Hey, here's the fourth chapter. If you reviewed, you know you're spiffy, and if you didn't, that's cool too. And I apologize for taking a while on the update. A lot has been going on and I'm going to start sixth grade soon, too. So I'm going to be pretty busy, yet I'm going to finish the story.

I do not own the Kids Next Door. Hell, I don't own anything that doesn't have my name on it. So there.

Here you are, the fourth chapter of my very own fanfic thingy-ma-bob:

Chapter Four: It Was an Accident!

"Bye mum!" Wally called over his shoulder. A crisp slice of toast hung loosely from his mouth.

Ah… Friday. The day of the week where teenagers attend social events with one another. Adults tend to seem less strict, for it is only hours until that are away from their jobs and taken to relaxation, all any parent wants. Of course, all children are more than anxious at the thought of being trapped in that building called school wouldn't be visited! Most important of all, is that Friday signals the best part of every week—the weekend!

"Oh man! I had the best breakfast this morning!" Hoagie exclaimed. It could have been predicted that Hoagie was delighted with eating, once again. Then he shot one devious smirk over at Wally. "How was yours, Numbuh Four?" he grinned, with taunt in every word. Yes, it was only a minor mock, but still sampled any more teasing. Instead of answering the question, Wally stared at the ground passing by under his sneakers. He grinded his teeth together, mentally trying to calm himself from going berserk on anyone yet.

Those stupid bets are nothing but trouble! Last night, in the tree house, Wally thought about how in the world his mother could have persuaded him. The entire conversation sounded too peachy for him, even Numbuh Four knew that! After a while, he came up with a theory: That he was really abducted by aliens and they wiped everyone's brain, making them think that he fainted instead. In his mind, it was possible, only because that boy still wouldn't agree with the fact that he did faint, despite how many witnesses.

The actual reason was more believable.

By fainting, and carrying that hole where his stomach used to be amongst all of his other flesh and organs and other innards, Wally turned vulnerable. The completely unbearable feeling may have actually weighed stress on his mental nerves. So, his inner emotions decreased to a basic, lazy stage, therefore he wasn't capable of being the Tough Guy he's supposed to be. His dreadful conditions gave him a side-effect, one that was senseless and tender.

No worries, though. Now he was back. Numbuh Four's impatient, stubborn, tough, brash, rude, mischievous, acting-before-thinking attitude is here to stay. Henceforth, pretty much nothing about him had changed, although he actually considered that sore loser trait of his to be true. Then he smelled the scent of nachos and cheese drifting through every branch of the tree house, and his thoughts were silenced.

Once again, the teasing would slip under Wally's skin, and agitate him until the news of him losing the bet grew old between those who knew. But, until then, Wally couldn't regret losing that bet any more than the moment he realized it this morning. And to be honest, that regret was as deep as his hatred for every trip to a Rainbow Monkey theme park that Numbuh Three had gotten him into.

"Numbuh Five still don't get how you lost that thing, compared to Mr. I-ate-five-cartons-of-ice-cream-in-one-sitting over here," Abby said.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that! I still didn't puke, either," Hoagie bragged, as Wally didn't respond. He just kept walking, following his little plan to completely avoid any teases for as long as he could. Besides, only the team knew and Numbuh Three was too sweet, Numbuh One was rather cautious for if he teased Wally that whole deal with his butt could be triggered again, but Numbuh Five and Numbuh Two thought it amusing to see Wally red in anger. Of course, they'd tire of the same old thing, right?

Soon, the three reached that one corner where the bus squeaked and hissed in order to stop for them. They boarded and found their seats on the school bus, which strangely resembled the format of a train.

Wally noticed that which each row of seats he passed, he heard whispers all around. Whispers of, "It's Wally Beatles! Did you hear what happened to him?" or "All the kids in Mrs. Thompson's class are sayin' he fainted!" "Aww..I hope he's alright!" and such words. Numbuh Four looked exactly ahead of himself, definitely not making eye contact with anyone. He pretended not to listen. But his ears defiantly eavesdropped in on every word.

