The next day came all too quickly, but it started out differently than it usually panned out. Usually, I would meet with Lissa in the morning, in the same spot as always. Yet, today I noticed that Chrom was there with Frederick instead of his sister. I rose an eyebrow of interest, but I didn't say anything about it as I approached them. In fact, before they saw me, I picked up on the fact that Chrom seemed different than he normally did: His complexion was a tad bit paler and even from a distance I could feel lethargy coming off of him. He was probably still worried about Gangrel no doubt.

"Hey Chrom. Hey Frederick." I greeted, calling their attention. They turned to me and Chrom gave me an overwrought smile in response while Frederick just stared back at me with a slight nod. Chrom hurriedly met with me halfway which made Frederick rush to catch up; it seemed like he had something on his mind that needed to be shared with someone.

"Will you come with me to the cafeteria for a moment before classes? I want to talk about my campaign." Chrom immediately told me. I gave him a look, but then nodded quietly. Even though I was confused as to why he wanted to talk to me about it when Frederick was with him, I didn't bring it up. Who was I to argue with him when he was in this state? Anyway, the three of us made our way over to the cafeteria and sat down at an empty space where there weren't a lot of people around. I tried to also choose the farthest seat away from where Gangrel and the Plegians were, but they were still within peripheral vision. I tried not to focus on them.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about Chrom?" I wondered.

"Well, I was thinking last night… I needed someone I could trust to help me succeed in my Presidential Campaign. I needed someone to be my Presidential Advisor." He laughed almost in self-mockery, "Believe me, I went down a list of people who I knew again and again – I couldn't find one person who could do the job. That is, until I came to your name, Teresa." He paused a moment, looking right at me, waiting for me to take the hint without telling me. It hit me like a ton of bricks – Chrom was choosing me of all people to help him in his run for Student Council President? I was completely flattered; but mostly I felt the supreme trust Chrom seemed to possess in me. It was a lot to ask someone to share the burden of campaigning and even more so to swallow your pride and ask to begin with. Though, for a man like Chrom it was probably as easy as breathing… I mean, he was a really trusting man. Especially since he trusted me of all people to be his Presidential Advisor!

"What? W-why me?" I asked, aghast.

"I asked the same thing." Frederick sighed, eyes closed in utter disappointment, "I've known Chrom forever and I believed him to trust me with things like that… but then he just decides to make you his Presidential Advisor."

"It's not just trust, Frederick." Chrom assured, "It's also about certain qualities. And that's not to say you lack it per se, it's just… I wanted…," Chrom looked at me with those blue eyes of his and suddenly they lost their dark rings. It seemed he was searching something from me to try and find the right words to explain to Frederick as to why he chose me. My heart rate began to quicken; his gaze was beginning to unnerve me – what was that one different quality I had or didn't have that made me the right person for the job? What was it Chrom saw in me to trust me to this high degree? "…simplicity."

I stared at him, "…what?"

Frederick was also astonished, "What?"

"Look, I know that sounds strange, but when you think about it, it makes sense. I don't want any grandiloquent campaigning that you might do, Frederick. And I don't want these meticulous ideas that Miriel might hatch and I definitely don't want Vaike to do it. When I really got down to the bottom of everything, I found you were the perfect choice, Teresa." Chrom told me in a really genuine way that I bet would make anybody flush with embarrassment.

"Do you really think I can handle it, though? It's a lot of work, coming up with ideas to try and vie everyone's vote." I pointed out.

"You're not alone; if you ever need help, you've got me to run it by and you've also got the rest of us. But I know in the end you'll make the correct choices." Chrom told me. Before I could reply, Chrom snuck a glance at the clock and noticed it was almost time for classes to begin. He and Frederick parted ways, but I still had unfinished business with Chrom so I came with him to his locker which was, luckily, close by to mine so I wouldn't be too late for class.

