My very good FRIEND Thomas Moore beta'ed this. He asked for credit, so whatever. I don't own AF, HS, LF, TK, AV, CV, or the Academy. I do however own TPG, TOGWPHNTEI and the bestest coffee house on campus.

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Holly sat at her desk in the Acadamy, legs propped up, studying her History textbook, as there was a test in next period.

Thank Frond for free periods.

Trouble walked in the class devoted to studying, but mostly used to goof off. Trouble thought it was just so the LEP, in general, could keep in eye on them. You arm them, you bulk them up and you expect them to keep out of trouble. Yes, that's what happens.

His light brown eyes scanned the room, until he found the elf he was looking for, and plopped down in the adjacent desk.

"Hey, Holly," He greeted.

"Oh, hey, Kelp," She said looking up for a moment, then sinking back into her studies.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" He asked bravely.

"Not you," she answered, hoping he'd get the message and back away. She needed to pass this test, like all tests. She really wanted to be in Recon.

"Oh," Trouble deflated. deflated. "Then which guy are you?"

"Am I what?" Holly asked absent mindedly, flipping the page.

"Doing," Trouble couldn't help but grin. But, he was a guy in his sixties, let's be fair.

To bad Holly wasn't.

"What!?!" Holly cried, suprised.

Trouble winced.

"What're you insinuating, Kelp?" Holly growled, glaring at him.

"Nothing, it's just . . . you said 'Not you,' so I was kidding," Trouble said. It was the third day of school. She could cut him some slack.

Holly rolled her eyes, and turned back to her book, grumbling about sick and twisted males.

"So, there's no one else?" He asked.

Holly's head thumped against her text. She mumbled a few swears, damned a few sarcred religeous symbols to the depths of hell, then turned to Trouble and said: "None of your business."

"Oh, so there is someone," Trouble commented. He liked her, but the curiousity of who she liked completely blew his minor hurt out of the water.

"Why do you care?" She ran her hands through her just-long-enough-to-be-curly hair.

"Hm, is it that one sprite?"

"Not a sprite." Holly'd given up on studying, and just held her face in her hands, so she didn't blush.

"So there is somone!"

Holly made a sound of exsasperated pain, and took the chance of a rosy face to glare at Trouble.

"Hm, oh, gods, it's not my brother is it?"

"The other Kelp? No."

"What do you mean 'other'?" The male feigned hurt.

"Well, what else do I call you? Roberta?" She asked sarcastically, muffled by her hands.

"Touche. What about my roommate- that pixie guy . . . ?"

"Nope."

"Ash Vein?"

"No."

"Is it a teacher?"

At this point, Holly shuddered, "No."

Trouble laughed, "Ark Sool not your type?"

"Gods no!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, Root'll be crushed," Trouble quipped.

"Ugh, don't even mention it. It's insanely creepy!"

"After this, we'll get back to that. Now; is it that one gnome who picks his nose then eats it?"

"No."

"Then who? I'll guess! Just give me a physical description!"

Holly sighed. What harm could it do? "Blond. Attractive. Tall. Smiles a lot. Too much, really. You know the kind, Kelp. To . . happy, but attractive for it anyways. I'd peg you to like that type." Holly rambled, trying to drag the focus to Trouble instead. He looked at her in shock. Holly gave up on that tactic and looked up. "Just drop it Kelp."

"No, Holly, I won't. I will find out who you'r- Holly? Hello-o? Holly?" Trouble began waving his hand in front of her face. She was staring at the door blankly.

"Huh?" Holly snapped out of it. She also slapped Kelp's hand from being in her face, "What under Earth?"

Trouble's eyes lit up, and he swung around toward the door. There were two fiaries standing there. A platinum blond sprite, and a curvey elf. Chix Verbil and Lili Frond.

Trouble turned back to Holly.

"Chix Verbil? Really?" He asked, trying not to laugh.

"No," came her muffled reply.

"It's not- not Frond, is it?"

Holly made a subtle nodding motion with her hands on her arms.

"Oh," Trouble turned back, and stared at the grafetti swears carved into his desk.

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He gave her a light shove in the blonde's direction.

"Just go!" Trouble insisted.

Holly snorted, "Yeah, right, Kelp. I'm a girl, remember? I can't exactly ask another girl out?"

"Why not?" Trouble answered before pushing her a bit harder, so her slender frame moved three steps ahead, and directly into the shoulder of Ms. Lili Frond.

"Oh. Sorry." Holly said, shocked.

"It's, like, fine. I'm Lili Frond," Lili smiled, pearly whites flashing.

"Holly Short," Our awkward friend said awkwardly. Lili was just about to turn back to her friends, when Holly tapped her shoulder.

"You want to go get coffee sometime?" Holly asked before she could register what she was saying. Had she really said coffee? How cliche.

"That'd be totally great! Meet you at the campus one at, like, 3?" Lili suggested beaming, "They make, like, the bestest, frappaceinos, like, in all of Haven!"

Holly nodded, and walked of with a silly grin on her face.

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"So," Trouble asked in ther same class the next day, "How was the date?"

"She's a total dimwit. 'Like, totally!'" Holly mimicked.

Trouble sighed, "But . . .?"

"She was very flirty. With the guy at the counter," Holly sighed.

"You can't win them all," Trouble said, "But, you're free tonight, right?"