Then, he slouched into a seat and his eyes wondered around. A few whispers still lay askew in the atmosphere, otherwise all eyes were pointing in the same one direction. Everyone was gazing directly at Numbuh Four, as if he were some infamous mutant creature sitting between his two friends, acting casual.

Looking around, Wally wasn't clear of what could be going on.

"What?" the center of attention asked, with extreme irritation. As if Numbuh Four's voice were a call to act natural, all students on the bus retreated to common positions and began to discuss other subjects. Wally looked aside at both Hoagie and Abby, in search for an answer.

"Uhh… it's kind of all over school how you passed out," Numbuh Two piped, knowing what the Aussie's reaction was going to be.

"I did not faint, for the kah-jillionth time!" Wally screeched, attracting a few peoples' attention.

"Numbuh Five was right next to you, and she saw you pass out! Why you gotta be so stubborn?" said Abby.

"'Cause it ain't true!"

"It is too! She was you're witness!" Hoagie cried.

"Whatever…." Wally sighed, folding his arms and staring at the ground.

The bus ride continued, as the vehicle jerked up and down. Kids were talking all around, and there was never any silence on trips to school. Wally was excited, of course, because it would almost be Saturday! He planned to sleep most of the day, then go tire himself out at the park, and then watch some television program at the tree house. And on Sunday, he would wake up at noon, and maybe take a walk, but he didn't quite plan that out. Soon, the passengers reached Gallagher Elementary.

Once Numbuh Four stepped through the welcoming main entrance of the school, the chattering seemed to get a little quieter. Each hallway decreased into whispers again, similar to the bus. The morning didn't quite feel the same without the noise. One pair of emerald eyes shot side to side at all of the hushed voices.

Were they all really talking about him? It's no big deal, really. He only fainted from lack of food. Looking around hopelessly made Numbuh Four doubt this, though.

It took a while to reach his locker, the whispering still occurred, and Numbuh Four was becoming annoyed with being the center of attention. To hold himself back from doing something he'd regret even more, Wally just concentrated deeply on the books he was trying to tip out of his locker. No matter how hard he tried to prevent, the words kept swirling through his eardrums.

Once he got his books, he walked through the hallways beside Numbuh Five, since Numbuh Two had some business to attend to. At one point, they crossed paths with Numbuh Three.

"Hi guys!" she greeted merrily. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Watchin' Numbuh Four get all mad 'cause people won't shut up about him," Numbuh Five grinned. "What are you lookin' at?" Wally snapped at some by standers. They quickly turned to each other, still continuing to whisper. After a while the hallway got a bit louder, but not much.

"Why the crud are people whisperin' about me, anyway? I didn't do nothin'!" Numbuh Four snarled. Abby slapped her hand to her forehead, which was shadowed by the bill of her signature red hat.

"Numbuh Five keeps tryin' to tell you!" She groaned. Numbuh Four could be so unbearably hard win an argument with sometimes.

"And I keep tellin' you that I couldn't have fainted!" Numbuh Five gave him a look, certainly proving that she didn't want to go through this discussion for the twelfth time.

Suddenly, Abby perked up, and angled her face in looking down the hallway. "Numbuh Five'll be right back…"

Wally quickly looked in the same direction that Numbuh Five seemed to be looking in, interested by the curious expression on her face. Though, he saw nothing unusual. Maybe she was just spacing out, he thought.

"Aw…Bye Numbuh Five!" Numbuh Three exclaimed as her friend power-walked down the hall. Numbuh Four turned to Kuki.

"Guess what, guess what, guess what?" Numbuh Three squealed, bouncing up and down.

"Err…what?"

"There's going to be a sequel to the Rainbow Monkey movie!"

