Chapter 3
Teenagers

We washed our faces and got dressed for school. "Hey mom, have you seen my messenger-bag?" yelled Charlie. "It's in you closet." mother shouted. "Thanks mom." he hollered. "I can't find my hand-bag." stated Raychel. "Did you check your dresser drawer?" suggested mother. "Found it! Thanks mom." she relayed. Lily was at the kitchen table eating breakfast with our and her folks. The Sorels had come over to join us for bacon, eggs, and toast. We overheard them chatting.

"What? You want to get a part-time job?" repeated Dominic. "Yeah, I wanna save up enough money to buy my own LFO." explained Lily. "But, you're still in middle school, Lily." protested her mother. "I know but, next year I'm gonna be a freshman in high-school and I don't want to still take the bus." she told her parents. "What about the motorbikes? I'm sure the twins won't mind giving you a lift." suggested mother. "We won't be able to use them when winter comes around." responded Lily. "She's got a point there, dear." said father to mother.

We sat down at the table to eat breakfast. "Maybe Holland and Hap will let you work at the 'Gekko-Go Ref Shop' here." suggested Charlie. They owned a chain of ref shops and one of them just happened to be in Belle Forest. "Hey, that's not a bad idea! Thanks Chuck!" said Lily. "I don't know about it. What do you think, honey?" Dominic asked his wife. "This might be a good opportunity for her to learn some responsibility." voiced Anemone. "Aww, come on. Please daddy?" pled their daughter. Lily had him hook, line, and sinker the moment she said 'daddy.' "Alright but, on one condition. You don't purchase the LFO without consulting you mother and I first even after you have enough money." instructed Lily's father. "Deal!" she replied happily (Author's Note: Lily doesn't know she's getting TheBEGINNING for her birthday. This is why her parents don't want her purchasing a LFO without them. It's a little trick my own parents used to teach me responsibility. As a reward, my parents bought me what I'd been saving up for and I was able to use the money I earned to buy whatever I wanted. Clever, huh?)

Charlie
"Hey Chuck?" went Lily playfully. "Yeah?" I replied. Lily started leaning in towards me. This made me feel uncomfortable. "W-wait Lil, w-what are you doing?" I asked her nervous. Her face was very close to mine now. I could smell her hair. My heart was racing and my face was flushed. *Gulp* Just then... *smooch*. Lily kissed me on the cheek! "Thanks." she said with a smile. "N-no problem." I stammered. I felt embarrassed. Lily kissed me! She actually kissed me! Why did she do that? I'd never been kissed by a girl before. I've known Lily all my life and she's never, ever done that. We're best friends. Friends don't kiss each other... do they? I looked at the expressions on our parents' faces. They were just as shocked as I was.

Raychel
Lily?!" I exclaimed. "Yeah Raych?" she replied casually. "Why did you kiss him?!" I inquired still stunned. "Huh? It was just a friendly peck on the cheek to thank him. It's not like I kissed him on the lips." she stated. "B-but still." I protested. "I don't see why you're so worked up, it's not a big deal." she shrugged. I looked over at brother, his face was still red. "You alright, Charlie?" I asked him. "Huh, what? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting it. I'm okay, really." he stammered. "You sure?" I pressed. "I didn't really mind besides, like she said, 'It was just a thank you kiss,' sis. No biggie." he assured. I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me or himself, maybe both.

Twins
"Well, would you look at that, it's time for school." said mother breaking the awkward silence. We looked at the clock. Shit! She was right, we were gonna be late if we didn't haul ass! "Later, mom and dad!" said Charlie as he slung his pack over his shoulder, put his helmet on, grabbed his refboard, and the bike's Compac Drive. Raychel grabbed her hand-bag and did the same. Charlie tossed Lily a helmet. "We'll discuss this later." said her father. "OK." she responded as we scurried out the door. We latched our board onto the bikes and inserted the Compac Drives. Our engines started with a roar. Lily hopped on the back of Charlie's bike.

Charlie
"Thanks again for giving me a lift, Chuck." said Lily gratefully. I leaned back away from her. "What?" she went. "You're... not gonna kiss me again... are you?" I asked. She laughed out loud. "Only if you want me to." she replied mischievously tightening her grip around my waist. "No, no, that won't be necessary. It's cool." I stated. I revved the motor and we took off.

Raychel
I rode behind Charlie's bike on our way to school. I still couldn't shake what Lily had done from my thoughts. Had it really been a harmless thanks, nothing else? I'm probably just being paranoid. I mean come on, we're practically family. Then again... "Hey sis, watch out!" yelled brother. Huh? I swerved, barely missing a trash can. "Sorry!" I hollered to whomever's can I almost hit. "Eyes on the road, Raych!" shouted Lily.