"Chrom, I've never done anything like this before. I'm not sure I'm confident enough to be your Presidential Advisor." I admitted, but Chrom just gave me an unbelieving look as we proceeded to his locker. I continued, "I'm serious! My ideas are usually no good – you'd be better off asking Vaike!"

"Somehow I doubt that, Teresa. You're intelligent, but not at Miriel's level, which is why you're perfect for this situation." Chrom stopped at his locker as he said this and put in his combination. I huffed at him.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" I demanded. Chrom opened his locker and out came fluttering a little piece of paper. Chrom just swiftly picked it up and looked down at it. That really sparked a memory into my head, "Ugh, I hate it when that happens; you toss a sheet in your locker and after a while it rips and comes dancing down upon you like it wants it's revenge or something for being stuck in your locker for so long." When I finished my dumb story, I noticed that Chrom was looking much paler than he did earlier this morning as he continued to stare down at the piece of paper, "Is something the matter, Chrom?"

He seemed to snap out of a trance, "N-no… nothing. It was just a note from Lissa. Looks like I forgot to buy her a new phone case to replace the one she lost." Chrom sheepishly laughed it off as he grabbed his books and slammed his locker shut again, "Anyway, thanks for becoming my Presidential Advisor, Teresa! See you later!" With that, the blue haired man rushed off down the hallway before I could say anything.

"Hey! You can't just decide I'm your Presidential Advisor!" I yelled back at him, but he was already too far away to hear me. I sighed as I shook my head and began to go to my own locker. Why was I so focused on trying not to become Chrom's Presidential Advisor? Was I just not good at accepting responsibility? Or was it just that I was still bashful that he chose me out of everyone else to be his Presidential Advisor? Thinking about it now that my head was a little less full of 'whats', it wasn't such a bad thing – I would be able to prove my mettle to the rest of my group of friends and I might even catch Lon'qu's attention. I blushed, thinking back to yesterday with Lon'qu and thinking of that turning to him fully having his attention on me because he noticed my vast intellect and my cunning and my beauty (which ultimately didn't exist) which helped Chrom win the seat as Student Council President and he would eventually become mine! Yes! It was so simple! Thank you, Chrom!

With those thoughts in my head I went through Ms. Pheros' class and Mr. Excellus' class like a dream. All I could think about was Lon'qu and him noticing me – to which Lissa clearly picked up on. She teased me for daydreaming in class but when she did I just pointed to a picture of a heart in Ms. Pheros' class and she'd get grossed out and quiet down for a while. After being figured out so easily, I went back to work; though I did take the time when we were doing individual work to tell Lissa about Chrom's proposal this morning (not the romantic sort of proposal – he's reserved for Sumia!). Lissa just smiled, but didn't seem surprised which made sense. They were brother and sister so of course he must have told her about his decision to make me his Presidential Advisor. She told me he made the right choice – which made me flush from embarrassment; were they trying to give me a stuffed shirt or what?!

As for Mr. Excellus' class, I stepped up my game since Chrom was also in that class and began writing some ideas to get Chrom's name out there and what ways would be most effective in doing just that. I wrote down some silly things at first because I really couldn't think of anything at all like having Cherche sew on 'Chrom for President' on a couple of fruit of the looms. OK, that was just dumb, which they all began as. Then toward the end of the class, I came up with practical ideas like having a skilled drawer like Libra draw a heroic-looking Chrom on a poster board along with a line that went something like 'A natural-born leader… it's only natural you'd want him to be your President!' Of course, I'd have to come up with a better, catchier line than that, but I continued on from there.

When lunch came around I wanted to approach Chrom with these ideas, but he had already left Mr. Excellus' class before I could ask him. Before I could go and search for him, Lissa came up to me, "Hey, Teresa, do you want to come and hang out with the girls today at lunch? The boys already decided it to be 'Boy's Day' already and don't want to hang out with any of us. I bet it was just some malarkey Vaike made up to talk about muscles and manhood's."

I laughed, "I would love to, Lissa. But, I wanted to talk to Chrom about this whole 'being his Presidential Advisor' thing. Do you happen to know where he went by any chance?"