"Ugghh… I hate them stupid Rainbow Dorkies…" Wally groaned. Some girls nearby gasped, including Kuki, and were on the verge of forming a riot. Luckily, a bell shrieked, and before any of the girls could realize, Wally was scrambling to his class…

Once there, he felt reluctant to step in, and mentally suggested that maybe he could escape right then and wouldn't have to deal with any more stares from his class mates. They did, after all, see him 'pass out' yesterday, so it would be a very odd situation. His decision changed when he thought that those few girls who heard him insult Rainbow Monkeys could be prowling the hallways. In that case, Numbuh Four pulled the door in front of him open.

As he walked to his seat, he stared right at the ground, trying so deeply to avoid eye contact with anyone. In exchange, the students eyed him as if he were a new kid; silently, awkwardly, and slightly curiously.

"Wallabee, you gave us quite a scare yesterday," said Mrs. Thompson at the front of the room. Numbuh Four would rather not be referred to by his full first name, but let it slide. The silence in the classroom made him feel uncomfortable, especially because he could sense people gazing at him. Still, he didn't want to admit that he fainted because of all the things that one little action caused. It didn't look like Hoagie was planning to dub a consequence on him, though the teasing definitely wasn't delightful. Numbuh Four actually believed he had the bet in the bag, and now here he was dumb-founded on all of his stupid actions. Or, the main one in general, being that he ate.

Of course, it felt so divine to put food in that stomach of his again. But this morning when he inhaled his breakfast, Wally noticed an image of him taking that bite of his burger flashed into his mind. Every time he ate, he thought he would probably remember that frozen scene. One day it would all blow over, and maybe later he'll get a good laugh out of it. Unfortunately, that day didn't feel anywhere near soon.

Mrs. Thompson began her reading lesson, as Wally propped his elbow on his desk and rested his chin in his palm. Stupid bet…

------------------------------------------------------

Numbuh Four traveled from the lunch line to the table where his friends were at. As usual, he plopped down beside Numbuh Three. Numbuh Two couldn't be seen though, which led to his friends, excluding Numbuh Five for some reason, wondering where he was.

"Where's Numbuh Two?" spoke the British accent of Numbuh One. Wally shrugged, more interested in the pizza on his lunch tray. Abby immediately turned her attention to her food, but seemed to be remaining calm. It looked as though she was hiding something, but the others were busy with peering through the crowds until they saw Hoagie.

"He's probably doing some after class work," Numbuh One suggested finally.

"Heh, suck up," Wally chuckled through his pizza. Kuki nudged him. "What?"

Seconds after, a deeply exhaling Numbuh Two came and collapsed on the bench beside Numbuh Five. There was no lunch tray with him, which seemed suspicious.

That kid really looked like he wasn't having the best of his days. Or he could have been over-drilled during his gym class. His flight goggles were tilted on the cap that sat on his head under them. His light blue button down shirt was buttoned crookedly and was dirty. A hole was in the knee of his brown pants, and Hoagie was panting like a dog outside on an August afternoon. Not to mention the various stains on all of his clothes.

"What happened, Numbuh Two?" Nigel asked.

"Don't…worry about…it…" he gasped between breaths.

"Where's your lunch?"

"I don't…have…any money…"

Wally scoffed, because he felt rather guilty for Numbuh Two, who had been really growing thinner because of the bet. Not eating was probably driving the boy mad. But now that the bet was done, over, and lost, why wasn't Hoagie so bent on not eating this afternoon? And why was he without a lunch, anyway?

"Poor Numbuh Two! Do you want anything from me? Did someone steal your money?" Kuki inquired. It was in her nature to worry about her friends, or anyone that didn't look quite fortunate.

"It's…a long story…but, no, I already…had lunch…"

Something very odd was going on with Hoagie's schedule today, as well.

"Numbuh Two, would you care to explain?" Nigel asked bluntly.

"Umm…" Now Hoagie's breathing pace was normal. "I was just, uhh… doing a few things for a friend," He explained, chuckling nervously.

"If you're sure," Numbuh One concluded. And the lunch period continued in average conversation, although Hoagie earned a few glances because of his shabby appearance and Wally's fainting fiasco wasn't going to die down in a day.

