"Cless-kun! Mornin'!" Arche called to Cless, as soon as she turned the street corner. He was only a little far ahead. He turned and smiled,

"Morning, Arche-san!" Arche ran over to him and giggled, 'He still calls me "-san" ...he's so cute! Not only is he cute, he's good looking, really sweet, and an expert fencer!'

"Huh?" Cless looked at her now, confused,

"Nothing~ Hey...you didn't wait for me this morning..." She pouted at him,

"A-Ah! But, when I stopped at your house, your dad said you were determined to get as much sleep as possible..." Arche made a mental note to tell her dad that if it's Cless at the door - wake her up,

"I s'pose..." They continued their conversation up until they reached the school gates. For the first time in a long time, Mint was waiting for her at the gates. She waved at Arche as they entered,

"Good morning, Arche-san!" Arche grinned,

"Mint-chan~ I usually meet you outside class...whats up?"

"Um...Sensei is looking for you...Something about your grades..." Arche heaved a heavy sigh,

"Oh noooo...it's to do with my test, isn't it?! Wah, I'm gonna get kicked out..." Mint waved her hands,

"N-no! I don't think so...I-I mean, you did study, right...?" Arche chose not to answer that, and sighed again. Mint walked over to Arche, "Well...we'll never know 'till we find him. C'mon..." She glanced at Cless,

"G-Good morning, Cless-san..." She blushed a little,

"G-Good morning, Mint-san!" Cless stuttered, also blushing, 'Huh...?' Arche blinked, forgetting about her grades for a minute. Did Cless just blush...? Just as she and Mint walked toward the classroom, a boy with long blue hair tied up walked past. It was probaly her imagination, but she was certain he'd glanced at her as he'd walked past,

"Yo, Cless! What is it? Oh yeah, guess what..." Now Arche thought of it, she'd never really hung out with Cless, only in the mornings' and after school. She sighed again,

"It'll be alright Arche-san!" Mint smiled at her. Did Cless really like her...?

"Arche Klein! These results...!" The teacher began his rant, about Arche's terrible results, as expected. Arche stood in front of his desk and sighed a little. When the teacher finished and sent her away, there were twenty minutes of break left. She walked outside, and found Mint waiting for her,

"Was it...?" Arche looked at the ground,

"Yeah..."

"Oh, Arche-san..." They both stared at the ground, sadly,

"..Sorry Mint-chan...after all that time you spent with me studying..." Mint shook her head, and looked up,

"Never mind! Theres always next time, right?" Arche looked up, her eyes shining,

"You'll help me out again? Aw, Mint-chan, you're the best!"

"Eheh, I expect you want lunch, right?" They walked toward the canteen. Despite her gratitude, Arche wasn't all that up for studying. She was too pre-occupied with solving the mystery. Did Cless really like Mint? She didn't see them hang out all that often, though, she wasn't in all of Mint's classes. Maybe they were in some classes together? Arche felt down now. She really liked Cless. He was just perfect, as far as she was concerened. A real knight in shining armor. An innocent one. The possibility of him liking someone else hadn't really occured to her. Then again, she'd never thought he liked her either, as much as she hoped. If Mint liked him, then... She shook her head,

"Eh? Arche-san? You look kinda down..."

"Huh? Ah! I-I'm just hungry!" Mint laughed,

"That makes sense, now, what should we get..."

Once they'd gotten something small to eat, they went to a nearby bench to eat, 'I should ask her! Yeah! If she likes Cless-kun...I'm her friend, there's no need to be embarrassed!" She glanced down at her food, '...I think I'll eat first...' Once she had finished, and opened her mouth to ask, the bell rang,

"Oh dammit!" She hissed. Mint smiled,

"I know school can be boring, but you enjoy art and sports, right?" Arche nodded,

"Not all sports though, some can be a real pain..!" The headed to class, Arche discussing her dislike of certain sports all the way.

Luckily for Arche, it was art. And she had art with Cless! She liked showing off her skills in the subject. She wished she could show her full potential in sport, but she knew she couldn't. She'd get expelled if she used her broom. She didn't like walking all the time. It was one of the reasons she'd liked Cless. He wasn't at all scared when he saw she could fly on a broomstick. When they were kids, he'd found out by accident. But instead of getting scared, he'd ADMIRED her for it. Cless was so kind.