"Hmm… no. Usually he hangs around a bit before lunch, but he's been acting weird ever since he and Gangrel had that encounter yesterday. I think Gangrel really got to him; he's a wreck – even though it's just some silly Student Council thing." Lissa shrugged. That got me worried; seriously, Chrom shouldn't have been nearly as distressed as he was – Gangrel just challenged him for President's spot, nothing more. I knew they had some sort of bad history, but whatever it was it probably shouldn't have been enough to put Chrom out like this.

"Well, I'm just going to try and find him before we hang out, if that's OK." I told her.

"Sure; I'm fine with that. We're going to be in the cafeteria – you'll see us when you get there." Lissa replied with a friendly smile as she waved in parting. I waved as well before turning in the opposite direction she was headed and began to look for Chrom. Deciding that it would be best if I checked around his locker first and foremost, I headed straight there. Even though I thought Chrom to be over exaggerating about Gangrel's threat, I couldn't help but wonder if something else happened that everyone, but Chrom, wasn't aware of. I shook the idea out of my head – becoming Student Council President couldn't be that big of a deal to inspire cheating or dirty tricks… could it?

Anyway, when I made it to Chrom's locker, I just caught him about to leave. I scooted over, grabbing his shoulder to him before he could get away. He turned to me, seemingly surprised to see me here, "Teresa? Did you need something?"

"Yeah…," I answered, trailing off as I stared at his face. I was no good at reading faces, especially when he had this curious look on his face. Darn it, I had hoped I would get an idea of what was going on, but I just made myself even more confused, "…um, right. I-I have a few ideas written down here and I just wanted to run it by you."

"That certainly was fast." Chrom smiled, taking the paper from my hands. He scanned the page really quickly before he gave my paper back to me, "Those are pretty good initial ideas – except the 'fruit of the loom' one."

"Ack! I thought I blotched that one out!" I gasped, looking down at the paper and noticing that I forgot to get rid of it. Chrom laughed at me and threw on the jacket I hadn't realized he had in his hands. I tilted my head to the side, "Going off grounds? Alone? How very unlike you."

"Lissa wanted me to pick up the phone case, so I decided to pick it up with my lunch." Chrom explained looking really eager to get going, to which I nodded my head. It was sad how they restricted lunch time to a short hour – which seems long, but sometimes it just wasn't nearly long enough, I found; especially when you needed to get something done before class.

"Bring me back something!" I laughed, "Just kidding!" With that, Chrom disappeared down the hallway and I turned around to make my way to the cafeteria while folding the paper of ideas in my hands and tucked it away into my pocket. Hopefully better ideas will come to mind so Chrom's trust in me wouldn't fail him.

When I made it to the cafeteria, it was just as Lissa said – I did see them right away: They were in the first table from the entrance. Right away, I took a spot next to Cherche and noticed that Miriel was droning on about class work and exams. Everyone, especially Sully, seemed bored out of their skull, but as soon as I came they figured it was a great time to change the subject.

"Hey! 'Bout time you came around!" Sully grinned.

"Yeah, Chrom decided this morning that I was fit to be his Presidential Advisor and I've been beside myself with worry that I wouldn't be good enough." I sighed, "I'm probably going to make him regret his choice because I always need someone's reassurance if I do something because I'm not at all confident in myself."

"I'm sure that's not the case, Teresa! I mean, Chrom puts up with me and I'm the worst when it comes to confidence!" Sumia encouraged me cheerfully. I smiled at Sumia, feeling bad that her comforting words were had a negative connotation toward her.

"She's right! Suck it up and do your best, yeah?" Sully said, "But enough of that – I've been meaning to ask about this whole 'Boy's Day' thing. What the he** did those boys mean they wanted time away from us?! What makes us so different huh?! Are boobs and a vagina something to get away from now?!"

"Sully, I'd change your language and lower your tone if you're going to say embarrassing things like that aloud in public." Cherche cautioned her politely with a smile. Sully just grumbled something under her breath and crossed her arms.