------------------------------------------------------

"What is the cruddy answer!" shrieked Numbuh Four, furiously rubbing his eraser on the paper of his math homework. He was lying on his stomach in the center of his boxing ring which made purpose as his bed. "I've been addiplying this for a buh-jillion hours!" His statement was only half true, because he'd only been trying to solve the math equation for about ten minutes, yet that felt like more to Numbuh Four. Finally, he gained an idea to go pry a few straight answers out of Numbuh Two. He was a genius, after all, how do you expect him to make 2 x 4 vehicles without any intelligence?

Wally snatched his math sheet and his pencil with barely any eraser left, and prepared to walk to Numbuh Two's room. On the way, he stared down at his math sheet. In his own handwriting were completely ridiculous answers. Instead of actually paying attention, Wally thought it clever to create his own solutions and methods. Yet, today he couldn't make any answers for this agitating number sentence.

Soon, Numbuh Four came across the location of Hoagie's room. Carelessly, he pushed the door open, to see the back of Numbuh Two, who was seated at his desk.

"Hey, Numbuh Two can you—"

'SNAP!'

Hoagie released a horrified gasp at such a sudden movement, interrupting the boy from his work on a new 2x4 technology blueprint. Could Wally just have committed his very worse fear?

Wally's head shot down to the floor, which was where the noise came from. Beneath his foot were crushed pieces of a model plane that belonged to Hoagie. Numbuh Two was in utter shock, for what he hoped wouldn't have happened actually did.

When Numbuh Four looked back up at his friend, he didn't quite understand why what he did was so appalling. You see, that plane was one of the newest models to be released at the local hobby shop. And Numbuh Two had been saving up for it with allowance that he'd obtained over the past three months. It's hard to imagine any kid preserving their earnings for so long, isn't it? That explains why Hoagie was so angry, and on the verge of wringing Numbuh Four's neck.

"What? It's just one of those plane-thingies you like. If it was just layin' around on the floor, couldn't have meant much. Anyway, can you help me wi--"

"Get…out…" Managed to say an infuriated Hoagie between teeth so fiercely clenched.

"What? Why? I didn't do anythin'!"

"Do you know how much that 'plane-thingy' cost?"

"No…"

"Well, then you should find out, because you're gonna buy me a new one!" Numbuh Two barked. Usually, Hoagie was a kind lad, but today was not one of his best, which added to his fury.

"I'm not givin' anyone any of my money!" Shouted a now provoked Numbuh Four.

"Yes you are! It took me, like, forever to save up that money!"

"How much could it have cost? Five bucks?"

"TRY SIXTY!"

"I buy shoes that cost more than that!" Wally lied.

"That's because you're stupid enough!"

"At least I know how to make a joke!"

"You know what Beatles? You can go catapult yourself through a field goal for all I care!" Hoagie shouted. Then a satisfied smile crept across his face.

Wally still glared at him with narrowed eyes, not catching onto Numbuh Two's thoughts.

"What are you so smug about?"

"Actually, you can catapult yourself through a field goal, can't you, Mr.-I-lost-the-bet?"

"What?" Wally's clenched fists which were raised in front of him fell limply to his side. "No way! What are you, nuts?"

"You sound like you're scared." Numbuh Two said with a grin.

"I ain't scared of anythin'!"

"Then I dare you to do it at next week's football game!" Numbuh Two wasn't even sure why he was pushing his friend into doing such a thing. For entertainment, probably. Or to see if Wally really would.

Wally stood there, looking at the floorboards. That idea was insane! But what if he backed out? Could he back out? After coming this far, and making his reputation so strong, can he let it drop just like that? No. No, Wallabee Beatles couldn't do that. He'd done absurd dares before, and if he's still alive, this one wouldn't be any different.

"You're on!"

Wally, who was now blinded by determination and his knack for acting before thinking, shook hands with Numbuh Two.

Then he stomped towards the door, completely forgetting about his math homework. Now he was faced with another problem: soaring through a field goal. What if he missed and hit the field goal itself? What if he decided to back out at the last minute? Oh, the humiliation…

"How do I get myself into these messes?" Numbuh Four pouted.