"Detention?" Nora Isaac's face, framed by bouncy brown curls, was full of sympathy for me as she watched me trudge to my locker in a zombified state. "What did you do now?"

"I tried to uphold justice for all the giants of the world," I moaned, "but the midget mafia bested me."

"What?"

I eyed Nora's small, slim frame, which fit perfectly into the fashionable outfit she was sporting today, and let out another long, unattractive sigh.

Nora cringed and swatted my arm in annoyance. "Stop doing that all the time! You sound like my grandpa."

"You're so lucky you're short, Nora," I whined, shoving my homework into my backpack as kids went zooming out the front doors around me. "You can wear cute clothes and not look like a crossdressser. And you don't have loud, annoying dust particles constantly on your case."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Aaron again, huh?" When I nodded, her smile widened and she raised her eyebrows at me. "So when exactly are you two getting together?"

"Oh, come on! You too?" I said in exasperation. "I wouldn't pick that midget if the last two guys on the Earth were him and Lord freaking Voldemort."

"You know, I'm not joking when I say the two of you would make a good couple. It's not every day that—" Nora's face slackened as she squinted off into the distance, and then she gasped and made a mad dash away from me.

"My darling Noooooora!" the familiar voice of Nora's boyfriend, Heath Nofar, echoed down the hall, causing several people to turn in curiosity.

"Heathie!" my best friend squealed, abandoning all dignity as she leapt into his outstretched arms. "I loooove you!"

"I love looooove you!"

"I love love loooooove you!"

They went on like that for a while, as kids everywhere went sprinting for cover from the sheer lovey-dovey-ness pouring through the hall, and I knew Nora was beyond my help now. Which was just as well, because if I didn't get a move on, I'd be late for detention.

I made my way down the mostly abandoned halls, passing locker after locker before finally reaching the classroom. With a sigh, I took about half a step into the room before nearly keeling over in shock, irritation sweeping through me at the sight of something unwelcome in the classroom.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

Aaron's face was the very epitome of death when he turned in his seat, his hands grasping a crumpled basketball jersey. "Excuse me? That's the stupidest question you've had all yea—"

I smacked my forehead. "Oh, right, I forgot for a moment—you're the reason I'm stuck in this miserable hole, you frickin' detention magnet."

"What does that mean?" Aaron snapped, shooting out of his seat, which, given his tiny stature, had little to no effect at all.

"Whatever you think it means."

"And what the hell does that mean?"

I gave Aaron a smug smile, relishing the fact that he looked more pissed than Simon Cowell on a bad day. "Don't you know they call you the 'Detention King'?"

Aaron broke his glare and blinked in confusion. "They? Who's 'they'?"

I smiled sweetly. "Me."

"Oh, like you're one to talk about detentions," he shot back, his anger flaring again and sending nearly visible waves of fury around him.

"At least I don't get detentions every other day!" I pointed out with a snarl, drawing myself up to my full height—which I very rarely did—just to maximize the intimidation power.

Aaron gave a loud snort. "That's 'cause you can't even fit into half the rooms in the school," he scoffed. "Teachers would rather see you just leave. It's probably a pain having to buy a new doorframe whenever that big head of yours knocks it off," he added snidely, waving around the air above his head and smirking.

Fury rose within me, and if anyone had come within three inches of me, I probably could've set them on fire. I slammed my fists onto the table. "You little—!"

I was interrupted mid-sentence when the classroom door flew open with a bang, revealing a grim-faced Mr. Hollis, who appeared to have aged several years when his annoyed gaze fell upon us.

"Ah, the idiot pair. I see you two are getting along as well as ever," he said without a trace of a grin, eyeing our proximity with raised eyebrows.

It was then that I noticed I'd dumped all my stuff on the seat next to Aaron's. But even though I scanned the classroom desperately for an empty seat, there didn't appear to be any—every single seat was occupied by some delinquent-looking kid or another.

"I'm not sitting next to him because I want to be," I rushed to clarify, sinking into my seat and folding my arms childishly.

"Right," Hollis said, clearly unconvinced.

Resigned, I turned to find Aaron still glaring daggers at my back. "Great, now everyone's going to misunderstand again. Can't you go sit somewhere else?" I snapped, suddenly feeling irritated again.