"Hey, Arche...You alright?" Cless was infront of her, waving a hand in her face. She'd paused in the doorway, in the midst of her daydreaming,

"Cless-kun~" She sighed, then shook her head, realising what she'd said, "A-Ah! Cless-kun!!" She went red, and walked into the classroom quickly. He laughed,

"Arche-san, you've always been odd sometimes. Well, thats what makes you, huh? Anyway, I left something in the grounds, I need to go get it, let Sensei know, ok?"

"I-I'll come!" Cless shook his head,

"It's fine! I'll be back in a minute." He left the classroom, much to Arche's dissapointment. A few minutes later, and Sensei arrived. Arche let her know where Cless had gone, then took her seat. Just before rolecall began, there was a knock on the door,

"Sorry..." Sensei went to the door, and opened it. Arche looked up and blinked. It was Cless's friend! The blue-haired guy! He was speaking to the teacher. The teacher sighed,

"She's so scatterbrained...Ok, I've got a spare PVA glue bottle in my room...Um..." He turned, and nodded at Arche,

"Maybe a walk will wake you up. Can you take this guy to my office? Here are the keys. You know where it is. The amount of detentions..." He shook his head as he walked over back to his desk. Arche stood up, and walked over to the blue-haired guy, who looked taken-aback, 'Weird...' It occured to Arche that this would be a good time to ask about Cless. She realised that he probaly wouldn't say, but that never stopped her! He'd probaly just deny it and make it look obvious anyway. If he was friends with Cless, then he'd have to be pretty nice,
She began walking toward the teacher's office,

"Uh...Hey..." She began,

"What?"

"Um...Does Cless-kun like anybody?" His fox-like eyes narrowed,

"And why would I tell you?" He asked coolly,

"I dunno! I was just wondering..." The boy shrugged, 'I don't know his name...' "...You're helpful."

"Well, I wouldn't tell you! It's none of your buisness, anyway...why would you want to know, huh?" Arche went a little red,

"That's none of your buisness! 'Sides, he's just a good friend! I need to know these things!"

""Just a good friend"...?" He mocked, then sighed, "Let me guess..."

"W-What? I just wanted to know! Don't need to read stuff into it!" They reached the office. Arche fumbled a little with the keys, managed to open it, and went inside,

"...Jeez, for a friend of Cless-kun, you sure are stuffy." She muttered,

"I heard that, y'know."

"Why do I care? Now, what did you want?" He glanced round,

"Well, you obviously weren't listening." He walked over to a cupboard, opened it, and got out a bottle of PVA glue. He smirked at her as he walked past,

"What?!" She demanded,

"I feel sorry for you...He hasn't said anything, but I think he likes that Mint girl..." He told her quietly, and left. She glared after him, 'What a total jerk...!'

For the rest of the day, the main thing she talked about was the blue-haired boy, and how much she hated him. When the day finally ended, she ended up talking about him to Cless, whilst they walked home,

"And he was just really stuffy...!" She ranted. Cless sweat-dropped,

"Um...you must've said something for him to have gotten annoyed...I mean, he can be sarcastic anyway, but he mainly uses it when he feels annoyed..." Arche went red now,

"I...uh, only asked him...Well..I can't remember!" The idea that he may have said something about her played in her mind,

"Um...he didn't say anything about me, did he?" Cless shook his head,

"I didn't even know you guys had met until just now..." For some reason, this really annoyed Arche,

"Stupid fox-eyed jerk!"