Twins
As soon as we reached school we parked our bikes and sprinted for the door. *RING* Phew, just made it! We placed our outdoor shoes in our lockers, switched to our school shoes, and headed for our classroom. We all shared the same home room. Our sensei entered. "Rise." instructed the class rep. The class stood. "Bow." she said next. We bowed. "Sit." the rep finished. We took our seats.

"How was your summer vacation, class?" inquired sensei. We cheered. "Good, good. Today we'll be going over the Neo-Ageha War. Neo-Ageha Squad or NAS, as it was commonly referred, was led by four very disturbed children. Their names were, in order from oldest to youngest, Arcti, Pacif, Atlan, and Indi. Once a part of ethnic cleansing these children... Yes, Maka?" went sensei.

Maka had raised her hand. "What's ethnic cleansing?" she asked. "It's rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or religious group." he explained. (Author's Note: This is the official United Nations definition of ethnic cleansing.) The class gasped. "That's horrible!" shouted Hei. "What monster would even consider such a thing?!" added Ayato. "You're absolutely correct, Hei and Ayato, it's an atrocious act. We should all be thankful we live in such peaceful times. However, please refrain from further outbursts while in my class." instructed teacher. "Sorry, sensei." apologized Hei and Ayato.

"Let's continue. These children were brainwashed by an even more disturbed man, Dewey Sörenstam Novak, for his personal military project, 'The Ageha Swallowtail Plan'. The purpose of his plan was the total annihilation of the Coralians. He used deception to convince the populace that the Coralians were our enemies by attacking the Scub Coral with Orange missiles." teacher stated. " Now as you all know, Charlie and Raychel's mother is Coralian. Their very existence is proof that a peaceful coexistence between our species is possible. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in our class today." he added. The class laughed, we blushed. Maka raised her hand again. "Yes, Maka?" he inquired. "Where are all the other Coralians now?" she asked. Sensei paused. "Not even your sensai knows the answer to that." he finally replied. That was only partially true. No one except us, the Thurstons and Sorels, knew. Sensei continued his lecture.

Charlie
Some hours later the lunch bell rang. "Wanna eat together?" asked Lily. "Sure." sis and I replied pushing our desks together. "What you bring?" I inquired referring to Lily's bento. "Omelets, rice balls, and melon bread. You?" she remarked. "The same." I answered. "Great minds think alike, huh?" said Lily. "I guess." I chuckled. Lily was silent for a moment. "Hey Chuck, sorry about the whole me kissing you thing." she apologized quietly. "Meh, it was no biggie, Lil." I reassured. I paused. "To be honest, I... kinda liked it." I admitted shyly. She blushed. I cracked a nervous smile and mustered every ounce of courage in me for what I was going to say next. "You... wanna go out some time?" I inquired timidly.

Raychel
I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Brother was asking Lily, our best friend, out on a date! "Y-you wanna go out with me?" stammered Lily. "I mean not if you don't want to, I'll completely understand. Forget I even mentioned it." went brother waving his hands like a madman. Lily's face was as red as my brother's had been this morning. "No it's alight, a date sounds nice. It's just... I've never been on one before." she replied. "Me neither." stated brother. "Um... okay, I'll go out on a date with you, Chuck." decided Lily. "Really? Thanks, Lil." brother sounded relieved.

"I hate to interrupt but, do either of you know how a date works?" I inquired. "Not really. No." they admitted. I didn't think so. I sighed as I took another bite from my bento. Eh, what the hell, I might as well help them out. I chewed my food and swallowed. "I have a few suggestions." I said casually. "Really?! Thanks, sis!" brother told me. "Yeah thanks, Raych!" went Lily. "Wait 'til you hear me out before you thank me." I laughed. "Alright, here's what you can do..." I laid out a list of ideas.

Twins
Five minutes later lunch ended and school resumed for another three hours until the final bell rang. Raychel had cleaning duty today so she told Charlie and Lily to go on ahead of her. "Later." they waved. "Stick to the plan!" hollered Raychel. "We will!" they yelled back. Charlie gave his sister a thumbs up before leaving the school grounds with Lily on the back of his motorbike. "Good luck you two." thought Raychel privately.

NEXT CHAPTER: WOAH, CHARLIE AND LILY'S FIRST DATE. I WONDER HOW OUR PARENTS WILL TAKE IT? MEH, WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN? I'M SURE IT'LL ALL WORK OUT IN THE END. CHAPTER 4: FALL FOR YOU