He snorted. "Like where? The ground?"

"Try the filing cabinet. It's more your size."

Aaron's cheeks flamed again. "You—!"

"It doesn't feel right not to be charged for all this free entertainment," came Mr. Hollis's sarcastic quip from the front of the room. It was only then, when Aaron and I both looked around the classroom, that I noticed almost everyone was laughing or whispering to each other and pointing at us.

Somehow, without our notice, the whole class had been watching the banter.

"Look, it's the famous Comedy Duo!"

"Really? No way!"

"I hear they fight to cover up their feelings for each other. Isn't that just the most romantic thing you've ever—"

Feelings? Romance? With Aaron? Someone gag me.

"Hold it right there," Aaron and I both shouted, leaping out of our desks and pointing accusing fingers at one another in unison. "We are not going out."

"Said in perfect unison, too," a girl with bright orange hair commented from two rows over. She and her two friends stuck their heads together and laughed.

"Give me a break. Like I'd go out with some freak show a head taller than me," Aaron growled.

I stiffened and turned my head the other way with a sniff. "Like I'd date some rude grade schooler!"

"Like I'd—"

Aaron's heated retort was cut off by the click of the door. There was a slight squeaking noise as a tall blonde guy who could've passed for a model walked up to the teacher and said in a low voice, "Sorry I'm late."

Mr. Hollis's face scrunched up as if he'd smelled something nasty, and then it smoothed itself out, and then scrunched up again, reflecting some kind of serious internal battle.

"Ryan Sydney, right? Well…since you're the new kid, I'll let you off just this once," he finally conceded, which was probably a historical moment. "But don't expect any special treatment next time."

"Yes," Ryan said quietly, shouldering his backpack and moving to find an empty seat. I could practically see the hearts shooting out of the eyes of every female in the room, and I couldn't blame them—the guy was drop-dead gorgeous. The strong an silent type. And so tall…

I grinned. Maybe a week of detention wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Knock it off. You look like a mental patient smiling like that," Aaron jeered.

Then again, maybe it would be.

I resisted the urge to stare at Ryan as he drew nearer toward me in his search for a desk, but ended up stealing glances in his direction anyway. His hair looked so silky and soft, and my fingers itched to brush a few loose strands out of his eyes before I mentally slapped myself.

Ryan passed me in what seemed to be slow motion. His gaze shifted, and a pair of stunning green eyes met with mine for the briefest of moments.

"Can I have that?" he asked.

In that moment, I was certain I knew exactly what 'that' was. "Yes," I breathed, mesmerized. "I'll marry you."

"He's asking for the chair, dipwad," Aaron snapped, rolling his eyes and kicking at the empty chair between our desks. "God, you're embarrassing."

My face burned as laughter erupted around the room. "Yeah? Well, you're…short!"

"Wow, did you come up with that one all by yourself?"

Ryan cleared his throat uncomfortably and grabbed the chair. "Is it okay if I sit behind you?" he said in his gentle voice, still training his eyes on me.

"Oh, um…I think someone is already sitting…" I trailed off upon turning around and realizing that the shy, cute-looking girl who'd occupied the seat only minutes ago had now disappeared without a trace. "What in the heck?"

"So I can't sit here?" Ryan prompted after I sat there in a moment of confusion.

"No! I mean, yes! Yes, you can," I managed to splutter, still lost as to where the girl behind me could have disappeared to—this wasn't a frickin' fantasy novel. Hadn't Hollis or anyone noticed?

Though Aaron's face looked troubled as well, he didn't comment. Instead, he kicked his legs up on top of his desk, put a self-satisfied smirk on his face, and leaned back toward Ryan. "I wouldn't sit there if I were you. Kimberley's big head is gonna block everything in sight."

I snapped my head around in rage. "No one's talking to you, O'Donnell!"

"You just did."

"Sorry, I'm too tall," I told Ryan with a shaky laugh.

"It's okay," Ryan said, pushing the chair into the desk before slumping into it. "I can still see the board."

I couldn't really explain what happened next. There was a moment following his words—his beautiful, dreamy words—in which I swear on my grandmother's grave that a naked baby boy descended upon the classroom from the heavens above with a bow and arrow.