"Uh...His names Chester..." Cless told her, unsure if he should be saying anything. Arche turned to him,

"Aw...Cless-kun...I wanted to never know his name! That should annoy him! ...Then again, I guess I could just pretend I forgot...In fact, I have forgot! I don't even remember that irritating guy!" Cless laughed, then glanced around,

"Well...ok...um, are you gonna practice tonight, by the way? O-Of course, it that's ok with you, I know how your dad feels..." He whispered. Arche smiled,

"Oh, sure, I don't really care what he thinks! I do need to improve my magic..." She replied quietly. Cless nodded,

"And I need to improve on my sword training!" Arche giggled,

"Cless-kun, you don't need to, you're great at sword fighting!" Cless went a little red,

"I'm not that great..." Arche giggled again,

"I'll see you then!" She turned the corner, Cless went home another way, and Arche headed home, smiling, 'He doesn't spend time with Mint-chan like this! Forget what that Chester-jerk says!'

Arche and Cless had gone to the small woods nearby their town. There, Arche had practiced magic by shooting certain targets she and Cless had created, whilst he fought with stick figures they'd made. Arche really loved Cless. He was always so fun to hang out with. She wasn't able to concentrate as much as normal today, considering the idea that Cless liked Mint kept crossing her mind. After awhile, Cless seemed to notice something was up. As they headed back, Cless asked,

"Um...Arche-san...are you ok...?" Arche nodded quickly,

"Yeah! Course! Uh..why?" Cless frowned a little,

"Well...Ok. If you're sure. But still, you seemed...not focused..." 'Maybe...I should ask him! Yeah, that'll prove it once and for all! Yeah'

"Well...Cless-kun..." For the first time ever, she felt scared to ask Cless something. They'd been together for so long, and she had such a massive crush on him, she was scared of the truth,

"Yes...?" He looked at her, confused. It looked so cute, Arche blushed,

"Nothing! Haha, Cless-kun, you sure are cute!" He went a little red,

"Arche-san..." He laughed, embarassed.

Many weeks later...

Arche rolled over on her bed and fell out,

"Ow!" She yelled, rubbing her head. She couldn't believe it. All that time ago, she was bugged by midterms and Cless liking Mint, when her finals were just around the corner, then she'd be in her final high school year! She hadn't realised the year had gone so quickly. She sighed loudly. By finals just around the corner, she meant tomorrow of course. She had never felt so nervous. She was surprised at this nervousness,

"I've got to try! For my dad's sake..." She muttered, climbing back into bed. It'd taken a lot of persuasion to let her into the school, and if she didn't do well in her finals, she'd have to leave. She'd only entered this school one year ago. The headmaster knew she was a half-elf, which was why it'd taken persuasion to let her in. And the other problem which made it all the more worse was if she didn't do well, she may not be able to stay in Cless's class! He was a pretty good student, so he'd so well... Arche had been studying as much as possible for the last three weeks, but was it enough? Tomorrow would decide...

"Haaaaah!" Arche yawned loudly, as she stept out the class. She walked into the grounds, and blinked a few times in the sunlight. She felt she'd been stuck in a dark cave for years.

"Arche-san!" Mint waved at her, walking toward her cheerfully,

"Mint-chan...how can you be so optimistic?" Arche demanded, feeling slightly resentful. Mint smiled,

"Well, I'll have to. I tried my best, and that's all I can do. Right, Arche-san?" Arche didn't look convinced,

"Well...since you helped me study, I'll have to have done well, right?" She began her sentence slowly, and finished on a cheery note. Mint looked a little embarassed,

"Well...It wouldn't be me, it'd be your own efforts, Arche-san!" Arche grinned,

"Yeah right, Mint-chan, we both know that it'll be because of you I pass!" And with that, Arche dragged Mint to the canteen.

And so, several more weeks passed. Arche did indeed manage to pass, and it probaly was thanks to Mint,

"Aw, who cares?! I still passed! Now, whose class will I be in?! Please say Cless-kun..."

The break between the final term and the new semester passed. Arche hung out with Cless as much as she could, as well as Mint. Eventually, school occured, and the classes were decided.

"Hurry up, Cless-kun! The board will have been put up! We'll finally know!" Arche shouted at Cless, exictedly, dragging him along toward the school,

"O-Ok! I know!" He slowed down a little, "You seem worried Arche-san...Don't worry, even if we're not in the same class, we still live near each other, we can meet up any time!" He smiled at her, and Arche had to do her best to stop herself from squeaking, 'He's so cute!!' She then realised that he'd recognised her upset about it. He was so understanding! But, did that mean he realised she liked him? 'Maybe he's not as dense as I thought in that area...'

