A/N: Thanx for all the reviews! I love how much laughter I am bringing to your lives with this fic! I actually chuckle to myself writing it sometimes... wacky fun! ;-)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3 - She's Got A Boyfriend Now

"Thank you, class, and I'll see you next time" Mr Book dismissed his class, and the sounds of chairs scraping accompanied the bell that rang loudly from the hall.

"Here endeth the lesson" joked Mal as he and his friends headed for the door.

"That might've been funny the first day. Two weeks on? Not so much" said Zoe with a shake of her head as she squeezed between Mal and Jayne and moved off down the corridor.

"What crawled up her ass and died?" said Jayne with a frown, "Think the little man done said somethin' stupid?"

"Why ya askin' me?" his friend shrugged his shoulders as he went towards his locker and traded books between there and his bag, "Women ain't built to be understood"

"Got that right" agreed Jayne as a certain Sophomore sailed passed him, shooting him an odd look.

River Tam was weird, this was the conclusion Jayne had come to after two weeks of knowing her. Not that he could say he knew her exactly, barely knew her brother and Simon was there almost everytime he turned around of late, attached to Kaylee's arm, or more accurately she was trying to get attached to him. The boy didn't seem to get how much little Kaylee liked him, which made him damn blind and even more gorram stupid as far as Jayne could tell. Girlfolk gonna throw themseves at ya, ya have at it, that was his idea, 'ceptin Simon didn't get it and Mal didn't seem to agree neither, keepin' little Saffron at arms length as he was.

'You blind to her assets or did ya jan-doh duh ee-kwai-ro fall off when ya realised ya ain't ever gonna get in Ms Serra?' he'd asked him once, and it was the only time Jayne had thought for real Mal might kill him for something he said.

Hands held in surrender he'd backed off fast and not made mention of it since, though the rest of the gang took turns at making mostly harmless comments about the odd non-couple. Jayne was all for older women, and younger women, and any willin' woman he could get most of the time. What he couldn't figure was all this dumb love crap he kept hearin' so much about. They was in high school, what good was fallin' in love? That was for old folks, not for him.

"Hey, you two" grinned Kaylee as she appeared behind her friends

Both Mal and Jayne gaped at her as they turned and saw her stood there with a pair of male arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

"Huh" was all Mal could say as he glanced between the girl who'd been his mei mei for years enough now and the hwun-dahn she got done datin' last year, he was fair certain.

"So, you guys remember Bester, right?" little Kaylee smiled wide, as Mal slammed his locker door and stood arms folded over his chest, glaring at the boy in question.

"Like we could forget" said Jayne with some distaste, around a mouthful of the apple he'd been munchin' on.

Here was another guy that had been mixed up in a love drama he'd seen get tangled up into a real mess that resulted in Kaylee's tears and sorrow, the like o' which he didn't reckon on wanting to see again any time soon.

"Sweetie, don't you have to go now?" she said, suddenly pushing Bester away as the bell rang again, "I gotta talk to my friends"

"Sure thing, babe" he said, firing his fingers like a fake gun, "I'll catch y'all later, dudes" he said as he backed away, bumping into the crowd moving in the opposite direction.

"Kaylee" Mal got her attention, "Bao-bei, what in the gorram hell are you doin' back with that Yi Dwei Da Buen Chuo Roh?!" he asked her, anger and disappointment both edging his voice.

"Hey, he ain't so bad!" she protested with her hands on her hips and her best attempt at an indignant expression, despite the fact she wasn't totally convinced by her own words.

"Ain't so bad?!" exploded Mal, "You forget what happened the last time you was playin' at a fairytale with that... that..."

"He's different now!" said Kaylee firmly, practically stamping her foot for good measure, "At least he knows I exist and treats me like I'm an actual girl! And in case you ain't noticed, Mal, you ain't my Daddy!" she yelled, before storming away and leaving her two friends bemused by what just happened.

* * * * *

"Kaylee and Bester?" said Zoe, eyes wide as she shook her head, "Can't hardly believe she'd be so dumb as to get back with that idiot" she declared, as Wash sat down beside her at the lunch table.

"Why do I think it's not dumbness that's making Kaylee act this way?" he sighed, "Anybody maybe think our favourite mechanic is just tryin' to get a little attention..." he said, jerking his thumb none to subtly to where Simon and River were both waiting in line to get their lunch.

Nobody was so blind they hadn't noticed the attraction that Kaylee felt towards Firefly High's newest Junior, except for maybe the boy himself. It would be somewhat miraculous if Simon really was oblivious to how much Kaylee liked him, but if he did notice he sure didn't do nothin' about it. Each member of this particular group of friends had their own degree of sympathy for the pair, both blind in their own ways. Poor Kaylee couldn't seem to see that whilst Simon most likely thought she was nice enough, he really wasn't a sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of a guy. Where Wash wore his heart on his sleeve, Mal was subtle but somehow obvious in how much he cared. Jayne didn't know how to be anything but honest and forthright, and that worked for some, but Simon was a whole other thing altogether. He'd been brought up different, all fancy and detached as them rich folk tended to be. Hell, Kaylee could most like stand in front of him stark naked offerin' him the whole 'verse and he'd still not understand that now was the time to make a damn move.

"Hello" he said with an awkward smile and a stiff wave, "Um, we wondered if we might... join you?" his sentence became disjointed as River tired of waiting for an invitation and parked herself opposite Jayne.