The baby boy stared right at me, pulled the arrow back in his weapon, and shot my frozen figure right in the forehead.

Even the sound of Hollis banging his meter stick on his desk, shouting, "Hey, is this detention or a zoo? Shut your pieholes!" couldn't dampen my spirits or slow my racing pulse. Unicorns and rainbows and sugarplums danced before my vision, a fat naked boy spun around my head in circles, and every few minutes or so I would have to quash the ridiculous urge to giggle.

There was no doubt about it: I was in love.

That, or certifiably delusional.

"Hey, Kimberley, I wanna talk to you for a second."

As the students filed past me at the end of detention, I turned around to find Aaron leaning against the wall, blonde bangs and a smirk plastered on his face. Evil intent was so thick in the air that I could practically sniff it. I knew Aaron well enough to sense that he was up to no good, and it was best to leave now before I ended up with my hands tied together on a pirate's plank or something.

"Good-bye," I said, but Aaron grabbed my wrist to force me back before I could leave.

"C'mon, I'll even treat you to a little something," he said, forming a pout on his lips. "How does Panera sound?"

Not even ten solid minutes later, Aaron and I were seated in a side booth at the local Panera, sipping our waters without speaking. He seemed to be dragging out whatever he wanted to say, taking long, careful sips from his straw in the mounting silence.

"You sure you don't want a high chair?" I said out of boredom.

Instantly, he reddened. "Go away!"

"You were the one who forced me here."

Realization flickered in his eyes, and then he slumped into his chair. "Oh. Right."

I sighed. "So can you spit it out now?"

An interesting array of expressions passed over Aaron's face, and then I almost felt a cold chill blow through the restaurant as his smirk widened to almost illegal proportions. "You…like Ryan, huh?"

I spat water all over the table and began to choke. "How…how did you know?!"

"Not even trying to deny it. Good, good," Aaron said with a little laugh.

I slumped back into my seat, dabbing at straw water droplets and trying to force my flush away. From Aaron's perspective, I supposed I could see how obvious my infatuation with the new kid must have been, and the thought made me strangely willing to drown myself in my cup of water.

"So…what now?" I grumbled. "Are you going to blackmail me?"

Aaron laughed and waved away the thought, puffing his chest out proudly. "Me? I'm a much more decent guy than that."

"First time I've heard of it."

A vein jumped on Aaron's forehead, but for once he chose to ignore the bait. "I'll have you know that I've got plans to make friends with Ryan Sydney, so maybe I'll put in a good word for you. If you're lucky, the two of you will be together by the end of the week."

Instantly, I sat up straighter, my heart thumping a mile a minute at the thought of dating Ryan. "Are you serious?"

"More serious than I've been about anything in my life."

"Yes!" I shouted so loudly that heads turned in the mostly quiet café. "I take back all those nasty things I said about you! In celebration of your decentness, I will even convert myself to O'Donnell-ism. All hail the Mighty Midget—"

"But I've got a condition," Aaron warned, and now it was his turn to look shifty and uncomfortable.

My face fell. Condition? I didn't like the sound of that. "What kind of condition?"

Aaron swirled his straw around his cup and stared hard at its watery contents, like he was trying to come up with the right words. "You know that girl who was sitting behind you before Ryan came?"

"Yes…?"

"Christy Talbot?"

I thought hard, realizing the name did ring a bell—she was in our grade. "Oh, is that her name?"

He ran a hand through his hair but still didn't look up. "Can you introduce her to me?"

The whole café seemed to go silent for a moment, as if everyone was watching Aaron fidget. His face had gone bright red now. I blinked for a moment, shocked, and all I could think of was to say, "But…I don't even know her."

"So what? I don't know Ryan, either."

"But I don't get it. It's not like you're a shy guy, right? Why don't you just—"

"Because she's terrified of guys," Aaron sighed, folding and unfolding his napkin absently with his gaze trained on the table. "I thought maybe if you two became friends, then naturally we could…" He trailed off, motioning with his hand.

I stared at him for a moment, and then grinned. "So that's your type, huh? No worries! Leave it to the love expert."

"Expert? Even when you've never had a boyfriend, Amazon?"

Ouch. I knew this Aaron-and-me-getting-along thing wouldn't last.