[Author's Note: I was looking through one of my old jump drives and I found a little snippet of a story idea I thought of a while back, and I was halfway through writing this before I realized I'd written a story that sounded more like a cheesy yaoi manga setup than a Pendragon story. I've managed to rewrite some bits to fit it in with the established stuff from my other Pendragon story, "Changes", and I dunno if that made it any less cheesy, but here it is. For anyone that hasn't read my other story, suffice it to say this is set after the reset at the end of book 10, and no one remembers the war or anything. I just don't like the idea of Dane dying, I guess. It was just way too easy to avoid. For anyone that hasn't picked up on it yet, this story has a lot of Bobby/Dane shipping, or more accurately, Bobby/Andy shipping. I tried to avoid anything too OOC, but no promises. Also there's some characters from Morpheus Road in here too, because DJ MacHale likes setting all of his books in the same town, at the same time.]

The cafeteria at Davis High was buzzing with students, full of activity after what everyone agreed had felt like the longest summer break in history. Despite the fresh entry of the new school year, the groups had already diverged into their own circles, leaving the freshman students to group together or find a quiet place to sit alone. At every turn, teenagers chatted as though these years would stay with them forever.

Andy tapped his food absentmindedly, searching for the right word to describe the scene before him. For some reason, it all seemed so… pointless. People talking with people whose faces would be unrecognizable in a few years' time, couples that would split before the year was over. There really wasn't any point to any of it, was there?

I sure am cheerful today, he thought bitterly. He had never enjoyed school, and spent more time skipping class than attending, but he couldn't seem to place the reason for his disdain, and the thought irritated him. He still disliked the building, the students, the staff… but it seemed the reason was gone. Why did he hate this building so much? It seemed like a waste of time, sure, but something in his subconscious seemed more actively venomous than seemed appropriate.

And Pendragon. There was something weird going on with Bobby Pendragon.

He had always despised his classmate—though again, for some reason, he couldn't exactly place why—and likewise Pendragon had never been overly fond of him. But it was almost like something had happened between them, something neither of them could quite place, and it had… changed something. Something was definitely different. And he didn't like it one bit.

That morning outside of school, he had spotted his nemesis and intended to start off the day as usual, by tormenting him and his sickeningly loyal friends. But when Bobby had looked over… he had felt a pang, as if there was something important, the most important thing he'd ever done, and he'd simply forgotten it. His chest had hurt, and he'd felt himself wanting to say… what? The words fell short, and the reason for them seemed trapped in a deep void.

And Bobby had been smiling at him. A confused smile, more muscle memory than anything substantial, but a smile nonetheless.

Andy had simply left, muttering something akin to "forget it" as he resisted the urge to return the smile back. Why did he want to smile? Why did he want to do anything remotely nice towards the smaller teen? Why did he want to… What did he want to do? The feeling had lingered, along with the pain in his chest, and more perplexing than anything, he found himself thinking: he doesn't remember.

Remember what? Whatever it was, it seemed neither of them could recall. Was that good? Was it bad? He couldn't tell, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was… off. In the back of his mind, like an age-old dream, he tried to pull back the memories; Bobby, the sun reflecting gently off his hair, staring across the sea at some ancient ruined city—

"Andy? Hey, Earth to Andy?"

He was brought back to the present by Cooper Foley slumping down into a seat next to him, waving a hand in front of his face as if to summon him out of his thoughts. Andy repressed a dark scowl, the memory or whatever it had been drifting back into void. He had been so close to remembering something, but not close enough. And like waking from a dream, the more he tried to recall the scene the more it drifted away.

Coop shot him a curious look. "Dude, are you alright? You keep spacing out today."

"I'm fine," the gruff teen responded with a shrug. "Just thinking."

"That's dangerous."

The two were silent for a moment, and Andy resumed aimlessly prodding at his food. The younger teen observed his pensive companion for a moment, then broke into a grin. "I know what'll cheer you up." Coop reached into his pocket, still grinning mischievously, and produced his wallet. "Wanna make a bet?"

This was a common occurrence. The two teens would go back and forth, daring each other to do increasingly ridiculous things until the stakes proved too high or one of them backed down. Andy had never found the activity particularly fun, but Coop seemed to enjoy it, and it was an easy enough way to make a bit of money off of the easily swayed boy. There was another reason, too, floating in the abyss of his inexplicably cloudy memory; the bets were… a test, was that it? A way to assert power, much like animals displaying strength and dominance in the wild. He had accepted the dares in the past in order to convince his peers that he was tough, was that it? A shred of doubt passed through his thoughts. That was a weird way of putting it. Why was he thinking about regular teenage behavior as if he were observing it from a distance? It was like he was playing a part, going through the movements to blend in with his surroundings.

The question of the day floated through his mind for the hundredth time: Why?

Coop was still awaiting an answer. Andy sighed, forcing a friendly smile; if it were a façade, no sense in breaking character now. "Sure. What's it gonna be?"

"Let's see…" His companion tapped his wallet lightly on the table as he thought, eyes scanning the cafeteria for the perfect inspiration for a fitting challenge. After a moment, his grin widened and he exclaimed, "Got it! No way you'll go through with this one."

"Well?" Andy prompted.

The younger teen reached into his wallet and produced a handful of ten dollar bills. "Fifty bucks says you won't kiss a guy. Any guy."

The delinquent raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really? That's your bet?"

"What, you don't think it's tough enough?" Coop snapped his fingers, as if realizing the perfect twist, and added enthusiastically, "A hundred bucks if it's Pendragon."

"I hate Pendragon."

"That's why it's more. Added challenge."

"You're kidding, right?"

"What, you're backing out?"

"I didn't say that."

He couldn't back down from the challenge, Andy was certain of that. Backing down would appear as an admission of weakness, lowering his reputation in the eyes of his peers. The bet, however, considering the mentality of his peers towards certain behaviors, may have the same effect. And Pendragon. It was the greater challenge, to be sure, but it was also… well, it was also Pendragon. They were enemies, rivals, plain and simple. The effect that that would have on his reputation could be disastrous. More worrying than that, though, was that the pang was back, that sharp stab he had felt when he'd seen Pendragon that morning. And accompanying it, a sort of bittersweet… was it sadness? Why?

His eyes scanned over the crowd in the cafeteria, eventually alighting on Bobby and his friends on the other side of the room. The concept of following through with the bet and actually kissing his nemesis… a wave of confusion and worry passed over him as he realized the thought didn't deter him as much as it should. His nemesis, the last person in the world he could consider in this manner—and more importantly, a guy. He didn't want to do it. The concept, as much as it kept gnawing at his mind, was too ridiculous.

Wasn't it?

Andy dismissed the thought, ignoring the puzzling emotions whirling through his addled brain. He sighed exasperatedly, directing his attention back to his companion and muttering, "Fine. But not here—I don't want everyone in school thinking I've got a thing for him or something."