Hey guys! Sorry it took me a while to update, this chapter just wasn't working, it still isn't perfect but I figured something is better than nothing :) hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no control over Castle, apart from in my imagination, which I use quite frequently

Chapter 4 - Highly explosive

Perlmutter gave both Meredith and Beckett a week's detention to learn 'classroom etiquette', but that was hardly the most interesting thing that happened that lesson. Once the fight was over the students returned to their respective desks to continue their experiments, alas without much universal indicator because in the heat of the fight that had been thrown at Meredith, much to her chagrin (it splattered colour in the centre of her pure cotton blouse) and to Beckett's amusement (until Meredith threw back a bull's eye - conveniently waiting for a grade 8 class, hitting her squarely in the chest).

Lanie was standing over her and Javi's experiment while he went to fetch some paper to write down their results. After subconsciously cleaning down the table about 10 times, she looked over their steps, and noticed noticed something that wasn't right... At this stage the liquid in the beaker was meant to be a light blue with white powder forming on the surface, but instead, it was slowly turning black, and was beginning to bubble.

"Hey Javi? What in the world did you put in here?" The tone in her voice was clearly worried, so Javi dropped his usually nonchalant manner and was about to come over.

"Nothing new, not since 10 minutes ago, it was meant to just sit there right?" He said, starting to saunter over, results paper held loosely in his hand.

"But it's turning black!" Lanie looked back to the test tube just in time to witness a large black glob flying straight for her face.

After hearing a great bang, Javi ran over to find Lanie absolutely covered in some black goo. Dripping, she turned and glared at him.

"Revenge?! That is so pathetic! It wasn't my fault you ruined our first experiment! You were the one who put the phosphates in too soon, and I got covered in goo as well that time! You didn't have to do it all over again!" Lanie was fuming; absolutely screaming at a shocked Javier.

"You think I did this?!" The results paper fell limply to the ground as Javier defended himself from a sopping Lanie.

"You're the one who's been telling me all week that it was my fault, that I deserved something back in return!" Each word was accompanied by a hit across his chest which hurt his pride more than actually physical injury.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't do this!" While he yelled this he managed to wrestle her away from him, and she stood there in front of him squinting through the layer of dark that covered her face.

"And why should I believe you?" Lanie attempted to wipe the black substance away from her eyes, but only managed to rub it around further.

"Because only an idiot would sabotage his partner's experiment in Perlmutter's class." Just as he was saying this, the very same Perlmutter came slouching over, a grim expression on his face.

"Quite right too mr Esposito. Because what goes for one partner, goes for both." Perlmutter's voice, dry as always drifted over their furious discussion. "I believe you know what happens now, ms Parish go clean that muck off you and change into something clean, mr Esposito will stay here and clean up the mess on the ground, then you will both come back here and join ms Beckett and ms Harper for detention after classes."

Lanie, following instructions this time, stormed less than gracefully out of the lab, and with one last glare at Javier slammed the door, sadly leaving goo all over it and the floor she walked on, for him to clean up.

Giving Lanie a matching glare of annoyance, Javi knelt down, and to the amusement of his classmates started to wipe up the mess.

When Lanie didn't show up for the next class Beckett decided she should check up on her. Upon walking up the hallway to the their room, she heard a wail of annoyance and distress, and jogged quickly to the door. Lanie was sitting slumped on her bed shifting through a mass of black material.

"I didn't realise you were wearing that much clothing in science class" Beckett said, in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Look at this!" Lanie pulled out a dress, which she had definitely not been wearing in Chem that was a strange black colour. Lanie pulled out other clothes the same colour in distress.

"Someone die?"

"Someone will! When I left this morning my clothes were normal colours. Now they're ALL this colour!"

"Someone came into this room and dyed all your clothes black?! As well as sabotaging your chem project! The hell?!"

"It wasn't only mine, it was Meredith's as well." Lanie indicated to Meredith's open suitcase which had previously contained bright and colourful clothes, now holding a multitude of items the same colour as Lanie's.

"Now I can understand why someone would get mad at Meredith, but why you? Everybody likes you." Visibly confused, Beckett rifled through her own wardrobe, and upon finding everything normal, selected a few items and handed them to Lanie.

"Javier doesn't." Gratefully Lanie accepted the clothes from Beckett, and started pulling them on.

"Oh come on. Espo isn't that bad, you just got off on the wrong foot. 'Sides, he wouldn't do something backhand like this, if he's annoyed he'll tell you straight up."

"As he has been for the past week."

"Seriously. I think you guys would be really good friends if you just got over this absurd prejudice!"

"I'll get over it when he does. Anyway. If you're positive Javier didn't do this we need to find out who did. And go on a serious shopping expedition."

"We should probably tell Meredith" Beckett grimaced at the unpleasant idea. "She's going to freak."

"Whats the bet she'll blame you?" Lanie finished donning her borrowed clothes, and moved into the bathroom to get the remainder of the black goo off her hands.

"It's almost impossible she won't blame me."

Laughing, they walked out of the room both trying to forget the real problem, someone out there hated Lanie's guts, and wasn't afraid to show it.

Sorry it's a bit shorter than my other chapters, but it was going to be alot shorter until I re-edited it, oh well. Hope you liked it, I have started work on chapter 5, so hopefully it will be up soon. Please review 3

SFxx