"Pleasant to see familiar faces again" she smiled at each of them, and Mal returned the look more out of amusement at her manner than anything else, "Usually anyway" she said, picking up on the tension that soon went around the table as two more people arrived to stand over them, "No more accommodation" she said quietly so only Simon could hear her, though he was barely listening as he stared over at the new arrivals.

"Ain't this cosy?" smiled Kaylee though for once in her life that expression didn't exactly look genuine, as a young man neither Simon nor River recognised fawned all over her, "Woulda been nice if you left some room for us"

"Always room for you, Kaylee" said Wash as he pushed his seat up closer to Zoe's and she duly shifted some her ownself, shunting River along just the same.

"My girl doesn't need no extra seat" her boyfriend told them, suddenly lifting Kaylee off her feet as he sat in the last available chair at the end of the table and pulled his girl down onto his lap.

She squealed as he did it, apparently startled by the action but was soon laughing and calling him a sweetie for his actions. Simon watched from the opposite end of the table, with nowhere to look but at the couple, and suddenly lost his appetite, most especially when Kaylee started pushing her tongue down the throat of the unworthy boy who held her.

"That there is our little Kaylee's ex-boytoy" said Jayne, as he caught the new boy staring, "Seems they got to reunitin'" he sneered, evidentally unhappy with the situation.

Jayne didn't like Simon, the pompous little ass, but he loved Kaylee like a little sister. She deserved somethin' way better than that hwun-dahn Bester, and if'n it was Simon she was hankerin' after he thought that was what she oughta have. Only thing that made sense was that Kaylee was screwing around with her ex to make the future-doc jealous, and if'n he could help with that, then Jayne'd do it, if only for the fun of watching the new kid get riled.

"Unworthy" said River then, catching Jayne's attention but not Simon's as his eyes stayed trained on Kaylee and Bester, "Not good enough for her, and you know it" she said staring at the couple then glancing at the older boy opposite her.

"Not my decision to make" he shrugged, his eyes tellin' River to shut her mouth right now.

She wasn't bothered by his supposed menacing looks, but the girl did as he wished and went back to her food without another word. This whole situation was cliché and obvious to her. Kaylee wished to make Simon jealous by getting up close and personal with her old boyfriend, she hoped it would help make dear guh-guh more eager to please, compliment, and court. Unfortunately for Kaylee, she did not know Simon as well as his sister did, and River was sure the plan would fail, at least in the beginning. Though he played the part of hero well enough, it had only ever been for herself, and never for a damsel in distress that might love him in a new, exciting, romantic way.

"So, we have plans for tonight?" said Wash suddenly, quite obviously trying to distract attention away from his friend and her man who's face sucking was being watched by too many eyes already.

"None that I recall, dear" Zoe shook her head, trying not to smirk as Wash's chair took a jolt from Kaylee practically falling over backwards as Bester kissed her long and hard.

"Hey!" a yell soon went up from across the way, an angry teacher having seen the over-dramatic PDA, "That's enough! We having a chair shortage? Put her down!" he said definitely.

Mal quickly spun a chair from the next table pushing it up between himself and where Bester was reluctantly letting Kaylee off his lap. Sliding into the seat, she pushed her mussed up hair out of her face and at least had the good grace to blush as she looked Simon's way. He gave up staring the moment he caught her eye and focused on the lunch he didn't know how to eat after what he had just witnessed.

"So, plans for later" said Mal, bringing the conversation back in to play with a clap of his hands.

"Count me out o' what ever you're plannin'" Jayne shook his head, talking around a mouthful of chips, and slapping River's hand lightly when she dared to try and pinch one from his briefly abandoned bag, "I got detention"

"What for this time?" Zoe wanted to know at first but changed her mind very quickly, "Or shouldn't I ask?" she winced soon after.

"Can't attend either" River cut in before Jayne could give an answer either way, "Have class tonight"

Perhaps someone might've asked what class, shown and interest and all just to be polite, but they didn't get a chance to as Bester threw in his answer next.

"We was gonna see a movie" he said, looking Kaylee's way - somehow she didn't look overly keen all of a sudden.

"Movie sounds good" agreed Zoe, hoping she was saying the right thing, "Wasn't you hopin' to see the new Jurassic Park, honey?" she said to her boyfriend who nodded and bounced like an excited child suddenly.

"I do!" he declared, "But you said you didn't want to..." he stopped short of finishing his sentence as his girl's pointy elbow struck his ribs.

"Oh yeah, that sounds shiny" agreed Mal with a nod of his head, "We should all go, make a thing of it" he smiled, "You too, Simon" he encouraged the boy with a look to go along with this.

"I don't know, I..." he started, though his answer was almost completely obliterated by River giving her opinion in place of his own.

"He would love to attend with new friends" she declared with a grin, "Always saying it would be nice to spend more time with them"

Simon couldn't argue with her, he never won and it was pointless, besides a part of him fancied the idea of getting in the way of Kaylee and her so-called boyfriend's plans for a romantic type evening, if what they had been doing before could be called romantic, and he doubted it could.

"Fine, I'll be there" he agreed, before looking back to his food.

That was how he came to miss the small but special little smile that tugged at the corners of Kaylee's mouth and didn't entirely shift for the rest of lunch.

To Be Continued...