"I still don't like it." Sully mumbled, "It's like they're trying to pi** me off."

"Speaking of boys…," Lissa spoke up with a sly smirk, "I heard a rumor floating around that there was someone crushing on you, Sully. They're probably just too afraid of you to tell you, naturally." I was surprised to see Sully get so interested in the conversation.

"Really?! Who is it?" Sully demanded.

"Not telling!" Lissa laughed.

"Come on, seriously! I'm not going to say anything – honest." Sully insisted, getting red in the face. I supposed that it was rare for Sully to hear that someone was crushing on her especially when she seemed to despise men outwardly. I would be equally curious as she was, "Is it someone from our group of friends? Someone that I know?"

"Nope, not giving you an inch, Missy." Lissa teased.

"Lissa! You tossed me a bone, I want the rest – I want the meat!"

"Oh! I heard another rumor floating around as well about you, too, Olivia!" Lissa ignored Sully and focused on the pink-haired, quiet girl of our group. Olivia hated being in the spotlight and every time she was, she would turn a bright red. Like right now, when Lissa made our group concentrate on her, she immediately flushed and refused to meet with our eyes. Though she was incredibly shy, she loved to dance – and she was very good at it; but she didn't like all the eyes on her while she danced. I found that truly a shame; if only she didn't let her shyness get in the way, she wouldn't have to worry about dancing in a crowd. Anyway, Olivia was a very fashionable girl as well – despite her disliking having attention on her. Today she was wearing a frilly white shirt with a belt around her waist. She wore hoops of gold around her wrists that surprisingly stay on her skinny wrists and golden hoop earrings popping out from her pink her that was strung back into a long ponytail. She wore black tights with a cute black flats with a matching black flower on the toe of them with a pink gem in the middle.

"H-huh? Is… there?" Olivia tried to sound interested but still refused to meet with our eyes. It was clear that she didn't want to discuss this about herself but was just probably content with listening in about the other girls. It was too late now, though.

"I believe I heard that one as well." Cordelia chimed in, "I think they said it was… Stahl? Donnel?" As soon as Olivia heard Donnel's name it seemed her shyness was non-existent.

"Ew! Donnel!" She shrieked.

"Hey! That's not very nice – Donnel's a good kid! Hard-working and everything." Sully said in Donnel's defence. Maribelle took this opportunity to put in her two cents because she smirked from across the table at Sully.

"Sounds like someone is in loove." She teased, causing Sully to turn red.

"It's not that I like 'im! I just appreciate hard work!" Sully replied defensively, "Farmers do a lot of da** work, right? They have t' plow the fields, plant the crops, make sure they grow and whatever and they harvest it and give all their hard-earned cr** to us city folk."

Olivia was still lamenting at the fact that Donnel possibly liked her, "But… he's not attractive…," We all laughed at that and our conversation continued on like that for the rest of the lunch hour. It was kind of sad to leave when we were in a heated discussion about rumors floating around about who liked who but time just had to slip away from us. We all parted ways to get to class but the conversation still hung on me. It made me wonder… was there anyone crushing on me? I tried silencing these thoughts, initially, but they kept coming back with a vengeance. Of course, I hoped that Lon'qu was – but there were other hot men out there that may not be my crush but I would be equally happy with. Though, there probably wasn't – no one would be interested in me out of all the prettier and more interesting girls in the group.

With that thought, I spent the class only half-listening to Mr. Farber and half trying to think up some better ideas for Chrom. Though in the state of mind I was in, I couldn't think up anything intelligent. Discouraged, I looked up at the clock and watched the minutes go by as Mr. Farber kept going on with the history lesson.

When class was over, I tried not to make my discouragement obvious as I went to my next class. Though, I was just about to turn the corner when Lissa bumped into me with saucers for eyes. I looked at her worriedly, "Lissa? What's wrong?"

She grabbed my arms, "Teresa – it's Chrom! He's been suspended!"