

"So what is it?"

"Nothing… its stupid" burying his face in Roy's shoulder

Rubbing his back, soothingly. "Nothing you say is ever stupid. Tell me"

"They're trying to take you away from me."

"No one is trying to take me away from you."

"Your team has been all over you, hounding you for more time-

"Because every other day that I'm supposed to be with them I'm out saving the world with you."

"Well HE is. Tried to come watch you practice and he made the coach kick me out…"

Pulling back to look at mullet's expression, "Who…? Oh-Dana?"

Mullet's hair flops in his eyes, he's nodding so vigorously.

"Oh come on. He wouldn't want to take me Away from you. He used to freakin Bully me, remember? Actually he's been real decent since I made friends with Bea.

"Well the only reason he was 'freakin' bullying you at all was because he's an uneducated emotionally stumped closet case troll child."

Shout of laughter "troll- what?"

Mullet inwardly roars with frustration," I'm saying he likes you!"

Roy shakes his head, "Likes me? He tolerates me!"

"I can see it the way he looks at you."

"Well you can't punish a guy for looking at me funny. And what does that even mean? The way he looks at me… Do you mean…."?

Mullet Fingers nods slowly, in anticipation.

"Like he looks at me like something to eat?" Roy asked thinking of various movie quotes that went that way.

"NO!" Mullet Fingers staggers back, shocked by how dense his best friend could be. Roy is lost and says so. Mullet fingers mutters and false starts until he finally spit out, "He looks at you, the way I look at you… And That's how I KNOW he likes you."

Roy thinks he must have misunderstood all that and lets out a tense, "Whaaaat?"

At the same time the school bell rings and Mullet's out of time. He has to get off the property Now. "GAH. It's too complicated to explain right now" He pulls Roy into another, more balanced, hug. "Can't you tell him to back off?"

"Dana hasn't done anything wrong, fingers."

Sigh, "I was afraid you were going to say that." He turns his head inwards and bites down on Roy's throut.

Roy gasped and starts stuttering, searching for words, as Mullet Fingers shoved him towards the Gym doors. "Tell them anything you want. Say a girl did it or that a police horse bit you. Whatever you do, don't cover it up."

Staggering in, Roy zombie walks into the locker room.

Trying to decode everything that just happened, Roy changes hurriedly. The rest of the team are already there dressing but it's the equipment manager who finally says, "Damn Roy, that must be one Possessive girlfriend."

Team members hoot and start bombarding him with questions. Roy just laughs and shakes his head like he couldn't possibly say. Dana's head snapped around and zeroed in on Roy's neck. His fists clench and his jaw stiffens. Roy looks back at him, he feels guilty without being sure why. Dana recognizes it first. Pity.

Dana lets out an insulted screech and stomps out of the room, with everyone looking after him in confusion. Only Roy understands the last backward glance toward him, almost heartbroken.

Roy leans back against his locker, both hands over him mouth and eyes like saucers. Mullet Fingers looks at me like… That?

Took him long enough.