"Y-Yeah...But! We still gotta believe we'll be in the same class!" She told him, and grinned. He nodded,

"Well, let's hurry!" She giggled,

"I'm the one who should be saying that!" they began hurrying toward the school.

"Arche-san! I just found it, want me to tell you?" Mint asked evenly when Arche and Cless arrived. Arche panted a little, "Well...agh...Yeah, just tell me!" Mint laughed,

"Ok, it said-" Arche interrupted her,

"Actually, I'm gonna find out myself!" And she sprinted toward the crowd of students in the distance. Cless blinked after Arche, then glanced at Mint,

"H-Hi, Mint-san..." Mint seemed surprised,

"Hello, Cless-san...are you feeling worried too?" Cless laughed a little,

"Well, I would like to stay in the same class, I studied hard!" Mint nodded,

"I agree. But, whatever will be will be, right?" Cless smiled,

"Yeah...U-Um, do you want to go over there...with me...?" He paused on "with me" just enough to make it a very awkward question, and his blushing made it all the more awkward. Mint began blushing, and nodded,

"Yes...W-Well, let's see if your efforts paid of, yes, Cless-san?"

Arche took a deep breath. She tried not to go nuts. There was only one thing she could do now,

"YOSHI!" She yelled, punching the air in triumph. She was in Cless's class! As well as that, Mint was also in her class! Arche had mixed feelings on that part, but right now, she was happy, 'Yes yes yes!! Kya, Cless-kun~'

"Arche-san, are you alright?" Once again, Cless was waving his hand in her face, confused. She snapped out of it quickly,

"Cless-kun!" She yelled, "We're in the same class! Ahaha!" Cless blinked, then smiled,

"Yes! Thats great!" Mint tapped Arche on the shoulder,

"Don't forget about me now." Arche gave her a wide smile,

"I know! Course I'm happy about that too!" Cless glanced over at Mint, clearly surprised...and pleased. Arche realised she could use this to her advantage. It'd be easier to observe them, and see if they really did like each other! Deep down, Arche knew it was true, but she was still determined to get proof before she accepted it completely,

"Haha, wow, they're actually being nice to me this year!" Said a familiar voice, that Arche still wished she wasn't familiar with. She glanced over to Cless, and saw him and Chester high-fiving,

"I know! Haha, I can't remember the last time we were in the same class! Must've been middle school..." Arche blinked, her eyes wide. Mint waved in her face,

"Arche-san, something wrong?" Arche glanced at Mint, looking freaked out, then rushed over to the board, checking her class names, 'No way...' Sure enough, Chester's name was listed near the top of the list for her class. She stepped back a little, and Chester walked past her. He stared intently at the board, then looked at her, clearly just as surprised. She glared at him,

"W-What?" He asked, sounding annoyed,

"Jeez..." How was he Cless's friend?! He seemed so...different, so much more.

"You look weak." She told him bluntly. It was the first insult that came to mind. He looked completely taken aback,

"Where did that come from?! How can you even say that to me?! When you're so damn short!" Cless and Mint were in the midst of a conversation, when they overheard Chester and Arche's arguement, which was slowly increasing in volume. Mint looked over at them,

"My, they seem to be...getting along."

"T-Thats getting along?" Cless was dumbfounded by her logic, and went over to break them up. Students were moving away from the source now, clearly trying to avoid the arguing pair,

"Chester! Arche-san! Why're you fighting?" Cless quickly took his place between the two, and looked to them both. Arche and Chester had stopped now, and were simply glaring at each other. Cless sweat-dropped,

"C-C'mon...the year is just starting..." Mint walked over to them,

"Cless-san is right, we're all friends here..."

