A week had passed since the leaping crystals episode. Dex stood under the leapmaster at Rimeshire.

"Foxfire!" he yelled into the crystals. The leapmaster spun around as it slowly lowered and one of the crystals shot a beam of light at the ground. Dex stepped toward it.

"Dex!" a voice called. Dex sighed. He knew he wouldn't have been able to get away with "forgetting" about the triplets again.

Juline appeared in the room with Dex's siblings, Rex, Lex, and Bex. They grinned at Dex with a devilish look in their eyes.

"Dex you have got to stop leaving without your brothers and sister. I don't want to take them to Foxfire myself," Juline scolded.

"But Mom they always embarrass me in front of Sophie!" Dex protested. He blushed when he realized what he just said.

Juline looked like she was about to smile but held back. She turned to the triplets. "Rex, Lex and Bex, stop embarrassing your brother."

"Yeah like that's gonna work," Dex grumbled under his breath.

"Don't worry Dexypoo," Bex patted him on the back. "We would never make you look bad in front of your girlfriend." Rex and Lex snickered.

Dex rolled his eyes.

"Or should I say girlfriends?" Bex giggled. "We know about you and Biana."

Dex blushed a deep crimson. "Wh-what?" he stuttered. "I don't know what y-you're talking about."

Juline looked at the triplets and then back at Dex, puzzled.

Lex chimed in. "Oh yes you do! Remember that time-"

"Be quiet!" Dex interrupted. "We need to go or we'll be late." He marched back to the leapmaster.

"Dex has a girlfriend! Dex has a girlfriend!" chanted the triplets, skipping around the room.

Dex blushed even more. "Mom!"

Juline smiled. "Okay kids, that's enough. Dex is right, you should go so you're not late."

Snorting with laughter, the triplets joined Dex under the leapmaster.

"You guys are the worst," Dex muttered under his breath.

Before they glittered away, Bex whispered back, "Biana says we're cute. You wouldn't want to disagree with your girlfriend would you?"

Dex decided right then to slip a farting elixir into Bex's dinner that night.

———

Dex, holding his tray of lunch, looked around for his friends. He saw Sophie beckoning him over to a table near the back wall. He smiled and made his way toward it.

"What took you so long?" Sophie asked when he had sat down across from her, next to Marella. Fitz was also there, sitting next to Sophie, of course. "We usually get lunch together."

"Oh-um the triplets needed help with something..." Dex muttered as he helped himself to a brattail. He didn't want to reveal that, instead of helping the triplets(who were making faces at Stina from their table across the cafeteria), he had been daydreaming about what gift to give Sophie at the end of the school year, and while doing so he tripped and spilled carnissa root all over the girl next to him, who happened to be Maruca. It took him at least 5 minutes to help clean her off, and another 5 minutes for her to tell him to stop apologizing so much. He was still embarrassed.

"-matchmaking scrolls," Fitz had just finished saying. Dex came to his senses just in time to hear him.

"What about matchmaking scrolls?" he said through a mouth full of brattail. Marella rolled her eyes at him from his right, but he gave no notice of her.

"Oh I just got my first one," said Fitz. He was grinning.

Wonderboy sure looks happy. I wonder why... Dex thought sarcastically. Sophie had obviously made Fitz's list. She was probably at the very top, too.

"Really?" Dex asked, pretending to be interested, and trying not to glare at Fitz. Ever since he decided to bury the hatchet with him, he knew he had to keep his sarcastic comments to himself(most of the time).

"Yes!" Fitz then looked at Sophie, still grinning. She avoided his eyes and started tugging on her eyelashes. Dex stared at her. Fitz was too busy being lost in his own matchmaking world across the table, but Dex knew something was wrong with Sophie. He made a mental note to ask her later.

"Where's Keefe, anyway?" Dex asked. Sophie looked relieved that the subject had changed.

"What? Oh. Detention again," Fitz replied. He began eating like he just realized he had food in front of him.

What a surprise, Dex thought.

"So," Marella said, leaning back in her chair. "What's with you and Biana?"

Dex choked and spluttered on his Youth in a bottle. "What? Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Well, Rex, Lex, and Bex are following Biana over here, and they keep nudging her and pointing at you. And laughing," Marella said, smirking.

"What?" Dex whirled around to see Biana, who looked slightly uncomfortable but was politely smiling at the teasing triplets, heading over to their table. His heart skipped a beat. He jumped up.

"I need to, uh, go to the bathroom. See you later," And he walked quickly past Biana and the triplets, slugging Bex as he went.

In the bathroom Dex stared at himself in the mirror. I'm such an idiot, Dex thought. Why did I just run out of the cafeteria? Sophie probably thinks I'm so stupid. I swear I'm gonna get the triplets back someday...

The bathroom door suddenly opened. Dex turned. "Oh hi, Keefe," he said when he saw the familiar messy blond hair and ice blue eyes. "I thought you had detention."

"I did," Keefe grinned as he crossed the bathroom to the mirror and began mussing up his hair some more. "Snuck out. I'm sure Lady Cadence won't notice."

"Yeah, whatever," Dex said distractedly. He was staring off into space, a dreamy look in his eyes.

"What's with you? Oh wait, don't tell me. Is it Biana?" teased Keefe.

"What?" Dex had snapped out of his stupor to hear what Keefe said. "What are you talking about? Have you talked to the triplets lately? Oh I'm going to kill Bex..."

"No. Lucky guess. Looks like I was right," Keefe grinned.

Dex immediately blushed. He tried to change the subject. "S-so did you hear about Fitz getting his first matchmaking scroll?"

"What?" Keefe's grin immediately faded. "Oh. When-when did this happen?"

"I don't know," Dex said. "But he seemed awfully happy about it in the cafeteria. I bet Sophie is right at the top."

"Oh," Keefe coughed. "Yeah." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Probably you're right. Well, I'd better go." And he shuffled out of the bathroom, looking glum.

Dex stared at the door that Keefe had just closed behind him. What's with him? he thought. Oh, whatever. I'd better get back to lunch before Sophie sends Fitz to look for me here. And with that, Dex wiped his now sweaty hands-curse you Keefe and Marella-on his uniform and left the bathroom.

A/N: Oh my gosh, I finally updated! Sorry it took me so frigging long to write this chapter. I had no inspiration whatsoever and didn't know what to write. I personally like the first chapter better than this one it just seems...well, better. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't know when I'm going to update next. It'll probably take like, another year since I still don't have a lot of inspiration.