Pelswick was giving Ace and Goon a ride by pulling them along with his wheelchair (they were on their skateboards of course). No one gave them a second glance since the trio had been doing this stunt for years. Well technically there was one person who gave them a second glance but it wasn't because of the stunt….

"Hi Pelswick!" Julie called from the opposite street.

"Hi Julie!" Pelswick called back with a smile as he stopped his wheelchair. "Where're you off to?"

"Julie and I are on our way to my house to check out the CD I bought yesterday." Sandra replied. "It's the latest from our favorite band so it's sure to rock!"

"Cool, maybe I can check it out later but right now Ace, Goon, and I have to finish a project that's due soon." Pelswick said.

"Of course, I can bring it over to your house tomorrow if you want." Julie suggested. "That is unless Sandra minds."

"No, it's okay, I'll give it to you when you leave later." Sandra smiled.

"Great, see you tomorrow Julie!" Pelswick waved.

Julie and Sandra waved back as both sets of best friends went their separate ways and it wasn't too long before the trio had a conversation:

"Dude, this sounds suspiciously close to a date!" Ace smiled, pumping a fist.

Ace and Goon knew about Pelswick's crush on Julie, but they were always respectful and supportive of it, unlike some jealous best friends I know.

"Nah, Julie will never see me as a boyfriend." Pelswick frowned. "She only thinks of us as close friends."

"But aren't you her best friend?" Goon asked, confused.

"Second best, after Sandra." Pelswick corrected.

"Yeah, best friend that's a boy!" Ace rolled his eyes as if his point was obvious. "Hello! Those types of best friends always end up together!"

"You watch those soaps with your mom huh?" Pelswick muttered.

"Only when she forces me too." Ace retorted. "Come on, you two have more in common than any other couple I've seen! It's like, you've got chemistry or something."

"Ooh, good thing Pelswick gets good grades in that subject…." Goon began (in a friendly tone) before Pelswick cut in:

"Not that kind of chemistry, that's just Ace's way of saying that Julie and I belong together…wait a minute, you really believe that?"

"Of course I do, Julie's never gotten along better with any other guy and you've never gotten along better with any other girl!" Ace pointed out. "I mean, what's holding you back?

"One: how Julie views our relationship, I don't want to scare her off." Pelswick explained, starting to get a little annoyed. "And two: even if we did started dating what if it doesn't work out and we stop seeing each other? I don't want to lose her friendship even if it means that we'll never get to go on a date!"

Pelswick, it's been years since you first got that crush and I think it's gotten stronger!" Ace said, starting to get a little annoyed himself – but for a different reason of course. "This means that your love for her is genuine and if you don't make a move someone else will and you'll lose her to him forever!"

"That's scary Ace do you think Pelswick will actually lose her like that?" Goon shuddered.

"I only meant 'lose her' as in the sense of ending up with her." Ace explained. "I positive she'll remain friends with him even after that happens."

"Oh."

"Ace…wait, what do you mean 'my love has gotten stronger'?" Pelswick asked, confused.

"Do you sweat or grow nervous around her anymore?" Ace pointed out.

"No…." Pelswick said thoughtfully. "No, I think I haven't in quite a while actually but I never noticed before."

"See?" Ace smiled. "Your previous actions were from a crush, but then they went away while your love remained. That's a good sign."

"How do you know about this anyway?" Goon asked, curious.

"I asked mom in a hypothetical question after I first noticed how Pelswick was acting calmer around Julie." Ace shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Pelswick, face at least this fact: Julie thinks you rock, I've heard her say it countless times."

"Yeah…thanks Ace." Pelswick smiled. "Maybe I can approach it slowly in a hypothetical question when she comes over tomorrow."

"That's the spirit!" Goon grinned.

Meanwhile, Julie and Sandra had their own conversation:

"So Julie this sounds like a date to me." Sandra teased.

"What?" Julie blushed, shocked. "Me on a date with Pelswick? That's ridiculous, we're just friends."

"Oh come off it what's wrong with dating Pelswick?" Sandra scoffed. "I mean sure his wheelchair isn't that cool, except for the fact that it's motorized, but his attitude and personality really makes up for it."

"Boy you've matured." Julie muttered dryly.

"Hey!" Sandra frowned, insulted. "Come on you at least have to admit that Pelswick's cooler than most of the boys at school, he can do sports while in the wheelchair for one thing, plus he's interested in new things even though he doesn't follow the crowd…."

"I don't care about following the crowd either remember?" Julie pointed out.

"Oh, right, sorry. Look, Julie, be honest, how do you really feel about him? I mean, what do you like about him?"

So Julie explained: his personality, his ability to not let his being permanently seated get him down (she's gotten into using that term too), how he's not prejudice yet can spot a hoax a mile away (which comes in handy quite often), but just mostly the fact that he has a good heart and is a great friend.

"Anything else?" Sandra smiled suspiciously.

Julie frowned until she got what Sandra was hinting at.

"Okay, so I think Pelswick's…handsome." Julie admitted. "But so what? I used to think Boyd was cute too you know."

"Yeah, stupidly." Sandra winced.

"So I like to think that there's good in all types of people so what?" Julie retorted.

"So it's best if you didn't do that with bullies." Sandra frowned. "They don't deserve friends until they learn how to be one."

"I know; that's what finally stopped me thinking that Boyd was cute." Julie sighed. "I still don't see your point though, sure Pelswick would make anyone a great boyfriend but why me?"

"Well look how well you two get along with each other, plus years ago I could swear that Pelswick had a crush on you." Sandra explained. "At least from what I could tell, he did look extra happy and nervous whenever you were near him back then."

"Pelswick…a crush…on me." Julie thought aloud, stunned.

Julie just remained silent after that, not knowing what to say. Sandra respected this at first until she got impatient.

"So how do you feel around him?" She asked. "Anything apart from friendship?"

"No…." Julie admitted. "Except I always feel happy around him even when I'm having a bad day, he could always find a comment or compliment that would make me feel better. He still can actually."

"That's a good sign, not many guys can do that." Sandra smiled. "So what would you do if he ever admitted his love for you?"

"Just probably look stunned, which I would be, and then say that even though he would make anybody a good boyfriend I still would be scared of how it would affect our friendship."

"And then see how he takes it from there?" Sandra guessed.

"Exactly, depending on his comment who knows how it would go, but the worst I could probably say would be for us to wait."

"If at all." Sandra added knowingly.

"Well I wouldn't add that part." Julie said defensively.

"Chill, I know, but I also know that's what you would be thinking."

"True." Julie sighed. "I guess I'll have to wait until when he actually says those three words."

"Or the even more powerful five words." Sandra added (she meant 'I'm in love with you'). "They really show a guy's bravery."

"Yeah."

Julie frowned as she became lost in thought for the remainder of the day. Pelswick however just smiled as his confidence for admitting his love grew – needless to say Ace's words helped with that – and decided to actually admit it the next day after the hypothetical question. Of course that's a funny thing about plans, they sometimes don't work out the way you want them too…and sometimes even let dangerous incidents slip in.