"Friends?!" Chester asked incredously, "Since when was this annoying little girl my friend?!" Arche mirrored his incredoulous look,

"I would never be friend's with such an irritating fox-eyed jerk!" She turned her back to him,

"What a little-!" Cless interrupted him,

"Chester! Uh..." He desperately cast about for something to talk about, "A-Ah, yeah! Whose our teacher?" Chester blinked,

"You didn't know? Its Lester-sensei...Though everyone calls him Klarth-sensei..." He looked amused now, deliberately ignoring Arche, "He's nice enough, though he's a bit of an eccentric...Not to mention he researches "summoning" and stuff, y'know, magic." He laughed, as Cless gave Arche a side glance, and Mint smiled awkwardly, then whispered quickly to Arche, 'Don't let that bother you.' Being Arche's best friend, Mint knew Arche's little secret. Arche was so tempted to let Chester find out in a much more painful way. She tried imagining firing a fireball at him, and snorted,

"Whats wrong with that?" She asked Chester, turning back to him, "It's nice to have a dream, huh? Or are you so dumb you don't think about other things apart from being mean to others?!"

"You...! I am not! I just find it a bit ridiculous! And I'm not "mean to people" it's just...you get on my nerves!"

"Thanks!"

"Well, thanks for calling me "weak"! I'm so glad you pointed such an obvious flaw of mine out!" His sarcastic tone hinted at yet another argument,

"Agh! You-!"

"What's all this?" A man lay a hand on Chester's shoulder, and then Arche's,

"Klarth-sensei!" Cless exclaimed, surprised, "T-They were just..." Klarth narrowed his eyes at them,

"I've seen this a lot...yes...it must be..." He then gave them all a smile,

"Cless Alvein, Mint Adnade, Arche Klein and Chester Barklight, I presume? Well, I know Chester-kun." Chester nodded,

"Klarth-sensei, why did such an annoying pink monkey get put in your class? I thought you taught the more intelligent people-!" Klarth sighed loudly to interrupt him,

"Chester-kun...higher up as always, I see." Arche smirked at Chester,

"S-Sensei! She just-!"

"Yes, I heard." Chester gulped a little,

"You heard...everything?" Klarth nodded solemly, though his eyes betrayed his amusement at the situation,

"If you have a problem with my research Chester-kun, perhaps you'd like to see my research, and then tell me how silly it is?" Oddly, Klarth looked determined. Arche didn't really understand why, but she did like the fact Chester looked a little intimidated,

"Ahaha...thats alright sensei!" He forced a smile, "It's only one way of looking at it!" Klarth glared at him, then laughed,

"Chester-kun...you are funny..."

"Hey!" Chester's zeal had returned, but Klarth had turned to walk away,

"I look forward to teaching you lot this year...It's nice to be young..." He left them looking a little disorientated. Mint broke the silence,

"Well, seems like a...nice teacher...though I understand what you mean about being eccentic, Chester-san." Chester nodded,

"Yeah...well, good luck to us, I suppose..." Cless had backed out the way of the two now, thinking the argument would stop between them now,

"Well, not all of us." Before she could make a retort, he turned to Cless, "I guess we'd better get to the hall, huh?" Cless nodded,

"See ya, Arche-san...See you later, Mint-san." Arche looked surprised, and nodded, not saying anything as Cless and Chester walked away together. He'd said "See you later" so formally to Mint. Arche sighed aloud, and Mint leaned forward,

"Don't let Chester-san get you down, Arche-san!"

"Hmph, that idiot only wishes he could get me down!" Maybe now would be a good time to ask Mint,

"Hey Mint-chan..."

"Yes...? Oh! We'll be late for the assembly!" She rushed the confused Arche forward toward the hall.

As the principle began her long-winded speech, Arche finally got a grip on her reality,

'Ok, the good news. Cless-kun is in my class again! Plus theres our meetings outside of school from time to time! The netural news: Mint-chan is in my class! She's my best friend! It'll be awesome! Yet it seems likely Cless-kun likes her, so they'll have more time together...but I still see him after school~! And the bad news: That stupid fox-eyed jerk is in my class! He knows I like Cless-kun! And he's just gonna be a general jerk, making this year more difficult!'

Arche wasn't really certain how she should be feeling.

/

Um, yeah, I hope that was ok? Eheh... I need to know if it seemed in-character and any other improvements... (I know this was confusing, but I hope the general storyline is clear!) Um, yeah, see y'all~